Chiko Hige x Kaoru Sato - Le Chant De La Honte! 12" (Telegraph, 1985)

Chiko Hige of original no-wavers Friction meets Vanity Records alumnus and indies super-producer Kaoru Sato for a bout of sub-zero, fourth-world dub and more.

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Real Fish - テナン LP (Invitation, 1985)

First album by this instrumental technopop unit with connections to Shi-Shonen and others. The a-side of this disc is thoroughly technopop, while the b-side gets orchestral... and a bit schmaltzy. Real maniacs like me will perversely enjoy the b-side, but I think the a-side is pretty stellar, including one mega-jam in the form of By Me. One of the best technopop songs ever, if you ask me!

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Taiji - Musique Concrete 8" flexi (胎内レーベル, 1983)

I was recently informed that one of my favorite flexis has been posted over at the great blog, The Soundhead. Super bizarre and syrupy industrial darkwave, like a surrealist Dendö Marionette! Check it out by clicking the link.

Sympathy Nervous - Automaticism LP (Minimal Wave, 2011)

Sympathy Nervous is the project of Japanese artist Yosihumi Niinuma. Influenced by both classical and Krautrock, he began recording in 1979, and released several records on the highly coveted Vanity label. He continued to record and self-release much of his work throughout the 80s and 90s. His sound is intelligent and probably the most unique minimal synth to come out of Japan. Exploring dystopian themes, his music is well balanced and beautifully recorded.

Automaticism features songs Yosihumi Niinuma recorded between 1979-1981. Most were originally slated for a cassette release but never saw the light of day until now. When the Tsunami washed away the coast of Japan last March 2011, Niinuma lost everything: an entire lifetime of recordings, instruments, hand built sequencers, and even his home. Fortunately, he had sent us his audio masters prior to the disaster. This release is fully dedicated to him, in memory of all his lost recordings. The record is pressed on 180 gram ultra clear vinyl and comes in a printed heavy clear sleeve, with Niinuma's account of what happened on that day of March 11, 2011 and the months that followed. This is a benefit album, all the proceeds go to the artist. Special thanks to Narumi Omori for translation assistance and Gustavo Eandi for cover art.

This release is absolutely crucial to readers of Stalking Duppi, and is available now from Minimal Wave.

Buy.

Zombie Project - Hispaniola 7" flexi (self-released, 1983)

I was just about to rip this for you guys when I noticed it was up on the massive Voodoo Vault blog, so thank them for the actual rip. Super-baffling stuff here from this ultra-mysterious and for some reason Hispaniola-themed project. Haiti is an ultra-minimal piece -- sounds like an oscillator and an electric guitar played like a percussion instrument. The only thing I might be able to compare it to would be that ultra-primitive track by Tolcaderro on the Green Cassette I shared, or Tolerance's Today's Thrill. Dominica is markedly different. Fantastic lo-fi electro-wave with discordant pianos and synthesizer wheeze... even a hint of acid-house squelch. This is one of my favorite flexis!

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Thought Broadcast - Up-Maker 7"

"Thought Broadcast 
Up-Maker
ppr21 / 7" 
Four song 7" by Thought Broadcast. A schizo blend of atonal post-punk primitivism and partially submerged rhythm-box dub. A perfect mainline through TB's singular vein of primitive calculation. This 7" being the first vinyl release in the already rarefied tb discography.
 
Letterpressed and die-cut sleeve with insert."

Highly recommended to readers of this blog. Murky mystery-electronics and muted shuffle that would've sounded right at home as a 7th cassette in Vanity Records' Working On a Plan box. The most astute of you will notice a few arcane references to cult Japanese groups...

Buy.

EGO 02 / Critical Species - Individual Music Ozaka 1985 cassette + zine

EGO was a short-lived magazine edited by Rock Magazine editor and Vanity Records owner Yuzuru Agi. He is to this day an uncompromising champion of cutting-edge underground music.
The 2nd issue of EGO is a magazine-sized box containing a tape and b/w zine. This is the only issue of EGO to include music. Lucky for us, the tape features over an hour(!) of top-notch weird-wave, all from Osaka. Stylistically, the material here is quite varied and the songs rather long. It's almost as if you took everything I've posted on this blog and condensed it down to one cassette...

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Magical Power Mako / Time Unit - Music From Heaven / The Clap & Ko-ten 7" flexi (Marquee Moon, 1981)

Choice grooves from Japan's long-running psych-maverick (essentially a preview for his album of the same name, released by Marquee Moon a year later), backed with similarly anachronistic prog jams from the obscure group Time Unit.

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Lost / Kaleidoscope - お前は呪文を唱へる / Darkness 7" flexi (Marquee Moon, 1981)

More goth and prog (but not quite goth-prog this time) on the Marquee Moon flexi-disc label.
Do any of you readers know more about Lost? Their track here is super creepy and excellent, really hits my buttons in the 'random effects' department, too. Jazz-prog band Kaleidoscope is equally obscure, so any info on these groups would be much appreciated!

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Libido / Pneuma - Motionless / 滅びの塔 7" flexi (Marquee Moon, 1981)

The third Marquee Moon flexi just might be my favorite. Libido's Motionless is simply one of the most deliciously sub-zero minimal-synth tracks ever. Pair that with Pneuma's cosmic cyber-noir vibes and you've got a real winner.

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Gilles de Rais / Phaidia - Sanatorium / 楽園 7" flexi (Marquee Moon, 1981)

Double dose of gothy weirdness here, featuring Gilles de Rais, an earlier incarnation of Stalking Duppi favorites Pale Cocoon, and Phaidia, a group notable for featuring the octopoidal drumming talents of Yoshida Tatsuya.
Gilles de Rais really take the proverbial cake here with a stunning gothic synth track. The stuttering, glorpy breakdown really solidifies this for me as a masterpiece. Now to find their single on Aspirin Records...
Phaidia... wow, goth-prog! Just the sort of spaghetti-sandwich combo I thought not plausible turns out to be pretty cool!

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Katra Turana - Mortera in the Moonlight 7" flexi (Marquee Moon, 1981)

I don't know much about the Marquee Moon magazine itself (if there is any info online, it is most certainly buried beneath a world's weight in references to Television's classic LP), but, like Yuzuri Agi's Rock Magazine, some of their early issues included some pretty killer flexi-discs (nine total, if I'm not mistaken) documenting Japan's growing underground scene. I'll be sharing these in (hopefully) rapid-fire succession over the next few days.

First up is Katra Turana's Mortera in the Moonlight. The debut missive from this band of pirouetting mischief makers finds them fully formed at birth, able to conjure up their wonderfully wobbly carousel atmosphere with ease. Head spinning!

Download.