The new single is the first in a series of releases between the artist and Flying Lotus’s label which celebrates 15 years releasing genre-defying music in 2023.

Hakushi Hasegawa is a musician/singer-songwriter based in Tokyo, Japan, and the first Japanese artist signed to the Brainfeeder label. Releasing since 2018, they’ve already made a name for themselves domestically with a string of wonderfully wild releases and started to build a cult following internationally. Hakushi performed at the online festival “Secret Sky” in May 2020 hosted by Porter Robinson (4M viewers) and they graced the cover of “MUSIC MAGAZINE” in September 2020 – one of the most influential music publications in Japan. Collabs to date have included Kid Fresino, yuigot, TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA, Yukichikasaku/men and Eye from Boredoms. This weekend they will make their debut at the iconic music festival Fuji Rock in Japan.

Consistent with Brainfeeder’s ethos of seeking out artists operating outside the confines of genre since the label started in 2008, Hakushi’s music is tricky to categorize as it straddles a few genres: alternative, electronic, jazz, pop/J-pop. Sometimes it’s pretty, at times it’s very intense and fast-paced. Invited to contribute to Brainfeeder’s lockdown live stream show on Twitch – “The Hit” – in 2021 their performance was the catalyst for Flying Lotus to bring them into the Brainfeeder artist family. Hakushi was already a fan of both the label head and his imprint’s output, citing Iglooghost, Jameszoo, DJ Paypal and Thundercat as important influences on their approach to making music.

New single ‘Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)’ features bass by the super-respected and talented Sam Wilkes of Leaving Records. Deeply embedded in the LA scene, Sam regularly collaborates with the likes of Sam Gendel, Louis Cole, Jacob Mann, Chris Fishman and more.

Hakushi explains the meaning behind new track “Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)”:
“What I feel I should do from now on is to disturb the music with my own body, and to expose the chaos, although it is not coherent. I believe that this song is the very beginning of that process. (The body is always subject to the forces of history and categorization, but always seems to be situated between individual narratives, songs, and dances at the same time.)”

“It is a real honor to be able to release the song on such an important label as Brainfeeder, which has been presenting the chaos of music throughout its activities since 2008”, they add.

Released alongside the new single “Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)” is an official music video directed by Tsuribu Tokyo who describes the inspiration for the visual accompaniment: “Based on the energy of the music and its unique rhythm, which sounds like the Japanese festival (Matsuri) music, the video is directed and produced under the theme of "New Matsuri", which combines all cultures and elements. The video includes fragmentary situations and scenes that were picked up by Hakushi Hasegawa themselves; powerful dance performance by Yoon Ji - the upcoming dancer based in Korea; adorable, quirky characters and animation by Sawako Kageyama; and live-action video by Rintaro Unno that sharply captures the reality of the world. It also combines a variety of images, including graphic design using fireworks as a motif, and depicts an unknown festival and excitement by blending seemingly divergent elements of reality and unreality together.”

“Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)” is out now on Brainfeeder Records. “Please give it a listen – I did my best!” says Hakushi. “Yoroshiku Onegaishinmasu! Say cheese!”