Miu Mau, which means “cat’s tail” in Finnish, is a synth-pop trio of girls from other bands. The group formed in 2006 with Masami Takashima (vocals, synths) who performs solo as Coet Cocoeh, Hiromi Kajiwara (guitar) from Hyakka and Miwako Matsuda (drums) from Masa Dayo Masa. They released their first album Design in 2008. Miu Mau has released a trio of singles on Amazon and iTunes over the past year and just released a CD-R called News at Jet Set Records.
13ROUND is a “SoCal” punk rock band from Tokyo. The band was formed by AKI4NIA (vocals, guitar) and Ikumi (drums) in 1999 and now includes Kou (bass), Mukey (guitar) and Tommy (guitar). Their sound combines hardcore punk with ska and reggae, not unlike Rancid. Aki’s work at a custom hot rod shop has also factored in to his song writing and band imagery.
After a mini-album and split EP with The Cherry Coke$, 13ROUND released their first album 1Min, 4Secondz, 2Long Town in 2005 and went on hiatus shortly after. Aki has played in various punk bands since, including 4EVERZ with Ikumi and Kou. In 2011, 13ROUND got back together and released a new single “Sunshine Bus.” They are currently recording their second album Dreamin’ of Liberty. Pick up 1Min, 4Secondz, 2Long Town at CD Japan.
Vivarta is Naohiro Asakura (vocals, guitar), Yusuke Asama (bass) and Kazuaki Suguri (drums) from Kyoto. The trio formed in 2007 and is an alternative/ambient rock band. They have supported Joe Lally from Fugazi twice in Japan and have toured outside Japan three times, most recently Australia in July. Their self-released 0.5 EP is available at Jet Set Records.
The Boicotts is the brain child of vocalist/guitarist Manabu Sugar from Tokyo. Sugar formed the band in 2003 and released their first single “Do the Boicotts” on his own label Meet Beat Records in 2004. After a successful Japanese tour, Sugar snuck off to London to book gigs but was kicked out. Eventually he got a visa and lived in the UK for a few years. The Boicotts resumed in Japan in 2011 and its current members are Manabu Sugar (vocals, guitar), Natsuki (guitar), Tomy (bass), and new members Popo (drums) and Yossuxi (accordian, ex-The Cherry Coke$).
UK label Trashmouth Recordings released The Boicotts first EP last year and will release their first album Apple Has No Pips on August 20. Buy it at Amazon or your favorite digital retailer.
Yuey is Yu Higa (vocals, guitar), Yoshinori Ogasawara (bass) and Norihisa Nakamura (drums) from Chiba. Higa and Ogasawara formed the band in 2000 as a foursome. They became a trio in 2004 and self produced a few singles and toured over the years until they caught the attention of mini muff records. Their first mini-album Music was released in 2007 and they released two more mini-albums and a single from the label. Their newest I My Me Mine, Where Is She is available at CD Japan and iTunes.
Kagero is an instrumental jazz quartet from Tokyo. They formed in 2005 and its current members are Yu Shiromizu (bass), Ryu “Ruppa” Sasaki (sax), Chieko Kikuchi (piano) and Tomomichi Hagiwara (drums). In 2009 they contributed a song to the Pe’z tribute album, who they have a lot in common with musically. They have released three self-titled albums and a cover album of showtunes and movie themes all available at CD Japan.
Hailing from Chiba is the charming four person indie pop group the tote. They formed in January 2011 as a trio. Their first single “Everyday” was released in February and their second “Reason Reason” will be released in August. Let me know if you find either of them!
Saritote; is an alternative/ambient/dance/math band from Osaka. The band formed in 2008 with the lineup of Kubo (guitar, singer), Masaharu (bass) and Teccha (drums). Masaharu split and Gavin took over bass in 2010. Sakippe is their current bassist. Nevertheless, they released their self-titled album in 2011. You can download it now at Amazon. Their new single “Faith” is a free download at SoundCloud.
The Cat Loves Strawberries is the new project from Hiro, the lead singer of ketchup mania. The band formed in the fall of 2009 after ketchup mania announced their disbandment. Joining Hiro is AKA (bass) and AI (guitar) of Rocket K, George (guitar) from fine lines and Akira (drums). In ketchup mania, Hiro provided her cute girl vocals to fast pop punk. Strawberries is much the same but a notch less heavy.
Eat Me is the debut album from The Cat Loves Strawberries and you can get it in August from CD Japan
Cathy lost one’s apricot yesterday is a four-piece indie band from Tokyo. The band formed in 2008 with the current lineup starting in December 2009. They produced three demo CDs that entered disc union’s Top 10 indie chart. Their first mini-album ミエナイミライ was released in 2011 and produced by Art School’s Kenji Todaka. Tower Records Japan has it.
J-Rock Explosion 