Tsunawatari: Vinyl LP

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: WRWTFWW
Release Date: 21st April

Didn't know Hako's work until this week, now we're her biggest fans, 'Tsunawatari' is the second album from the Japanese 70s feminist pioneer, it's a little less stripped back folk and has a more soft rock sound, something a little balearic at the wandering guitar that is almost a bit Knopfler, which lends it a dream AOR gloss. Either way it's Hako's emotive and impassioned performances that make her work so arresting.

WRWTFWW Records is proud to present the first official worldwide reissue of the sophomore album from fabled Japanese folk singer-songwriter/actress/writer Hako Yamasaki, Tsunawatari. The limited edition 180g vinyl LP comes in a heavy sleeve with the original artwork, and the digipack CD has one bonus track. Tsunawatari is also available in digital formats.

Recorded right after her outstanding debut Tobimasu, Tsunawatari was released in 1976 on Elec Records, one of the first independent labels in Japan, and solidified Hako Yamasaki as one of the most gorgeous voices of the country and an exceptional musician and singer. A truly perfect follow-up, it immortalizes the bitter beauty of heartache with tearful performances and nostalgic empowerment. 

The beauty of melancholic songs reaches heartbreaking heights in Tsunawatari, a magnificent ode to the sorrow of lost love and the time that passes offered to the world with a very unique brand of folk music. The kind of folk that goes for the guts, folk that shamelessly flirts with tearful blues, contemplative soft pop and psychedelic nostalgia. Put the needle on "Help Me" - there’s simply no holding back.

Hako Yamasaki, a pioneer in both the creative boom and the rise of feminism of 1970s Japan, went on to release over thirty albums, building an impressive discography and a fascinating career filled with ups and downs. Her work, inimitable and timeless, deserves the utmost recognition and should be celebrated. Again and again and again.

Tsunawatari is released in conjunction with Hako Yamasaki’s classic debut album Tobimasu, also available on WRWTFWW Records.

Tracklist LP: 
A1. Mukai Kaze
A2. Shiroi Hana
A3. Himawari
A4. Tenjō
A5. Help Me
B1. Hitori Uta
B2. Harmonica Fuki No Otoko
B3. Tsunawatari
B4. Utaitaino
B5. Tanjō Iwai