Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mei Semones makes sophisticated indie pop with undertones of jazz, bossa nova, and math rock. Based in Brooklyn, she issued her debut EP, Tsukino, in 2022. It featured lyrics in both Japanese and English, a trend she continued on subsequent releases, including her debut for Brooklyn indie Bayonet Records, 2024's Kabutomushi EP, and her full-length debut, 2025's Animaru. Semones grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, playing piano and later switching to guitar. Initially attracted to indie rock, her tastes grew more eclectic as she began playing in local jazz and funk groups. While studying jazz guitar performance at Boston's Berklee College of Music, she started collaborating with artists like Reggie Pearl, the Brazen Youth, and G Luné, and releasing her own music. Blending a unique set of influences from Thelonius Monk and João Gilberto to Smashing Pumpkins, Semones recorded her debut EP, Tsukino, back in Michigan and self-released it in 2022. Singing in both Japanese and English, it introduced her savvy mix of intricate guitar pop with bossa nova rhythms and string arrangements (by Noah Leong). Its release coincided with a move from Boston to New York, and she spent the next year releasing a pair of interesting collaborations with John Roseboro ("Waters of March" and "How to Cope"). Semones joined the roster of Brooklyn's Bayonet Records at the start of 2024, and the indie label released her EP Kabutomushi in April. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Kai Tsao, it found her again joined by a small acoustic combo that included Leong on viola, Claudius Agrippa on violin, Jaden Raso on bass, and Ransom McCafferty on drums. She reunited nearly the same backing band, now with Noam Tanzer on bass, to record her full-length debut with co-producer Charles Dahlke (the Brazen Youth). In the meantime, Semones enjoyed a surge in popularity as she toured large theaters in support of Hippo Campus, in addition to tours with Elephant Gym, Katy Kirby, and others. Further elaborating on her singular combination of bittersweet bossa, hooky indie rock, and intricate jazz, prog, and melodic inclinations, the completed Animaru ("Animal") arrived on Bayonet in May 2025. - Biography by Timothy Monger