Chiko Hige, drummer of legendary Japanese post-punk band Friction and a No-Wave figure in his own right, released Trap on Japan Records in 1985 as his second solo statement. Forty years on, Spittle Made In Japan returns it to circulation in its first international vinyl edition.
The record digs deep into the No-Wave idiom, building its sonic world around hyper-kinetic grooves, clipping guitar textures and contorted saxophone lines into a hypnotic snapshot of controlled chaos. Hige's drumming is the centre of gravity throughout, anchoring tracks that feel both organically loose and ruthlessly composed; the saxophones twist around the rhythms like smoke, and the guitar parts ride right at the edge of legibility. There is something of New York's late-70s no-wave in the dna of the record, but equally something distinctively Japanese in the way the music holds its tension.
Despite its release over four decades ago, Trap remains a strikingly modern listen. Its experimental approach continues to influence cutting-edge musicians worldwide, and for those discovering Hige today the album offers a thrilling portal into the feverish creativity and unstoppable drive of 1980s Japanese underground music. With printed inner sleeve.