Various Artists - Wel Dreamland Another Japan (1986 - MP3 -

In 1984 Fred Frith toured Japan, and in addition to some collaborations he recorded there (one with Totsuzen Danball), he recorded a cross section of the Japanese underground music scene which was released two years later. Welcome to Dreamland focuses on the avant-garde, with brief forays into song structure. The poppiest must be Saboten ("Low Chair"), a quartet of young Tokyo women with a fragmented, naive approach to song construction and an art school bent in the lyrics. The group After Dinner, fronted by vocalist Haco, managed to swing a few Western releases with Recommended Records a year later. Their song "The Room of Hair Mobiles" is typical of their dreamy work. Luna Park Ensemble (not to be confused with the group Luna or Luna Park) strike a bizarre cabaret pose, while Sodaneva's muted, rhythmic guitar passages are sublime. Only Keiji Haino went on after this initial bit of exposure (and he had been around a long time before this anyway) to continually make recordings. Still, an intriguing snapshot of Tokyo and Osaka, and of Frith's taste in music.

Source: Allmusic