With OKAME Complete

Post-CHAI project of twin frontwomen MANA and KANA, intentionally not “CHAI part two.” Official framing: Revolution through Music (Sept 2025), Nostalpop, and reconstructing their pop sense in a new context after CHAI disbanded March 12, 2024 at EX THEATER ROPPONGI. Luke Francis Walton mixed おかしなきもち, the three-month single run, and DEBUT (Feb 4, 2026).

Timeline: CHAI final show Tokyo, March 12, 2024 → MANA/KANA step back from the stage → OKAME announced September 2025 → three singles in a row (Okashina Kimochi, Terenai de, GAME OVER) → first album DEBUT February 4, 2026. The MANAKANA official site stresses OKAME is separate from the previous band sound, not a continuation of NEO KAWAII, but a more inward, identity-forward return.

NiEW frames DEBUT as a new chapter for the former CHAI frontpersons across eight tracks, and coins the self-styled genre Nostalpop, nostalgia and pop brightness exploring personal identity after a globally recognized band ended. Documentary OK A ME REVOLUTION THROUGH MUSIC follows post-CHAI burnout, illness, setbacks, and choosing the microphone again.

Walton’s mixing credit sits on the OKAME relaunch itself. Adjacent in the same MANA/KANA arc: KOMAGOME production (WE CAN'T DOLL, CHAHHAN), first post-CHAI produce lane before OKAME singles accelerated. See With KOMAGOME.

See also: Press & credits · Catalog