Next Music From Tokyo Tour Brings Japanese Indie Artists to Canada

This October, a critically acclaimed tour of bands from Japan is returning to Canada for a ninth edition. Next Music From Tokyo (NMFT) transports the audience into the heart of Japan’s unique underground music scene.

Started in 2010 by Toronto-based anesthesiologist Steven Tanaka, NMFT brings a different group of Japanese musicians to Canada for each edition. Tanaka travels to Japan between five and seven times a year to scout out the best possible line-up for his next NMFT tour. NMFT8 was held earlier this year in May, and instead of waiting until 2017 for NMFT9, he decided to go ahead with it for next month.

Featuring five very different but equally talented Japanese indie bands, NMFT has two dates in Toronto, one in Montreal, and one in Vancouver. The five bands this tour include: Maison book girl, jizue, THIS IS JAPAN, Hitsuji Bingaku, and Toranoko Rammy.

Maison book girl is an underground idol group that rejects the usual bubbly style associated with Japanese idol music and instead uses odd time signatures, syncopation, and a melancholic tone. A four-piece instrumental band from Kyoto, jizue blends post-rock with jazz. THIS IS JAPAN features twin vocals with their loud, catchy, and melodic alt rock. Hitsuji Bingaku features three young and incredibly talented musicians who play a dark and powerful style of emo and shoegaze rock. Finally, only out of Japan would you get a band that calls itself a “3-D safari rock band” like Toranoko Rammy. They are an incredibly fun, all-girl band that transports the audience to an African safari during their energetic and interactive set.

More information about Next Music From Tokyo can be found on their website.

Here are the tour dates for NMFT9:

October 5 — Montreal @ Divan Orange

October 7 — Toronto @ Soybomb

October 8 — Toronto @ Lee’s Palace

October 10 — Vancouver @ Biltmore Cabaret