RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #238
Japanese noise enthusiasts will already be familiar with Hijōkaidan (meaning emergency stairs), the seminal Kyoto group founded in 1979. Jojo Hiroshige and his partner Junko began experimenting with Toshiji Mikawa on ‘electronics’ and while other members came and went these three remained in the group the longest.
Here’s a short but great interview with Jojo from Arte (in French) – the king of noise long before Merzbow. There’s some footage from The Loft in Shinjuku, Tokyo 1982, after which they were blacklisted for five years. They were known to vomit and urinate on stage, so it’s no surprise everyone in the audience left before they finished playing. And they considered this a win because they hated the Tokyo crowd’s superiority.
During those years they made a name for themselves in the US and started their own label with money they got from selling collectors’ cards. Alchemy Records put out the album No Paris / No Harm in 1988 – one year before the highly influential Modern of 1989, which was only released as a cd with one 74-minute track. While that might have been their Daydream Nation and was reissued many times, the previous album is just as brilliant.
No Paris / No Harm was reissued on vinyl in 2023 by the Chicago label Fantastique Records who have actually only released Hijōkaidan reissues so far. The three tracks feature Junko (pictured above) prominently and as someone succinctly put it her vocals ‘do not mean as much as they simply are‘. Both Jojo and Junko are still active, with Junko releasing her first solo record in 2003.
You’ll be able to hear some more Hijōkaidan in the next episode of Diminishing Returns, on Noods Radio April 1.
