Isn’t it always those late night thoughts that can push you to do something meaningful during your daylight hours? I say this because lately I’ve been ruminating on something: if ever this blog runs this course, I’d hate myself if I never took the time to document in some way those that had some way inspired, shaped, or informed what I do. They might not be musicians per se but the role they play in our small sphere of influence merits our time. It’s with that thought in mind I reached out to Revelation Time‘s Eiji Taniguchi) to kick-off this thought experiment.
Most likely, my connection to Eiji comes as it would to most of you. It comes by way of Discogs. It goes by opening up a browser window, discovering a hidden gem of Japanese music on YouTube or through some other data-driven rabbit hole dive, then doing a search, only to find one seller, one “RevelationTime_Osaka“, with a copy of it.
With time you get to discover that the person behind this Discogs outpost, one Eiji Taniguchi, isn’t simply a collector hawking unreasonably-priced wares but the opposite: an actual record store owner that knows the value of what he sells. It’s behind his love of all sorts of music, styles, and that he is able to part with something, knowing full well those learned among you might understand the value of what they’re buying.
And as record selector, Eiji has used that homegrown knowledge and desire to explore all sorts of styles to help guide a few sterling collections of Japanese music. Together with fellow Osaka record store owner, Norio Sato from Rare Groove, Eiji helped helm the critically-acclaimed Heisei No Oto (Japanese Left-Field Pop From The CD Age, 1989-1996) compilation, giving us a necessary peek behind the impressive catalog of Japanese music released during that early CD era. It would be that release that would help seed what became Eiji’s exploration of the best of Dream Dolphin‘s wide-ranging discography on Gaia: Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996-2003).
In a perfect world we all would be within spitting distance of Eiji’s physical store in Osaka. It’s there where you can find Eiji doing what he enjoys best: playing music, finding answers to your questions and presenting his music the only way he knows how. So, in lieu of taking a flight to Itami Airport, I’d thought now would be a good time to go behind the music (counter) so to speak…
Eiji Taniguchi (Revelation Time Osaka) Interview
F/S: Eiji, can you share some background info about yourself? Has Osaka always been the place you call home?
Eiji: I was born in Hyogo, a prefecture next to Osaka. I moved to London in the early 90’s, when I was 18, and lived there for 5 years. That move was a big influence, musically. It was there I first went to a club and started DJing. I began collecting and selling vinyls privately, then I started my shop in Osaka around 2010.
F/S: What spurred you to move abroad? How did living abroad change your personal outlook (in music and/or self)?
Eiji: I dropped out of high school and had nothing to do. I was young and reckless. It was probably a way to be close to escaping, in a way.
Living in a cosmopolitan city like London was exciting. I think I started to see people without preconceptions of wherever they were from.
F/S: I’m always fascinated by how someone starts their journey somewhere. What kind of music do you remember growing up with? Was music always this important thing for you?
Eiji: As a teenager, probably my biggest influences were MTV and my elder brother. Back then, I started off by listening to all sorts of music, from hard rock to hip-hop. It was during this time when countless CD rental shops existed in Japan. They became this kind of library of music for me. I went there almost every week, visiting one after another.
F/S: What was your own connection to homegrown, Japanese-made music?
Eiji: I think I first connected to Japanese music when I lived in London in the 90’s. Except for pop music when i was a kid, I didn’t really care about Japanese music at all at that time but I found out records like Kimiko Kasai’s “Butterfly” were very popular and sought after amongst UK Jazz DJs. New Japanese music at that time, like Nobukazu Takemura, and Japanese hip-hop became very popular, as well. So, my friends would ask me to bring this kind of music back when I went back to Japan. Only then, after returning to Japan, I began digging Japanese music in earnest.
F/S: When did you turn from an avid music listener to record collector? Can you recollect when you realized that this was turning into something else?
Eiji: It was is when I was in my late 20’s, I quit my job and started to go to the US and Canada to buy records. During this time, I had more of a budget and I could spend more on records but back then it was simply because I wanted to listen to more music. So I guess, I never felt like a record collector. I still feel the same, I have more of a passion for musical knowledge.
F/S: Was there a tipping point that spurred you to come back home and take that passion for acquiring music knowledge into one where you’re the source of that music for others?
Eiji: I returned home because I was tired of living in a big city. Truthfully, it was hard to make a living. I think it was when I started selling records on the web, about 17 years ago, that I started introducing people to relatively-unknown music. There were not many record shops selling European left-field records back then.
F/S: Was there any person, site, store, or other muse guiding what you bought, listened to or checked out, back then? How did you develop your musical taste?
Eiji: The first, most influential person for me is Gilles Peterson.
I used to go to his party called “That’s How It Is” at Bar Rumba in London, every week. Gilles played not only jazz or Brazilian, but house, drum & bass, too. I was influenced by that whole eclectic UK DJ culture. Most of the DJs were very knowledgeable about various genres of music. I also read and studied Nick The Record’s mail order list a lot.
F/S: How did ‘Revelation Time’ come to be? I’d love to hear the story behind the store name, as well.
Eiji: I started an online shop first and I had to get a domain name. I was listening to Augustus Pablo “King David’s Melody” just then. So, it came from that album. I was thinking about the name without “records” but thought: maybe it was a bit too long.
F/S: Did you always have a physical store in mind in those early internet years?
Eiji: No, but I was a bit fed up with sitting in front of the computer all day. I wanted to do something different and opened my shop, although many record shops were closing and starting internet shops at the time.
F/S: How supportive was your family of this decision? Was there some reluctance on your part?
Eiji: Although I was selling records on the internet, my parents thought I was nearly unemployed…but they supported me starting my own shop and for that I remain very grateful…but, I guess, my parents were doubtful that I would succeed…
F/S: What’s it like to own a record store in what seems like a boom era for Japanese music of a certain vintage — City Pop, ambient, techno, etc.? I imagine this wasn’t always the case.
Eiji: I have always followed trends like Italo Cosmic Disco, Afro/Island Disco revival. However, the boom in Japanese music this time feels may be a little different. It may be a more “overground” phenomena, because at the same time, the record itself can also be popular worldwide. When I started the shop, I never dreamed that Asian customers would come to buy Tatsuro Yamashita records.
F/S: For those that haven’t visited your record store, what kind of store environment do you wish to provide them? Is it important for customers to feel comfortable coming to your store (for questions and/or suggestions)?
Eiji: At my store, there are two turntables, and you can listen to as many records as you like. I want customers to buy music that they really like.
There are also benches and free Wi-Fi so that friends who come with them won’t get bored.
I get asked a lot of questions and I love recommending music they are looking for. I am often asked for tips for clubs and restaurants, as well. I think I like to recommend just about anything.
F/S: I believe your store came to be at a time when Discogs started to come into its own. How do you think the existence of that larger, worldwide, online record marketplace changed the way you collect or sell records?
Eiji: People were criticizing Discogs for changing the market at the time, but I think I benefited greatly. When I started buying records, it could take years to find one.
I think it’s very useful for sharing knowledge and researching new music. I think it’s best when physical & online stores complement each other.
F/S: How do you decide what to keep or what to sell at Revelation Time? Are there certain records that are hard to separate yourself with?
Eiji: I always try to figure out which records to sell and when. It might be a bit like figuring out when to drink wine. I am less obsessed with things now than I used to be. Of course, there are some records I want to keep, but at some point I just part with them and feel happy they have a good owner.
F/S: A lot of people might not know this but through your work with labels like Music From Memory you’ve been instrumental in highlighting (and perhaps getting rights to) releases that never made the leap into the digital realm — I’m thinking of your help curating Heisei No Oto (Japanese Left-Field Pop From The CD Age, 1989-1996) and Dream Dolphin’s Gaia: Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996-2003). What kind of work does it take from you to get these projects over the line? I know licensing and researching the stories behind the music is no small labor.
Eiji: Making a compilation is really hard work, Heisei No Oto took more than two years to release.
The label initially offered me to make a compilation of ’80s material. However, I wanted to make something that nobody had done before. At the time I was more interested in CDs. So, I suggested making a compilation of the compact disc period.
There were a huge amount of releases from the CD period, and of course the research was hard work, but I think the most difficult and important part was selecting which songs to include and which not to include. You can’t add songs like you can with a Spotify playlist. Music From Memory helped me a lot with the final track selection.
F/S: I feel we’re of similar minds, at the moment. Is there anything you’re really into (or have been into) – perhaps music, musicians, or genres/styles – that maybe we, outside of Japan, might be missing by focusing so much on vinyl record releases? Myself, I feel like that early CD period has a lot of fascinating, sadly, out-of-print music that never made the jump to streaming music libraries.
Eiji: Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of 90’s Techno, IDM and now I’m into hip-hop again, especially 90’s Japanese hip-hop, in any format, on CD or vinyl. There are many discoveries from the “CD” period but many people instantly become uninterested if it’s in a compact disc. However, it’s okay, I understand that people are not interested in many things.
F/S: Let’s talk about something more recent. Can you share a little bit of how Dream Dolphin’s Gaia: Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996-2003) came to fruition?
Eiji: The project started just after Heisei No Oto was released. I selected one Dream Dolphin track for Heisei No Oto compilation and I wanted to share other of my Dream Dolphin favorites, on the more ambient, downtempo side of the things, with Jamie of MFM. I was sure he would like them too. Then, I tried to complete my collection of her releases.
I thought I already had most of her releases…but there were more releases than I thought. I finally collected 20 albums, 2 best-ofs (with unreleased tracks), 4 singles, 1 12-inch (vinyl-only release) and a few compilations. I was surprised to find exclusive tracks on such compilations. The hardest one to find was Earth Music Cafe. It’s very scarce, for some reason. I’m happy to include one track from this album. Again, with Dream Dolphin, the hardest part was to select tracks from many favorites.
F/S: Going back to your store. How did you navigate the very real problem of running a store during an era of Coronavirus restrictions? What kind of reception/help did you get from the Osaka community? Was this enough to get by in leaner times (if there were any) to survive?
Eiji: The Corona lockdown was certainly the most difficult time I have ever had. Of course, local customers came, but I had zero international customers. During this time, I would rather spend it listening and researching music.
Now that the Corona lockdown is over, I am very glad that we are busier and have more customers than ever before. The problem now is making time to concentrate on listening to music.
F/S: Where do you see yourself or your store going in the future?
Eiji: That is really a difficult question to answer. I wish I could continue business as usual, but I would like to see some change. Maybe that makes me not a good businessman. However, I think, I could be just as happy if I could find a way to make my work always feel fresh.
F/S: How do you feel now that Japan is open for tourism? Have you noticed a change in the air for Revelation Time recently (or yourself)?
Eiji: I am really happy to see overseas customers and friends again. It’s really interesting to see the changes in trends, in what people buy. Lovers rock, UK Street Soul, and Asian music is now selling well in my shop but also hard techno, like trance and even gabber are selling, too. Chatting with customers and DJs remains a big inspiration.
F/S: Not that I want to age you but is there any advice you’d give a younger version of yourself now?
Eiji: I have made so many mistakes in my life and I want to give me lots of advice but I know I will not listen…
Maybe, I will say this: just follow your heart and keep doing what you love.
F/S: Is there any important nugget of wisdom you’d like to impart anyone who’d like to start their own record store?
Eiji: This one is obvious, but what I’ve strongly realized again, after actually starting the store was that each person has different tastes. It is important to sell what you like, but it is also as important to keep a balance, and sell what sells.
I think running a record store is a great job where you can share good music. If you are wondering whether or not to start, I would suggest that you start, even if it is only a part-time job.
F/S: How do you feel about Japanese music finding a footing elsewhere — America, Europe, and worldwide? Through the work of yourself and other collectors, like Chee Chimizu, and Norio Sato, to name a precious few, “Western” audiences are finally getting a glimpse of a lot of great music we’ve missed.
Eiji: First of all, I would like to give huge respect to Japanese musicians. I believe that making a good compilation is my way of giving back to Japanese music. I would be more than happy if the music of the world inspires and influences each other, and if it brought people closer together.
F/S: And finally, can you tell me a little bit about why you selected the songs behind this mix? Is there any theme to it?
Eiji: This mix is a 90’s CD-era Japanese City Pop / R&B music, showing my respect to Fond/Sound, who’s been digging and introducing many to unknown Japanese music. I think this is the very pop side of what I like. I’ve
been listening to lots of serious stuff lately, so I wanted to make something very different.
(Editor’s note: Many thanks to Eiji for his time. For those interested: you can find him in real life at Revelation Time here or online.)
GUEST MIX BY Eiji Tanaguchi (Revelation Time (OSAKA))
Tracklist:
Kenjiro Sakiya (崎谷健次郎) – In My Rainy Garden
Kaoru Aizawa (相沢薫) – What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me
Clémentine (クレモンティーヌ) – Happy Hour 6 To 8 PM
Chara (チャラ) – Ano Tokei No Shita De
Cindy (シンディ山本) – Tell Me Why
IX・IX – Turn Up The Radio
Smart – Tsuki Dake Ga Shitteiru
Seiko Sato (佐藤聖子) – Yubae Wo Oinuite
Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一) – A Day In The Park
Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe (カルロス･トシキ & オメガトライブ) – Kimi Ni Aenai Getsuyoubi
Pas De Chat (パディシャ) – Waiting For Your Love
Makihiko Araki (荒木真樹彦) – Jealousy