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 — but not this time around, as the next installment happens in August. It’s always a great time to listen to new music, though…and to support the artists creating it.
inuha — Hibiki No Tsuzuki
A mixture of melancholy and wonder surrounding the transience of life shrouds inuha’s work. The Vocaloid producer previously leaned into shoegaze squall and swifter mutations of rock to create numbers about being, with detours into more electronic backdrops. Latest album Hibiki No Tsuzuki retains the emotional ethos — and once again underlines just how aching Hatsune Miku can sound in the right hands — but finds inuha expanding their sonic vocabulary. Strings play a more important role in emphasizing the sound, whether matched with guitar melodies on opener “Ohisama Otsukisama” or being the primary driver on “Mebuki.” Alongside familiar feedback waves, Hibiki presents another ennui-rich set from one of the best Vocaloid-utilizing creators going in Japan. Get it here.
seaketa — Kudoku No Kuni
Part of the joy of listening to Kudoku No Kuni is simply being swept up in the melodic jumble seaketa conjures up. The experimental artist has been a pivotal figure in Japan’s contemporary left-field scene, and on their latest they offer some of their most enveloping collages yet. With playtimes often passing six minutes — and on “Amplify” nearing double that — seaketa uses every second to let noises ripple and run off to the point of feeling improvised. Yet from these combinations come surprisingly catchy arrangements, tension turned to sweetness. Get it here.
KOM_I And Foodman — FANI MANI
The life former Suiyoubi No Campanella vocalist KOM_I has led since departing the group in 2021 warrants a memoir all its own, featuring trips to India and birth in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The whirling-dervish-personified has kept busy since, but hasn’t appeared in many musical projects. Which makes the sorta-sudden release of FANI MANI, a collaborative EP with Nagoya-based artist Foodman, all the more exhilarating. KOM_I is back, and she’s getting weird. Drawing from Japanese sounds and traditional Indian music — all filtered through Foodman’s wonky production sensibilities — she creates a woozy set ranging from pure party starters to meditative exercises. The energy she brought to Campanella comes through, but now in new ways. Get it here.
punipunidenki — SUGAR ALLIANCE
There’s always a dash of darkness lurking in the otherwise inviting songs punipunidenki makes. Latest EP SUGAR ALLIANCE starts off with easy-breezy bossa nova grooves before progressing to smoky jazz-influenced fare. Put on as background sound, it’s pleasant and made inviting by punipunidenki’s dynamic vocal range, here running the whole spectrum over just three tracks. Yet play a little closer attention and you find lyrics dripping with bittersweet feelings and near-dystopian vibes (they love images of castles sitting in ruins). It’s that dimension that makes SUGAR ALLIANCE a real treat. Get it here.
cartax — Myojo
Yokohama producer cartax lays down a set of gentle house thumpers on Myojo, their first release for the venerable Fruit Parlor Records. The tracks feel made of gossamer at times, featuring delicate synths and wispy samples, given a touch of force thanks to the persistent (but never pounding) beats. A thoughtful album that still has eyes on the floor. Get it here.
IDATEN — IDATEN RACER 2
The Kansai region has been a hotbed for exciting dance music in Japan for a few years now, with Kyoto and Osaka in particular housing communities and labels offering some of the most exciting mutations on club sounds anywhere on the island. One of the finest is the latter’s IDATEN, whose IDATEN RACER 2 offers a crash course in what has made them such a delight. The tracks here move at a quick pace, but IDATEN loads them up with sonic details that keep even the longest-burning cuts fresh for the whole run. Get it here.
Dayzero — Pressure EP
On a more minimalist side of kinetic sounds, producer Dayzero honors the original era of dubstep and dub techno on the skeletal rumblings of the Pressure EP. The beat becomes the focal point across these six songs, with Dayzero letting a central rattle guide it forward as sonic accoutrements add depth around the edges. Get it here.
Submerse — Test Signals
To round out this mini-run of dancefloor offerings from across the country, long-running Tokyo producer Submerse offers a speedy set of drum ‘n’ bass tracks on Test Signals via the UK’s Hardcore Energy label. The tracks here run from disorienting rushes (“You’ve Been Here Before”) to heartracing sample-centric dashes (“No Other”). Get it here.
Nobuhiro Okahashi — with flowers
Osaka ambient composer Nobuhiro Okahashi turns his attention to the passing of time with the enveloping with flowers. Each of the four songs here represent a different season, with Okahashi using piano notes and an electronic haze to create soundscapes reflective of the flow through the year. It’s relaxing, but also full of enough details to be far more than a sonic calendar. Get it here.
Moon In June — Shikisai Wo Motainade
You can’t walk down the street in Tokyo without bumping into someone who is in some kind of Sarah-Records-loving indie-pop band. Yet few feature vocals as sweet as Moon In June, an outfit based in the capital offering some of the finest hooks from the genre so far this year. Made dramatic thanks to a bit of feedback smudge and longing lyrics, the band’s latest album shows how to stand out from the crowd. Get it here.
