Satori (1971)

Flower Travellin' Band was a japanese hard rock band formed in the 1960's by Yuya Uchida. The band was originally called the Flowers, and they performed covers. Flower Travellin' Band was pretty influencial in the Japanese rock scene of the time.



The album Satori is their masterpiece. The record sprawls out over 5 amazing proto-metal tracks simply entitled Satori Part 1-5. It features amazing guitar solos and the fantastic vocals of Joe Yamanaka. I honestly don't know what to write about this album that hasn't already been said. Basically, it's a classic, and most definitely one of the most important albums to be released from Japan.




Tracks
1. Satori Part 1 5:25
2. Satori Part 2 7:06
3. Satori Part 3 10:44
4. Satori Part 4 11:01
5. Satori Part 5 7:54

enjoyyyyy

Heavier Than a Death in the Family (1973-1977)

Les Rallizes Dénudés will be the second band from Japrocksampler that I will feature on here. Les Rallizes Dénudés were a Japanese psychedelic group. The band started in 1967 and they were always extremely anti-commercial. Interviews with them were usually refused, and they never actually recorded an album in a studio. Because of this, all of Les Rallizes Dénudés' releases were technically bootlegs. The group was also known for their radical politics, and in 1970, original bassist Moriaki Wakabayashi, a member of the Japanese Red Army, helped to hijack a plane to North Korea.

Listening to this band as loudly as you can is like an assault. They sound like the Velvet Underground at their loudest, most strange points, except even more harsh and intense. The band is known for the fantastic guitar sound of Takashi Mizutani. The sound was extremely loud, with a lot of feedback.



I recommend this album, and whatever other releases you can find by them. I hate to sound cliche, but if you're into loud, noisy groups, this band will "change your life."

Track List
1. Strong Out Deeper Than the Night 15:32
2. The Night Collectors 8:32
3. Night of the Assassins 12:07
4. Enter the Mirror 11:45
5. People Can Choose 10:33
6. Ice Fire 16:13

get it

Amalgamation (1971)

Yes, I finally picked up a copy of Japrocksampler. If you haven't read it before, I highly recommend buying the book. I'll probably be posting quite a few albums from Julian Cope's top 50, but I'm going to start with this one, since I've been listening to it a lot lately.

The album is Amalgamation by Masahiko Satoh and the Soundbreakers. Satoh is a jazz pianist. This album, which was one of the many "super sessions" which were created during this time period, featured many other musicians such as Kimio Mizutani, who was already known for his guitar work with the group Love Live Life + One.

This album is a bit difficult to describe. It is a mixture of psychedelic music, musique concrete, progressive rock and free jazz. The record is quite unpredictable, and features a lot of unique instrumentation, including some traditional Japanese instruments. Listening to it is a pretty strange trip.

The record is seperated into 2 tracks, side one and side two. Side one is 15 minutes and 49 seconds long. Side two is 21 minutes and 18 seconds.



give it a try

Satoh's website