Osaka Recording

 

Whether she is capturing the architecture of Osaka from far away, or through windows and from behind the mise en place of her own daily life, Bradley's photography becomes an extension of her focus on the city. Her images are haunting, awe inspiring, and intimate.

Recorded with head-worn Core Sound binaural microphones through an ATI ML200 analog microphone preamp into a Zoom H2 flash recorder at 44.1 kHz/24 bit. Using a multitrack DAW to organize and arrange the recordings, this album was composed to give a sense of movement and contrasting spaces and points of audition across Osaka.

When the punk movement was shaking the world, a group of underground musicians in Japan set up one of their first independent labels. Vanity Records, in operation for only about four years between 1978 and 1981, used emergent electronic equipment to pursue dark dystopian sounds that grated against the glossy sheen of contemporary Japanese culture.

The NHK Symphony Orchestra in this 大阪　レコーディング recording can occasionally teeter towards an almost flawless brilliance or to lose the thread of a dramatic tension, but mainly they are magnificent. Schippers reins in the brass which on so many other NHK recordings of this period can often sound so fierce. The trombones and horns sound burnished with golden intensity, while the trumpets are precise and bright.

This recording, made at the Osaka International Convention Center in 1967, is a fascinating insight into the musical relationship between Thomas Schippers and his orchestra. Schippers had been quoted in a newspaper article shortly before this performance suggesting that the NHK Symphony Orchestra – at that time considered to be one of the best in the country – was not of a particularly high artistic quality.

Having tapped into a diverse pool of friends and collaborators, Cafiero assembled an impressive pedigree of punk rock talent for Osaka Popstar's debut backing band on this album. The ensemble, which will change slightly with future releases as guest artists and revolving line-ups contribute their talents, is a perfect foil for the original songs.

Newtone, which is a DJ's mecca in Japan (having philosophically replaced Technique as such), is a one stop shop for any new release from the electronic music world. The bottom shelves are organized by distributors which gives a good idea of which companies this store is buying from and from which countries (and cities) they tend to purchase the most records. This is not only a great record store for those into electronic music but also a good place to find the latest imports from Philadelphia and other US cities. Taking up two floors in a busy shopping mall, it feels like stepping into the old South Street or Broad and Chestnut Tower Records of Philly.