UK Psychedelia Discussion Forum
Regal Zonophone 2
I have the Julian Cope book"JapRockSampler"and a lot of the albums and artistes he writes about sound very interesting,i have dipped my toe into the world of Japanese psych with the likes of The Happening plus 1,Justin Heathcliff,Apryl Fool,Strawberry Path,The Jacks and Flied Egg..........in your opinion are there any must haves from the world of Japanese Psych??Some of the cds i have bought are pretty good others are a bit so-so.Look forward to suggestions!!Thank you guys!!
Flower Travelling Band?
My favorite is "Amalgamation" by Mashiko Satoh & the Sound Breakers which contains two side-long pieces one of which morphs from orchestral bits into fuzz guitar blasts into avant-garde jazz followed by a string quartet followed a Spencer Davis Group organ workout, etc. The other side has a lot of noisy saxophone squalling, banging on the piano stuff. This has been recently re-issued. Another good & noisy one is Dema (which I think is the lp name) which has two different groups usually playing at the same time through the different stereo channels. Satoh fronts one of the two groups and somehow the whole thing has a weird John Wetton-era King Crimson vibe. One record with more of a jazz leaning is "Electrum" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos which also features Satoh. None of these are rock records but all get psychedelic in their own way, and all feature some great guitar. All were recorded in the early 1970s.
If you're more rock-oriented there's Love Live Life + 1 which has english vocals, more blistering guitar, but still gets pretty wigged-out at times.
Mutant Sounds blog offers many japanese records from this time.
Many thanks guys for all the feedback,i do have a few cds but i was looking for other suggestions to dip my toes into,of the Japanese cds i have one of my faves is Kuni Kawachi & Friends-Kirikyogen,as for Justin Heathcliff Wallace,im afraid i have to disagree with you, i do enjoy this album and give it more merit than you have afforded it,but hey its good that we all have different opinions and hear things differently.Thanks again guys!
I prefer Rock Joint Cither more than RJ Biwa, but I'm a fool for sitars, though.
Speaking of Japanese psych, can anyone recommend a good sampler compilation I should start with?
Hi Stuart
The Japanese psychedelic scene is full of hidden treasures, however doubly frustrating for us who do not speak Japanese as it is hard work finding much information about it, let alone getting the music itself. What there has been has been focussed on groups such as the Flower Travelling Band, The Jacks, Apryl Fool and the Mops. But there is a lot extra to add. Many of us would not have been aware that groups like the Mops and the Spiders actually released more progressive second LPs -both a far cry from their garage-psych first LPs simply because those LPs have never been re released outside Japan.
I did have a Japanese kick about 5 years ago, and uncovered some great music and I will hunt round and refresh myself on some of my favourite artists, and do a bit of a spiel on each of them. Hopefully these will follow over the next few days as time allows. I have to correct Wallace (and how I hate doing that), there is some brit-styled pop psych from Japan, but its pretty scattered, and most people like us struggle to find it. Oh for a Japanese contributor to this forum.
Hello Daniel,
Look forward to reading your posts about Japanese psych,i have come across some good albums,but i really would like to know more,what to give a miss and what are recommended,i must say i dont mind the lyrics not being english,though there are songs in english on some cds i have.Its funny you mentioning that some bands second more prog infected follow ups are worth checking,i have not bought any Mops cds up to now,the debut album is full of covers which has put me off buying.Or am i wrong in doing this,are the covers changed beyond recognition which makes this album worthy hearing?Anyway im prattling on,look forward to some of your recommendations Daniel
Hi Stuart
The Mops second LP is much more american influenced. They do plenty of originals, but I do not care for it overmuch. It is not psychedelic, it's more reflecting post psychedelic rock, and there is little in the way of song craft. Some people might prefer it, but that was a direction away from my taste in music.
Anyway I have posted my first couple of favorites. I will do more tomorrow.