diggin' Asian psych #1.

Psychedelic music is commonly divided into geographical areas. Following the discovery of rarities and major pieces, the different continents made it the collectors' shelves. From a Westerner's point of view, for obvious reasons, Western European and North American psychedelic music was the first (chronologically) priority.

Then, thanks to the efforts of various record labels, record lovers got easily introduced to music from Africa, Asia, South America, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Notice that beatmakers like Madlib, Oh No, Onra, the Side Men and many more followed (or sometimes initiated) those discoveries, contributing to the growing interest for these music sources.

Asian psychedelic music attracted me after I heard interesting music by Rahul Dev Burman, notably with "The Burning Train" soundtrack, which is a masterpiece and a nice introduction, even if it's not labeled as strictly "psych". But it definitely crossed genres. Afterwards, I searched the field and stumbled upon lots of awesome stuff. Here are a few you should definitely check out, if you haven't already.

Let's start with Japan. I suppose that Japanese youngsters got introduced to the psychedelic genre through the American soldiers stationed in Japan after the World War II and until very recently. Compared to musicians from other countries, Japanese psychedelic rockers didn't mix traditional local elements with rock music as much as their Asian counterparts. They have been largely influenced by US psych music and kinda sticked to the formula. But with a lot of crazyness and creativity. 

Among the stars of the genre, you can rely on Shinki Chen. Considered as the "Japanese Jimi Hendrix" (but still, you'll see that this nickname was given to the leader of the genre in each country), Shinki's destiny is truly rock'n'roll. He started playing guitar at a young age, acquired a strange look according to Japanese standards, tried drugs, lived like a bum and entered rock bands just for the fun of it. He left a first mark on wax with Food Brain (the record's price nowadays hit the rooftop). Early in his career, Shinki Chen chose to  use the English language to accompany his incredibleguitar game But, more than for his solo career or his temporary Food Brain membership, Shinki Chen gained fame as part of the revolutionary band Speed, Glue & Shinki, alongside Joey Smith and Masayoshi Kabe. There are two records of Speed, Glue & Shinki circulating : "Eve" and "Speed, Glue & Shinki".

Shadoks printed albums by Shinki Chen and Speed, Glue & Shinki, but they go for more than $400. The records also got the Phoenix Records treatment, and these issues are much more affordable.

There are great articles about Shinki on the web, and I can't outshine them, so go read Progressive Area (in French) and Japrock Sampler.

For more Japanese psych, check out Blues Creation, Far East Family Band... and head to this incredible blog that is Japanese Old Prog/Psych Rock (even if it seems to be abandoned now).

Now, Indonesia. You may not know but Indonesian rock is just off the hook. And it hasn't been a safe journey for the local musicians. Indeed, like many other countries, music has been treated like an enemy under a dictatorship. In that kind of circumstances, rockers can be seen as true heroes.

Benny Soebardja is the iconic psych leader in Indonesia. Recently, Strawberry Rain released three records by this man, including one in very small quantity (250 pieces, with 125 copies being reserved for the Indonesian market).

But Soebardja's career is not restricted to these three albums, as he created major bands.

For more Indonesia psych, the compulsory stop is Madrotter's blog, old and new version. Big names include Koes Plus, The Gembles, Panbers, Ariesta Birawa, AKA... Strawberry Rain (again) dropped a compilation album of AKA, called "Hard Beat" (announced as sold out, but it might be available at some retailers), which showcases the rawness of their style. Try buying original issues of AKA's albums if you have the dough, but be ready to cash out a lot, sometimes for damaged pieces...

Closer to the Japanese spirit (even though they historically don't stick together), as Korea hosted batallions of American soldiers following the Korean war, the Koreans created some creative rock, especially thanks to one man : Shin Jung Hyun. Considered the "Korean Jimi Hendrix", this man made Korean psych known across Asia first, then across the world. His skills go way beyond guitar playing, as he revealed himself as an excellent songwriter and producer. 

He launched the career of a then young girl called Kim Jung Mi (nicknamed the "Korean Françoise Hardy"... yeah, I know this name-dropping is quite a thing), crafting the album "Now", which is at the time one of my all time favorites. The original issue is an ultimate rarity, but fortunately Lion made a reissue available.

Other works of Shin Jung Hyun include participation to bands like Add 4, Superstar, etc., and countless solo works. His career covers a five decade-span.

Nowadays, Shin Jung Hyun's original albums and collaborations sell for crazy prices and are believed to have been massively purchased by... Japanese collectors, who caught on Korean psych album much earlier than the Koreans themselves. Who can't stop biting their fingers since then... Fortunately, Light In The Attic released a quality compilation album for us poor folks of the Western world, which even attracted the attention of the Guardian newspaper.

Egon, of Now-Again Records, wrote an article about Shin Jung Hyun for NPR. The man gave an interview to a French journalist in 2009.

San Ul Lim is another major name of the Korean psych scene. A trio of brothers with a classic formula guitar-bass-drums, they recorded a demo as college students, and acquired a cult status with it. They kept releasing albums after their demo got turned into a real album, and were critically acclaimed with their three first efforts. Afterwards, the brothers kinda lost their appeal but remained legends of Korean rock music. Originals of their albums are now pricey. But they're worth it. 

That's it for now, but this series is only starting.