A psychedelic rock band from Japan, Kikagaku Moyo was formed in the summer of 2012. The founding members are Go Kurosawa, who plays drums and provides vocals, alongside Tomo Katsurada, a guitarist and singer. After spending some time busking on the streets of Tokyo as a musical collective, the two recruited Daoud Popal on guitar and Kotsu Guy on bass. A fifth member, Ryu Kurosawa, was later added to the line-up. Ryu is Go's brother and plays the sitar. He was only able to join Kikagaku Moyo after he returned from India, where he had been studying his instrument under the tutelage of the renowned Manilal Lag.

Kikagaku Moyo's career milestones

The band's eponymous debut record was released in August 2013. The album came out on the Cosmic Eye/Sound Effect record label, based in Greece, and was soon followed up by Forest of Lost Children, an entirely new album. This was released in May 2014, on a US label. The band then toured all over America to promote the work, often supporting high profile acts. The band took to the stages at some prestigious festivals at this time, including Desert Daze and the Austin Psych Fest, to name but two.

A new work named Mammatus Clouds was released on Sky Lantern Records later in 2014. Sitting somewhere between an EP and an LP, this mini album was originally only available as a tape but was later pressed onto 12" vinyl by Cardinal Fuzz Records in the UK and Captcha Records in the US. In October 2014, Kikagaku Moyo made their first appearances in the UK, selling out a number of dates in the capital city.

Kikagaku Moyo's widening appeal

In 2015, the group toured extensively throughout many European countries. They conducted a string of live shows and appeared at key events such as Eindhoven Psych Lab and Duna Jam. The single “Flujo y Reflujo” was put out that year, soon followed by “Spinning Wheel”. Some members of Kikagaku Moyo also started their own record label in 2015. Guruguru Brain was the resulting business, which was designed to showcase the wider Asia psychedelic music scene, as well as the band themselves.

Kikagaku Moyo unleashed their third studio album on the public in 2016. House in the Tall Grass came out on Guruguru Brain and featured elements of folk music as well as rock. An EP, called Stone Garden, followed on the same label the following year.

Similar to Kikagaku Moyo

Fans of rock music and psychedelia should seek out tickets at StubHub for acts such as Fushitsusha, a Japanese band, or Psychic Ills, from New York.