When we arrived at the house where we were supposed to stay that night—Mikey’s friend’s place—I was relieved to see it was a three-story standalone home. It looked promising, like we might finally get a good night’s sleep.
The host wasn’t home yet, so we waited outside. Then, from a distance, a silver Prius pulled up, blasting music at full volume.
“That’s Oliver,” Mikey said.
Out stepped a tall man in a cowboy hat, followed by three women. They were clearly very high, and a sense of unease crept in. After a quick round of greetings, Oliver, our host, showed us inside.
What we found was jaw-dropping. The place was a total mess—so cluttered there was barely a spot to put your feet down. It felt like a kid’s room that had never been cleaned. The house itself was pretty big, but trying to find a proper place to sleep was tough. The only half-decent option was a couch that might, just might, fit two of us.
Even though we’re trying to save money, I couldn’t help but regret not splurging on a hotel just for tonight. Oliver started blasting his synthesizer at full volume, and the women he came with kept chatting loudly without pause. It was already past midnight. They were all nice people, sure—but after the show, I was exhausted and honestly just fed up. Not my proudest moment, but I was totally drained.
I told Oliver, “I really need to sleep,” and he handed me a mattress, saying, “Use this one!”
It was thin, stained with spilled drinks and who knows what else, maybe even mold—like the kind of thing bugs would happily call home. This was what I’d be sleeping on tonight. I braced myself.
Then, trying to be considerate, Oliver said, “The living room’s too loud,” and led me to another room—his music studio, it seemed. He pushed aside some of the clutter on the floor with his foot to clear a space for me. I followed suit, carving out a corner for myself using my feet.
“Nice!” he said, beaming.
I didn’t feel nice at all.
Wednesday, April 16
By the time I realized, it was already morning.
Maybe it’s because my childhood bedroom was always a bit of a disaster zone, but there was something strangely comforting about waking up in that mess. Or maybe I was just completely wiped out. Yeah, probably that.
We had the day off today, and I was meeting up with Yusuke—a Japanese guy I met at the show last night. He offered to take me around some record stores in San Francisco. Super kind of him. The rest of the crew was heading into the city with Mikey, doing their own thing.
I spent the morning eating leftover pizza and doing everyone’s laundry with the moldy old washing machine in the house. That alone took up most of the day. The weather had turned gloomy, so I threw on a jacket and stepped outside.
Around 3 pm, Yusuke pulled up to the house and picked me up.
It was about a 20-minute drive from Oakland to San Francisco—just a quick ride over that massive bridge. We cruised around the city, stopping at four or five different record shops. I’d love to say I found some treasures, but everything good was priced at $20–30. Way out of range for my $10-a-day budget. The price tags here definitely had that San Francisco sting. I ended up not buying a single record.
As the sky began to dim, Yusuke’s wife Saya joined us, and we all went out for dim sum at a spot in the city. The warm food, the company, the quiet buzz of the restaurant—it was exactly what I needed.
When I told them about the situation at Oliver’s place where we’d been staying the past two nights, they looked genuinely concerned. “Why don’t you just stay at our place tonight?” they offered. I gratefully accepted. Thanks so much, and sorry to everyone else—I did message the group and got their okay before changing plans.
Later that evening, we had drinks at a Japanese izakaya in Oakland—a place that felt like a perfect replica of the real thing back home. The three of us talked for hours, and even after getting back to their place, we kept chatting late into the night. I think it was the most Japanese I’d spoken since the tour began, and the most at ease I’d felt in a long time. I want to take a moment here to express my deepest thanks to both of them.
Thursday, April 17
When morning came and Yusuke gave me a ride back to Oliver’s house, it felt like I was being pulled back into reality. A bit of sadness crept in—like a soldier returning to the front after a short reprieve back home.
We packed up the gear from Oliver’s place (we’d stored everything inside the house, since break-ins targeting cars are common around Oakland and Berkeley), and just like that, the bandwagon was rolling again. I was glad I got to thank Oliver before we hit the road.
Thank you, Oliver.
And so, the journey continues.
Our next stop is San Luis Obispo—a small town of about 50,000 people, nestled right between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The drive was peaceful, with gentle countryside scenery stretching out on either side. I spent most of it lying down in the back seat, writing in my journal as the miles rolled by.
Tonight’s venue, SLO Brew, is a historic brewery in San Luis Obispo, which houses a large concert hall capable of holding 500 people, along with an American diner. The building itself seemed quite new, and the sound equipment appeared to be the most advanced we’ve encountered on this tour.
The stage was set up with temporary pipe-like structures, and while it did vibrate a bit when pushing heavy low-end frequencies, the sound outside was fantastic.
Our band is a bit unusual in that we don’t have a drummer. Instead, we rely on technology like synthesizers and drum machines for our rhythm, which makes our live performances really dependent on the venue’s sound system. If we’re playing in smaller places with poor acoustics, it’s hard to expect things to go smoothly.
But when we’re in bigger venues (ones where you can clearly distinguish the stereo channels, with the left and right speakers far apart) or places with top-notch sound systems, we really get to show what we’re capable of. If we can deliver our sound the way we’ve crafted it, I’m confident we can pull any audience into the music, no matter where they’re from.
Tonight’s show was incredible. From the first track, “Water Dream,” I could feel the whole room’s energy surge with us. There’s just something special about playing in a venue with great sound. I’m guessing there were about 300 people in the crowd, which felt amazing.
Normally, in situations like this, merchandise sales would do really well. But since most of our T-shirts were sold out (one design was gone completely, and the other two were only available in 2XL), the sales didn’t meet expectations. Still, I stuck around the merch booth and managed to sell a few records and tote bags, so we made $1,945 that night. Considering the circumstances, that’s not too bad.
So, after everything, our remaining expenses came to $4,735. I thought that was the end of it, but I realized I had overlooked one more cost. It turned out to be the cost of the records that have been selling the most at our merch table.
The label we’re with, Guruguru Brain, is incredibly artist-friendly. When we buy records for the tour, we only pay the cost price, which is awesome. But even so, the total cost for the records came to about $4,500.
So, our remaining expenses are now $9,235.
It feels like we’re back to square one. But I don’t think there will be any more unexpected costs, so this should be the final number.
With six shows left, we now need to make about $1,600 per show to break even. Suddenly, things are starting to feel tight. Honestly, it seems like an American tour is always a tough challenge, but I kind of like it. The challenge feels just right. I’m starting to feel fired up about it.
To be continued next time
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maya ongaku US TOUR dates 2025
Apr 08 Seattle, WA, US｜Neumos
Apr 09 Bellingham, WA, US｜The Shakedown
Apr 10 Victoria, BC, Canada｜Wicket Hall
Apr 11 Vancouver, BC, Canada｜The Pearl
Apr 12 Portland, OR, US｜Wonder Ballroom
Apr 14 Chico, CA, US｜Argus Bar + Patio
Apr 15 Oakland, CA, US｜The New Parish
Apr 17 San Luis Obispo, CA, US｜SLO Brew Rock
Apr 18 Jacumba Hot Springs CA, US｜Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel
Apr 19 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US｜Teragram Ballroom
Apr 20 Flagstaff, AZ, US｜Coconino Center for the Arts
Apr 22 Santa Fe, NM, US｜Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery
Apr 23 Oklahoma City, OK, US｜Resonant Head
Apr 24 Austin, TX, US｜APF 25: Kickoff Party
maya ongaku
maya ongaku is a three-piece band formed in 2021 by Tsutomu Sonoda, Ryota Takano, and Shoei Ikeda, hailing from a coastal village near Enoshima, Japan. Rooted in an organic, psychedelic sound that feels both grounded and untethered, their music draws from collective improvisation and the atmosphere of their local music scene.
The band’s name—maya ongaku—is a coined term, not taken from ancient history, but imagined as a landscape beyond the visible frame, hinting at the spiritual and the unseen. The group sees their beginning as a kind of spontaneous emergence—like life arising from non-life—something that simply happened, without pretense or planning.
In May 2023, they released their debut album ‘Approach to Anima’ via Guruguru Brain and Bayon Production, followed by a successful EU/UK tour in November and a domestic tour across Japan in December.
Their latest EP ‘Electronic Phantoms’ was released in August 2024. That same month, they hosted “rhythm echo noise” in collaboration with WWW, inviting Dutch artist Felbm to Tokyo. The band was also named Best Breakthrough Artists at the inaugural TOKYO ALTER MUSIC AWARD 2024, a new platform highlighting emerging voices from Tokyo’s independent scene.
maya ongaku has performed at major Japanese festivals such as Mori, Michi, Ichiba, FFKT, FUJI ROCK, Asagiri JAM, and FUJI & SUN. Internationally, they have appeared at festivals in Korea and China, steadily expanding their presence in Asia and beyond.
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