Tomo Akikawabaya
The Castle II
Mecanica Records
/
2024
2LP
22.99/29.99
MEC055
Edition of 500 copies, embossed gatefold sleeve, printed inners
Incl. VAT plus shipping / Orders from outside the EU are exempt from VAT
Tracklist
1Mars, Afterwords...
2Le Voleur
3Objet D'amour (Remixed Version)
4Untitled
5The Castle I
6Machine D'amour (Edit)
7The Steeple Of Lewdness
8The Sea
9The April (Prologue)
10The April
11Ray
12Boy A
13The Wine Of Heaven
14The Castle II

“The Castle II” is a collection of works composed and recorded by the Japanese artist Tomo Akikawabaya between 1986 and 1989. An album filled with obscure atmospheres, hypnotic rhythms, electronic melodies, experimental interludes and the unique and mesmerizing voice of Akikawabaya.

Since the release of the album “The Castle I” in 1984, Tomo Akikawabaya became disappointed with the music scene in Japan and thought that the only way to continue as a musician was to release his music abroad. After finish to record some new songs, he embarked on an adventurous trip to London in order to look for an opportunity for a new release. Unfortunately, after three months and despite meeting many artists and important people in the music industry, luck was not on Akikawabaya's side and with time running out he had to return to Japan without a concrete proposal. In the following years, although he continued to work with his long-time partner Takaaki Han-ya with a project called Beata Beatrix, he never published anything and later focused to other activities. It was until 2015 that the New York label Minimal Wave released “The Invitation of The Dead” compiling songs from “The Castle” (1984) and “Anju” (1985), both originally released on his own label Castle Records. Tomo Akikawabaya is currently working under the moniker of Th, together with his wife Rinko, on a project called The Future Eve. They released an album in 2019 with the collaboration of the legendary Robert Wyatt.