ILLJA

Microcosmos (LP)

SPHC - 12 €

When Anton told me Illya was working on a full-length album, I basically assumed this was going to be my favorite record I'd ever release. We discussed how we loved the epic pacing and arrangements of Bet on the Possibility LP, how we adored the high emotions of Attitude LP, how the fury of Wind of Pain LP resonated with us. How we wanted to craft a record that could be timeless and fundamental to the human spirit. A record that we could be proud of.

And then Illya got to work.....and, I guess I waited. When I got the demo versions of the songs, I felt like it was too good to be true. I put them on my phone and never stopped listening to them. "Open the Window" has been my alarm clock song for years now. But when do we get the real thing?? More work, more wait. Then the CD version on Captured Records came out in Japan, but we already knew that we'd need a totally new art/layout and new mastering job for a vinyl version. More work. More wait.

When I received the final recordings, I know it sounds really stupid but I could feel myself falling in love with punk all over again. It was all I could talk about for days after. It was the impact from when I was 15 and heard Judgement for the first time. It was the emotion from when I was in college, returning from a long day at the ice cream shop, putting on Give Notice of Nightmare LP and the adrenaline surge hits as a physical euphoria. It was the feeling from when I saw Paintbox in Tokyo, or Death Side in NYC. I felt like, this is what it means, to me, to be punk.

For me, this is a really special record.
For you, I imagine this is another blazing example of 'traditional Japanese hardcore style', to be filed next to your Lip Cream and Paintbox records. All the big sweeping guitar solos, big heartfelt gang choruses, nonstop high-charge drums, memorable and crafted riffs, etc etc, everything you've come to know and love about this style of punk music.

Because this is a special record for me, I tried to treat it as such:
lacquers cut by John Golden
housed in a heavy-duty Stoughton tip-on jacket, with a big glossy fold-out insert
limited hand-crafted color copies via Wax Mage available for direct mailorder

released in 2020