[engl] A more of world music, a more of ethno and definitely a more of progressive fusion rock approach is what marks „Masterless Samurai“, the second album by Japanese prog warrior Osamu Kitajima. He takes his vision of his country's traditional music being merged with the progressive rock and jazz music of the west even one step further, than he did with his previous albums. Excessive flute lines of Eastern origin, funky intricate grooves and fiery synthesizer eruptions are the basic ingredients for most of these impressive instrumental downhill. The fusion share in this sound is strong and still all the exotic elements from Japanese classic music pull each song far out of the mass of similar acts emerging in the late 70s. Now we leave behind the PINK FLOYD comparison and go for the Canterbury jazzrock scene with CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE as leading figures and Osamu Kitajima definitely fit in between these giants due to his creativity and manifesting vision of a progressive world rock music. Don't take the rock element as utterly physical heaviness. The album rocks but in a more delicate way. The sparkling lines of the electric piano can tell where this record goes. And even a rather gentle tune like the instrumental ballad „Floating garden“ shows a wicked and progressive edge with expressive sax runs, cool twists and turns despite the all in all relaxed atmosphere.

[engl] This is the third album by Osamu Kitajima, one of Japan's most prolific artists from the ethno rock, world music and progressive department. You can certainly not divide all the mentioned stylistic aspects from each other for they were all incorporated in a homogenious sound and complex arrangements. It is the same with his other albums like „Benzaiten“ and or his fourth „Masterless Samurai“; traditional Japanese music meets Western jazzrock and progressive sounds to form a new style unheard by most people in Western countries at the time. Osamu Kitajima easily plays with elements of reggae and funk, fusion jazz and colorful pop while staying true to his Japanese roots with bits and pieces of traditional melodies and the use of old Asiatic instruments. The Japanese influence makes this music uniqe and still it gets as close to Western rock and pop sounds as it could. An adventurous journey through the world from East Asia to West Africa and to the steaming metropolises of the UK and USA is your reward when you put this perfectly produced album onto your turntable. The former PINK FLOYD comparison coming with „Benzaiten“ is not totally out of place with this selftitled 1977 album here but there is much more latitude in the allover style. Osamu Kitajima gathers a few well talented musicians around him on this record despite playing and arranging most of the instrumental passages himself. He, the multi instrumentalist who discovered progressive rock music in the early 70s during a stay in London where he released a first album under the monicker „Justin Heathcliff“ before moving to California around the mid 70s. And this group of musicians creates something special that sticks out of the mass of similar art pop and fusion bands in the late 70s. Osamu Kitajima is something like the Japanese answer to Mike Oldfield, and others equal in vision and output!

[engl] These special editions are only available in presale - Only the preordered copies will be manufactured! Presale starts NOW and ENDS on 31st MAY 2019 – Release date end of June – order now. In late June 2019 Everland Music will release a mindblowing, strictly limited and hand numbered boxset with Osamu Kitajima's first 5 highly acclaimed and superrare albums. All 5 albums are taken from the ORIGINAL MASTERS, provided by Mr. Kitajima himself. All LPs come in embossed, coated and hotfoil printed superheavy 1200g/m2 carton covers. The 5 LPs will be housed in a beautiful box with magnetic lock, the box will also contain all inserts of the original LPs. About OSAMU KITAJIMA and his first 5 albums: Osamu Kitajima was born in Chigasaki, Japan on February 3rd 1949 and studied classical guitar and piano already in his childhood days. Later on in the 1960s, when Beat and Rock music became the hot stuff in the popular music circuit, he joined his cousin's band "The Launchers" with his brother, before graduating from university. Osamu's cousin, Y?z? Kayama, is a famous Japanese film actor and musician. In 1971, when Osamu was already a successful composer of TV advertising jingles, he moved to England for a year and developed an obsession for British Rock music, especially in the Psychedelic field. The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple and The Zombies became his major influences and inspired him to start a solo career under the name „Justin Heathcliff“, which he adopted for it’s typical English sound. His 1971 eponymous album was a typical Pop Psyche effort for it’s time, but not long after he returned home to Japan, Osamu abandoned the English sounding name and further on merged Western Progressive and Electronic music with Japanese Folk sounds. Shinchugoku (1972) - This is a beautiful early 1970s Psychedelic Folk Rock effort, on which Osamu Kitajima cooperated with Fumio Miyashita (aka FAR OUT) and members oft he very popular FAR EAST FAMILY BAND, to create a bunch of mind altering colorful tunes with a mellow, yet intense approach. Benzaiten (1976) - This album is called his masterpiece by many aficionadoes of 1970s Progressive Rock, with it’s mixture of haunting Japanese Folk elements and skillfully played spacey Rock music that takes you on a spiritual journey to the center of your mind. Osamu (1977) - His third album marks another change in direction. Still Japanese elements and some haunting melodic Space Rock elements flow gently into another, but by incorporating Jazz, Funk and even Reggae, Osamu broadens the whole musical colour palette by far. Masterless Samurai (1980) - Osamu completely abandons the Space Rock aspects here and takes a turn into Jazzrock with a Progressive edge, that he still combines with these totally exotical sounding Japanese Folk elements. Dragon King (1981) - The step from Masterless Samurai to Dragon King has not been such a big one as it has been with the albums before. We experience a softer version of Osamus Jazzrock / Japanese Folk Fusion, that often even shows Soul Pop aspects, typical for it’s time.