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It’s always nice to go into a record store and find exactly what you are looking for. Recently picked up some new and old pieces from one of my favorite NY haunts (that will go unnamed, but not too hard to figure out). Starting from the top to the bottom, I have never come across any Dif Juz on vinyl and was delighted to find an almost pristine copy of their 1985 debut full length Extractions. Got into a conversation with the shop attendant there about 4AD being in dire need to reissue these classics, great shop talk is always a plus.
Shintaro Sakamoto, formerly of Yura Yura Teikoku, an MMM staple dropped a new single that is even funkier than 2011’s AOR/Funk full length ‘How To Live With A Phantom’. Zelone Records sure does know how to package their 45s with a beautiful fold out sleeve, lyric sheet, and insert.
The last piece is another Japanese artist known as Onna. Holy Mountain released this a few years ago and I have been searching for it ever since. I did pick up the 7 inch on the first run, but wasn’t aware of the CD until about a year later. The CD compiles more work from Onna featuring a young Michio Kurihara on guitar with outtakes and live versions from 1983. An outstanding collection of psychedelic punk, minimal, whatever you wanna call it music.
Could I pick these up on Discogs? Sure, but there is a huge element missing from learning about new music online as opposed to walking into a record shopping and asking what’s good. Having everything at your fingertips is amazing, and I am scouring daily, but the capacity at which we learn still needs to adapt to the light year a minute speed that the internet travels in.
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Recommended Listening / DJ Mixtape
Fujiwara Hiroshi, the long time Japanese ambassador of taste, has uncovered another “lost mix”. Makes me miss Japan, but makes me miss New York even more.
::DOWNLOAD + LISTEN::
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Last month I was fortunate enough to photograph and interview Otomo Yoshihide in conjunction with Japan Society. Otomo was in New York performing with Christian Marclay for Japan Society’s live music series final performance of the year.
Thanks to Lara and John at Japan Society for helping make this happen. Thanks to Otomo for taking time to answer my questions.
To read the interview, you must learn.
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Recommended Listening / DJ Mixtape
My favorite DJ related thing to do for the last four years has been my annual Fall Music For Cloudplum Mixtape. What started out as me making a live mix on a Texas Fall day a few years ago, has turned into an on going series related to my favorite season as well as the style of music I tend to lean towards for home listening. Cloudplum is a design/music/culture blog I have contributed to in the past.
Volume 4 is comprised of nothing but Japanese artists, which marks the first time in the series devoted entirely to a specific area in the world. I spent the Summer of 2010 in Tokyo and I miss it everyday.
Please feel free to reblog, download, and share with everyone.
::DOWNLOAD + LISTEN::
You must learn.
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NYC Events / Experimental
Extremely excited for tomorrow’s performance/lecture from Experimental musician/turntablists Otomo Yoshihide + Christian Marclay.
The performance is sold out, but there is still room for the pre-show lecture.
To buy tickets, you must learn.
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Recommended Listening / Minimal Wave / Kraut
Speaking of Minimal Wave, this is one of the four new releases slated in the next month or so.
Sympathy Nervous is Japanese artist Yosihumi Niinuma.
The album pulls from early synth pioneers as much as it does push the sound (for the time). Unfortunately, his home with home made sequencers and all archives of his work were washed away during the tsunami of 3/11. Minimal Wave luckily received his audio masters before the horrible event.
To listen + buy the album, you must learn.
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Music Festival / Tokyo
Speaking of All Tomorrow’s Parties, ATP has just announced their sister counterpart(y) that will be taking place in Tokyo this coming February.
The line up has yet to be announced, but I am sure it will be great visually, musically, and overall carefully curated.
Spending my Summer in Tokyo, I was already trying to figure out when I could come back and I thought my birthday would be a great time. My birthday falls in February as does this festival, soooooooooooooooooooooo…. taking donations.
To learn more about the festival, you must learn.
