Tashaki Miyaki

 

The Los Angeles based duo Tashaki Miyaki will release their highly anticipated debut album, ‘The Dream’, on April 7th via Metropolis Records and have just shared the first taste of the upcoming release via a new single entitled ‘Girls On T.V.’

 

 

Tashaki Miyaki have kept it mysterious since their inception. In their early days, the 

band's members often performed under aliases and even the roots of their moniker remain 

hazy (though it may or may not have first come from a mispronunciation of Japanese film

director Takashi Miike's name).

 

The band was born out of a late night jam session in early 2011, when local legend Joel 

Jerome recorded what would become the band's first original song, ‘Somethin’ Is Better 

Than Nothin" and a cover of The Everly Brothers classic, ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream'. 

Within a few weeks of posting the songs on Bandcamp, the band was invited to London 

where they played their first ever live show to a packed crowd at the legendary 100 Club.

 

In the six years since, Tashaki Miyaki have released three singles and an EP on UK labels 

Luv Luv Luv, For Us Records (Rough Trade Imprint) and The Sounds of Sweet Nothing, as well 

as a single on their own label, Blonde Dog. Influential local label Burger Records also 

put out a collection of the band's early recordings. These releases received international 

acclaim in Mojo, NME, The New York Times and Pitchfork, among other media outlets.

 

In a New Band Of The Day feature, the Guardian deemed the group a "female Jesus and Mary 

Chain, whose vocals cut like honey-coated razor blades." Others have compared the band to 

Mazzy Star, Spiritualized and The Velvet Underground, but Tashaki Miyaki considers film to 

be their closest muse.

 

Band members cite David Lynch and his composer Angelo Badalamenti, plus Sergio Leone’s 

partnership with Ennio Morricone, to be as powerful an influence as music by artists like 

Lou Reed, Neil Young, David Bowie and My Bloody Valentine. Tashaki Miyaki's songs are 

designed with visual inspiration: seeing the band perform live is a multimedia experience, 

where their haunting music is paired with ever-changing, curated cinematic backdrops, 

creating a full sensory experience. Their dream-like aesthetic has been mirrored in stark 

and alluring music videos created by talented filmmaker and friend, Juan Iglesias.

 

Tashaki Miyaki have toured and played festivals across North America, the UK and mainland 

Europe. The band has also performed at art museums around the world, i

ncluding The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and MoMA, New York.

 

Tashaki Miyaki has spent the last two years writing and recording their debut LP, 

‘The Dream’, produced by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Paige Stark and engineered 

by Dan Horne (Cass McCombs, Allah Las). As a writer for the Fader once observed of the 

band’s hypnotic sound, “It's so pretty I’m afraid saying anything else might diminish it.".

 

Also a video for the lead single debut album by Los Angeles based duo 

is available now. It is directed by James Franco and stars Juno Temple.

Franco states that Temple “plays an innocent soul seeing Hollywood for the first time.” 

He adds that the clip was inspired by Midnight Cowboy, Fallen Angels and the Robert 

Redford movie Electric Horseman.

 

 

 

 

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