Maki Asakawa – Maki Asakawa 2LP

Description

2023 repress; double LP version. A stunning survey of the 1970s heyday of great Japanese singer and countercultural iconMaki Asakawa(1942-2010). Deep-indigo, dead-of-night enka, folk, and blues, inhalingBillie HolidayandNina Simonedown to the bone. A traditional waltz abutsNico-style incantation; defamiliarized versions ofOscar Brown Jr.andBessie Smithcollide with big-band experiments alongside poetShji Terayama; a sitar-led psychedelic wig-out runs into a killer excursion in modal, spiritual jazz. Existentialism and noir, mystery and allure, hurt and hauteur. With excellent notes byAlan Cummingsand the fabulous photographs ofHitoshi Jin Tamura. “Japan’s answer toScott Walker, with a visual aesthetic and a death-decadent appeal that is straight out of theKeiji Hainosongbook.” –Volcanic Tongue