Q&A: Shunkan Returns with New Album ‘Kamikaze Girl’ and Lead Single “Hellbound”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
“IT’S A BIG THING COMING” — sings Marina Sakimoto in “Hellbound,” the lead single off her first album in six years—and she’s not wrong. That “big thing” is Kamikaze Girl, the long-awaited third studio album from Shunkan, Sakimoto’s LA-based rock project. Recorded in the eerie stillness of Joshua Tree, California, Kamikaze Girl is a reflection on the delicate art of reconstruction: how we glue the pieces back together after everything’s fallen apart.
At the forefront of the album’s announcement is “Hellbound,” a hazy and melancholic track that captures Shunkan’s sonic DNA in one sweeping breath. Bright, delay-laden guitar riffs shimmer through the gloom like headlights in the fog, while Sakimoto’s unmistakably honeyed vocals deliver lines brimming with quiet resignation and longing. The song teeters between hope and doom, caught in that familiar tension of wanting the best but expecting the worst.
“I like ‘Hellbound’ as the first track of the album because it feels like the initial descent into a transformative period for me,” says Sakimoto. “There’s that space in your life where you start sensing something—or someone—may not be the best for you, but the allure of it keeps you around because… what else do you have to lose?”
It's this existential edge—balancing emotional vulnerability and sharp self-awareness—that gives Kamikaze Girl its gravity. Sakimoto goes on to describe the inspiration behind “Hellbound” as being rooted in a moment of detachment: nihilism mixed with identity loss. “One hell of a drug,” she quips. Sonically, the song owes its moody cinematic atmosphere to the Lost in Translation soundtrack, which Sakimoto returned to while traveling through Japan, where her cultural roots and personal history often serve as touchpoints for introspection.
Shunkan has always operated in the liminal space between genre and feeling. From the lo-fi grunge-pop of her earlier recordings to the sweeping emotionality of her more recent work, Sakimoto’s songwriting has grown sharper, more confident and deeply personal. On Kamikaze Girl, she leans fully into a sound that melds second-wave emo intensity with early-2000s alt-rock hooks—think Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets Death Cab for Cutie, with a touch of Rainer Maria. The result is a record that sounds like the diary of someone trying to remember how to be whole again.
Themes of connection, nostalgia, and transformation pulse throughout the album, which feels just as much like a homecoming as it does a leap into the unknown. There’s a clarity to Sakimoto’s storytelling that only time and heartbreak can provide, and Kamikaze Girl feels like her most distilled, unfiltered offering yet.
With one foot in the past and an eye on what lies ahead, Shunkan is back—not just with new music, but with a reawakened sense of purpose.
Photography Credit: Rae Mystic
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
SHUNKAN: Of course! Well, I’m all over the place. I love my nineties singer/songwriters, early emo bands, shoegaze is in there somewhere… I’ve seen my music classified as “older sister core” and I think I agree with that.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
SHUNKAN: I’d like to think I’m creating a space where you can get up in your feelings. Regularly listening to music in my car is absolutely sacred and keeps me feeling like a human being.
LUNA: “Hellbound” is a stunning lead single off your upcoming Kamikaze Girl album. What is the inspiration behind the single and why did you choose it as the introduction?
SHUNKAN: Aw, thanks. I sort of wanted it to be a descent into the album, and I like the foreboding nature of the lyric, “it’s a big thing coming” introducing everything.
LUNA: Kamikaze Girl marks your first album in six years. What was the driving force behind returning to the studio for this record?
SHUNKAN: There were attempts along the way, and I was able to record an EP in 2022, but it felt like I was trying to move forward out of habit rather than actually feeling inspired until now.
LUNA: I would love to touch more on the creative process. You recorded the album in Joshua Tree with Alex Newport. How did that environment and collaboration shape the sonic and emotional landscape of the record?
SHUNKAN: It was an incredible place to record. I loved being able to escape everything and dive deep into what I knew was going to be an intense process—I just wasn’t sure how it was going to be intense. I assumed recording alone with a session drummer would be daunting, but revisiting the material and remembering where I was when I wrote those songs was weird. I could feel the distance at that point… But being out in the desert felt pretty cathartic, and Alex was a lovely host!
LUNA: The album explores the process of rebuilding after things fall apart. Was there a particular moment or realization that sparked the central theme of Kamikaze Girl?
SHUNKAN: While I was visiting Japan in December 2023. It was the first time I had the space to reevaluate my marriage, myself, just everything. It felt like my life was nosediving and the only silver lining was making something.
LUNA: How did your songwriting evolve over these past six years, and what feels different about this album compared to your previous work?
SHUNKAN: This album was unique in that I made more elaborate demos than usual during pre-production, and I really pushed myself during that time. Most of the growth was within those several months.
LUNA: What is your favorite song from Kamikaze Girl and why do you love this song? Is there a certain element, lyric or message that you gravitate towards the most?
SHUNKAN: I’ll go with the track “Prettier.” I like the lyrical push and pull of, “I’m insecure / But am I willing to compromise who I am / Even though I’m not the happiest with myself right now?” It’s like a brief moment of mercy. I also love the guitars in it.
LUNA: What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself during the making of this album?
SHUNKAN: I learned that I am my biggest obstacle. Period. If you don’t believe in whatever the hell you’re doing, you’re doomed. You’re either failing others or failing yourself, and it just dawned on me that I can at least control the latter, and I’d rather live a life where I said what I thought, did what I wanted to do, and expressed everything I wanted to express. I got tired of feeling helpless.
LUNA: What excites you most about bringing Kamikaze Girl into the world?
SHUNKAN: It just feels like presenting the most accurate version of myself. This sounds so cliché but I’ve always dreamed of making this kind of record.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
SHUNKAN: It feels like I’m finally scratching the surface of what I can do. It’s like I got my mojo back… Austin Powers 2 would probably hit so hard right now. I’m currently working on music videos and putting together a band for shows, so that’s the next step!
