Fruit Express
No Secret EP (Tapes remix)
Japan’s electronic music scene has always stood out as uniquely distinctive. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a wave of underground projects, bands, and independent labels—primarily based in Tokyo and Osaka—began crafting their own sound. Inspired by the post-punk, new wave, and experimental movements emerging from Europe and North America, these artists embraced a DIY ethic, using whatever technology they had access to in order to forge something entirely their own.
This movement, often referred to as the Nippon-wave scene, remained largely hidden from the outside world. Many of its releases—on cassette tapes, flexi-discs, and privately pressed vinyl—were never distributed beyond Japan’s borders, making them rare treasures for the few who managed to discover them. “Nihon No Wave” presents a selection of these long-overlooked recordings, making them accessible to listeners beyond Japan for the first time.
This re-issue is limited to 500 copies and comes on a double vinyl set, accompanied by a bonus 7” featuring four additional tracks. It also includes printed inner sleeves and an insert with photos and credits, all housed in a deluxe silk-screened and sewn synthetic paper jacket.Fruit Express is here! This is their debut 12 EP and they are Roma and Madis. A mellow electronica producer meets multi-instrumentalist and old time guitar hero. The outcome? Funky shit with its roots in dub and what seems like some smoky country music. The title track is prominently catchy & poppy, while Harlan County Line crosses the border jamming away with a heavy spaghetty western feel. Samurai jam holds the mystique levels high, all spacey and mushy in its dub sauce.
The 12 is spotlessly sewn together by Tapes who throws the original No Secret into a 8-bit blender and out comes... well a sensational 8 bit version The Secret.
| 12inch | Sad Fun: SADFUN005 | upcoming |
