Psych /
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…
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
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…
Vacant World
Arriving on the Japanese music scene during the Beatles-inspired cover band boom of the late ’60s, Jacks instantly distinguished themselves from their fluff-peddling, copycat peers with stripped-down, original compositions, nihilistic lyrics and raw performances. Their tenure was short - ’67 to ’69 - but they managed to cut a handful of singles and two albums in that time, the first of which, Vacant World, is now widely considered in Japan to be one of the greatest rock albums the country has ev…
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.
The OZ Tapes
** 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 counterculture set. Hadaka No Rallizes, aka Les Ralli…
An Old Castle of Transylvania
Originally formed in 1968 under the name The Silencer, Nagoya, Japan progressive rock band Cosmos Factory didn't change their name until their 1983 debut on Nippon Columbia with "An Old Castle Of Transylvania". Loaded with heavy psychedelia and prog rock guitar moments, experimentally blended with the use of Hammond and Mellotron, the band lead by keyboardist / vocalist Tsutomu Izumi takes you on an adventure throughout the dark forests of Transylvania. Throughout the years, the album has become…
Lost Aaraaf
Deluxe edition in an LP-sized hardcover gatefold sleeve with booklet containing credits and lyrics in Japanese and English. Booklet does not contain the liner notes, interview or chronology that appear in the booklet that comes with the regular edition. Released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the group. The band was formed by Keiji Haino, and consisted of Hiroyuki Takahashi on drums and percussions, Saitoh on bòàèass, Shigeru Suda & Akira Asami on piano and keyboards. Keij…
The Reflection
**In process of stocking** The Japanese female singer Cotton Casino used to be the singer of Acid Mothers Temple, the ultimate Japanese psychedelic band, several members of which provide backing on this album. Cotton's voice is fragile and emotional. The overall mood tends towards sadness and melancholy while the music hovers between acid folk and post rock. Most of the songs are sensuous and ethereal, like soundtracks to imaginary movies. Other songs may come as a surprise...
The Osamu Kitajima Boxset
**180g audiophile black vinyls in heavy covers, housed in a beautiful box with magnetic lock, containing all inserts of the original LPs.** In early december 2019 Everland Music released a mindblowing boxset with Osamu Kitajima’s first 5 highly acclaimed and superrare albums. All 5 albums are taken from the original masters, provided by Mr. Kitajima himself.
Osamu Kitajima was born in Chigasaki, Japan on February 3rd 1949 and studied classical guitar and piano already in his childhood days. Late…
Shin Chugoku
A duo by Osamu Kitajima and Fumio Miyashita, formed at the end of 1971 when Osamu Kitajima returned from his trip to United Kingdom where he got influenced by exploding psychedelic rock scene that was happening at the time. After recording his debut under moniker of “Justin Heathcliff”, he got together with Fumio Miyashita of Far East Family Band and Far Out. Together they worked on an amazing psychedelic / progressive rock album, with a foly, yet pastoral, mellow approach.
Osamu
This is the third album by Osamu Kitajima, one of Japan’s most prolific artists from the ethno rock, world music and progressive department. You can certainly not divide all the mentioned stylistic aspects from each other for they were all incorporated in a homogenious sound and complex arrangements. It is the same with his other albums like "Benzaiten“ and or his fourth "Masterless Samurai“; traditional Japanese music meets Western jazzrock and progressive sounds to form a new style unheard by …
Dragon King
Osamu Kitajima continuously experimented with various music genres that include Japanese traditional music, Ethno Jazz and Progressive Rock elements. “Dragon King” is a very well recorded album that contains Funky tunes and mellow Soul songs, as well as Jazzy elements. It’s his last album that would end a certain chapter in Mr. Kitajima’s career. After “Dragon King” he stopped working in Progressive / Funk / Soul / Jazz / Fusion and started his second career with Electronic / Ethno / New Age mus…
Nihonjin 日本人
Some albums are certainly a kind of holy grail for music lovers and collectors of a certain genre, style and era. Far Out with their eponymous debut and unfortunately also farewell album from 1973 have created such a sacred gem. Original copies in good condition change hands for up to 2000 USD and there are certainly a few not so official reprints on vinyl and CD out on the market which do not even come close to do justice to the greatness of the old original black gold. But here we go with the …