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Anteater · 02-04-2010, 03:07 PM

Sai Yoshiko – Taiji no Yume (1977)

"Darkling and occasionally vivid dreams given form and noise for the ears of you and I."

1. Gitano (3:43)
2. Alhambra no Aoi Bin (2:08)
3. Aru Hareta Yoru (3:31)
4. Hatoba (3:58)
5. Haru no Yume (2:48)
6. Umi no Chinmoku (4:20)
7. Aoi Garasudama (4:53)
8. Henro (3:55)
9. Hakuchūmu (2:51)
10. Taiji no Yume (9:04)

Some music in the world simply never get the due it deserves. From the 1960's through the early 1980's, while the musical world was primarily fixated on bands coming out of the U.K. and U.S. respectively, Japan was undergoing a fantastic sonic renaissance of its own. Folk music traditions that had been passed down for centuries on more traditional instrumentation was now colliding head on with every other musical form under the sun, from American jazz to English psychedelia, resulting in rockabilly and acid-folk movements that rivaled anything going on in the Western world. And within these movements, some musicians produced masterpieces that never saw the light of international release.

The subject of this review, Taiji no Yume, which translates to Dream of a Fetus, is one such release, the third album of a then 24 year old singer/songwriter named Sai Yoshiko. Sometimes referred to as the "Joni Mitchell of Japan", Yoshiko's trademark style juxtaposes psychedelic, sometimes virulent musical landscapes against her crystalline, dream inducing vocals and jazzy sense of atmosphere, resulting in ten intriguing movements that never fail to hook you in.

Although certain thematic touches tie these different songs together into something like a whole, there is loads of personality to be found on each cut individually. Opener 'Gitano' kickstarts with the record with a samba shuffle mixed in with some cool piano while 'Aruhanbura no Aoi-bin' serves as a gorgeous counterpoint with its harp, Yoshio's croon and some moonlit synth textures gelling into a two minute slice of perfection.

Still, this is an album that blends and balances before all else. 'Aoi Garasudama' sounds like something David Gilmour might have written in Floyd's prime years had he been born and raised in Japan, whilst 'Hatoba' and 'Umi no Chinmoku' emphasize a yearning, acoustic sort fragility, making for some rather pleasurable, if oddly nostalgic, listening experiences. Plus, although its fun to have constancy in a record, what's the point of the tracks aren't also distinguishable from one another? Taiji no Yume manages to be eclectic without forcing the variety, and hence avoids this pitfall altogether.

Japan is a country of absolutely fascinating music from nearly every genre imaginable, but it's only really in the last ten years that people living in other parts of the world have gotten the option to be exposed to it without having to actually travel there or spend ridiculous amounts of money importing vinyl/CDs. Sai Yoshiko is only one of many fantastic musicians who was doing music in a fledgling, revolutionary time in the country's musical history, but I feel one of her albums is as good as any to represent part of 70's Japan here.

For anyone into folk, jazz, psychedelia, or just interesting music in general, this is most definitely worth the time to track down or request.