Live kokyu (single string traditional instrument with a grainy, vocal sound) improvisations from the leader of Tokyo acid-folk orchestra Ché-SHIZU and regular Masayoshi Urabe duo partner. Also features plenty of hypnotically treated metal percussion, scalp-shearing cymbal work, rough tape composition and Mukai's beautifully idiosyncratic throat work. A lonesome voyage through whole new vectors of late-night trance. Recorded in 1984 and one of the major unsung monsters in the PSF back catalogue.

Re-mastered reissue of Chie Mukai's second solo album, originally released in 2000 in an edition of 300 copies that immediately sold out on issue. This new edition comes in a gorgeous silkscreened gatefold sleeve with obi strip. Three tracks recorded live at Kid Ailack Art Hall in Tokyo with vocals, er-hu, kengali, rings and cymbals. The music is slow, spacious folk-trance with the knotty droning sonorities of the er-hu sounding like the folk music of a phantom planet. A very melancholy set that feels like a more tactile, primitive take on the endless tides of Takehisa Kosugi's legendary Catch Wave.

Dedicated to "Memories Of Yasushi Ozawa", the late Fushitsusha bassist, Everything Lies Beyond The Burning Summer Grasses is a major collection of otherwise unreleased material put together by Satoshi Sonoda from the late 70s that provides an illuminating snapshot of the breadth and depth of the then-nascent Tokyo underground sound. Sonoda founded a student club at Meiji University dedicated to the appreciation of fringe and avant garde music and his 'club' functioned as one of the central pegs in the underground scene, attracting players like Yasushi Ozawa and Chie Mukai, both of whom make appearances on this CD. Sonoda was a formidable electric guitarist in his own right, influenced as much by rock groups like Free and The Jimi Hendrix Experience as Keith Rowe, Sonny Sharrock and Derek Bailey. This archival CD bundles a clutch of performances featuring or related to Sonoda: a series of different shows from Free Music Space/Free Music Revolt - a free-improvising ensemble along the lines of Group Ongaku/East Bionic Symphonia/Marginal Consort - and ANARkISS, a crazed punk/Velvets/avant garage group active on the Minor scene and featuring members of Gasaneta. The Free Music recordings are revelatory, combining fractured improv moves with endless repeat-riff boogie and almost Mazzacane-styled wrist action, conflating psych rock and outside modes with alla the genre-gobbling ferocity of the modern PSF aesthetic. The '77 material featuring Sonoda, Ozawa, Seigo Nakane and Mitsuhiro Ueda is particularly beautiful, a triumphal psychedelic groove inspired by the most iconoclastic rock guitar testimonials. In his excellent liners - full of touching memories of Ozawa - Sonoda asks for this track to be played at his funeral. Later Free Music tracks feature Chie Mukai of Tokyo acid folk group Che-SHIZU alongside some mysterious underground figures. But the real gravy may be the ANARkISS tracks, recorded live at the legendary Minor cafe in 1977. The three cuts are absolutely scalding, with crazed brokedown guitar, wretched gobble-punk vocals and a furious Kan Mikami cover providing one of the more persuasive distillations of the whole Minor ethos outside of the Gasaneta and Noise CDs. A vital addition to your Japanese underground shelf: highly recommended.

Original copies of Chie Mukai's OOP second solo album, released in 2000 in an edition of 300 copies that immediately sold out on issue. Comes in a gorgeous silkscreened sleeve with Alan Sherry’s usual classy style. Three tracks recorded live at Kid Ailack Art Hall in Tokyo by fellow provocateur Masayoshi Urabe, Mukai uses vocals, er-hu, kengali, rings and cymbals. The music is slow, spacious folk-trance with the knotty droning sonorities of the er-hu sounding like the folk music of a phantom planet. A very melancholy set that feels like a more tactile, primitive take on the endless tides of Takehisa Kosugi's legendary Catch Wave.