How a Japanese expatriate bulletin board helped form a British indie pop trio
In short: In 2011, two producers in London were searching for a specific sound. By posting ads on a Japanese expatriate message board, they discovered Sarah Midori Perry. Her unique bilingualism and art background transformed their project into Kero Kero Bonito, a band that defies easy musical categorization.
Formed in London in 2011, Kero Kero Bonito—comprising Gus Lobban, Jamie Bulled, and vocalist Sarah Midori Perry—began as a project driven by an interest in Japanese rap. Lobban and Bulled, who met as teenagers in Bromley, recruited Perry after seeing her response to an advertisement on MixB, an online bulletin board for Japanese expatriates. Though Perry had previously collaborated with a Japanese girl group, she entered the project without professional singing experience, motivated simply by a desire to experiment.
The band's sonic identity has been famously fluid. Their early work drew heavily from J-pop, dancehall, and video game music, often utilizing a Casio SA-46 mini-keyboard for songwriting. This playful, hyperpop, and bubblegum aesthetic shifted significantly around 2018. Following the release of the EP TOTEP, the group moved toward a darker, rock-influenced sound, citing influences from indie rock contemporaries like My Bloody Valentine and Mount Eerie.
This evolution was reflected in their live performances. By April 2018, the ensemble had moved to a 'full band' configuration, incorporating Jennifer Walton on sampler and drums alongside James Rowland on electric guitar to assist Bulled and Lobban. This shift accompanied the release of their second studio album, Time 'n' Place, an era marked by radical changes in the members' personal lives. Today, the band continues to traverse genres, from video game themes for Bugsnax to official anthems for the Pokémon World Championships.
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