Vanity Vanity Vanity Vanity Vanity Vanity
Constantly evolving and boiling at a fever pitch for decades on end, its recorded documents often housed in tiny, limited editions, catching a cohesive vision of Japan’s long history of underground music has always been difficult. Not only is its output remarkably diverse - a sprawling expanse of sound defined by singular artists forging their own paths - it can also be incredibly localised, allowing little to escape the country’s borders. Fortunately, thanks to a number of dedicated reissue projects over the last few years, the shadows of obscurity have begun to fade, allowing us to celebrate the significant contributions of countless Japanese artists who have fully received their rightful due.
Today, we’re thrilled to highlight three such cases, all focusing on the output of the seminal late '70s and early '80s Osaka based imprint, Vanity Records. Two of them are deluxe reissues of the imprint’s six cassette box set, originally planned as an edition of 70 copies in 1981, with only actually 30 produced. The first, by Edition Nord, faithfully reproduces the collection on its format, while the second, by Vinyl-On-Demand, goes on deluxe with the material’s first ever pressing on vinyl. VOD then takes us one step further with a stunning reissues of their 1981 double LP box, Music.
At long last, whether heard individually of collectively, the wild sounds of the Osaka underground unfold before our ear, still feelings as radical and fresh as they did at the time.
For its iconic status, perhaps the most striking thing about The Vanity Records Tape Box is that each of its albums represent the lone release by each of the six projects represented within, making its availability and value as a document that much more important.
Remarkably cohesive as a single body of recordings, as much as free standing, individual albums, it takes the ear in a stunning series of internal worlds, built from moody, DIY electronics and sparse acoustic instrumentation.
Extending from vast sonic sprawl to microscopic intricacy, the set contains the Kyoto based Salaried Man Club’s Gray Cross - bubbling with the unexpected industrial sound of an intellectual worker - the Yonago City based Kiiro Radical’s Denki Noise Dance - a body of subtle, calculated, meticulous minimal electric noise - the Fukushima based Densei Kwan’s Pocket Planetaria - emerging like a miniature garden of noise - B.B.B., by Zushi city’s Invivo - a mutant experiment in atmospheric sound, Wireless Sight’s Endless Dark Dream - as a series of peaceful, post classical, spacious ambient sketches, constructed from piano, metronome, and radio noise - and Nishimura Alimoti’s Shibou, which culminates with wild psychedelia reminiscent of the first phase of Amon Dull.
