Slap Happy Humphrey

Jojo Hiroshige is probably best known as the main driving force behind Japanese noise band Hijokaidan and its numerous transformations. His group Slap Happy Humphrey - formed with fellow Alchemy Records noise maker and Angel’in Heavy Syrup singer Mineko Itakura - was in some ways a departure from Hiroshige’s typical noise undertakings.

On their first and only LP, the self-titled record is immersed in opposites and contrasts that work in tandem - of folk and noise, of calm and rupture. P-Vine is delighted to present the first ever vinyl reissue of the 1994 album with an iconic Japanese obi strip attached. As a revival of Doji Morita’s hauntingly bleak folk swept across Japan in the early 90s, so too did Hiroshige wish to step into Morita’s dark fantastical world armed with his guitar. With cover songs selected from Morita’s first four albums, Itakura’s vocals bring out the ethereal charm of Morita's writing across these tracks with third member and Subvert Blaze frontman, Hiroaki Fujiwara, backing her on acoustic guitar and violin. Against this backdrop of the duo’s acid folk harmonies, Hiroshige finds opportune moments to thrust his most volatile concoctions of noise and blissful distortion.