Japanese Psych Pt 2
Continuing the look at some of the movers and shakers, past and present, of the Japanese psych scene. We start with the current darlings....
Kikagaku Moyo
Kikagaku Moyo have only been around for a couple of years but have already released 3 of the best psych LPs of recent years ('Kikagaku Moyo', 'Forest Of Lost Children' and 'Mammatus Clouds'.) Formed in 2012 by Go Kurosawa and Tomo Katsurada , they have been going from strength to strength and have just started their own label, Guruguru Brain (see below). The music utilises sitar and theremin and has a truly psychedelic vibe, the band themselves call it 'free form psychdelia' and it certainly has an improvised feel to it. Essential listening!
Kikagaku Moyo - 'Pond' from 'Mammatus Clouds'
Guruguru Brain
Only 3 releases (inc. one sampler) and Guruguru Brain are proving to be a label to watch closely. Their goal is "to contribute to Asian music scene" and so far they have released the fantastic 'Gypsy House' LP from Sundays & Cybele and a wonderful drone/ambient LP from Scattered Purgatory, 'Lost Ethnography of the Miscanthus Ocean'. They have also put together a sampler containing some absolutely belting tracks from new and old artists (for those that haven't listened to my latest podcast, firstly, why not? and secondly I play 3 tracks from the label on it), including the legends that are Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate - if you get a chance, get hold of their 'Cat Vs frog' LP, brilliant!! If the sampler in anyway reflects their release intentions I may just set up a direct debit with them. The sampler can be found on their bandcamp page. Below is 'Theme' from Yozeph of Kirezi - probably my favourite track from the sampler.
Magical Power Mako
One of the true innovators of Japanese music, Magical Power Mako made a huge imppression with his 1973 debut 'Magical Power, a mix of experimental music with psychedelic rock, folk and elements of traditional Japanese music. Since then he has gone on to record some astounding music; the beautiful and exotic 'Super Record' from 1975 and 1977's 'Jump' which presaged the Boredoms in it's avant-psychedelic mixing of styles. His later output ranged from the sublime to the 'meh' but his legacy lives on as a true maverick of Japanese psych.
Magical Power Mako - 'Jump from 'Jump'
Shizuka
A sad one this. Shizuka were a 90's Tokyo band who, apart from anything else, contributed to the P.S.F labels magnificent 'Tokyo Flashback' series of LPs. Shizuka was actually Shizuka Miura who formed the band with her then husband Maki Miura . The music was a mix of delicate strummed guitar with Shizuka's hushed , almost shy, vocals with Maki's thunderous freakout guitar. That they never made it big outside of Japan is a real shame as their influence can be felt in many of the later bands who did manage to become 'global'. The real tragedy is that Shizuka, who was also known for exquisite doll making, took her own life in 2010.
Shizuka - 'Lunatic Pearl' from 'Tokyo Underground'
As ever, here's a little mix to expand upon the above - enjoy!
Kikagaku Moyo
Kikagaku Moyo have only been around for a couple of years but have already released 3 of the best psych LPs of recent years ('Kikagaku Moyo', 'Forest Of Lost Children' and 'Mammatus Clouds'.) Formed in 2012 by Go Kurosawa and Tomo Katsurada , they have been going from strength to strength and have just started their own label, Guruguru Brain (see below). The music utilises sitar and theremin and has a truly psychedelic vibe, the band themselves call it 'free form psychdelia' and it certainly has an improvised feel to it. Essential listening!
Kikagaku Moyo - 'Pond' from 'Mammatus Clouds'
Guruguru Brain
Only 3 releases (inc. one sampler) and Guruguru Brain are proving to be a label to watch closely. Their goal is "to contribute to Asian music scene" and so far they have released the fantastic 'Gypsy House' LP from Sundays & Cybele and a wonderful drone/ambient LP from Scattered Purgatory, 'Lost Ethnography of the Miscanthus Ocean'. They have also put together a sampler containing some absolutely belting tracks from new and old artists (for those that haven't listened to my latest podcast, firstly, why not? and secondly I play 3 tracks from the label on it), including the legends that are Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate - if you get a chance, get hold of their 'Cat Vs frog' LP, brilliant!! If the sampler in anyway reflects their release intentions I may just set up a direct debit with them. The sampler can be found on their bandcamp page. Below is 'Theme' from Yozeph of Kirezi - probably my favourite track from the sampler.
Magical Power Mako
One of the true innovators of Japanese music, Magical Power Mako made a huge imppression with his 1973 debut 'Magical Power, a mix of experimental music with psychedelic rock, folk and elements of traditional Japanese music. Since then he has gone on to record some astounding music; the beautiful and exotic 'Super Record' from 1975 and 1977's 'Jump' which presaged the Boredoms in it's avant-psychedelic mixing of styles. His later output ranged from the sublime to the 'meh' but his legacy lives on as a true maverick of Japanese psych.
Magical Power Mako - 'Jump from 'Jump'
Shizuka
A sad one this. Shizuka were a 90's Tokyo band who, apart from anything else, contributed to the P.S.F labels magnificent 'Tokyo Flashback' series of LPs. Shizuka was actually Shizuka Miura who formed the band with her then husband Maki Miura . The music was a mix of delicate strummed guitar with Shizuka's hushed , almost shy, vocals with Maki's thunderous freakout guitar. That they never made it big outside of Japan is a real shame as their influence can be felt in many of the later bands who did manage to become 'global'. The real tragedy is that Shizuka, who was also known for exquisite doll making, took her own life in 2010.
Shizuka - 'Lunatic Pearl' from 'Tokyo Underground'
As ever, here's a little mix to expand upon the above - enjoy!
Japanese Psych 2 by Andyu on Mixcloud
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