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. That’s the case today, with Bandcamp holding the promotion on Oct. 3 before taking a one-month break before doing one final edition in December for this year. It’s always a good time to support artists, but here’s some extra incentive to do so.

Takao — The End of the Brim

Music associated with and inspired by kankyo ongaku — “environmental music,” usually from the ‘80s — often leans towards the ambient. Yet not everything under this sonic umbrella needs to recall the works of Hiroshi Yoshimura, as plenty from this period utilized rhythmic texture as a way to create songs. That’s something modern-day creator Takao understands on The End of the Brim, his follow-up to 2018’s more new-age-grounded Stealth. Across these 10 tracks Takao uses percussion to grab attention and mutate soundscapes, from the alien marimbas illuminating opener “Long” to the clanking fidget of “SPE.” There’s a playful element to Brim, with the creator seeing how synths and piano can be turned into novel compositions while remaining a human warmth, the latter achieved with the presence of several guest singers. The influence it draws from is clear, but Takao makes sure to be anything but predictable here. Get it here.  

Robou No Ishi — My Dear Family

Vocaloid-leaning producer Robou No Ishi creates a tribute album of sorts to their cats on My Dear Family. Seven of the nine songs here are devoted to, presumably, a different feline each, with the lyrics dotted with references to the critters lazing about and generally taking it easy (the first two numbers offer more of a group celebration). Yet alongside those observations is an endearing emotional connection to the kitties delivered by a synthesized voice and given catchiness via some very sturdy rock stylings, sometimes approaching shoegaze and elsewhere tip-toeing towards Weezer. What makes it work, though, is the love for these pets purring out of every word. Get it here.

Samuel Smoky Purple — Garden Of Flowers EP

Rising Tokyo electronic artist Samuel Smoky Purple nails a balance between melodic bliss and club kinetics on the Garden Of Flowers EP. The pace of every song here rips, built for movement and given a unique glow thanks to the artist’s use of well-worn analog synthesizers. Yet even as they pogo around, catchy movements emerge from the blur of electronics and beats, creating tracks with a beauty capable of cutting through the energy…or blurring in so well as to elevate a night out. Get it here.

Chouchou — Nino

Rather than attempt to dive into fake memories of yesteryear, duo Chouchou use synth-centric sounds associated with the 1980s as a way to create music trying new ideas out and create something working in the now. The two songs here avoid the trappings of nostalgia but instead create an enveloping glow featuring pillow-soft vocals that are more of a textural detail. It’s sweet, dreamy and absorbing, without ever feeling like it’s trying to be from a time it isn’t Get it here.

Various Artists — kaomozi compilations vol​.​4

A great netlabel compilation can work around one theme or style, but the best tend to celebrate the fragmented nature of “internet music” and just highlight a wide variety of sounds. KAOMOZI excels at both — see the start-of-2025 experiment in synthesized singing Post Daisy Bell for the specific, and the fourth label-wide compilation out last week for the varied. Here, artists from the KAOMOZI-verse offer up frantic electro deluges, hoppy synth-pop topped off by Vocaloid singing, jittery Auto-tune sing-speak, nervy beat construction and so much more. As has been the case with the last three, it’s a great entry point into a label celebrating the sonic diversity of bedroom producers in Japan today. Get it here.

inuha — Jyudai No Owari No Tomoni

The music Vocaloid shoegaze creator inuha has long had a lyrical eye focused on youth, and the passage of it into adulthood. Their latest offering takes four songs previously released but hard to find, united by a theme of adolescence, and puts them together for a kind of omnibus of Hatsune-Miku-voiced focused on transient teenage experiences. Besides lyrics focused on the joys and sorrows of youth alongside the appreciation of both feelings, inuha creates feedback-accented rock to further wring out the feels. Get it here.

Modern Jazz War — Holes In Modernity

Tokyo experimental rockers Modern Jazz War’s first EP highlights how they use noise to add a heaviness to its sound. Holes In Modernity often lurches ahead, with waves of feedback turning a slow burner like “Lost in Static” into a tension-filled march. When the outfit picks up the pace, it gets even better, highlighted by the sharper “Bleeding for Nothing,” the closest they come to a traditionally “catchy” hook but one turned unnerving by the roughness around it. Get it here. 

Kokushimusou —  Friend, Life, Whistle, Shit 

The first release from netlabel staple Sabacan Records is a mash-up tour de force. The title track jams together samples from Japan’s hyperpop scene, Chicago’s footwork community and London’s club world to create a dizzying dance track, while “Chemical Boys” stays more focused but every bit as energetic. Get it here.

Fuko — 1sttape

I’ll be honest, what got my attention about 1sttape initially was the novelty of it. Fuko is a third grader living in Hiroshima Prefecture who raps over beats created by her dad. That’s charming. Yet this brief set is also a pretty interesting listen, especially owing to the production, which features surprisingly discombobulated constructions over which an elementary school student rhymes. Yeah, it’s a little bit of a weird selection, but certainly an interesting addition to Bandcamp. Get it here.