Universounds

Yusuke Ogawa is no ordinary record dealer. When he’s not busy sourcing obscure spiritual or free jazz pressings or organising the neat shelves of his store into alphabetical order, the Koenji-based scene impresario writes guides to specific times or styles of jazz or supervises the reprinting of rare releases.

‘Secondhand records in Japan tend to be in really good condition compared to many other countries,’ he says. ‘Maybe it’s because vinyl collectors here handle the product with great care.’ Digging at Universounds can open up doors to new worlds even for seasoned aficionados. ‘I still often get surprised,’ Ogawa says. ‘Even some seriously obscure jazz records have Japan-exclusive releases.’