Step into Chee Shimizu’s Physical Store in Shimoigusa, Tokyo.

Followers of this site should be quite familiar with Organic Music founder Chee Shimizu (check his ECM favorites for our ‘Home Listening’ series). Globally renowned for his free-form style of playing and deep record knowledge, Chee has been a longtime fixture in Tokyo’s DJ scene and is widely recognized in Japan and abroad as the author of the influential Obscure Sound disc guide, which we consider to be a bible of sorts for the kind of records we love. A few years ago, Chee opened a physical location for his revered Organic Music online record shop. Located just a quick train ride from the center of Tokyo in Chee’s hometown of Shimoigusa, the aptly titled Physical Store is a multi-purpose space that offers records, drinks, snacks, and listening (Organic Music) along with clothing, art, and goods (Planet Baby). The wooden sign outside the shop reads “RECORD, T-SHIRT, COFFEE, BEER…” What more could anyone want?

I finally got the chance to visit Chee’s shop in-person a few weeks ago. When I walk in on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon, an old friend of Chee’s is already seated at the bar counter and fully engaged in conversation over a freshly brewed cup of tea. Chee explains that the tea leaves he uses are sourced from his friends and that each batch is sorted by how the tea makes you feel: good for rest, for after drinking, or for cleansing the stomach. His explanation reminds me a lot of how his Obscure Sound disc guide is organized by categories like floating, pensive, organic, mellow, and meditative rather than by genres or styles. As I start to dig, Chee lets me know that he recently got some new records in from a fair and proceeds to open ten boxes filled with obscurities from around the world. “Maybe some good stuff in there,” he says.

Physical Store / Organic Music’s selection largely focuses on jazz, world, and avant-garde/experimental music, but extends into other genres as well. When I visited, there was even a small stack of ‘90s downtempo and 12” dance singles tucked away underneath the avant-garde section. Everything in the shop is good, worth taking a listen to, and has clearly been filtered through Chee’s keen ears and singular music sense. Japanese music is also a focus here and the shop offers a highly curated selection of traditional, classical, and contemporary Japanese music along with Japanese jazz, fusion, and city pop. Chee tells me that he’s recently been enjoying playing Japanese-focused sets at cultural heritage events where he’s able to blend traditional music featuring instruments like shakuhachi, biwa, taiko drum, and koto with more modern and avant-garde sounds from contemporary Japanese artists. For fans of Japanese music, I highly recommend checking out Chee’s selection of “Japanese Stuff” in his online shop.

Beyond the records for sale, Chee’s Physical Store is also a haven for listening. Like many music spaces in Tokyo, sound is carefully considered in this space, and the sound at Chee’s shop, in my opinion, rivals many of the listening bars in Tokyo. Though they were small, the two 3-way speakers filled the space beautifully, and sounded especially clear in the “sweet spot” located at the bar counter. Looking around the space, it was obvious that a lot of attention to detail had been put into the placement of the speakers and the soundproofing of the room (the record displays are all backed with wood and a number of wooden panels line the walls and ceiling). Comparing my photos to a friend’s who had visited the shop a year before me, it seems that Chee takes a SHeLTeR (Chee’s home base DJ bar in Hachioji) approach to the sound of his room and is constantly tinkering and making improvements. If you get the chance, I highly recommend sitting down for a drink and spending some time listening with one of the most revered selectors in the world…

PHYSICAL STORE – ORGANIC MUSIC
4 Chome−32−17 第一陵雲閣マンション 107
Suginami City, Shimoigusa, Tokyo
https://organicmusic.jp/

Below, we asked Chee to share five favorites that are currently available for sale in his shop:

Motohiko Hino Quartet + 1 – Ryuhyo – Sailing Ice – (1976)

“This 1976 leader album by Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino, the younger brother of world-renowned trumpeter Terumasa Hino, showcases his work as a prominent musician since the late 60s… The vivid recording captures the atmosphere of the venue, with standout tracks such as A1, which has a groovy rhythm section reminiscent of War’s ‘The World is the Ghetto’ intertwined with passionate horns, the moody slow number A2, and the intense, over 18-minute spiritual jazz session B1.”

Purchase: https://organicmusic.jp/en/collections/new-arrivals-music/products/motohiko-hino-quartet-1-ryuhyo-sailing-ice

Osamu Shoji – Night Flight (1979)

“This album was released in 1979 by Osamu Shoji, one of Japan’s leading synthesiser artists alongside Isao Tomita, who since the 60s has arranged numerous songs and composed music for TV programmes, and in the 70s produced Japan’s first domestic synthesiser works. Inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s novel Night Flight, it was produced and, as the title suggests, contains wonderful synthesiser music with a sense of flight throughout, making full use of the Roland System 700, Arp 2600 and a large number of other synthesisers.”

Purchase: https://organicmusic.jp/en/collections/new-arrivals-music/products/osamu-shoji-night-flight-1

Takashi Kako – L’Aube (1983)

“This is an album released in 1983 by Japanese pianist Takashi Kako, who, despite his classical and contemporary music background, became enamored with free jazz, creating a unique path by blending elements of jazz and contemporary music. The entire album is a solo performance on an acoustic piano, and it is simply wonderful. Themed around the dawn of the Mediterranean, it features a delicate touch that evokes a fleeting yet beautiful ambiance, rich in color and spatial awareness, perfectly blending spiritual contemporary jazz with New Age and ambient music.”

Purchase: https://organicmusic.jp/en/collections/new-arrivals-music/products/takashi-kako-l-aube

Matsuo Ono – Space and Maryjuane Trip is Same (1978)

“This is a masterpiece album released in 1978 by Matsuo Ohno, who is known for his work as a sound effects technician, handling the sound design of the historic first Japanese TV anime produced by Osamu Tezuka, “Astro Boy,” as well as directing documentary films such as those for the Taj Mahal travel group. Ohno, who had a deep fascination with space from a young age, intuitively captured that imagery and utilized the latest synthesizers of the time along with his developed analog tape editing techniques to create this album.”

Purchase: https://organicmusic.jp/en/collections/new-arrivals-music/products/matsuo-ono-space-and-maryjuane-trip-is-same

Stomu Yamash’ta – Percussion Recital / Hito (1980)

“This is a live recording album of a performance by Japanese percussionist Tsutomu Yamashita, who has made a name for himself in the field of classical and contemporary music since the late 1960s, at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in 1971. This is a reissue of the album released in 1980 from the “Contemporary Japanese Music 1500″ series. Japanese traditional musician Roetsu Tosha and Suho Tosha participated. According to the liner notes, in 1970, he returned to Japan in secret and stayed at Toru Takemitsu’s house while composing a three-movement piece for a performance with Roetsu Tosha and Suho Tosha.”

Purchase/Listen: https://organicmusic.jp/en/collections/new-arrivals-music/products/stomu-yamash-ta-percussion-recital-hito-2