Kyokutō ian shōka

Translating roughly to 'Far East Comfort Songs', this deeply bizarre and fascinating side project sees the avant-garde icon radically deconstructing traditional Japanese folk music and Enka. Jun Togawa applies her famously elastic, theatrical vocal stylings over jarring, futuristic drum machines and brightly discordant synthesizer arrangements. The album perfectly encapsulates the subversive, surrealistic genius that defined the Yen Records roster during the Japanese bubble era.