East

In the psychedelic movement of the early 1970s, East, a Japanese band, produced music that appeared perfectly suited to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury area, though the group was unjustly ignored. Traditional Japanese instruments such as the koto, biwa, taisho-goto, and shakuchi appeared in their arrangements, yet the sound resembled that of true West Coast artists more than a quintet originating from the Land of the Rising Sun. With English lyrics delivered flawlessly and an Americana touch that at points recalled the Flying Burrito Brothers while at others suggested Love or Jefferson Airplane, these five members attired in bell-bottoms and paisley issued solely their self-titled album from 1972 and then disbanded. Fallout Records, known as skilled crate-diggers, brought East back as a CD reissue during 2007.