Music from Japan

*2025 repress!!* Made In Japan is the third album by Japanese rock band Flower Travellin' Band, released in 1972. After meeting Lighthouse at the Expo '70 festival in Osaka, Flower Travellin' Band were invited to visit Canada. While there, the group recorded Made in Japan with Lighthouse keyboardist Paul Hoffert helping produce. Due to George Wada becoming ill with tuberculosis, Canadian drummer Paul DeLong plays on some tracks on this album. The lyrics were written by Yoko Nomura, the wife of t…

Nobody feels the sound fracturing as Masami Akita, nobody understands noise better than Merzbow. This Japanese artist is for more than forty years the maximum exponent of a style that has been catalogued and denominated with perhaps, the most descriptive word of modern music. Noise can have very diverse connotations, however, when we transfer this term to the pleasure and enjoyment that a piece of music generates in the listener, when we treat non-music as music, we understand that sound express…

*300 copies limited edition* Masonna is one of the early peeoners of Japanoise. This CD is the combined re-release of two classic first-era Masonna albums: Masonna Vs. Bananamara - very first vinyl release originally produced by Vanilla Records / Japan in 1989 and Shinsen Na Clitoris = 新鮮なクリトリス - very first CD release originally produced by Vanilla Records / Japan in 1990 Masonna sound is true harsh Japanoise but always inspired by Psychedelic-Music and mainly perfomred using distorted vocals, a…

Chihei Hatakeyama, who has become a leading figure in the ambient/drone music scene in Japan, has now announced his second collaboration with jazz drummer Shun Ishiwaka. The two had been sharing the stage together in live performances since meeting on a radio show recording, and in May 2024 they released the first of a two-part series, "Magnificent Little Dudes Vol.1", and this is the second installment.This album includes the album's opening track, “M3,” featuring award-winning British cellist …

It all started here... “Eternal Paralysis” and “Peony Crackers” is two fantastic works produced by T. Mikawa's Pariah Tapes label in 1981 and 1983, which were not sold publicly and only friends could receive them. The red and green paper is used as in the original release, and the handwritten logo and titles by T. Mikawa on the master tape case are reproduced in full. The result is the fruit of early acoustic experimentation, including the destructive sounds of the self-made noise generator “The…

It all started here... “Eternal Paralysis” and “Peony Crackers” is two fantastic works produced by T. Mikawa's Pariah Tapes label in 1981 and 1983, which were not sold publicly and only friends could receive them. The red and green paper is used as in the original release, and the handwritten logo and titles by T. Mikawa on the master tape case are reproduced in full. The result is the fruit of early acoustic experimentation, including the destructive sounds of the self-made noise generator “The…

2009 release ** "Japan-for-U.S. CD reissue of Varèse Sarabande LP configuration (VX 81060), featuring contemporary, avant-garde classical performances, recorded live at Tokyo's Nissei Theatre in 1966 by the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Hiroshi Wakasugi, featuring performances of the works of nineteen separate composers, of which four were selected for this particular release. The packaging features an eight-page booklet with liner notes "based upon notes by Kun…

A real brain ripping free jazzing blast from the past. Togashi Masahiko may be a name you have already encountered if you are a bit acquainted with Japanese free hardcore blowing jazz. He was the man responsible for churning out Japan's first free jazz disc being “We Now Create” for which he got assisted by Takayanagi Masayuki and Yoshizawa Motoharu amongst others. The following year in 1969, he teamed up with another hardcore blowing spirit, Takagi Mototeru - one of Japan's most unique sax howl…

Wewantsounds' major reissue program of Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) continues with the first-ever reissue of her 1973 album "Yadokari" with a bonus 7" single Shura No Hana (featured in Kill Bill). with original artwork, newly remastered audio and new liner notes.

One of the most electrifying records we've ever encountered from the power of the Nobuo Tsukahara's Sharps & Flats – a collection that infuses fantastic keyboards into the group's signature horn-heavy sound! The set features an incredible mix of Fender Rhodes and organ, frequently taking the spotlight as the lead solo instrument over the rich backings, creating a particularly delightful experience on the tracks with Rhodes! The tunes are absolutely fantastic, bringing a fresh and funky vibe that…

First Terrace are thrilled to present the new album Lucid Dreams from the prolific Japanese artist Chihei Hatakeyama on January 24th 2025. Renowned ambient composer Chihei Hatakeyama is set to release his latest album, Lucid Dreams, an evocative sonic exploration that invites listeners to drift between the waking world and the dreamscape, to experience “dreams you are aware that you are dreaming”. Known for his deep atmospheric textures and minimalist approach to sound, Hatakeyama’s new project …

2025 Repress. Meitei (冥丁) is a Japanese artist from Hiroshima, who started out as a freelance composer, making various kinds of music across genres. Having done it for eight years, his goal was to eventually release his own original music as an artist. Living in Kyoto for the past two years has deeply influenced his current sound, which is a focus on musically crafting a “Japanese mood” called Meitei (冥丁 (thus, his name). Rich in history, Meitei wanted to borrow this lost “Japanese mood” and inc…

Matte laminate and embossed sleeve, with insert card and fold out poster + vinyl sticker (20cm long). Recorded in 1996, Merzbow's The Prosperity Of Vice, The Misfortune Of Virtue is one of a series of unique editions from his vast catalogue that reveals a side of his practice often under represented. During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Masami Akita was sometimes working on film and theatre music. In this space he created a series of recordings that capture the full scope of his sound world…

Hiroshi Yoshimura was commissioned in 1984 by Japanese multi-national personal care company Shiseido to create something that might be entirely out of his own wheelhouse: music that could complement a fragrance. Mixing bird song and sea sound with environmental field recordings, plus the usual electronics paraphernalia, he just released something truly inspiring. A record still ahead of its time !

Self-released on cassette in 1983, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Pier & Loft is a contemporary ambient holy grail, gaining a cult status decade after decade. On this album he brought his environmental music in different areas. Yoshimura had a class on its own, far removed from standard new age or electronic music being released at the time.

2008 release ** Limited edition of 300 hand numbered copies.

2005 release ** Limited to 444 hand-numbered copies.

* White Vinyl * Meitei / 冥丁 is the moniker of Japanese producer, composer, and musician Daisuke Fujita. The project stemmed from a preoccupation with the customs and rituals of his country’s past, and a desire to cast light on an era and aesthetic that he noted was drifting out of the collective Japanese consciousness with each passing generation, what he calls “the lost Japanese mood”. First came “Kwaidan”, a study into the lost art of Japanese ghost story-telling, followed by “Komachi”, an att…

*2024 stock. 300 copies limited edition* Music Collection from 80's Japanese Hero Sci-Fi TV anime serie Kotetsu Jeeg . All music composed by Chumei Watanabe.

2025 much-needed repress. On May 27th 1983, drummer Masahiko Togashi and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi, two pivotal figures in the Japanese free jazz scene that had been working together since the 1960's, performed and record this unique set at Zojoji Hall in Tokyo. At the time, Japanese jazz musicians were trying to find their own voice, welcoming creative elements coming in from the USA and Europe. The two musicians were at the fore-front of this generation, with Takayanagi developing his own …