BED: TOKYO’S POST-PUNK RENEGADES
There’s always been something admirable in the way that Tokyo has embraced the punk ethos. With a society rooted in conformity, conservatism and suppression, artists who do strike out against the grain usually do with added gusto. Anyone can be a punk when you’re surrounded by lip piercings and liberty spiked renegades, but when your environment does everything in its power to hammer down any semblance of individuality, you’ve got to have guts to bite back.
Tokyo rock unit bed are one of Japan’s newest groups to do just that. Bringing their enigmatic blend of post-punk dissidence and electronic experimentation, they have slowly amassed a cult-like following of fans, who are proud to call the band their own.
Since their formation in 2022, the group has done everything contrary to the industry’s expectations. While other scenes have remained closed off, insular, resistant to collaboration, bed has aggressively challenged the line separating club culture and rock. And where others have sold out, the band have doubled down on their commitment to craft and authenticity.
When asked what makes them different from other groups, bass player Shinji, arguably one of their most outspoken members, proclaims an almost manifesto like list of principles, pointing out that they’re, “just doing what should be obvious if you want to be a real rock band”.
Fresh off a recent tour of the UK and their now legendary annual event “bedroom”, GATA managed to sit down with Shinji and discuss the band’s formation, their distinct visual identity and the necessity of rejecting everything deemed “normal” in the Japanese rock scene.
GATA: When did you all start making music together?
Shinji: Right before forming bed in 2022, I was a failed songwriter, and Tatsuya was in some J-indie pop band. We were both washed up, not living ideal lives. We used to sit in the living room of the place we shared, talking about how completely messed up our situation was within the Japanese music industry.
We didn’t start making music because we admired that industry, and we couldn’t find any value anymore in “adjusting” ourselves just to survive within that system. In the end, there was no place for us there. We were just dropouts. Misfits.
At some point, we decided that survival didn’t matter anymore, we’d just make whatever we genuinely thought was cool, without thinking about anything else. That same night, we made two demos in my room. They sounded like Killing Joke and Joy Division or something like that. Both were trash, so we scrapped them, but something in me rebooted.
It felt exactly like when I was in high school, blasting Rage Against the Machine during class. Like, “this is it.” For me, that was the real beginning of everything.
“We didn’t start making music because we admired that industry, and we couldn’t find any value anymore in ‘adjusting’ ourselves just to survive within that system.”
GATA: How are bed different from other bands in Tokyo right now?
Shinji: Rejecting everything that’s considered “normal” in the Japanese rock scene.
Turning down every lame event offer, no matter how good the money was.
Cutting off all connections with uncool media.
Not releasing music just for the sake of it.
Instead, putting all our energy into live performance.
As a result, having a genuinely cool fanbase.
Being aware of the responsibility we have toward that community.
Having real connections with true underground artists and DJs in Tokyo.
Making innovative sound.
Creating innovative visuals.
Being a genuinely powerful live band.
As a result, finding the best possible team.
Not forgetting our anger.
At the end of the day, we’re just doing what should be obvious if you want to be a real rock band.
GATA: What’s your creative process like?
Shinji: In the beginning, I used to build songs by taking material from jam sessions and reconstructing them afterwards. But that got repetitive, so now it’s half and half.
Half of the time I build demos in Logic, and the other half I shape things in the studio, playing together and deciding everything in the moment.
In both cases, I often start from the bassline. It’s like building from the core outward.
Since meeting Zach Nahome last year, I’ve also been writing with him, and that’s opened up new ideas.
The most important thing in making music is how far you can go with just one drum kit, one bass, one guitar, and one vocal, how far you can take that into something like the universe.
“Looking back, Tokyo’s nightlife from 2022 to 2023 was really special. There was so much energy, and different people and cultures were naturally mixing together. We were lucky to start the band in that moment.”
GATA: Let’s talk about visual identity. I think what really got me into your band was the energy of your live performances, as well as the visuals on your Instagram. Can you tell us a little bit about the visual universe of bed?
Shinji: bed’s visual identity is based on the same idea as the music, not how we’re seen, but how we exist. The black and green palette, the use of text, everything connects as one continuous world. The concept of “bed 2052 Tokyo” is part of that. It feels like we exist in a layer slightly out of sync with reality, and we translate that directly into visuals.
Each of the four of us fits into that world naturally as a character. I think every band should have its own signature tone.
GATA: The black and green, was this a homage to The Matrix? If so, what is it about that film that resonated with the band?
Shinji: The black and green visuals and the code-like text aren’t just a homage to The Matrix.
What resonated with us was that sense of a gap between what you see and the actual structure behind it, and that discomfort toward reality: it felt very close to what we’ve experienced in Japan. So we naturally moved toward that kind of expression.
At the same time, I think the essence of that film is just people beating the hell out of each other, and that’s also what makes it great.
“The core community that comes to our bedroom event is extremely important. Seeing them release energy and enjoy themselves at our shows makes me really happy. I call them ‘bedroomers’. They’re a bit wild, but they’re passionate about music, fashion, and culture: cool people who know how to enjoy things properly. ”
GATA: Your newest music video ‘kaze’; what was the concept behind this video?
Shinji: The video for “kaze” is like a teaser for a larger story called “bed 2052 Tokyo”, centred around the four of us.
We crash-landed into this era from 2052. We all come from different times and different organisations. And there’s something we have to resolve by 2052. The video just shows fragments of that. You get what I mean?
GATA: I feel like the video for ‘kaze’ [wind] has pushed the band in a new direction. A darker and more visceral place. Can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with the director Domu? How important has he been in constructing the visual element of the band?
Shinji: I’ve known Domu since before we started bed. I always knew his photography was great, and at first he’d just come by occasionally to shoot our shows. But one day he told us, “Shooting bed feels special to me, so let me know all of your future shows.”
After that, he also came into this era with us, and we started spending more time together, including overseas. Now he’s an essential part of bed’s visual identity.
We constantly share ideas about visuals together. He’s an irreplaceable member of the team.
GATA: I want to talk about the lyrics in ‘kaze’. Sparse, cold, and cryptic. In a way like other songs you‘ve written in the past, you don’t seem to hand meaning directly to your audience. Is this a conscious choice?
Shinji: Tatsuya wrote the lyrics for this song, so I can only answer from my own interpretation, but to me it’s basically about impermanence (shogyou mujo). Everything is constantly flowing, passing, and eventually disappearing. It fits the minimal structure of the song perfectly. I think it’s a really good set of lyrics.
GATA: Is there something that entered your lives and left too soon? Something that you wish you could hold on to just a little longer.
Shinji: Looking back, Tokyo’s nightlife from 2022 to 2023 was really special. There was so much energy, and different people and cultures were naturally mixing together. We were lucky to start the band in that moment. Now things have calmed down, for better or worse: it feels like a still surface. I don’t think that atmosphere will ever come back.
GATA: I think the short documentary on ANGURA really highlighted not just your sound but also the dedicated fanbase that has emerged around your band. How important is, not only the music, but the sense of community within your live shows?
Shinji: For us, the core community that comes to bedroom is extremely important. Seeing them release energy and enjoy themselves at our shows make me really happy. I call them “bedroomers”. They’re a bit wild, but they’re passionate about music, fashion, and culture: cool people who know how to enjoy things properly.
We don’t say much, but I feel a real connection with them. I hope they feel the same.
GATA: Talking about community, can you tell us a little bit about the importance of the bar ZOOKID? How important is it to have these kinds of establishments in Tokyo?
Shinji: ZOOKID is a small community, maybe around a hundred people, but it’s not just for “cool people.” It’s raw, messy, and mixed. Artists, business owners, unemployed people, students, salarymen, idols, girls from hostess bars, even former yakuza, somehow everyone coexists.
It’s not something you can measure as cool or uncool. There are always small dramas going on, but somehow there’s a strong sense of connection. In a city like Tokyo where you can live without interacting with anyone, a place where strangers connect like a family feels almost futuristic.
GATA: How about “Bedroom”? This event seems to have cultivated almost a legendary reputation. What was the genesis of this event?
Shinji: We started “bedroom” because there were no events in Japan that we genuinely wanted to play. So we figured we had to create it ourselves. It was pretty impulsive. We wanted it to be more than just music: a complete world including people and atmosphere. Somehow it became a unique space with a slightly cult-like energy, something between a band scene and a club scene.
GATA: What’s next for bed?
Shinji: In Japan right now, when I see kids starting bands because they look up to people like King Gnu, I feel a sense of responsibility as an adult. It’s honestly embarrassing, and I feel sorry for those kids.
I don’t think rock music is meant to be background music for Japan’s entertainment industry, or for nostalgia, or to be consumed as city pop or J-pop, or for some indie scene where everyone just plays nice.
At any time, it should just be about running full speed, in the shortest way possible, toward whatever feels the most “insane”. You don’t need technical skill or greatness for that. That’s all we’re doing, just heading straight in that direction. It’s more like… wake up.