New (and old) music from Japan – January-June 2026

Notable new Japanese releases and reissues

I must have started writing this back in June, but I never got around to publishing it. Blame inertia, or a growing antipathy towards posting anything online. Miles Klee's recent Wired article ‘Please Let the Internet Die’ resonated with me, not just for its despairing assessment of how bad things have got, but also how it dangles the faint prospect that today’s tech empires may eventually fall, leaving room for the “organic and anarchic web” to make a comeback. I grew up with that web, and I miss it. In that spirit, here’s an incomplate round-up of some of the interesting music that’s come out of Japan during the first half of 2026. Some of these releases got the attention they deserved, quite a few didn't. Maybe you'll find something you like.

Tokyo Gigs November 2026

NOV 1 HENRIQUE CAZES, ROGÉRIO CAETANO, QUARTETO GAIVOTAS Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,800

NOV 1 SHOJI HANO/MANOS BARKATSAS/SATOE KOBAYASHI Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 1 HOSOO AND TAEYOON KIM, THE LENTICULARZ, JAN URILA SAS, &c. Chitei, Otsuka ¥2,000

NOV 1 ROJIN NO SHIGOTO, SABBAHA, OSOREZAN VIBRATION Hatagaya Club Heavy Sick ¥2,500

NOV 2 YUKI NAKAGAWA/BIKI/KND Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

NOV 2 TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO (SOLO) Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,500

NOV 3 KEIJI HAINO, SOPHYE SOLIVEAU, HOGAKU 2.0, &c. Tokyo Jazz Club, Tatebashi ¥2,500

NOV 3 KUNIKAZU TANAKA/RYUICHI YOSHIDA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 3 DOLPHINS INTO THE FUTURE, HUUR IS DUUR, KOEOSAEME, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

NOV 4 THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JOUJOUKA WWW X, Shibuya ¥22,000

NOV 4 JOE HISAISHI/MUSIC FUTURE BAND: SHAW, &c. Tokyo Opera City, Hatsudai ¥8,000-¥12,000

NOV 4 WILLIAM TYLER, TAKURO OKADA Aoyama Moonromantic ¥6,000

NOV 4 TEXAS IS THE REASON, WETNAP Spotify O-Nest, Shibuya ¥8,500

NOV 4 M/LUE, KICELL Haremame, Daikanyama ¥5,000

NOV 4 RQRQ, DAISUKE FUJIWARA/FUMI ENDO, &c. Tokyo Jazz Club, Tatebashi ¥2,500

NOV 5 SEX MAGIC WIZARD, SHINTARO YOSHINO & MORTAL NOSE Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,000

NOV 5 MMM, SATOMIMAGAE Haremame, Daikanyama ¥3,700

NOV 5 SOPHYE SOLIVEAU, KYOJI OHNO Tokyo Jazz Club, Tatebashi ¥2,500

NOV 5 JOHN ZORN'S COBRA (PROMPTER: KOICHI MAKIGAMI) Sengawa Theater ¥4,000

NOV 6 TOUCHÉ AMORÉ Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,500

NOV 6 IGNACIO ROULET, TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/MITSURU TABATA Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 6 YORIYUKI HARADA/TOSHIAKI ISHIZUKA/HIROMICHI SAKAMOTO Sengawa Theater ¥3,500

NOV 6 SATOKO FUJII/NATSUKI TAMURA/RAMON LOPEZ Sengawa Theater ¥3,500

NOV 6 KEI MATSUMARU (SOLO) Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,500

NOV 6 KATSUREI, COMPUTER FIGHT Aoyama Moonromantic ¥3,500

NOV 6 OKI, RIKI HIDAKA, GOKI MURAMOTO Tokyo Jazz Club, Tatebashi ¥2,500

NOV 6 DREAM 2 SCIENCE, KAJI, JOKI, THE LIBRARY, &c. HVEN, Nakameguro ¥3,000

NOV 7 SHIH-YANG LEE/YING-HAO LEE/HIROMICHI SAKAMOTO Sengawa Theater ¥3,500 (afternoon)

NOV 7 MITSUHISA SAKAGUCHI/MITSURU NASUNO/TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO Sengawa Theater ¥3,500

NOV 7 SOOJIN SUH/AKAIHIRUME/KIYOTO FUJIWARA/MOMOKO AIDA Sengawa Theater ¥3,500

NOV 7 CHUDAHYE CHAGIS, LITTLE TEMPO, FLYING RHYTHMS, &c. Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥5,500

NOV 7 ANDREA CENTAZZO/SHIH-YANG LEE/YUKI SAGA Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 7 NICK TSAI/TOMOTSUGU NAKAMURA, MOSKITOO, &c. Black Bird Eatery, Sasazuka ¥3,500

NOV 7 UG, DARKLAW/MIKAMI SHINYA, BLACKPHONE666, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,500

NOV 7 AMÆMI, HIROSHI EBINA, TAKASHI MORI, DEMSKY Knock, Koenji ¥2,000

NOV 7 DL CLENT, ANIIIIIIIIKII, FRUITY, HIBI BLISS, ↦c. Toranoko Shokudo, Shibuya ¥2,500

NOV 7 ACID PAULI, SYLVAN ESSO (DJ), THOMASH, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥4,500 (night)

NOV 8 TONNAM/KAZUTOKI UMEZU/AYAKO KATO/KOICHI MAKIGAMI Sengawa Theater ¥3,500 (afternoon)

NOV 8 HIKASHU/ERMHOI Sengawa Theater ¥3,500

NOV 8 CHUDAHYE CHAGIS, OKI DUB AINU BAND, TURTLE ISLAND, &c. Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥5,500

NOV 8 VOVIVAV/HAIR STYLISTICS, N'RALA, DEMETER, &c. UFO Club, Higashi-Koenji ¥3,000

NOV 8 LOOPRIDER, KRISHNV, KIAZMA, COLLAPSE High, Koenji ¥3,900

NOV 8 LAVATORY, SLAUGHTERCULT, CAASSIMOLAR, &c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,500

NOV 8 FLORENCE CATS/AYAMI SUZUKI Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 9 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Toyosu Pit ¥11,000

NOV 9 FLORENCE CATS/AYAMI SUZUKI/YOKO IKEDA/&c. Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 10 JEROME FOUQUET/KENICHI MATSUMOTO/KEIGO IWAMI/&c. Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 11 PAOLO GÀIBA RIVA/KAZEHITO SEKI, VOGLSINGER/NAKAMURA/LYALL Chitei, Otsuka ¥2,500

NOV 12 KAZUTOKI UMEZU/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/TONNAM WARIT, &c. Haremame, Daikanyama ¥5,200

NOV 12 HIDEKI TACHIBANA/HIROMICHI SAKAMOTO/CHIHIRO OWADA Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 12 TETUZI AKIYAMA/TETSUYA HAYASHI/DAIGO WAKASUGI Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 13 KARL SEGLEM FOLKJAZZ Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

NOV 13 MAIKA LOUBTÉ (BAND SET) Womb, Shibuya ¥3,500

NOV 13 SAYAKA BOTANIC/TAKUMI IKEDA/PAOLO GÀIBA RIVA/&c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,000

NOV 13 YUKO ARAKI, MITCH ELLIOTT, PRARN, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

NOV 13 THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART WWW X, Shibuya ¥8,500

NOV 13 AZU TIWALINE, DJ MARIA, DR.NISHIMURA/YUTA, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

NOV 13 CHEZ DAMIER, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥4,500 (night)

NOV 14 ENSEMBLE NOMAD W/ SUPERPLUCK TRIO Opera City, Hatsudai ¥4,000

NOV 14 BLACKPHONE666, MITCH ELLIOTT, KAZUMOTO ENDO, P.O.V. Chitei, Otsuka ¥2,000

NOV 14 JULIANA VENTER/KEIKO HIGUCHI/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 14 DENAMI TX, HAVN, OMSB, SENNINSHO, &c. WWW X, Shibuya ¥3,500 (night)

NOV 14 MARCELLUS PITTMAN, SAMO, THE LIBRARY, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

NOV 14 LOOTA (LIVE), JUBILEE, TOM YETI, MOEPIKA, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

NOV 15 DE LA SOUL, STUTS, CHRIS DAVE, BILLYRROM, &c. SGC Hall Ariake ¥18,000/¥25,000

NOV 15 HYAKUNEN NO KODOKU, RYOKO2000, JON NO SON Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,800

NOV 15 CLARA DE ASÍS/VITTORIA ASSEMBRI/LEO OKAGAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 16 KYOZIN YUENI DEKAI, TAIKUJIKANG SMALL FORMATION 4 UFO Club, Higashi-Koenji ¥3,200

NOV 16 OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/OTOASOBI NO KAI Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

NOV 16 JEROME FOUQUET/IKU SUZUKI/KENTARO SUZUKI Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 15 YOKO IKEDA/CLARA DE ASÍS/SHINTARO TANAKA/&c. Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 17 CINDYTALK, ACRARTEP, SATOSICK (DJ) Chitei, Otsuka ¥3,000

NOV 17 JULIANA VENTER/MASAYO KOKETSU Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 17 CLARA DE ASÍS, VITTORIA ASSEMBRI, TAKAHIRO KAWAGUCHI, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥3,000

NOV 19 RIVAL CONSOLES WWW X, Shibuya ¥7,800

NOV 19 THE DEAD PAN SPEAKERS, SHIZUO UCHIDA/MASAHIRO TOBITA, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

NOV 20 MAX COOPER, ROBERT LIPPOK/LUCAS GUTIERREZ, GRAND RIVER, &c. MoN Takanawa ¥8,000

NOV 20 LEMNA, C-KAY, TONER (DJ) Kagurane, Kagurazaka ¥3,500

NOV 20 PANICSMILE, SPOILMAN, HIKARI BUNKAI Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥3,500

NOV 20 QRION, PARKGOLF, BUDDHAHOUSE Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

NOV 21 HANIA RANI, MOUSE ON THE KEYS, RICCARDO GIOVINETTO, &c. MoN Takanawa ¥8,000

NOV 21 WIEGEDOOD, FROM INFINITY, PALE Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥5,800

NOV 21 KEN IKEDA, HIROAKI MAKI, UPPER VOLTA, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,500

NOV 21 TL:DR (KNIGHT/SVOBODA/CARBO/KNIGHT), AYAKO KANDA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 21 MIYAMA MCQUEEN-TOKITA (SOLO) Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 21 JAH WORKS SOUND SYSTEM Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥5,000 (night)

NOV 21 SLEEP D/KUNIYUKI (LIVE), &c. WWW X, Shibuya ¥4,000 (night)

NOV 21 TSHA, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

NOV 22 DAITO MANABE/ELEVENPLAY, PATRICK WATSON, TAMANARAMEN, &c. MoN Takanawa ¥8,000

NOV 22 DEAFKIDS, BIRUSHANAH, MELT-BANANA, STAGNATION Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥4,000

NOV 22 KASAI, IN THE SUN, AT HER OPEN DOOR, SEAKETA, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,500

NOV 22 AYANE SATO/MISAKI MOTOFUJI/YUMA TAKESHITA/MIKI NAOE Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 22 SACHIKO M/TETUZI AKIYAMA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

NOV 22 THE ALCHEMIST, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥7,000 (night)

NOV 22 SPECIAL REQUEST, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥3,000

NOV 23 WOLF ALICE Toyosu Pit ¥9,900

NOV 23 BIG BRAVE, SALLT, PRAYMATE, SHINJI MASUKO El Puente, Yokohama ¥5,000

NOV 23 PLASTIKMAN: POLYPHONIC FERMENTATION MoN Takanawa ¥8,000

NOV 23 JOHANNA SULKUNEN/TAPANI TOIVANEN, HELLO1103, &c. Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,500

NOV 23 SHIH-YANG LEE/AYAKO KANISASARE Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

NOV 24 TYONDAI BRAXTON, JIM O'ROURKE/EIKO ISHIBASHI Sogetsu Hall, Akasaka ¥9,000

NOV 24 BIG BRAVE, SALLT, DMBQ, PREPARATIONSET Fever, Shindaita ¥6,000

NOV 24 JUNACO, M/LUE Aoyama Moonromantic ¥5,000

NOV 24-25 IRON MAIDEN K Arena, Yokohama ¥15,000-¥30,000

NOV 25 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Zepp Haneda ¥11,000/¥13,000

NOV 25 MASAYO KOKETSU/YUICHI USHIODA/HIROSHI YAMAZAKI Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

NOV 25 KIYOHIKO SEMBA & KARUGAMOS Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,200

NOV 26 KAZUO IMAI/TSUTOMU TODO Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

NOV 26 LI YILEI, AUS Kudan Church, Kudanshita ¥4,500

NOV 26 KEIJI HAINO/SHUTA HASUNUMA, COLA REN, &c. Shibuya Parco 10F Pbox Stnd ¥3,800

NOV 27 DAVID BORING, KEN MATSUMARU Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥4,500

NOV 27 KEIJI HAINO/VICTORIA SHEN/YOSHIMITSU ICHIRAKU/TENKO Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥5,000

NOV 27 MINYO BLOCK PARTY: CHINDON KISUKE, JAPAUND, &c. Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

NOV 27 EDWARD (LIVE), LAWRENCE, KONSTANTIN, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

NOV 28 DAVID BORING, BLACK PETROL, WINTERING, &c. Cyclone, Shibuya ¥4,500

NOV 28 OFFICINE, INCAPACITANTS, 2UP, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥2,800

NOV 28 OLOLOLOP, QUEER NATIONS, FUELPHONIC, SOFHESO, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥3,000

NOV 28 REGIS, LIAM ANDREWS, C-KAY, ATSUSHI IZUMI Kagurane, Kagurazaka ¥3,800

NOV 28 FISHMANS NIGHT: HAKASE-SUN, 41841ECHO (DJ), &c. Knock, Koenji ¥2,000

NOV 28 TETSU NAGASAWA/MASATAKE ABE Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

NOV 28 DJ NOBU B2B WATA IGARASHI, DJ YAZI, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥3,000 (night)

NOV 28 SILVA BUMPA, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,500

NOV 29 AUS, LORIS S SARID, SAKUTA TSURUTA, EMMA DIAMOND Knock, Koenji ¥3,000

NOV 29 MASAMICHI KINOSHITA (SOLO) Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

NOV 30 GAKU SUZUKI/RADIO ENSEMBLES AIIDA/TAKUMI IKEDA/&c. Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,300

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs December 2026

DEC 1 ELI KESZLER, ALPHA MAID Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥7,800

DEC 1 AYA, VMO Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥5,000

DEC 1 VICTORIA SHEN/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/YOSHIMITSU ICHIRAKU Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥4,000

DEC 2 FCUKERS Zepp Shinjuku ¥9,000

DEC 2 MON/KU, TILL YAWUH, NECO ASOBI Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,000

DEC 5 GOTH-TRAD, DEV/NULL, MARUOSA, GORESHIT, L?K?O, &c. Heavy Sick Zero, Nakano ¥4,600

DEC 5 NOTION, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥4,000

DEC 6 AYATO, KUMAGUSU, LOOLOWNINGEN, ?MEYTÉL (DJ) Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥3,000

DEC 6 MELT-BANANA, DEV/NULL, PASSENGER OF SHIT, GORESHIT, &c. Heavy Sick Zero, Nakano ¥4,600

DEC 7 HARUOMI HOSONO Ryogoku Kokugikan ¥8,000-¥17,000

DEC 8 JAMES BLAKE Zepp Haneda ¥14,000-¥16,000

DEC 8 GIA MARGARET, ICHIKO AOBA Yodobashi Church, Okubo ¥8,000

DEC 9 MAYA ONGAKU The Garden Hall, Ebisu ¥5,500/¥6,000

DEC 9 JUNJI HIROSE/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/HIROSHI YAMAZAKI/&c. Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,800

DEC 10 DYGL Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥5,000

DEC 10 KOENJI HYAKKEI High, Koenji ¥4,000

DEC 11 MEI EHARA Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥5,500

DEC 11 KEN VANDERMARK/PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/&c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥5,500

DEC 12 DAITO MANABE, MEITEI, MAYWA DENKI, &c. Edocco Edo Culture Center, Kanda ¥5,000

DEC 13 KEN VANDERMARK/PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE/NANA OMORI Knuttel House, Iriya ¥4,300

DEC 14 DIE SPITZ Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥7,500

DEC 14 CAT POWER: 'THE GREATEST', YUGA EX Theater, Roppongi ¥12,000/¥14,000

DEC 14 SAICOBAB, YUJI KATSUI/U-ZHAAN, MABANUA Aoyama Moonromantic ¥4,800

DEC 15 SHOJI HANO/TAKASHI SEO/JUN MIYAKE Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,500

DEC 15 DOMI & JD BECK Toyosu Pit ¥9,900

DEC 16 OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/HIROSHI YAMAZAKI Knuttel House, Iriya ¥2,800

DEC 18 TOXIC BOLD, DOGO, YAMANE KICKLINE Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

DEC 19 TOMOKI KITAMURA: TORU TAKEMITSU RECITAL Musicasa, Yoyogi-Uehara ¥6,000

DEC 24 SHINTARO SAKAMOTO BAND Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥4,800

DEC 25 GENTLEMENS CLUB, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

DEC 29 BBBBBBB, &c. Aoyama Moonromantic ¥TBC

DEC 30 KEIJI HAINO (TBC) Showboat, Koenji ¥5,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs January 2027

JAN 7 KIM GORDON Kanda Square Hall ¥9,000

JAN 8 VIOLET GROHL Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥7,000

JAN 8 DOVE ELLIS Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,000

JAN 9 BLOC PARTY, DINOSAUR JR, KIM GORDON, VIOLET GROHL SGC Hall Ariake ¥19,500/¥23,000

JAN 9 SUEDE, PALE WAVES, KULA SHAKER, DOVE ELLIS SGC Hall Ariake ¥19,500/¥23,000

JAN 20 SON LUX WWW X, Shibuya ¥7,500

JAN 24 TOKYO GAKUSO: NEW YEAR'S GAGAKU PERFORMANCES Suntory Hall, Akasaka ¥3,000-¥6,000

JAN 28 FONTAINES D.C. SGC Hall Ariake ¥11,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs February 2027

FEB 8 PUBLIC IMAGE LTD Toyosu Pit ¥14,000

FEB 9 FINN WOLFHARD Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥9,500

FEB 17 CHAPTERHOUSE Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥11,000/¥13,000

FEB 24-25 DIIV Kanda Square Hall ¥8,800

FEB 25-26 JON CLEARY Shibuya Pleasure Pleasure ¥8,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs March 2027

MAR 12 FEEBLE LITTLE HORSE Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥7,500

MAR 18 TINARIWEN Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥8,700

MAR 30 BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE EX Theater Roppongi ¥9,500/¥12,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

New (and old) music from Japan – 2025 addendum

A few more notable releases from the year gone by

While I didn’t feel much appetite for putting together a 2025 albums of the year list (I already compile a few for different publications and end up feeling dissatisfied with all of them), there were a bunch of releases that kept nagging at me to at least acknowledge their existence in writing. The attention economy means that a lot of music seems to disappear from view almost as soon as it’s been released, a victim of our appetite for newness. So let me just take stock of a few more worthwhile albums (and one single) from 2025, some of which didn’t get nearly the attention they deserved.

New (and old) music from Japan – Winter 2025 edition

Notable releases I’ve finally got around to writing about

We’re deep into Album of the Year review season – The Wire and The Quietus both just dropped theirs – so what better time to publish an article I started working on back in, er, August? No idea why this took so long to come together, though the usual feeble excuses (work, travel, inertia) apply. Over the past week, I’ve found a bunch more releases I want to write about, so there may be more to come before the year is out.

New (and old) music from Japan – Spring 2025 edition

Notable new Japanese releases and reissues

This might be a return to regular programming, but no promises. Things have been quiet on the work front recently, which has given me more time to sift through my Bandcamp pile and ferret out the good stuff. Here are some of the releases and reissues from the first three months of the year (plus one straggler from 2024) that have grabbed me. I should note that some of these snuck up on me gradually, rather than revealing all their charms on first listen. An album as subtle and intelligently crafted as Eiko Ishibashi’s Antigone wasn’t designed for the streaming era, which is all the more reason to cherish it.

Notable Japanese releases from 2024

Good music from a (mostly) bad year

I fell out of the habit of posting album reviews during 2024, partly because I simply wasn’t listening to as much Japanese music as I had done in the previous few years. Still, it felt remiss not to acknowledge a few of the highlights of a year that, by most objective measures, was pretty wretched. I’m grateful to the handful of people who gave me a much-needed nudge to write this, and also to my friend Ian F. Martin for showing how it should be done with his defiantly unpunctual zine, Last Year’s Music. (I’d post a link, but I’m afraid you’ll have to seek out a physical copy.)

From the archives: Ichiko Aoba, 2016 Japan Times interview

“I get most of my energy for creating stories from dreams.”

Ichiko Aoba, 2016. Photo by James Hadfield

Ichiko Aoba takes her seat at an old-fashioned coffee house in Shibuya, and places a sketchpad and a plump pouch of rolling tobacco on the table. During the hour-long conversation that follows, the tobacco goes untouched, but the sketchpad gets a thorough workout. As she talks, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter reflexively scribbles drawings and kanji characters to elucidate what she’s saying, the way a university lecturer might.