the first-ever reissue on studio mule of the debut album by japanese jazz legend and bassist yoshio ikeda.

having performed with such illustrious figures as sadao watanabe, masabumi kikuchi, and terumasa hino, ikeda’s first album as a leader features pianist and vocalist ichiko hashimoto—also known for her involvement with yellow magic orchestra—berlin-based jazz pianist aki takase, and leading japanese drummer motohiko hino.

avant-garde yet imbued with a distinctly japanese sense of melancholy, this is a work that resonates profoundly with the present moment.

the gem “whispering weeds,” highlighted by thrilling piano and hashimoto’s evocative scat vocals, was also included on a compilation by bbe.

remastered from the original master tapes by kuniyuki, the album has been revived with a richer, more lustrous sound in this definitive reissue.

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studio mule announces the first-ever vinyl release of shinsuke honda’s banka (1991)

known as the guitarist of the legendary band hachimitsu pie, shinsuke honda—whose album silence is celebrated as one of the most remarkable achievements in japanese ambient guitar jazz—sees his 1991 cd-only masterpiece banka finally released as a double lp from studio mule.

carrying forward the spirit of silence while reaching new levels of refinement and depth, banka presents a collection of beautifully crafted ambient jazz pieces that reveal honda’s distinctive musical vision.

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led by guitarist seiji hano, the jazz group om released only one album — solar wind, a landmark work that stands as one of the greatest achievements in japanese ethnic jazz. now, this masterpiece is finally being reissued. their sound, seemingly a response from japan to ecm artists such as oregon and codona active during the same period, is refined yet imbued with a distinctly japanese sense of wabi-sabi — melancholic, nostalgic, and deeply resonant. from “windmill,” featured on studio mule’s compilation midnight in tokyo vol.2, to every other track, solar wind is a flawless album with not a single weak moment — a true masterpiece of japanese jazz.

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kuniyuki takahashi – new single on studio mule studio mule is proud to announce the latest release from one of japan’s most respected producers and musicians, kuniyuki takahashi. this new single was created with the atmosphere of our listening bar studio mule in mind, and showcases kuniyuki’s unmatched ability to bridge dance music with sophisticated musical expression. the a-side, “open window,” is a modern classical piece inspired by the light and breeze flowing into his sapporo studio—an uplifting, deeply moving composition. on the b-side, “tobira” offers a dreamlike journey of ethnic new-age jazz, evoking the sensation of stepping into a new world. kuniyuki is a rare artist who has continued to push boundaries across genres, and this release is no exception—a future classic in the making. the artwork has been designed by yoshirotten, a leading figure in tokyo’s contemporary art scene. with this release, studio mule delivers an inspired response to the timeless legacy of ecm, while continuing to explore new musical horizons.

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a long-awaited reissue of an ultra-rare 7-inch single, originally released as a promo-only item from handsome boy, the 1990 masterpiece by inoue yosui—widely regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriters in japanese music history.

“pi po pa,” arranged by haruomi hosono and used in a tv commercial at the time, was featured on heisei no oto, a compilation released by music from memory. the album’s standout track, “shonen jidai,” remains one of japan’s most iconic and beloved songs. also included on this 7-inch is “yume migokochi,” a pinnacle of japanese balearic sound, arranged by yuji kawashima—keyboardist of ep-4, a kyoto-based band essential to the history of japanese new wave.

and exclusive to this release is “kurenai suberi,” an overlooked gem that might best be described as inoue’s take on cold-funk.

remastered from the original master tapes by kuniyuki takahashi, and housed in the ori-ginal artwork.

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johnny’s disk record is an independent jazz label run by the owner of jazz cafe kaiunbashi no johnny located in rikuzentakata city in iwate prefecture, japan.

the legendary label released a string of albums of high quality but down-to-earth music, spanning from modern jazz, avant-garde jazz to left-field pop. albums such as “farewell my johnny / left alone” and “aya’s samba” has reached cult status among fans as some of the best works to come out of the japanese jazz scene.

this debut album by drummer and actor mitsuaki katayama is a japanese jazz masterpiece, put out by johnny’s disk record—an independent jazz label run by the owner of jazz cafe kaiunbashi no johnny located in rikuzentakata city.

consisting of 5 original compositions, the no-filler album includes the tracks “unknown point,” a danceable jazz samba with tight and powerful drumming; the melancholic “arizona high way,” a tune that perfectly epitomizes what japanese jazz is about; “it’s over,” which features beautiful piano work by kichiro sugino—a promising pianist who tragically succumbed to a chronic illness and couldn’t fully realize his potential; “louis” and “first flight,” a jazzy dance cut with a funky bassline.

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compiled by tsunaki kadowaki artwork by yoshirotten mastering by kuniyuki takahashi

Tsunaki Kadowaki, a staff member at Kyoto’s record store Meditations, the supervisor of "New Age Music Disc Guide", and the founder of Sad Disco, curates the fourth installment of "Midnight in Tokyo" themed around Ambient Kayo. The Midnight in Tokyo series by Studio Mule focuses on Japanese music, serving as a soundtrack for Tokyo nights—whether for home listening, club play, or as a driving BGM, transcending location and space. After a six-year hiatus, the fourth volume takes "Ambient Kayo" as its new perspective, compiling genre-defying tracks released between 1977 and 1999 to explore the intersection of Japanese ambient and pop music. For this long-awaited fourth installment, selections were made regardless of record label status (major or independent), era, format (vinyl or CD), original release price, or prior reissues. Instead, the focus was on music that deeply moves the listener, is open-minded and evocative, brims with inspiration and spiritual insight, and embodies the "utagokoro" (singing heart) of Japanese artists. Opening the compilation is "Umi e Kinasai" by Yosui Inoue, a legendary Japanese singer-songwriter whose works have recently gained renewed interest as hidden gems of Walearic and ambient pop

Composed and arranged by Katsu Hoshi—who is also known for his arrangements on Inoue’s masterpiece Ice World—the track features renowned players such as Masayoshi Takanaka, Hiroki Inui, and Shigeru Inoue. The song embodies a yearning for Balearic horizons, tinged with youthful vibrancy and sentimentality. Next, "Oritatamu Umi", compiled from Keiko Nosaka, a 20-string koto player, and George Murasaki, a pioneer of Okinawan rock, is an instrumental track from their album "Niraikanai Requiem 1945". As the title suggests, it carries themes of requiem and remembrance, conveying poetic lyricism even without words. Blending Ryukyuan/Okinawan harmonies and indigenous elements, it unfolds as an intimate and nostalgic piece of progressive rock. Also featured is "Natsu no Kowareru Koro" by Higurashi, a folk-rock band led by Seiichi Takeda, formerly a guitarist of The Remainders of The Clover, the predecessor of RC Succession. Like the opening track "Umi e Kinasai", this song was also produced by Katsu Hoshi. It stands as a folk/new music piece that takes a step into an "otherworldly" realm, recommended for fans of Twin Cosmos and Masumi Hara. From the enigmatic Blue, the only work left by the mysterious composer S.R. Kinoshita, comes "Mangrove", a hidden treasure of Japan's ambient/new age scene from the CD era. With an oriental and enigmatic atmosphere, the track evokes a mystical world of deep, uncharted jungles, unfolding as an otherworldly New Age Kayo. "Yaponesia Sakura", selected from Rehabilual’s sole album New Child, is a masterpiece of Japanese new age music. Produced by Swami Dhyan Akamo, a disciple of Indian meditation teacher Osho and a renowned balafon player, the track features Michio Ogawa (Chakra) and Atsuo Fujimoto (Colored Music). Their collective artistry creates an exquisite spiritual ambient pop sound. "Asa no Hitoshizuku", the opening folk song from Sachiko Kanenobu’s album Sachiko, is also included. Known for her legendary folk album Misora, produced by Haruomi Hosono, Kanenobu’s fourth album after resuming her career was inspired by her experiences living in San Francisco and revolves around the theme of "love." This track carries the same intimate poetic world as Misora, imbued with a pure, crystalline innocence. From the synth-pop band E.S. Island, known for the Haruomi Hosono-produced *Teku Teku Mami", comes "Yume Furin ", selected from their long-lost new age classic Nanpu from Hachijo. Created while the band’s core duo was living in Hachijo Island, the album aimed to sonically capture "the high and happy vibrations of everyday island life." This track offers a dynamic, tribal-infused New Age Kayo experience. Dubbed "the world's first Min’yo House Mix" "Esashi Oiwake (Maeuta) " comes from Kanazawa Akiko HOUSE MIX ?, a collaboration between Japanese house music pioneer Soichi Terada and Akiko Kanazawa, a renowned min’yo singer. Through the prism of club music, Hokkaido's Esashi Oiwake, one of Japan’s most iconic folk songs, is transformed into a futuristic ambient pop piece with intricate sound design. The compilation also includes "Sweet Ong Choh", a track from Voice From Asia, a group active between 1989 and 1992 featuring vocal artist Shizuru Ohtaka. Taken from their imaginative minimal work Voice From Asia, released under Aoyama Spiral’s music label Newsic, the song presents a tranquil, tribal-minimal soundscape enriched by ethnic instruments. Hailed by Haruomi Hosono as having “a shaman residing in her voice,” singer-songwriter Nami Hodatsu also appears in the selection. Known for her collaborations with Henry Kawahara, her debut album featured "Asa-Hikari-Ame-Yume", a track that now stands as a precursor to modern vocaloid/synthesized vocal music—a hidden gem of post-choir aesthetics that deserves rediscovery. Likewise, "Tennessee Waltz", from Naomi Akimoto’s album One Night Stand, supported by members of Mariah, serves as another early prototype of vocaloid/synthesized vocal music. The track weaves fragmented vocal samples, pastoral yet sweetly minimal synth sounds, and mechanical beats into a strikingly unconventional piece in the history of Japanese music.

Closing the compilation is "Heaven Electric", a track from Nav Katze’s album Gentle & Elegance, which featured remixes by Autechre, Seefeel, and Sun Electric. Merging elements of IDM, ambient techno, and chillout, the song embodies an optimism reminiscent of space music while seamlessly blending a mystical Japanese aesthetic—an ambient pop masterpiece. --- The album presents 12 exquisite pop tracks infused with an ambient feeling, resonating deeply with the evolving landscape of the mid-2020s—a time of post-hyperpop and Y2K revival. Tsunaki Kadowaki (Compiler) Born in 1993 in Yonago, Tottori, Tsunaki Kadowaki is a staff member and buyer at Kyoto’s Meditations record store. He is the editor of New Age Music Disc Guide (DU BOOKS) and a contributor to Music Magazine, Record Collectors' Magazine, ele-king, and more. Kadowaki has written liner notes for multiple Japanese releases (Brian Eno, Masahiro Sugaya etc.) and runs the Sad Disco music label under Disk Union. He also curates Spotify’s official New Age Music playlist and performed as a DJ at YCAM’s Audio Base Camp #3 in 2024.

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Repress!

'Midnight In Tokyo Vol.3' brings together forgotten soul, disco, and new wave gems from Yoko Hatanaka, Atsuo Fujimoto, and more.

midnight in tokyo is a compilation series that aims to be the perfect companion to nights in tokyo, collecting tracks by japanese artists that sound best at night. while vol.2 focused more on ’80s jazz fusion, the latest installment, vol.3, picks up where vol.1 left off, bringing together forgotten soul, disco, and new wave gems.
the compilation opens with japanese rare groove classic “more sexy,” a provocative song by “the queen of sexy songs,” yoko hatanaka.
“kimi no yume,” from the album yume no yonbai by the wandering poet masumi hara, is one of the best balearic acid folk song to come out of japan.
“silhouette call” is an electric bossa nova track—in the vein of antena—taken from a rare album called octopussy by yuki nakayamate, a singer songwriter who also worked as a backing vocalist for motoharu sano.
“theme of high school student” is a dubby cut featured on the soundtrack to the japanese ’80s film kougen ni ressha ga hashitta, written by atsuo fujimoto of colored music—one of the key artists in the recent wave of global interest in japanese music.
“get to paradise” is a stone cold funk jam by mari kaneko, who was known as the janis joplin of shimokitazawa in her heyday, and is now known as the mother of the drummer and the bassist of popular rock band rize.
following that is one of japan’s greatest new wave disco track, “hannya,” taken from tomoko aran’s popular third album fuyu-kukan—produced by masatoshi nishimura who was part of the friends of earth project with haruomi hosono.
masako miyazaki—whose rendition of seawind’s “he loves you” is a fan favorite—puts her own spin on the earth, wind & fire classic, “fantasy,” singing in her accent-heavy english which gives the song an undeniable character.
“watashi no koukoku” is a certified disco boogie classic by popular singer junko sakurada.
the brazilian-esque jazz fusion, “sunshine bright on me” is by a fusion group called kangaroo, who were often billed as “the japanese shakatak.”
“stranger’s night” is a synth-pop number by pop idol maiko okamoto, which bears a suspicious resemblance to rah band’s “the shadow of your love.”
electro-pop disco “singing lady”—off the sole album released by the one-off project the fad—sounds like something giorgio moroder could’ve cooked up.
“magic eyes” is a disco anthem recorded by songwriter tetsuji hayashi’s disco project, the eastern gang.
following that is japanese soul gem “crazy baby,” found on a rare 7 inch entitled minato no soul by rinda yamamoto—also composed and arranged by tetsuji hayashi.
and last but not least, closing out this collection of 14 japanese rare groove goodies is “i’m in love”, a bittersweet mellow dance number by tomoko aran.

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Repress!

at mule musiq, we’ve focused on shining light on the many aspects of what electronic music can be, putting out house, techno and ambient releases on our main label, while releasing alternative-leaning dance music through our endless flight imprint. but with the launch of our new label, studio mule, we are stepping away from electronic club music for a bit. the label will not be tied to a specific genre, as we will instead focus on releasing any kind of music that we feel is a little bit different and interesting, but somehow make sense in this day and age. for our first batch of releases, we will be focusing on japanese music.

to be honest, i have been watching the recent rise of global interest in japanese music with a skeptical eye, not sure of how to feel about all these labels overseas licensing great albums that were birthed in our country. but then, i was told by somebody i greatly respect that i should do something similar with mule, and put our own spin on it, which sounded like a good idea to me. after a period of procrastination, i finally got around to doing it. we are starting things off with a compilation of japanese disco, boogie and soul music that we selected from a modern dance music perspective — the kind of songs that we feel would intrigue music fans across the world.

at first, i started seeking authentic-sounding disco that sound like it could have been recorded in the states, but after struggling to get licensing rights for many of those tracks, i started to wonder if that was really the direction we should be going in. when we start new labels or projects, we often come up with the title or artwork first, before deciding on the actual music. we came up with the title midnight in tokyo first, which dictated that we needed to find music that would be a perfect soundtrack to listen to at night in tokyo. we ended up compiling a selection of tracks that you could both listen to at home, and play in clubs at certain time slots. the compilation also ended up sounding a lot more pop than we initially imagined…

during the selection process, we did not care whether the tracks have been reissued already or not, and how rare the original copies of the records were. our sole purpose was to gather a handful of songs from across labels, major or otherwise, that we felt could be listened to for many years to come — even after this whole japanese music trend dies down. although we put together this release mainly for listeners outside of japan, the compilation can also be a chance for japanese music lovers to rediscover the greatness of domestic music, as we did during the process.

the compilation starts off with the afro disco classic “mi mi africa” by harmonica player nobuo yagi, which was also included in the compilation mastercuts.

“silver top” is a jazzy fusion disco taken from composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist nobuyuki shimizu’s first album, which he released when he was 19. the track features singer epo, whom he worked with many times over the years as an arranger.

“samba night” is by vocalist keisuke yamamoto and his band piper, from their masterpiece second album summer breeze. a delightful city pop number that should appeal to tatsuro yamashita fans.

“akogareno sundown” is a japanese soul classic, sang by singer haruko kuwana (the sister of well-known musi-cian masahiro kuwana). recorded in hawaii and produced by mackey feary band, known for the soulful classic “a million stars.”

“koiwa saiko (i’m in love)” is a mellow and groovy track by singer aru takamura, the great-grandchild of sculptor kouun takamura, whose son kotaro takamura is a famed poet and sculptor. can be thought of as japan’s answer to cheryl lynn’s “got to be real.”

“what the magic is to try” is a cult electropop track by honma express, a project helmed by producer kanji honma. hailed as japan’s trevor horn, he is also known as the producer of legendary techno pop band tpo.

“colored music” is a song by colored music, a duo of pianist ichiko hashimoto and her partner atsuo fujimoto, who have gone on tour with ymo. taken from colored music’s sole album, the japanese rare groove treasure is a mesh of new wave, synth pop and jazz influences.

the dubby electronic new wave disco “electric city” is a b side of pop idol group shohjo-tai’s debut 12” single, but the girls aren’t actually singing on it, making the instrumental one of japan’s greatest ’80s dance tracks.

“love is the competition” is a breezy disco jam by okinawa-born bilingual artist hitomi tohyama. featured on her album next door, the song’s melody seems like an interpolation of the whispers’ “it’s a love thing.”

taken from mariah project’s diva yumi murata’s first album, “krishna” is a funky and soulful rockin’ disco cut.reminiscent of chaka khan’s “i know you, i live you,” “live hard, live free” is a song by jazz vocalist eri ohno who is known for her work with dj krush and singing on the soundtrack to anime rupin the third.

“rocket 88” is a melancholic disco number by singer minnie. though the track was released through sapporo’s independent label paradise records, the superb production quality suggests otherwise.

closing out the 13-track compilation is japanese disco staple “tokyo melody,” sang by half african and half swedish american singer shoody and backed by tetsuji hayashi’s disco band the eastern gang.

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Repress!

Midnight In Tokyo 2, the second installment to the compilation series that rounds up hidden gems by Japanese artists that's perfect for listening at night in Tokyo, is here. This time the collection brings together some tasty electric jazz fusion from the '80s , compiled by Dubby, the man behind the online record store Ondas.

The compilation begins with "Hikobae," a dark and slow cosmic jazz by saxophonist Genji Sawai, followed by "Danza Lucumi," an odd Caribbean-style jam by Today's Latin Project, a band fronted by Tadaaki Misago of Tokyo Cuban Boys, with arrangements by Yasuaki Shimizu. "On The Coast" is a soulful and mellow vocal track arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto, from guitarist Shigeru Suzuki's album White Heat, and fusion boogie cut "In The Hot City" is by Mr. Theodore, which was a one-off project by a mysterious artist.

The melancholic soul jazz number "So Long America" is the title track from the album Yasunori Soryo released in '82, following a stint in America with the band Brown Rice. "Twisty" is a tropical reggae tune from the album Samba Kathy, an underrated classic by Jugando which was released on Trash, a sublabel of one of Japan's finest jazz labels, Trio. "Samarkand" is an electric Latin jazz jam that sounds like something Miles Davis and Santana could have played on, performed by a Latin funk band from Fussa. "Imagery" is a primal African fusion track by Katsutoshi Morizono, a member of the prog rock band Yoninbayashi.

"Windmill" is the most acoustic sounding tune on this compilation, a breezy Brazilian affair with a Hermeto Pascoal feel. "Mystery Of Asian Port" is by the band Parachute, which consisted of Japa-nese fusion giants like Akira Inoue, Tatsuo Hayashi and Masaki Matsubara. The cosmic jazz record sounds like something Daniele Baldelli would play in his sets. "Bay Sky Provincetown 1977" is a classic Japanese fusion tune by guitarist Yuji Toriyama.

The set also features the mellow but danceable "Heatwave" by keyboardist Keiichi Oku, featuring a female vocalist (which some have identified as Rie Ida), and last but not least, closing out the 13 track compilation is "Day Dream At The Bob's Beach," a wonderful urban fusion with a beautiful vibraphone melody, from the Japanese fusion classic album that was a one-off project by studio musicians

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kaoru inoue is a japanese veteran producer and dj since late 90’s. he has been releasing from his own label “seeds and ground” and some other labels like mule musiq,groovement. the original release of this album was released in 2013 in only japan. it’s a very own style mix of world music, field recording, ambient and electronic music. the album is started by minimal gamelan ambient “malam”,the second track “selva” is minimal afro brazilian house which reminds us early luciano or villalobos. third track “kamui fuchi” is electric jazz fusion house, fourth track “sphere” is like joan bibiloni in late 80’s. on b side,”etenraku” is avant-garde tribal break beats,”she was in ecstasies”&”escape dub” are typical his style balearic slow house. the album is closed with beautiful melancholic new age music “healing force”. this album is a timeless masterpiece for us.

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Originally released in 1983 through Apollon Music industrial corp’s alty sublabel, Mule Musiq sub-label Studio Mule presents the first official digital reissue of Shinsuke Honda ????’s rare silence = ????? (???) album. recorded as part of alty’s resort mind music series, Honda-san’s contemplative guitar instrumentals tint the air with nostalgia, longing and a gentle sadness at the impermanence of all things, transporting the listener to an eternal sunset of the mind.

A masterful guitarist and composer with a well-listened ear, Honda-San grew up in Hiroshima during the middle years of the 20th century, eventually making his way to Tokyo in the early 1970s, where he spent several years as a member of the pioneering japanese language folk-rock group Hachimitsu Pie. after they disbanded, Honda-San spent some time in Japan’s jazz and experimental rock scenes before turning his hand to film and television soundtrack work in 1978.

Five years later, as new age and kankyo ongaku (environmental music) became commercial record label concerns, alty offered him a record deal. over silence = ????? (???)’s eight songs, Honda-San collapsed time and space, effortlessly integrating his sepia-toned memories of the rock instrumentals of his childhood with his adult love of jazz, minimalism, electric blues and soundtrack composition.

Although Honda-San went on to have an accomplished career in soundtrack work, along the way scoring the japanese films Target of Lust (1979), Koichiro Uno's shell competition (1980) and Moonlight Whispers (1999), and working on the theme music for the Fuji tv travel program Kazemakase Shin Shokoku Manyuuki, his early work spent decades languishing in obscurity, until it was rediscovered in recent years by record diggers like Tsunaki Kadowaki (sad disco) and Diego Olivas (fond/sound).

Forty years on, Mule Musiq and Studio Mule are very pleased to be able to contribute to the critical re-evaluation of Shinsuke Honda ????’s silence = ????? (???) album as an essential desert island disc for lovers of ecm contemporary jazz, steel-string blues and balearic guitar bliss.

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Tenderly propelling and full of haunting melodies: Studio Mule re-issues Sakura Tsuruta’s so far digital only, self-released debut album “c / o” from november 2022.

An evocative first long player by Tokyo based artist, who was trained in classical piano during childhood, played with brass instruments, studied music production, and is today active as a composer, live performer, and versatile dj.

With “c / o” she expressed her personal history in a fluid, around 43-minute long light flooded, yet dark-ish musical vision. eight profoundly composed tracks, melding complex rhythms with emotional airs, tripping arpeggios, and ghostly sounds, slightly influenced by some of her fa-vorite artist like björk, holly herndon, or kaitlyn aurelia smith.

“c / o is a love letter for the experiences, people, and memories i had in the last two years that i spent producing this album. i also like that the letter “c” looks like an incomplete circle, whereas the letter “o” is a full circle.

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Moogroove is a self unit of Japanese house music producer “Kenji Eto”.

This release was originally released in 1994 on Mo rhythm records.

It’s a first class 90’s deep house and it’s quite hard to find out the original copy.

Enjoy!

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the remix release of japanese jazz fusion masterpiece of eiki nonaka which was released in the last summer.

uk balearic master “faze action” chosen one of the best track “flanged vortex” from the album(this track is licensed for great compilation “heisei no to” on music from memory). the result is timeless summer feel balearic slow house.

our new favorite artist in milano “simone du kunovich” chosen very emotional tune which is remind us pat metheny. his remix is stripped down no beats emotional house music. it will be your all time favorite closing track!

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A pure journey inward into the headspace of an artist, that reveals his gaze at the earth-ly zones he walks in: “Song for Joni”, the new album by Japanese musician Shunji Mori, brings pure natural music full of artificial nuances who create in conversation with ana-logue tones a new kind of musical nature, loaded with vibrant seasons, unknown to us, the unwise humans. moreover, the album is a fine continuation of Japan’s rich ambient leaning music traditions, carrying them into Lorren Connor’s like pending guitar galaxies.
In the 1990s Tokyo based Mori was part of the trip hop, nu-jazz, deep house, and down-tempo duo natural calamity, releasing a string of albums and EP’s on labels like legend-ary London based imprint Nuphonic, Japanese Idyllic Records or Down 2 Earth Record-ings.
In 2003 he launched the instrumental guitar duo Gabby & Lopez with his buddy Masayuki Ishii. Together they created three albums and performed live. Additionally, Mori plays improvisational concerts with Japanese musician, multi-instrumentalist, and stage direc-tor Daiho Soga and finds time to invent his very own, charismatic guitar music.
His solo work now finally gets introduced with a full-length album for Studio Mule, con-sisting of recent and a decade ago compositions, all merely recorded with the electric guitar, pedals, and field recordings.
In the center of “Song for Joni” is the guitar, spreading longing, drifting melodies. Free floating, yet deeply felt compositions, performed in an accurate journey music style. around the string notes, ambient landscapes soar and vanish.
In some moments, the guitar works like a slow-mo yacht rock lead, flying speed less over and under imaginative sonic clouds. Then, Mori’s music distributes psychedelic ef-fects in the tradition of krautrock legends like Günter Schickert, just without the echo fuzz.
Additionally, in warm vibrating seconds, his creations remind on the calm flashes in the musical work of English photographer, musician, and artist designer Steve Hiett, while Mori’s ambient spheres come close to the magic vibe of records like “Pier & Loft” by his fellow countryman Hiroshi Yoshimura.
A mixture, that transports considerate listeners into the meditative world of Shunji Mori, a calm island of bliss, made for all those that follow the heedful path of life.
TRACKLIST
1: Tale Of Mountain
2: Brown Rice
3: Island
4: Next Time You See Me
5: Eleven
6: Room For South
7: Water Song
8: Grip
9: Fog
10: Pale Midnight Lamp
11: Song For Joni
12: Sweet Havoc

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Moogroove is a self unit of Japanese house music producer “Kenji Eto”.

This release is originally released in 1994 on Mo Rhythm Records.

It was a top secret 90’s Japanese house record until Danilo Plessow aka Motor City Drum Ensemble selected “Dark Room” from this EP for his Fabric compilation.

First straight reissue with great artwork from Lily Fei.

All tracks are first class underground deep house.

Enjoy.

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More copies coming in July!

Seven years after the haunting resonance of Voids, electronic pioneer Martyn returns to the album format with Music For Existing. Arriving on 15 May 2026, the record is more than a collection of tracks; it is a profound exploration of what it means to remain devoted to a craft in an era of relentless noise.

The album’s announcement is heralded by the lead single "Heavy Sound." The track serves as the perfect bridge between Martyn’s past and present - a masterclass in tension and release that previews the album’s dialogue between the producer, the musicians, and the audience. We live inside a culture that has prioritised and monetised restlessness. The modern apparatus runs on the continuous production of "next," driven by algorithms that value novelty over depth.

Music For Existing serves as a love letter to the communal act of making music - something that is both healing and inherently defiant. For Martyn, a musician often finds solace in musical conversation with others; in the moment we press record, we simply exist together. This record is an invitation to build human infrastructure around what we love, leaning into the fluid nature of community and seeing exactly where the music takes us when we choose to listen.

The album is a sprawling, "off-the-grid" tapestry that echoes Martyn’s profound appreciation for jazz - free, instinctive, and bursting in every sonic direction. This collection features an expansive cast of collaborators, including Duval Timothy, Dan Only, Lucinda Chua, and Mark Cisneros. The record is further elevated by the contributions of jazz talents Mischa Porte and Cees Bruinsma, alongside the evocative words of writer and poet Musa Okwonga.

While the acoustic textures and improvisational spirit of this record may feel like a departure, they represent a homecoming. Jazz has always been ingrained in Martyn’s work; even in his most stripped-back club tracks, the DNA of swing, syncopation, and free-form structure was always present, if not always visible.

Music For Existing marks the beginning of an exciting journey that will continue from the studio to the stage, celebrating the radical act of existing in the moment.

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Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the
sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina even further.
Nu Genea's Bar Mediterraneo is an idea of a shared place where people meet and fuse together; a space that leaves its
doors open to travellers and their lives, always exposed to the whims of fate. Some of this can be experienced through the
multitude of sounds that come together in the tracks, layers of different acoustic instruments, voices and synthesizers
merging in a unique musical blend.
Opening up to the voices of many different people, separated by languages but united by the sea and the music, Nu
Genea's hometown, Napoli, becomes a true place of encounter.
You can hear this all along. In "Gelbi", a gorgeously deep and propulsive Ney flute plunges into murky waters of the
melancholic Tunisian dialect sung by Marzouk Mejri. In "Marechia'", unbridled happiness and sun ooze from the delicate
vocals of Célia Kameni and create an acrobatic bridge between French and Neapolitan language. In "Straniero", your
soul is arrested from the moment the slow spell-binding mandolin ignites the hypnotic patterns recorded by the legendary
Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. In "Bar Mediterraneo", the title track, bittersweet guitar’s riffs, analog waves and choirs are
overwhelming the song giving you what you would like to hear on a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast.
Nu Genea couldn't afford to overlook their firmly anchored roots into the Neapolitan culture and its dialect with "Tienaté",
where the power of neapolitan language (interpreted by Fabiana Martone) supports those quarter-tone strings and the
uncessant folk-disco groove that spreads to the entire song. In "Praja Magia", repetitive mandolin riffs lead the song,
giving space to a choral yet tight vocal line that speaks of Varcaturo, a village close to Napoli. In "Rire", a volley of poetic,
deceptively laidback, lyrical fury interpreted by Sicilian Marco Castello intimately combines with a highly musical, multitextured
instrumental backbone and the swoon of a chanson in its heart. In "La Crisi'', the lyrics of a Raffaele Viviani’s
poem from 1930 have been adapted to a laidback jazz-funk groove in full NG style. In "Vesuvio", revaluing the evocative
verses and powerful mantra of Vesuvio, Nu Genea re-adapted to the dancefloor a folk song by the working-class band E’
Zezi from Pomigliano D'Arco, combining the voices of a school choir with Jupiter-6 arpeggios and bold percussions.
Bar Mediterraneo is the place where people constantly return to transform curiosity into participation, tradition into
sharing, unfamiliar into familiar. When travellers come through its “doors”, carrying their treasures of words and emotions,
they aren’t strangers any more. They take part in a shared experience, enriching themselves and others by leading to
unexpected musical journeys.

TRACKLIST:

A1. Bar Mediterraneo
A2. Tienaté
A3. Gelbi (with Marzouk Mejri)
A4. Marechià (with Célia Kameni)
A5. Straniero
B1. Praja Magia
B2. Vesuvio
B3. Rire
B4. La Crisi

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Tresor & Wordandsound A1-Poster Campaign - 100% Donation for Ukraine - 500 Posters Available - Minimum Price 5 EUR per Poster.

Become Part of our Buy/ Resale Poster Campaign - 100% of all income will be donated to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund. https://www.unocha.org/ukraine/about-uhf

Buy the Poster and Resell it To your Customer - ideally for the same price. The more we sell the more we can Donate.

The Price starts at EUR 5,00 per Poster, but you can pay more. The More you Pay, the More we can donate.

As time is precious, Wordandsound already started with a Donation of EUR 500,00. We will inform you about further possible Donations through this as we proceed.

Thank you for helping.

500 A1 Posters available. All Posters will be shipped folded!


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Omasta – Jazz Report from the Hood
A streetwise debut from Poland’s boldest jazz newcomers

Over the past few months, five young musicians performing under the name Omasta have taken the Polish and European jazz scenes by storm. Having gained recognition for their intense live shows, they are now ready to deliver their debut studio effort. Jazz Report from the Hood a collectively composed album immersed in the textures of city streets and everyday urban life.

The name Omasta comes from a regional Krakow dialect word meaning “fat added to food for flavor.” It’s a fitting metaphor: the group’s music is saturated with thick drums and deep, heavy bass. Hailing from Krakow, the band took shape over several years, officially launching with a J Dilla tribute concert in February 2024 at the city’s Paul’s Boutique.
Since then, Omasta have performed at venues and festivals across Poland and Europe – including The Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s in London, AB in Brussels, Gent Jazz Festival, and more. They've shared stages with Slum Village, Aquiles Navarro (Irreversible Entanglements), long-time Astigmatic Records collaborator Tenderlonious, and Polish free jazz legend Leszek Zadlo. Along the way, they’ve also paid tribute to the music of Madlib through specially curated live shows. All of this, notably, before even releasing their first single.

A1 Cornerstone
A2 Burner
A3 Mandem
A4 Who They Was
A5 What's the Point?
B1 Dead End
B2 Ankle Breaker
B3 Falsehood
B4 We Gonna Make It
B5 Kazimierz

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Continuing his inspired path into fractalised micro-dub-techno, John Howes lands his Paperclip Minimiser project amongst kindred spirits on Blank Mind. Crooked rhythms and tender machine hums hang in crisply defined virtual space — a gallery of science and soul that follows a natural lineage from the breakthrough years of the clicks n' cuts era by way of UK bass permutations.

Operating out of the UK's North West, Howes has been incubating a singular sound through his ongoing development of intuitive production and performance tools under the Cong Burn banner. The sometime record label and software stamp has a long-standing friendship with Blank Mind—the affinity is easy to hear in their shared exploration of modernist broken techno. Having just released a second album under his Paperclip Minimiser alias for similarly spirited West Coast US lodestar Peak Oil, Topology Transform extends the project's sound world with three tracks carved from the same period of studio orienteering. Free of the constraints of the LP format, these three tracks open up broader possibilities from Howes' customised systems, navigating the outer edges of the Paperclip paradox.

The A side opens on a 150BPM cascade of crunchy percussion and pin-prick ripples, driven by twitchy kinesis while maintaining a light-footed dexterity. If the first track finds its locomotion through double-time intensity, the second track celebrates the space that opens up around half-time pacing — two sides of the same tempo that radiate distinct energies. Conversely, the B side stretches out into an extended ambient repose. The consistency between this beatless excursion and the more propulsive A side speaks to the clarity of Howes' craft—a shimmering, blue-hued pool of advanced sonic treatment from a producer in command of a truly personal studio practice.


Mastered at Manmade by Marine Benabou
Design by Sam Purcell
Press release by Oli Warwick

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Today Chicago-based percussionist, composer and producer Makaya McCraven announces the details of his new album In These Times, which is set for release on September 23rd via International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL Recordings. The first offering from the new album is a song tiled "Seventh String," which encapsulates the various musical dimensions present on McCraven's new album, a career-defining body of work that is a remarkable new peak for the already-soaring McCraven. In These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021). With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators - including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill - the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer. Profiled in the New York Times, Vice, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, Makaya and the music he makes today is what Passion of Weiss explains, "is part of a necessary conversation about the next evolution of the Black improvised music known colloquially as 'jazz.' He's found the threads connecting the past with the present, and is either wrapping them with new colors and textures, or he's plucking them gleefully like the strings of a grand instrument." McCraven, who has been aptly called a "cultural synthesizer" and "beat scientist," has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st century folk music. In These Times encompasses his artistic ethos, his experiences, identity and lineage, while pushing his music to new heights.

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Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound.

Listen: https://listen.k7.com/1c1166cc-68f0-4afc-a273-479eb8ac10b1

Tracklist:
A1 Intuition, Nimbus
A2 Alignment, Orbits
B1 Impatience, Magma
B2 Persistence, Buds

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Over the course of 2025 International Anthem will be celebrating their eleventh year of existence by revisiting some of the most celebrated (and hard to find) entries in their decade of releases. These LP packages will be presented with new liner notes, new insert booklets, and the fresh 2025 redesign of their iconic obi strip and dome logo. They will also be at a price point intended to help make it easier for stores to stock and sell these essential pieces of their catalog.
Makaya McCraven’s International Anthem debut In The Moment is the album that properly introduced the then-burgeoning drummer/producer to the world.
140g Classic Black LP in heavyweight jacket, with 12x12" insert booklet, IA OBI strip & printed poly-lined inner sleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany.


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Reissue of the classic.

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Repress!

"Where to place YIN YIN on the map ? Maybe somewhere between Netherlands and South-East Asia, on an imaginary tropical island. That’s where they brew a strange cocktail made of discogrooves, powerful “thaï beat” tunes and experimental tropi-synths. After two remarkable singles on Les Disques Bongo Joe, they’re back with « The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers ». Made of groovy tunes and dance killers, this album could be the crazy soundtrack of a 60s hippie village on the South China Sea.

Yin Yin passed last months burning scenes and make people dance around Europe. But they found just enough time to record this first tape in a ballet school in a remote village near the Alpaca Mountain. Kees Berkers and Yves Lennertz were the puppet masters of this in-studio experience. The result is a landscape where rabbits chase after tigers, an upside-down world were you'll definitely dance for ever."



It’s one of the coolest things to emerge from the Dutch Deep South in quite a while: the debut album by Yin Yin (not counting last year’s cassette only ‘Pingpxng’). The Maastricht outfit pairs a deep appreciation of South East Asian sixties and seventies instrumental music with a slick modern funk and disco groove, tied together by a solid understanding of timeless cinematic sounds, as exemplified perfectly by the opening track, a laidback Thai funk groove that ends in psychedelic turmoil. ‘One Inch Punch’ (released as a single earlier this year) is one of the many standout tracks here - a luscious Asian space disco affair that sounds like the soundtrack of a Shaw Brothers movie that never happened. Yin Yin show off their instrumental skills on the freeflowing ‘Alpaca Mountain’ and go straight for the dancefloor with the infectious disco stomper ‘Sui Ye’. Their all-encompassing open-mindedness is perhaps best illustrated by the title track - a strange concoction of spaghetti western sounds, cheeky disco and Thai funk. ‘The Rabbit that Hunts Tigers’ is another winner for Bongo Joe and mandatory listening for fans of Khruangbin, Altin Gün and Jungle by Night. (Ro)

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