Various – Island Sounds From Japan 2009 - 2016 (Vinyl LP)
Label: Time Capsule
Cat No: TIME007
Time Capsule's latest dive into lesser-known Japanese musical culture doesn't focus on dusty old music from the dim and distant past, but rather relatively obscure music made between 2008 and 2016 by artists specializing in "Island music" - a kind of hard-to-pigeonhole and stylistically eclectic sound with a defiantly tropical twist. This eclecticism makes for great listening and some genuinely unusual and entertaining musical fusion. For proof, check the hybrid jazz/reggae/jazz-funk flex of Speak No Evil's self-titled opener, the reverb-laden, bottle-neck Balearic blues of Aqatuki and the dub disco-with-surf guitars of Altz. Best of all, though, is probably the dubby exotica of Keichi Takanka, who delivers two contrasting versions of the same track ("City of Aleppo" and "City of Dub").
CLICK TRACK TO LISTEN
A1 –Speak No Evil Speak No Evil
A2 –Aqatuki Wakanoura
B1 –Altz Orympia Rocks
B2 –Keiichi Tanaka City Of Aleppo
B3 –Keiichi Tanaka City Of Dub