Welcome to Japanese Alternative Magazine (JP ALT MAG).
We are a collection of music enthusiasts who decided to fill the gap in English reporting on hyper-niche-weird-crazy Japanese music. We aim to create a space for readers to discover new and current music, as well as go down rabbit holes on the alternative classics. We focus on any genres that aren’t j-pop. From noise, to jazz, to experimental, to rap, and so on, we hope that we can cover all grounds of music that hasn’t been caught by the Western radar. JP ALT will not be posting gig dates and we encourage those who do go to live shows they’ve discovered through our blog to respect the gig etiquette in Japan.
You can expect to see album reviews, interviews, artists deep-dives, discussions on politics and philosophy related to Japanese music and quarterly recaps on our favourite new releases.
JP ALT is always looking for new writers. If you would like to become a contributor contact us at: contactus@japanesealternative.net
With love,
JP ALT staff.
Meet the Staff
Hello, I’m Seb. I got into Japanese music in 2020 with Fishmans and never stopped diving into the rabbit hole since. I started writing about music with hopes that it’ll resonate with at least one person, and now I have the chance to materialize my thoughts into something tangible with this project. I like music that feels alive, rock, indietronica, obscure psychedelia, rap, you name it. I aim to shed some spotlight on this wonderful world of music that is still obscured in the west. I also dabble in translation, so you can expect some lyrics translated to English from me. You also might know me from rateyourmusic as heavenlypunk! If you’re reading this, thank you for being here, and we hope we can help you find your new favorite artist.
Hello JP ALT, My name is Emily and I am the editor for this project. I’m a university student and freelance journalist who enjoys of all kinds of alternative, underground or left-field forms of music. I have spent most of my conscious life listening to the strangest Japanese music I could find. Members of the voca-p community may recognise me as the creator of the Nashimoto Ui fanclub which I created in 2020. Others may recognise me as that beautiful and well spoken lady who’s always posting about HASAMI group. Regardless of the success or failure of JP ALT, I’m excited to be involved in creating a space for fans of music like myself who would have otherwise spent all their time going down fc2 rabbit holes to find out anything about the bands they like. YOROSHIKU NE~
Yo, it’s me Gerry. Avid enjoyer of anything art related, and still a beginner when it comes to writing to be a culture writer. Am still on university but I do have big dreams to get on the journalism world internationally. With music and film became two part of medium that makes me keep on being alive, I dedicated myself to write about it. Music that ranges from being meditative to abrasive and harsh. Films that are atmospheric to transgressive. With this space, I will try to make myself fit within more into the East Asian sphere specifically Japan! I love to discuss and make dialogues with other artists to get into what they find and love within their realm so I mostly do interviews. If you are reading this until now please hit me up bluntly if you like or hate any of my writings and I could grow to be better in the end of the day, but alas welcome to the ride.
Hi there, I go by elegiaque. I’ve been interested in the alternative, avant-garde sphere since I was a youngling of 13 years old. My taste has expanded and developed along the years, but alternative music has always stuck by my side. I’m not a journalist, nor am I really a writer. I’m a jack of all trades who sometimes has a few golden nuggets of drivel to share. I’ve lived in Japan, seen and spoken to numerous bands, turned angsty against certain wanky scenes, and more. Clearly I’ve done it all, right? Right? Anyway, I hope with my contributions to this magazine I can provide some amount of insight into the revolutionary world of music. Despite the woes, it continues to impact all of us.
JPALT 
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