Fried Banana Shop wants to transport you somewhere else entirely. Their new EP Goldenrod moves from the woozy, dreamy jazz of ‘Blow’ to the playful funk of ‘Racoon’ and the confident sunshine escapism of ‘Maintenance’. “A lot of music is made these days to simply get impressions on social media but we’re not interested in that,” explains the band. “This is for people who are tired of that.”

Tomo (guitar), Ryuju (drums, bass and keys) and Yoji (saxophone) met as students through jazz clubs and big band circles. During COVID they bonded over everything from Pink Floyd to Sam Gendel, and it wasn’t long before they were jamming. When friends mistook them for a real band and invited them to play a party, they figured they might as well give it a go. The gig was a surprise success, and the invitations kept coming. Since then they’ve turned house shows, clubs, record stores, restaurants and even high-end fashion shops into spaces for otherworldly transcendence. “We try to create a comfortable space where people who want to dance can dance, while people who don’t can just naturally move with the music.”

Rooted in the eclectic scenes of Shimokitazawa and Shibuya, the trio draw on Santana, Stan Getz, John Scofield, Men I Trust and BADBADNOTGOOD, alongside photography, anime and classical music. With Goldenrod, they’ve fully embraced instrumental music, and a second EP arrives in November.

“In ten years’ time, we’d love to still be the same three guys, shamelessly imitating whatever music we’re into at the time, having fun writing music together and playing live.”