At first listen, their music feels entirely unfamiliar: a fusion of various genres, bold composition unshackled by convention, and a breadth of sound that bursts through the confines of pop. And yet, with each subsequent listen, its appeal proves more and more addictive, engulfing the senses with subtle but undeniable staying power. Having dedicated themselves to crafting a new paradigm for Japanese music—one removed from the traditions of J-pop—King Gnu’s career-defining patchwork of sounds is a tapestry woven from Tokyo’s diverse cultural landscape, spinning their own unique form of mass appeal amid a soundscape of disarray.

The four-piece group is a “Tokyo new mixture” band—a self-applied neologism befitting their amazing talent for drawing freely from any genres they please and fitting them nicely under the pop umbrella. There’s Daiki Tsuneta, who majored in cello and founded King Gnu’s predecessor, Srv.Vinci; Yu Seki, an aspiring dancer and Black music aficionado; Kazuki Arai, an experienced jazz session musician; and Satoru Iguchi, who loves J-pop and used to be in a group. And it’s the chemical reaction between members carrying such diverse tastes that makes their band’s hybrid music as sophisticated as it is. Here are six tracks that capture the tireless journey they’ve undertaken to cement this “mixture” as a viable new notion in the world of pop.

“Tokyo Rendez-Vous”

This song served as the jumping-off point for their self-styled Tokyo new mixture genre. “Tokyo Rendez-Vous” serves as the title track off King Gnu’s first album of the same name, seen as a period of transition for the group as it retains traces of the experimental avant-garde sound of the band’s former incarnation, Srv.Vinci. Even so, it’s clear they were determined to mold a whole new vision of J-pop—one completely different from their contemporaries. Ironically, they sought to take the novel sound they created through weaving together their disparate influences and position it as the new mainstream. It’s no surprise, then, that both listeners and critics alike sensed something extraordinary in the air surrounding the band as they took things in this bold new direction.

Tokyo Rendez-Vous’ opening track of the same name in particular makes that direction abundantly clear. As Daiki Tsuneta and Satoru Iguchi engage in a chaotic interplay of vocal harmony, the band sets up base camp in the nebulous region between global currents and J-pop where hip hop rhythm and biting rock intersect, and the lyrics full of Tokyo’s dizzying multicultural mishmash hit the bullseye of what they call Tokyo new mixture. With this debut, the band essentially booked themselves on a direct flight to rock stardom, indisputably shaking things up more than anyone around them in the 2010s.

“Flash!!!”

Daiki Tsuneta once told an interviewer that this song is “emblematic of King Gnu.” Built around an infectious melody and rounded out with Prodigy-esque synth lines and funky guitar riffs, the track crystallized their band’s masterful mixture of the trappings of pop. As a prelude to their sophomore album, Sympa, the single declares loudly and proudly that the band has fully fleshed out their sound. “Flash!!!” was a pivotal moment for the band, cementing their reputation for outstanding craftsmanship and daredevil attitude, and dispelling any doubts about their first release under a major label.

“The hole”

The typical path to becoming a King Gnu fan is easy to trace: Their music, unconventional on first approach, wins the listener over on repeat listens as they gradually surrender to its unprecedented mass appeal. This hinges on a fact previously mentioned: that the band is ultimately aiming for J-pop. “The hole” demonstrates their ability to draw on the conventions and clichés of J-pop and mold it according to their vision and the way the band’s four members perceive popular sentiments at home in Japan. Daiki Tsuneta credits inspiration for the track’s creation to artists like Mr.Children, Southern All Stars, Hikaru Utada, Sheena Ringo, and RADWIMPS. Boasting their most approachably melodic music yet, the song’s classical bent—enveloped as it is in atmospheric percussion and strings—ultimately aligns with their vision, making it a quintessential King Gnu track.

“Hakujitsu”

With 460 million views on YouTube as of writing and certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan as one of only two songs to have ever reached both one million downloads and over 500 million streams, this is King Gnu’s biggest hit in every sense of the word. While the song became a catalyst for their fame, it’s important to point out that it was also a double-edged sword, placing the band in a dilemma and forcing them to think hard about their future.

There’s two reasons for this. First, from a writing standpoint, the mid-tempo song’s particular mix of tragic beauty with the lyrical lent the song a different flavor of pop than their work up to that point, which would’ve marked a particularly dramatic change for those who had only listened to the band’s previous singles. Because of the song’s explosive popularity, what listeners heard in “Hakujitsu” inadvertently became the style King Gnu was best known for, misrepresenting the band’s true vision and thus becoming something of a hurdle. They even struggled with where to place the song on their album Ceremony, given its entire weight would be pulled by this one track.

Second, collaborations sowed seeds of uncertainty. Owing to the tight turnaround time for the TV series, the members of the band forewent their individual flair inside the recording studio and for the first time began to simply improvise. As demands surrounding more and more theme songs and music for ads kept piling up, King Gnu were forced to “chase mechanically after standards” and put their creative vision on the back burner. Their surge in popularity meant they no longer had the luxury of creative control, and, finding themselves spewing out work that didn’t meet their expectations, burnout set in. In the end, the group sought freedom through keeping a lower profile, leading them to their fourth album, THE GREATEST UNKNOWN. Needless to say, the band has a love-hate relationship with “Hakujitsu.”

“Hikoutei”

With Ceremony, their third studio album, they questioned the place of such major releases as singles had swelled in importance. For me, that makes the track “Hikoutei” a particular standout in terms of the album’s significance. Crafted, according to Daiki Tsuneta, to sound like something that would have reverberated over audiences at Woodstock, the song is essentially King Gnu trying their hand at the kind of grand scale typically reserved for Western rock bands. With its straightforward rhythm and uplifting, crowd-pleasing sound, “Hikoutei” elevates the band to the kind of artist that can fill an entire stadium—as had always been their goal. Through their live performances, they have now proven themselves as a band that’s more than capable of putting on a stadium tour, and they have the power of this song to thank for it.

“SPECIALZ”

King Gnu’s connection to the anime Jujutsu Kaisen dates back to 2021. Faced with a decline in live performances during COVID-19 and with few options to reach out to the world, artists turned to producing songs for film and TV, and all the major animes launching on streaming services simultaneously across the world meant collaborations became that much more important. Not surprisingly, renowned theme song writers King Gnu were on the receiving end of several requests. No doubt the opening and end themes they performed for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, “Ichizu” and “Sakayume,” laid the groundwork for the band’s global rise.

King Gnu continued to contribute to the series with “SPECIALZ,” which not only earned them even greater recognition around the world, but also signaled a return to complete creative control for the group, making it a very special release. You can tell that the track is unconstrained by its function as a theme song, instead prioritizing King Gnu’s free-flowing creativity. The chorus sounds ready-made for a soprano singer, the rhythm is laid down with real instruments, and the melody is a certified pop bop. Put all these elements together and you get the band at the peak of their creative output.

By positioning the song as a new vision for pop—one free from the usual rock format and expectations for mass appeal—and the brave new theme for a beloved anime, King Gnu shows their determination not to repeat past missteps. The track also clarifies the direction they’re taking with their fourth studio album, THE GREATEST UNKNOWN, as they seek to return to their underground roots after unwittingly dropping their anchor into the J-pop ocean. Along with hitting 100 million streams faster than any song put out by any other band in history, in the third week of December, the song edged out YOASOBI’s track “Idol” to take number one on Billboard JAPAN’s Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan chart, which tracks the success of Japanese songs on the international stage. If it seems like King Gnu is operating on a level of their own, well, they just might be.