Japanese — Recently Added

A sweet little record from this Japanese trio – all instrumental, and put together in a style that blends elements of electro pop, electric fusion, and maybe a bit of sound library funk! The tunes are all pretty vivid – maybe evoking the scene in the title – but they also have ... LP, Vinyl record album

There's a cinematic look to the cover of this set by singer Tomoko Aran – and there's almost a cinematic presentation to the music too – but all in the best sort of 80s style you might hope for at the time! The work was put together by arranger Hideo Saito and Toru Shigemi – and ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tomoko Aran sound a fair bit jazzier here at points than some of her other 80s work on the Japanese scene – but she also follows up those moments with more than enough of the catchy rockish tunes that made her such a big star at the time! Arrangements on the record are by Masamori Sasaji, ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool take on the sounds of Studio Ghibli – one that brings classic melodies from the famous animated features into play with the production talents of Grey October Sounds – who delivers the goods with all the low-fi elements promised by the title! The approach is instrumental ... LP, Vinyl record album

Mad sounds from the late 60s world of Japanese pop – a mindblowing, ear-opening batch of singles we never would have gotten our hands on otherwise! The music here feels like sounds coming out of some backroom jukebox in a Nikkatsu "new action" film – or maybe the kind of ... LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy, moddish, magnificent and sunny girl pop from The Land Of The Rising Sun – pummeling drums, jumping arrangements and groovy vocals from the mid-to-late 60s Japanese scene! This is fantastic stuff, any kitch or novelty appeal you might be expecting is kind of muted by the exceptional ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool record from the Japanese scene of the 70s – one that mixes traditional instrumentation with some high fidelity recording styles – then adds in just the right dash of contemporary elements too! The set's not as all-out funky as others like it from the time, but does rise ... LP, Vinyl record album

Junko Ohashi is a Japanese singer from the city pop generation – but she gets a really soulful setting here, thanks to a strong backdrop of players from American jazz and soul! The set was recorded in New York, with production from Teruo Nakamura – who seems to take Junko into vocal ... LP, Vinyl record album

Mighty nice work from Kyoko Furuya – a singer who has a bit more soulful depth than some of her contemporaries on the city pop scene – working here with the sort of backing that might be more like British soul overall, in a way that really lets Kyoko get at some of the richer currents ... LP, Vinyl record album

A nicely expanded version of the great Ghibli Jazz concept – delivered here in a live setting that's maybe got even more brilliance than the studio albums! There's a dynamic sense of presentation right from the start, partly the sense of the concert space in the mix, partly the energy from ... LP, Vinyl record album

All That Jazz expand their sound here, as you might guess from the winds and wood hinted in the title – using saxes and a bit of strings in a great way over their surprisingly dynamic grooves – almost at a level that seeks to link the club jazz modes of the Tokyo scene with some of the ... LP, Vinyl record album

A mix of jazzy and soulful styles from Japanese artist Suzken – sometimes instrumental, sometimes vocal – often with some warmer touches that evoke a vintage mode as well! Yet the record's not the usual retro funk outing – as Suzken really has an ear that's all his own – a ... CD

A great look at the bright world of female soul in Japan during the 80s – a time when the nation was hitting some of its greatest heights of the postwar years – and was coming up with a magical musical groove to follow! While disco reigned in American clubs in the late 70s, the style ... CD

Beautiful grooves from the Japanese scene – most of them from a time when its singers and musicians were leaning heavily on influences from American funk and soul, and turning out some wonderful music of their own! Lyrics on most tracks are in Japanese, but there's a really universal vibe to ... CD

Pretty nice work from the Japanese duo of Yukihiro Takahasi & Haruomi Hosono – a mixture of quirky electronics that has a fresh sound we wouldn't expect from these two older talents! The album's got a really nice feel overall – abstract one minute, but sweet and catchy the other ... LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a title that translates as "music is a gift" – and a set that certainly feels like one from the great Akiko Yano! You might know Yano's beautiful work of the 80s, and think that she's only the subject of reissue campaigns over the years – but she still sounds ... LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s classic from Nanako Sato – a singer with a great mix of sweet, sultry styles – and one who often brought a bit of jazz into her work as well, even though the record's not exactly a jazz album overall! Arrangements and keyboards are by Yuji Ohno, an artist who always knew how to ... LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese singer Carmen Maki works here with Blues Creation – on a set that's headier and heavier than just about anything she ever recorded! The group themselves are amazing – searing with guitar work that rivals the best of the Anglo blues-inspired hard rock combos of the period ... LP, Vinyl record album

Many years back, Jun Miyake went from working in familiar jazz modes to creating a genre that's all his own – music that has a very special vibe, and a sense of subtle beauty that's very much in keeping with the title of the album! It's always hard to describe Jun's music in words – as ... LP, Vinyl record album

Electro funk from the Japanese scene of the 80s, but at a level that's nicely deeper than some of the more commercial material of the time – handled with lots of guitar and vocals from Makoto Matsushita, who really seems to have gotten a bit hipper since his First Light work! The vibe is ... LP, Vinyl record album