The Next Wave
There are many reasons I decided to quit or at least put NMFT on hold. From the very beginning the tour was a labor of love in support of the bands that make my favourite music and to bring Canadians a taste of what I considered the best music scene in the world. It was never about making money. In fact, I resolved to accept losing LOTS of money if it meant I could curate an amazing line-up of bands each tour that reflected my taste in music and allowed me to feel like I was organizing the best damn tour on the planet.
Since 2010, I’ve donated over $600,000 of my own savings to subsidize this ludicrously unfeasible tour that involves me paying all of the travel/hotel expenses for 20+ musicians at a time. In the beginning it was worth it. I was completely enthralled with Tokyo’s music scene and I was always discovering new bands I wanted to showcase to Canadians. But over the years, travel costs have ballooned and more importantly Tokyo’s indie/underground music scene has been dying a slow death. There are a few other reasons but ultimately it no longer felt like NMFT was worthwhile continuing.
Even before COVID I had planned on making NMFT 15 the last tour. Many of my favourite bands had broken up and it was a struggle to find any new bands that I liked enough to want to bring to Canada. COVID was the final nail in the coffin. It meant that I couldn’t travel to Japan for almost three years and it landed a crushing blow to an already dying scene…. or at least that’s what my ignorant ass had thought.
It turns out that COVID must have inspired kids in Japan to get off their collective asses and create new bands and some really kickass music. For the first time in years I am actually really excited about the scene again. There isn’t the huge camaraderie and tight knit collective of bands compared to 10-15 years ago but the scene is definitely starting to grow again.
So without further adieu here is the NEXT WAVE of awesome Japanese bands:
Hammer Head Shark
Kinoko Teikoku is one of my all-time favourite bands. I brought them to Canada twice before they signed with EMI/Universal and I’ve always been looking for a successor with a similar style. Hitsuji Bungaku (same management as Kinoko Teikoku) was part of NMFT 9 and Kurage Keikaku was under consideration before they broke up (waitaminute?! Kurage Keikaku are back together?!!! Hmmmm)
Hammer Head Shark is the closest thing to a reincarnation of Kinoko Teikoku AND they aren’t lame enough to call themselves something like Kujira Daigaku or Tanuki Zenkoku*, lol (shots fired!). Gt/Vo Hiyu Nagai with her shoulder-length bob and tomboyish attire looks eerily similar to Chiaki Sato and she also performs folk songs solo on acoustic guitar akin to kugatsuhascome. (Both of them even cover the same song “Words Kill People (Cotodama the killer)” by うみのて)
Hammer Head Shark really nail the emo-tinged pop/rock sound of Kinoko Teikoku circa ‘Eureka’ and ‘Long Goodbye.’ However, they don’t emulate the more earnest melancholic side of Kinoko’s earlier material that I really love (eg ‘足首’ ’夜が明けたら’ and ‘退屈しのぎ’). Still Hammer Head Shark can really hold their own in the songwriting department crafting excellent pop songs with timeless melodies that veer off beautifully in sonic creativity. For me it’s just the perfect blend of shoegazer and post-rock with brilliant pop and folk sensibility.
Although their recordings are really well produced and sound great, performing live is where Hammer Head Shark’s music REALLY shines. The raw power and soulfulness in each song is amplified to a breathtaking degree when you actually see them rock out on stage. Nagai has a sublime and powerful voice that instantly enthrals. The band as a unit is incredibly tight. Fukuma, the drummer, is part Cuban and some of that Latin/Salsa funkiness seeps into his unpretentious yet animated style. I saw them perform at Shimokitazawa Chikamichi on Sept 29, 2023 and was just blown away.
Below is an interview with Hammer Head Shark by the YouTube channel ANGURA that is subtitled in English. Coincidentally, the live footage in the video is also taken at Shimokitazawa Chikamichi (different night though).
edit (Dec 24, 2023): I met Harry who runs ANGURA last night at the SAGOSAID / MOTFD / Fennel show. He is doing amazing work trying to provide expats in Tokyo and especially people coming to visit Japan more knowledge about Tokyo’s indie and underground music scene! Similar to what I’m trying to do but he gets to live in Tokyo and watch awesome shows every night!! (Jealous!). I believe he also drops knowledge on Discord/Reddit so search out those resources as well!
I like how Nagai states that the purpose of Hammer Head’s music is to allow the listener to escape to a beautiful place where they can feel at home, free from anxiety. Fukuma adds that he wants listeners to feel they are sinking together with the band into a sea of music and bassist Gotoh wants to create music for loners because he used to be one in high school and presumably music helped him grow out of his shell and make friends.
thanks ~ :) pic.twitter.com/fDaMdMknqV
— Hammer Head Shark (@h_h_s_band) November 19, 2023
Hammer Head Shark’s newest song is unlike anything Kinoko Teikoku so it seems they’re trying to develop more of their own identity. Though I am getting Pixies meet Nirvana vibes. I love the Tom Morello-esque scratches on guitar and Fukuma’s Cuban funk and fieriness on drums. Already in love with this song and can’t wait to see it performed in person.
HHS are my favourite band in Japan right now and are a complete shoe-in for an invitation to any hypothetical NMFT tour next year. In fact, I’m in contact with bassist Gotoh and they would be amped to participate in NMFT #16 if it happens.
*note: there are a few bands that emulate Kinoko Teikoku’s band name by pairing a random organism with an abstract construct. Kinoko Teikoku = Mushroom Empire, Hitsuji Bungaku = Sheep Literature, Kurage Keikaku = Jellyfish Contract.
Nikoん
Nikoん is a three-piece band that formed in Dec 2022, played their first show in March 2023 and has 6 to 7 songs at most in their complete discography. Oh and they are already one of my favorite bands.
They play a weird combination of math rock, 70s, psychedelic and funk. Actually, they don’t really have a style per se. They just write music that’s dope as f*ck.
『step by step』is their one and only math rock-ish song. It’s just them flexing their technical chops saying we can f*ck with matrix algebra if we feel like it.
Waitaminute. I stand corrected. They have an unreleased song called 『Doubt』that is type calculus 101 and pretty sick.
step by step』is fairly dope but this joint 『Fly』is what really got me open on Nikoん.
The sweet, palm-muted, arpeggio intro followed quickly by the sick af drum beat, then the smooth vocals and THEN at 1:05 the Moog Synth!! No Wait! That’s the tone of Manami’s bass?! What?The?Blood?!!! Absolutely bonkers! This shi*t is RAW
Answer #1: Nas’ debut album and arguably the greatest hip hop album of all time.
Answer #2: The music video for 「Vision-2」
Question: What is the definition of Illmatic?
Had to add the video that documents their very first live performance (March 20, 2023). Why? Because it includes the song『Doubt』that I mentioned before. It rules!
Yeah, so in terms of a hypothetical NMFT #16 you can bet your ass I’ve already extended an invitation to Nikoん.
edit: I am a complete dumbass. I thought I recognized the gt/vo but the shaved head threw me off. He was the frontman for Teenager Kick Ass and Manami was also the last bassist to play in that band (she must have joined after I last saw Teenager play live). Teenager Kick Ass broke up or basically reinvented themselves this year as Nikoん.
Friends (eg The Taupe’s manager, and Mary, who worked at Shinjuku Jam and was also staff for Teenager Kick Ass… so, completely unbiased ;) pushed Teenager Kick Ass hard as a recommendation for NMFT and the band members also made their appeal as to why they would make a good choice. Teenager played a great brand of 90’s emotive hardcore similar to Cowpers or Lostage.
I actually thought Teenager were pretty good but not quite enough to want to spend thousands of dollars to bring to Canada. it seems that Manami became the bassist just before COVID which explains why I never saw her in Teenager. It also seems like Teenager was already making a shift away from 90s post-hardcore and becoming more experimental with their sound:
This song “UnBORDE” rules!! It definitely shows the transition from Teenager to Nikoん. If I had seen this version of Teenager Kick Ass I would likely have invited them to NMFT 15. Also love how Guts (bassist for Ko-Go-No Goraiko-Z) makes a cameo in the UnBORDE video. Lastly, to be brutally honest I didn’t like Ohsuka’s vocals in Teenager Kick Ass but they fit the music perfectly in Nikoん.
171
A 3-piece garage/punk band operating out of Kyoto/Osaka. They are known for their energetic live shows which are often performed on the dance floor at eye-level with the audience. Their music combines the emotive pop-punk of Sambomaster, the soulfully dexterous guitar of Jimi Hendrix and the driving loud rock of bands like Thee Michelle Gun Elephant and THIS IS JAPAN. Vocals are sung with passion primarily by guitarist Harunobu but occasionally female bassist Kana croons lead for a nice contrast.
I saw them play a fantastic show at Shinjuku Marble with THIS IS JAPAN, ゲスバンド, and Superback (I didn’t take any footage of Superback but they are like the 2nd coming of Polysics and the MV for “JADA” I linked is f%cking AMAZING, need to watch it till the crazy end). It was a floor-live with a sold out, energetic crowd. 171 went on last and killed it.
Although NMFT vol 15 was supposed to be the last, I might be open to doing a slimmed down version of NMFT with three bands instead of five.
Right now the three new bands I’ve discovered that I would most like to showcase on an NMFT tour would be Hammer Head Shark, Nikoん and 171.
But there are a lot of new bands that I like almost as much and they will be the subject of the next post.