MUKATSUKU Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Mukatsuku celebrates its 100th release on vinyl with two tracks lifted from the excellent, Japanese-only long player Message From A New Dawn from Kyoto Jazz Massive, recently celebrating their 30th year anniversary of production and releases. Both tracks here are given full versions and their own side of wax for extra loud play and have been highlights of the ongoing live sets around the world from the outfit. KJM present their vision of the ultimate crossover electric jazz fusion and it all adds up to a fresh take on their iconic sound, crafted to push boundaries and inspire the future of nu jazz.

Review: Ambient Classics From Japan on Mukatsuku features two lush filled classics from the label Form@ Record label from the land of the rising sun....First up, Shuichiro Nakazawa under the guise of Modern Living from 1998 - initially taken from the CD only Art Form 2 compilation although it also popped up on Music From Memory's excellent Virtual Dreams collection - now gets a whole side on loud cut 180 gram vinyl to itself. On the flipside comes Virgo aka Yasutaka Sato with his gorgeous deep techno ambient gem 'System For Zodiac piece, taken from the Landform Code CD, of which only 30 copies were ever made and has never seen light of day to vinyl until now. No repress hand numbered to 300 copies and first 100 come with Japanese Origami paper crane + sticker.

Review: Mukatsuku Records keeps the spotlight on Japan once more here with a fresh 7" from SMOKIN' the JAZZ, a jazz-hip-hop trio made up of Sugames Japon on piano, guitarist Shu Fujiyama and NOBUdaDREAD, who is a turntable wizard. They've been working together since 2018 via their own Loud Minority Productions imprint and here they keep it deep and seductive with two laid-back, jazz-soaked instrumental hip-hop covers full of warmth and plenty of musical finesse. 'Gypsy Woman' is a delightfully gentle groove with conversational horns while an exclusive instrumental of 'Just A Lil Lovin' on the B-side is full of soulful, head-nodding goodness tailored for jazz heads, beat lovers and crate diggers alike.