Wamono Disco - Nippon Columbia Disco & Boogie Hits 1978-1982
In the mid-seventies, discotheques were booming in Tokyo and all over Japan. When the Fatback Band climbed the 1975 US and UK charts with their infectious “(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop” hit, Japanese label Victor put out the following year the first Japan made Disco tune with “Sexy Bus Stop”, released under the mysterious name Dr. Dragon & Oriental Express, a pseudonym for successful Japanese pop composer Kyohei Tsutsumi. “Sexy Bus Stop” became an instant hit in the country and, taking this o…
Touch - The Sublime Sound Of Yuji Ohno
The space funk, jazz and disco sound of genius Japanese producer Yuji Ohno. a selection - the first outside of Japan - made in collaboration with Nippon Columbia and Yuji Ohno himself. Remastered audio and liner notes by Nick Luscombe in conversation with Ohno.
WaJazz Legends: Jiro Inagaki - Selected by Yusuke Ogawa
Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release in their highly acclaimed WaJazz series, to be out on Jiro Inagaki's 90th birthday, October 3rd, 2023, celebrating the life and music of one of the most iconic Japanese jazz musicians of the last 60+ years. This is the ultimate collection of music from legendary saxophone player Jiro Inagaki and his Soul Media band, covering their 1968-1980 golden age, releasing as a spectacular gold vinyl double LP with extensive and deta…
Mothra
Tip! We are excited to announce that we are releasing the complete Mothra Original 1961 Motion Picture Soundtrack by Yuji Koseki! This special double LP album marks the very first time that the complete original soundtrack has ever been released on vinyl, anywhere. We are honored to present this release in close collaboration with Toho featuring all new album art by Yuko Shimizu. Join us in celebrating the historical significance of one of the most popular Kaiju monsters who is second only to Go…
The Aegean Sea
Victory present a reissue of Haruomi Hosono, Takahiko Ishikawa, and Masataka Matsutoya's The Aegean Sea originally released in 1979. The album is somewhat of a companion piece to the previous year's Pacific (V 25AH426). A beautiful piece of Japanese smooth fusion-jazz with elements of traditional Greek music and Balearic grooves, it's one of Hosono's cleanest and most focused works to date. Long sought-after by collectors, this record is nearly impossible to find in original pressings outside of…
King Kong Vs Godzilla (Original Motion Picture Score)
Akira Ifukube's score to the legendary 1962 monster movie King Kong vs. Godzilla. Ifukube's visionary music is tense and violent, a perfect complement to Ishirō Honda's film. This incredible score alternates between brass and strings as you witness the death and destruction that comes in the wake of these two classic film monsters' battles.
Cochin Moon
*2023 stock* One of the holy grails of avant-ambient synthesis. Originally released a few months after Haruomi Hosono’s 1978 Paraiso LP — famous for featuring the first trio grouping of the band that would become Yellow Magic Orchestra — Hosono’s Cochin Moon, an album credited to himself and famed graphic artist Tadanori Yokoo, who provides the album’s iconic cover art, actually features Harry in trio with synth wizards Hiroshi Sato and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Hosno and Tadanori Yokoo had traveled to…
Eleki Bushi 1966-1974
The aftermath of World War II gave rise to a global phenomenon that saw new generations of young people rise up determined to forge new paths from their elders – culturally, politically, and musically. Japan was no exception and the recent past made the local youth angrier, hungrier and even more determined to fully experience something different from their parents. The country caught on to the early rock & roll craze almost in tandem as it was happening in the States. Teenager Chiemi Eri singin…
Sunset Gang (LP)
Wewantsounds continue its Makoto Kubota retrospective with the reissue of Sunset Gang recorded in 1973 for Showboat. The album, co-produced by Kinji Yoshino (Haruomi Hosono, Akiko Yano, Sachiko Kanenobu) and featuring Hosono, Minako Yoshida and Taeko Ohnuki, was released as Kubota had just recorded his classic first solo album, Machibouke. It marks the start of the group's unique sound mixing Japanese music with R&B, blues and New Orleans influences, a sound that would have a lasting impression …
Dixie Fever (LP)
Wewantsounds announce an ambitious Makoto Kubota reissue program with his three albums recorded with The Sunset Gang between 1973 and 1977. The albums feature Haruomi Hosono (who also co-produced Hawaii Champroo) and also includes Minako Yoshida, Taeko Ohnuki and Tatsuo Hayachi to name a few. Makoto Kubota has been one of Japan's true musical innovators and following his involvement with Les Rallizes Dénudés in the early '70s, he developed a unique sound bringing American, Hawaiian and Okinawan …
Hawaii Champroo (LP)
Wewantsounds announce an ambitious Makoto Kubota reissue program with his three albums recorded with The Sunset Gang between 1973 and 1977. The albums feature Haruomi Hosono (who also co-produced Hawaii Champroo) and also includes Minako Yoshida, Taeko Ohnuki and Tatsuo Hayachi to name a few. Makoto Kubota has been one of Japan's true musical innovators and following his involvement with Les Rallizes Dénudés in the early '70s, he developed a unique sound bringing American, Hawaiian and Okinawan …
Kokotsu/ Ecstasy
The 1970 erotic lounge record by Japanese maestro of percussion, Masami Kawahara, reissued now! The present record is a standout work amid the myriad records of the x-rated / lounge genre of the 1960s and 1970s that catered to adult audiences in both the east and the west. Masami Kawahara, who was a mainstay in both the jazz and pop scenes in Japan, brought together musicians including Akira Ishikawa, Masaoki Terakawa, and Jake H. Concepcion for this recording.
As would be expected of such a ste…
Belladonna
Small repress available "There was a time when the strength of a musician's vision transcended all labels; here is a chance to dip into that pool again, and emerge not just refreshed, but alive again with the sense that we all can live in that world again, but most importantly raise the flag for excellence. Fantastic." --Jim O'RourkeAn unholy grail of near-mythical status is finally now available in the form of this first-ever reissue. Masahiko Sato composed this elusive, sensual, psychedelic fr…
Japan
The first Be With foray into the archives of revered German library institution Selected Sound is one of our favourites on the label - the super in-demand Japan from Victor Cavini, originally released in 1983. Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that never turn up. With Daibutsu the giant Buddha of Kamakura’s presence gracing the hefty front cover, this is a record bursting with dope samples for adventurous producers: it’s koto-funk madness!