Music from Japan

*2026 stock* The Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio in concert at Montreux, and one of the relatively few records that documents the working group on an international stage. By the time of this recording the trio had already been together for years, and the band…

*2026 stock* A mid-seventies entry from the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio, and one of the records where the leader's bluesy, groove-conscious side comes most clearly to the front. The title track is the Ramsey Lewis standard, and the choice tells you most o…

*2026 much needed repress!!* "Written and arranged by Hiromasa Suzuki, and originally released in 1975 on Nippon Columbia, this album is incredible, and truly well-named - funky stuff, indeed! Fat bass, a great variety of guitar sounds, horns and org…

Chihei Hatakeyama, captivating the world with his beautiful ambient/drone works, and Ken Ikeda, an original improvisational musician radiating a unique presence. This work, both artists spent approximately ten years recording and meticulously editing…

*2026 stock* Bassist Hideto Kanai was one of the most ambitious composer-bandleaders to emerge from the Japanese jazz scene of the early seventies, a writer of long-form pieces that integrated free playing with chamber-jazz architecture, and a player…

*2026 stock* Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno spent much of his career moving between the Japanese scene and the New York post-bop circuit, a player whose résumé runs through American bandleaders alongside his domestic work, and whose tone bears the marks of bo…

The very first record released on Three Blind Mice, a debut for both label and bandleader. Recorded in Tokyo in August 1970, Mine announces the saxophonist Kosuke Mine and sets out, in advance, the editorial stance the label would hold for the next t…

Merzbow (aka Masami Akita), animal rights activist, writer, and musician, an Iconic figure in International noise scene. Renowned for his pioneering contributions to the noise music genre, Merzbow has solidified his position as one of its most signif…

* Edition of 199 copies * Originally released on cassette in 1985, H·A·D·A·Y·R·O is a landmark of Japanese noise music. It documents the early vision of Solmania and the singular sonic approach of Masahiko Ohno. For years, it remained a cult artifact…

* Edition of 199 copies * Between 1999 and 2000. By the early 2000s, Merzbow had entered a markedly new phase. The tape collages, junk electronics, and analogue chains that had defined his work across the 1980s and 1990s gave way to a digital practic…

* Edition of 199 copies * Government Alpha, the project of Yasutoshi Yoshida, is one of the central figures in Japanese harsh noise, emerging from Tokyo's early 1990s underground scene. Through his Xerxes label, he developed a style that is both extr…

Across three decades of uncompromising sound, this series of vinyl reissues traces a raw and evolving lineage within Japanese noise. From the mid-1980s underground to the turn of the millennium, these works capture a continuous process of transformat…

Dowser was formed in the late 1980s by Hiroyuki Nagashima. After numerous lineup changes, the current members are Hiroyuki Nagashima (instruments), Masateru Terai (instruments, voice), and Takashi Miyagawa (design). Dowser combines vintage synthesize…

‘Traces of the ceiling’ is the new album by Takako Minekawa, an artistic collaboration between Minekawa who composed, performed and recorded the works contained within - and artist Ippei Matsui, who created and designed the accompanying elaborate fiv…

A 2018 best-of from Hatsune Kaidan, ten tracks chosen by Jojo Hiroshige from the project's run of releases. The Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku singing anime themes, Velvet Underground and Yoshiko Sai while Hijokaidan's noise rises to swallow her whole. N…

«Hohai-Bushi» is the meeting between Paal Nilssen-Love and his Large Unit ensemble, here in a 13-person lineup, and the legendary Japanese musician Akira Sakata. Since the 1960s, Sakata has been one of the leading saxophonists in free jazz and improv…

Unconsciousness Silence is the latest ambient exploration from Japanese sound artist Chihei Hatakeyama. Known for his ethereal guitar drones and textured soundscapes, Hatakeyama creates immersive sonic environments that unfold slowly, inviting deep l…

Reemerging three decades on, C.C.C.C.’s Love & Noise hits vinyl for the first time, a still‑devastating artefact where Mayuko Hino’s charged electronics and Hiroshi Hasegawa’s Moog storms turn harsh sonics into something crushing, psychedelic and str…

Great and beautifully packaged first uncompromising album of solo violin improvisation and electronically-processed violin tracks by Hideaki Shimada, self-released on Pico in a limited edition of 300 copies in 1986.

Great and beautifully packaged second uncompromising album of electronically-processed solo violin improvisations by Hideaki Shimada, self-released on Pico in a limited edition of 300 copies in 1989 and never re-issued on either LP or CD.