1- xiexie
This small Rookie a Go-Go band totally took me by surprise! I liked what I had heard of their stuff on Spotify but there’s some sort of magic that comes with live music. It was so fun to dance with the band members and the smaller stage just made for such an enjoyable experience.
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2 – Snail Mail
If you read my intro post, you’ve seen that I was most looking forward to Snail Mail’s set. And boy, did it deliver! I’ve been a fan of Lindsey Jordan’s work for years now and hearing Pristine live was everything 2018 Mika could have hoped for. I was also secretly hoping she would open with Valentine, so when she did I was PUMPED!
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3 – Asakura Saya
Asakura Saya was too dang cute. Her energy was perfectly matched with the Gypsy Avalon stage and the whole performance just brought a smile to my face. Her singing voice was so uniquely beautiful too!
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4 – Kaho Nakamura
It’s difficult to explain how amazing this set was. I was seriously blown away by Nakamura’s talent! She’s a fantastic performer who clearly put a lot of love and care into this festival. Calling her just a singer would be selling her far too short.
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5 – Dragondola / Day Dreaming
I loved getting to ride the Dragondola for all of its amazing views and getting a ropeway car to yourself is kind of awesome in the middle of a crowded festival. The Day Dreaming stage was relaxing, breezy and beautiful! Super worth it to go if you can swing it.
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Hopes for Next Year
I would love to see some of the artists that had to cancel at next year’s festival! Namely artists like YOASOBI, Say Sue Me and 八木海莉 were all on my festival bucket list but fate had other plans this year.

Thank you Fuji Rock 2022 for an unforgettable weekend! Until next time!

Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Mura Masa has been making moves around the world, performing at Glastonbury earlier this year. Back at the Fuji Rock stage 6 years after his performance at Red Marquee in 2016, Mura Masa did not disappoint.

Mura Masa always brings someone on stage with him, since he himself, does not partake in any of the vocals. Before his set, I was wondering who he would bring to Fuji Rock. I was praying for either Rocky or slowthai, but I knew that was a little bit of a stretch…

He brought out singer Fliss, who completely took the stage with her vivacious presence and amazing dance skills. She completely blew me away. The entire audience LOVED her energy.

Not going to lie I did not know the first 3 songs, so I was just head bumping in the crowd, but on the 4th song he played ‘bbycakes’ off his new album and my hands left my phone (taking notes at the time), and joined the thousands of hands in the air.

He performed most of his bangers including ‘I Don’t Think I Can Do This Again’, ‘1 Night’, and of course finished off with back-to-back showstoppers, ‘Love$ick’ and ‘Firefly’.

The mood in the audience was incredible. People were letting everything go, as it was one of their last chances to at Fuji Rock, before returning to reality. At the end of the set, Mura Masa threw two of his drumsticks in the crowd; one to the right and one to the left. I was situated to the left of the stage, and I saw him throw his stick into the crowd, but didn’t think much of it. I see this happen at so many concerts, but I never think it’s actually going to be me. However, the second drumstick started coming closer to me, and I thought to myself ‘oh damn, the people in front of me gonna get lucky’, and then to my surprise, the stick fell on the ground in right in front of me, just before my dirty beaten-up Dr. Martens. So I picked the stick up. Never in a million years did I expect to catch Mura Masa’s drumstick in the crowd but hey, here we are.

Some girls catch flower bouquets at weddings, I catch Mura Masa’s drumstick at Fuji Rock. And I’m not mad at it. Mura Masa was a great way to end an amazing weekend.

【SETLIST】
DEMON TIME (Fliss on vocal)
NUGGETS (Fliss on vocal)
1 NIGHT (Fliss on vocal)
BBYCAKES (Fliss on vocal)
I DON’T THINK I CAN DO THIS AGAIN (Fliss on vocal)
DEAL WIV IT (Fliss on vocal)
DOORMAN (slowthai cover)
LOTUS EATER / HELL
2GETHER (Cosha on vocal)
BLESSING ME (Cosha on vocal)
HOLLABACK BITCH (Cosha on vocal)
E-MOTIONS (Cosha on vocal)
COMPLICATED (Cosha on vocal)
WHAT IF I GO? (Cosha on vocal)
LOVE$ICK (Fliss on vocal)
FIREFLY (Fliss & Cosha on vocal)

The Anatolian band churns out funky, psychedelic jams straight out of Turkey, except that they hail from Amsterdam. With lyrics in Turkish and a heavy emphasis on Turkish instruments including the electric saz (three-string lute), they weave hypnotizing tapestries of native folk music mashed with 70s era funk.

Analogue organs and wonky guitars fused to usher in a range of wildly varying musical textures. Not understanding the Turkish language by no means limits appreciation of their music, as the melodies in the lyrics alone transport us straight to their Balkan-Anatolian world.

A handful of songs actually re-imagine old Turkish folk songs through the psychedelic medium of the instruments used. Not an old Turkish folk song but still chock full of Turkish flavor, the band really hit a high on “Yüce Dağ Başında” which featured handclaps and drum machines as the foundation of its funky strutting beat.

Fans and first-timers alike were transported to another world without ever having to set foot out of the Field of Heaven clearing at Naeba.

The American indie solo project Snail Mail is headed by Lindsey Jordan, a surprisingly young musician considering how long she has been making and releasing music. Snail Mail began in 2015 when Jordan was only 16 years old, and the band quickly grew in popularity after it began. Now Jordan has released two full albums with her newest album Valentine being heavily featured in her Fuji Rock set.

She began the set with the title track that opens the album, Valentine. We begin with a slow building of instruments on top of liquid smooth vocals until the song bursts forth with angst for the chorus. Following the chronology of her album, the set continued with the album’s second track Ben Franklin. The rest of the set followed its own flow with a mix of older songs and new.

Listening to Jordan’s performances of her old songs today, you can see how the artist has stylistically changed by comparing her sound now to the original studio recordings. Particularly with pieces like Speaking Terms and Pristine, Jordan now opts for less talk-singing to show off her trained voice. She also chooses to switch up the older songs by making tweaks to the original rhythm or ending notes of certain phrases.

The whole performance was immensely charming with Jordan chatting and even making turkey noises back and forth with the audience. (Or maybe they were having a conversation, I’m not sure because I don’t personally speak turkey.) The only thing that took away from the experience was the numerous guitar swaps that halted the set between songs. Having to go pass off each guitar and plug it in is an inevitability and certainly the only thing they could do given the circumstances. It stands to say that if Snail Mail is already putting on stellar concerts with these restraints, their potential is incredible.

The fin.’s music style can be categorized under the many genres of chill wave, indie rock, and/or synth pop and on first listen, could be compared to the likes of Tame Impala. It is evident that their influences expand across genres and oceans. Although based in Japan, a new listener (like myself), would be surprised to hear that their songs are sung in English, a unique facet distinguishing them from a sea of emerging Japanese pop bands. The band began today’s set with a track from their most recent album Outer Ego, introducing their audience to their self-made dream pop world with their track, Shine.

The vocalist, songwriter, and producer of the group, Yuto Uchino, led the show along with his band mate and bassist Kaoru Nakazawa. Joining them were three other band members: a guitarist, bassist and keyboardist. The stage production remained simple, forgoing a backdrop with only subtle changes in neon lighting. With limited audience interaction, the focus remained on the music.

Throughout the first half of the show, the audience was calm and collected. Chill wave indeed. The vibes quickly transformed as the band performed their danceable top track, Night Time. The venue reshaped into a party-like atmosphere as concert-goers put their hands in the air. A band that can move across genres so seamlessly is worth getting to know, and today’s audience seemed to have a great time doing so.

This is actually not Hamada’s first rodeo at Fuji Rock. Performing as a DJ in not only 2016, but also 2017 and 2018, Hamada is very familiar with both Fuji Rock as well as the overall music and DJ scene in Tokyo. For this reason, many music lovers and musicians alike often visit Little Nap COFFEE STAND, to get a nice brew and jam out to Hamada’s well curated selection.

This year’s set was situated in Pyramid Garden, perhaps the best place to have someone like DJ Hamada play. His selection tends to be very chill and mellow, almost sometimes reminiscent of Lo-fi. Additionally, Pyramid Garden is particularly nice because there are plenty of reclining chairs to sit in while catching a calm set in one of the more chill areas of the festival. I was pleasantly surprised by Hamada’s knowledge of music, most specifically when he mixed in ‘Born Slippy – Underworld’, most famously known as the song that is played in the movie ‘Trainspotting’. Hamada found a way to bring this rather upbeat and strong tune into his low-key set and keep the chill and slow vibe going steady.

When I find myself in Yoyogi area next, I’m definitely going to pop by Little Nap COFFEE ROASTERS, for not only a coffee but also a tune or two.

The members hail from the only circus school in Japan, but have also attended overseas schools and won several titles from various tournaments such as the Gymnastics National Polity, Tightrope Walking World Tournament, Third Generation Korean Traditional Performing Arts and more.

Situated in a nice calm stage, Pyramid Garden, CROISSANTCIRCUS had kids, adults and everyone in between in awe of their set which mixed together acrobatic tricks with orchestra music that really tied everything together.

In terms of set design, they had their own little area which had a tightrope and all the equipment CROISSANTCIRCUS needed to fulfill their set. And even after their set ended, people were going in the area to test out the tightrope and just chill out in the a rather tranquil area of Fuji Rock.

Never did I think I would attend a circus show at Fuji Rock, but I am pleasantly surprised at how CROISSANTCIRCUS manages to combine elements of music and acrobatics together to cultivate a show that is both entertaining as it is a full musical experience.