maya ongaku

maya ongaku - Fujisawa, Japan

Group from Japan

Genres: japanese, japan, ambient, psychedelic, experimental

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About maya ongaku

maya ongaku is a Japanese Psychedelic/folk pop/ambient /electronic band from Enoshima which formed in 2021. Members: ** Vocals, Guitar, other: 園田 努 (Tsutomu Sonoda) ** Bass, other: 高野諒大 (Ryota Takano) ** Saxophone, Keys, other: 池田抄英 (Shoei Ikeda) History: maya ongaku is a three-piece band formed in 2021 in a seaside village on Enoshima, consisting of Tsutomu Sonoda, Ryota Takano, and Shoei Ikeda. Emerging from the coastal communities about 50 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, the group grew out of a loose network of local musicians and gradually took shape as a focused trio. Their music moves through an earthy strain of psychedelia that reaches past the visible surface of things and into something more inward and elemental. The name “Maya Ongaku” is a neologism. It does not point to any ancient civilization, but instead evokes an imagined landscape just beyond our field of vision, a place sensed at the edge of perception. That idea mirrors the way they work. The band traces its origins to what Sonoda describes as spontaneous generation, the phenomenon in which living things emerge from non-living matter. Songs begin as fragments, improvisations, half-formed sounds. Through patient exchange and repetition, they gather weight and become fully alive. Their home base is Ace General Store, a beachside vintage shop tucked away from the busy Subana Street. Part shop, part meeting place, it functions as a quiet hub for conversation about music and art, for curating vinyl, working the register, and talking with locals. In a small studio hidden in the back, the trio records and shapes the spontaneous ideas that arise from these everyday encounters. It is an unassuming setting, but it reflects their way of being: communal, grounded, and open to chance. In May 2023, they released their debut album, "Approach to Anima", through Guruguru Brain and Bayon Production. After touring the EU and UK in November and Japan in December, they returned in August 2024 with the EP Electronic Phantoms. That same month, they hosted “rhythm echo noise” in collaboration with WWW, inviting Dutch artist Felbm to perform. In 2024, they were honored with the Best Breakthrough Artists award at the inaugural TOKYO ALTER MUSIC AWARD. Approach to Anima, the group’s debut album released on Guruguru Brain, finds maya ongaku building a foundational groove while tapping into their innermost psyche. Sonoda’s malleable guitar and vocals, Takano’s sinuous bass lines, Ikeda’s floating woodwinds, and a sprinkling of delicate percussion—all coalesce into an aural experience that’s assertive yet abstract, calm but unsettling. The slow building, sax-laden “Approach” serves as an introduction to maya ongaku’s world, while the appropriately-named “Water Dream” floats its way toward the gentle finale of “Pillow Song.” It’s a concise distillation of their many interests and influences, from Neo-Dada and Fluxus, to where contemporary art intersects with the development of modern recording technology in the ‘60s and ‘70s. As the title suggests, Approach to Anima is not intended to be a terminus; it’s merely the beginning of an exploration. The three childhood friends that comprise maya ongaku are always looking beyond the confines of the idyllic but rapidly gentrifying enclave of their beloved Enoshima. Feeding off of the energy that still radiates from the triumphant, decade-long journey of their label bosses’ band Kikagaku Moyo, who rose to global prominence from scrappy beginnings busking on the streets of Takadanobaba, they hope to go wherever inspiration takes them, to anywhere around the globe where their music can find a home. They have appeared at major festivals across Japan, including Mori, Michi, Ichiba, FFKT, FUJI ROCK, Asagiri JAM, and FUJI & SUN, and have also performed at festivals in Korea and China. With each step, their presence continues to expand across Asia and beyond, carried by music that feels both intimate and quietly expansive.

Taken from Last.fm

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