Greetings from an airport lounge. I have a couple of hours to fill before my flight so I decided to tidy up this post which was originally intended for next week. Having done that I recklessly decided I may as well post it now. Normal service will resume on Monday.
Some 1970s Japanese folk-rock for you. Both tracks can be found on the excellent compilation "Even A Tree Can Shed Tears", which came out on Light In The Attic records a few years ago. The album doesn't seem to be available in any format at the moment, but if you shout loud enough I'm sure they will do something about it.
Kazuhiko Kato was a singer, guitarist and record producer who founded underground folk group The Folk Crusaders, who had a big Japanese hit in 1967 with “Kaettekita Yopparai (I Only Live Twice)”, and then later co-founded Sadistic Mika Band with his wife Mika. He took his own life in 2009.
According to Forced Exposure, Masato Minami was "one of Japan's first beatnik hippie scum singers" (their words not mine) whose 1971 album "The Tropics" is "hyper-rare and demented all the way". He died in 2021 after losing consciousness on stage in Yokohama.
So now you know.
"Arthur Hakase No Jinriki Hikouki" - Kazuhiko Kato
"Yoru Wo Kugurinukeru Made" - Masato Minami
Such dedication to the cause.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great name. And I won't forget the beatnik hippie scum singers description in a hurry either!
ReplyDeleteI only knew of one song by them before this - Suki Suki Suki. You like?