Kurosuke is the solo side project of Anomalyst singer-guitarist Christianto Ario Wibowo, which came about through the desire to write and record an album in a quick and spontaneous manner; the resulting album was written and recorded in the space of two weeks, with Ario handling all vocals and instruments almost entirely by himself.

Regarding the difference between the music on this project and with Anomalyst, Ario has noted that the songs he writes for Anomalyst sound like Kurosuke before the other members of the band get involved. Ario also deliberately scaled back the guitars and emphasized the Eighties pop influence on this project.

The project and album remained nameless until the night before it was uploaded to digital platforms; the name Kurosuke was suggested by Ario’s friend and album collaborator Indisya Zelaikha, who took it from the fictional sprite creatures Makkuro Kurosuke seen in several Studio Ghibli animated films. Kurosuke is also an Indonesian abbreviation for “kukus roti, susu, keju” (bread, milk, cheese), which is one of Ario’s favorite snacks and that he feels perfectly embodies the music of this project: sweet, delicious and tender.

While the album was recorded and released purely for fun with no plan to perform the songs live, it soon proved popular enough to attract gig offers, which led to Ario performing as Kurosuke with the members of Anomalyst and other friends as his backing band.

The future of Kurosuke is open-ended, as Ario has stated that he hasn’t made any plans to make another album as Kurosuke, but it could happen at any time.