Every month, scrmbl highlights some of the most noteworthy releases from Japanese artists available on Bandcamp. Sometimes, this coincides with the platform’s own Bandcamp Friday —an event where the company itself waives all revenue share and instead lets artists reap all the money made off sales. We are currently in the middle of a three-month run for the promotion. It’s always a good time to support artists, but here’s some extra incentive to do so.

Hajime Iida — Hajime

Tottori-based producer Hajime Iida connects Japan’s club sound with their own enthusiastic take on house revelry on debut album Hajime. The floor-focused tracks showcase a nervy jubilation conveyed through Iida’s rubbery melodies and cascading vocal samples (“ILUVU,” “SUN”) that create a sense of euphoria while adding a little tension when paired with steelier details (spot the plinks and plonks dappling the otherwise bright-eyed bounce of “SLIDE”). Hajime nods to the joyful house of Soichi Terada and the squigglier creations of peak netlabel…which makes the presence of tofubeats (here appearing to sing under that moniker, add some nerviness to “All Night” AND release this through his label HIHATT) all the more fitting. Get it here.

Acid Tamiya 346 — Acid eyewater EP

A fine example of how versatile a specific corner of dance music can be. It’s pretty obvious what sound Acid Tamiya 346 explores on the Acid eyewater EP, with two original cuts allowing them to showcase the bleary-eyed side of it (the title track) and a more playful interpretation built around vocal scatting (“Kishimojin”). What really makes this a standout, though, is two remixes courtesy of CycheoutsG and MISSILE CHEWBACCA of “Acid eyewater” that reveal new ecstatic angles on it. Get it here.

Bailefunk Kaneko — DESVIO FULL THROTTLE

Bailefunk Kaneko offers an interpretation of baile funk forged in the Tokyo underground, and latest release DESVIO FULL THROTTLE provides a showcase for her own head-spinning sound and a space for creators on the more experimental side of things in the country to show off their approach. Songs here find madcap creators such as chaos agent rirugiliyangugili, alternative rappers levi and valknee, and noise pranksters BBBBBBB being scooped up into Kaneko’s rush alongside Brazilian acts MC Kalyu and Yandrel. It’s a celebration of borders being brought down, both geographically and sonically. Get it here. 

Wrack — SUPE

Speaking of borders being blurred, Tokyo-based producer Wrack draws from the club sounds of the Caribbean and Africa on latest EP SUPE. It’s a global party, featuring high-energy rhythms and patterns inspired by the sound of Japanese traditional music (check the court-music-like sway waived into the otherwise pogoing “Hisho”). Get it here.

Seimei — Above The City EP

The Trekkie Trax co-founder and Tokyo staple returns with a set of bangers inspired by the capital but shaped by the greater world. Over these four tracks, Seimei nods to Chicago on the rumbling “Shimokita and adds a Latin splash to the lithe closer “Rabeta.” He also calls on New-York-based artist JIALING to help craft the headrush house of opener “In the Air.” Get it here.

FLYING DAIMYO — BOKURITSU HECHIMA NO ONGAKU

The project FLYING DAIMYO creates music ideal for cartoon whirlwinds. Latest EP BOKURITSU HECHIMA NO ONGAKU lets guitar zig-zags, pitch-shifted vocals and sample barrages shoot around like sonic shrapnel. It’s chaotic and restless, a commotion created by artists fascinated by just how far sounds can be stretched out. Yet despite the dizzying mix FLYING DAIMYO finds a way to corral all of it into works that actually coalesce into something melodic, albeit in a maddening way. Get it here. 

Fuji Chao — BEAUTIFUL HUMAN

Bedroom pop creator Fuji Chao has always used her albums as a way to provide diary-like glimpses into life, sometimes feeling so intimate as to seem like maybe we are intruding on something as we listen. BEAUTIFUL HUMAN finds her in poem mode, reciting spoken-word observations over layers of synth. The music itself is often dreamy and downright beautiful, but there’s a reality cutting through it that adds human beauty. Get it here.

Stones Taro — Byproduct #1

I mean hey, no better pick for a Bandcamp round-up than a Bandcamp exclusive. Kyoto’s Stones Taro kicks off a new series of releases exclusive to the platform with a pair of tracks built for the club. “Trippy Slider Ball” squiggles ahead behind electronic woozes propelled by a locked-in beat, adding a little bit of dizziness to the dancefloor. “Spin Watcher,” meanwhile, plays with more disjointed rhythms to create something jagged but still kinetic. Get it here.

Meitei — Sennyu

Japanese electronic composer Meitei was hired by the resort city of Beppu to create music celebrating its anniversary, and naturally he gravitated towards its public baths and hot springs. The resulting collection captures the details of soaking and tuning out, mixing vaporous synthesizer melodies and field recordings of water and the activity happening around it (such as loops of people in a sento talking). This mix makes for a contemplative set of songs, reflecting the very act of bathing and relaxing itself. Get it here. 

Watashi No Koko — Sagashite Imasu

Childhood staples turned surreal and at times kind of nightmarish thanks to guitar and synthetic voice. “Fictional music band” Watashi No Koko covers six public domain Japanese kids songs over the course of Sagashite Imasu, but does so using a genuinely seasick combination of Vocaloid and uneasy rock melodies. An absolute trip, just maybe not for the under 10 set. Get it here.