If it were me, I would be scrounging for old Hosono projects, Daisyworld
label stuffs and other assorted vintage J-pop (Denki, Sandii, etc), but if
you're not familiar, I wouldn't advise anyone to rush out and drop that
kind of $ blindly on anything (as you mention, it ain't cheap there!). You
might want to try looking at copies of things you know and love as Japanese
releases tend to have lots of exclusive tracks on them. Japan is VERY
protectionist about what is released over there, which is why tracklists on
CDs you'll find often have exclusive material. In order for something not
to be an import, it has to have a certain percentage of content NOT
released elsewhere. You might also find a lot of stuff as imports which is
hard to find outside of Japan as well.
While the 'net has made a lot more available to more places, there are
certainly piles of things on shelves over there which you're not going to
find on shelves over here - and when you can *sometimes* buy them from
Japan via the mails, you're going to pay a stiff price to have them
shipped. It is definitely worth some careful shopping. I still have things
I bought on a trip in 1996 which I've never seen elsewhere, 'net or not.
jeff
At 02:57 AM 1/9/2003, Scott Gregory wrote:
quoted 12 lines Hi list,
>Hi list,
>I am currently in Japan-- anybody know of any IDM (or
>other-- someone mentioned YMO before) that I should
>pick up while I am here? I am sure most things
>available here are available in the USA too, but maybe
>harder to find? Maybe some Japanese artists not signed
>internationally?
>Unfortunately, Japanese CDs are really expensive
>here-- close to the prices you see them for in the
>USA. Some titles are available in either the Japanese
>edition or a cheaper import!
>Thanks for any suggestions.