Record Day 2021 Day 1

Record Day, previously happening only on November 3 for "Culture Day" (a public holiday), is being held on two separate days in 2021: November 3 and 27. Items can be ordered online without any delay.

Below is a list of records that Tokyo's Coolest Sound readers should not want to miss, but there's are also many re-issues (city pop and more) that can be found in the full list. Be sure to check the release date of each item. November 27 will also have a lot of releases not to be missed, including a Pizzicato Five 7" ("À Tokyo / Playboy, Playgirl") and brand new albums by Three Berry Icecream and nicely nice, an EP and soundtrack by Towa Tei, a new single of COUNTJOKE and lots more.

Original Love "Free Soul Original Love 90s ~ Special 7inch Box" (7"x8)
オリジナル・ラブ「Free Soul Original Love 90s ～ Special 7inch Box」

First released in 2016, this is a re-issue of a boxed set of eight 7"s of Original Love favorites. This year celebrates the 30th anniversary of Original Love.

1-A. The Rover
1-AA. seppun (Kiss) (Album Version)
2-A. Let's Go to the Dark Side of the Moon (Album Version)
2-AA. Sunshine Romance (Album Version)
3-A. Let's spend the night together
3-AA. Fiesta
4-A. As Time Goes By (Album Mix)
4-AA. DEEP FRENCH KISS
5-A. Venus
5-AA. GIANT LOVE
6-A. LET'S GO!
6-AA. Scandal
7-A. Friends
7-AA. Look At Me, Look At You
8-A. futatsu no te no yō ni
8-AA. itsuka miageta sora ni

Universal Music UPKY-9054/61
Out 11/3, ¥7400 (excl. tax)
Order: Amazon, HMV, Tower (Japan only), CDJapan

microstar "Swing In The Life" (7")
マイクロスター「日常のSwing」
(Japanese title: "nichijō no Swing")

7" release for the 25th anniversary of microstar! The A-side is a new acoustic swinging song, and the B-side is a self-cover of a song they wrote for Wakita Monari. A download code is included.

(Japanese titles in parentheses)
A. Swing In The Life (nichijō no Swing)
B. If I fall in love with you (koi o suru nara)

Vivid Sound/High Contrast HCR-9709
Out 11/3, ¥1500 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†, disques blue-very
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

nicely nice "Time Of The Departure" (7")

nicely nice is the solo project of microstar composer Satō Seiki. The A-side is an original, and the B-side is a cover of Testpattern. The jacket was illustrated by Eguchi Hisashi. A download code is included.

Check out this recent exclusive interview of The Courettes and Seiki Satō.

A. Time Of The Departure
B. Beach Girl

Vivid Sound/High Contrast HCR-9708
Out 11/3, ¥1500 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†, disques blue-very
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

Mayo Shōno "otona no onna ni naru hōhō" (7")
庄野真代「大人の女になる方法」
(Japanese title: "otona no onna ni naru hōhō")

7" cut of the opening track from city pop legend Mayo Shōno's 14th album "66" released earlier this year. The song was written by the two of microstar. The B-side is a ballad of which the music was written by Suzuki Yūdai.

(Japanese titles in parentheses)
A. Être une femme (microstar mix) (otona no onna ni naru hōhō)
B. Kleine Nächte Liebeslied (ai no uta)

Vivid Sound/High Contrast HCR-9710
Out 11/3, ¥1700 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

The Caraway "Another Christmas Will Come Around This Year" (7")

The Caraway, solo unit of Shimada Osamu (of Swinging Popsicle), releases a 4-song Christmas EP on 7". A cover of Johnny Dee's "Goodbye Flip-Flap Guitar" is included.

Ordering directly at the label's shop disques blue-very or Bandcamp will get you a promo postcard (while supplies last). The EP is available in digital form at Bandcamp too.

A1. Another Christmas Will Come Around This Year
A2. Silent Night (Snow Flake Ver.)
B1. Electric Girl (Funk-a-Latina Ver.)
B2. Goodbye Flip-Flap Guitar

blue-very label blvd-026
Out 11/3, ¥1600 (excl. tax)
Order: Bandcamp, disques blue-very, HMV, Tower (Japan only), Jet Set

Pencils "4gatsu no yuki feat. Shiho (Sucrette) / The Lodgers feat. Misato (Crispy Camera Club" (7")
ペンシルズ「四月の雪 feat.Shiho (Sucrette) /　The Lodgers feat.ミサト (Crispy Camera Club）

A new 7" of the duo Pencils, with an original song featuring Shiho (of Sucrette) and a cover of Style Council featuring Misato (of Crispy Camera Club). The jacket artwork is by Itō Yōichirō (Akakage). A download code is included.

A. 4gatsu no yuki feat. Shiho (Sucrette)
B. The Lodgers feat. Misato (Crispy Camera Club)

Unchantable Records UCT-039
Out 11/3, ¥1800 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

hitomitoi / Mizuno Mari "ai wa kokoro no shigoto desu / Aquamarine no mama de ite" (7")
一十三十一／ミズノマリ「愛は心の仕事です／アクアマリンのままでいて」

Two dancefloor-friendly songs from the 2017 cover album "manatsu no Innocence sakushika Urino Masao Hits Covers". The A-side is a cover of Ra Mu's "ai wa kokoro no shigoto desu" sung by hitomitoi, and the B-side is a cover of Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe's "Aquamarine no mama de ite" sung by Mizuno Mari (paris match). The jacket photo is from 1989, of actress Asano Atsuko who starred in a TV drama series of which the theme song was this B-side.

A. ai wa kokoro no shigoto desu / hitomitoi
B. Aquamarine no mama de ite / Mizuno Mari (paris match)

Tokuma Japan / HMV record shop TJKA-10029
Out 11/3, ¥1800 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

Kaede "Youth - Original Soundtrack" (12")

Vinyl edition of Kaede's recent album "Youth - Original Soundtrack", a concept album of an imaginary movie's soundtrack.

(Japanese titles in parentheses)
A1. Lumiere
A2. Chapter of Summer (natsu no jūjiro)
A3. Weather Report
A4. Malizia
A5. Eyes of the Spider (kaseki saishū)
B1. Fragments
B2. Olmo
B3. A Quiet Day in the Living Bombshell (ikiru bakudan)
B4. Room Number
B5. Youth

T-Palette Records TPRV-0057
Out 11/3, ¥3500 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, CDJapan, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

Slowly "Let The Music Take Your Mind" (2LP)

A 2-LP vinyl edition of the recent 2nd album of Slowly, "Let The Music Take Your Mind". An exclusive remix is included.

A1. Lost Weekend Dub (Introduction)
A2. The Right Way feat. Courtney John
A3. I Like It feat. Jasmine Kara
A4. Ain't Gonna Run No More feat. SA Martinez
B1. Not Over You feat. LUVRAW
B2. Tripping Out feat. Courtney John
B3. Willow Man feat. SA Martinez
B4. Let Some Love In feat. Jonny B. Lorenzo & Sareena Nicole
C2. Until The Break of Dawn
C1. My Everything feat. Courtney John
C3. Forever feat. LUVRAW
C4. Lost Weekend Dub
D1. Tripping Out feat. Courtney John (Soul Mix Long Version) (Previously Unreleased)
D2. I Like It feat. Jasmine Kara (Dub Version) (Bonus track)
D3. The Right Way feat. Courtney John (Al Breadwiner Dub Mix) (Bonus track)

Flower Records FLRL-014/5
Out 11/3, ¥4000 (excl. tax)
Order: HMV, Tower (Japan only), Jet Set

Yuta Bandoh "Towako's Diary - from 'Omame Towako to 3nin no moto otto" (12")
坂東祐大「Towako's Diary - from "大豆田とわ子と三人の元夫"」

Selection of songs from the soundtrack of popular the TV drama series. Maika Loubté sang one of the theme songs. Three previously unreleased songs are included.

A1. ♭Tuning Up
A2. #mameo jokyoku ~ "Omame Towako to 3nin no moto otto"
A3. Katarō no Waltz - Office hen
A4. Kagome no okiniiri
A5. suki na hito no hanashi
A6. Finale
B1. Ils parlent de moi - Promenade hen feat. Maika Loubté
B2. Morning (Variation Theme) feat. Gretchen Parlato
B3. Attachments feat. LEO Imai
B4. Ils parlent de moi - horoyoi hen feat. Maika Loubté
B5. Crescent Morning feat. Cwondo
B6. All The Same feat. Gretchen Parlato

Nippon Columbia COJO-9432
Out 11/3, ¥4000 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: CDJapan, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

Hatakeyama Miyuki "Diving into your mind" (7")
畠山美由紀「Diving into your mind」

Vinyl edition of the first solo album by Hatakeyama Miyuki (Port of Notes, Double Faces), first released in 2002. The music was made in collaboration with Suzuki Masato (Little Creatures). More albums by Little Creatures are also being released on November 3.

A1. Diving into your mind
A2. tōi hi, tōi basho
A3. Here
A4. kagayaku tsuki ga terasu yoru
A5. ame wa oboeteiru deshō
B1. Into the whisper
B2. aoi yūnagi
B3. nanimo mayowazu ni
B4. watashi o yonda koe
B5. Dream a little dream of me

Universal Music / HMV record shop PROT-7147
Out 11/3, ¥3800 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

Mariya Takeuchi "Plastic Love" (12")
竹内まりや「Plastic Love」

"Plastic Love" 12" single with new artwork. Two albums are also being re-issued.

A. PLASTIC LOVE (Extended Club Mix)
B. PLASTIC LOVE (Original Version)

Warner Music WPJL-10152
Out 11/3, ¥2100 (excl. 10% tax)
Order: Jet Set, CDJapan, Play-Asia, Amazon, HMV, Tower Records (Japan only) ^†
† Tower Records ships directly within Japan only. International orders are available via WorldShopping.

nicely nice "Time Of The Departure" teaser clip