From 2019-2021 I was working in Japan at a whisky bar which was renowned for its old school vending machine door, fantastic cocktails and an eccentric owner who spun records all night, ranging from classic Jazz to underground Japanese hip-hop. His collection of records on his last count was over 3,000 and he continues to buy more. After working a few weeks I decided to ask him what his favourite Album or record was, he paused and genuinely considered his answer before confidently stating “Speak Low by Walter Bishop Jr.” I immediately pulled up Spotify to download it but could not find it at the time. So I saved it in my notes and as I spent time in Japan I continued my search for the record, but to no avail. Fast forward 16months and my time in at the bar and in Japan is coming to an end and I decided to embark on a country long road trip. From Hokkaido to Kyushu, North to South, in the middle of a pandemic. I had a country to myself and a small van to live out of and very little money to survive on. As I was travelling I would stop in small towns and explore, sometimes checking out second hand shops for any treasures I may find, all the while continuing my search for Walter Bishop Jr. But now expanding my radius to whatever small town I pulled into for lunch or to explore. One day, in the last week of my trip, just before I began the last leg of my trip back up to Tokyo to fly home to Sydney, I happened to have a spare hour so drove out of my way to check out a second hand shop, and there, in the front row of the records, was Walter Bishop Jr. All mine for a mere ¥500, just over $5 Australian. 18months in Japan, 16months off handedly searching, and I find it during my last week in the country. I attached a screen grab from a video I took of the wall to give an idea of how it was positioned when I spotted it. Hands down my most cherished record.
