C. Memi - Heavenly Peace

C. Memi - Heavenly Peace

 C. Memi - Heavenly Peace 12" (BLR-002)

Heavenly Peace is the lone solo release of C. Memi, previously the leader of Osaka new wavers Neo Matisse, who was described in the Hijokaidan Story by Toshiji Mikawa as the band "who gave us that famous 'No Chocolate' single,” which was released in 1980 and was a frenetic, punky new wave classic. After Neo Matisse disbanded on amicable terms in 1981, drummer Jun Iwasaki compelled Memi to record a solo album for his fledgling label, Fairy Records. Jun lent Memi his 8-track recorder and she set to work on what would become the only release for both Memi and Fairy.

This resulting 1983 private press 7" EP is a more stated affair than "No Chocolate," with Memi (playing every instrument) tackling a more minimal synth sound over a fairly disparate palette of songs ranging from droning, abstract post-punk pieces to (typical of this era in Japanese pop music) '80s emulation of '60s French Chanson pop. Most impressive of all, however, is the ethereal title track "Heavenly Peace (Unga No Suimon Akete)," a song so beautiful, its swathes of cleansing, oceanic synths and its luminous, firework-like synth pop perfection stands as one of our favorite songs of its kind from all of Japan.

In Japanese society, it has become tradition for women to give presents and chocolate to men on Valentine's Day. Just years before, Memi boldly declared "No chocolate!," but with Heavenly Peace, originally released on Valentine's Day in 1983, Memi is captured on the cover by photographer Kiyotoshi Takashima (with the cover art laid out by artist Yasuhito Nagahara) bearing a most thoughtful gift for you, the listener: this masterful record. The canal gates open once more and, on the 35th anniversary of the original release of Heavenly Peace, we lovingly welcome you to the enchantingly sentimental world of C. Memi.

The original release of Heavenly Peace stuffed eighteen minutes of music onto a 33rpm 7", so we have decided it would be prudent to reissue these majestic recordings as a 45rpm 12" for optimal sound quality to breathe new life into the recordings. Please enjoy as we have.
released February 14, 2018

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C. Memi + Neo Matisse - No Chocolate b​/​w Dream's Dream

C. Memi + Neo Matisse - No Chocolate b​/​w Dream's Dream

C. Memi + Neo Matisse - No Chocolate b/w Dream's Dream 7" (BLR-003)

Before Heavenly Peace, there was...Neo Matisse. While completely unknown in the West, C. Memi + Neo Matisse was well-regarded within the original Kansai punk scene. At its infancy, this scene boasted a wide variety of bands, ranging from The Stalin to noise pioneers Hijokaidan, both of which Chopsuei Memi and her band played with at the historic Answer '81 Part Two event at Kyoto University in April 1981. Neo Matisse even counted the likes of Michiro Endo of the Stalin and Yuzuru Agi of Rock Magazine amongst their fans, the latter of which had asked the band to release a record on his legendary Vanity Records. The band would ultimately reject Yuzuru's offer in favor of self-releasing their now-classic No Chocolate b/w Dream's Dream 7" in a small run of just 500 hand-numbered copies, all of which sold out rather quickly.

"No Chocolate" boasts the band's most definitive punk moment. Recorded live at a long-forgotten gig, this raucous declaration of anti-consumerism could be said to be the band’s most crazed Talking Heads impersonation. Memi alternates between bloodcurdling ululations and deadpan, disaffected talk-singing backed with stabbing pianos, NYC art rock guitar worship, Hidekazu Ishii's robotic bass lines, and Jun Iwasaki's tantrumming drums. Just as captivating is the flip side, the home-recorded "Dream's Dream," a beautiful song featuring Memi's hypnotic vocals dancing with Tohru Saitoh's oscillating, flanking synths.

This punk/new wave cult classic has continued to grow in stature with each passing year, both as a staple of the 1980s Japanese Underground and as a highly collectable record. We here at Bitter Lake Recordings are honored to present to you this crucial reissue of yet another piece of the C. Memi Story.

https://bitterlakerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/no-chocolate-b-w-dreams-dream

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C. Memi + Neo Matisse - Live At Taku Taku 1980/81 CS

C. Memi + Neo Matisse - Live At Taku Taku 1980 CS


C. Memi + Neo Matisse - Live At Taku Taku 1980 CS (BLR-009)

During their brief tenure as a band from 1980-1981, Osaka new wavers C. Memi + Neo Matisse released only one 7” single, No Chocolate b/w Dream’s Dream, which has cemented the band’s legacy within the 1980s Japanese Underground.
In mid-1980, Memi and the original Neo Matisse lineup of Tohru Saitoh, Jun Iwasaki, and Hidekazu Ishii were invited to perform a showcase set at Kyoto’s legendary Live House Taku Taku. As they were the only band playing and were expected to play over an hour, the band’s set was comprised of the songs from their single, a dozen, unrecorded originals, and charming covers of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love” and the musical standard “I Could Have Danced All Night”.

With the vast array of exclusive material, this live show reveals a far more comprehensive look at what C. Memi + Neo Matisse were like as a band, highlighting the band’s connections to local art and poetry circles; “A Mid-February Sky Dance” is musical adaptation of the poem of the same name by ex-pat writer Richard Brautigan and many of the songs' lyrics were co-written by Memi’s poet husband, Yasuhito Nagahara.

Ultimately, only a few of these songs were recorded posthumously in the studio in 1982, a year after the band had broken up, amicably. This particular live set is the lone document to capture the full essence of the original lineup of C. Memi + Neo Matisse. The band would return to Taku Taku with new bassist Yasuo Ueda less than a year later to perform at Answer ‘81 with The Stalin, Hijokaidan, and more, which has also been documented and will be released by Bitter Lake Recordings as BLR-010. This cassette is limited to 100 copies.
released July 12, 2019

C. Memi + Neo Matisse - Live At Taku Taku 1981 CS

C. Memi + Neo Matisse - Live At Taku Taku 1981 CS (BLR-010)

During their brief tenure as a band from 1980-1981, Osaka new wavers C. Memi + Neo Matisse released only one 7” single, No Chocolate b/w Dream’s Dream, which has cemented the band’s legacy within the 1980s Japanese Underground.

Released as a companion piece to BLR-009, the Live At Taku Taku 1980 CS, we see C. Memi + Neo Matisse return to the staple Kyoto venue on April 19, 1981, this time being invited to take part in the now-legendary Answer ‘81 Easter Gig with some of the most infamous names in the Japanese Underground: (pre-Trash) The Stalin, Hijokaidan, Auschwitz, and Hovlakin.

While the C. Memi + Neo Matisse set at this show lacks some of the hysterics of some of the others sets, which include but are not limited to public urination, nudity, and, well, the actual music of Hovlakin, their performance was one of their best. Yasuo Ueda had become bassist in Neo Matisse and the band was as tight as ever.

A much more concise set than their 1980, the Live At Taku Taku 1981 CS captures the band at its peak power, seamlessly burning through each song with no breaks or stops. While the lives of each member would take them in different directions and the band would dissolve later that year, it is this same lineup of close friends that would come together in 1982 to record an unreleased LP that is perhaps their crowning achievement. This cassette is limited to 100 copies.

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