Cheap and Nasty #13: First-Wave Japanese Punk & Post Punk 1978-1983

 

  While punk was shaking the streets of London, New York and Los Angeles, a very different scene was beginning to emerge in Japan. More austere, more unsettling and often far more extreme, it drew inspiration from British punk and art rock while quickly forging a language of its own that would leave a lasting mark on Japan's underground music.

  This session brings together some of the key names from that first wave: from the angular minimalism of Benitokage, Friction, Lizard and Aunt Sally, through the raw urgency of Anarchy, The Star Club and The Stalin, to the abrasive intensity of The Comes and G.I.S.M., where punk was already mutating into the first wave of Japanese hardcore.

  Twenty-five recordings capture a unique moment in time, when Japanese punk stopped looking to the West for inspiration and found its own voice: darker, more unpredictable and unmistakably original.

Trashlist
01. Benitokage – レニングラード・スパイ・バンド (Reningurādo Supai Bando / Leningrad Spy Band) (1980)
02. Mr. Kite – 共犯者 (Kyōhansha / Accomplice) (1978)
03. Gaseneta – 社会復帰 (Shakai Fukki / Social Rehabilitation) (1978)
04. Flesh – おきまりの午後 (Okimari no Gogo / The Usual Afternoon) (1979)
05. Friction – ビッグS (Biggu S / Big-S) (1979)
06. SS – ミスター・ツイスト (Misutā Tsuisuto / Mr. Twist) (1979)
07. Lizard – プラスティック・ドリームス (Purasutikku Dorīmusu / Plastic Dreams) (1979)
08. Mirrors – アウト・オブ・オーダー (Auto obu Ōdā / Out of Order) (1979)
09. Sex – ティーヴィー・イージー (Tīvī Ījī / TV Easy) (1979)
10. 8½ – マネキン・ドール (Manekin Dōru / Mannequin Doll) (1979)
11. Aunt Sally – すべて売り物 (Subete Urimono / Everything for Sale) (1979)
12. Maria – マシン・セックス (Mashin Sekkusu / Machine Sex) (1979)
13. Tsunematsu Masatoshi – き・を・つ・け・ろ (Ki wo Tsukero / Watch Out!) (1979)
14. Anarchy – シティ・サーファー (Shiti Sāfā / City Surfer) (1980)
15. The Stalin – 電動こけし (Dendō Kokeshi / Electric Kokeshi) (1980)
16. The Stalin – 肉 (Niku / Meat) (1980)
17. The Star Club – ピアニカ (Pianika / Pianica) (1980)
18. Totsuzen Danbōru – 変なパーマネント (Henna Pāmanento / Strange Permanent) (1980)
19. Boys Boys – コントロール・タワー (Kontorōru Tawā / Control Tower) (1980)
20. Chance Operation – ディン (Din / Din) (1981)
21. Inu – フェードアウト (Fēdo Auto / Fade Out) (1981)
22. Stigma – 金属バット (Kinzoku Batto / Metal Bat) (1981)
23. Aburadako – 米ニスト (Komenisuto / Komenist) (1983)
24. The Comes – 究極 (Kyūkyoku / Ultimate) (1983)
25. G.I.S.M. – エンドレス・ブロケイズ・フォー・ザ・プッシーフッター (Endoresu Burokeizu Fō za Pusshīfuttā / Endless Blockades for the Pussyfooter) (1983)

Unearthed by Tony Rivers