Micalyn

ATARASHII GAKKO! are a four-woman J-pop band that have given jaw-dropping performances this year at festivals including Coachella and Primavera. On the next World Cafe, they play songs from their latest album AG Calling! and talk about playing with people’s expectations of what a J-pop group can do.

MGMT once again made a record that sounds nothing like you’d expect, but that’s no surprise for the psychedelic pop outfit. On their fifth album, Loss of Life, the band grows up. Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser join us to talk about how less acid, more stability, and a slight nod to 80s metal goes a long way, in an encore edition of the next World Cafe.

Davina Robinson was born and raised in the U.S. near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then launched a career as a blues musician after moving to Osaka, Japan. On the next World Cafe, she looks back on why she came to Japan and what it was like for her to relocate there, and gives a live performance from UrBANGUILD in Kyoto that includes her song that won “Best Blues Song” in the 2020 UK Songwriting Contest.

The Felice Brothers’ latest album, Valley of Abandoned Songs, once again sees brothers Ian and James Felice mixing clever and amusing lyrics with skilled musicianship. Alongside bandmates Will Lawrence and Jesske Hume, the band performs a mini concert of songs from the new record, as well as songs from their 2021 album, From Dreams to Dust, on the next World Cafe.

Japanese 4-piece The Bawdies draw on the sound of ‘50s and ‘60s American and UK rock. On the next World Cafe, they talk about why they were so drawn to that sound when they started writing music two decades ago. Plus, a live performance from Tokyo’s Top Beat Club that includes music from their latest album,「POPCORN」.