Vocal Studies #19
*50 copies limited edition* Volume 19 of Econore’s Vocal Studies series by Junko Hiroshige. Recorded in Tokyo November 2022.
Satori
Temporary super offer! The Flower Travellin' Band's first musical outing, Challenge, was released in 1970 and was essentially a series of covers of Cream, Hendrix, Big Brother and Jefferson Airplane material. However, Satori appeared a year later and forever changed the way the group would be perceived, both in Japan and in the musical world at large. Possessing the vision to select Akira "Joe" Yamanaka as their vocalist, the Flower Travellin' boys elevated themselves above other Japanese bands …
Sowaka
Genji Sawai’s classic LP “Sowaka”, featuring Midori Takada and Bill Laswell, reissued for the very first time.
Vibractance
*50 copies limited edition* Originally released in France in 1998, Vibractance is one of the most unique and haunting titles in Merzbow’s vast catalog. It’s unique drone, noise, almost ambient like qualities makes this a great starting point for adventurer ears but also an essential album for the initiated. A true journey into the unknown where pulsating sonar waves swim between a sea of eerie beauty and tangible dreams. Celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, Aurora Central Records proudly presents …
Otomo Yoshihide Live in Shenzhen
Tip! *In process of stocking. 2022 stock* Over the years, Otomo’s music has spanned across Free Jazz, Noise, Free Improvisation, Sound Art, popular music, film scores, and compositions for large amateur ensembles. Carrying the lineage of the Japanese Free Jazz movement that developed in the 1960’s, Otomo has exploited the sonic possibilities of both the electric guitar and turntable. He is one of the key figures who defined a now internationally recognized genre of Japanoise. His band Ground Ze…
The Meaning Of Blackness (More Decorous Than Duty Having Become Faster Than Everything A Smile That Was Never Birthed Into The Light)
Keiji Haino considers this live album as an integral work that cannot be separated. We suggest that you enjoy the whole album without interruption and turn the volume up to the maximum.
Double Action
Twin Cosmos is not only the name of the musical output of fraternal twins Morihito & Yasuhito Ito, but more philosophically, an album that encapsulates, “the universe of twins”.
The pair were born 1953 in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. A port city 50 kilometres west of Nagoya, famous for its chemical plants. Despite their surroundings, they grew up in an environment that fostered learning and self-expression. From an early age, they began to carve out their own paths.
Morihito was fascinated with sc…
Paradise Of Delusion
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Paradise Of Delusion, the first vinyl release of the music of Japan’s legendary psych-pop group Shizuka, originally appeared in June 2021. Long-awaited, the LP sold out almost immediately, and already changes hands for three-figure amounts. An’archives is pleased to announce a CD edition of Paradise Of Delusion, making this music accessible again to a wider audience. Drawn from a 2001 performance at Binspark, Nishi Ogikubo, Paradise Of Delusion is gorgeous and ot…
Lunatic Pearl
*Limited edition of 550 copies.* Following the long-awaited Paradise Of Delusion LP from 2021, An’archives announces Lunatic Pearl, a 10” EP by Japanese psych-pop legends Shizuka. As with the material on Paradise, 狂気の真珠 [Lunatic Pearl] draws from the deep well of music the quartet recorded in 2001, this time from two studio sessions. Here, though, the group’s classic line-up of Shizuka, Maki Miura, Jun Kosugi and Seven is augmented –on the a-side, they’re joined by Yasushi Nagata on guitar; flip…
Hydration
Following the release of his album trilogy (Kwaidan, Komachi and Kofū), Meitei has established himself as a defining voice in contemporary Japanese music. By sharing intricate sonic stories and impressions of his nation's rich culture, he has built an aural world around his notion of the ‘lost Japanese mood’. His latest project, under the new moniker Tenka, aims to work without the boundaries of theme, storytelling or audience expectations. Spending many hours in the mountain forests that he li…
You're Either Standing Facing Me Or Next To Me
“Only this is Rock” Keiji Haino has said of new studio album You're Either Standing Facing Me Or Next To Me. “Treat what I call rock like breaking the seal of old manuscripts.” Since his beginnings in 1970 as the vocalist of the band Lost Alaaf, Haino has spread his work across multiple genres, pushing the limits as a tireless explorer of free-form experimentation. It was with the intense psychedelic soundscapes of Fushitsusha, formed in 1978, that his live set earned a formidable reputation. Th…
Slap Happy Humphrey
*2022 stock* The world of Doji appears and disappears through the stormy noise like sunlight through a tree... Slap Happy Humphrey is the world's only cover band of noise-tinged Doji Morita, and the world's only cover band of Doji Morita. Folk and noise - at first glance, these two seemingly contradictory elements create a miraculous space. Itakura Mineko's voice is also good. Morita Doji is definitely present, albeit vaguely, behind the noise... Mineko Itakura of Angelin Heavy Syrup, Hiroshi Fu…
Caught In The Dilemma Of Being Made To Choose
Full title: "Caught in the dilemma of being made to choose" This makes the modesty which should never been closed off itself Continue to ask itself: "Ready or not?" The renowned trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, and Oren Ambarchi return to Black Truffle with their 11th release. Demonstrating once again their commitment to continual experimentation in instrumentation and approach, the record begins with a long-distance collaboration made in response to a commission from New York's Issue Project …
Paradise Of Replica
Reissue, originally released in 1989. After Dinner's Paradise of Replica is a concise nugget of tomfoolery that occupies a whimsical no man's land between art pop, Japanese folk music, and full-assed Art Zoydian avant proggery. Gentle, arcane and covertly sweeping, it typifies that friendly strain of experimentalism that Eastern music seems so predisposed towards and which curious minds find such great delight in. Assembled by the enigmatic chanteuse and composer known simply as Haco, After Dinn…
Horizon, Volume 1
* 2020 stock * Almost completely unknown in the west, Masahiro Sugaya has been composing and producing music since the 1980s in an exceptionally wide range of fields and practices. From arrangements for musical acts like the acoustic guitar duo Gontiti to acousmatic diffusion at spaces like Paris’s Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), Sugaya’s reach is almost exhaustive in its breadth, but it was in the 80s bubble-era kankyō ongaku scene that he first found his musical voice.
Horizon, Volume 1 …
The Intellect Given Birth to Here (Eternity) Is Too Young
Lucky restock, sold out at source * Edition of 800. Heavy custom tip-on box with pure black uncoated paper throughout and stamped black ink pigment frame. Mounted white paper inserts printed with metallic silver foil. Nine full size inserts including 8 full color art prints by the artists. Solid black paper inner sleeves * The first music on record by the iconic free music duo of Peter Brötzmann & Keiji Haino since 1996. Two complete performances recorded in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the …
Minna Miteru 2
*Includes printed inner sleeves & 32 page booklet.* Following the "Minna Miteru" compilation, released in 2020, Morr Music announces a sequel, dedicated to Japanese indie music, overflowing with surprises and welcome discoveries. Like its predecessor, "Minna Miteru 2" is compiled by Saya of Tenniscoats, with the support of Markus Acher (The Notwist). It’s also another part of the Minna Miteru universe, alongside retrospective albums by The Andersens ("There Is A Sound", 2020) and yumbo ("The Fru…
Spindrift
Tip! *In process of stocking. 2022 stock* Official reissue of Spindrift, the legendary noise album by renowned Japanese experimental artist Aube (Akifumi Nakajima). Originally released in 1992 as a limited edition cassette, Spindrift was simultaneously the debut of Aube's own label imprint, G.R.O.S.S., which led to the worldwide exposure of the Japanese noise genre and the aesthetic curation of Akifumi Nakajima. Remastered for vinyl by Josh Bonati and includes a new essay by Satoru Higashiseto.
Alien Parade Japan
*Limited edition of 500 copies, silk-screened sleeve, random green and rose artwork.* Alien Transistor present Alien Parade Japan, a joyous double-album compilation of groups from Japan’s indie-pop and avant-garde undergrounds, all of which feature brass or woodwind instruments as part of their line-up. Compiled by Markus Acher (Alien Transistor, The Notwist, Hochzeitskapelle) with plenty of support and help from his Spirit Fest bandmate, Saya (also of Tenniscoats), it features some familiar nam…
An'34
*385 copies limited edition. Silkscreened chipboard jacket with obi (tan & white), inserts and a postcard* On their latest release, An’archives dives into the past, disinterring a revelatory collection of recordings from Japanese free-sound quintet Gu-N. Formed in 1994 by Fumio Kosakai (Incapacitants, Hijokaidan, C.C.C.C.) and Hidenobu Kaneda (Yuragi), alongside Ikuro Takahashi (Fushitsusha, Kousokuya, LSD March), Ryuichi Nagakubo (C.C.C.C., Yuragi), and Morihide Sawada (Yura Yura Teikoku, Marbl…