{"product_id":"niningashi-heavy-way-lp-vinyl","title":"Niningashi - Heavy Way - LP (Vinyl)","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLP pressed on black vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA long-lost Japanese acid folk gem\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNiningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough he was training as a pharmacist, Kazuhisa Okubo was much more interested in prescribing musical medicine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntoxicated by Tokyo, driven by a passion for music and surrounded by a thriving acid folk scene, the young student filtered his experiences through a psychedelic cocktail of soulful influences from the US and Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNiningashi 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMelancholy and profound, opening track ‘Ameagari’ feels like a synthesis of Harvest-era Neil Young and Haruomi Hosono’s Happy End. Then there’s the whimsical washboard country sound of ‘Semai Boku No Heyade’; the moody, low-lit charm of ‘Restaurant’; and ‘Hitoribotchi’, a sensitive portrayal of childhood, steeped in memories of rainfall that will resonate with fans of Woo and Mac Demarco.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Okubo would go on to taste success with psychedelic folk bands Neko and Kaze, the latter of which scored three #1 albums, little is known about his mysterious debut with Niningashi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelf-released by Okubo in 1974, and featuring album artwork by his brother, it has slowly generated a cult following online, intrigued by its soft and enchanting sound. So few records were ultimately pressed that those remaining have fetched up to £1,500 online.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeatured 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUPC: \u003cspan\u003e748322322102\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Light In The Attic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51874330116379,"sku":null,"price":27.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7777\/1035\/files\/748322322102_974x_1230abbd-2916-43e2-b0e5-4942e9e294ad.jpg?v=1773162195","url":"https:\/\/weirdfishrecords.com\/products\/niningashi-heavy-way-lp-vinyl","provider":"Weird Fish Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}