Psych /
Ceremony Buddha Meet Rock
Ceremony ~ Buddha Meet Rock was originally released in 1971 by Japanese label Teichiku. This trippy album is a true meeting of East and West, combining Buddist chanting with psychedelic/progressive rock. Apparently even this re-issue is fast becoming scarce, get a copy while you can, you will certainly never hear anything like it.
Heavy Way
A long-lost Japanese acid folk gem, Niningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way shimmers with originality, deft song writing and a dream-like groove.
Uganda
**tip-on sleeve with OBI strip.** The respected Japanese jazz drummer Akira Ishikawa was not messing around when he recorded the 'Uganda (Dawn Of Rock)' album with his band the Count Buffaloes. For this offering, originally released in 1972 on Toshiba Records, Akira Ishikawa takes us on a deep tripped-out journey. 'Uganda (Dawn Of Rock)' is a fusion of progressive and psych rock with African percussion workouts, dergy-wah wah blues-funk, and jazzy sensibilities; with different genres morphing an…
Ghost
Formed in 1984, Ghost burgeoned slowly, blowing open the gate in 1990 with their eponymous debut. Opening with a vast spirit plosion – shards of antique light and clouds of centuries-old, dust-laden airs escaping from a primeval tomb – they settle into the deep feeling. A variety of mostly acoustic instruments aids their projection of traditional sounds from space and time, troubadours of unknown, an enigma of eternal trippiness all about them.
FM Tokyo Pioneer Sound Approach
Doji Morita, who debuted in 1975 with the single 'Sayonara Boku no Tomodachi / Mabushii Natsu,' she was a unique and enigmatic presence in Japanese folk scene with her characteristic sunglasses and curly hair. Starting with 'good bye' in the same year, she went on to release a series of masterpiece albums, including 'Mother Sky: Can You Fly Alone in the Sad Blue Sky?' (1976) and 'a Boy' (1977). This album is a live recording from the spring of 1978, during the peak of Mori's career, when she app…
Nippon Acid Folk 1970-1980
The birth of Japan’s nascent acid folk scene was rooted in the messy and invigorating political climate of the late 1960s. It is a story of Dadaists, communists, pharmacists and cult leaders, led by a young generation of upstart students, artists and dreamers hellbent on turning their world upside down. Born on the campuses of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and centred around newly formed independent label and left-wing stronghold URC, this uniquely Japanese form of folk expression provided an outlet f…
The OZ Tapes
One or two bumped corners, hence reduced price. ** Black Vinyl edition. Comes in a craft board jacket, including a 12-page liner notes book with archival photos ** Operating out of a small upstairs space just around the corner from the train station in the Kichijoji neighborhood of Tokyo, OZ was a scruffy, DIY affair that lasted not much more than a year. Between June 1972 to September 1973, the café and performance space became the nerve center for the city’s burgeoning underground and counte…
Acid Psychedelic King Go To The East
Rare 1975 live and studio recordings by the Japanese psychedelic noise legends Les Rallizes Dénudés.
Eve
Speed, Glue & Shinki's 1971 debut album, Eve. Ex-Food Brain guitarist Shinki Chen, bass player Masayoshi Kabe (also known as M Glue) and Filipino Vietnam war veteran Joey "Pepe" Smith, who doubled as both the trio's drummer and vocalist, released two legendary albums in the early '70s. Eve, the earlier of the band's two efforts, was probably the band's only "real" recording, as the self-titled second release in 1972 was put together by Smith from studio outtakes of Chen's guitar playing and trac…
Citta' '93
** 3LP, black vinyl edition** In 1991, Les Rallizes Denudes released three full-length albums on CD, the band’s first-ever recordings to be made available since their formation in Kyoto more than two decades prior. In 1993, the band appeared in front of an audience for the first time since 1988. Their February 17 appearance at Club Cittaʼ, which came four days after their “comeback” gig at Baus Theater, turned out to be one of the most notable out of all the Rallizes performances thus far. The…
Dispersion
Black Editions is pleased to present the definitive edition of Dispersion, remixed and remastered from the original master tapes by Asahito Nanjo and released in a deluxe gatefold double LP edition housed in a die-cut slipcase printed entirely with spot colors and featuring spot UV gloss and soft touch finishes.
Gipsy Blood
Japanese country rock act Gypsy Blood must be heard to be believed. Released on Vertigo in 1971, their sole LP showed the group simply bursting with talent, Kiyoshi Hayami’s mandolin exceptional and the masterful soft-rock production courtesy of Miki Curtis; drummer Eiichi Tsukasa had earlier been in the Helpful Soul, organist Katsuo Ohno had been in the Spiders, and guitarist/vocalist Hiroaki Nakamura later played in Buzz with future YMO member Yukihiro Takahashi, while none other than Alan Mer…
Blind Baby Has It's Mothers Eyes
* 180g Blue coloured vinyl * Legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés were formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. The band's name apparently means "fucked up and naked," which more than adequately describes their music. Formed by band leader Mizutani Takashi, the music remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best de…
Strange Bedfellow
White Heaven’s second album, Strange Bedfellow, is one of the great unsung albums of the 90’s Japanese underground. Released two years after their striking debut, Out, the album reveals the group shifting to a more dynamic and finely honed sound. You Ishihara’s songwriting & arrangements take center stage, leading the group to transmute classic west coast psychedelia and garage into a thrillingly direct collection of songs that span from fuzz drenched, driving rockers to smoldering numbers that …
Heavenly Persona
Few artists have left behind a legacy as enigmatic and captivating as Shizuka Miura. Amidst the Tokyo underground, she was a spectral figure, creating ghostly, childlike dolls and writing haunting, other worldly songs. She formed Shizuka in 1992 with Maki Miura, known for his staggering guitar work in legendary groups Fushitsusha and Les Rallizes Dénudés. Their music bloomed with a fragile, yet explosive mystical power; an atmospheric alchemy of psychedelic rock, folk and noise with Shizuka’s et…
The Adventure Of Pirate Kid
Originally released in 1972, the legendary Soft Rock "Happy End" album is now back on an analog LP!! Written by Hiro Yanagida, Produced by Takashi Matsumoto, Sons Of Sun's first album will be making its return from the label Fuji!! Keyboard Hiro Yanagida Drums Kiyoshi Tanaka E.Guitar Kazuyuki Nagaoka E.Bass Hideaki Takebe Vocal MAO
Sensoria
"Where is space? Is it in our brain? Or is it outside the planet Earth? Dhidalah poetically answers the question with their newest album Sensoria. (Soma, Black Shrine) Two songs are made from their weekly jam session in Tokyo. The band leader, Gotoh usually records the session and shares it with (Masahito aka Bin and Ikuma) the other two members. After listening to the jam recording, they each get inspired by the flow of sounds and find a connection to the outside world. In the following week an…
Renoir Of The Toys
Renoir Of The Toys is a deep dive into the world of Youri Kun, the nom de plume of Japanese guitarist, singer and songwriter Hiroshi Nar. It follows a similar compilation, Unheld Ball, released in 2022 on Japanese label Inundow; like that album, Renoir Of The Toys draws from the rich catalogue of outsider psych-garage and rock recorded by Youri Kun over the past two decades. Deeply wired into the history of Japanese underground music, Nar was a founding member of legendary ‘70s outfit Datetenryu…
Eat Meat, Swear an Oath
A dreamlike dispatch from mid-80's Japan, the first and only Hallelujahs album is an entrancing and gentle work of psychedelic pop brilliance. In a series of informal studio sessions between 1985 and 1986, Shinji Shibayama (Nagisa Ni Te) gathered a group of friends, emerging luminaries from the burgeoning Kansai underground rock scene including Naoki Zushi (Hijokaidan, Spiral Stairs / 螺旋階段), Ken Ichi "Idiot" Takayama (Idiot O'Clock) and Chie Mukai (Ché-SHIZU) to form what would become known as H…
Session and Live in Tokyo
* Edition of 70 copies.* Formed in Ikebukuro (Tokyo) in 2012 Joseph of Kirezi has been roaming the outermost corners of the black clad psychedelic underground ever since. Amorphous visions of insanely loud guitars smeared all over a distorted obsidian night sky.