haruhikobayashisound@gmail.com@haruhi_

Haruhi





Maybe You Should Talk To Someone (2026)



Debut Experimental Album
January 23 release from Monastral

Purchase Album on Bandcamp



miminari (2025)



November 09 release from Asian Improv Records

Album Link

Bio



Haruhi Kobayashi’s life in sound is woven through her new work, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone. Growing up in Tokyo, she was singing from the moment she could speak, played taiko drums as a child, and first released music eight years ago as a teen J-pop singer-songwriter. Pulling at these past threads, she explores the themes of bi-cultural identity, tradition, and existentialism while seeking to liberate sound from preconception. Her work distills experimental pop, classical composition, and avant-garde songwriting through voice, bass, and electronics.

Borrowing its title from a self-help book, Kobayashi’s new album, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, is a diary that cheekily references the intersecting arc of
intention and experience. Bass Extreme 5000 imitates the vibrations and movement of water, Fuluis is an aural reflection of a traumatic event, ((dance)) is a textural representation of the pressure and suppression often felt by Asian women. The album is dotted with the musical influences of her formative years – taiko and catchy hooks ripple throughout.

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone captures a transitional stage of Kobayashi’s practice. The pendulum swing from mainstream pop to experimental is slowly returning to the space in between.



Photo:
June 22nd 2023, Constellation, Chicago IL
Chicago Film Archive Media Mixer, partnered with Zachary Hutchinson
Photo by CFA




View Archive for full creative history  



Upcoming




Asian Improv aRts Midwest Arts Initiatives Presents: The Minimari Trio
Elastic Arts | Chicago, IL
Apr 25 (Sat), 2026 | 8:30pm

https://elasticarts.org/events/asian-improv-arts-midwest-arts-initiatives-presents-the-miminari-trio

Harmonics wtih Uncle El, Haruhi Kobayashi, AQ
The Plant | Chicago, IL
May 3 (Sun), 2026 | 3:00pm

https://grpl.bibliocommons.com/events/69cd444f8089f23c6765fbb3

Jiraiya The Hero: Silent Film Screening with Live Improvised Score
Grand Rapids Public Library | Grand Rapids, MI
May 9 (Sat), 2026 | 3:00pm

https://grpl.bibliocommons.com/events/69cd444f8089f23c6765fbb3

The Art of Noise | A Perofrmance and Q&A Series
Moondog Cafe | Detroit, MI
May 10 (Sun), 2026 | 3:00pm

https://www.moondogcafedetroit.com



Previous



Maybe You Should Talk To Someone Alum Release Show
Epiphany Center for the Arts, Catacomb Room | Chicago, IL
Jan 29 (Thurs), 2026 | 7:30pm

7:30 Anna Johnson
8:00 Bloofer Girls ft. Slugscape
8:45 Haruhi Kobayashi

https://epiphanychi.com/events/haruhi-kobayashi-w-anna-johnson-bloofer-girls-feat-slugscape/
MSJOD "Love Isn’t Supposed To Hurt" Album Release Show
Epiphany Center for the Arts, The Sanctuary | Chicago, IL
Mar 12 (Thurs), 2026 | 7:30pm

https://epiphanychi.com/events/sjod-album-release-show-with-haruhi-kobayashi-and-omo/


Select Works




ELASTRO AV Night 2: Curated by Clark Woods, Taylor Dye, Gordon Fung
Elastic Arts | Chicago, IL
October 13 2024

Ft. Melon Sprout, Brandon McAlinden, Kim Nucci, Haruhi Kobayashi, Juan Flores, Deirdre Fromberg, Jordan Paine, Slugscape
Sonic Playground IV by Haruhi Kobayashi

Recorded at Elastic Arts
Videography by Kishino Takagishi
Audio Recording and Mixing by Evan Watkins
Freedom from Freesom To (Set 1)
Elastic Arts | Chicago IL
December 2 2024


Ft. Musicians: Paige Brown, Sharon Udoh, Haruhi Kobayashi
Dancers: Gaby Martinez, Sara Zalek

Paige Naylor x Haruhi Kobayashi 2024 Tour
CUSP | Cleveland, OH
September 7, 2024
KYLYN Festival Concert | Here/Now
Ann Arbor District Library | Ann Arbor, MI
May 25 2024

Ft. Kioto Aoki
Haruhi 1st First Album “Inside Out” Release Teaser