Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Hideo Shiraki Quintet + 3 Koto Girls – Sakura Sakura (1965)

Here’s a really cool little Japanese jazz record that I found on Soulseek a while ago. The band is led by drummer Hideo Shiraki and features three girls playing the koto, which makes for an interesting combination of sounds. The kotos tend weave in and out of the mix, figuring prominently on only a couple of tracks (notably “Sakura Sakura”).
Most of these tracks are done in a sort of airy hard bop style, though there are also some definite modal Miles Davis-ish influences (parts of the last track “Suwa” sounds eerily similar to “So What” off of Kind of Blue).
Anyway, it’s a pretty good album. Great drums, really spirited trumpet playing, and an interesting melding of musical traditions. Recommended.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n0ku4ohm2qt

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sitaar Tah! – Tah!!! (2007)

Found this one on another blog a while ago. Wish I remembered which one. Anyway, it’s a bunch of Japanese people making droney psychedelic sounds using sitars, tablas and electronics. Really neat stuff.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dtmdnrzrdnj

Monday, February 16, 2009

Inaugural Post (Part One)

Just a few things I've been digging recently:


Tropicalia: ou Panis et Circenses (1968)
This compilation is considered the musical manifesto of the influential Tropicalia movement in Brazil. Some really nice tunes with plenty of wonky orchestration





http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mwxzjy3owzt



The Congos – Heart of the Congos (1977)
Amazing roots reggae album produced by Lee Perry. Long, hypnotic tracks with lots of layered rhythms and clattering sounds fading in and out. Good singing too, though the falsetto guy might get annoying after a while.



http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?4cww1tzgtyv (pt 1)
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jwyotmwmaki (pt 2)



Prince – Dirty Mind (1980)
A lovely little collection of skeletal disco-funk tracks. Songs about oral sex, incest and race relations. The production is stark and minimal – as devoid of colour as the album cover.





http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jz4xmwvntwr




David Crosby – If Only I Could Remember My Name (1971)
A journey into the fractured mind of David Crosby. A messy, murky beast of an album. But quite good. Crosby’s singing is incredible, and he manages to create a mood that is at once soothing and unsettling.



http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tmzonmznwj




Shugo Tokumaru – Exit (2007)
A collection of happy, mildly trippy pop songs from Japan. Very nice.








http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?m2tottjmhkk