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From Staff:
Japanese Alternative Magazine (JP ALT MAG) prides itself in outstanding middle-class citizen journalism.
We are a collective of Japanese-music-obsessed English-speaking writers and volunteers who live only to satisfy you: the reader.
We focus on interviews, monthly mixtapes, current acts alongside deep dives into music history.
We recommend keeping this page open at all times on your device of choice to stay updated about strange, wonderful, experimental and alternative music from Japan. JP ALT staff are certain you’ll find a band you love here.
JP ALT Deep Dives
Interviews
Monthly Mixtape
JP ALT’s Best of March ’26
ผ้าอ้อม99999- Junk Pop Right after going mildly viral for their…
JP ALT’s Best of ’25
JP ALT’s Seb, Emily and Cam pick their favorite releases…
More from JP ALT
Essays
(ESSAY) Yellow Magic: YMO, Mirrors, and the Reversal of Orientalist Gaze
“YMO’s music and thoughts function like a mirror, reflecting how the West looks at the East, and also how the East looks back at itself from that gaze.” Yellow Magic: YMO, Mirrors, and…
In search of lost tunes: Nakasi, the flowing Soul of the East Asian Underground
From Shinjuku to Taipei, Nakasi was the raw, analog heartbeat of the East Asian working class. It was ‘Early Taiwanese Jazz’ that breathed with the working class, a “rustic and urban-rooty” soul fighting…
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Email a sample of your work to: contactus@japanesealternative.net