Prog is big in Japan. Really big. It’s crazy. The prog section at any used record store here is always massive, and it’s always filled with insanely rare and expensive records that sell like hotcakes. I’ve seen prog albums by acts I’ve never heard of fetch over $1,000. I think that prog is big here because there’s a devoted subset of Japanese music fans who really care about technical ability. And the kind of person whose really into technical skill and musicianship (let’s say, over songwriting and personality) is often going to be the kind of person who’s into prog.

That means that in addition to insanely rare and expensive prog albums for sale, you often seen bargain bin sales of obscure prog you’d never find otherwise. Those bins have been my hunting grounds as of late. I really enjoy digging through those crates to see what turns up. But prog is a pretty diverse genre. You got jazz-influenced prog, funky organ-based prog, space prog, whatever the fuck Styx is, and so on.

It can be a little overwhelming at first, so many albums from so many bands, it’s hard to even know where to begin. I’ve got a system that works for me though; I usually check the back of the record or the liner notes until I find the credits. If they went through the trouble to list by name the different keyboards, synthesizers and other electronic components used on the album, then that tells me that the record has a heavy keyboard and/or electronic bent, and that’s really what I’m into the most at the moment. My flirtation with jazz-rock is done, I got burned too many times. Give me all the sequencers all the time.

Lutz Rahn
Galaxy Taxi
September
Jubel-Trubel
Yes. The cover of this album is equal parts horrible and terrifying. Don’t let that turn you off.

Lutz Rahn (and can we just acknowledge for a second that incredible name) is a German keyboardist. He’s a member of the prog group Novalis, and is in fact just one of two people who have performed on every single album by the group. That’s quite a feat as Novalis put out a shitload of records, 15 in total between 1973 and 1985!

I am entirely unfamiliar with Novalis, but this album really makes me want to dive in to their back catalog. This is an damn amazing record. It’s one of the best purely instrumental electronic albums of the era that I’ve ever bought. Keyboardist solo albums can really be a crapshoot. I like me some Rick Wakeman, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not exactly strong when it comes to hooks or memorable melodies. Of course, if you want rock operas on ice, he’s your man.

Lutz Rahn, on the other hand, is crafting sleek songs with strong hooks. These tracks stick with you. It’s like someone took 80s Tangerine Dream (think Le Parc) with 70s analog production. Stunning stuff through and through. If you’ve always wanted to get into acts like Tangerine Dream, Tim Blake or Jean-Michel Jarre but you found their discographies rather daunting or their stuff too droning or drawn-out, this might be the record for you.

Strangely, there seem to be two versions of this record out there. When I look up the songs on YouTube I find very different versions than the ones on my copy. I have a first pressing (Japanese) LP. Anyone out there have a different version and care to compare? I want to know if YouTube rips are taken from the relatively recent CD re-release. The ones I found on YouTube have way more drums. It’s really jarring, and I prefer the versions on my copy. They’re minimal in way that I find really soothing. Especially “Galaxy Taxi,” this shit is my late-night, walk through the backstreets of Tokyo jam.

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