Niningashi - Heavy Way LP (Black Vinyl)
This is Preorder. The estimated ship date is March, 2026.
Limited to 2 copies per person
- LP pressed on black vinyl
- A long-lost Japanese acid folk gem
- Niningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way
Way glows with singular imagination, assured songwriting, and a hazy, dreamlike groove.
Though he was studying to become a pharmacist, Kazuhisa Okubo found himself far more compelled to dispense sonic remedies than medicine. Heavy Way captures a formative moment in his life — and in Japan’s wider cultural shift — where a longing for pastoral simplicity collided with the neon pull of coffee, cigarettes, and late-night city romance.
Spellbound by Tokyo’s energy and immersed in a burgeoning acid folk scene, the young musician distilled his experiences into a heady blend of Japanese sensibility and American soul and psychedelia. Niningashi was his first group, and Heavy Way would be its only statement — a raw, heartfelt, and quietly funky document that moves to its own off-kilter rhythm.
Across nine tracks, Okubo and his six-piece band reinterpret Japan’s emerging folk sound with sharp lyrical observations, shimmering electric guitar lines, and subtle, steady grooves. The opening piece “Ameagari” feels like a gentle meeting point between Harvest-era Neil Young and Haruomi Hosono’s work with Happy End. Elsewhere, “Semai Boku No Heyade” drifts with playful, washboard country charm; “Restaurant” unfolds in dusky, after-hours tones; and “Hitoribotchi” offers a tender, rain-soaked reflection on childhood that will resonate with listeners of Woo and Mac DeMarco.
Okubo would later find wider recognition with the psychedelic folk outfits Neko and Kaze — the latter scoring multiple chart-topping releases — but his elusive debut with Niningashi remains shrouded in mystery. Originally self-released in 1974 and adorned with artwork by his brother, Heavy Way has quietly grown into a cult favorite, its scarce surviving copies fetching high prices among collectors.
Record Label:
TIME CAPSULE TIME019
Barcode: 748322322102
Tracklist
A1 Take Me 4:49
A2 Asayake 4:58
A3 Midnight Rendezvous 4:57
A4 Time Limit 2:37
B1 Domino Line 7:20
B2 Tears Of The Star 4:28
B3 Swear