Kawasaki Japan Schallplatten & CDs

Review: DJ Kawasaki fires up his tools and gets to work on a couple of tasty new edits here. The first is a slow disco mix of The Ananda Project's 'Cascades Of Colour' which is lush, low riding and built on loopy drums with silky synths that are finished with some sprinkles of cosmic melody up top. Sublime. Blaze's 'We Are One' then gets a special Fusion Funk Re-Groove mix which has more astral synth work ringing out from a tight and funk arrangement with lush bass lines and nice organic drums.

Review: Cro-Magnon's 2010 album 4U has plenty of stunning pieces on it, but of course a collaboration between Japan's eminent jazz funk outfit and grandmaster Roy Ayers was going to be a particularly special moment. DJ Kawasaki has taken the track for a ride and pressed the results onto 7", keeping the vibe intact but eking the track out with blissful results. For those who just want the groove, there's the instrumental on the flip so you can trip out on Ayer's stunning vibraphone playing.

Review: Acclaimed DJ, singer, remixer and songwriter DJ KAWASAKI shows another side to himself on this new double album for his own label. On it, he serves up instrumental tracks inspired by Afro, jazz, and funk. Every single sound you hear is played live and guests include artists like Sauce81, who you will know from labels like Eglo, and jazz vocalist Ayana. A host of musicians have helped to realise this most lively and upbeat album including Kyoto Jazz Sextet, Kenichi Ikeda of ROOT SOUL and Venue Vincent, Hiderow Nishioka of CENTRAL. It is a real triumph that comes 11 years after his equally acclaimed Paradise album from 2010.

Review: Japan's DJ Kawasaki links up with Monday Michuru for a new house come disco tune that is full of big vocal delights. The funky riffs are knotted and infectious, the rickety rhythm section nice and loose and the synth motifs all filled with charm and colour, It's a perfectly feel good tune that will make you dance any woes away. On the flip, New York legend and Kind of the Edits, Danny Krivit steps up with an extended edit that is jam packed with noodling piano solos and a more bristling, Latin tinged percussive element.

Review: Miomatic is a new solo project by Mio Fujimura, the trombone player for fabled Japanese producer DJ Kawasaki. Dropping the 8th single on Kawasaki's self-named label, this split 7" shows off the trombonist's extensive chops at both original songwriting and performing cover versions, respectively. The A-side, 'Power Of The Light', is a Miomatic original, blending funk and glitz for an instrumental, bass-slapping piece showing off the artist's chops that came of age at Tokyo cafe, venue and bar The Room. 'Step Into Our Life' is a squelching cover of Wayne Henderson's original, originally produced with soul staple Roy Ayers.

Review: Japan's pioneering Mondo Grosso band has been celebrating its 30 years in the game this year by putting out a selection of greatest hits across two compilations. They have also enlisted some top remixes to rework some of their classic tunes and here we have two Shuya Okino 7" edits of Hiroshi Fujiwara remixes of two tunes. First up is 'Family Featuring Monday Michiru', a luxurious jazz-soul sound with soft focus chords and florid horn work. On the flip is the deeper jazz-funk sound of Spirit Of Voyage' which again swells the heart and makes for a nice late-night mood.

Review: Kawasaki are digging back into the archive of cult Japanese jazz group Sleep Walker to present this perfect 7" of edits from the band's catalogue. First up on the A side is 'Into The Sun', the 2004 track featuring Bembe Segue which gets a bang-tidy nip and tuck from Yoshihiro Kino. Flip it over for 2007 track 'Wind', which features Yukimi Nagano and gets a thoroughly excellent edit courtesy of DJ Kawasaki himself. Tapping into a more recent iteration of Japanese jazz and presenting it in a spin-friendly format for the DJs out there, this one comes highly recommended.