RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #133
Les Rallizes Dénudés, or 裸のラリーズ (Hadaka No Rarīzu) which their Japanese name was, were somehow the local equivalent to Velvet Underground. Certainly inspired by the total artwork that their US group’s gigs were, the group originally formed in Kyoto but moved to Tokyo at the end of the 1960s. They were led by Takashi Mizutani, who was every bit as enigmatic as a frontperson as Question Mark. Their music was much louder and psychedelic in the most avant-garde sense of the word.
The group, joined by various musicians remained active off and on all the way until 1996 and Mizutani sadly passed away in 2019. Following his death, the work on sharing their legacy with the world began. Their only official recordings date back to 1973 and the closing of the legendary OZ café and rock venue. After the event a double-LP with live recordings, including four from Les Rallizes Dénudés, was released on the one-off label OZ Records.
Since that 1973 release the tapes have lain forgotten for almost 50 years. But the LA label Temporal Drift have now mastered the unedited recordings and created the OZ Tapes double-album. The 8-track album came out in April and sold out quickly. Apart from featuring the full versions of the previously released songs, the record also includes 4 never before heard songs.
In September you’ll get another change, because the same label is reissuing the OZ Days Live record – this time as a 3CD package, expanded into 24 tracks (including every track from the OZ Tapes release). The other groups who appear on it are Masato Minami, Miyako Ochi and Acid Seven.
