Home / Music / Half Japanese built their catalog on self-released cassettesMusic linernotes album music half-japaneseHalf Japanese built their catalog on self-released cassettesIn the early 80s they released music through self-produced cassettes and tiny independent labels. DIY before DIY had a name. Search Amazon As an Amazon Associate, Work Notes may earn.Related NotesNirvana handpicked Half Japanese to open for them on the In Utero tourHalf Japanese's debut was a 50-song triple albumHalf Japanese plays lo-fi noise rock on one chordHalf Japanese helped inspire Guided by Voices and PavementHalf Japanese deliberately avoided learning to play their instrumentsExploreFuture Days is Can's most ambitious production — ambient, complex, and a stylistic left turnGould's 1981 Goldberg Variations sound like a different pianist — slower, wiser, more contemplativeGreg Keelor's Gone is even mellower than Blue Rodeo — impressively laid-backJulia Holter called Have You in My Wilderness a return to Ekstasis' intimacyIn a Silent Way is Miles Davis's quiet bridge into fusionPrevious Half Japanese deliberately avoided learning to play their instrumentsNext Diamanda Galás was raised in San Diego.