Quruli are a 3-piece Japanese rock band that have been making music for over 2 decades. The band’s original members – Kishida and Sato – met in university and formed in 1996. If you attend Fuji Rock, the annual music festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, you’ll surely recognize them as they’ve been a mainstay since 1999.
The group’s range is that of a method actor, as they learn from their past and incorporate influences from all sorts of musical styles. Listening to them, you’ll pick up notes of blues, jazz, orchestra, grunge and electronica. But in some sense, that’s what they’re all about. The band’s name Quruli (pronounced ku-ru-li) is an onomatopoeia for the sound of turing around, or making a u-turn. In fact, the name comes from a map they saw with an arrow directing them to make a u-turn in order to get to the subway.
As a Kyoto-based outfit, Quruli is also the driving force behind the Kyoto Music Expo, an annual one-day music festival that occurs every September. This year it’s happening on September 22.
Have a listen. If there’s a single unifying theme that runs throughout their music, perhaps it’s nostalgia.
Like what you hear? You can find more of Qururi’s music on Spotify. They are also on Twitter and Facebook. And be sure to check out our other Music Monday picks.
