The official showcase live event INSPIRED BY TOKYO, featuring Japanese artists presented by FRIENDSHIP., Spincoaster, and The Orchard Japan, will take place at the ‘SXSW Music Festival 2024’ in Austin, Texas, USA, on March 12th (Tuesday), local time. The venue is Elysium on Red River Street.
SXSW is an annual celebration of creativity held in Austin, Texas, USA, every March, encompassing music, film, technology, and more. The event includes the “SXSW Music Festival,” where artists showcase live performances, as well as pitch contests by startups worldwide, conference sessions, and film festivals premiering works by emerging creators. The schedule for 2024 runs from March 11th (Monday) to the 16th (Saturday).
INSPIRED BY TOKYO is a showcase live event with the theme of TOKYO, aimed at introducing the next generation of artists from Japan and across Asia. The lineup includes six acts active domestically and internationally: The fin., Domiko, Helsinki Lambda Club, Wez Atlas, Kudaranai Ichinichi, and luvis.
Hailing from Kobe, The fin. is a duo that incorporates influences from the synth-pop and shoegaze sounds of the 1980s and 1990s, real-time U.S. indie pop, and soundscapes shaped by genres like chillwave. With a track record of supporting tours for notable acts including The Last Shadow Puppets, Phoenix, MEW, and CIRCA WAVES, they have established a distinctive presence in the music landscape. In 2019, they embarked on their most extensive tour to date, encompassing 13 shows with a capacity of 15,000 people in China, achieving a sold-out status for every performance. Building on their success, they undertook two more triumphant tours in China in 2023. Their momentum continued into December 2023 with the release of “Swans,” their first single in two years.
Domiko is a duo formed in 2011 by Hikaru Sakashita (Vo/Gt) and Keita Hasegawa (Dr/Cho). Between 2016 and 2019, they released three albums, “soo coo?,” “hey hey, my my?,” and “Nice Body?,” each showcasing different musical styles. On stage, their distinctive live style involves the two of them skillfully manipulating the original songs with layered sounds. They have performed not only at major domestic festivals like the ‘FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL’ but also embarked on a China tour, six locations in the United States, including SXSW, and a performance in Taiwan. Their journey leads them to participate in SXSW 2024.
Helsinki Lambda Club is a rock trio formed in the summer of 2013. Known for their experimental sound that incorporates elements from surf rock to psychedelic, the band achieved success with their first overseas performance in Hong Kong in May 2019. That same year, they also performed live in Beijing, Shanghai, and Taiwan. One of the tracks from their second full album, released in November 2020, titled “Eleven plus two / Twelve plus one,” is “Mitsubishi Macchiato.” The lyrics pay homage to the song title of Vampire Weekend, a band highly admired by Helsinki Lambda Club. The song depicts a man and woman attending a Vampire Weekend concert and has received praise from members who, despite language barriers, appreciate its homage.
Japanese-American rapper Wez Atlas is a captivating hip-hop artist who seamlessly navigates between Japanese and English in his rap. Recognized as one of the notable U20 artists to watch by HYPEBEAST JAPAN, he stands out as a promising next-generation artist. In March 2023, he released his second mini-album titled “This Too Shall Pass.” Additionally, he collaborated as a featured artist on the track “Mystery Train” from Helsinki Lambda Club’s mini-album “Hello, my darkness.”
Kudaranai Ichinichi, an emo band formed in Fukuoka in 2016, is currently based in Tokyo. The trio consists of Daisuke Takane on vocals/guitar, Taiyo on guitar, and Kawai on bass. They garner attention as emerging artists in the domestic scene, drawing inspiration from U.S. indie rock acts like American Football and embracing the emo-to-post-rock lineage seen in Japanese bands like ANORAK! and AGATHA. In March, they are set to release their album “Doitsumo Koitsumo,” the first in about two years, under the WACK RECORDS label known for producing idol group BiSH.
luvis, Kyoto-native Gen-Z singer-songwriter and trackmaker, is known for crafting emotional tracks with a chill vibe influenced by jazz, soul, beat music, R&B, and alternative rock. He has released collaborations such as “夏果つ” with singer-songwriter I’m and “miso soup” with trackmaker WAZGOGG. In 2023, he unveiled the EP “from pier,” featuring a cover of the widely beloved Japanese song “ふるさと,” sung for over a century across Japan. This project marked his first experience with live band recording, resulting in a fusion of organic textures and luvis’ unique freshness not achievable through digital music production.
Additionally, on the preceding day, March 11th (local time), the showcase event “TOKYO CALLING showcase LIVE supported by The Orchard Japan” by Japan’s largest live circuit festival, ‘TOKYO CALLING,’ will take place at Elysium. The lineup includes performances by Daibushigokumon Doukoukai, Tokyo Shoki Shoudou, Backdrop Cinderella, HALLEY, Chiake Mayamura, and CHAMELEON LIME WHOOPIEPIE.
SXSW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024
INSPIRED BY TOKYO
2024/3/12 (Tue) Austin, TX – Elysium
TIME: 20:00-26:00
LINE UP: The fin. / Wez Atlas / Helsinki Lambda Club / Domiko / Crappy Day / luvis
TOKYO CALLING showcase LIVE supported by The Orchard Japan
2024/3/11(Mon) Austin, TX – Elysium
TIME: 20:00-26:00
LINE UP: Uchikubi Gokumon Doukokai / Tokyo Shioki Syudo / Backdrop Cinderella / HALLEY / Chiaki Baimura / CHAMELEON LIME WHOOPIEPIE
