History Music / KeroKeroBonito

Kero Kero Bonito is a London-based {{electronic|Music}} {{pop}} trio consisting of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. Active since 2011, the band has an idiosyncratic yet bright and colorful approach to pop music, taking influence from JapanesePopMusic and GameMusic, with quirky, UsefulNotes/{{MIDI}}-sounding instrumentals and bilingual lyrics crossing English and [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese]]. Their songs tend to be irresistibly sweet with a playful sense of humor, yet creative and sincerely positive the whole way through.

** KKB is fond of using UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 soundfonts, so some of their instruments and sound effects might sound familiar to avid gamers. One of their most popular examples is "Sick Beat", which makes heavy use of the "level start" sound effect from ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' (and even ends on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBCycS0S_70 riff it's from]]).

** Much of ''TOTEP'' is already a far cry from the band's usual sound, but "The One True Path" and "Only Acting" end up getting aggressively dissonant and noisy at parts. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepcj45774I video version of "Only Acting"]] ups both the surprise and creepiness by [[LastNoteNightmare glitching out by the second chorus until the ending]].

In addition to the band, Gus Lobban also has a solo project called Augustus and a heavy-on-StylisticSuck Music/PCMusic-affiliated project called "kane west" ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS not to be confused with]] [[Music/KanyeWest that other guy]]). Jamie Bulled was part of a band called Kabogaeries before KKB, and releases solo work under the name WHARFWHIT. Sarah Midori Perry has lent her voice to other fellow producers, being a featured artist as "Sarah Bonito" for acts including マクロスMACROSS 82-99, Spazzkid, Music/{{Sophie}}, and moon mask, and has also contributed a handful of songs for ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears''. In 2022, Sarah started a solo electronic act, Cryalot (previously used as a DJ name since 2019), with a debut EP titled ''Icarus'' released in September 2022.

* DisguisedHorrorStory:
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL8fz8W2Yos music video to "Homework"]] is a mostly straightforward performance of Sarah rapping/singing [[MundaneMadeAwesome about doing her homework]], but [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent while the video doesn't directly draw attention to it]], the colorful background inexplicably features several pictograms of [[DrivenToSuicide people graphically shooting themselves.]]
** Much of ''TOTEP'' is already a far cry from the band's usual sound, but "The One True Path" and "Only Acting" end up getting aggressively dissonant and noisy at parts. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepcj45774I video version of "Only Acting"]] ups both the surprise and creepiness by [[LastNoteNightmare glitching out by the second chorus until the ending]].
** "Rest Stop" from ''Time 'n' Place'' begins as a soft and basic-sounding instrumental, similar to something that'd play during night time in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''. [[HellIsThatNoise Then the second half hits: a wall of screeching electronica, increasingly rough unorthodox sounds like insects buzzing and hurried vocal snippets, and a cacophony of eerie drills and what seems like gunfire.]]

* SurpriseCreepy:

** In addition to their band name ([[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign at least in one interpretation]]), Sarah regularly alternates between English and Japanese lyrics, with most songs featuring some degree of both. Gus and Jamie were specifically looking for someone who spoke Japanese as they formed the band, and Sarah herself is half-Japanese and [[SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage speaks authentically]]. She also tends to sing and rap bilingually when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hpzMfusmzs as a featured]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOXYTI6djYQ artist for other]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdT1EAiYX0 peoples' music]].

* TakeThatAudience: A subversion of Kero Kero Bonito's AudienceParticipation shows up in "Babies Are So Strange": Jamie tells the viewer to mimic their usual silly instructions, then drops "...I bet you look REALLY stupid."

[[caption-width-right:350:[[LyricalColdOpen "It's KKB! Let's go!"]][[labelnote:*]]From left to right: Jamie, Sarah, and Gus[[/labelnote]]]]

Kero Kero Bonito is a London-based {{Electronic|Music}} {{Pop}}-Music trio consisting of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. Active since 2011, the band has an idiosyncratic, yet bright and colorful approach to pop music, taking influence from JapanesePopMusic and GameMusic, with quirky, UsefulNotes/{{MIDI}}-sounding instrumentals and [[GratuitousJapanese bilingual lyrics]]. Their songs tend to be irresistibly sweet, with a playful sense of humor, yet creative and sincerely positive the whole way through.

After releasing a plethora of singles following their creation, including hits such as "Flamingo" and "Sick Beat", they released their debut mixtape, ''Intro Bonito'' in 2014. Their debut commercial album, ''Bonito Generation'', serving as its follow-up, was released in late 2016. In early 2018, they released their ''TOTEP'' EP, which introduced [[NewSoundAlbum a new]], [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] and more AlternativeRock and NoisePop-inspired sound, serving as a teaser to their second album, ''Time 'n' Place'', which released on October later in the year.

In addition to the band, Gus Lobban also has a solo project called Augustus and a heavy-on-StylisticSuck Music/PCMusic-affiliated project called "kane west" ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS not to be confused with]] [[Music/KanyeWest that other guy]]). Jamie Bulled was part of a band called Kabogaeries before KKB, and releases solo work under the name WHARFWHIT. Sarah Midori Perry has lent her voice to other fellow producers, being a featured artist as "Sarah Bonito" for acts including マクロスMACROSS 82-99, Spazzkid, Music/{{Sophie}}, and moon mask, and has also contributed a handful of songs for ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears''. In 2022, Sarah started a solo [[NoiseRock noise]]-influenced act, Cryalot (previously used as a DJ name since 2019), with a debut EP set for release in August that year.

For those curious, [[WordSaladTitle their band name is deliberately meant to be vague]]. "Kero" is a Japanese onomatopoeia for frog croaks (equivalent to "ribbit"), [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign but a "bonito" is a type of fish]], and the title as a whole can mean "[[TranslationTrainWreck I want, I want beautiful]]" in Portuguese. [[https://www.vice.com/en_id/article/gvp8b4/kero-kero-bonito To paraphrase Gus]], it's meant to be a name you can't tell the origin of.

** Much of ''TOTEP'' is already a far cry from the band's usual sound, but "The One True Path" and "Only Acting" end up getting aggressively dissonant and noisy at parts. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepcj45774I video version of "Only Acting"]] [[UpToEleven ups both the surprise and creepiness]] by [[LastNoteNightmare glitching out by the second chorus until the ending]].

In addition to the band, Gus Lobban also has a solo project called Augustus and a heavy-on-StylisticSuck Music/PCMusic-affiliated project called "kane west" ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS not to be confused with]] [[Music/KanyeWest that other guy]]). Jamie Bulled was part of a band called Kabogaeries before KKB, and releases solo work under the name WHARFWHIT. Sarah Midori Perry has lent her voice to other fellow producers, being a featured artist as "Sarah Bonito" for acts including マクロスMACROSS 82-99, Spazzkid, Music/{{Sophie}}, and moon mask, and has also contributed a handful of songs for ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears''.

* ''Civilisation II'' (2021)[[note]]Later in 2021, both ''I'' and ''II'' were released in a compilation album simply titled ''Civilisation''[[/note]].

* ''Civilisation II'' (2021)

* InterruptedByTheEnd: The final verse of "Rest Stop" and the album ''Time 'n' Place'', devoid of instrumental, goes as such:

** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with ''Civilisation I'', which phases out the noisier musical elements and hearkens back to their more colorful MIDI pop aesthetic, but their lyrics -- while not quite as personally introspective -- delve into serious discussion about the state of modern society and the environment. "When the Fires Come" explicitly talks about [[ClimateChange global warming]], [[HumansAreBastards humanity's evils]], and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt their impeding doom]].