Cosmos Factory -

Cosmos Factory was a Japanese symphonic/hard-psych band that released a self-titled album in 1973 on Columbia, followed by the 1975–77 Express titles A Journey With the Cosmos Factory, Black Hole, and Metal Reflection.

Members: Tsutomu Izumi (keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vocals), Hisashi Mizutani (guitar, vocals), Toshikazu Taki (bass, vocals), Kazuo Okamoto (drums, percussion)

Background

Keyboardist Tsutomu Izumi formed The Silencer in Nagoya in 1968. Guitarist Hisashi Mizutani worked in that band’s orbit, while bassist Toshikazu Taki and drummer Kazuo Okamoto came out of another local unit, Burns. The two groups converged in 1970 and fixed the four-man lineup that recorded as Cosmos Factory.

Cosmos Factory built their name on the Nagoya circuit before Columbia picked up the band for a debut album. Before the Columbia debut, Tsutomu Izumi and bassist Toshikazu Taki appeared on the 1972 Black LP 都会の森の中で (Forest in the City), credited to Goro and Hiroyuki Nagato. Izumi also shared the arrangement credit with Naoyuki Tachikawa and Norio Maeda. A contemporary magazine referred to the project as “Goro+Cosmos,” though the LP itself did not credit Cosmos Factory as the artist.

Cosmos Factory

Cosmos Factory released their debut album on October 21, 1973, on Columbia. In Japan, the record carried the title トランシルヴァニアの古城 (An Old Castle of Transylvania).

Izumi sets the album’s weight with organ, piano, and Moog lines that thicken the harmony and darken the attack. Mizutani answers with a harder guitar edge, while Taki and Okamoto hold a compact backbeat beneath the keyboard mass. Side one keeps the songs short and direct. Side two opens out into a long suite that gives the band room for quieter passages, heavier surges, and longer instrumental turns.

“Soundtrack 1984” opens the LP with a fast, clipped charge. “Soft Focus” drops into a piano-led ballad shape. “Fantastic Mirror” brings the guitar back into the foreground, and “Poltergeist” drives the side toward the longer closing suite. “An Old Castle of Transylvania” breaks into four connected sections: “Forest of the Death,” “The Cursed,” “Darkness of the World,” and the title movement.

A1. “サウンドトラック1984” [Soundtrack 1984] (3:22)
A2. “神話” [Maybe] (5:57)
A3. “目醒め” [Soft Focus] (3:38)
A4. “追憶のファンタジー” [Fantastic Mirror] (4:32)
A5. “ポルタガイスト” [Poltergeist] (4:26)

B1. “トランシルヴァニアの古城” [An Old Castle of Transylvania] (18:40)
i. “Forest of the Death”
ii. “The Cursed”
iii. “Darkness of the World”
iv. “An Old Castle of Transylvania”

Cosmos Factory recorded Cosmos Factory at Columbia Studios in Tokyo in June and July 1973 with producers Naoki Tachikawa and Takao Honma and engineer Yoshio Mitsuo. Mikio Shimizu took the executive-producer credit.

Hiroshi Takeda and Kikuo Tamada designed the sleeve. Takuma Nakahira shot the photographs, and Michio Nakagawa assisted. The original Japanese issue came in a gatefold jacket.

A Journey With the Cosmos Factory

Cosmos Factory released A Journey With the Cosmos Factory on August 5, 1975, on Express. Its Japanese title reads 謎のコスモス号.

Izumi broadens the keyboard rack across Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Mini-Moog, Solina, celesta, Yamaha YC20, and a homemade symphonizer. Mizutani cuts through that stack with guitar effects and sharper lead breaks. Taki widens his role with fuzz bass, piano, percussion, tape effects, and synthesized voice. Okamoto holds the pulse while the record leans harder on studio layering than the debut.

The sequence alternates short cuts with broader pieces. “Sunday’s Happening,” “Daydream,” and “Confusion” keep side one concise. “The Sea” and “Journey of No Destination” stretch the second side, while “Hiver” adds spoken narration from Campbell Gray and “The Cosmogram” closes the album in miniature.

A1. “Sunday’s Happening” [日曜日の出来事] (4:14)
A2. “Daydream” [白日夢] (2:42)
A3. “Hiver” [哀しみのイヴェール] (3:47)
A4. “Confusion” [錯乱] (2:15)
A5. “The Infinite Universe of Our Mind” [心の宇宙] (4:28)

B1. “The Sea” [海] (5:14)
B2. “A Hidden Trap” [秘められた罠] (2:07)
B3. “Wind in the Morning (A Trip)” [朝の風] (3:44)
B4. “Journey of No Destination” [終わりなき旅] (4:52)
B5. “The Cosmogram” [コスモグラム] (2:24)

Cosmos Factory recorded A Journey With the Cosmos Factory at Toshiba-EMI Studios and Mouri Studios in 1974 and 1975 with producers Naoki Tachikawa and Kei Ishizaka and engineer Kenichi Kosuge. Sengo Fukukawa handled the executive-producer role.

Mizuho Kataniwa directed the artwork, and Shimpei Asai shot the cover photograph.

Black Hole

Cosmos Factory released Black Hole on August 5, 1976, on Express.

Izumi pushes the organ and synthesizer further forward on Black Hole, and Mizutani answers with a tougher guitar tone. Taki holds the bottom with a more audible bass presence, while the arrangements favor long instrumental spans and darker harmonic weight. Shorter inserts break the pressure between the two large side anchors.

“Black Hole” occupies most of side one’s first half. “The Vague Image (Introduction),” “The Hard Image,” and “Crystal Solitaire” tighten the frame before side two turns toward “A Wandering Young Man,” “Days in the Past,” and “Mirror Freak.” The LP’s original running order stops there; later reissues add “Magic Window.”

A1. “Black Hole” (8:41)
A2. “The Vague Image (Introduction)” (1:14)
A3. “The Hard Image” (3:51)
A4. “Crystal Solitaire” (3:47)

B1. “A Wandering Young Man” (8:55)
B2. “Days in the Past” (4:43)
B3. “Mirror Freak” (7:59)

Cosmos Factory recorded Black Hole with producers Naoki Tachikawa and Kei Ishizaka and engineer Kenichi Kosuge. Kazu Nitta served as executive producer.

Vartan Kurjian handled the artwork and principal photography. Toshi Okubo supplied additional sleeve photography, and K. Shuto prepared the layout.

Metal Reflection

Cosmos Factory released Metal Reflection on July 5, 1977, on Express. Its Japanese title reads 嵐の乱反射.

Izumi and Taki widen their instrumental reach with respective embrace of cembalo (harpsichord) and additional guitar. Metal Reflection cuts their long-form architecture back to nine shorter pieces, which gives the band a tighter profile built from riff songs, midtempo vocal numbers, and brief instrumental pivots. Okamoto remains in place, and Kuni Toyoda joins on drums and percussion.

“Down the Highway,” “Shades of Time,” “Violent Heat,” and “Rainy Day Dreams” keep side one inside compact song forms. “Sexy Cats” adds alto saxophone from Yoichiro Kikuchi, while “Strato-Dynamite” and “White Moon” compress the scale before the title track closes the record.

A1. “Down the Highway” (4:13)
A2. “Shades of Time” (4:30)
A3. “Violent Heat” (4:15)
A4. “Rainy Day Dreams” (4:24)

B1. “A Glass of Happiness” (4:38)
B2. “Sexy Cats” (4:48)
B3. “Strato-Dynamite” (2:44)
B4. “White Moon” (2:22)
B5. “Metal Reflection” (4:11)

Cosmos Factory recorded Metal Reflection with producer Naoki Tachikawa and engineers Ken Kosuge and Masakazu Kawamura. Yoichiro Kikuchi added alto saxophone to “Sexy Cats.” Kuni Shuto handled the back-cover design.

Discography: