Magical Power Mako

A truly iconic acid folk manifesto, interspersed with intense moments of pure psych rock. A sonic journey into imaginary lands
Super Record, the second of Magical Power Mako's 20-plus recordings, originally released in 1975, is considered by those that know to be his finest, combining as it does strong elements of Japanese folk music alongside innovative psychedelic sounds and broad musical vistas of extraordinary imagination. Mako was born in Shuzeni Izu in Japan in 1956, and he began his musical education at a young age, making his first public performance in 1973 at the age of 16 with his band Genge in the famous Shibuya Club. Based on these impressive public performances, the precocious Mako was invited to play with one of Japan's foremost contemporary composers, Toru Takemitsu, playing alongside the composer on three film scores, Inheritance For The Future, Petrified Forest and Himiko. The response to his performances was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, elevating Mako to almost god-like status in his native country.

Mako's music has often baffled pundits keen to place him in a particular musical slot. As one perplexed scribe opined "Mako's music possesses a certain strange kind of texture. It is certainly what they call rock, but contains elements we can't describe so succinctly. It clearly goes beyond the various genres of music and while full of them all, it sends forth a fierce glow." Another critic wrote: "Adding to the variety of folk music from India, Turkey and Russia, his mandolin or Taisho koto, and especially his marvellously-performed guitar, expresses fully the odor of the soil and mankind's universality."