kokkyou junreika

Tokyo playwrite, director and artist J A Caesar sprang to prominence in the early ‘70s largely through his work with Shuji Terayama’s Tenjo Sajiki Theatre, specializing in vaguely sinister music. The Kokkyou Junreika release, often considered Caesar’s finest work, was culled from the 5 hours of music written for the original play distilled down to an album’s worth of ageless chants, Budhist mantras, heavenly invocations and fuzztone guitar vamps supported by Caesar’s droning electric organ and the eerie female vocals of Yoko Ran, Keiko Shinko and Seigo Showa. An album that sits comfortably alongside early Ash Ra Temple, Cosmic Jokers and ATEM-period Tangerine Dream.

Track listing:

Side A
• Echigo Tsutsuishi Oyashirazu
• Tenshoutan
• Haha Koishiya Sangoshou
• Kyojo Bushi
• Eimei Shihen
• Wasan
Side B
• Jinriki Hikouki No Tame No Enzetsu Souan
• Minkan Iryou Jutsu
• Ootori No Kuru Hi