Japan, late 1960s: From the remnants of the Tokyo-based band The Flowers, founded by Yuya Uchida, emerged The Flower Travellin' Band. Following the release of their debut album, the band, consisting of Akira „Joe“ Yamanaka (voc), Hideki Ishima (g), Jun Kozuki (b) and Joji „George“ Wada (dr), moved to Toronto, Canada, in December 1970. A few months later, they signed a contract with the American label Atlantic Records. At the end of April, their second album, Satori (a term from Zen Buddhism describing a state of deep spiritual enlightenment), produced by Yuya Uchida, was released in Japan and Canada. In contrast to their debut, which featured cover versions of the then-popular Anglo-American psychedelic music of Jimi Hendrix and Cream, their second LP consisted entirely of original compositions.

In five interlinked tracks, they played bombastic, atmospheric, psychedelic hard rock featuring booming proto-metal guitars, exalted vocal interludes and ethnic percussion sounds. The subtle influences of Eastern mysticism drawn from Japanese folk music make the album a highlight of Asian rock. Although not many copies were sold, it has achieved cult status, particularly in recent decades, and is now regarded worldwide as one of the most influential heavy psychedelic albums of the 1970s!