VARIOUS – Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku – The Aesthetics of Japanese Electronic Music Vol. 1 – 2LP – Vinyl

2LP -Black Vinyl.

Still on and about after years of the most intense crate digging, gem mining, desperate head-scratching and avid schooling, thirsty as ever for the next musical thrill to wrap our ears and brains around, here comes the fruit of our life-long love story with Japanese electronics, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 1 and Vol.2.

From the soul-fulfilling first crush felt upon hearing the iconic soundtrack of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto onto our release of Inner Science Cosmo Tracks, through the life-affirming sets of Laurent Garnier at Dijons seminal club, lAn-fer, which have at all times nurtured and expanded our taste for Easternmost delicacies, the influence of Japanese music on our vision and endeavours was paramount to the development of our catalogue, whether directly or indirectly.

This first volume gets the ball rolling with a fine assortment of mostly ambient, electronica and deep house-focussed joints. Draped in organic membranes and ASMR-like synth tapestries, K. Inoues nu-agey opener Em Paz takes us on a ride across the most serene dreamscapes. Jazzing up these lush and oneiric coastal vibes, Gabby & Lopez Drive form the Miracle merges a sense of Californian psychedelia with a straight out hard-bop swing. No stranger to our catalogue, Inner Science returns to serve up a crystalline slice of laid-back house on a mystique-imbued tip he holds the secret to. Flip it over and here comes Aquarium with the splendidly immersive Rainy Night in Shibuya, which very much feels like wandering amidst its neon-upholstered streets and swarming hallways in a bubble of your own.

Naohito Uchiyama treats us to a synth-drenched nocturnal ballad with the 80s-inflected vibes of Shugetsu, whereas Keta Ra cuts a path of ethereal sublimation via the mischievously fun and bouncy balearic lounge of equals. Masterly crafted by Yuu Udagawa, Infinite Possibility eases us in a realm where weightless pop and low-slung abstract hip-hop combine to further exhilarating effect. All in harp-driven brittleness and velveteen sub-bass stealth, Noah Gemini – Mysterious Lot has us drifting to a lavishly orchestrated headspace, laying down an impressive work on textures and arrangements. All in on the sedated drip-tease flex, Sauce81 Sign of Secret Love is a blast of freaky hedonism, just as ready to cast its hypnotic spell down the sweatbox as it was upon its original release ten years ago.

Languid jacking house tune Tai+Dai from Keita Sano blows the winds of discoid luvin across the room with its impeccable balance of sharp, glimmering synthwork and driving bass onslaughts from the depths. An odd slice of reshuffled folk music, Waltz Folkesta makes for some eerie invitation of sorts, enchanting and spookily haunting in equal measure. Back to a fevered, hip-swaying mindset, Kuniyuki hi-NRG jazz number Free is an absolute wonder of piano and drums-driven boogie, cut from the same cloth as some of Blue Notes finest Cuban jazz classics. Rounding off the package, Japanese legend Ken Ishiis version of Larry Heards house Hall-of-Famer Can You Feel It is pure bliss in a can, tailored to turn any crowd into a shapeless cloud of balmy euphoria and universal love, whatever the place or time.

Tracklist:

A1. Kaoru Inoue – Em Paz
A2. Gabby and Lopez – Drive From Miracles (Kaoru Inoue remix)
A3. Inner Science – Alight

B1. Aquarium – Rainy Night in Shibuya (deepspace slow down mix)
B2. Naohito Uchiyama – Shugetsu
B3. Keta Ra – Equals

C1. Yuu Udagawa – Infinite Possibility
C2. Noah Gemini – Mysterious Lot
C3. Sauce81 – Sign Of Secret Love
C4. Keita Sano – Tai + Dai

D1. Waltz – Folkesta
D2. Kuniyuki – Free
D3. Ken Ishii presents Metropolitan Harmonic Formulas – Can You Feel It
(feat. Metropolitan Harmonic Formulas and Naruyoshi Kikuchi)