2024 Repress

First vinyl pressing of Baroque by Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Susumu Yokota. The full length album was originally released by United Sounds Of Blue in 2014, a subdivision of Frogman Records in CD format. Now it is being re-released by Barcelona-based record label Modern Obscure Music as a double LP and in digital format. Baroque is one of the most significant albums of Susumu signed under his original name, and this is the first time the album will be pressed on a double LP 12". Yokota, was an eclectic, highly prolific electronic musician and composer from Japan who died in 2015 at 54. "There is always fear, rage, and ugliness existing behind beauty. I have been trying to express ki-do-ai-raku (the four emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness) through music. I would like to express even one's hidden emotion with reality. It's my eternal goal." Baroque is a clear example of this, thought the deep listeing of the album you can experiment all of that feelings in just one record and feel how his music infulenced the next generation of producers during the two next decades till today. The Tokyo-based artist devoted his time and creative energy to achieving this goal, and the result is a vast discography that begins with banging early acid house tracks in the 1990s, moves across the next two decades to include deep house and Detroit-influenced techno, a stunning run of ambient electronic albums and, in his last decade, a glorious confluence that wove his various skills into a series of borderless electronic records. Modern Obscure Music team is really excited to bring this gem to the light, Baroque is remastered and distributed in two 12" to be played in clubs and home sound-system bringing the best quality of sound to have the best experience. Susumu Yokota (?? ? Yokota Susumu, or ???·??? Susumu Yokota (April 22,1960 - March 27, 2015) Also known by the pseudonyms Stevia and Ebi, among other.


TRACKLIST

A1 Deformed Pearl 6:06
A2 Deep Sea Diva 5:54
A3 Gem Stones 5:37

B1 Keel 5:12
B2 Re 4:47

C1 Extension 4:25
C2 Royal Flush 5:50
C3 Boreas 5:25

D1 Spinner 5:44
D2 Nacre 6:04

All tracks written and produced by SUSUMU YOKOTA
A&R and Art Direction DAI SATO & KENGO
Original art direction and design by SHIN-ICHIRO HIRATA (PRIMITIVEHANDS INC.)
Photo by HIROHIKO IKEDA
Mastered by THORU KOTETUSU
Remastered by PEDRO PINA
Design adapted by ALBERT PÉREZ CASDO
Reissued by PEDRO VIAN on MODERN OBSCURE MUSIC

MOMA002

® FROGMAN RECORDS 2004
© MODERN OBSCURE MUSIC 2022
More

LP 180g Heavyweight vinyl, Remastered, with original track-list available on vinyl for the first time

"Ken Ishii has risen to be one of techno's biggest names" Bandcamp Daily

"A pivotal moment in the history of techno, ambient and electronic music from Japan. An important milestone in a journey to explore the endless possibilities of music and a precious result of our passion and adventure at the time" Manabu Yamazaki (Sublime Records)


GENRE: Techno, Ambient


Tracklist:

1. Into The Inside (2024 Remaster)
2. Fading Sky (2024 Remaster)
3. Non Essential (2024 Remaster)

Side B

1. Finite Time (2024 Remaster)
2. Interjection (2024 Remaster)
3. Scene One (2024 Remaster)


New liner notes by Martyn Pepperell

The musician and DJ Ken Ishii sits right at the pinnacle of techno's most noteworthy, but although a game changer for the artist personally - and for Japanese electronic music in general - his 1994 album 'Reference to Difference' is something of an unsung gem today.

Now reissued and remastered, released to mark the 30th anniversary of Musicmine / Sublime Records, and available on vinyl with its original track-list for the first time, this stunning, lesser-known classic is ripe for rediscovery.

Born 1970 in Sapporo, Ishii was introduced to electronic music at a young age through arcade games, and Japanese and German pioneers like Yellow Magic Orchestra, Isao Tomita and Kraftwerk. During his teens, he absorbed new wave, synth-pop, EBM and industrial, before making a life-changing discovery of Detroit techno in the late 80s.

As the 1990s dawned, so did his introduction to Black Dog Productions and Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence compilations. Blown away by the emerging British and American IDM, braindance, and ambient techno movements, he quickly folded their influence into his still-developing but cultivated aesthetic.

A futuristic confluence of unplaceable ambient atmospheres, space age techno, IDM and minimalist composition, 'Reference To Difference' unfolds as an effortless series of exercises in pristine synth textures, robust man/machine rhythm and understated melodies. It teleports the listener back to a golden moment in the mid-1990s, when a dedicated generation rose out of Tokyo's storied clubs and took the innovation, energy, and creativity of Japan's unique techno culture to the world.

Opened in 1993, Maniac Love was a new nightclub where Manabu Yamazaki aka DJ Yama promoted the Sublime parties, which soon became a crucial hub within the burgeoning Tokyo underground. It was here where Yamazaki rubbed shoulders with peers including Ishii and Susumu Yokota, and the trio's future became intertwined.

Much like Ishii, the late Susumu Yokota began his musical career by reaching out to Europe. Not long before Ishii released his debut longplayer 'Garden On The Palm' through Belgium's R&S, Yokota released his debut LP 'The Frankfurt-Tokyo Connection' through Harthouse, the German label co-founded by Sven Väth. In the wake of both records' overseas success, Ishii and Yokota set a benchmark for techno in Japan.

By 1993, as they both became in-demand producers and DJs, it felt like their dreams were coming true. Through talking with Ishii and Yokota, Yamazaki became emboldened to transform Sublime into a record label.

Soon after, Yamazaki partnered with Hideoki Amano, who was on the verge of founding Musicmine, a now respected and longstanding independent Japanese music company. As Yamazaki tells it, Amano helped him turn his dream into a reality: Sublime Records.

For Musicmine and Sublime Records' inaugural album releases, Yamazaki and Amano approached both Ishii and Yokota, resulting in the simultaneous drop of 'Reference To Difference' and 'Acid Mt. Fuji' respectively, on June 29th 1994.

Yamazaki remembered 'Reference To Difference' being well received by DJs, listeners, record store buyers and journalists, stating "people were excited by this new wave of music coming out of Japan, and had high praise for its unique sound."

With the pair of LPs further stamping Japan on the contemporary musical globe, the scene was beginning to boom at home too. Specialist record stores, and club music magazines like Ele-King and Loud spread the word, and in the wake of Maniac Love's impact, new nightclubs like the legendary Liquid Room were opening up, bringing a steady stream of world-famous DJs to the Japanese capital.

"Without a doubt, I think the arrival of Ken Ishii was a major turning point for the Japanese music industry in the 1990s," Amano reflected. "Nowadays, the Western club music scene is rediscovering Japanese techno from the 1990s, and digging our music is a common sight, but before Ken Ishii, no Japanese DJ was in sync with the global club music scene. He was the catalyst."

"Looking back, I can tell it was meaningful that this was one of the first techno albums by a Japanese artist that was released on a Japanese label," Ishii reflects. "Maybe I did something that bridged between old school Japanese electronic music and 'new school' techno in line with the Detroit sound with this record" he adds, in modest understatement.
The new liner notes were written Martyn Pepperell, a well-regarded music journalist who has covered Susumu Yokota for Wax Poetics and Midori Takada for Dazed, amongst numerous other articles.

Ken Ishi DJ dates:

Fri 14 June Tokyo, Japan : MUSICMINE 30th Anniversary @ WWW
Sat 15 June Nagano Pref, Japan : Re:birth Festival 2024 @ Kurumayama-Kogen Skypark Resort
Sat 22 June Tbilisi, Georgia : Tbilisi Open Air (Khidi Stage) @ Lisi Wonderland
Fri 12 July Tokyo, Japan : TECHNOH LAB. @ Suigian (*Non+techno performance with Manjiro Tatsumi)
Fri 12 July Tokyo, Japan : @ Vent
Fri 26 July Tokyo, Japan : @ Shinjuku Loft
Sun 28 July Naeba, Japan : @ Fuji Rock Festival
Sat 31 August Amsterdam, The Netherlands : Wooferland 2024 @ Houtrak Halfweg

More

2024 Repress

First vinyl pressing of Baroque by Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Susumu Yokota. The full length album was originally released by United Sounds Of Blue in 2014, a subdivision of Frogman Records in CD format. Now it is being re-released by Barcelona-based record label Modern Obscure Music as a double LP and in digital format. Baroque is one of the most significant albums of Susumu signed under his original name, and this is the first time the album will be pressed on a double LP 12". Yokota, was an eclectic, highly prolific electronic musician and composer from Japan who died in 2015 at 54. "There is always fear, rage, and ugliness existing behind beauty. I have been trying to express ki-do-ai-raku (the four emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness) through music. I would like to express even one's hidden emotion with reality. It's my eternal goal." Baroque is a clear example of this, thought the deep listeing of the album you can experiment all of that feelings in just one record and feel how his music infulenced the next generation of producers during the two next decades till today. The Tokyo-based artist devoted his time and creative energy to achieving this goal, and the result is a vast discography that begins with banging early acid house tracks in the 1990s, moves across the next two decades to include deep house and Detroit-influenced techno, a stunning run of ambient electronic albums and, in his last decade, a glorious confluence that wove his various skills into a series of borderless electronic records. Modern Obscure Music team is really excited to bring this gem to the light, Baroque is remastered and distributed in two 12" to be played in clubs and home sound-system bringing the best quality of sound to have the best experience. Susumu Yokota (?? ? Yokota Susumu, or ???·??? Susumu Yokota (April 22,1960 - March 27, 2015) Also known by the pseudonyms Stevia and Ebi, among other.


TRACKLIST

A1 Deformed Pearl 6:06
A2 Deep Sea Diva 5:54
A3 Gem Stones 5:37

B1 Keel 5:12
B2 Re 4:47

C1 Extension 4:25
C2 Royal Flush 5:50
C3 Boreas 5:25

D1 Spinner 5:44
D2 Nacre 6:04

All tracks written and produced by SUSUMU YOKOTA
A&R and Art Direction DAI SATO & KENGO
Original art direction and design by SHIN-ICHIRO HIRATA (PRIMITIVEHANDS INC.)
Photo by HIROHIKO IKEDA
Mastered by THORU KOTETUSU
Remastered by PEDRO PINA
Design adapted by ALBERT PÉREZ CASDO
Reissued by PEDRO VIAN on MODERN OBSCURE MUSIC

MOMA002

® FROGMAN RECORDS 2004
© MODERN OBSCURE MUSIC 2022
More

Rights: World excluding France & UK

DOUBLE BLACK LP REPRESS EDITION : 2x 140 Grs Black Vinyl, 5 mm spine sleeve, 2 x Printed Inner sleeve ,marketing sticker

SHORT PRODUCT INFORMATIONS

SHORT INFOS / KEY POINTS

" Originally released on September 30, 1991, Orbital's eponymous debut album became known as "The Green Album" to distinguish it from their second album (known as "The Brown Album")
" The Green Album includes the seminal 'Belfast' and a live version of 'Chime', the landmark dance track that launched their career in 1990
" The album has been remastered and represented in multiple formats, released April 19th alongside the band's 'Green Album' UK tour
" Initial deluxe 2X Black LP & 2x Colored LP sold out & meant as one run/no repress -This new & permanent Double Black Vinyl (Repress edition) to be released August 9th, 2024.





TRACKLIST

DOUBLE VINYL
Disc 1
A SIDE : A1 The Moebius - A2 Speed Freak - A3 Macrohead
B SIDE : B1 Oolaa - B2 Desert Storm
Disc 2
C SIDE : C1 Fahrenheit 303 - C2 Steel Cube Idolatry - C3 High Rise
D SIDE : D1 Chime (Live) - D2 Midnight (Live) - D3 Belfast


More

LP, Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Sticker

Genre: Ambient, Proto-Techno, Experimental, Minimalism


Tracklisting LP

a1. entrance
a2. orientation
a3. club-a
a4. club-b
b1. days-man
b2. boy in vision
b3. schooling
b4. graduation

WRWTFWW Records is honored to announce the first ever vinyl release for esteemed Japanese producer, composer, and environmental music luminary Yoshio Ojima’s rare forgotten album Club, previously only released as a limited edition of 50 cassettes back in 1983. The electronica/proto-techno/experimental gem is available as an LP reissue supervised by the artist, sourced from the original masters and housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve. Only 500 copies were made.

A precious and sought-after item among collectors and enthusiasts of early Japanese electronic music, Club is a stunning and timeless collection of avant-garde electronica, proto-techno, mecha-ambient, and ear-pleasing experimentations from Yoshio Ojima, the ambient/environmental master behind the pivotal Music for Spiral albums released in 1988 (aka Une Collection Des Chaînons I and II reissued on WRWTFWW), and producer of Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Pier & Loft, Motohiko Hamase’s #Notes of Forestry, and Satsuki Shibano's iconic Rendez-Vous.

Filled with quirky minimalist acid-synth-and-drum-machine-handiwork, bouncy collages of beautifully childlike techno and pre-IDM, and the irresistible DIY charm of humble beginnings, the 8-track album is a fun, adventurous and risqué-but-catchy-in-the-most-peculiar-way piece of Japanese electronic music history neatly capturing the incredible creative energy boiling through the country’s scene in the 1980s.


Experience the roots of Japanese electronica!


Points of interests

For fans of electronica, ambient, minimalism, kankyo ongaku, cassettes, YMO, Hiroshi Yoshimura, DIY adventures, albums that were never on vinyl before, music that predicted the future (which is now the present…or even the past!)

First ever vinyl release of Japanese environmental music legend Yoshio Ojima’s super rare 1983 album Club. More

Track list:
A1. Jet Free
A2. Cryfaze
A3. Tiraquon's Final Quest
B1. 1 4 U
B2. Acid Funk Sequel (Vinyl Exclusive)
B3. Beyond2

Highlight:
Space Dimension Controller returns to Aus Music with six tracks of superb cosmic adventure

EP arrives digitally or as a six-track 12" including exclusive vinyl-only cut 'Acid Funk Sequel' on July 26th
Space Dimension Controller is an intergalactic musical explorer. His sci-fi sounds paint technicolour pictures
in widescreen. Whether crafting definitive albums like Love Beyond The Intersect on R&S, club-ready EPs
for Aus and Running Back or dropping collections of unreleased tracks on his own Tiraquon Recordings, his
work sounds futuristic yet nostalgic for the past. It is fueled by funk and crafted on synths, hardware, tape
machines and various other imperfect tools that lend it a loveable character.

His Final Quest EP is a "French-inspired" release, which is an influence that predates the Space Dimension
Controller alias and goes back to Hamill's teenage years. It is also the last EP from his current studio before
it is dismantled and moved to Amsterdam sometime this summer.

From start to finish, this new EP showcases Hamill's ability to craft emotionally evocative melodies and
genuinely absorbing soundtracks. Opener 'Jet Free' is awash with filtered synths that are sugary sweet and
underpinned by funky guitar riffs and laissez-faire grooves. The wonderful 'Cryfaze' has rueful pads spiralling
around sleek drums that bounce along next to supple neon arps, while 'Tiraquon's Final Quest' is a bubbling
and elastic rhythm run through with soft acid squelches and pixelated pads full of cosmic charm. '1 4 U' rides
on heavier drums but is no less joyous thanks to the crystalline melodies and dreamy vocals that swell the
heart. Vinyl exclusive 'Acid Funk Sequel' is another playful moon safari with buoyant bass patterns and
snappy drum funk under ever-evolving melodic refrains and 'Beyond2' closes down with forlorn, introspective
melodies that ripple over heavy-hearted chords.
More

In an unprecedented international collaboration, Energy Exchange Records presents 'The Napoli Exchange' - the brainchild of Energy Exchange Records co-founders, Lewis and Ziggy, joining forces with producer and label boss Federico Gallotti (Tartelet / La Scimmia), the project was inspired by numerous visits to Naples, allured by the mediterranean breeze and of course the underground disco and funk forged by labels such as Early Sounds and Periodica Records. This meeting of minds created an opportunity to build bridges from the historic Italian city to the broader european scene of club crossover music.

A1. Juno, Minerva, Venus e Fortuna
A2. Napoli Fresca
A3. A Pusteggia
A4. Holding Your Heart
B1. Seratina
B2.Cavalluccio Rosso
B3. Hurting Lies
B4. Girovago
B5. Controra
More

12" - VINYL ONLY

Tracklist:

A-Side
A1) Can U Feel It (05:16 min)
A2) On The Spectrum (05:48 min)
A3) Lucky (04:33 min)

B-Side
B1) Shower Scene (Extra Steam) (07:08 min)
B2) Time Slips Away (05:54 min)

Short info:
Like phoenix rising from the ashes. Buero Hahn is back. Laying off on the edits for 6 years Bell
Towers, who currently scrambles eggs in the kitchen of his wine bar, has still got. Exquisite selection,
soft touch, strong finish. Hey D.J. you will need these songs. More

Can't Stop .There seems no better way to describe the work, party and music ethic of Solomun. Carrying the mirror ball on his shoulders like Atlas, it is impossible to imagine the modern disco world without his dynamics. While his countless DJ sets give fresh impetus to the many shades of house, techno and their siblings, conversely they are a driving force behind his studio and remix excursions. Can't Stop provides an impressive insight into his musical universe.

Resulting from a rather casual after-dinner-listening-session during a car ride on Ibiza with a zesty Gerd Janson, who coaxed the title track out of Solomun making use of their friendship to full capacity, it is a triptych of direct, functional and free-spirited dance floor approach. After some back and forth in the search of the missing pieces to make it so, Solomun managed to deliver the perfect Running Back peak time record.

While Can't Stop channels UK dance music highs through German engineering values, which makes it perfect for dance hall and car rides (yes, indeed!) alike, its heavy dub is constructed with fearless techno DJs in mind who like new beat excerpts, rave stabs and a lot of bass in equal parts. Follow The Disco Ball leads us back to the aforementioned Greek titan and can be read as a love letter to the genre that can be found in its name. Catchy, compelling and cool, it is a masterclass in user-friendly, yet edgy arrangement and dancing shoe compatibility. We repeat: the perfect Running Back peak time record. Can't Stop, won't stop!


Short: Solomun on Running Back. Dance floor fanatics at work. A triptych of fun, friendship and functionality. Can't Stop channels UK dance music highs through German engineering values. Perfect for dance hall and car rides alike. Its heavy dub is constructed with fearless techno DJs in mind who like new beat excerpts, rave stabs and a lot of bass in equal parts. Follow The Disco Ball can be read as a love letter to the genre that is found in its name. Catchy, compelling and cool, it is a masterclass in user-friendly, yet edgy arrangement and dancing shoe compatibility. The perfect Running Back peak time record. Can't Stop, won't stop! More

Format Notes: First-time 7" vinyl single reissue, remastered by Simon Francis, full colour printed sleeve with specially commissioned artwork from Stanley Chow


Track List:


A Manchester United Calypso

B Manchester Football Double


Release Notes:

We can't hide the fact that we're a Manchester label with some very strong feelings for the Red side of the city. Regardless of your tribal affiliation - whether you have one or not - Edric Connor's "Manchester United Calypso" is an undisputedly joyous, soulful classic. Like the bunch of bouncing Busby Babes the song sought to raise up, it's remarkable, stylish and profoundly memorable; and its magical legacy has only grown in the 70 years since it first surfaced.




A testament to its enduring brilliance, "Manchester United Calypso" is heard to this day on the terraces of Old Trafford and beyond. However, it's impossible to find a copy of the original 78rpm shellac release or, indeed, the 45rpm vinyl. So, we're delighted to reissue this unforgettable anthem - with Lord Kitchener's equally dazzling "Manchester Football Double" on the B-Side - and make it available on 7" vinyl to United fans of any vintage; as well as fans of vintage calypso fire! Featuring typically striking, specially commissioned artwork from the legendary Stan Chow, this record is a collectors item for the ages.



"Manchester,
Manchester United
A bunch of bouncing "Busby Babes",

They deserve to be knighted

If ever they're playing in your town,

You must get to that football ground

Take a lesson come to see,

Football taught by Matt Busby

Manchester,

Manchester United"



Whether you have United in your heart or not, "Manchester United Calypso" is a record that, like the best football teams in Old Trafford's history, swaggers with an addictive beauty that's impossible to ignore.
It's impossible to discuss the significance of the calypso without remembering what ultimately ripped through the heart of this most beloved youthful side.
Eight of the Babes who were celebrated in the Calypso tragically lost their lives on 6th February 1958 in the Munich air disaster.
Like the players and the club itself, the United calypso radiates a special type of magic and speaks to the spirit of United:
the demand to be fearless, unrelenting, creative and obliged to entertain the viewing public.



The Calypso was written by Eric Watterson and Ken Jones and sung by Edric Connor, who moved to England from Trinidad in 1944.
Connor is considered a pioneer, popularising calypso music, becoming the first black actor to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company, setting up the Afro-Asian Caribbean Agency to represent Black and minority artists with his wife, Pearl and establishing a theatre workshop.
“I would think coming to this country right after the war, as Edric did, and getting into BBC radio, and moving among the people, he did a great deal of good for our own community,” Pearl once revealed.
He saw himself as a self-appointed ambassador for his country, Trinidad. We were very nationalistic back then. We believed we had a country worthy of recognition”.



The B-Side is another doozy.
Swoon along to Lord Kitchener's fantastically woozy "Manchester Football Double" - a fitting ode to the city where you'll "find football's headquarters".


Then and, after the 2024 FA Cup Final, now.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 7" well and truly soars.

The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this sought-after gem finds a home in many more collections, from Manchester to Malta, Mumbai to Malaysia. More

LP 180g Heavyweight vinyl, Remastered, with original track-list available on vinyl for the first time

"Ken Ishii has risen to be one of techno's biggest names" Bandcamp Daily

"A pivotal moment in the history of techno, ambient and electronic music from Japan. An important milestone in a journey to explore the endless possibilities of music and a precious result of our passion and adventure at the time" Manabu Yamazaki (Sublime Records)


GENRE: Techno, Ambient


Tracklist:

1. Into The Inside (2024 Remaster)
2. Fading Sky (2024 Remaster)
3. Non Essential (2024 Remaster)

Side B

1. Finite Time (2024 Remaster)
2. Interjection (2024 Remaster)
3. Scene One (2024 Remaster)


New liner notes by Martyn Pepperell

The musician and DJ Ken Ishii sits right at the pinnacle of techno's most noteworthy, but although a game changer for the artist personally - and for Japanese electronic music in general - his 1994 album 'Reference to Difference' is something of an unsung gem today.

Now reissued and remastered, released to mark the 30th anniversary of Musicmine / Sublime Records, and available on vinyl with its original track-list for the first time, this stunning, lesser-known classic is ripe for rediscovery.

Born 1970 in Sapporo, Ishii was introduced to electronic music at a young age through arcade games, and Japanese and German pioneers like Yellow Magic Orchestra, Isao Tomita and Kraftwerk. During his teens, he absorbed new wave, synth-pop, EBM and industrial, before making a life-changing discovery of Detroit techno in the late 80s.

As the 1990s dawned, so did his introduction to Black Dog Productions and Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence compilations. Blown away by the emerging British and American IDM, braindance, and ambient techno movements, he quickly folded their influence into his still-developing but cultivated aesthetic.

A futuristic confluence of unplaceable ambient atmospheres, space age techno, IDM and minimalist composition, 'Reference To Difference' unfolds as an effortless series of exercises in pristine synth textures, robust man/machine rhythm and understated melodies. It teleports the listener back to a golden moment in the mid-1990s, when a dedicated generation rose out of Tokyo's storied clubs and took the innovation, energy, and creativity of Japan's unique techno culture to the world.

Opened in 1993, Maniac Love was a new nightclub where Manabu Yamazaki aka DJ Yama promoted the Sublime parties, which soon became a crucial hub within the burgeoning Tokyo underground. It was here where Yamazaki rubbed shoulders with peers including Ishii and Susumu Yokota, and the trio's future became intertwined.

Much like Ishii, the late Susumu Yokota began his musical career by reaching out to Europe. Not long before Ishii released his debut longplayer 'Garden On The Palm' through Belgium's R&S, Yokota released his debut LP 'The Frankfurt-Tokyo Connection' through Harthouse, the German label co-founded by Sven Väth. In the wake of both records' overseas success, Ishii and Yokota set a benchmark for techno in Japan.

By 1993, as they both became in-demand producers and DJs, it felt like their dreams were coming true. Through talking with Ishii and Yokota, Yamazaki became emboldened to transform Sublime into a record label.

Soon after, Yamazaki partnered with Hideoki Amano, who was on the verge of founding Musicmine, a now respected and longstanding independent Japanese music company. As Yamazaki tells it, Amano helped him turn his dream into a reality: Sublime Records.

For Musicmine and Sublime Records' inaugural album releases, Yamazaki and Amano approached both Ishii and Yokota, resulting in the simultaneous drop of 'Reference To Difference' and 'Acid Mt. Fuji' respectively, on June 29th 1994.

Yamazaki remembered 'Reference To Difference' being well received by DJs, listeners, record store buyers and journalists, stating "people were excited by this new wave of music coming out of Japan, and had high praise for its unique sound."

With the pair of LPs further stamping Japan on the contemporary musical globe, the scene was beginning to boom at home too. Specialist record stores, and club music magazines like Ele-King and Loud spread the word, and in the wake of Maniac Love's impact, new nightclubs like the legendary Liquid Room were opening up, bringing a steady stream of world-famous DJs to the Japanese capital.

"Without a doubt, I think the arrival of Ken Ishii was a major turning point for the Japanese music industry in the 1990s," Amano reflected. "Nowadays, the Western club music scene is rediscovering Japanese techno from the 1990s, and digging our music is a common sight, but before Ken Ishii, no Japanese DJ was in sync with the global club music scene. He was the catalyst."

"Looking back, I can tell it was meaningful that this was one of the first techno albums by a Japanese artist that was released on a Japanese label," Ishii reflects. "Maybe I did something that bridged between old school Japanese electronic music and 'new school' techno in line with the Detroit sound with this record" he adds, in modest understatement.
The new liner notes were written Martyn Pepperell, a well-regarded music journalist who has covered Susumu Yokota for Wax Poetics and Midori Takada for Dazed, amongst numerous other articles.

Ken Ishi DJ dates:

Fri 14 June Tokyo, Japan : MUSICMINE 30th Anniversary @ WWW
Sat 15 June Nagano Pref, Japan : Re:birth Festival 2024 @ Kurumayama-Kogen Skypark Resort
Sat 22 June Tbilisi, Georgia : Tbilisi Open Air (Khidi Stage) @ Lisi Wonderland
Fri 12 July Tokyo, Japan : TECHNOH LAB. @ Suigian (*Non+techno performance with Manjiro Tatsumi)
Fri 12 July Tokyo, Japan : @ Vent
Fri 26 July Tokyo, Japan : @ Shinjuku Loft
Sun 28 July Naeba, Japan : @ Fuji Rock Festival
Sat 31 August Amsterdam, The Netherlands : Wooferland 2024 @ Houtrak Halfweg

More

LP

Special remarks:
180g

Tracklist:

A1) Ago 01:22 min
A2) Solo 03:57 min
A3) Santi 03:59 min
A4) Battery 03:23 min
B1) I Can Feel My Dreams 03:35 min
B2) Soup 01:11 min
B3) Acryl 02:53 min
B4) Domenica 04:00 min
B5) Memo 04:01 min

Info:
After his debut album 'Happy Floating' in 2022, Leipzig-based producer Damian Dalla Torre returns to Squama with 'I Can Feel My Dreams'. Developed during a residency in Santiago, Chile, it incorporates electronic, jazz and ambient influences utilizing Andean quena flutes, synthesizers and field recordings and again centering on collaborations with fellow artists like Ruth Goller, Miriam Adefris and Christian Balvig.
A wistful haze runs throughout the album, coming out at the end, there's both light and darkness and no need to choose.
More

12" - 1180g silver coloured
Vinyl Inside-out cut, heavy cardboard full
colour print with silver

GENRE/S: Techno

TRACKLIST:

A1 Insolate - Go With You
A2 JNKS - Refill
A3 Namhar - Run Baby Run
B1 Fabrizio De Santis - 1-90128
B2 Kichi Kazuko - Serpents
B3 Jay York - Go Back

SHORT INFO:

NECHTO introduces the first compilation to the catalogue be released on a 12" vinyl
remaining open to both fresh talent and known faces on the label roster. The record
features six dynamic tracks, which have been road-tested on global dance floors by
NECHTO founder Nastia. Gifted producer Namhar, featured on the compilation with
his powerful track 'Run Baby Run' , and Mexican producer JNKS, debuting 'Refill',
are no strangers to NECHTO, as their tracks have previously been featured on digital
releases. New faces are the Italian powerhouse Fabrizio Di Santis who's track
'90128' has debuted during Nastia's Mixmag In The Lab set along with the
high-energy banger 'Go With U' by Croatian techno sensation Insolate and
'Serpents' by promising Ukrainian talent Kichi Kazuko. 'Go Back' by Jay York's
rounds up the compilation, introducing a new but familiar face to the minimalistic
intelligent techno scene.
This compilation is a potent mix of energetic tracks, showcasing electronic music in
its most vibrant and unfiltered form. It introduces skilled producers from Italy,
Croatia, Mexico, India, the USA, and Ukraine More