Urbangarde
Urbangarde is a Tokyo-based Japanese band that started in 2002. The current members are Yoko Hamasaki (Yokotan) on vocals, Temma Matsunaga (Tenma) on vocals, and Kei Okubo on keyboards. Former members include Zeze Shin (Shinsama) on guitar, Kyoichi Kagiyama (Kyouchan) on drums, and Kei Yachimura (Yashi) who played keyboards in the early days.
Their music blends electronic, pop, rock and many other styles, from bubblegum pop and 80s synthpop to punk, new wave, goth, industrial and heavy metal. Lyrically they address social issues in Japan, such as suicide, teen prostitution and pregnancy, death and disease. The band’s name combines "urban" with the French "avant-garde," signaling their experimental approach. They sometimes describe their sound as "Tokyo Virginity Pop" or "Trauma Techno Pop." Visual art is a big part of Urbangarde, including performance art and fashion inspired by otome and Lolita styles; they have even read poetry during shows.
Temma Matsunaga handles much of the creative side, writing the lyrics and shaping the band’s image, videos and promotions. Their videos often feature striking and disturbing imagery—blood, weapons, depictions of suicide, and a giant Kewpie doll that appears at live shows. The doll stands for a baby created by modern society. The band uses red and white polka dots and sailor uniforms as recurring symbols, and they talk about a "shoujo" culture in Japan where sailors and youth are linked to sexuality and gender. They describe Urbangarde as representing the minority of underground cultures, virgins and otakus, a role that helped them grow online.
Influences include Serge Gainsbourg and 1980s technopop. The group was formed when Temma Matsunaga met Yoko Hamasaki after seeing her perform old French songs, and he asked her to become the lead singer. Their rise accelerated in 2007 after a successful showing in Yahoo! Japan's WHO’S NEXT contest, finishing in the top five among more than 3,000 bands.
After several indie releases, they issued major debut singles "Skirt Kakumei" and "Tokimeki ni Shisu" with Universal Music Japan in 2011, followed by the album Mental Hells. They began drawing crowds of over 1,000 in Tokyo. The 2012 album Geiger Counter Culture reached #10 on the daily Oricon chart and made the top 25 weekly, reflecting Japan’s post-Fukushima mood. In interviews, Matsunaga has spoken about political anger and a message to share.
Urbangarde also appeared on the TV show Japan in Motion (NOLIFE TV), which led to a performance at the Toulouse Game Show in December 2012 and helped them gain fans in France. They played at Paris’s Japan Expo in 2013 and released a greatest-hits collection, Koi to Kakumei to URBANGARDE, that included a new track, "Tokai no Alice." Their 2014 album Utsukushii Kuni (Beautiful Country) came out in June; its title plays on the character for depression rather than beauty, and it features artwork by Makoto Aida, a famous contemporary Japanese artist.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:58 (CET).