Sougi + [Vinyl]

December 1982, Tokyo. Kiyoaki Iwamoto has a guitar, a simple rhythm box, a friend with a bass guitar, and some stripped-down songs, brazen in their post-punk simplicity, irritation and controlled aggression, yet full of sadness and resignation. Five songs, including a rearranged version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” are recorded and released on a now extremely rare 7” record. This release, available on 10” vinyl, CD, or digital download, features those five songs, along with a previously unreleased 1980 live performance by his duo Birei, as well as a 2020 reworking of “Love …” , by the Japanese duo Chisato and Junta. Iwamoto was an enigma, active in the post-punk scene in Japan in the late 70s and early 80s, a member of Birei and founding member of Guys & Dolls with Tori Kudo (Maher Shalal Hash Baz); in the mid-80s he cut contact with his friends, disavowing his name and later performing under a different moniker.

• 16-page booklet (CD), fold-out insert (LP)
• Liner notes by Koki Emura
• English text & lyrics

• Released: 9/9/20
• Format Detail: 10” Black
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: World Music