CreepHyp

Kinetic Japanese rock band CreepHyp has proven throughout its career that it’s possible to both achieve major success and cling tightly to creative ideals. Starting off as an indie outfit, CreepHyp slowly built a following on the strength of its high-energy numbers to become one of the most beloved groups in the country. The rockers formed in Tokyo in 2001 and started playing gigs around the capital over the next few years, creating a regional buzz with memorable songs propelled by Yukichika Ogawa’s speedy guitar playing and Sekaikan Ozaki’s distinctive high-pitched vocals. With time, CreepHyp built a tremendous following across Japan’s indie-rock community before landing on major label Universal Music Japan in the 2010s. The quartet—as adept at crafting jaunty sped-up-slowed-down numbers topped off by Sekaikan’s catchy wordplay (“Aino Tenmetsu”) as they are at branching out into more tender territory bordering on balladry while incorporating horns (“Aisu”)—became leaders of the country’s mainstream rock scene. While the band has since flexed a bit more sonic variety, CreepHyp’s strongest selling point remains its high-energy take on rock, which has turned the group into a fixture on music festival lineups across the archipelago. CreepHyp’s style is uniquely suited to and welcomed by fields of revelers looking to let loose.