V/A - Songs For Nao - 14 Bands From Japan

Songs for Nao (pronounced now") is a compilation featuring many incredible Japanese artists... Most work in a rarefied world of wide-eyed, folky psych-pop. Songs For Nao includes new tracks by Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Nagisa Ni Te, Tenniscoats, Kazumi Nikaidoh, Yumbo, Andersens, My Pal Foot Foot, Pervenche and more. \r\nSongs For Nao is a taste of an incredible music scene. Isolated from the music industry at large, these artists create genuinely inspired music, fresh even to the ears of the most conditioned music-geek. \r\nThe release is accompanied by a full colour, 16-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes on each band, and beautiful photos by Eigo Shimojo (a member of Eepil Eepil, one of the bands on the compilation)." - Chapter Music.\r\n"I moved to Tokyo in September 2002 in search of new experiences, and ended up staying for a year and a half. I worked teaching English part-time at one of the big chain schools in Japan, which was neither here nor there, but when I wasnt working I was going to as many gigs as I could. I already had a couple of Japanese friends before I got there, and through them I was introduced to all these amazing bands, playing in tiny shoebox venues to audiences of usually about 50 people.\r\nMost of the best bands I saw seemed to be connected in one way or another to a record label called Majikick, run by Ueno and Saya, the husband and wife team from the band Tenniscoats. They were like the Prince and Princess of this small, vibrant scene, which was built on ideas about freedom, improvisation, fragile melodies and a kind of drug-free psychedelia.\r\nThe most amazing thing about bands like Tenniscoats, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Andersens and My Pal Foot Foot is how they would sound totally different almost every time you saw them. They always had different lineups and instrumentation and played a completely new set at almost every gig. I couldnt understand how they could all write these incredible songs and then just throw them away and write new ones!\r\nMost of the bands had a CD or two on Majikick, or at least a CD-R that they would sell at gigs, and I bought whatever I could get my hands on. I listened to these CDs constantly in my little apartment, and maybe it was just being in a different country, not having my all my records and CDs with me, but it was the first time in years that I could just listen over and over to the same music, and find more to love each time.\r\nApart from Nagisa Ni Te and Maher Shalal Hash Baz, who have had some records released in the US and the UK, it seemed like no-one outside Japan had any idea about these bands that I thought were just incredible. So it seemed like a great idea to put together a compilation, and Songs For Nao is what I came up with. I thought of the title because Nao is the name of two of the sweetest people I met in Japan - one a boy, one a girl - and they both play in bands on the CD." - Guy Blackman; Chapter Music.