Words by Justin Turford

The brilliant reissue label WEWANTSOUNDS returns with a new series of artist album releases, this time featuring the five early 70s albums made by cult Japanese exploitation actress Meiko Kaji. There are many avenues to iconic status and Meiko’s was via the arthouse slasher movie mayhem of her film career. Starring in her first feature in 1965, she had already made fifty features before starring in 'Lady Snowblood', the film that heavily inspired Quentin Tarantino to develop his own ‘Kill Bill’ films. Already seen as a sex symbol in Japan, the studios saw there was more money to be made and pushed her to make some music as an adjunct to her film career. There was absolutely no reason to expect a good result out of such a business decision, her cold-eyed beauty and ability (on screen at least) to carry out blood-soaked revenge no harbinger of musical talent. She was, however, a natural and the five albums she made between 1972 and 1974 for the Teichiku label are ridiculously good!

Meiko Kaji Female Prisoner Convict (c) Toei Company

Time has been very kind to these recordings. Beautifully produced and arranged, the songs are mini operas combining touches of kayokyoku (Japanese Pop), traditional Enka Music, Acid Folk and funky psyche grooves, a Japanese counterpoint to the sonic cinematic gold coming from Ennio Morricone or the ‘French David Axelrod’ - Jean-Claude Vannier during the same period. There’s definitely a Gallic flavour to some of the tracks here (the influence of Vannier is palpable) - the drama of Meiko’s chanson réaliste-esque vocals swinging between the maudlin and the soaring. Her voice is neither perfect nor over-trained but she has an actor’s ability to tell a story, and the arrangements meet her superbly. Songs such as ‘Meikono Futebushi’ contain flourishes of both Vannier and Morricone, as Spaghetti Western style trumpets colour the psyche-guitar led groove, Meiko finding her inner Édith Piaf.

Quite often, the songs composed for her were directly linked to her film roles. ‘Hajiki Uta’ features two such songs from her films - 'Urami Bushi' (also featured in ‘Kill Bill’) from the film series ‘Female Prisoner Scorpion’ and the stirring romanticism of 'Onna No Jumon' from the film 'Female Prisoner Scorpion - Jailhouse 41'. Composed by Japanese soundtrack legend Shunsuke Kikuchi, Meiko was understandably apprehensive.

"I told Shunsuke Kikuchi that I couldn’t imagine myself singing the songs. He said I could ignore the melody that he wrote, and just sing it the way I wanted to. That really lifted the pressure off my shoulders, and I decided to sing the song as the character in the film. The director was also happy with that idea.”

The entire record is packed full of these filmic vignettes. Orchestral sweeps, clavinets and Rhodes pianos, fuzz guitars, that instant nostalgia that is magically created by the clarinet, arranged and scored around tightly recorded drums, and, of course, Meiko’s seductively melancholic voice. From the acid pastoralism of ‘Wara no Ue’ and the heartbreaking ‘Onna Somuki Uta’ to the wah wah guitar led funk of ‘Hitori Kaze’, this 1973 album is an absolute peach of atmosphere and musical theatre. Fifty years after its initial release 'Hajiki Uta' has a well-deserved (and superbly packaged) return to the spotlight. We can not wait for the rest of the series to appear! 10/10.

BUY HERE! https://wewantsounds.bandcamp.com/merch/meiko-kaji-hajiki-uta-deluxe-gatefold-lp-edition-with-2p-insert-and-obi-black-vinyl