official GF blog

Sound Cruising is a unique festival that takes place in Tokyo’s best spot for emerging artists, curry, and antique shops – Shimokitazawa.

The timetable is enough to induce lethal levels of FOMO.

Take a look.

These are some of Japan’s biggest emerging artists right now.

Not large enough to be signed to a record label, but sizeable enough to be well known in the local music scene.

(If you can read it, that is… I had a lot of trouble trying to zoom in to find the next place to go!)

For about 6,000 yen for the day pass, and only a thousand more to go all night until 5 am.

A steal if live music is your thing!

On average, there were only about 20 people in each venue (daytime – heard night was more packed).

To get front row, you need to show up about 15 minutes before the start time. Photos were allowed, which is rare here, and some artists were taking photos with fans.

These were the artists I enjoyed the most with my limited time, and I hope they succeed in their music careers!

The Pleasant Surprise – Chim Chap

Chim Chap (debut 2024) is a R&B/Soul band drawing inspiration from Stevie Wonder’s style.

I had only seen them passing on Instagram reels a few times and knew them from their covers of western music.

They ended up being my favorite artist of the day. Chim Chap balanced performance and their technical playing style very well, making for an enjoyable show. I was swaying and tapping my feet the entire time despite not knowing their original songs yet.

If you like Fujii Kaze, give them a listen.

High Emotion Punk – Super Social Sandals

Onizawa-san, the vocalist of the rising rock/pop punk band Super Social Sandals (debut 2023), had a solo acoustic session before her band came to play later that night. She started off the session with a long talk intro, spilling her guts out to us.

Her bassist won’t stop posting half naked pics of himself online, and she doesn’t approve. It was hilarious, and the whole room was sympathetic in her band dynamic troubles, cheering her on and listening to her rage filled songs.

She is super talented and able to put her strong emotions into words so well. I really recommend both her solo work and band.

If you like Omori Seiko or Mariko Goto, you should check her out.

Laying Down the Groove – Doona

Doona (debut 2024) is a groovy rock band in the same vein of Luv and Kroi.

Their newest single, “Run”, sounds like something the ORAL CIGARETTES would put out, which is really cool. A nice blend of high energy rock and killer bass lines.

Doona is on a quick rise lately, and I feel its a matter of time before they start playing festivals and getting anime/drama tie ins.

If you like ORAL CIGARETTES, check out their song “Run”.

Melodic Indies Rock – CheChe

One of the lighter and more melodic rock sounds on this list (with some funk basslines thrown in the mix), CheChe (debut 2024) makes some really nice songs. They are still new and I don’t know too much about them, so I will let the music do the talking.

If you like the indies Jrock sound (NO BUSES, Creephyp), give them a listen.

Mosh Pits and Anarchy – Jibaku

Jibaku (debut 2024) rocks out with a UK punk sound inspired by anarchy and rebel themes. The vocalist wears a really cool helmet.

When I checked Jibaku’s followers two weeks ago, they had 3,000. Now, they are sitting at around 7,000. They just recorded their first four songs (they had rough versions uploaded to YT before) and released them for streaming this month.

You can find them under the English name “zibaku”.

Jibaku has an avant-garde performance style complete with mosh pits and breaking things. I didn’t feel like moshing at 1pm with a long day ahead, but their performance made it worth it.

If you like Ging Nang Boyz (especially DOOR) or Number Girl, check them out!

If you are thinking about attending Sound Cruising, give it a shot next year! Until next time. ❤