After a year of figuring things out as they go, Tokyo trio anklet are stepping into their own — talking nerves, near-empty shows, and the release of their debut EP, ‘monologue’.
Formed through an audition in late 2023, anklet are part of a new wave of young acts shaping their sound inside Japan’s ever-churning live house circuit. Comprised of Nanami Kadowaki (guitar/vocals), Manami Okina (bass), and Haruka Kurose (drums), all 20 years old, the group moves with urgency— driven less by pressure than by instinct and a sense of purpose.
Their debut single ‘COLORS’, released in July 2024, arrived barely half a year after they picked up instruments for the first time. Written as they navigated the awkward transition from their late teens into adulthood, the song is layered with the rawness of those early uncertainties.
“At the time we wrote this song [‘COLORS’], we had just started our activities, and we were doing everything without knowing left from right”, the band tells Electric Bloom Webzine. “We didn’t have the skills, and we weren’t used to the stage or our instruments. There was a time when it was a little scary to stand in front of people in that state. But even though we were inexperienced, we had no choice but to move forward. We put all of that conflict and those emotions into the song”.
That honesty has become a defining trait. For a band still within their first 18 months, anklet are unusually self-aware, careful not to claim more than they’ve earned, but confident in the sincerity of what they’re building.
“I think we’re a really fresh and exciting band”, says Kadowaki. Okina adds: “We’re a band that puts our feelings straight into the music and delivers them as they are!”. That directness carries into their songwriting, which often reflects on the rush and recoil of early adulthood—uncertainty, social anxiety, and the fragile confidence that follows a first success.
RELATED: anklet makes mark with debut teenage pop-rock anthem ‘COLORS’
Their newest single ‘First step’, officially released in April ahead of their debut EP ‘monologue’, has long been a key track in their setlists. First unveiled during their self-organised event Hajime no Ippo Nokoshitoku in July 2024, the song has grown in meaning both for the band and their audience.
“Since it’s a song filled with so many of our own ‘firsts’, I hope it can become a song that stays close to everyone as they begin their own ‘firsts’ from here on out”, says Kadowaki.
Drummer Haruka Kurose describes the track as a turning point—not just creatively, but personally.
“Since it was the first song we fully created on our own, I played it with even more emotion than the songs we had before. To be honest, when the band first started, the other two were basically beginners, while I had already been involved with music for a little while, so I did have some mixed feelings at first. But as we kept practicing and talking more than ever before to create this song, I found myself overwhelmed by how serious they were. I thought, ‘I need to play with just as much intensity so I don’t lose to them’. ‘First step’ was the first song that made me feel truly serious about what we were doing. And anklet is the first band that’s ever made me feel that way.”
That sense of determination runs through ‘monologue’, out today, May 21st, via R&PMusic. The EP collects ‘COLORS’, ‘First step’, and a set of new tracks that chart their early trajectory.
“Each song may not be directly connected,” they note, “but I think they all reflect the things we’ve felt from the time we formed the band up until now”.
For all their introspection, anklet’s live presence is steadily growing. From early shows with near-empty rooms, they now find themselves playing to packed venues. For Okina, who was once hesitant to perform a song about thanking fans when they barely had any, now says she can deliver that same line with pride.
“The original reason we made this song was because Nanami said, ‘I want to make a song with “thank you” as the theme!’. From there, we worked on the lyrics together through discussion, and that’s how the current lyrics and song came to be. At the time… we hardly had any fans supporting us. So honestly, I was unsure whether we could confidently perform a song with the theme of ‘thank you to the people who come to the live house’. But as we kept performing this song at almost every live show, people started to follow us. That made me really happy, and little by little, I became able to perform it with more confidence. Now I can confidently express our thanks properly in a live house, where the distance to the audience feels close. The sight of people raising their fists and moving along with us is a treasure to me.”
Their upcoming EP release party Sanningoto (The Three of Us) on June 4th at Shimokitazawa MOSAiC will see them joined by peers from across the country. “There’s a band coming from Osaka who we really clicked with during our Tokyo–Nagoya–Osaka tour”, they say. “I’m super excited to share the stage with bands we’re close with, and to see the fans who’ve said they’re coming! I’m not particularly nervous… but I am a little worried about whether we’ll make it through without any slip-ups”.
They’ve learned a lot quickly—about the mechanics of songwriting, the technical demands of performing, and the surprising costs of keeping instruments in shape.
“I didn’t know guitar strings were this expensive”, says Kadowaki. “Our first time entering a live house was for our own show,” adds Okina, “so I was surprised that there was a place where such a big unknown world existed”. Kurose, ever practical, adds: “How fast I go through drumsticks”.
RELATED: anklet officially release live favourite ‘First step’ ahead of debut EP ‘monologue’
They’ve also found motivation in the sheer volume of artists carving out space in Tokyo’s underground. “It was eye-opening to realize just how many people are chasing their dreams through music and bands”, they say. Among them, anklet feel a particular affinity with other three-piece girl bands. “It makes me feel like, ‘Let’s do our best together!’”.
That sense of shared effort is part of anklet’s core identity. They don’t look back on their early days with rose-tinted hindsight; they remember what it was like to have no fans, to beg friends to attend, and to stumble through the unknown. And yet they’ve stuck to it—step by step.
“There are times you fail, times you want to cry, times that are tough, and days when you forget all of that and laugh like crazy”, they say. “I hope anklet can be something that stays close to you during those times”.
As for the future?
“We truly hope to become a band that’s loved by many people—whether that’s in Japan, overseas, or all around the world. And we believe, without a doubt, that we will.”
anklet’s debut 5-track EP ‘monologue’ is out today, May 21st, via R&PMusic. The band headline their EP release show Sanningoto on June 4th at Shimokitazawa MOSAiC.
