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CD Review: SoSaLa “1987 – Hajime” – Another Innovative and Iconoclastic Retrospective Album

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By Dawoud Kringle

Artist: SoSaLa
Titel: 1987 – Hajime
Format: CD and digital
Label: DooBeeDoo Records
Genre: NU NO WAVE, experimental, avant-garde, jazz, world

Stream here: https://soundcloud.com/sohrab-saadat-ladjevardi/sets/1987-hajime 

Buy here: https://doobeedoobizllc.thrivecart.com/sosala-1987-hajime/ 

Hajime is a Japanese word meaning “beginning” or “start.” It is commonly used as a command in martial arts to begin a match, and as a masculine given name symbolising a new chapter or the start of a month or period.

In 1987, SoSaLa released the LP ALEF “Hajime!” under his old artist name Sadato on his independent label, Kampai Records. “Alef” is the first letter of the Iranian and Arabic alphabets, symbolizing the beginning of SoSaLa’s musical career.

This retrospective album is another fascinating artifact for those interested in SoSaLa’s accomplished and innovative career. ALEF was a short-lived but pioneering multimedia performance group active in the mid-1980s, one that defined and transcended the Japanese free jazz-punk-noise scene of the era. SoSaLa’s recent re-releasing of his 1980s albums is akin to a public service as much as an artistic statement. This innovative and iconoclastic work should not be lost.

In addition to SoSaLa/Sadato (tenor and soprano saxophone, vocals, flute), the album features Tatsuya Ishida (drums & percussion), Hideki Kato (bass), and Dennis Gunn (guitar). Makeup artist Romi contributes a spoken-word performance in the Kyoto dialect on “Bachan No Tea Party,” with Toshiko on synthesizer.

Read more here: https://doobeedoobeedoo.info/cd-review-sosala-1987-hajime-another-innovative-and-iconoclastic-retrospective-album/

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Reviews

News, Press – CD & Concert Reviews/Quotes, SoSaLa, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I found this disc to be rather disturbing, noisy, brutal, intense, and even scary at times. Better than some of the No Wave live sets that I caught in the late 1970s. SoSaLa recently played at the Cutting Room in NYC, more than 40 years after these sessions were recorded. He is still at it and still doing his own musical activism for just causes. He is still true to his original vision of poking fun at the powers that hold us down. He remains a brave soul.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter (DMG Newsletter), 11/7/2025

Read the review here: https://downtownmusicgallery.com/search.php?id=2025_11_06_09_13_47pm

“This album of free jazz/ noise/ NO WAVE rock has a heavy, punky sound that seems to express the energy and anger of especially the young in 1983 and is still felt today. One wonders if such music will ever stop feeling relevant.” Fiona McTaggart (Scottish Jazz Space), 10/23/2025

Read the review here: https://www.scottishjazzspace.co.uk/album-review-sosala-1983-live-at-the-montreux-jazz-festival-and-rathausplatz-bern/

“In addition to the superb music it contains, 1983 – Live at Montreux Jazz Festival and Rathausplatz Bern is an intriguing historical document. It highlights the extemporized experimentations in which artists like the SADATO GROUP were engaged. Hopefully, more will be available from SoSaLa’s “vault” for modern listeners to enjoy.” – By Hrayr Attarian (FREE JAZZ COLLECTIVE, October 14th, 2025).

Read the review here: https://www.freejazzblog.org/2025/10/sosala-1983-live-at-montreux-jazz.html

“Those of you who follow SoSaLa‘s musical career will know that in recent years, he has released, or re-released, retrospective recordings. These were from the 80s and 90s. These were particularly productive years for SoSaLa, who went by the name Sadato.
This collection was recorded live on two dates: July 18, 1983, at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and July 14, 1983, at the Rathausplatz in Bern, during the band’s tour of Switzerland. Claude Nobs, the founder and music director of the Montreaux Jazz Festival, personally invited SADATO GROUP to perform.

On these dates, SADATO GROUP featured Sadato on saxophone, Rhodes, and harmonica, Mutsuhiko Izumi on electric guitar and electric bass, and drummer-pianist Hitoshi Usami; the group he’d formed two years earlier in Osaka.” – Dawoud Kringle (DBDBD NY, July 23, 2025).

Read the review here: https://doobeedoobeedoo.info/cd-review-sosala-1983-live-at-the-montreux-jazz-festival-and-the-rathausplatz-bern/