Proudly describing themselves as "the U.K.'s No. 2 Space-Surf Band," Japanese Television's witty slogan sells them short on their originality. A four-piece instrumental combo, the group blends the splashy twang of vintage surf bands like the Ventures with the fuzzy experimentalism and electronic accents of classic psychedelia and space rock, producing the sound of a strange new world without saying a word. Japanese Television made their recording debut with a self-titled 2018 EP that caught the attention of tastemakers and noted radio disc jockeys, while their 2022 LP Space Fruit Vineyard captured their expressive lo-fi magic in full flight.

Japanese Television formed in London in 2017. The members all knew one another from the U.K. garage rock and psychedelic scenes -- bassist Alex Lawton worked with Sunlight Service Group and the Projects, guitarist Tim David Jones had been a member of Night Jar, and Al Brown played drums with Love Buzzard. All three bands broke up around the same time, and Lawton, eager to start playing again, contacted Jones and Brown about starting a new group. Sharing an enthusiasm for Can, Circle, Neu!, and Brian Eno along with garage and psych classics, the band started off playing instrumentals, as none of them felt they were especially good singers. They wanted a fourth instrumental voice to fill out the sound, and Lawton knew Ian Thorn from touring together as part of a Canadian space rock ensemble. Thorn's keyboards, electronics, and occasional trumpet playing proved to be Japanese Television's missing piece.

After months of honing their sound, the band cut their debut EP by setting up in a village hall in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, and recording live using a portable eight-track machine, with Kristian Bell of the Wytches as producer. (Recording live to tape with no edits would become their favored method of documenting their sound.) Released in September 2018 by Tip Top Recordings, the four-song Japanese Television earned airplay from BBC disc jockey Gideon Coe, and positive press from writer and radio host Amy Lamé, quickly selling out its initial vinyl pressing. A second EP, Japanese Television II, followed in 2019, and February 2020 saw the release of EPs I II, which combined the material from both releases on a single LP, with the addition of four tracks recorded specifically for Marc Riley's BBC Radio 6 show. In December 2021, a new single appeared, "Bruce Willis" b/w "Bumble Rumble." Both tracks would later be featured on Space Fruit Vineyard, Japanese Television's first full-length album, which debuted in April 2022. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi