CHAI are returning to Europe for the first time in four years, introducing their 4th studio album CHAI during the We The CHAI TOUR! Having just finished their North American tour, the Pop band is soon heading to Europe with four continental European shows and seven in the UK!
CHAI, formed in Nagoya in 2012, gained momentum in 2017 when signing Sony Music Japan and playing their first US show at Japan Nite at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. They have collaborated with Gorillaz and Duran Duran, among other international artists, and set out to redefine Japanese cuteness. Using their own genre label, ›Neo Kawaii band‹—with ›neo‹ being short for ›new exciting onna-band (all-female band)‹ [ニュー・エキサイト・オンナバンド]—, the members of CHAI aim to deconstruct the Japanese standards of beauty and cuteness, which the band experience as oppressive. »Neo Kawaii is about reclaiming self-esteem,« lead vocalist MANA states.
The song NEO KAWAII, K? from the band’s latest album, CHAI, which dropped on the 22nd of September, 2023, encapsulates all that. With their self-titled album, CHAI are drawing inspiration from City Pop, a loosely defined Tokyo urban sound that was particularly popular in the 1970s and 80s. The genre has become a pop culture phenomenon overseas in recent years, yet for the Japanese band, it is childhood music.
Do you want to experience how neo-kawaii CHAI are live on stage? Check out their European tour dates!
Tour Dates We The CHAI TOUR! in Europe 2023
11/01 – Pitchfork Music Festival, Berlin, Germany
11/03 – Badaboum, Paris, France
11/05 – Paradiso Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands
11/06 – Botanique, Orangerie, Brussels, Belgium
11/08 – Heartbreakers, Southampton, UK
11/09 – Patterns, Brighton, UK
11/10 – Pitchfork Music Festival, London, UK
11/12 – Yes (Pink Room), Manchester, UK
11/14 – Broadcast, Glasgow, UK
11/15 – Headrow House, Leeds, UK
11/16 – Rough Trade, Bristol, UK
