Sara Yoshida
Vocalist, songwriter, and composer, and one half of MONONKVL. She studied classical voice at Toho Gakuen Girls' Senior High School and majored in jazz vocal performance at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. While centering her activities around her band MONONKVL, she has also collaborated with a wide range of artists shaping today’s music scene, including PUNPEE, VaVa, OMSB, Daichi Yamamoto, Penthouse, and Tomita Lab.
Her clear, translucent voice moves fluidly across genres such as hip-hop, city soul, and orchestral music, continuing to transcend stylistic boundaries within the contemporary scene.
Since its formation in 2011, MONONKVL has released five full-length albums. The band has drawn attention for its genre-defying sound, selling out headline performances at venues and events including Fuji Rock Festival, Cotton Club, Blue Note Tokyo, and LIQUIDROOM.
She once encountered a semi-transparent walrus deep in the Swiss mountains.
MONONKVL
Formed by Sara Yoshida and Ryuta Tsunoda, this two-member unit continues to create music that seamlessly crosses genres including jazz, neo-soul, electronic, and pop. Since their formation in 2011, they have consistently evolved their musical style while maintaining a richly poetic Japanese lyrical world and a distinctive vocal presence that has earned strong support from music fans.
In 2023, the group paused activities due to Sara Yoshida’s maternity leave. They resumed full-scale operations in 2025 with the release of their fifth album, Bokura Ikidomari de Warai Aitai. In 2026, they moved their management and label to BOLERO and released their first single under the new structure, “Uzu.”
Ryuta Tsunoda
Music producer, multi-instrumentalist centered on bass and Ableton Push, and one half of MONONKVL.
Born in Sayama, Saitama, Japan, he began his career in 2010 as a jazz bassist. Following the 2017 release of MONONKVL ’s album Sekai wa Kokonishika Naitte Jyozuni Itte, he shifted his primary focus toward the pop music scene.
In addition to his work with MONONKVL , he has produced and composed music for commercial projects including “Every One Minute” (2020) for Citizen Holdings’s xC line, “salvation” (2022), the ending theme for the TV anime The Case Study of Vanitas, and “Higher” (2022) for Sony’s Xperia 1 IV.
He has also contributed as a lyricist, composer, and arranger to works by Tomita Lab, Little Glee Monster, Taiki Kudo (Da-iCE), and kiki vivi lily.
As a bassist, he has supported live performances by artists such as KIRINJI, Huwie Ishizaki, yama, and Ayaka.
BOLERO believes in MONONKVL
From 2026, MONONKVL joins the BOLERO family. Our meeting was a matter of chance. But the moment we heard their music, doubt turned into conviction. We knew this was the sound we had to bring to the world.
In the music industry, people often claim they are carrying the weight of an artist's life. We have never believed in those words. A person’s life is not something you can simply carry for them. It is not a matter of money. It is about the sanctity of their time and we refuse to let a single second go to waste. That is why at BOLERO, we do not talk about carrying burdens. Instead, we bet our lives together.MONONKVL stands as the first true icon of The TOKYO Perspective, BOLERO’s global vision. This is the music Tokyo must present to the world. While honoring everything MONONKVL has built until now, we step forward to challenge the world and reach those who have yet to discover them.
We go all in together.
BOLERO believes in MONONKVL.
