In 1980, a collective of friends in Japan founded DD Records, an innovative platform aimed at providing a space for up-and-coming artists to share their unconventional home recordings within their local scene.Over the next five years, this label produced an impressive total of 222 cassette tapes and several vinyl records before gradually fading into obscurity. Their final known release, a compilation titled Disk Musik—featuring a diverse selection of 13 Japanese musicians—is so rare that even Discogs, the extensive music catalog database, has limited details about it.
Fast forward forty years later,this compilation has been reissued—and it continues to resonate with the same mind-bending qualities that enchanted its original audience in the mid-’80s.The opening track from Circadian Rhythm feels like three distinct songs intricately woven together; it transitions effortlessly from ethereal humming vocals to nostalgic melodies amidst an eclectic mix of sounds including toy percussion and even a ringing phone—all packed into just five minutes.This sets the tone for an album characterized by both chaotic energy and heartfelt camaraderie as it navigates genres ranging from folk-inspired tunes to raw punk jams, ambient soundscapes, and intense noise.
This record is not devoid of catchy hooks either. Tracks such as Summer Initiation by Y Tabata and Egg by Young Hormones are infused with quirky electronics and upbeat melodies that could easily be mistaken for music featured in children’s television shows—at least upon first listen. Though, without warning, these tracks can plunge into swirling feedback or erupt into collages filled with frantic vocalizations alongside glitchy video game sounds. Interspersed between these extremes are subtly off-kilter examples of early MIDI minimalism along with an enchanting closer crafted by co-founder Ok Usami—a testament to how DD Records could have produced “conventional” music if they had chosen that path; yet intriguingly enough, that was never their intention.
Latest Releases This Month
This month also brings exciting new offerings such as Timbre of Guitars album series from Tokyo-based classical guitarist Ayane shino,who pays tribute to late electronic composer Rei Harakami through her own interpretations filled with lush strings replacing Harakami’s iconic Roland synths in this intimate homage—oscillating between moments of joyfulness and melancholy while maintaining a soothing essence throughout.
Additionally,Music Belongs to the Universe, released under Leaving Records features California keyboardist Nico Georis. His latest LP offers expansive meditative compositions layered over gentle melodic backdrops—a perfect soundtrack for tranquil spring mornings.
Lastly,The Rising Wave, marks vocalist Marlene Ribeiro’s collaboration with electronic producer Shackleton under the name Gentle-Situation Modulator . Across eight tracks on this album they blend dreamy harmonies alongside atmospheric synths creating something more disorienting than straightforward listening through intricate percussion patterns deep bass frequencies enveloped in echo.