Neu CHAI are the Japanese dance-pop group bringing NEOKawaii to the masses

If, on this side of the world, the Japanese concept of Kawaii has slowly become a light-hearted, catch-all term for slightly kitsch cuteness, then back in the country of its origin the word has a more loaded meaning. “In society, the definition of ‘cute’ is set. Characteristics such as ‘big eyes’, ‘skinny legs’, ‘large breasts’, and ‘taller noses’ are considered cute,” explains Yuuki – one quarter of genre-fusing dance-pop group CHAI. But now, promoting a self-concocted manifesto of NEOKawaii (aka the new cute), the quartet - completed by sisters Mana and Kana, plus their pal Yuna - are preaching a new set of rules. “We, ourselves, aren’t perfect so that’s where the NEOKawaii idea came from,” she continues. “We do feel like there is a large pressure in Japan for women to live up to these Kawaii standards and pop stars in Japan have even more of a pressure put on them because many people look up to them. But in reality, the characteristics everyone is born with should be what makes them cute! We want to send the message that the way you are is perfect!”

Formed back in 2015 when school friends Mana, Kana and Yuna decided to upscale their music club hobby into a fully-fledged band, recruiting drummer Yuuki along the way, CHAI land as a fairly unique proposition. Acknowledging that it’s “very difficult to break out of Japan as a band or artist in general,” they’ve bucked the trend, signing to Heavenly for the release of forthcoming debut LP ‘PINK’ and with a UK tour in support of Superorganism set for the autumn.

It’s not just their feminist approach to Japanese beauty standards that marks them out from the norm either. Mixing dance, punk and pop influences, their cultural and genre fusion is at once heavily indebted to the alternative Western artists that they revere but with an innate Japanese twist. It’s a melting pot that they’ve cultivated on the job. While all four grew up listening predominantly to Japanese music, including the country’s omnipresent idol groups (think One Direction meets the Mickey Mouse Club), it was only when they started playing together and meeting a diverse array of new people that the doors were kicked open to a whole new set of sounds. “We met someone in the entertainment business who recommended we listen to Western artists such as Phoenix, tune-yards, DEVO, Gorillaz, JUSTICE, Tom Tom Club, and N.E.R.D,” they explain, “and since then we haven’t turned back.”