Japanese Band muque Releases New Song ‘nevermind’

Japanese four-piece band muque released their new digital single ‘nevermind’ on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The band, whose name is pronounced “muku”, features members Asakura (vocals and guitar), Lenon (bass), takachi (trackmaking and drums) and Kenichi (guitar).


Their new song ‘nevermind’ is a poppy rock song with a tight rhythm track and breezy guitar
riff. Through the lyrics and her light vocal delivery, singer Asakura encourages listeners to become whatever they want to be, without worrying about what others think.

 
A music video for ‘nevermind’ was released on the same day. The video was produced by GROUPN, who also created the music video for muque’s previous single ‘my crush’. This fun, surreal video follows a girl as she loses herself in her headphones, immersed in the music despite the chaos around her. In one highlight, we see the members of muque tangled up in cables in the background, playing the music that rings through the girl’s head. 
 
muque profile
Based in Fukuoka, Japan, muque are a four-piece band featuring Asakura (vocals and guitar), Lenon (bass), takachi (trackmaking and drums) and Kenichi (guitar). The band formed in May 2022 after the members left or disbanded their previous groups. One month after muque’s formation, in June 2022, they released their first digital single, ‘escape’. Since then, they have released music consistently, with the six-song EP ‘tape’ in December 2022 and the singles ‘Blue light’ and ‘TIME’ in 2023.
 
The band’s songs are mainly produced by takachi and Asakura, with takachi handling trackmaking and arranging as well as drums, and Asakura in charge of melody and lyrics. In particular, takachi draws influence from music from all around the world, including British and American sounds but also Asian beats, while Asakura has a knack for lyrical worldbuilding and melody lines with a distinctive sense of harmony – and the combination is something truly special. Their unique world is enhanced even further by Asakura’s emotional vocal delivery.
 
Within the first year of their formation, muque were picked up by Japanese media such as Eggs, radio station J-Wave and others as a breakthrough new band, and were selected as the cover stars for Spotify’s ‘RADAR: Early Noise’ and ‘Kirakira Pop: Japan’ playlists. Their high level of musicality aligned them perfectly with the city pop boom.

While the band did not perform live within their first year, they began to dominate stages in Japan from spring 2023. Fueled by the awesome technique of each of the members, they have become an unmissable live band.

In November 2023, muque’s EP ‘Design’ was released by the Japanese label A.S.A.B. The lead song ‘456’ ranked No.7 on J-Wave’s TOKIO HOT 100 chart, and despite being based in Fukuoka, far from Japan’s capital, they were picked up by media nationwide in 2023, leading to high expectations for their success in 2024.

The band name muque merges the French word “musique”, which of course means “music”, and the Japanese word “muku”, which means “innocence”. The name signifies the band’s desire to remain innocent and untainted, to make pure music that comes only from within.

muque links

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