About
Thirteen Years. Every Basement.
Music in Japan grew out of Kaala — an independent label started in 2013 for the bands nobody else in Tokyo was willing to touch. Oser. Retch. Self Deconstruction. GUEVNNA. The loud, weird, extreme music that was the most interesting thing happening here.
Thirteen years of that, and we know this scene the way you only learn it by attending it. Not by studying it. The door staff at Earthdom. The sound engineer at Antiknock. The booker at Outbreak who puts together the best weeknight lineups in the city.
Music in Japan is the guide we built after people kept asking: “How do you find this stuff?” Every basement, every bill, every night. Metal in Shinjuku. Free jazz in Koenji. Electronics in Shibuya. Noise in Shimokitazawa. Hardcore under the expressway.
Underground is a stance, not a genre.
15
Years in the scene
24
Venues tracked
400+
Events per month
The Team
Matt Ketchum
Editor / Guitarist
Came to Tokyo in 2011. Started Kaala in 2013 — an independent label for the bands nobody else was willing to touch. Fifteen years of shows, tours, records. Music in Japan is the guide he built after enough friends kept asking how to find this stuff.
Thom Smith
Co-Founder / Drummer
Drummer and tour logistics veteran. Has managed Japan tours for international bands and knows the live house circuit from the inside. Handles tour operations and venue relationships.
For Bands & Venues
Playing Tokyo's Circuit?
We want to find you — but you can save us the trouble. If you're a band gigging Tokyo's underground or a live house that should be on the platform, reach out. We'll vet your listing, add you to the system, and start tracking your shows. The more venues and bands that participate, the better the resource for everyone.
Submit Your Band or Venue