SoSaLa/SADATO/SADATO GROUP

A Resurrected Masterpiece of Japanese NO WAVE in NYC

“I have known Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi aka SoSaLa since 1985. Our vectors first intersected in Japan, and Japanese culture is an important factor in appreciating Sohrab’s musical aesthetic. His art came into focus during that exciting time in the 1980s when the genre classifications of marketing had not overtaken the music world. Sohrab’s music draws equally from the languages and cultures of free jazz, punk, and funk to form a potent mix outside of any simple branding. He carries that powerful tradition to this day in both his music and organizing work.” – Elliot Sharp, New York, 11/3/2024

Release date: December 16th, 2024

SoSaLa (whose artist name was Sadato at the time this album was recorded) has released his next retrospective recording, 1994 – Live at CBGB. This live album follows up on the previous album, 1993, this time looking back to 1994, a significant year in SoSaLa’s music career. The music was performed live at the legendary punk club CBGB in New York on January 8th, 1994, with SoSaLa’s Tokyo-based quartet, SADATO.

SADATO was a well-known band in the Japanese independent rock and noise music scene and one of the first and few with a DIY approach to music. Because of this, the song “Life Drunk” was dedicated to Gallon Drunk, and “35 Cent Puppy Sandwich” was devoted to FUGAZI and their DIY attitude. SADATO fearlessly pioneered New York City underground NO WAVE music to audiences in Tokyo. SADATO’s music was deep, noisy, and angry indie rock, with dada-inspired messages expressed in the lyrics. CBGB’s manager, Louise Parnassa Staley, loved their music so much that she invited them to perform twice the same week.

This retrospective album, recorded and mixed by famed producer and engineer Martin Bisi, is another must-have for fans of SoSaLa’s unique and accomplished music career.

The CD is a high-end 24-bit limited edition, with only 100 autographed copies.

Reviews

“Ever the trailblazer, SoSaLa – or Sadato, as he was known in those days – transformed ALEF from a music ensemble to the first real multi-media performance group in Japan. It used butoh and modern dancers, actors, a stripper, and a pantomime artist. In 1987, SoSaLa released ALEF’s only recording, Hajime, on his indie label Kampai Rec. In addition to the musical contributions by Ishida, Kato, and Gunn, SoSaLa played Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Synthesizer, Flute, and Vocals.” – Read more here: Single and LP Reviews: SADATO GROUP/ALEF – A Deeper Legacy – by Dawoud Kringle (DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY, 5/12/2025)

“Another nutty curio from the ’80s Japanese underground. Moments of suave delicacy slam face-first into punch-drunk idiocy in a manner the Japanese ought to just take a patent out on. Flutes flutter, plinky plonky guitars wiggle around pitter-patter percussion and zany japanese people do funny things to their voices with effects (which I suppose qualifies this as “zolo”), only to yield to slick jazz funk, then, disjointed synthesizer splats and blats, then dumbo hard rock with free jazz sax…Yup…it’s a good one!” – Posted by vdoandsound (MUTANT SOUNDS), May 22, 2007

“Progressive composer, performance artist Sadato, an Iranian raised in Europe who has lived here for over ten years, has also managed to finance an album of his group AIef. “Several record producers told me to make more commercial music, and they’d be
willing to talk. But I just can’t do it,” he admitted. With records in Tower and a few other record stores around Tokyo, Sadato is now on a self-promotion tour of the U.S. and Europe.” – TOKYO JOURNAL, December, 1988

“Hajime sounds much like an ALEF performance, full of provocative chords, riffs, and just plain weird noises accompanying lyric passages suggesting dream-like states, non-shared reality, and stop-action flashes of insight. Most elections have Japanese lyrics, including the haunting ‘Ningen,” the mysteriously dramatic ‘Bachan No Tea Time,’ and ‘Sarariman Shine,’ a portrait of fear and dread in the white-collar workforce.” – Bryan Harrell (Japan Times), June 7, 1988

T. Soejima ALEF LP review

During SoSaLa’s stay in Japan, only one critic and writer, Teruto Soejima, believed in him, appreciated his music, and wrote about him. He wrote a review of “HAJIME” in the journal ENSEMBLE in January of 1988. This review was featured translated into English here: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/free-jazz-in-japan-a… on pages 311 to 313. “I’m proud that ALEF was mentioned in that book, because at that time, foreign musicians residing in Japan were never acknowledged as part of the Japanese jazz scene.” (Sadato)

ALEF LP Reviews 3

ALEF LP reviews 2

ALEF LP reviews 1

ALEF Feature in Tokyo Journal

ALEF Feature in Japan Times

ALEF Concert review by FRIDAY or FLASH

SoSaLa/SADATO/SADATO GROUP

SoSaLa, SADATO, SADATO GROUP

Tag Archives: Japan

SoSaLa “1994-Live at CBGB”

A Resurrected Masterpiece of Japanese NO WAVE in NYC

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