The lost 1984 follow-up to ‘Kakashi’ and ‘Utakata No Hibi’ will be released on NYC label Palto Flats.

Japanese experimental saxophonist, producer, and composer Yasuaki Shimizu needs no introduction here. His previously cult classic and now more-or-less widely known albums Kakashi and Utakata No Hibi were played constantly at the In Sheep’s Clothing listening bar and remain in steady rotation today. Some incredible news arrived recently from our friends at Palto Flats of a previously unreleased Yasuaki Shimizu album from this same creative period… A “lost key chapter” in Shimizu’s discography, Kiren explores experimental dance music and bridges the gap between his early 80s recordings and his later work with the Saxophonettes.

It’s a bit proto-techno, wonderfully traditional, vaguely new-wave, and fully lush with Shimizu’s horn and sampled instruments! Listen to a few tracks below:

Chee Shimizu (no relation) writes in the liner notes: “Latin and Kiren were recorded in the same studio at almost the same time, but neither were projects for a record label. Instead, they were born out of a free environment of collaboration that existed between Shimizu and his great collaborator, the late producer Aki Ikuta. Latin itself would not see the light of day until 1991, but both of these albums may be his most energetic works, just before Shimizu further pursued the conviction he displayed on Kakashi and Utakata no Hibi and moved to another stage. What do I mean by “conviction”? Shimizu’s own words might help explain it: “At that time, I could recognize that all of the various scattered elements I had been interested in since I was a child were collecting together inside of me,
and becoming a single organic material.”

Kiren will be released tomorrow on February 25. Pre-order is available now on Bandcamp: https://paltoflats.bandcamp.com/album/kiren

Watch the official music video for Shiasete: