If you like: Japanese city pop melded with reggae and rocksteady–it simply wouldn’t be fair to put Fishmans in any single category–you’ll enjoy this eclectic and delightful album.
About: Japanese group Fishmans developed a distinctive, dreamy sound rooted in reggae and dub, while also incorporating a wide range of other styles, including trip-hop, psychedelia, pop, and ambient. The band formed in the late 1980s and initially played a fairly conventional brand of rocksteady before branching out and exploring different sounds, but constant elements of the group’s music included primary songwriter Shinji Sato’s haunting, androgynous vocals, Kin-Ichi Motegi’s steady yet flexible drumming and sample-based rhythms, and Yuzuru Kashiwabara’s deep, dubby bass lines. Evolving from the group’s reggae roots, they shifted into more of a dream pop sound with later releases such as Kuchu Camp and the experimental epic Long Season, both released in 1996.
    The first live album by Fishmans, released in 1995. The format of live recording and studio treatment became the starting point for many of the Fishmans’ live albums that have been discovered since then. This was the last album in which the famous keyboard player HAKASE participated, and the “best songs” of the early Fishmans became a primer for listeners after the real-time. The original version of the album consisted of two 10-inch analog discs. *^{via Pony Canyon}
A favorite track: Thank You