VARIOUS ARTISTS – Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism and Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980-1988 – 2LP – Black Vinyl

LABEL: Light in the Attic

CAT NO: LITA183-1

BARCODE: 826853018319

Tracklisting:

1. Noriko Miyamoto Arrows & Eyes
2. Mishio Ogawa Hikari No Ito Kin No Ito
3. Yoshio Ojima Days Man
4. Mkwaju Ensemble Tira-Rin
5. R.N.A-ORGANISM WEIMAR 22
6. Naoki Asai Yakan Hikou
7. Takami Hasegawa Koneko To Watashi
8. Mammy Mizu No Naka No Himitsu
9. Dip in the Pool Hasu No Enishi
10. Wha Ha Ha Akatere
11. D-Day Sweet Sultan
12. Perfect Mother Dark Disco-DaDaDaDaRun
13. Neo Museum Area
14. Sonoko Wedding With God ( Nijinski)

VARIOUS ARTISTS Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism and Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980-1988

2LP Black Vinyl

Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism and Shadow Sounds of Japan 19801988 hovers vibewise between two distinct poles within Light In The Attics acclaimed Japan Archival Series Kanky Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental and New Age Music 19801990 and Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR and Boogie 19761986. All three albums showcase recordings produced during Japans soaring bubble economy of the 1980s, an era in which aesthetic visions and consumerism merged. Music echoed the nations prosperity and with financial abundance came the luxury to dream.

Sonically, Somewhere Between mines the midpoint between Kanky Ongakus sparkling atmospherics and Pacific Breezes metropolitan boogie. The compilation encompasses ambient pop, underground electronics, liminal minimalism and shadow soundsall descriptors emphasizing the hazy nature of the nebula. Outoffocus rhythms wear ethereal accoutrements, ballads are shrouded in static, and angular drums snake skyward on transcendent tones. From the Avantminimalism of Mkwaju Ensemble and Yoshio Ojima, to the leftfield techno-pop of Mishio Ogawa and Noriko Miyamoto (featuring members of YMO), and highlights from the groundbreaking Osaka underground label Vanity Records, these are blurry constellations defying collective categorization.

These tracks also exist in a space of transition when the major label grip on the Japanese recording market began to give way to the escalation of independents. Thanks to the idyllic economic climate and innovations in domesticallymanufactured music gear, creators on the edges were empowered to focus on satisfying their artistic visions in the open headspace of home studios. While labels like Warner Music and Nippon Columbia explored new sounds through traditional channels, it was possible for Vanity, Balcony and other indie labels, not to mention selfreleased artists like Ojima and Naoki Asai, to publish their work via affordable media such as cassettes, 7 vinyl, and flexidiscs.

Expertly curated by Yosuke Kitazawa and Mark Frosty McNeill (dublab), Somewhere Between is a collection of music, much of it released for the first time outside Japan, that is bound more by energetic vibration than shared history, genre or scene. They are the sounds of transition and searchinga celebration of the freedom found in floating.

Note: The track Days Man by Yoshio Ojima is only available on the LP and Cassette versions.