• A long-lost Japanese acid folk gem
• Niningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way
• Pressed on black vinyl

A long-lost Japanese acid folk gem, Niningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way shimmers with originality, deft song writing and a dream-like groove.

A coming-of-age album, Heavy Way captured a turning point in Okubo’s life, and Japanese society more widely as a nostalgia for the pastoral calm of the traditional life, met the cosmopolitan thrill of coffee, sex and cigarettes in the big city.

Niningashi was his first band, and Heavy Way was their only album. It was honest and raw, deep and strangely funky, in an off-beat kind of way. Across nine tracks, Okubo and the 6-piece band put their own spin on the new folk sound of Japan, combining witty lyrics with electric guitar-driven solos and crisp, understated grooves.

Featured on Time Capsule’s era-spanning collection Nippon Acid Folk, Niningashi’s Heavy Way is a deep-cut grail of a vibrant time in Japan’s musical history, where even the pharmacists were making jams.

TRACKLIST 

A1        雨あがり = Ameagari (After The Rain)    6:08
A2        せまい僕の部屋で = Semai Boku No Heyade (In My Small Room)    2:51
A3        おそすぎて = Ososugite (Too Late)    2:36
A4        みよちゃん = Miyo Chan     2:39
A5        おらが村の村長さん = Oraga Murano Soncho San (Our Village Chief)    2:49
B1        れすとらん = Resutoran (Restaurant)    4:10
B2        なつ = Natsu (Summer)    5:44
B3        ちかんの詩 = Chikan No Uta (Molester Song)    3:26
B4        ひとりぼっち = Hitoribotchi (On My Own)    4:14