Justin Heathcliff

Infobox musical artist
Name = Justin Heathcliff


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Origin = Japan
Genre = Psychedelic rock
Years_active = 1971
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Justin Heathcliff was the pseudonym of Japanese producer/musician Dr. Osamu Kitajima.

History

Osamu was already a successful composer of TV and advertising jingles, when a move to the UK in 1971 brought him in to contact with British folk and psychedelic rock. Inspired in particular by The Beatles, Tyrannousaurus Rex and Syd Barrett, he dubbed himself "Justin Heathcliff" (picked for its English-sounding quality) and issued his lone eponymous album. Released only in Japan, the album became highly prized in collector's circles for its good-natured idiosyncrasy and casual melodicism. Justin Heathcliff began to receive wider interest in the West when the track "You Know What I Mean" was featured on the Asian volume of the Love, Peace, and Poetry compilation series in 1999, and has since been reissued on CD. After releasing the album, Osamu dropped the moniker, and has continued to work under his own name. Now associated more closely with New Age music than pop, he currently resides and works in Los Angeles.

Links

* [http://www.eastquest.com/ Dr. Osamu Kitajima's Website]
* [http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/heathcliff.justin.html Justin Heathcliff at Forced Exposure]