SAHAJi, Japan’s rising rock’n’roll outsiders crash the British guitar scene with Don’t Touch My Soul — an album that feels like both a love letter to Britpop’s golden age and a bold re-imagining of it. The Sahaji brothers have channelled years of craft, graft, Yamaha-audition recognition and Asian ad-sync success into a record that swings for stadiums yet never loses its grit. With nods to Oasis, Tom Petty, The Beatles and flashes of Jimi Hendrix, the album is drenched in big sky choruses, melodic heroism and that unmistakable Britpop-meets-Tokyo swagger.
Below is the deep-dive track-by-track breakdown, ahead of its release on Flip Flop Records on Friday 28th November.
Don’t Touch My Soul
The title track kicks open the door with a widescreen crunch — a roaring statement of intent wrapped in skyscraper melodies. The guitars shimmer, sway and bite, the vocal soaring across the mix like a flare shot over a festival field. It’s Britpop maximalism with Japanese precision: emotional, defiant, triumphant. A proper opening salvo.
I Am Here
A tighter, more urgent rhythm drives this one, with the kind of sky-punching chorus that feels lifted from the era when big choruses meant something. There’s a glowing optimism in the melodies — part Manchester drizzle, part Tokyo neon — with the band proving they can be anthemic without going overblown.
Stay Around
A sun-drenched jangle and a chorus that swoops like a classic 90s single. The vocals are warm, expressive and delivered with the same emotional weight you’d expect from a songwriter raised on Britpop giants. The band flex their melodic instincts proudly here — it’s a highlight and one of the most radio-ready cuts on the record.
Future In The Sky
The albums lead single and introduction to SAHAJi, which peaked at number 8 in the UK singles chart back in 2024. Atmospheric, horizon-gazing and more cinematic in scope. This feels like the album’s “walk into the light” moment, bursting with dreamlike textures and ambitious arrangement choices. The guitars are almost orchestral in the way they layer and swell. A beautiful, hopeful track that hints at a deeper emotional thread in the album.
Fade-In
“Fade-In” slides in with a cool, rolling bassline and instantly sharper edges than it first lets on. The guitars swirl in vibrant, technicolour streaks — part dream-rock haze, part Britpop sparkle — giving the whole track a kinetic, forward-pushing energy. Vocals drift confidently across the top, smooth but purposeful, riding a groove that feels built for late-night drives and early-set festival moments. The addition of strings provides the song with an ambient soundscape and shows the versatility of the band.
You Know The Rain
You Know The Rain” is SAHAJi at their most psychedelic — a swirling technicolour trip built on shimmering sitar lines and hypnotic, mantra-like drumming. The rhythm has that looping, trance-inducing pulse that pulls you deeper with every bar, while the sitars bend and blossom across the mix like they’re painting the edges with neon ink.
The vocals float dreamily above it all, almost weightless, giving the track a hypnotic beauty that nods towards classic psychedelic pop without ever falling into nostalgia. And the title itself feels like a gentle wink to the band’s British musical heroes — an affectionate nod to the grey-skied romanticism that’s woven through so much UK indie history.
Hello Liam
A playful, cheeky nod to the swagger of Britpop’s most iconic frontman — though SAHAJi inject their own DNA rather than pastiche. The track has a breezy, melodic charm, carried by crisp rhythms and a chorus that glides and a buoyant groove. The vocal dances across the top with real ease. It’s fresh, catchy, and bursting with colour. It’s a love letter delivered with a wink shows their melodic instincts at their sharpest.
Tell Me All Your Feelings
SAHAJi’s trademark melodic guitar riff — sharp, bright and impossible to ignore — before a quick-fire verse sets the fuse for a chorus that hits like a jolt of electricity. The pounding drums and thunderous bass slam straight through the mix, giving the track real propulsion as the vocal lifts clean above it all, soaring with emotion and intent.
The guitar solos are a total show-stealer: euphoric, razor-hooked and bursting with flair. They don’t just decorate the song — they ignite it, proving just how dialled-in the band’s musicianship really is. A big, breathless, heart-on-the-sleeve anthem — and one of the album’s most addictive highs.
I Wanna Be There
A mid-tempo burner with a warming, glowing heart. The vocals ring out clearly, sitting proudly above chiming chords and a soft piano strokes that rolls with a sense of purpose. It’s the kind of track fans will clutch onto heartfelt, grounded, utterly sincere.
Thousand Times
“Thousand Times” opens in mid-tempo territory, built on steady, open-strummed guitars that give the verses a warm, grounded pulse. There’s a real sense of space here — the kind of unhurried pacing that lets the emotion breathe before the whole thing suddenly lifts into an anthemic, arms-wide chorus.
When the chorus lands, it lands big: sweeping guitars arc across the mix, and subtle ambient strings slide in underneath, adding a glowing, widescreen lift that brings a hint of Ashcroft-esque spiritual grandeur. It’s that cinematic, wind-in-your-hair feeling — the sort of chorus that feels written for a field full of people singing it back.
After the second chorus, the track hits its peak moment: a stunning guitar solo that soars and spirals with both precision and raw feeling, cutting through the atmosphere like a burst of light. SAHAJi sound utterly self-assured here — melodic, emotional, and big without ever tipping into excess.
I’m Gonna Be A Rock ’n’ Roll Star
The track kicks off with a guitar riff that roars in with pure glam-rock swagger, instantly channelling the stomp and strut of Slade. The track sounds like a swaggering mission statement and pure ambition. It’s all here: strut, stomp, showmanship and a tongue-in-cheek awareness that makes it twice as fun.
With its real boot stomping, fists in the air energy, this is SAHAJi’s chest-thumping declaration of intent,m.
21-22
A heartfelt, nostalgic closer — more reflective, more spacious, and carrying a late-night, end-of-the-film warmth. The melodies glide softly, the vocals take on a tender edge, and the band let the emotion breathe. It’s a beautiful curtain-fall, the kind that lingers long after the final notes fade.
Don’t Touch My Soul isn’t just a debut album — it’s a declaration.
A Japanese rock ’n’ roll band stepping into the UK scene and meeting it head-on with melodies big enough to level festival fields and choruses fearless enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the greats.
SAHAJi don’t imitate British guitar music; they reimagine it, filter it through their own story, and fire it back brighter. You can hear the years of graft, the magazine covers, the Yamaha nod, the global ad-sync polish, the chance encounter with Nick Brine — but more than anything, you hear hunger. Purpose. Identity.
This is a band who sound like they’ve waited their whole lives for this moment. And on this record, they take it with both hands. If this is chapter one, British indie is about to get a whole lot more exciting.
SAHAJi have arrived — and they aren’t here to borrow the spotlight.
Don’t Touch My Soul is released on Friday 28th November, on Flip Flop Records. Pre-order here.
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