The Tropics

Minami Masato’s 1971 debut “The Tropics” is a remarkable document of Japan’s early underground scene. A pioneering beatnik singer-songwriter, Minami travelled from Tokyo to Mexico, the USA and Europe before returning to Japan, where he became one of the country’s earliest hippie troubadours. The album features a rare and legendary appearance by Mizutani Takeshi of Les Rallizes Dénudés, who contributes searing electric guitar to the closing track — his only known recorded appearance outside the Rallizes’ own releases.

Originally issued by RCA Japan in 1971, this long-lost underground gem was reissued by Klimt Records in 2012. Raw, outsider, psychedelic and deeply demented Japanese folk-rock.