Part of the “Kankyō Ongaku” environmental music movement, Yoshio Ojima is a legendary Japanese musician creating his own distinctive style of ambient and electronic music since the 1980s. […]
1983
A selection from Chee Shimizu’s Organic Music record shop, Schlager is the debut experimental electronic “Neue Deutsche Welle” album from Cologne-based artist Arno Steffen (formerly of Zeltinger). Co-produced […]
The Cocteau Twins’ sophomore album, Head Over Heels was conceived while the band was essentially homeless and staying at a friend’s house for about a year. “Foolishly, John […]
An absolutely essential EP, the post-disco rhythm group Liquid Liquid’s “Optimo” EP from 1983 is a four-track banger that captures the intersection of disco, hip hop and post-punk […]
“The following is not intended as an introduction to philosophy or subjective idealism, but instead, may be construed as an earnest attempt by a musician to induce some […]
Featured in the “Spiritual” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, 風の使者 (Messenger of the Wind) is the masterpiece debut album by acclaimed Japanese taiko drummer Eitetsu […]
Discovered by the St. Louis-based Paradise is a Frequency crew, “Bob Siebert’s 1983 album Six Lyric Pieces is the kind of record that’s been flipped by for years. […]
Essential listening for any Ryuichi Sakamoto fan, Coda is the late Yellow Magic Orchestra member’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence soundtrack performed on solo piano. Somehow better than the […]
When two musical geniuses like Stanley Clarke and George Duke come together, magic happens. The highly anticipated sophomore album from the two legends who made their names in […]
This one’s a heavily underrated Third World 12″ single of the leading track from their album All The Way Strong. While the track itself is great, it’s all […]
English singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull’s A Childs Adventure is an underrated bargain bin find from Island Records’ legendary Compass Point studio featuring production by the great […]
Released more than a decade before the great New York shop of the same name opened its doors, Other Music was a Bay Area group of percussionists and […]
Promise Nothing is a compilation album produced by Why-Fi following Virginia’s departure from the label. It contains classics from her Why-Fi catalog along with two tracks from her […]
Japanese guitar master Masayoshi Takanaka presents a collection of more vocally-driven tropical fusion songs on his thirteenth album for Kitty Records. Takanaka’s slick ’80s guitar is obviously all […]
Long considered a grail of city pop but only recently reissued on vinyl, Seaside Lovers’ Memories in Beach House brings together three Japanese music icons of the ’80s […]
Featured in the “Ethnic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Solar Wind is the lone release from short-lived ’80s Japanese fusion band Om. Apparently inspired by […]
Featured in the “Cosmic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Pinnacles is the cult classic sixth solo album from Tangerine Dream’s Edgar Froese. Inspired by the […]
One of the great success stories of the reissue age, Japanese composer Midori Takada now tours the world sharing her singular take on ambient and minimal percussion music. […]
The Eno brothers and pedal steel master Daniel Lanois soundtrack the Apollo space landing on this Editions EG ambient classic. Originally recorded for Al Reinert’s 1983 landmark documentary […]
The AB’s debut album is a collection of soulful fusion jazz that’s often looped in with other “city pop” releases on Moon Records, but transcends many of the […]
Released on vinyl for the first time on Chee Shimizu’s 17853 imprint, Pier & Loft is a timeless collection of “kankyo ongaku” style ambient compositions written for a […]
One of the earliest On-U Sound bands along with New Age Steppers, London Underground was short-lived but a crucial stepping stone in the development of the label’s iconic […]
One of the early pioneers of boogie and R&B, Kashif (born Michael Jones) cut his teeth with 70’s funk group B.T. Express and later made a name for […]
Everyone knows the 80’s Eurythmics classic “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).” It’s been played countlessly on radio stations around the world for decades and is likely playing […]
“Fela Kuti-meets-Kraftwerk-on-the-dancefloor” by French composer Hector Zazou, Congolese singer Bony Bikaye, and electronic music composers CY1. Released in 1983 on seminal Belgian label Crammed Discs, Noir et Blanc […]
Nobody can be you, but you! The powerful and positive opener on Steve Arrington’s Hall Of Fame Vol. I contains a classic drum break and was a favorite […]
Released in 1983 and recorded at Mark Freeman’s Battery Sound recording studio, where Arthur Russell operated out of in the early to mid-1980s, Lost Tribe is an essential […]
Originally formed as the backing band for androgynous pop star Kenji Sawada (formerly of Group Sounds band The Tigers), The Exotics took their one and only step into […]
The debut solo album by Mexican ambient pioneer Jorge Reyes, Ek-Tunkul is a powerful statement of purpose from an artist whose sound was wholly his own. After leaving […]
Recorded by George Michael at just twenty years old, 1983’s Fantastic would prove to be a promising yet extremely flawed debut for the future pop phenoms. Following the […]
Larry Levan. Gwen Guthrie. Sly & Robbie. Wally Badarou. You just can’t beat a team like that; these five artists have together accounted for thousands of classics that […]
Though not quite a household name, Brother Ah (aka Robert Northern) is one of the most decorated names in jazz having played with everyone from Donald Byrd, Dizzy […]
At the advent of the CD-era when recorded music was headed in a digital direction, William Ackerman’s Windham Hill produced records that were an entirely analog affair. Perhaps […]
A cult classic from Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes’ Bronx-based label, Love Joys’ Lovers Rock Reggae Style is a landmark album mixing conscious roots reggae and soulful lovers rock with […]
One of our favorite ECM Records bands, Codona features free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry alongside sitar player Collin Walcott and Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos. The band’s name is […]
This is music for intrepid explorers of sound. Bruno de Chénerilles of Alesia Cosmos developed sci-fi soundscapes for the radio station France Culture before self-releasing Exclusivo! in 1983. […]
Established experimental film-maker David Hykes’ interest in traditional and sacred music, specifically western Mongolian khöömi performed in Tantric Tibetan Buddhism, would lead him to form The Harmonic Choir […]
After spending most of the 70s in Los Angeles and a number of incredible jazz fusion laced records with Azymuth, Marcos Valle returned to Brazil to record this […]
North Marine Drive is the 1983 debut by Londoner Ben Watt before he joined forces with Marine Girls’ Tracey Thorn to create the mainstream 90s UK indie duo […]
Featured in the “Floating” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Tropic by pioneering Czech electronic duo ORM and vocal duo Kamelie is an impressive DIY electronic […]
In 1983, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Ryuichi Sakamoto starred in his first film alongside David Bowie and legendary Japanese actor/director Takeshi Kitano aka “Beat Takeshi.” The film, Merry Christmas, […]
Featuring an unexpected lineup of musicians from seemingly distant scenes, Snake Charmer is the super session Mini-LP by Public Image Ltd bassist Jah Wobble, U2’s the Edge, and […]
A heartbreakingly intimate and rare private press record featuring American folk singer Kath Bloom accompanied by experimental musician Loren “Mazzacane” Connors. The record was originally issued in limited […]
A one-time musical anomaly created from the ashes of influential UK post-punk trio This Heat, Lifetone’s For A Reason brings together the political angst and energy of This […]
Virginia Astley’s conceptual debut is a collection of tone poems meant to represent the sounds and mood of an innocent summer day. The album is notable for its […]
A Walk Across The Rooftops, the debut album from The Blue Nile, laid the blueprints for what would come to be their signature sophisticated, polished, and highly personal […]
