A strange thing happens from time to time on my socials. The algorithm feeds me music from all-female Japanese bands with sounds steeped in funk or jazz or heavy metal. And not just candy-coated tastings or cheap knockoffs. Bands with serious chops. Take for example 7thVega — an all female band hailing from Tokyo — and their funk-laden single ‘Tokyo Love Story’ from the album ‘Princess’.
Tasty guitars groove over a solidly funky rhythm section with mesmerizingly sweet vocals and the whole tune is steadily in the pocket. OK, sure, I had to turn on the closed captioning on YouTube to understand the gist of the tune, but it’s honestly not needed to enjoy the music. The production is top-notch, the interplay of sound is intoxicating, and the groove grabs ahold of you and takes you on a joyride.
What’s fascinating to me is how deeply grounded they are in American funk. Not just because they’re Japanese, but for how young they are. There is a surge of young bands from all around the world committed to the art and act of playing real, live music. Beating drums and strumming strings rather than touching screens and pushing buttons. And doing it with a proficiency that only comes from an honest love of music. It makes me happy.
As I browse through 7thVega’s other songs, I find them as good as ‘Tokyo Love Story’. Some more poppy than others, but all with the same solid foundation. This just happened to be the song that first grabbed my attention. Check them out.
Stream the album ‘Princess’ here → 7v.lnk.to/PRINCESS
Buy a physical CD here → cdsvinyljapan.com
Follow 7thVega on Instagram → instagram.com/7thvega_band
Follow 7thVega on TikTok → tiktok.com/@7thvega
Cheers!
Stephen
