Kenso. 1981 Japan

Kenso, who have archival recordings going back to 1976, released their first studio album in 1981. It's important to note the music culture that Kenso grew up in to appreciate their debut album. By 1980, and flush with cash, Japan had become somewhat a fanatic nation for all things European - including the 1970s progressive rock movement. Italy, in particular, seemed to fascinate the fan/collector base. And it was common for wealthy Japanese businessmen traveling to Europe to come home with box loads of records to sell to the music shops in Tokyo. It is this market that ultimately propelled progressive rock back into the limelight worldwide - and throughout the 1980s, Japan was looked upon as a leading light for all things progressive rock. While there were certainly local bands trying to capture the spirit of what they were digesting, Kenso may very well have been the most successful. And so we hear an almost encyclopedic knowledge of European progressive rock being brought forth - especially albums with flute - bands as obscure as Rousseau, Asia Minor, Gotic, Ibio, and Dice are all clearly within the minds of a young Kenso. Not only that, but they also brought forth their own Japanese legacy to the table, like their landmark track 'Umi' which successfully mixes a Camel like sound with indigenous melodies. As well, the long piece here, the 15+ minute 'Kagome' demonstrates Kenso's appreciation for Japan's own early 1970s psychedelic past - a sound remnant of acts as diverse as Toshiaki Yokota, Food Brain, Far Out, and in particular George Hirota*. Going forward, they would shed the experimental bits and focus more on their accessible instrumental European progressive sound. As such, this album is looked upon as a bit of a departure and perhaps not up the quality of subsequent efforts. I see it as an equal, though a band still clearly seeking out a signature sound. Be sure to grab the CD, as it features 6 live tracks going back to 1976, of which I believe 5 of them are not represented anywhere else. Essential album if wanting to gain the entire Kenso experience.

* Our good friend Nobuhisa of Marquee (Tokyo) informs us that it is highly unlikely that Kenso would have known these obscure Japanese bands, as they were unknown even to hardcore collectors back then. He states - and most assuredly he's correct, having witnessed the events real time - that basically they came about a similar sound, and he states further "using Japanese motif within the context of western music was a common method for a Japanese musician to make "Japanified Western music" be it modern classical, movie sound tracks, Jazz, Rock / Prog." That makes sense to me as well.

Ownership: CD: 1995 Arcangelo

I'm not entirely sure about the date of 1981 here. The CD above lists it simply as 1980, but that could have been just the recording dates (which are documented as 1980), and the release came later. I haven't seen the actual copyright of the original. Discogs has no detail here.

8/22/14 (new entry)