New Music Zine N.E.R.O. Launches June 19 with Shibuya Party and Three Cool Bands

Japan Forward

08-06-2025

When was the last time you picked up a really good music magazine? You know – a bound sheaf of pages filled with insightful interviews and striking photography of your favorite musicians? If you thought print was dead, now's your chance to witness the birth of a brand new zine: N.E.R.O.
Chief Editor Yukiko Inoue is a veteran of the analog world. She began her career as a member of Flipper's Guitar, the seminal late-1980s/'90s Shibuya-kei band led by musicians Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada) and Kenji Ozawa. Later, in 2010, she founded the premium music magazine nero, whose pleasingly thick editions featured bilingual interviews with revered artists from Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to Phoenix alongside a plethora of young up-and-comers.
N.E.R.O. founder and Chief Editor Yukiko Inoue.
Despite being an independent magazine, nero quickly attracted attention from music fans and fashionistas alike, with its glossy pages featuring exclusive shots from renowned photographers such as Ellen Von Unwerth and Autumn de Wilde. One issue even featured an exclusive cover illustration of French band Phoenix by artist Klaus Voorman, which referenced the cover artwork he made for the Beatles album Revolver in 1966.
"I like print," says Inoue simply as we chat in a Shibuya cafe. "A lot of magazines have gone out of business over the years, and it has become tough, but I do believe that magazines, writing and photography will always remain. It's like fashion – the trends go round in circles."
Borderless N.E.R.O.
Now, Inoue is preparing to launch N.E.R.O., an English language publication made in Japan. It borrows from the aesthetics of fanzine culture to create bite-sized, carefully crafted issues themed around a different music artist each time. N.E.R.O. will launch with a party in Tokyo on June 19 that includes live performances from Melbourne band HighSchool, Paris-based Pol, and Tokyo's Luby Sparks.
N.E.R.O. presents borderless night. The new zine's upcoming launch party will feature a live set by Melbourne band HighSchool.
Inoue explains that N.E.R.O. was born from the ashes of her previous magazine nero, which faltered during the pandemic. "For various reasons, it felt like a good time to move on," she says. "I had some interviews already planned though, so I decided to find a new way to publish them, in a format that was more suited to the modern era. Magazines don't work the same way they used to, and a website didn't really appeal to me, as I am quite an analog person."
With this in mind, Inoue settled on a zine format. While nero was presented as an aspirational magazine that made its bespoke photography look beautiful and timeless, N.E.R.O. will have a scrappier feel. It will be a series of zines devoted to one artist per issue, and readers can choose to buy just the ones they like or collect the whole set. Since each will have matching cover designs, they'll make a great collection.
Countdown to the First/Last Issues
Inoue is planning a set of around eight issues for this experimental first run – the first two of which feature interviews with HighSchool and POL. (Technically these are the last two issues, as they will count down backwards to zero, ending with an issue focused on Nick Knight.)
Paris-based duo Pol will leave their first impression on Tokyo fans at the N.E.R.O. launch party in June.
"In July, the next issues will be about Turnstile and Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, who will be coming that month to play at the Fuji Rock Festival," says Inoue. "The great thing about doing separate issues about each band rather than one big magazine is that each issue can be timed to release when the band is in Japan, so fans can see their show and pick up the zine at the same time."
The bands featured in N.E.R.O. are not exactly household names, as Inoue has a passion for discovering artists early in their career. Some of her discoveries have gone on to become relatively big, such as Sky Ferreira, The 1975 and Clairo. But more importantly, Inoue brings a sense of human curation that is essential in this digital world.
The lineup for the June 19 launch event at Shibuya WWW is a great example of this approach, with three bands whose sound is individually unique yet who complement each other perfectly. If you like one of them, you'll probably like all three.
Advertisement
First Invites
Melbourne band HighSchool
"The first band I invited to join the party was HighSchool," explains Inoue. "They first came to play in Japan last year (2024), and I love their music and live performance. They have a nostalgic sound that reminds me of New Order and Joy Division, so I think they'll appeal to fans of that kind of music."
HighSchool's bright guitar tones, downbeat vocal delivery and confessional lyrics recall classic British bands like The Smiths and New Order, while their live shows carry an intensity that is electrifying.
Luby Sparks
The next addition to the lineup was Luby Sparks, a Tokyo-based band. "I don't listen to much Japanese music, but I'm good friends with the band, and I thought they would be a good match for HighSchool," says Inoue.
While Luby Sparks hail from Japan, their music homages the dreamier end of the '90s Britpop scale, underpinned with a US alternative-rock heart. The music video for their single One Last Girl featuring bedroom-wall posters of Echobelly alongside raunchier artists like Hole and Joan Jett, giving a clear indication of their influences.
French band Pol
Adding Goth and a Touch of France
Deciding that inviting only one foreign band and one from Japan was not quite enough of a challenge, she added Pol to the lineup, flying them in from France. The band's music takes things a little further back to the '80s, with their guitar and synth combo drawing from the well of Gary Numan and the Human League.
"Pol are not very well known in Japan yet, but they have a great visual style and their music has so much potential, especially since the type of new wave music they make is due a resurgence," says Inoue.
Lillies and Remains vocalist Kent will perform a special DJ set.
In addition, Kent, the vocalist from cult Japanese band Lillies and Remains, will also appear as a guest DJ, adding a ripple of Goth to the event.
"There will be elements of guitar-pop and Goth, but it's all through the filter of just one person – me – so even if you don't know all the bands, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as an event," says Inoue. "People who love music and beautiful things, and people who want to meet likeminded people – give it a chance and come check out the show!"
Advertisement
Representing Asia's Music Scene
The HighSchool and Pol issues of N.E.R.O. will be available to buy at the launch party. All the issues will also eventually be available to order online, with overseas delivery likely available too. Each issue will be published in English, with a foldout insert that includes Japanese translations.
Melbourne band High School.
Inoue writes the bilingual versions of her interviews with the help of a translator and an interpreter. For now, the majority of the musicians she interviews are from the West. However, she originally envisioned nero as a magazine that could represent Asia's music scene and which could be read in English around Asia and elsewhere around the world. Her new zine takes a similar approach, embracing a "borderless" concept.
Inoue's selective approach means she is able to channel her passion for each artist into her interviews. In turn, that encourages them to open up. For example, in Volume 8 of nero magazine, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon spoke in detail about personal topics such as their family dynamic, making for an unusually engaging article.
Tokyo band Luby Sparks round out the bill at N.E.R.O.'s launch event.
Inoue's Secret: Listening
"I've been told that I'm like a counselor," she says. "With Sean Lennon, he was a fan of my magazine, and he offered to pay a photographer he liked (Greg Kadel) so we could do a cover shoot together. I don't know why, but music producers like Mark Ronson seem to connect with what I do as well, and they really open up to me. Maybe it's because I'm a good listener."
As someone who has interviewed hundreds of creative people myself over the past couple of decades, I know how hard it is to build a rapport with someone in the few minutes before you hit record, and to have them forget their media training and speak from the heart. So I ask Inoue her tips for getting the best out of her interviewees.
"The most important thing is to listen to their music over and over beforehand," she replies. "If you love their music, you'll have no problem finding questions to ask them, because you're naturally interested in what they have to say.
"And then you have to listen carefully to their responses and follow up with deeper questions. If you do it with love, they can tell."
Advertisement
Interested in the June Event?
N.E.R.O. presents borderless night takes place on June 19 at Shibuya WWW in Tokyo. It includes live performances from HighSchool, Pol & Luby Sparks. For tickets and further information about the show and the first issues of N.E.R.O., visit www.helloiammusic.com or https://www.instagram.com/n.e.r.o_2025/
RELATED:
Interview by: Daniel Robson
Read Daniel's artist interviews and his series Gamer's World on JAPAN Forward, and find him on X (formerly Twitter).