Heisei No Oto (Japanese Left-Field Pop From The CD Age, 1989–1996)

A crystalline time capsule of Japan’s most overlooked musical era—Heisei No Oto is a deep dive into the CD-only years where ambient pop, jazzy electronics, and synth-splashed soul thrived just below the surface.

Compiled by Eiji Taniguchi (Revelation Time) and Norio Sato (Rare Groove), this 2LP collection for Music From Memory zooms in on a moment of rapid transformation: the dawn of the Heisei era, when Japan’s shift to CD formats unlocked a new kind of experimental freedom. Think synthesizer-heavy dream pop, lo-fi new age, moody lovers rock, outsider house, and mystic slow jams with just enough polish to glide, but enough weirdness to wobble.

These aren’t your algorithm-approved city pop anthems. Instead, you get lush B-side gems and private press oddities from legends like Haruomi Hosono and Yasuaki Shimizu, alongside emerging artists who melted ambient textures, jazz phrasing, traditional instrumentation, and pop structures into something beautifully in-between. Every track here exists in its own little world—refined by the CD era’s production tools, but driven by analog curiosity and a quietly radical spirit.

Includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and full-sleeve artwork by Hagihara Takuya. For fans of Hosono, Toshifumi Hinata, early Yellow Magic Orchestra solo material, and anyone still chasing the ghosts of YouTube’s golden age of Japanese deep cuts.

Note: All orders ship from France. VAT not charged (TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI). Worldwide shipping available. Images shown are mock-ups — actual vinyl may differ slightly.