★P-Vine Records
Friction
The 1980 album Friction (軋轢, literally “friction”) stands as the moment Friction stop being a rumour from the Tokyo underground and become a fully formed threat on record. It is their first LP and the only one to feature singer Masatoshi Tsunematsu as a full member, with production by none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto, who helps translate the band’s live volatility into a lean, sharply contoured studio language. Coming out of the Tokyo Rockers milieu and carrying memories of time Reck and Chico H…
Live, Pass Tour '80
Live Pass Tour ’80 captures Friction at the precise moment their legend hardens into tape. Recorded during the Pass Tour at Kanagawa University in 1980, just as the band were releasing their first full‑length 軋轢 = Friction, this set has been described as the “definitive, fully edited document” of their early peak, preserving the original line‑up with singer Masatoshi Tsunematsu still fronting the group. Where studio takes tighten and cool their New York‑shaped no‑wave and Tokyo Rockers energy, t…
Live at "Ex Mattatoio" in Roma
Recorded on 28 August 1984 at the Japan Japan Festival in Rome and originally issued the following year on the Marz label, Live At "Ex Mattatoio" In Roma captures Friction far from home but fully in their element. Playing inside the former abattoir of the Testaccio district - already a rough, resonant space in the city’s underground - Reck’s group bring the sharpened angles of Tokyo Rockers to a European audience, fusing serrated no‑wave guitar, thick, stalking bass lines, and clipped, incantato…
'79 Live
’79 Live catches Friction right as Japanese punk is mutating into something stranger and more angular, a December 1979 set that sounds like it was recorded with the mics pointed straight at the band’s collective nervous system. The trio are all attack and recoil: sharp, metallic guitar figures slashing across a rhythm section that alternates between locked‑groove insistence and sudden, collapsing turns. Vocals arrive in bursts of English and Japanese, more incantation and accusation than sing‑al…
The Sisters
A heretical symbol of Rare Groove, with its alternative and avant-garde ferocity! Irvine Weldon's 1973 masterpiece, which continues to have a wide influence around the world even today! Although it is based on jazz, it is a work released in 1973 that is more soul/funk than the first album, and reflects more experimental and political aspects and ideas. For over 30 years, it has been loved by diggers all over the world and reigns at the top of the rare groove as a most wanted item, and today the …
Chou no Sumu Heya
The room where butterflies live. A place between worlds. Enter at your own risk - you may not find your way back out. Sai Yoshiko's fourth and final album of the 1970s stands as one of the most singular documents in Japanese music - a jazz-inflected fever dream that marked the end of an era. Originally released in 1978 on Columbia (LX-7058-A), Chou no Sumu Heya represented a dramatic departure from her earlier psychedelic folk explorations. Here was something else entirely: a surreal and dynamic…
Takla Makan
Sai Yoshiko (佐井好子) - one of Japan's most legendary and enigmatic singers - made her debut in 1975 with Mangekyou, an album of superbly crafted songs and crystal-clear vocals over Yuji Ohno's lush, funky arrangements. Three more masterpieces followed in rapid succession: Mikkou (1976), Taiji no Yume (1977), and Chou no Sumu Heya (1978). Her melancholic, poetic lyrics drew from the gothic imagination of Japanese novelists like Ranpo Edogawa, Mushitaro Oguri, and Yumeno Kyusaku - dark fairy tales s…
You Got Dat Wright
One of spiritual jazz's most treasured artifacts receives the audiophile treatment it deserves. Prince Billy Marge Wright's legendary "You Got That Right", originally self-released in 1980 on the saxophonist/flautist's own label, now returns as a limited edition 180g heavyweight pressing, with authentic Japanese obi strip. This sole leader album from the Chicago underground scene veteran has achieved mythical status among collectors and connoisseurs alike. Featuring contributions from Eldee Youn…
Aseurai 아스라이
New Zealand ambient-pop collective Phoebe Rings presents their debut LP Aseurai, arriving June 6th, 2025 via P-Vine Records. The ten-track album emerges as meditative exploration of distance and presence, weaving dream-pop sensibilities through ambient textures that blur temporal and spatial boundaries.
Evolving from Choi's original solo vision into collaborative endeavor, Phoebe Rings constructs Aseurai through layered compositional processes where individual voices merge into singular atmosphe…
Taiji no Yume 胎児の夢
The long-awaited colored vinyl release of all of Yoshiko Sai's albums has been announced!! Sai Yoshiko was one of Japan's most representative singers of the 70s. In response to popular demand, all of the masterpiece albums that were reissued in 2021 and immediately sold out have finally been reissued on limited edition vinyl!
Following on from the first album, Yuji Ohno participated as an arranger, further supporting the musical elements in this world of Sai, which is reminiscent of the mysterio…
Mangekyou
P-Vine is delighted to announce the release of one of Japan's most coveted albums of the 70s, "Mangekyou" by singer-songwriter Yoshiko Sai. Produced in 1975 by Master musician Yuji Ohno, the album features Yoshiko Sai's superbly crafted songs and crystal clear voice over Ohno's lush, funky sound and breezy arrangements. A strong buzz has been growing around the album over the years and original copies now change hands for large sums of money. This is the first time "Mangekyou" is available outsi…
Sasurai : access memory of Daido Moriyama
A groundbreaking collaboration between two Japanese cultural giants: Seiichi Yamamoto — a pioneering figure in Japan's avant-pop scene and former member of Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba etc — and legendary photographer Daido Moriyama.
Inspired by Moriyama’s iconic photographic style, Yamamoto has composed a sonic tribute — a soundtrack, or perhaps a love letter — to Moriyama’s raw, evocative imagery. The result is an unparalleled work of art: progressive, genre-defying, and emotionally expansive. From…
Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits
"Ethiopians' deep-seated ethiocentrism, the legacy of a thousand years of history, has contributed in no small way to their music's strong national identity, particularly impervious to any African influences. Latin influences, so pervasive in the great musical centers of West Africa and the Congo, have been similarly rebuffed, despite the brilliant attempts of a musician like Mulatu Astatke. He was the first and for a long time the only Ethiopian to have studied music abroad (England and USA). I…
Ethio Jazz
The Ethio Jazz album by Mulatu Astatatke is a jewel of the modern Ethiopian music. Essential. An incredibly groovy Ethiopian record, originally from 1969-1972. Amazing orchestral 'Ethio-groove' filled with US soul, jazz, sometimes Latin and the deepest Eastern rhythms, even including some great nasty and dirty fuzz guitars. A true gem of Ethiopian modern instrumental music, which illustrates perfectly this symbiosis of strong rhythms and quality arrangements of subtle yet deep Ethiopian melodies…
Seeds
This long-awaited LP reissue of a European jazz treasure released in 1969 and led by multi-reedist Sahib Shihab!
Open Soul
2025 Red Vinyl Released in 1976 by Chicago's local label Stage Productions, this is the only album by a 6-piece soul band centered around the four Burton brothers. The original version is rarely available on the market, and when it does sell for over US$1000, it's no exaggeration to say that it's the ultimate collector's edition that everyone wants at least once! Starting with the epic and groovy funk "Open Soul" (B1) that uses the entire B-side of the record and lasts over 20 minutes, the super…
Summer Love
From Chicago saxophonist Prince Billy Mahdi Wright's only album and the pinnacle of 80s spiritual jazz, "You Got Dat Wright," comes a delightful 7-inch cut of the mellow jazz-funk "Summer Love," featuring the pleasant sounds of kalimba and saxophone and also played by Gilles Peterson! The b-side is the spiritual jazz "TuneWeaver," led by a mysterious female chorus!
Fantastic
Oowets, a beatmaker based in Kagawa Prefecture, creates lo-fi, ambient, and electronica music inspired by the harmony between nature and instruments. He has provided music that seamlessly integrates into everyday life for numerous companies, including fashion brands and in-store playlists. Not only has Oowets released works in Japan, but he has also gained international recognition with releases on labels in Brazil and Taiwan.
His latest album, Fantastic, is set to be released on both LP and c…
Utaimakeru Katsushintaro
Long-awaited reissue of the rare Shintaro Katsushin LP ‘Utaimakeru Katsushintaro’, which has a wonderful cover and was left behind by Daiei, with two valuable songs from the single disc, ‘’Kana‘ Kawachi Ondo’ and the famous song ‘Sunny’ added to the top of the B-side!
It is a full-bodied, unquestionable Katsushintaro that cannot be disturbed by any natural disaster in the entire universe. All the charm of Shintaro Katsu, a bold, dynamic, Shintaro Katsu who cuts into your heart with his songs!’ A…
Mibu
From Tsugaru, the birthplace of Kazuki Tomokawa and Kan Mikami, to Osorezan, Itako, Nebuta, Kesho Jizo... Mutsu's Orpheus (minstrel) Furukawa Mibu, who sings about a magical institution to connect this world to the next, left this superb work in 1978! Shocking analogue LP reissue!
Mibu, who is also a poet, deceives the dead in order to live the memory of his younger brother (Mibu), who died at the age of three. The song becomes a prayer and a cry, dancing wildly in this world and being sucked in…