Japanese — Recently Added LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store
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Japanese — Recently Added

XA special section of Japanese language records -- city pop, J-pop, and other styles unique to the culture of Japan!


Time Capsule (Japan), Late 1970s/Early 1980s. New Copy
A really unique selection of Japanese reggae tracks from back in the day – and work that's very different than sounds from both the underground scene in Kingston, and the big wave of reggae hits on the major labels! The pace of many of these cuts has them moving in almost a lovers rock sort ... LP, Vinyl record album
Mad 13 (Japan), 2023. New Copy 2LP
The album's great cover image is an homage to the Death Wish soundtrack by Herbie Hancock, and Mantle references 70s funk group Mandrill in his name – but the sound here is very different than either of those two references might make you expect, more in a contemporary hip hop vein, but ... LP, Vinyl record album
Invitation/Lawson (Japan), 1980. New Copy (reissue)
A wicked bit of Japanese soul, and a rare album done by an American singer who was working on the scene at the time! Shoody sings in English throughout, with a soulful style that's wonderful – mixing her own great vocals with jazzy backings in a level that's a bit like some of the Japanese ... LP, Vinyl record album

Grey October Sounds

Lo-Fi City Pop
P-Vine (Japan), 2023. New Copy
A sweet little record that definitely offers up what it promises in the title – a lower-fi version of the Japanese city pop sound from years back, yet one that's also nicely inflected with some of the hip hop elements that Grey October Sounds use in their music! The image on the cover is ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tatsuro Yamashita

Spacy
RCA (Japan), 1977. New Copy (reissue)
A surprisingly nice set of soulful pop from mid 70s Japan – very much in the best Free Soul mode that's been championed in recent years! The album's got a nice jazzy style at its core – with arrangements that make the best of the fusion players working in the studio, and a compressed ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tatsuro Yamashita

Go Ahead
RCA/BMG (Japan), 1978. New Copy (reissue)
One of the key records that really helped cement the strong reputation of Tatsuro Yamashita in the 70s – served up with the kind of standout material that easily made him one of the most soulful Japanese singers of his time! Yamashita arranged and produced the whole set, which has these warm ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tatsuro Yamashita

Moonglow
Ariola/Sony (Japan), 1979. New Copy (reissue)
A sweet masterpiece of 70s AOR from Japan – served up by Tatsuro Yamashita, who was easily one of the most soulful male singers on the scene in the years before city pop! The record's got a jazzy vibe that's great, and which really fits the R&B-inspired midtempo rhythms – almost as ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tatsuro Yamashita

Circus Town
RCA/BMG (Japan), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
Wicked soul from 70s Japanese singer Tatsuro Yamashita – recorded in New York and LA, and done with some excellent backings that rank with the best American soul from the time! The New York side was produced and arranged by Charlie Calello – who brings in some great jazzy moments to ... LP, Vinyl record album
Teichiku/Lawson (Japan), 1980. New Copy (reissue)
A standout early hit from Mai Yamane – a singer who's also known for her work in Cowboy Bebop, but who's clearly a superstar in the spotlight on her own! There's an easygoing groove to the record that's sly and slightly funky at the best spots – arranged by guitarist Makoto Matsushita, ... LP, Vinyl record album
Big Beat (UK), Late 60s. New Copy
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 ... CD
Big Beat (UK), Late 60s. New Copy
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 ... CD

Tatsuro Yamashita

It's A Poppin Time
RCA/BMG (Japan), 1978. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
There's plenty of popping here – great little grooves, recorded with the jazzy finish that makes the 70s material of Tatsuro Yamashita so great! The vibe here has all the warmth and sophisticated groove of Fantasy Records in the late 70s – maybe a bit of Wayne Henderson/At Home ... LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy (reissue)
The very first album from long-running Japanese singer Akira Kushida – a set that bursts out with the word "soulful" on the cover, and definitely follows through with its promise! Given that Akira sings in Japanese on many cuts, the sound isn't exactly the same as James Brown on ... LP, Vinyl record album

Shrieks

Iruka No Uta
Express/Universal (Japan), 1974. New Copy (reissue)
There's no shrieking going on here, as the music's got this gently groovy style that's warm and wonderful – post-folk, maybe a bit sunshine pop influenced – and coming across as almost like a Japanese attempt to hit some Carpenters territory! The songs are often more sophisticated than ... LP, Vinyl record album

Toi Et Moi

Utopia
Liberty/Universal (Japan), 1971. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
A really great record from the Japanese scene of the 70s – one that seems to borrow a lot from the French pop styles of the late 60s – as you might guess from the group's name! Toi Et Moi are one guy singer, one gal – blending their Japanese vocals beautifully, with elements that ... LP, Vinyl record album

Toi Et Moi

Sorayo
Liberty/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
A record with a really special sound – Japanese pop moving past some of the more emotive modes used a few years before, and working with a gentle, breezy style that sometimes echoes the best A&M Records styles from the Cali scene of the late 60s! Both singers intertwine in a wonderful ... LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1969. New Copy (reissue)
The sweet image really gets at the wonderful sound of this record – a Japanese pop gem from the end of the 60s, and one that seems to mix together elements of bossa nova and European grooves – all in this way that really fits the way that the male and female vocals come together! The ... LP, Vinyl record album

Akira Mitake

Himawari
Pony Canyon/Lawson (Japan), 1987. New Copy (reissue)
Sweet instrumentals from the Japanese minimal scene of the 80s, but work that's sometimes got some warmer touches than other material of the time – maybe a slight new age sensibility at points, but touched with a sentimental sense of melody that almost prefaces some of the later Ghibli modes! ... LP, Vinyl record album

Akiko Yano

To Ki Me Ki
Midi/We Want Sounds (UK), 1978. New Copy (reissue)
An early album from Japanese genius Akiko Yano, and one that features some key contributions from American jazz and fusion players – in a lineup that brings some surprisingly funky touches to the record too! Akiko's vocals and unique song structures still have all the charms you'll know from ... LP, Vinyl record album

Akiko Yano

To Ki Me Ki
Midi/We Want Sounds (UK), 1978. New Copy
An early album from Japanese genius Akiko Yano, and one that features some key contributions from American jazz and fusion players – in a lineup that brings some surprisingly funky touches to the record too! Akiko's vocals and unique song structures still have all the charms you'll know from ... CD
P-Vine (Japan), 2014. New Copy
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

All That Jazz

Ghibli Jazz 2
P-Vine (Japan), 2010. New Copy
A really great take on the music of Studio Ghibli – one that presents the sounds with very much the jazz promised in the title! The sound is very lean and stripped-down, with a small combo style on most numbers – all instruments handled by Tomoo Nogami, who mixes piano, bass, and drums ... LP, Vinyl record album
Orange House/Lawson (Japan), 1979. New Copy (reissue)
Noriyo Ikeda has a look on the cover that's maybe a bit more understated than some of her contemporaries, but comes across on the set with a really vibrant quality – using jazz as much as soul to craft her wonderful vocals, in ways that make for an album that's rich in feeling, even past the ... LP, Vinyl record album

Kifu Mitsuhashi with Yamaya Kiyoshi

Shakuhachi – Ballads Of The Village
Columbia/Lawson (Japan), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
A great blend of funky jazz and wooden flute – the Japanese shakuhachi reed instrument, blown by Kifu Mitsuhashi here – then mixed with some larger backings that almost have a CTI Records sort of groove! The approach is similar to some of the best 70s projects from Hozan Yamamoto ... LP, Vinyl record album

Grey October Sounds

Lo-Fi Ghibli
P-Vine (Japan), 2022. New Copy
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

All That Jazz

Ghibli Jazz Live
P-Vine (Japan), 2011. New Copy
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
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1973. New Copy (reissue)
A very groovy album from 70s Japan – one that makes all the best use of the sexy vocal style of Kaoru Yumi, set to a warm mix of funky and easygoing backings! Yumi's as famous for her appearances on screen as she is on record – a role that was unified here through the scandalous album ... LP, Vinyl record album

Carmen Maki

Blues Creation
Denon/Lawson (Japan), 1971. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
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
Polydor/Lawson (Japan), 1970. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
A really lovely little record from Japan – one that's got some slight elements of bossa nova in the backings, but also some European elements too – with a moody vibe that's really wonderful, and very much in keeping from the image on the cover! There's a strong current of melancholy ... LP, Vinyl record album

Logic System

Venus
EMI/Universal (Japan), 1981. New Copy (reissue)
A really beautiful record from the Japanese electro scene at the start of the 80s – a record that's got some of the catchy synth modes of the period, but which also has a fair bit of other elements going on too! Logic System features keyboards from Hideki Matsutake – best known for his ... LP, Vinyl record album

Kahoru Kohiruimaki with Prince

Time The Motion
TDK/Lawson (Japan), 1989. New Copy (reissue)
A great bit of Japanese soul from the end of the 80s – and one that's got a surprising connection to Prince as well – given the man himself wrote some of the tracks, and also appears on the record himself! Apart from Kahoru's Japanese vocals, the Prince tracks are totally Prince ... LP, Vinyl record album

Akira Ozawa with Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media

Greece Ni Tsuite Kakareta Hon
Columbia/Lawson (Japan), 1973. New Copy (reissue)
Bassist Akira Okazawa works here with a leaner version of the Soul Media group of reedman Jiro Inagaki – a sweet little set that has Jiro on tenor, soprano, and flute – and some mighty nice work on organ from Norio Maeda! Akira sings on many numbers, in both English and Japanese, in ... LP, Vinyl record album

Yumi Seino

Natural Woman
Blow Up/Lawson (Japan), 1981. New Copy (reissue)
It's easy for Yumi Seino to be a natural woman with backings this great – really jazzy instrumentation that helps set a style that keeps things moving throughout – and which definitely has the record on the more soulful R&B side of the city pop spectrum! Yumi's voice is great ... LP, Vinyl record album

Kiyoshi Yamaya

Kyo
Denon/Lawson (Japan), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
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

Kifu Mitsuhashi with Yamaya Kiyoshi

Shakuhachi – Ballads Of The Mountain
Columbia/Lawson (Japan), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
Really cool work on shakuhachi – and a set that's way more than just the ballads you might expect from the title! Japanese reed player Kifu Mitsuhashi definitely uses some older modes here, and begins the set as such – but as the record moves on, more contemporary instrumentation comes ... LP, Vinyl record album

Takeshi Terauchi

Eleki Bushi – 1966 to 1974
180g, Late 60s/Early 70s. New Copy Gatefold
Really wild work from this hip Japanese guitarist of the 60s – music that still echoes some of the American instrumental guitar styles of the decade, but which often opens up with all these weird and wonderful touches too! There are some moments that seem to evoke older Japanese melodies, ... LP, Vinyl record album

Grey October Sounds

Lo-Fi Anime
P-Vine (Japan), 2023. New Copy
One of the coolest projects so far from Grey October Sounds – a set that has all the crispy beats and laidback vibe of previous records, but which also focuses on themes from anime as well! There's plenty of tunes from the world of Studio Ghibli, but they're nicely changed up with the ... LP, Vinyl record album
Universal/Lawson (Japan), 1996. New Copy
A sweetly soulful soundtrack from Cagnet – music for the extremely popular Long Vacation series in the 90s, done in that Japanese style from the time that was very heavy on influences from American soul! There's English language lyrics on most tracks – sung by Natalie and Anna, with a ... LP, Vinyl record album
Big Beat (UK), Late 60s. New Copy Gatefold
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
TDK/P-Vine (Japan), 1984. New Copy
A set that's especially sexy, and especially jazzy too – as Jun Miyake works here with a whole host of American fusion players – a really great lineup who make the record soar! Jun's definitely in the more fusion-oriented side of his music here – blowing trumpet and flugelhorn, ... CD

Grey October Sounds

Lo-Fi Anime
P-Vine (Japan), 2023. New Copy
One of the coolest projects so far from Grey October Sounds – a set that has all the crispy beats and laidback vibe of previous records, but which also focuses on themes from anime as well! There's plenty of tunes from the world of Studio Ghibli, but they're nicely changed up with the ... CD
Midi/We Want Sounds (UK), 1984. New Copy
A pivotal album in the career of Ryuichi Sakamoto – a set that got wide global circulation right at a time when he was a rising star on the screen as much as a surprising international music star as well – of the sort who became a key global representative for all the changes that had ... CD
Time Capsule (UK), 1970s. New Copy
A record that picks up on a very particular strand of Japanese music in the 70s – and one that's maybe not even fully described with all the evocative words in the title! The sounds here are leaner and more open than work you'd know from the city pop years – but also not like Japanese ... LP, Vinyl record album

Grey October Sounds

Lo-Fi Ghibli
P-Vine (Japan), 2022. New Copy
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 ... CD

Kim Sang Hee with Masahiko Sato Trio & Freedom Unity

World Pops & Love Story
All Art/Solid (Japan), Early 70s. New Copy
A really groovy little record from singer Kim Sang Hee – a vocalist who works here in English throughout, but gets backing from a few different forces on the Japanese jazz scene! Things change up nicely throughout the record – so that some tracks have Fender Rhodes backings from the ... LP, Vinyl record album
All Art/Solid (Japan), 1971. New Copy (reissue)
The lovely Kim Sang Hee takes on the music of both Tom Jones and Burt Bacharach – in a setting that has her working with nicely different backings for each of the different sources! The Burt Bacharach material is maybe our favorite – as Kim's sweet voice works wonderfully with the ... LP, Vinyl record album
Alshire, 1972. Near Mint-
(Gold label stereo pressing – AS 207.) LP, Vinyl record album

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Out Of Noise
Rhythm Republic (Japan), 2009. Near Mint- 2LP Gatefold
(180 gram vinyl. Cover has minimal wear, lightly bumped corners, and a promo sticker in back.) LP, Vinyl record album
Light In The Attic, Late 70s/Early 80s. New Copy 2LP
A totally wonderful compilation – and a fantastic way to dip into the world of Japanese city pop – a genre that most of us missed back in the day, in large part because most of these records never made it to the record racks in the US! As fans know, the movement was a huge crest of ... LP, Vinyl record album

All That Jazz

Ghibli Jazz
P-Vine (Japan), 2009. New Copy
A really great take on the music of Studio Ghibli – one that presents the sounds with very much the jazz promised in the title! The sound is very lean and stripped-down, with a small combo style on most numbers – all instruments handled by Tomoo Nogami, who mixes piano, bass, and drums ... LP, Vinyl record album
 
Updated March 18, 2024


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