Izumi Kobayashi - Coconuts High

I have returned from two weeks in Japan. It was my first time visiting and a life long goal since I was a kid. It felt very surreal. I loved it. Over the next few weeks I’ll post my vinyl haul and trip tales here.

Having heard many podcasts and friends describe digging in Japan, I didn’t appreciate just how vast the stores and collections would be. Nor how many stairs I would have to climb hoping the thrill of the dig would be worth it after 5 flights of narrow stairs, trying not to kill myself on the way back down. It was exciting but admittedly overwhelming at points. We could have easily blown the whole holiday budget on records alone and shipped things back (a frequent discussion had on most train rides each night after lamenting on what we left behind).

My game strategy: an empty suitcase with another suitcase packed inside, empty mailers to protect, a narrowed down list of specific Japanese albums and a few extra on the side that were harder to get where we live, originals or close to it, and to try not buy things I could get online if I wanted without too much shipping unless I had room in my case and left over money towards the end of the trip. I think this really helped to stay focussed. Overall I managed to cross off 2/3 off my list without blowing the whole budget. So much restraint! I may not have bought the rarest or most exciting. But that’s not what records are to me. I bought what I enjoy and what’s meaningful to me.

Coconuts High was my first purchase on the trip and one I have been wanting for some time. “Mimi” Izumi Kobayashi is a power house keyboardist, producer, and later on moved to the UK to become executive for Cisco Records. I’d say she’s like a Japanese Patrice Rushen – talented and under appreciated. She’s one of my favourite Japanese artists. I first heard her more electronic track Coffee Rumba on compilations and initially thought she was an electronic artist until I spent some time going through her back catalogue. Prior to her solo carer, she played in funk / fusion bands with latin infused grooves including the Flying Mimi Band and notably as the keyboardist with Masayoshi Takanaka. At 23 she released this album in 1981 with her pearled hair shag cut on the cover. In eight tracks this album packs everything into it –funk, boogie, electro, reggae but without sounding disjointed or too over the top. Helped by a stacked line up of musicians including Mr Takanaka himself, the soul funk group Tower of Power and drummer and percussionist from Weather Report just to name a few. Upon further reading – the track Lazy Love was recorded by Brazilian reggae band Babylonian Warriors but not credited. Boo. It's the kind of record that I would have bought more copies of and given to friends if my luggage allowed.

This is this original 1981 pressing. I found it in Vox Music Umeda in Osaka – in a department store next to Tower Records. Prior to the trip I thought I would prioritise little independent record stores over big chains or ones in department stores thinking the latter would be raided, mark up the price and I was wanting to support local independent shops. But I soon discovered, there were lots of record stores and disc unions in department stores with incredible selections. Some of the smaller ones felt raided or had their own issues - but more on that later.

#nowplaying #nowspinning #vinyl #records #jazzfusion #funk #IzumiKobayashi #japan #osaka