"If you think wild, bizarre Japanese music begins and ends with the legendary Boredoms, you ain't heard nothing yet. If Vrresto is any indication, Ruins top even those legendary noise merchants in terms of craziness, as this is music whose origins can barely even be traced to this planet, let alone to any particular genre or country. What results from the intertwining of Yoshida Tatsuya's insanely intricate drum patterns and Sasaki Hisashi's spastic noodlings on bass guitar, along with the space-aliens...

“Esperanto was composed for a performance by New York avant-garde choreographer Molissa Fenley. Produced and performed by Sakamoto with contribution by Arto Lindsay and Japanese percussionist Yas-Kaz, Esperanto is a fascinating instrumental work mixing electronica, ambient and synth pop. Released in Japan in 1985 on Midi Inc.s' School label, the album has never been released outside of Japan until now.
Esperanto originally came out in 1985 and was Ryuichi Sakamoto's sixth solo album. Coming after...

“The first ever international release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's landmark 1984 album Ongaku Zukan, originally issued in Japan on his own School label in 1984. Remastered by Saidera Mastering in Tokyo. The early '80s were a turning point for Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As a solo artist, the smash hit soundtrack he had composed for 1983's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, had put him on the verge of becoming a global superstar. Meanwhile he had called a halt to his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra; the...

"1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album Paraiso. The album, recorded between December '77 and January '78, featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan...

Led by guitarist Kido Natsuki of Bondage Fruit, Salle Gaveau combines the art-music tango, as typified by the brilliant and famous work of Astor Piazzolla with a rock energy and zaniness. Using the same quintet musical configuraration as Piazzolla's...

Before the advent of the Japanese school of progressive rock music during the Eighties, represented by Gerard, Outer Limits and Pageant, among others, a certain number of local bands of great interest were already active. Amongst them, the name of Shin...

“The first international reissue of Ayako Shinozaki's Music Now For Harp released in 1974 by Nippon Columbia. The LP was released on the label's cult "Master Sonic" series and features Shinozaki's harp soundscape on works by renowned composer Toru Takemitsu and Katsuhiro Tsubono. The highlight of the album is the spaced-out, ethereal 25-min ambient epic "Heterodyne" featuring cult musician Takehisa Kosugi (Taj Mahal Travellers, Group Ongaku) on electric violin and sound waves.
Japanese harpist Ayako..

"Following on from the gutsy blues-rock groove of the band's first and probably only genuine studio release, 1971's Eve, Speed, Glue & Shinki's second release, originally released in 1972 on Atlantic and often referred to as Tiger, brought together a...

A note from Tokio Hasegawa:
"The first LP by the Taj Mahal Travellers was recorded at Sogetsu Hall in Tokyo on July 15, 1972, which became the title of the work and was released the same year by CBS Sony Records. A live performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of this album was held on July 15, 2022.
The only original members of the Taj Mahal Travellers who attended were myself and Seiji Nagai. This is because two of the six members passed away, two are religiously active and they cannot...

"Suishou No Fune [soo-ee-sho no foo-nay] was formed in 1999 by guitarists Pirako Kurenai and Kageo. They were quickly acknowledged in Japan for their unique take on Japanese psychedelic traditions but it wasn't until their inclusion on PSF's Tokyo...

Together again (semi-posthumously) for the 1st time!

“Officially licensed from Irwin Chusid of the Sun Ra estate, Cold Spring's Justin Mitchell negotiated rare and unreleased tracks from the Sun Ra archive to be remixed and treated by Masami Akita (Merzbow). The tracks incorporate the jazz power of Sun Ra, carried into brutal excess by the legendary Japanese artist Merzbow.”

Kazuto Shimizu-keyboards
Yoshida Tatsuya-drums
Nasyuno Mitsuru-bass

“The Japanese improvising rock trio of Kazuto Shimizu on keyboards, Nasyuno Mitsuru on bass, and Yoshida Tatsuya on drums performing live at Club Goodman in Akihabara, Japan on February 15, 2016 for technically superb, fast paced, turn-on-a-dime, joyful prog-oriented playing.”

This is 2 Japanese women who have been working since 1985. I believe this is their 1st release, & it is reminiscent of an updated Young Marble Giants (due to the drum machines & general combination of simplicity with tunefulness) with microtones! This ...

“Recorded in a live setting and played with instruments conserved in the collections of the MEG Museum, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter is Midori Takada's very own rendition of "Nhemamusasa", a traditional work emblematic of the musical repertoire for mbira of the Shona of Zimbabwe, well known worldwide, thanks notably to its version by Paul F. Berliner included on the famed 1973 album The Soul of Mbira. The choice of this title by Midori Takada evokes the links between traditional African and...

Comes in a Stoughton "Tip-On" jacket with printed inner sleeves.

"The highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient/minimal album Through The Looking Glass, originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan. Considered a holy grail of Japanese music by many, Through The Looking Glass is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring...

“A new full-length album by celebrated Japanese percussionist Midori Takada, in collaboration with Buddhist monks belonging to the Samgha group of the Shingon school of Koya-san, led by Reverend Syuukoh Ikawa. Recorded at The Premises Studio (London) and in Tokyo in 2019, You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana is a majestic work combining a suite of six Buddhist liturgical chants and a musical creation by Midori Takada. The Buddhist chants come from three types of repertoires: shomyo ("Teisan", "Unga-Bai"...

“Adroit jazz guitar, prog rock fantasia, and Japanese environmental music all rest comfortably behind Leo Takami's "Next Door." The follow up to the acclaimed "Felis Catus & Silence", "Next Door" finds Takami ruminating on passages-of time, seasons, consciousness. Through music, Leo contemplates daily events and finds beauty in ordinary moments. He also seems to be questioning the value of being stuck in the world, allowing his mind to wander towards something beyond it. His music is earnest, deeply...

“In August 1969, Masayuki Takayanagi formed his first New Direction group and embarked on an unparalleled musical journey that over the final 22 years of his life would define him as an uncompromising artist who would forge a visionary new musical language. Comprised of himself on acoustic and electric guitar and joined by Motoharu Yoshizawa on bass and Yoshisaburo "Sabu" Toyozumi on drums, Takayanagi's group created a new unconstrained form of music; It expanded on the most radical, fiery elements of...

"Digitally remastered edition. Hyperborea is the nineteenth major release and thirteenth studio album by Tangerine Dream. It spent two weeks on the UK album chart peaking at #45."

''A founding member of the Fluxus Movement with Takehisa Kosugi, Yoko Ono and George Maciunas, Yasunao Tone has been doing experimental sound pieces since the early 1960s. For the past ten years much of his work has centered on extending the possibilit...

This is drummer Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins, Koenjihyakei, Korekyojinn), guitarist Uchihashi Kazuhisa (Altered States, Ground Zero) and pianist Mishiba Satoshi (who plays in the rock band "Kinniku Syojotai", who are a major, big band in Japan). This is ten...

“Akiko Yano's cult classic Ai Ga Nakucha Ne was recorded in 1982 and co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ai Ga Nakucha Ne ("there must be love" in Japanese) is Akiko Yano's sixth studio album and follows Tadaima in 1981. It continues exploring the electro-pop sound of its predecessor, hot on the heels of her touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra between 1979 and 1980.
For this album, Akiko decided to try something new; she enrolled English musicians Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and David Sylvian from Japan...

“The duo of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and keyboardist Risa Takeda take to the road in a 2023 summer tour, their rock-based improvisations energetically wild and masterfully controlled as they run through 11 pieces in a concert at Environment 0g in Osaka, the title referencing the capacity for some proposition or theory to be proven wrong; in contrast, this concert is quite right!”

Featuring Ruins drummer Yoshida Tatsuya going head to head with versatile jazz pianist Satoko Fujii, Erans is a meeting of masters. Twelve intense compositions showcasing the passion and virtuosity of these two Japanese visionaries. Absolutely breathta...

Otomo Yoshihide: Guitar
Paal Nilssen-Love: Drums
Recorded at Copenhagen JazzHouse 4 May 2013
"The first duo release ever by these two masters of improvised music presents revelatory and astonishing music for electric guitar and drums. A.