Sundays & Cybele

Sundays & Cybele derive their name from the 1962 French film Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray. Guitarist and vocalist Kazuo Tsubouchi formed the Japanese psychedelic rock group in 2004 while based in Hokkaido before shifting operations to Tokyo, where a changing roster of musicians has contributed across the years. Loud and distorted guitars figure prominently in their work, yet the band steers clear of the heaviness associated with Acid Mothers Temple, favoring instead a brighter atmospheric style rooted in Krautrock, dub, folk-rock, and players such as Carlos Santana. Their cosmic outlook tends toward optimism while occasionally admitting touches of melancholy and loneliness. After issuing a self-titled debut in 2008, the group gained wider notice with the ambitious Gypsy House in 2012. They broadened their palette further on the folkier Chaos & Systems in 2017 and then delivered the Pink Floyd-esque On the Grass in 2018.

Gyuune Cassette put out the self-titled debut in 2008, on which Tsubouchi was joined by bassist Masahiko Nishino and drummer Shintaro Mikami. Sound of Elegance followed with Sundays & Cybele II in 2010. Attalea Princeps released the expansive double-CD Gypsy House in 2012, where Tsubouchi worked mainly alongside multi-instrumentalist Youhei Hayakawa and percussionist Kentaro Shima plus occasional guests. The dub reinterpretation Cosmic Gypsy House appeared in 2014, succeeded later that year by the proper album Tsubouchi. Guruguru Brain issued an abridged vinyl edition of Gypsy House in 2015, while Beyond Beyond Is Beyond offered the limited cassette Heaven, which received a vinyl pressing in 2016. Sky Lantern Records brought out the live cassette Enter the Time Mirror in early 2017, and Beyond Beyond Is Beyond simultaneously released the studio album Chaos & Systems. Bassist Shota Mizuno, drummer Shotaro Aoki, and guitarist Yoshinao Uchida formed part of the lineup during this period. Sundays & Cybele issued On the Grass in 2018; more synth-heavy than prior efforts, the album recalled Dark Side-era Pink Floyd rather than 1960s psychedelia.