Japan's CHAN-MIKA synthesises classic reggae and jazz, throws in a little R&B or bossa nova and tops it off with a heaping dose of pop from both sides of the Pacific. Except when she doesn't. Her debut LP, Side 2 Side, features a full band—horn section included—that cushions her soft patois with charming ska and lovers rock. On 2015's Su☆Mika☆E, a sleek electronic side emerges over drum machine beats that recall Ace of Base. But CHAN-MIKA is quirkier and even more playful, having alchemised her disparate influences for a sound that is light, colourful and unmistakably her own.