Last Updated on 2026-03-28 by a-indie
Stepping onto a New Stage: Live Performance
Happypills#Qshoegaze26 pic.twitter.com/P3feXrLTry
— ashira (@asid0025) March 14, 2026
－Maririn： You seem to have been performing live more actively than before. How is the live setup structured?
Something happened in 2024 that led me to start performing live. Right now I play as a two-piece, with my friend Massan — someone I have known since middle school — on bass. For the rhythm machine and synthesizer parts, I arrange live versions and play them back through Logic, the same software I use for home recording.
How Live Performance Changed the Way I Approach Sound
－Maririn： Through your live activity, have there been any experiences or realizations that have influenced your approach to recording?
Until recently, I was not making music with live performance in mind at all, so there were a lot of songs where I had not even written down the chord progressions (laughs). Lately I have started composing with the live setting in mind. I have been paying much more attention to each individual sound — the texture of the drum tones, the voicing of the synth chords, things like that.
The Future of Happypills
－Maririn： What is the one thing you most want to do going forward, and what are you looking forward to?
I want to keep studying how to shape the Logic sounds and guitar tones for live performance and make them better and better. I also want to make a few more EPs. I will keep going at a pace that feels sustainable.
The Gothic Air Living in the Artwork
－Maririn： The cover of 『happypills (dream)』 features what looks like a church building — it makes a strong impression. Why did you choose this for the cover?
I wanted the artwork to match the atmosphere of the music on this record, and I also wanted it to feel a bit gothic — so I chose a building that looks like a church. I took the photo on a trip abroad some time ago, edited it slightly, and made the artwork from that.
The Situation We’d Love You to Listen In
－Maririn： Who would you most like to listen to 『happypills (dream)』, and in what kind of situation?
I would really recommend listening in a quiet room before you go to sleep — you start to notice all sorts of sounds in the music. Of course I hope fans of indie pop and dream pop will enjoy it, but I also hope it reaches people who are not familiar with those genres and helps them discover what bedroom indie pop has to offer.
Happypills Release Information
EP 『dream』
Release date: February 25, 2026
Format: Digital (streaming and download)
Tracklist:
1. psalm
2. surf, fuzz, and drummachine
3. bedroom
4. outro
Listen on Bandcamp
Happypills Artist Profile
Happypills is a bedroom solo project by Yuki Kondo, based in Fukuoka. The project is characterized by a languid melancholia and bittersweet melody that moves across overseas dream pop, indie rock, lo-fi home recording, and Japanese rock of the 2000s. The debut album 『Milk Floe』, released in 2019, was reissued on cassette tape by US indie label Citrus City Records in 2020 and sold out immediately. In February 2022, a five-track EP 『Porthole』 was released through Miles Apart Records. Digital releases have been featured on playlists both in Japan and internationally, drawing strong attention from indie music fans. In 2024, a deluxe edition of 『Milk Floe』 received its first-ever CD release. The EP 『happypills (dream)』 was announced in February 2026, and its quiet presence continues to grow.
まりりん(Maririn) (@Igor_Bilic)
A music lover involved in planning and running music events and media interviews.
After working as staff at DaisyBar, she launched her own independent event series, “SECOND SUMMER OF LOVE.”
As a writer, she has published interviews with artists including Suchmos, Ykiki Beat, and Never Young Beach for BELONG Media.
Drawing on experience in artist scouting at a record label and work at a major label, she continues to cover the music scene from multiple angles.
Read her articles on BELONG: here
- is a music media platform run by BELONG, a Japanese music organization. We publish music articles with a focus on indie music.