Alternative Canon | After Dinner – Paradise of Replica (1989)

by David Wilikofsky

In Alternative Canon, we take a closer look at an obscure or underappreciated album from the past that deserves more recognition. Some of these albums may be hard to find, but they’re always worth the effort to seek out.

Japan has one of the most interesting music scenes in the world, yet few recordings are readily available here in the US. That has been changing slowly in recent years (see, for example, the Harumi Hosono reissues and genre overviews from Light in the Attic, the PSF reissue campaign from Black Editions, and some crate digging from WRWTFWW) but these projects only begin to scratch the surface. For those willing to go spelunking on the interent, there’s a whole world of music to discover from Japanese artists.

After Dinner was a decade long musical project centered around vocalist Haco. They released two albums and gained some international attention during their tenure. Paradise of Replica is their second album. Sonically, the album is an amalgam of chamber music, prog rock, field recordings and traditional Japanese folk music. Tracks careen forward, constantly making surprising left turns. “I’ll Just Go Birdwatching”, for example, starts off with the sound of birds chirping, turns into an a cappella vocal exercise before slowly developing its lush orchestration. Opener “Paradise of Replica” crescendos wildly before transforming into a pulsing beat that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Steve Reich piece. Throughout, Haco’s vocals remain at the center of these compositions, tying everything together.

The album manages to sound both alien and familiar, the mark of any great avant-garde work of art. Haco went on to release multiple solo albums, but this is easily my favorite album from her. Unfortunately unavailable here in the US, you can check out the full album on Youtube; if you like it, head over to Haco’s Bandcamp page; you can pick up some live recordings from After Dinner there.