So-Do

𝙎𝙤-𝘿𝙤’𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 ’𝟴𝟯-’𝟴𝟱 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙙𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙙-𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘿𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙡’𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙅𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙝 𝙒𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙗𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

The story of So-Do is both familiar and completely unique. A classically trained multi-instrumentalist with a poet’s sensibility and a passion for folk music meets a worldly bar owner with a love for psychedelia, post-punk and dub in the small town neither could bring themselves to leave. Over two years, they play dozens of shows in independent live houses across Japan, cut and self-release three singles – two 7”s and a 12” – and leave behind just eight tracks, all of which are set to be reissued for the first time forty years on.

Both familiar and completely unique, So-Do extend Time Capsule’s genre-defining exposition of Japan’s reggae-inspired music of the ‘70s and ‘80s, as collected on the label’s two critically acclaimed Tokyo Riddim compilations, and London-based live outfit Tokyo Riddim Band.

Embracing the rip-it-up-and-start-again ethos of the early ‘80s, So-Do burned bright for a short time and then burned out. Their legacy is about to be reignited. Expect it to catch alight once more.