This episode is a full Our Progressive Planet feature, exploring the progressive rock scene of Japan in one continuous 90-minute programme. The player below has the whole show.
This week, we have an edition of our occasionally recurring series in which Rob Fisher and I look at the prog-rock scene in a particular country in our home world. Our aim is to sample the diversity and a little bit of the history of prog in the featured country, but the programme can only really be an overview — after all, you can only do much in 90 minutes. So there is the possibility we will eventually come back to some countries which have particularly long-running or particularly vibrant prog rock scenes.
For this episode we are also joined by our special collaborator Bob Mulvey. Bob is the founder of The Progressive Aspect, an online portal dedicated to finding new and innovative music in all its guises, whilst acknowledging its long and rich history. He is also the bass player for Glacier, a melodic progressive rock band who are based in the North East of England and have recorded three albums to date.
Today, we will be taking a look at the vibrant and dynamic progressive rock scene in Japan.
We begin with a band called Asturias. They refer to themselves as a ‘progressive unit with 3 styles’: Asturias, Acoustic Asturias and Electric Asturias. They were founded in 1987 by multi-instrumentalist and composer Yoh Ohyama and released their debut, ‘Circle In The Forest‘, in 1988 followed by ‘Brilliant Streams‘ (1990) and ‘Cryptogam Illusion‘ (1993).
The track we are going to listen to is called Stone Circle, and it comes from their album Dimensions, which was released in 2023.
The next band we are going to have a listen to is Ars Nova. If you are a fan of the swirling, growling Hammond organ sound, this all-female band is definitely for you. Keyboardist Keiko Kumaga is the main driving force behind the band. Their heavy keyboard-led sound owes much to ELP, Goblin, PFM, Il Balleto di Bronzo and even a hint of Rick Wakeman.
Originally formed in 1983, and reformed in the early 90s, the line-up of the band has changed over the years and their sound has changed from the early ELP-oriented sound towards something which has the hallmarks of an Ayreon album—in fact, their album XX features Arjen Lucassen. Claudio Simonetti (Goblin) appears.
The track we are going to listen to is called Ankh and it comes from their fourth studio album The Book of the Dead released in 1998.
The next band is Bi Kyo Ran, which started life as a King Crimson tribute band. In fact, guitarist Kunio Suma emulates Robert Fripp’s playing style. They formed in 1973 and are perhaps best known for infusing traditional progressive rock sounds with Japanese influences—particularly in the use of the violin, mellotron, and acoustic guitars.
Still active today, they have 6 studio albums, and the track we are going to listen to is Silent Running, taken from their second album, Parallax, released in 1984.
With Hiromi Uehara, we take a turn to the keyboard-driven world of jazz, rock and fusion. She is a keyboard virtuoso, having played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 14. This connection is vital because across her 14 studio albums to date, the music has an orchestral feel to it, blending classical music with progressive rock and infusing it with influences from jazz and other genres. From the age of 17, she has also collaborated with Chick Corea, and the influences here also become apparent.
The track we are going to listen to now is XYZ. It is taken from her first studio album, Another Mind, which was released in 2003.
The keyboard focus continues with our next artist, Kitaro, whose original name is Masanori Takahashi. With Kitaro, however, we make the move to synthesizer focused music. Kitaro — a title he took from the famous Japanese horror manga, founded one of Japan’s earliest progressive rock bands — The Far East Family Band. In 1972 he met Klaus Schulze, ex Tangerine Dream, who introduced him to electronic rock and synthesizer music. Since then he has followed a solo career winning a Grammy for Best New Age music album and a Golden Globe for his work on Oliver Stone’s Heaven and Earth.
His music is minimalist, deeply esoteric with strong themes drawn from Asian spirituality. The track we’re going to listen to was cowritten with Jon Anderson from Yes and comes from the album Dream released in 1992 and is called Agreement.
From keyboards and synthesizers we move to the violin and the band KBB, which revolves around band leader, composer and violinist extraordinaire, (also plays a mean guitar), Akihisa Tsuboy. Founded in the early 90s by Tsuboy, he was joined by drummer Shirou Sugano in 1996 and bassist Dani in 1999. The keyboard player for the first album was Gregory Suzuki, who then left and Toshimitsu Takahashi joined in 2001.
KBB create highly melodic instrumental progressive rock which blends classical influences with jazz, fusion and rock. The track we are going to listen to is called Discontinuous Spiral, from the album Four Corner’s Sky released in 2003.
From the violin we move to the flute. Cichla Temensis – now known as Kiku Latte — carry overtones of Jethro Tull and Focus. The band have a diverse range of styles, but again shows the influence of classical music and jazz. Throughout it all, however, the role of the flute is key and the playing of flautist Haruna Fukazawa in their original lineup was truly stunning.
The re-grouped circa 2016, this time as a quintet adding keyboards and guitar to expand the sound. They were also fortunate to find flautist Kazumi Suzuki who also impresses. The track we are going to listen to comes from this incarnation of the band. The track is called Doors and comes from their EP Fantasia released in 2019.
Yuka and Chronoship are always a fabulous listen bringing together all the elements of the bands we’ve listened to so far. You have the sounds of classic 70s prog, particularly Emerson and Banks, the technical prowess of band founder and keyboardist Yuka Funakoshi and a lovely blending of classical and jazz influences.
The track we are going to listen to is called A Dragon that Never Sleeps taken from their third album Ship released in 2018.
Kumorigahara were founded circa 2013 by band leader, vocalist, bassist and 12-string guitarist Shodai (Shota) Ishigaki. They share the same 1960s/early 1970s high-octane pace of Yuka and Chronoship with Hammond organs, guitar/keyboard duels and an energetic rhythm section. Think ELP, Deep Purple MkII, Uriah Heep, with smatterings of Rush and Yes.
The track we are going to listen to comes from their self-titled album Kumorigahara released in 2021. The track is called Tears of Rabbit.
In a similar vein, Ryo Okumoto continues the classic rock sound of growling Hammonds and mellotron whilst bringing new styles and influences into play. He trained as a classical pianist and toured with Kitaro (already featured on this show) but is probably best known for being part of Spock’s Beard as well as ProgJect.
The track we are going to listen to comes from his solo album Coming Through released in 2002. The track is called Free Fall
Keyboardist Toshio Egawa forms the heart of Japanese band Gerard. They have the same commitment to virtuoso playing and complex song structures. Formed in 1983, the band have been through a series of personnel changes, but this has actually contributed to the evolution of their sound and the way they have adapted to new influences.
The track we are going to listen to is from the album Pandora’s Box, released in 1997. The track is called Analysis of Life.
Our final band today is Outer Limits, founded in 1989 by guitarist Takashi Kawaguchi and drummer Hiroshi Osada. Their style is symphonic, melodic, again demonstrating the influence of classical music, layers of mellotron and a prominent role given to the violin.
The track we are going to listen is called Saturated Solution and comes from their debut album Misty Moon released in 1985.
First broadcast as Prog-Watch 1137 on Progzilla Radio, as part of the Our Progressive Planet series.