Tokyo Shoegazer | Artist

Tokyo Shoegazer is a Japanese Indie Rock band formed 2010 in Tokyo by Kiyomi Watanabe (vocals, guitar), Hiroshi Sasabuchi (drums), Yoshitaka Sugawara (guitar), and The K (bass). The K left the band in 2013 and Shoko Inoue (lead vocals, guitar) was a member between 2019-20. The band was initially formed as a one-time project, performing at the birthday party of drummer Sasabuchi Hiroshi in October 2010. Watanabe was a member of the band Acid Android, Sasabuchi was in Plastic Tree, Sugawara was in CQ, and The K was in 101-A. Their sound is heavily influenced by fellow 'shoegaze' practitioners such as My Bloody Valentine, with Japanese noise-rock influences. In 2011 the band released their debut album Crystallize and held a concert tour that included dates in Taiwan. The album attacted strong reviews such as the following from RYM: "while not being a very revolutionary album, Crystaliize does manage to capture the essence of shoegaze in a nice gradient from easygoing to emotinal.. they convey a sound that makes you feel connected in a personal way to the release". After their second album Turnaround the members temporarily disbanded late in 2013, but reunited in April 2019 to coincide with the US release of their album Crystallize on Graveface Records. In November 2019, the band toured China, plus the band released their third album Moondiver, which was a breakthrough with critics and fans alike. Standout albums include Crystallize (2011), Moondiver (2019), Moonworld Playground (2022), Turnaround (a re-recording of their earlier release) (2023), Remains (2026) and Live at Koenji High (2022). The band also contributed two tracks to the My Bloody Valentine tribute album Yellow Loveless, those being covers of "Only Shallow" and "I Only Said". In terms of their visual imagery, the band has a somewhat idiosyncratic liking for cute cats, which make an appearance on the artwork of four of their studio albums. For a brief period the band added an extra vocalist, the American-born actress, singer, model, producer, and composer Ananda Jacobs.

Artist Website: facebook.com/tokyoshoegazerjapan

Featured Albums: Tokyo Shoegazer

Related Artists: Plastic Tree, CQ