Thoughts on 3 nights of Next Music from Tokyo
this post is assembled from my Instagram posts after the shows. the order of bands is in order of when they performed on the first night. All photos and videos in this post are mine.
Fallsheeps
In the slot as the first band on the first night, Fallsheeps were in a tough spot, but they made sure to set a breakneck pace for the evening right out of the gate.
Junta’s just an awesome frontman, a great voice and such a visible passion for the music he’s performing. Reiya on guitar had such a unique look each night, and laid some absolutely killer leads through all three shows. The bassist Shu’s energy was infectious every moment he was on the stage. Practically throwing his bass around, climbing on equipment, and just slaying everything.
Fallsheeps blends so many different styles into one, the NMFT site lists alt-rock, midwest Emo, screamo, and shoegaze, and I can feel that, but there’s something about their music that I think would appeal to people who may not be into those genres. Their songs range from intense, to beautiful, to life-affirming.
My favorite song of theirs (and honestly one of my favorite songs, period.) is 「“こころをだいじに」, “Kokorowodaijini”, or “Take Care of Your Heart”, it’s a song that they closed with each night, those fierce leads on full display, as well as a completely intense bass performance, it goes off into some really beautiful territory a couple of minutes in, right before it all explodes back in, becoming a ball of uncontrollable chaos. On the first two nights, it built and built into a frenzy, where the drummer, Itsuki, came from behind the kit nonchalantly, and then just started fucking screaming his head off. And just as calmly as he did that, he walked back behind his kit and joined back in to finish the song. Just killer stuff all three nights
Note: Guitarist Reya left the band shortly after this tour. The remaining trio released the phenomenal Eureka in March 2025.
Connect with Fallsheeps: x / insta
サバノオミソニー (Sabanoomisony)
When the list of bands were announced for NMFT16 were announced, I did a surface level dive at first, and Sabanoomisony kept grabbing my attention. Steven, the organizer of NMFT introduced them each night by explaining their name, “mackerel simmered in miso, japanese comfort food”.
And there’s a comfort in Sabanoomisony’s music, their sound is so wide-ranging, it’s pop at its core, but there’s so much influence from all over. Songs like “Note to self:” go into some seriously dreamy, gazey territory. “A” is another great one that goes into headbanger territory, alternating between heavy and jangly leads brilliantly.
Sabanoomisony is very much the sum of its parts. Each member contributes in big ways, and it’s most obvious on “afternoon”, a song I called an “explosive groove”, which features everyone at their best. Ayumi Hirose’s voice floats over a killer bassline from Rene Kato. Bell, the guitarist keeps things steady while Shinada, the drummer plays it tight, even when he raps during the tune.
They’re a band with a lot of personality, Hirose’s smile is infectious, Bell’s energy came to a head when they closed out in Montreal, I seriously thought I was gonna see a smashed guitar for a moment! Kato also had some funny things to say, including asking everyone to take a picture of her (I obliged!), and she ended up on the floor every night?? Such a great band. Oh yeah, the promoter also crowd surfed during their set.
Connect with Sabanoomisony: x / insta
Koutei Camera Girl Vier
Looking at the lineup, Koutei Camera Girl Vier seemed to stick out among the group. Where everyone was guitar-based rock and pop music at their core, Koutei Camera Girl Vier brought an eclectic combination of electronic, trance, trap, and pop to the lineup. And yes, the “Vier” comes from the German word for “Four”, as this lineup is the fourth version of the group.
Sadly, one member, Noki No fell ill before the show and was unable to fly to Canada, which led just Ranna Wei (pronounced like Runaway) to perform the songs by herself, a task she took so serious, she skipped a trip to Niagara Falls, according to Steven, the promoter of NMFT.
The resulting shows were an incredible display of resilience. On night 1, Ranna killed it, seamlessly balancing the workload typically of two singers, quick changes between rap and singing, and non-stop motion on stage.
Night 2, it caught up to her, as according to Steven, she suffered from exhaustion after the show and had to go back to her hotel instead of selling Chekis and merch, so you know how exhausted she must have been.
Night 3 was an incredible bounce back in Montreal, her energy level was way up, and she seemed so much more confident than night 1. The Montreal audience repaid in kind, with many even singing along.
Their music isn’t typically what I listen to, but seeing it performed live, with everything around it, you gain an appreciation for it. I even ended up buying their EP, “Broken”, and I really enjoy it, the beats are really good, I especially love「 抗うわ」/ “Aragauwa”, a defiant song fitting of Ranna’s experience.
(Note, since this show Ranna Wei graduated from the group due to her health issues, and it has now expanded to a 5-piece unit)
Connect with Koutei Camera Girl Vier: x / insta
Ranna Wei’s socials (inactive): x / insta
Hammer Head Shark
Hammer Head Shark is probably my favorite currently active Japanese band. I was so lucky to be able to have caught them on my most recent trip to Japan, a miracle considering how short-lived many Japanese bands can be. So the opportunity to see them again up in Canada was something I couldn’t pass on. They blend so much of what I love about music together.
Hiyu Nagai’s lyrics and vocal performances are emotionally driven, at times a whisper, other times a full belt scream. She also does all the artwork for the band. About her songwriting, she’s said, “we want to create a place where you can feel at home and safe” adding “we try to create a beautiful world in our music, the kind that listeners can enter into”. And, Drummer Haruhiko Fukuma may have my favorite quote, “I want our music to feel like we’re sinking into the sea together”. He even clarified “Not the kind that pulls you out, the kind we listen to and sink into together”. It truly is the kind music you feel in your core, even if you don’t understand the language.
On Night 1 they absolutely killed it, and my 10+ hour drive to Toronto was worth it in that instant. A mosh broke out during “echo” of all songs. It descended into complete, incredible chaos during 「りんごの駅」 “Ringo no Eki” / “Apple Station” (or “Apple’s”), complete with crowd surfing. To think that I’d end up in a mosh pit during my favorite HHS song but there I was. Hell fuckin yeah. At this point in night 1, I realized I was at my favorite show of the year.
Night 2 I found myself right in front of guitarist Eita Fujimoto, he’s so skilled and watching him play those big leads, and finger tap, just really appreciated the depth he adds to HHS’s live sound.
In Montreal, it was a bad night for bassists, the bass amp seemed to malfunction, but Asahi Goto of HHS worked through it brilliantly, once he was back up and running, the band played some expanded versions of their tunes, enabling to Goto to show how skilled he really is, with a couple of solos that more than made sure he was heard.
Connect with Hammer Head Shark: x / insta
Nikoん
On night 1, as it passed midnight, many people around me started to leave. Understandable, but they ended up missing an incredibly powerful performance from Nikoん. I don’t even know how to describe it, but at 12:30 AM I had so much adrenaline pumping through me, courtesy of Nikoん’s performance.
The moshing and crowdsurfing somehow only intensified as the night went on, and it all came to a head when Osuka, the guitarist and vocalist stagedove and crowdsurfed in the middle of the set. Osuka is just an absolute wild-card, tongue out while he rips some insane solos, bouncing around the stage, and just an intense and engaging presence.
Manami, Nikoん’s bassist is just incredible, and she also shared lead vocal duties. A solid rock throughout the entire set, and honestly, one of the best bassists I think I’ve ever seen perform live.
In Montreal, the NMFT promoter, Steven, introduced them, and clarified how to pronounce their name, (Nick-On), and explain that the only way to listen to Nikoん’s music is buying at the show, it’s not on any subscription service. The band was honest about how much it costs to produce a record, to spend thousands of dollars on studio time, creating a record, and to get pennies for plays on Spotify. It’s simply not a fair system so they decided to cut the services out and do it on their own terms. Hell yeah.
One track that is available out there, however, is “Fly”. It’s everything that makes Nikoん such an incredible band, its early moments slow, and gorgeous, before it explodes into something incredibly massive in its final moments, with a guitar tone that brings me back to artists like Jim James.
Comments are closed.