Kan Mikami - Daiyonshishuu - Spirit of Aomori 2010.12.4 (2010)

As promised, here's the second of two obscure Kan Mikami (三上寛) albums I dug up and saw fit to disseminate. This one is as weird as the 'Jumping Beans' 12-versions-of-the-same-song one. "第４詩集: Spirit Of Aomori 2010.12.4" is an odd bag. I haven't had the time yet to sit down with the booklet and try to figure out what it's all about, but it seems to be part of a series that celebrates several regions of Japan and their shinkansen lines (in this case Aomori, the very northernmost region of Japan's main island Honshū, where Mikami is from), and at at the same time a tribute to Shūji Terayama (寺山修司), who is probably best known as the director of such '70s movies as トマトケッチャップ皇帝 ('Emperor Tomato Ketchup'), 書を捨てよ町へ出よう ('Throw Away Your Books, Go Out Into the Streets!'), and 田園に死す ('Death in the Country', aka 'Pastoral Hide and Seek'; this one is amazing by the way, and Mikami is in it!); and also as the founder of experimental musical theater group 天井桟敷 (Tenjō Sajiki), well known for their collaborations with J・A・シーザー (J.A. Seazer). When I find out more about what this is really all about, I'll update this post. Anyway, what you get here is some well-known Mikami songs, newly recorded, some unknown songs, and some snippets of interviews and other talk. An odd mishmash, but somehow very enjoyable and certainly worthy of being rescued from oblivion.
Released in 2010 by H.I.T.
Get it.
320kbps.

Kan Mikami - Jumping Beans (2003)

So anyway, when I said 'new posts in the near future', I meant '4 months from now' (apparently). Yes, I've been hibernating, but so what. There's plenty of bloggers still out there, somehow, despite the persistent threat that all their shared files can be deleted without warning at any time. I'm not going to go over older posts myself, I imagine a lot of the links are dead, maybe all of them... If there's anything you would like to see re-upped, ask, and I'll see what I can do... only that Kazuki Tomokawa DVD rip, which seems to be in demand, I don't know... where do people upload files of that size these days? It's been up here for many months, can I pass the torch to anyone else?
Anyway, if I have awoken (however briefly?) from my slumber, it is because I've stumbled upon something I realize I can't leave unshared. Not one, but two albums by one of my favourite artists of all time, that have been out for 2 (the other one) and 9 (nine!) years, respectively - and I hadn't the foggiest notion they even existed! How did that happen?
I don't know, but something tells me I'm not alone in this, so here they come.
First let me remind you that the very first post ever on this blog was a (stunning) Kan Mikami album, so this Mikami-induced resurrection seems fitting. If you don't have that one yet, go get that first. There was also that weird split live album with David Peel, for completists only. Now, first up, here is something entitled ジャンピング　ビーンズ, or 'Jumping Beans'. This mysterious 29-minute CD was released by a label called スファイロス (Sufairosu, presumably to be read Sfairos (Σφαῖρος?)). It contains 12 versions of one and the same track (!) - good thing it's a track you won't find on any other Mikami album, and that it's pretty damn great. Sufficient variation makes for a fine listening experience. The track is entitled 闇に浮く ('Yami ni uku', '(I?) Float in Darkness'). The music and fierce growls are by Mikami but the lyrics are credited to one ラロカ・デ・ラ・カーサ (Laroca de la Casa?). The whole thing seems to have something to do with some piece of theatre, presumably about airborne vegetables. OK, so the origins of this little curio remain shrouded in darkness, but at least now we can all listen to it. The other Mikami obscurity is coming up soon (really!).
Enjoy!
320kbps.