Thursday, June 18, 2026 • Vinyl Finds from Around the World
Songbook
Shun Ishiwaka is one of the most acclaimed drummers in Japan's recent jazz scene, a player on the film BLUE GIANT and a member of Answer to Remember, SMTK and CRCK/LCKS. Songbook is the 2016 origin point of his Songbook Project, where he plays not only drums but piano and keyboards, handling all composition and arrangement to reveal an intimate, gentle side. With contributions from Manami Kakudo, Tomomi Oda and saxophonist Ryo Konishi, it finally arrives on vinyl a decade later.
Inna Soul Steady Situation
The debut solo album from Thee Sinseers mastermind Joey Quiñones, a tincture of rocksteady, reggae and sweet soul. Released on Colemine, its warm vocals and gentle grooves make for an irresistibly tender listen.
L'oreille Voleuse
An experimental work by German composer Brunhild Ferrari, performed in collaboration with Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O'Rourke. Its sound drifts between electroacoustics, environment and improvisation, a patient and rewarding piece of contemporary music.
死んでも一生
The latest album from Japanese musical maverick Bun Noguchi, and his first-ever physical release. Turbulent experimentation tangles with jazz across a record of singular, brilliant strangeness, one of the most distinctive recent works from Japan's underground.
Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends
A dreamlike soft-rock classic woven from polished harmonies and string arrangements. What sets it apart is its source: not a commercial pressing but a rare 1968 US mono promo cut in small numbers for radio play, preserving the rawest original broadcast sound. Produced by the legendary Tommy LiPuma with arrangers Nick DeCaro and Bob Thompson, reissued here on clear deep-blue vinyl from the original US masters.
Cat
A towering classic of Japanese jazz history: Hiroshi Suzuki's Cat, reissued via Columbia's NIPPONOPHONE imprint. Suzuki reunites with the legendary Freedom Unity lineup (Akira Ishikawa, Takeru Muraoka, Hiromasa Suzuki, Kunimitsu Inaba) for an immortal work full of soul and rhythmic tension, presented here on clear yellow vinyl with OBI.
松岡きっこのラブ・ラブ25時
A risque cult gem of the Showa era. Kikko Matsuoka, host of Japan's legendary late-night show 11PM, made her sole physical record for Christmas 1971, its provocative cover causing a stir at the time. Arranged by Shinichi Tanabe, later famed for scoring the Kindaichi detective films, it reworks popular tunes into mellow, grown-up late-night instrumentals, interspersed with Matsuoka's seductive spoken murmurs and lavish brass: a deep-cut classic of Japanese mondo music.
Complete Fairytales
Numero Group strikes again, unearthing a short-lived emo gem from the 1990s. Eldritch Anisette lasted under a year, never venturing beyond their native Delaware River valley, releasing a single 7-inch and playing some twenty shows before dissolving. Nick Rotundo's nearly-lost studio masters are gathered here for the first time on vinyl, six precious songs of raw adolescent feeling made to be screamed without restraint.
Beautiful
One of the cornerstones of Japan's crossover/house scene, DJ KAWASAKI's debut album, issued on vinyl for the first time to mark its 20th anniversary. Blending jazz, soul, Brazilian music and house into a refined sonic world shaped by his singular sensibility, supervised by Kyoto Jazz Massive's Shuya Okino. Its iconic cover, shot by photographer Yasumasa Yonehara with model Rina Fujii, exudes the chic, sensual glamour of millennial Tokyo nightlife.
Freeform Jazz
Uyama Hiroto's most ambitious and experimental work, released in 2016 and reissued on clear vinyl for its tenth anniversary. Breaking free of both hip hop and jazz conventions, it builds a fresh vision of Japanese free jazz from wild percussion, spiritually inflected bamboo flute, and folk melodies that feel etched into the Japanese DNA. A 2017 limited German Vinyl Digital pressing sold out fast; this is the long-awaited official Japanese reissue.
Live!
After returning with their first new album in 24 years, Pulp release the live album Live!, capturing their 13 June 2025 performance at London's arena and running through career-spanning classics from 'Common People' and 'Disco 2000' to 'This is Hardcore'. Read the setlist and recall Jarvis Cocker's words. Issued as a 2LP in blue and black editions.
フリー・ソウル・キリンジ
A compilation focused on KIRINJI's 'brothers era', curated by Free Soul series mastermind Toru Hashimoto (SUBURBIA), spanning their Columbia, Warner and EMI label periods with signatures like 'YOU&ME', 'Aliens' and 'Kimi no Mune ni Dakaretai', plus hidden gems such as 'Moegara' under the Uma no Hone alias. Originally a 31-track double CD in 2014, long coveted on vinyl, now specially reissued as a 4LP set.
The Odyssey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Christopher Nolan's latest epic, The Odyssey, scored by three-time Academy Award winner Ludwig Göransson. The sweeping action spectacle reaches IMAX for the first time in July, its score presented across a grand three-LP set.
Atelier Ryza Trilogy Original Soundtrack
A boxed colored-vinyl edition of the Atelier Ryza Trilogy original soundtrack, gathering 45 selected tracks across the series' three games. The set includes a 24-page hardcover booklet with concept art, character illustrations and lyrics, each disc in its own printed sleeve. Available as two 3LP editions: sky-blue marble and tricolor vinyl.
String Band
Known as Oma-san, Isao Suzuki was a pioneering jazz bassist who mentored countless players in Japan. Always at music's cutting edge, he recorded String Band with Hank Jones, Roy Haynes, Ron Carter and a string ensemble, a record still hotly sought on the secondhand market. The first batch sold out instantly, with restock in July.
A dreamlike, faintly nostalgic exotic sound: the debut full-length from seven-piece Japanese pop band AVOCADO BOYS. Centered on singer Lena's sweet, alluring voice, the music folds jazz, hip-hop, AOR, Latin and African influences together effortlessly. It gathers five singles released across 2025, re-recorded as an acoustic trio session, with highlights in the breezy, sax-laced title track and 'Friends?' featuring rapper Nenashi. The adorable cover is by Fukuoka illustrator Toyameg.