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History

Formation, Spotlight People, and Toaster_music (2016–2017)

Ginger Root began as Lew was in the Huntington Beach-based band Van Stock. In mid-2016, he wrote a few songs that he felt did not fit into the band's existing sound and made an EP out of them. According to Lew, that EP "turned into an LP", becoming Spotlight People, and "I slapped the name Ginger Root on it", a name coming from a live Vulfpeck performance of "It Gets Funkier" he discovered on YouTube at 3 a.m. one morning, where frontman Jack Stratton chanted "uh, uh ginger root".⁷⁸

In 2017, Lew began a weekly YouTube series called "Toaster Music" where he performed covers in his 2004 Honda Element. Lew says the idea came to him from not wanting to do homework during the four hour break between his classes on Mondays at Chapman University, where he would record vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums in the backseat, mixing it on his laptop via the car stereo. Afterwards, he would spend another two to three hours editing during his next lecture.⁹ Many of these covers formed the basis for a compilation album, titled Toaster_music.

Mahjong Room (2018–2019)

In June 2018, Ginger Root released a second album, Mahjong Room, featuring four previously released singles ("Two Step", "Call It Home", "Jeanie", and "Having Fun") and six other new songs. Alongside that release, Lew released a second album of covers from the ongoing "Toaster Music" project on Bandcamp, calling it Toaster_Music_v2.

In December 2018, Ginger Root recorded a live session at Audiotree's studios in Chicago, playing five songs from Mahjong Room.¹⁰

The name "Mahjong Room" comes from a room Lew's great-grandmother had in her house, where all of his family members would gather, play Mahjong, and a five-year old Lew would come and try to shuffle the tiles. It eventually became somewhat of a storage room, the memory of it inspiring both the song and album, respectively.¹¹

Rikki (2020)

In March 2020, Ginger Root released "Karaoke", the first single from their third album Rikki, which was originally slated to be released in June 2020, but was later delayed to October of that year due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.¹²¹³

Toaster Music v3, the third iteration of covers from the "Toaster Music" project, was released on Ginger Root's Bandcamp in May 2020.

On October 23, 2020, Ginger Root released Rikki, which includes the previously released singles "Karaoke", "Out of State", "Le château", and "Why Try" alongside seven new tracks.

The name of the album Rikki is from the misspelling (as Lew remembers) of the first word of a book titled Tikki Tikki Tembo.¹⁴

City Slicker and Nisemono (2021–2022)

In May 2021, Ginger Root announced via Twitter and Instagram the upcoming release of an EP, titled City Slicker, described by Lew as a soundtrack for the American adaptation of a fictitious 1980s Japanese film, expected to be released August 2021.¹⁵¹⁶ Alongside the announcement, Ginger Root released a single from the EP, titled "Neighbor". Another single from the EP, "Loretta", was released in June 2021.

On July 21, 2021, Ginger Root released the single "Juban District", the name being a reference to the setting of the anime Sailor Moon.¹⁷ The album was released as a limited edition product on 2 analog physical formats, which were VHS¹⁸¹⁹ and cassette tape.²⁰ In November 2021, City Slicker was also released on vinyl through the crowd-funding/pre-sale service Qrates.²¹²²

On June 14, 2022, Ginger Root announced another upcoming release of an EP titled Nisemono.²³ The tracks are set in a fictitious 1983, where Ginger Root is asked to write and produce music for the up-and-coming Japanese pop idol, Kimiko Takeguchi. Right before Takeguchi's American debut on a late night show, she quits, leaving her manager in shambles. She makes the last minute decision to have Ginger Root perform in her place, since he knows all the songs. The EP focuses on imposter syndrome and not being oneself.²⁴²⁵ It released on September 9, 2022, and also had a limited vinyl, CD and cassette release.²⁶²⁷ A VHS cassette of the full EP, which includes behind the scenes footage of various music videos, was released in early 2024.²⁸ The cassette will also include a QR code to watch on a mobile phone.²⁹³⁰

The music videos for both projects were filmed in Osaka and had their fidelity artificially reduced to better evoke the feeling of 1980s Japan.³¹

Shinbangumi (2024)

In May 2024, Ginger Root announced that an album titled Shinbangumi (stylized in all caps as SHINBANGUMI) lit. transl. 'new program', would be released on September 13. This is Ginger Root's first project under the label Ghostly International.³² Five singles have been released in advance of the album, titled "No Problems", "Better Than Monday", "There Was a Time", "All Night" and "Only You". The other songs released with the rest of the album are titled, "CM", "Kaze", "Giddy Up", "Think Cool", "Show 10", and "Take Me Back (Owakare No Jikan)". The group began a worldwide tour to promote the album in September 2024.³³

Influences

In a 2023 interview, Lew credited Showa-era Japanese culture, including City Pop artists Yellow Magic Orchestra, Taeko Onuki and Tatsuro Yamashita, as a primary influence and sense of belonging as an Asian-American.³⁴

Discography

Albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

References

1. "Cameron Michael Lew, Born 11/26/1995 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved May 26, 2025. https://californiabirthindex.org/birth/cameron_michael_lew_born_1995_23764066 ↩

2. Arunarsirakul, Alissa (July 4, 2019). "Ginger Root's Aggressive Elevator Soul Makes for Great "Weather" [PREMIERE + Q&A]". Ones to Watch. https://www.onestowatch.com/blog/ginger-roots-aggressive-elevator-soul-makes-for ↩

3. "RedGorilla Music Fest Artist of the Day: "Ginger Root"". RedGorilla. February 14, 2018. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019112958/https://www.redgorillamusic.com/post/redgorilla-music-fest-artist-of-the-day-ginger-root ↩

4. Moran, Pat. "Ginger Root adds Spice to Indie Pop". Soundsplice. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205052835/https://www.soundsplice.com/post/ginger-root-adds-spice-to-indie-pop ↩

5. "Ginger Root Is Calling It Home". Merry-Go-Round Magazine. November 16, 2018. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/ginger-root-is-calling-it-home/ ↩

6. "NEW MUSIC!". X.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024. https://x.com/gingerrootmusic/status/1793317914344562914 ↩

7. Boyd, Carlton. "Ginger Root Discusses His New EP "Spotlight People"". DOPECAUSEWESAID. Retrieved August 21, 2020. https://dopecausewesaid.com/dope-features/ginger-root-discusses-his-new-ep-spotlight-people ↩

8. "A Conversation with Ginger Root". Corduroy Soul. October 12, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2020. https://corduroysoul.com/a-conversation-with-ginger-root-d59feaad727c ↩

9. Villasenor, Yvonne (March 8, 2018). "Ginger Root Went From Recording Music in His Car to Rocking the Stage". OC Weekly. Retrieved August 2, 2020. https://www.ocweekly.com/ginger-root-went-recording-music-car-rocking-stage/ ↩

10. "Ginger Root – Audiotree". Audiotree. December 17, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2020. https://audiotree.tv/session/ginger-root ↩

11. "Ginger Root, "Mahjong Room" – Mix Notes #2". Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAeUlL07WJ8 ↩

12. Hahn, Bryan (March 11, 2020). "Ginger Root is your new favorite co-worker in his "Karaoke" video". Fader. Retrieved March 21, 2020. https://www.thefader.com/2020/03/11/ginger-root-karaoke-video ↩

13. Estrada, Sienna (July 1, 2020). "Ginger Root demonstrates his ping pong skills in "Out of State" music video". Earmilk. Retrieved August 21, 2020. https://earmilk.com/2020/07/01/ginger-root-demonstrates-his-ping-pong-skills-in-out-of-state-music-video/ ↩

14. Herb, Jesse (November 20, 2020). "Interview: Time Marches on with Ginger Root's Third Album, Rikki". Atwood Magazine. https://atwoodmagazine.com/grrk-ginger-root-rikki-interview-2020/ ↩

15. "Surprise new music! My new EP entitled "City Slicker" is out Aug. 20 on Acrophase Records. The year is 1981, Ginger Root is asked to make the soundtrack to the American adaptation to the fictitious Japanese film "街のやつ"". Twitter. May 19, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021. https://twitter.com/gingerrootmusic/status/1395068530035281923 ↩

16. @gingerrootmusic; (May 19, 2021). "Surprise! New music!". Retrieved July 1, 2021 – via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CPD-s2PJpTg/ ↩

17. Wendy (August 2, 2021). "Artist Spotlight: Ginger Root Talks Sailor Moon References in City Slicker EP". EnVi Magazine. https://www.envimedia.co/artist-spotlight-ginger-root-talks-sailor-moon-references-in-city-slicker-ep/ ↩

18. "City Slicker, by Ginger Root". Gingerroot.bandcamp.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024. https://gingerroot.bandcamp.com/album/city-slicker ↩

19. "I'm releasing my album on VHS (I made new merch)". Retrieved October 22, 2021 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKRA-HAk0GE ↩

20. "City Slicker, by Ginger Root". Gingerroot.baandcamp.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021. https://gingerroot.bandcamp.com/album/city-slicker ↩

21. "Ginger Root's City Slicker Vinyl Pre-order Happening Now!". YouTube. Retrieved November 13, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDu8pTprVTk ↩

22. "City Slicker". Qrates.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211209073805/https://qrates.com/projects/25202-city-slicker/ ↩

23. "Announcing my new project on the news - 十番街ニュース". Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb9JltdXq3U ↩

24. "Ginger Root's Cameron Lew wants his new EP to showcase city pop as familiar yet fresh". NPR. September 29, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/1126022518/ginger-roots-cameron-lew-wants-his-new-ep-to-showcase-city-pop-as-familiar-yet-f ↩

25. "Ginger Root – "Loneliness" (Official Music Video)". Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMCAF8tZ7ZE ↩

26. "How to Win Ginger Root Merch". Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2g6Hwzz4KM ↩

27. "Shop". Acrophase Records. Retrieved September 8, 2022. http://www.acrophaserecords.com/shop ↩

28. "Nisemono on VHS (PRE-ORDER)". Ginger Root. Retrieved December 20, 2023. https://www.gingerrootmusic.com/merch/nisemono-on-vhs-pre-order ↩

29. "Ginger Root's "Nisemono" on VHS". Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bpUXnKgkGs ↩

30. "Twitter". X.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024. https://twitter.com/gingerrootmusic/status/1732824787859480789 ↩

31. "日本のテレビ初出演 "昭和レトロ"MVのひみつ". Nippon Television. July 24, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ISFZfckOEU ↩

32. "NEW MUSIC!". X.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024. https://x.com/gingerrootmusic/status/1793317914344562914 ↩

33. Jackson, Josh (September 18, 2024). "Ginger Root tackles The Zombies for our latest A.V. Undercover". AV Club. Retrieved September 28, 2024. https://www.avclub.com/ginger-root-covers-the-zombies-av-undercover ↩

34. "日本のテレビ初出演 "昭和レトロ"MVのひみつ". Nippon Television. July 24, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ISFZfckOEU ↩

35. "Ginger Root — "Pi"". Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwZcDUVQZj0 ↩