Mei Semones | |
|---|---|
 Semones performing at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver, 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 2000 (age 25–26) Ann Arbor, Michigan, US |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2022-present |
| Label | Bayonet Records |
| Website | www |
Mei Semones (born 2000) is an American musician. Her musical style incorporates jazz pop and indie rock influences, with lyrics in both English and Japanese.
Semones was born in 2000 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to a father from Ohio and a Japanese mother. Encouraged by her grandmother, she initially studied piano, but ultimately switched to the guitar at the age of eleven, inspired by a scene in the film Back to the Future in which Marty McFly plays Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode.
Semones joined the Community High School jazz program in high school and later majored in professional music at Berklee College of Music.
Semones self-released her debut EP, Tsukino, in 2022, during her last semester of college.. Later that year she released Sukikirai as a graduation project through Northeastern University's Green Line Records.
In 2024, Semones released her second EP, Kabutomushi, through Bayonet Records. Semones was named by Paste as "The Best of What's Next" in 2024.
In 2025, she released her debut studio album, Animaru.
In 2026, she released her third EP, Kurage.
She has described her music as "jazz-influenced indie J-pop".
Semones currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she works part-time at a preschool for Japanese children. Her father is an amateur musician who plays the euphonium, guesting on her 2026 EP Kurage.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)