{"title":"Kazuki Tomokawa","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKazuki Tomokawa is a prolific Japanese folk singer, songwriter, poet, essayist, actor, betting tipster and artist. He was born on February 16, 1950 in Akita prefecture. Since releasing his first single on Toshiba in 1974, Kazuki has become known for his powerful songwriting abilities. His songs have been covered by various artists over the years. From 1993 onwards, he has released albums through P.S.F. Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a diverse range of talents and creative pursuits, Kazuki Tomokawa has made a significant impact on the music industry and beyond. As an accomplished singer-songwriter and poet, his works resonate with audiences across Japan and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout his career spanning several decades, Kazuki's unique blend of folk music has captivated listeners with its emotional depth and raw authenticity. His thought-provoking lyrics touch upon various themes such as love, life struggles, and social commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-string-of-paper-cranes-clenched-between-my-teeth","title":"A String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth","description":"\u003cp\u003e In a generation of musicians that came of age in postwar Japan, Kazuki Tomokawa stands as a pioneer of radical individualism, with a sound marked by shocking intimacy and blistering honesty. In his third album, \u003ci\u003eA String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, released by Harvest Records in 1977, Tomokawa creeps \"ever more inward,\" as Kiichi Takahara writes in the record's original introductory text—embracing an attitude pervasive amongst musicians of the time who interrogated the prosaic and the profound alike, eschewing politics and society in favor of an \"attitude of total self-containment.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTomokawa recorded the album over the course of a month—from August 24 to September 25, 1977—at Tokyo's famed Onkio Haus studio in the bustling Ginza district. The arrangements, accordingly, are amped up: paired with the Black Panther Orchestra, Tomokawa's \"screaming philosopher\" vocals find their match with the orchestra's electric guitar, bass, piano, tuba, and ground-thumping drums played by the Brain Police's Toshi Ishizuka—who appears on Tomokawa's first three records and remains his collaborator to this day. \"This is Kazuki Tomokawa in the flesh,\" concludes Takahara. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e is, in Tomokawa's uncanny way, able to cut through facade and artifice in pursuit of truth. \"You call that life?\" he heckles, exhausted by the melodrama and nihilism of youth counterculture, \"try saying you're alive!\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blank Forms Editions","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50506168500555,"sku":"1151008","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f61fe1dc-bef6-4f0e-93bc-7874853c0c9c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727819846"},{"product_id":"kazuki-tomokawa-1975-1977","title":"Kazuki Tomokawa 1975-1977","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlank Forms Editions gathers Tomokawa's earliest records for the first time in a deluxe three CD boxed set comprised of Finally, \u003ci\u003eHis First Album\u003c\/i\u003e (Harvest Records, 1975), \u003ci\u003eStraight from the Throat\u003c\/i\u003e (Harvest Records, 1976), and \u003ci\u003eA String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e (Harvest Records, 1977). In each record, Tomokawa shouts, cries, wails, and croons, his folk stylings tinged with psychedelia and swelling into ground-shaking rock. Many tracks are performed in his native Akita dialect, a highly regional vernacular of north Japan rarely heard beyond the prefecture, and even less often used in music. Matching his guttural, all-out vocals are profoundly existential meditations on everyday life and the world around him; this is, as record executive Kiichi Takara dubs it, \"I-music.\" It looks toward the interior, the quotidian, and the domestic with piercing and ever-honest eyes. The accompanying liner notes (here translated for the first time) include introductions by Takara, a round table discussion with Brain Police, and lyrics for all three albums—tracking the rise of Tomokawa as the \"screaming philosopher\" of Japan. The boxed set will be in conjunction with the release of each record in LP format, and the musician's 2015 memoir, Try Saying You're Alive! \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blank Forms Editions","offers":[{"title":"CD | x3","offer_id":50522128417099,"sku":"1135227","price":39.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2cc122fa-d727-4fdb-9f46-d417af144375_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727999344"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_ea237f8f_thumbnail_4096_ac602871-7e0e-4d9e-be22-7c8835cfabdb.jpg?v=1727819827","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/kazuki-tomokawa.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}