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/