A Japanese indie music festival touring Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal

Japanese cuisine, animation (“anime”), cinema and video games are aspects of Japanese culture that have successfully crossed over to North America. However, Japanese music despite its incredible diversity, creativity and exotic appeal has had very little exposure in Canada.

In Japan, Tower Records uses the slogan “No Music, No Life” and it exemplifies how integral music is to people’s lives in that country. Life as a Japanese student or “salaryman” in the workplace is notoriously filled with military-like rigidity and high stress. Music is where the Japanese turn to for escapism and stress release. Tokyo’s metropolitan area at 32 million people has the largest population in the world and it is not surprising that with that many people holding such an esteem for music and under so much stress fueling creativity: Tokyo has developed one of the greatest music scenes in the world.

From May 22 to May 29, five bands from Tokyo, Japan will be performing a mini-tour of Canada. The tour does not purport to bring the best that Japan has to offer, but it will transport those who come to a night of music in Tokyo with a focus on the burgeoning indie/underground scene.

The five bands are:

Andymori -

hailed by iTunes Japan as a “Sound of 2010″ breakthrough artist, this humble trio of musicians play power-pop/punk akin to the Arctic Monkeys that combines timeless melodies with unbridled energy. Having only formed in 2007, andymori have already performed at every major rock festival in Japan and recently held a national tour selling out each venue as the only performing band. Check out their MySpace here.

Mothercoat -

experimental rock band with an incredibly quirky sense of humor and lushly complex orchestration. mothercoat have visited the US twice including peformances at SXSW in 2007. They will follow the Canadian tour with performances in the UK. Their credo is “Responsibility is not living up to other people’s expectations but to show one’s true self at the moment.” Check out their MySpace here.

OWARIKARA -

psychedelic rock band locally known for their intense and unruly live performances. Having achieved great success in the underground scene, OWARIKARA are the subject of a bidding war and will announce their signing with a major label after the Canadian tour. Check out their MySpace here.

Kulu Kulu Garden -

gathering influences from bands such as Boredoms, Sonic Youth and Melt Banana, Kulu Kulu Garden mixes catchy pop melodies and ferocious guitar-driven rock. Though the words “perfect pitch” would never describe bassplayer/vocalist Miyahara’s singing, her charisma and intensity on stage gives the performance its charm. Check out their MySpace here.

Goomi -

“underground pop” with sublimely harmonized male-female vocals. Though the trio of musicians primarily use guitar, bass and drums, they also incorporate violin, alternate percussion instruments and the glockenspiel to add diversity to their unique sound. It is a fantastic sight to watch female drummer Tobita sing while playing the drums and glockenspiel all at the same time. Check out their MySpace here.

Tour dates:
May 22 Vancouver @ Biltmore Cabaret
May 25 Montreal @ il Motore
May 28 Toronto @ the Rivoli
May 29 Toronto @ Whippersnapper Gallery

The goals of the tour are to:
1. Foster interest in Japan’s amazing but underrecognized independent music scene.
2. Give pre-existing fans of Japanese indie music an opportunity to see 5 great up & coming bands without making the expensive trek to Tokyo, Japan
3. Allow the bands (most of whom have never travelled outside Japan) an opportunity to visit and experience Canada

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For more information about the tour or to obtain a guest/media pass to the event, please email Steven Tanaka at steve@nextmusicfromtokyo.com