mitsume, toe, No Buses, HOME, Yukino Inamine+Harikuyamaku, Darthreider & The Bassons, and others will perform at “PLAYTIME FESTIVAL” to be held at Mongolian Castle Recreation Center near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from July 4 (Thursday) to 7 (Sunday), local time, Darthreider & The Bassons, and others will perform at “PLAYTIME FESTIVAL” to be held at the Mongolia Recreation Center.
The festival was launched in 2002 with the aim of contributing to the sustainable development of Mongolia. Through contemporary music and creative cultural activities, the festival is working to position Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, as a tourist destination in Asia. In the past, the festival has starred domestic artists such as ROTH BART BARON, The fin. and envy, as well as Yo La Tengo, Ariel Pink and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and by 2023, over 150 Mongolian In 2023, over 150 Mongolian artists will perform along with approximately 20 international artists, including Carsick Cars from China and Cigarettes After Sex from the UK (including those on the final day, which was cancelled due to inclement weather). This year’s event was the 22nd of its kind, and was a great opportunity to experience the local music scene firsthand.
This year’s 22nd event will feature performances by Teenage Fanclub from Scotland, Elephant Gym from Taiwan, and Idiotape from Korea, as well as domestic artists Mitsume, toe, No Buses, HOME, Yukino Inamine + Hariku Yamaku, Darthreider & The Bassons, and others.
mitsume is a four-piece band based in Tokyo. Since its formation in 2009, the band has released six albums. The band has attracted a lot of attention from overseas, and in 2023, when they released “Drive EP,” they successfully held their fifth one-man tour in China.
Formed in 2000, the four-piece toe has been a driving force in the Japanese post-rock scene. All members are also active in their respective fields in parallel with their band activities: guitarist Hirokazu Yamano is an interior designer, bassist Toshifumi Yamane is a fashion designer, guitarist Takaaki Mino is a recording engineer, and drummer Takashi Kashiwagura is a session musician. The band is also known as one of the first Japanese bands to tour overseas, with tours in Asia in 2007, the EU in 2012, and North America in 2013.
No Buses is a four-piece band formed in 2016, led by soloist Daiko Kondo (Vo / Gt), whose band name is derived from the Arctic Monkeys’ song of the same name. Their performance is characterized by the intensity of their rock band style. On the other hand, many fans are attracted by the gap between Kondo’s shyness on stage and his MC, who does not seem to be a rock ‘n’ roller.
Formed in 2020 by sei. (Vo), o-png (PC), and shun (Gt) from Okinawa, Japan, HOME released their first single “Lucy” in August 2023. In October and November, HOME performed at festivals in Asian countries such as “Zandari Festa” and “SSAM” in Korea, “AXEAN Festival” in Singapore, and “LUCfest” in Taiwan, as well as at the free live “exPoP!!!!! In 2024, they will be performing solo shows in Tokyo and Osaka, and are attracting attention both in Japan and abroad.
Yukino Inamine + Hariku Yamaku is a unit consisting of Yukino Inamine, an Okinawan folk singer who hails from the same prefecture as HOME, and Hariku Yamaku, a dub producer based in Okinawa. Their distinctive sound is a fusion of Okinawan folk songs sung by Inamine using a sanshin (a three-stringed instrument), which he inherited from his grandfather, and the strong bass and effects characteristic of dub.
Darthreider & The Bassons is a funk-rock band whose MC is Darthreider, whose trademark is an eye patch. Known for their energetic overseas activities, they just performed in Cambodia and Thailand in February. Drummer Ota Koji has worked as a support drummer for Keiichi Sogabe’s band and Kuchi-Roro, and has also participated in the improvisation unit Devil Rhythm River with Kashiwagura of toe, who will also perform at the PLAYTIME FESTIVAL.
Tickets for “PLAYTIME FESTIVAL” will go on sale on Thursday, April 25 (local time).
