Various
Nippon Acid Folk 1970-1980
The birth of Japan's nascent acid folk scene was rooted in the messy and invigorating political climate of the late 1960s. It is a story of Dadaists, communists, pharmacists, and cult leaders, led by a young generation of upstart students, artists, and dreamers hellbent on turning their world upside down. At the forefront of this movement was Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haroumi Hosono, a polymath innovator whose band Happy End released the first Japanese language rock album, and whose influence would go on to be felt across Japanese music for decades. Alongside, and informed by the Kansai scene's Takashi Nishioka and Happy End collaborator Ken Narita, they experimented with cadences and accents of the Japanese language to open the door for others to experiment with their own forms of psychedelic folk too. Charting the decade from 1970 to 1980, 'Nippon Acid Folk' surveys a little explored corner of Japanese music history, but one which ultimately laid the foundations for an independent music industry, launching the careers of Hosono and others in the process. 'Nippon Acid Folk 1970-1980' is pressed on vinyl and represents the start of a deep dive into Japan's rich history of folk and psychedelic soul music. SIDE 1: 1. Hiroki Tamaki - Kawa (River) 2. Happy End - Kaze Wo Atsumete (Gather The Wind) 3. Takashi Nishioka - Man In No Ki (The Crowded Tree) 4. Ken Narita - Gingatetsudo No Yoru (Night On The Galactic Railroad) SIDE 2: 1. Hiroki Tamaki - Beautiful Song 2. Niningashi - Hitoribotchi (On My Own) 3. Tokedashita Garasubako - Anmari Fukasugite (Far Too Deep) 4. Akai Tori - Hotaru (Firefly)