Let's Get Into Japanese Hyperpop/Underground Pop Together

Japanese Hyperpop/Underground Pop

In this thread we explore a range of new and upcoming artists in the indie Japanese music scene that blend Hyperpop, Jpop, Hip-hop and other genres. I’ve reformatted this first post to contain my top recs.

I'm having a lot of fun finding out these artists and their incredible music, so please step in to either educate me or join in the fun!

Here are my top recs:

1. 4s4ki

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4s4ki (pronounced "Asaki") is the darling of Japanese Hyperpop and, in my opinion, is the must-checkout artist if you want to get into the scene. She has a massive discography with half a dozen full length albums and EPs as well as lots of singles which makes her discography a bit daunting to begin with, but it is wholly worth the time and effort. She is an amazing artist you cannot miss out on!

Here are some of my favs to get you started:

4s4ki - “I LOVE ME”

4s4ki - FAIRYTALE

(I am a little bit obsessed with the beard in this video lol)

4s4ki - LOG OUT

4s4ki & Rinahamu - NEXUS

(Rinahamu is another great singer to check out)

For her albums I would recommend Killer in Neverland

Once you’ve given it a listen, the next must-listen to albums and EPs are: Castle in Madness, Hyper Angry Cat, Here or Hell, and Here or Heaven

2. 嚩ᴴᴬᴷᵁ

Haku, (usually written as 嚩ᴴᴬᴷᵁ) was part of a group called Dr.Anon with other members e5 and Killwiz (two other artists featured in this thread). She recently released a new EP, Seventh Heaven, and it is an incredible mix of genres, ranging from pop/hyper-pop/glitch-core/drum and bass/ even dubstep in places.

3. Manon

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Next artist to recommend is Manon. Her discography is a bit scrambled, there’s an album early in her career (released when she was 15) of a slightly different sound, so it’s a smattering of her recent singles here that’ll you’ll want to listen to - but there are some absolute amazing tracks that you cannot miss out on.

What makes Manon unique is her mix of rock and pop-punk into the hyperpop sound. Top songs:

4. cyber milkちゃん (Cyber Milk Chan)

When you first heard the phrase "Japanese Hyperpop", the sound that came to mind is probably a sound similar to Cyber Milk Chan's. She brings in kawaii music influence but is very playful with it (giving rise to some entertaining song titles such as "Cyber Milk is your Waifu" and "Milk wants to be a Motorcycle Gang" - those songs are both bangers btw, check them out!)

5. KAMIYA/XAMIYA

Next up we have the multi-talented Kamiya, who is both a soloist and in a duo called Xamiya. Both projects are definitely worth checking out and it feels like Xamiya might blow-up sometime soon.

Fun fact, Kamiya almost debuted in XG (I'm glad she didn't as her solo music is much more my style).

Kamiya's best solo song:

Xamiya's best song:

More Artists

The recs above are really just scratching the surface, here's more artists to get into:

Golin

Golin is a mysterious artist who strikes me as being the closest to western Hyperpop artists in sound and visuals. She has an amazing EP called Crush:

Stand-out songs are Ringo Love and Play Odds:

MANAKA

Manaka dabbles with Hyperpop, y2k and trap. Check out this absolute banger (this song is fiiiiiirrrrreeee):

She has an EP, Pretty Machine Gun which is great and has some songs less Trap and more Pop (like bad sad boi)

e5

e5 (pronounced "Ego") brings a melodic hip-hop and futurebass sound. I'm looking forward to more from her:

Killwiz

Killwiz is super underrated, she was the third member of Dr.Anon alongside Haku and e5. She has an amazing EP released recently (please check out 'Imaginary Line')

Lilniina

Check out this great song:

Yoyou

An artist to watch - she has a sweet and sentimental hyperpop sound and takes influence from draingang (such as Ecco2k)

The Korean Side

There's a growing scene of similar Korean artists too (and some collabs, like Effie and Manaka), so check out this thread for more:

Thread

Korean Hyperpop/Underground Pop

Korean Hyperpop and Underground Pop
forum.allkpop.com/suite/attachment/307978/
forum.allkpop.com/suite/attachment/308324/

This thread started as me spamming about Effie, an up and coming singer/rapper who has a Hyperpop/digicore sound - think 100 gecs, Drain Gang, Jane Remover and Skrillex.

Since then, the thread has grown to include other artists that fall under the Hyperpop umbrella. Now Hyperpop covers a vast array of sounds, and the Korean scene is no exception: Here you'll find everything from…

Bottles

May 10th 2025

Quote from StanGIDLE

I will check out these songs later. It's interesting that some of the hyperpop sound was influenced from 2000s to early 2010s Japanese music

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Thanks for replying StanGIDLE! (I thought you might).

Yeah I am struggling with genres a little bit, as mentioned in the OP. This isn't just Hyperpop, it's the Trap/drill infused hyperpop similar to the drain gang sound. A lot of it sounds fairly underground too and isn't polished and refined by any means.

After listening, if there's a better genre name, let me know and I will update the thread title. Maybe Hypertrap?

As for the stuff you mentioned, I am a big fan of almost all of them. I love Yasutake Nakata's work, especially with Perfume who are one of my all time greats. For me, Point by Perfume would be described as Liquid Drum'n'bass fused with Shibuya Kei, but I always feel a little bit of uncertainty when expressing genres.

The Tommy track is amazing. I will add that to some playlists. I love her Heavenly6 persona (the pop-punk side), but had always dismissed February as not my thing. Turns out I was wrong!

I actually hear a bit of Crystal Castles in the synth work of that song (of course the vocal styles are wildly different), but that lines up as Crystal Castles are also touted as an early inspiration for Hyperpop.

PS. If you watch the Yoyou video I posted, does she remind you of TripleS Zhou Xinyu a little? She's like Xinyu but with the aura of Sohyun.

StanGIDLE Thanks, I'll dig through the recs and let you know what I think. Wednesday Campanella is not quite my thing, but there's bound to be something I like in all those songs. Also thanks for helping me get my head around Hyperpop a little bit more. What you say about few artists using it as a label for themselves, lines up with what I am reading elsewhere too.

I did a bit more digging down the iceberg today, and this song by Kamiya is absolute fire (music video is super cool too!) I was worried that all of Kamiya's stuff was going to be Eurobeat (which I am not that into), but this isn't eurobeat at all (nor is it Hypertrap, just straight up Hyperpop).

Quote from StanGIDLE

I like that Kamiya song. I will check more of her stuff later. This is right up my alley and that hook is fire. Her energy really helps the song too

YESSS LET'S STAN KAMIYA TOGETHER! I love the way she starts that vid - taking off her jacket, stubbing out a cigarette and then starts vibing (that little dance she does at the "follow me" lyrics is so good)

She's quickly becoming my fav. She has an EP from 2024 that isn't very good, but has a string of singles from 2023 that are soooooo good. Would recommend Miniskirt as the next song to listen to.

So my cursory readings into her, seems like she almost debuted in XG(!?) and she was the top trainee during their formation but pulled out to follow her heart and make her own music.

Also, she's in this Galfy project song I posted in the OP. But worth a listen if you didn't have time before (and it's nice to see a music video that doesn't look like it was filmed on a Nokia lol:

I completely redid the first post in this thread to try and make it a bit more readable. I want to start using this thread to regularly post songs I find that I like and fit this vibe.

Quote from StanGIDLE

Some current

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So Stan, it looks like you were already listening to Kamiya, as Xamiya seems to be a duo she is in. Slightly different style, but I still like what I hear.

Quote from StanGIDLE

omg lol it didn't hit me that it's her haha. I didn't follow on her social media yet and was just vibing to the music. That explains why I sensed some familiarity when you posted Kamiya but didn't realize why haha.

I hope we hear more because there's potential in both of her acts.

Totally agreed! am falling pretty hard for her right now. Have you listened to this Xamiya song? I freaking love it:

My main takeaway from this thread so far is Kamiya is one of the most underrated artists in all of Japan (maybe the world). She absolutely rocks both styles.

It looks like Xamiya is her current project and her solo is taking the back seat for now. They are gearing up for another single soon and will then have enough for an album.

Quote from StanGIDLE

Yeah, I have listened to that song. The duo has a very interesting sound. I wonder if they'll gain recognition

hold up she was an XG trainee? That's pretty crazy to be that close in joining XG.

Yeah, it’s crazy right. It shows how talented she is, singing, dancing, song writing (for her solo music she also writes all the lyrics, so that hook in Final Boss is her own work), and now she’s in an alternative electronic duo showing a completely different style to before.

I think it’s right for her to pursue Xamiya. They really feel like they could blow up big time.

cyber milkちゃん (Cyber Milk Chan)

Okay, another artist that has really impressed me as I get more into this scene is Cyber Milk Chan.

She's in the Galfy4 song with Kamiya (which I am starting to realise is like a super-group song of this Hyperpop Scene!) - she sings the first verse, after the intro chorus.

Cyber Milk Chan has really surprised me with her very big discography that is filled with many amazing tunes!

It's got a lot of Hyperpop and Kawaii Trap tracks, but also moves into ambient and experimental sounds too (the full-length Flesh album is mostly ambient electronica).

She only has 1 music video right now, but it's for one of her best songs 'Sunkissed':

(If you watch this video, I'll say stick with it despite the bikinis at the start lol, it's a really cool video - just also filled with random bikini scenes too (which seems to be a thing with these artists idkw).

But, if I was to recommend you 1 song to try and get you hooked, it would be this one. It's a great song that showcases both her ambient and Drum 'n' Bass influence as well as her hyperpop:

Also, she has 2 spotify accounts (It seems Japan isn't very good at using Spotify just yet), so check out the other too as it has some great features she has done:

StanGIDLE Thanks for the recs! I'll give a proper response once I have gone through them. Manon has been on my radar to listen to as she is another artist in the now legendary Galfy 4 song (posted so many times in this thread now lol :

And Lilniina is on my radar because she features with Manaka in this song:

I wanted to make a quick post about this Haku EP that dropped yesterday, because I am frankly blown away by it (no skips, love every song, already listened to it multiple times!)

Haku - Seventh Heaven

So Haku, (sometimes written as 嚩ᴴᴬᴷᵁ) is another of the Galfy 4 alumni. She had a few songs to her name, but nothing substantial. Yesterday she dropped a new EP, Seventh Heaven and I am blown away by it.

It has a range of genres, pop/hyper-pop/glitch-core/drum and bass/ even dubstep in places. It's kinda all over the place but it is pulled off so well. It has a range of collabs on each of the songs too, including Kamiya.

Anyway, that's enough yapping. It's like 17 mins long, so when you get the chance give it a listen from start to finish. It is a no skips record.

She has, um, 1,548 monthly listeners on Spotify so is criminally underrated.

EDIT - Music Video too!

Quote from StanGIDLE

Recently popped up in discovery

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This artist seems interesting mixes more hip hop into her music

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Thought it was interesting she covered tommy februrary6 lonely in gorgeous. She does have some interesting music

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Was listening to some of Kamiya's older songs and i enjoyed this one. It's different than what she releaes now but thought it was interesting

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I’ve been going through these recs the past few days and I think my brain is melting from the amount of amazing new artists I’ve been exposed to in this thread and the others (do you feel the same way?) - so many amazing songs! I think I have doubled the amount of artists I have in regular rotation.

Manon

Wow! I am getting absolutely obsessed with Manon. I fell in love with Fake Friends. Have to you dived deep into her discography yet? HER MUSIC IS SOOOO GOOD! She has a lot of songs in the same vein. I love all the guitars and rock elements she throws into the hyper pop mix.

I’ve been hooked on this live/music video, the energy is incredible:

And I love her new song. It’s somewhere between the song from Nana (Glamorous Sky) and Qwer’s Overdrive (which I remember you love), so make sure you give this a listen if it has slipped under your radar (it’s not on YouTube):

e5

I’ve really been enjoying e5 too. She has a bit of a future bass sound and so many good songs. I love Entanglement that you posted. Her new song from a few days ago is such a bop.

This song is so good too. Love the key change toward the end of the song.

Quote

It's also jokes that it featured many of the artist posted in the thread

Haha, I know right. I presume all the artists are hanging out together in Tokyo which is why they all feature on each other’s records. This all feels like such a fresh and exciting scene. I wonder if it feels that same for them, as in, I wonder if there’s a buzz and growing hype around them? (It’s so hard for me to gauge stuff from Japan ) I guess we’ll be able to see in a few months time if they start getting bigger.

I have another quick recommendation for an artist called Golin.

She has an amazing EP called Crush:

Stand-out songs are Ringo Love and Play Odds:

I think what’s the most interesting thing about her is she is the most “Western-hyperpop” coded artist I have found so far (not that this was my goal, I am just here for good music first and foremost), but it is cool to find an artist that is primarily drawing inspiration from Western hyperpop artists and emulating their style rather than incorporating into a more Jpop sound.

I’ve started reformatting the first post to reflect my favourite artists as I have had more time to digest all this amazing new music.

Over the past week or so I have finally had the time to give 4s4ki a proper listen. She has such a massive discography and to be honest I bounced off the first few songs I listen too (her top songs on Spotify), but once I started digging deeper, wow! She has quickly become my favourite J-hyperpop artist overall - I am utterly obsessed with her lol.

New Releases

There’s been 2 great new songs released this week from e5 and Lilniina:

Lilniina - Anata

This is definitely my favourite Lilniina song to date. I’ve seen it being discussed in a few places online too so it has a chance of blowing up I think.

e5 - Dive Job

More melodic hip-hop/future bass from e5, it’s another banger. I presume this rapid pace of releases means an album or EP is just around the corner. Whatever it is, I can’t wait!

StanGIDLE You recommend me a 4s4ki song right at the start of this thread. Have you listened to her discography in depth? It is incredible! I need someone to geek with over her!

Killwiz

Another great artist I recently discovered (by checking out the featured artists on Haku's new EP), is Killwiz. She recently released an EP called Complex Archive which is very good. The standout track is 'Imaginary Line' - I really recommend it!

Another great track is this one, kilakila

Dr.Anon

So this is fun, Haku, e5 and Killwiz (called Ponika back then) were once together as a group called 'Dr.Anon'. I haven't listened to them much, but I love this track. It's so cool that all 3 members are establishing themselves as growing solo artists now:

Quote from StanGIDLE

I haven't listened to in depth yet, but some of her songs caught my attention but didn't dig deeper. I will take a dive into her discography

I think the deeper you dig the more you’ll like her. Here are some quick recs (I don’t want to overload you)!

Each of these 3 is from a different album, Hyper Angry Cat, Castle In Madness and Killer in Neverland, which are all amazing albums, but Killer in Neverland would be my pick on what to listen first.

Edward(me)/EDWARD(我)

This is another artist I am starting to get into a lot. She’s a melodic rapper who dabbles in Hyperpop sounds too. She’s really cool. This is my favourite song so far:

But she has a wide range and also has songs like this (which has a Charli XCX vibe to it):

Quote from StanGIDLE

This 4s4ki project slaps. Enjoyed listening to it today. The song below popped up for me on autoplay. I heard some of the tracks on it but will check out the full project tomorrow

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Also that Edward(me) - party slaps. I need to check out her stuff tomorrow too. I like what I am hearing from this track

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Oh, I had missed Bed on my listens of Your Dreamland - yeah that's a really nice song. Your Dreamland EP has these really strong vocal melodies on the tracks that I love - my fav from it has gotta be Nexus (that's in my top 5 4s4ki songs):

Glad you liked Edward(me) too! There's a few more songs in that vein on the album ('i d f c' is great). I am slowly digesting her discography (thankfully not as big as 4s4ki's!)

I also really like the song 'speed', but that's a very dark and minimal trap song. I am impressed with her diversity in sound!

Quote from StanGIDLE

This popped up. Unsure how hyperpop this is but it does seem to have some elements

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Some good parts in this song

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I guess the producer created an album that has many in this thread on it

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Found this artist she seems a bit interesting. I think she's more rap and some r&b

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Oh yeah, I love that Nova EP - I’ve listened to it quite a lot, and it has so many of the artists in this thread featured on it: Cyber Milk Chan, Kamiya, Haku, e5, Lilniina.

I really like the Rinahamu song you posted too. I had been meaning to add Rinahamu to this thread. She has amazing collabs with 4s4ki, but also I have been hooked on this one she has with SEBii, (I need to add SEBii to the Chinese thread!)

She has a proper EP coming soon which I am looking forward to.

Thanks for the Mezz recommendations, I’ll check out her discography!

So this week has seen a host of outstanding songs drop!

Haku released a music video for the first track from her EP. It’s pretty cool (the song is still sooo good)

e5 released a music video for Dive Job (love love love this song)

We just need Killwiz to release one to finish off the Dr.Anon line, but her career isn’t as far a long yet.

Lastly, 4s4ki put on a new song yesterday. It’s with Masayoshi Iimori, the producer behind some of her best songs like Fairytale and I Love Me. Well, it’s an absolute banger - it’s constructed like a future bass or dubstep song, with an epic build up and drop, but the glitchy wobble synths play out over a UK garage beat. It’s really cool. I must have listened to it ten times already.

The scene continues to amaze me with the best music I have heard in so long.

EDIT-

So no music video from killwiz, but she released a new song yesterday and god damn it slaps - she’s such a hidden gem, less that 2500 monthly listeners but is making some of the best music in the world:

Also, new 2 track single from Cyber milk chan and both songs are incredible! What’s with all these fire songs coming in the same week!?

I asked Reddit if I was missing any female Hyperpop/digicore artists and they gave me some absolute gems. I’ll update the thread as I explore them, but the first is Emma Aibara.

Emma Aibara

So she’s part of the same underground scene as the rest of the artists in this thread, playing the same Tokyo clubs as Cyber Milk Chan and co, but her music is a bit different. It has Hyperpop elements, but is also emo, breakcore, jungle, metalcore - it is totally wild!

Here’s a really good first song to see her style:

It’s on an album she dropped last Friday. I am having fun exploring it now, so many bangers.

She’s also a total scene kid which makes me laugh as I was a scene kid the first time around 😅

Quote from StanGIDLE

A bit behind but was about to make a post about that 4s4ki song . I thought the song was cool

I will check out the other tracks posted. I made a note of things to check out.

The Emma Aibra track you posted is interesting because don't really hear that much rock elements in these tracks but thought it was mixed well. Def going to check out that album this week

No need to feel obliged to listen or comment on everything, this thread is a bit of a dumping ground for me so I don’t mind talking to myself 😅

Yeah that Emma Aiba song is so seamless despite the crazy cocktail of genres. The album is similar vibes all the way through but with loads of good song.

One artist I would like your thoughts on is Peterparker69 - you might already know them because I understand they are blowing up in Japan. They are a different vibe to the rest of the artists in here, but I’ve seen them labelled Hyperpop and from my understanding of your taste, I think you’ll love them! 🙂

Quote from StanGIDLE

No worries. I don't mind the discovery. I usually listen when bored at work, so all good.

I heard of Peterparker69 but unsure if I would label as hyperpop tbh. I guess there are some elements, but I guess with hyperhop you're not really boxed in and it's a pretty broad genre. I think for PeterParker69 from the tracks I've heard it seems you can sense some hip hop influence mixed with alternative pop and various electronic genres. I think it's a nice blend from what they're going for. So, I can see why they're gaining popularity.

Oh yeah, I’m not really concerned if they are Hyperpop or not, just wanted to share them with you as I thought they were cool (I love that song, and the rest of their album is great too).