Japan Underground is a British record label established by Tom Smith in 2012, and every year, they have an event in London to showcase the label’s stars of tomorrow. Spread over two days, the inaugural sister event was held this year at GRIT At Shibuya in Tokyo and featured eight bands that have already made their mark outside Japan, thanks to their releases through the label. Tom himself flew in to host the event and DJ between the acts.
Japan Underground In Tokyo
GRIT at Shibuya, Tokyo – 1/2 August 2025
Words And Photography: Glenn Williams
Then Tom flew out again. It was a disheartening message we all received 48 hours before the doors opened that a nasty fall had split Tom’s kneecap into several pieces, and before he could even start to think about what to wear, he was on a plane back home for emergency surgery.
Nevertheless, the show must go on, and so it did, with an apology video message from a hospital bed played on both days to get the proceedings underway.
As it turns out, the troops rallied, the bands gave their all, and Tom can be proud of his achievement.
Saturday 1 August 2026
Fathomless Skywalker
Today started with some Symphonic Metal, and Fathomless Skywalker gave us so much sensory overload that it took a couple of numbers to comprehend what was going on fully.
Standing stage left, Takuma, all in green with a wild green haircut, plays note-perfect guitar at lightning speed. Stage right is Nino with long blue/silver-white hair that flows down her body and blends into her blue/silver-white 5-string bass, which is not much smaller than her.
At the back, the man in orange beats the skins to a pulp and then at the front, the soprano vocalist, operatically trained Chihiro, resplendent in red, hits notes that would shatter your beer glass, were it not made of plastic.
The sonic assault is brutal, sonorous and magnificent, while the spaces between songs are a welcome break, time to get your breath back.
Bered
Bered (pronounced “b red”) are exactly the right type of band for any time slot at a festival. Good old-fashioned rock with some terrific melodies and singalong moments, this is a band that does not stop moving from beginning to end.
Vocalist Reina has one hell of a voice and engaging stage presence all of her own. The four guys with her have been together a while, and it shows.
Tight but not to the point of restricting, their parts are all worked out so that each member can be heard as an individual as well as a group. They also have that uncanny ability that many musicians do to know exactly where the others are going and follow, if need be.
Bered played the majority of their debut album, which was released this year. It was good to hear that they can replicate on stage exactly what is on the recordings.
Bone Dawn
Kavka Shishido will be a name that is unfamiliar to the vast majority of you, but in Japan, she is something special and one of the most famous female drummers in Japan. She has helmed and participated in a variety of projects, and Bone Dawn is her latest group she has formed.
A solid backbeat then, and when bass player Ryota locks into her rhythm, the power the two emit is up there with, dare I say it, John Paul Jones and John Bonham.
For the majority of it, the music is fast-paced, guitarist Jun chugging for all he is worth as vocalist Lima changes between seductive and raw in the blink of an eye.
As good as the musicians are, there are no show-offs in the band, no solo spots, just talent that knows how to deliver a simple song in the most effective way.
Bridear
The anticipation in the audience is palpable. Bridear are well established in Japan and whilst not on the record sales level of some of their peers, are no less a class act.
Backstage, they are five chatty and friendly Japanese girls, but once onstage, they become a force that belies their offstage manner. Their sound, a blend of Power Metal and J-rock, with some other stuff, is of their own making.
It is fuelled by Moe and Ayumi’s aggressive riffs and dynamic twin guitar parts, which, to the casual observer, look effortless. They hardly glance at their axes during their intricate dual runs.
With melodic vocals and a rhythm section that never wavers, Bridear really are a sight and sound to behold. Backstage, post-show, they were five lovely, chatty Japanese girls again. Where the hell did that gig come from?
Sunday 2 August 2026
Mellows
Blown away, I think, is the old term that is most appropriate to describe how we first-timers in the audience reacted to Mellows’ performance as they opened Day Two.
As it happens, we first-timers were outnumbered by a large group of followers who waved and bounced along with the band as they played Extreme Metal riffs punctuated with boppy, poppy segments that you could not help but grin at.
Fronted by an endless ball of energy named Mio on vocals and one of the happiest guitarists in Japan, Gina, they are essentially the band, but it must be said that the three musicians they had on stage with them contributed more than their fair share to the performance.
As a whole, this quintet assaulted us with cute, charming, aggressive, powerful and thunderous music, the likes of which had the audience fist pumping and light-wand waving in equal measure.
WENDY
Due to a scheduling conflict, WENDY were in the unfortunate position of not being able to have a soundcheck. Not that you would have noticed, as they kicked into their first number. It is easy to see why the world is warming to this band with their classic rock-based songs and vintage sound that at times remind you of live performances by Free, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith.
Sena’s Les Paul has guts and is slung low, his body following its momentum as he slings it around the stage. Skye can scream and hold notes with the best of them and has diction and mic control that is a sound engineer’s dream.
Meanwhile, Paul at the back is thumping hell out of the house kit, keeping time but keeping it loose. Having not found a suitable replacement for their recently departed bassist, they have a fill-in bass player who somehow follows them. A word to the wise, lads. Keep her. She was top drawer.
Ena Fujita Band
Ena Fujita had already been swamped at the merch stand pre-show for an hour by her fans wanting autographs and photos because, as well as being a singer-songwriter, she is also a very attractive model. Needless to say, when it was announced just before they took the stage that filming and photos were ok, the audience cameras were out in force. In Japan, gig filming and photos are still frowned upon.
As it turns out, she can rock a place as well, gently strumming or thrashing her guitar in a series of songs ranging from a soft ballad through straight pop into alternative rock. Backed up by guitarist Michiko Man, bassist Koaki Asakura and drummer Hikaru Takiishi, her set is nicely paced and ends with a belter called The Moon Ate It Up.
Exiting stage left, it is fair to say there were a few men in the audience a bit hot under the collar, but she had proved to everyone there that she is more than just a pretty face.
Kinoco Hotel
The mysterious Kinoco Hotel have been around for the best part of two decades. Founded and led by Marianne Shinonome, the only original member left, they sport military-style mini-skirts and jet-black, mushroom haircuts that complement their vintage sound, a cross between the lighter side of The Doors, ’60s pop and surf.
Cool as cucumbers, Kinoco Hotel do not smile, just stand there and play. The music soon overtakes the striking image, however, and the ’60s lighting, the walking bass lines and organ runs become hypnotic.
The dynamics, the light and shade provided by the drums and guitar as the songs build, are beautifully weighted. Introductions are brief and often completely absent, letting the music flow and build until the end of the set in a frenzy.
The audience, by now whipped up, is right there with them, and quite frankly, it was, in the best possible way, exhausting.
Fathomless Skywalker – https://lit.link/en/fathomlessskywalker
Bered – https://www.bered.jp/
Bone Dawn – https://bonedawn.bitfan.id/
Bridear – https://bridear.jp/
Mellows – https://www.mellows-cutemetal.jp/
Wendy – https://wendy-official.com/
Fujita Ena – https://www.fujitaena.com/
Kinoco Hotel – https://www.kinocohotel.info/
