Brandy Senki: Osaka’s Grunge Dreamers Rewrite Modern Japanese Rock

The Genesis: From Classical Roots to Indie Stages

Brandy Senki—ブランデー戦記—was born out of a shared love for boundary-defying music and a restless creative urge. The members: Hazuki (vocals, guitar), Minori (bass, backing vocals), and Bori (drums), found each other in the vibrant Osaka underground circuit. While the world first encountered fuzzy, grunge-tinged power chords and catchy hooks, the members brought diverse backgrounds: Hazuki’s early years were spent with the violin, Minori on the piano, and Bori drawn to the propulsive energy of bands like Dragon Ash

They weren’t industry plants, nor were they internet flash-in-the-pans. Their debut gig wasn’t livestreamed to millions but played to a small room of college kids and working-class dreamers in the city’s scrappy venues.

Brandy Senki—ブランデー戦記—was born out of a shared love for boundary-defying music and a restless creative urge. The members: Hazuki (vocals, guitar), Minori (bass, backing vocals), and Bori (drums), found each other in the vibrant Osaka underground circuit. While the world first encountered fuzzy, grunge-tinged power chords and catchy hooks, the members brought diverse backgrounds: Hazuki’s early years were spent with the violin, Minori on the piano, and Bori drawn to the propulsive energy of bands like Dragon Ash

Brandy Senki - Musica (Official Music Video)

A Quick Rise: Charting the First Major Waves

Their first single “Musica,” which dropped at the very end of 2022, did what few debut tracks manage: it exploded. The accompanying music video quickly stacked up a million views in under a month—a rare feat for a new, unsigned rock act operating outside Tokyo.
This introduced the world to Brandy Senki’s signature combination: a mix of jagged guitar riffs reminiscent of ’90s alternative and modern J-pop’s melodic sensibility.

Their self-released debut EP, “Jinrui Metsubou Wonderland” (“Humanity Destruction Wonderland”), arrived in August 2023. It found critical acclaim, winning the Blue Prize at the 16th CD Shop Grand Prize in 2024—a significant nod from Japanese record retailers and indie tastemakers alike. The momentum didn’t slow; by late 2024, their second EP “A Nightmare Week” was out, leaning harder into city pop textures while keeping their core grunge DNA intact

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Brandy Senki 1st EP "Humanity Extinction Wonderland" trailer

Brandy Senki - Nightmarish (Official Music Video)

Brandy Senki ブランデー戦記 - The End of the F***ing World (Official Music Video)

Brandy Senki ブランデー戦記 - Coming-of-age Story (MV)

Meet the Band:
Dynamic Individualities

- Hazuki: The creative fulcrum, Hazuki writes most of the band’s lyrics and crafts the melodic outline for their songs. Her soft, sometimes wistful vocals contrast sharply with the abrasive guitars she wields. Influences?

- Nirvana and The Strokes loom large, but she also nods to Japan’s mainstream with Arashi as a personal favorite.

- Minori: Known for expressive, fingerstyle bass lines and harmonies, Minori’s role is as much rhythmic as it is melodic. She admits to nerves before going on stage but lets them dissipate as soon as the first note rings out—a testament to the shift from classical piano recitals to the tumult of indie rock stages.

- Bori: The youngest and, perhaps, the band’s wildest card. His drumming is energetic and complex, offering a heavier counterweight to the band’s pop influences. He draws inspiration from Dragon Ash’s rock backbone and enjoys experimenting with genre on the kit