An album beloved by fans since its release in March 2004, Ultravisitor is one of the most popular records in Squarepusher's entire discography. A unique blend of studio and live recordings, it's an excellent showcase for the diversity of his music: from the frenetic title track to the funky jazz of "Iambic 9 Poetry" to the sunlit bliss of "Tommib Help Buss" and beyond.

For the 20th anniversary, Warp is proud to present this expanded deluxe version, a limited edition one-time pressing, carefully remastered from the original tapes by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering and overseen by Tom Jenkinson. Never entirely happy with the sound of the original release, Tom has relished the opportunity to revisit the tapes, bringing out fresh dynamics and details in the tracks.

Bonus album Venus No.17 Maximised is compiled from tracks originally released as part of the Ultravisitor promo EP, released 26 January 2004; the Square Window 3" CD, a free bonus disc given out with WarpMart pre-orders of the Ultravisitor album; and the Venus No.17 EP. The accompanying booklet contains rare photos, flyers, and recording documentation.

- Specs Black 2LP in 5mm wide spine sleeve, printed inner sleeves + 1LP in 3mm spine sleeve, polylined sleeve + 16 page booklet all in printed O-card sleeve

Tracklist:
A1. Ultravisitor
A2. I Fulcrum
A3. Iambic 9 Poetry
A4. Andrei
B1. 50 Cycles
B2. Menelec
B3. C-Town Smash
C1. Steinbolt
C2. An Arched Pathway
C3. Telluric Piece
C4. District Line II
D1. Circlewave
D2. Tetra-Sync
D3. Tommib Help Buss
D4. Every Day I Love
E1. Square Window
E2. Abacus 2
E3. Venus No.17
E4. Itti-Fack
E5. Melt 14.6
F1. Venus No.17 Acid Mix
F2. Tundra 4
F3. Talk About Me & You More

An essential piece of electronic history is restored to its full glory for the 30th anniversary, with all 25 tracks of Selected Ambient Works II reunited in this Expanded Edition alongside two extras. Constantly referenced and revered decades after its release, SAWII has seen accolades such as the Pitchfork perfect 10 and #2 best ambient album of all time.

Written in his early 20s, it follows the glacial synths and deft percussion of Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and preceding the contorted, intricate, abstract visions of electronic music on ...I Care Because You Do. Aphex Twin crafted this mammoth set of mostly beatless vistas, textured compositions that are by turns beautiful, nightmarish, emotive, and thrilling.

From swooning beauty to careening dread, even in just the first two tracks, SAWII is a stunning and faultless piece of work. Each soundscape brings with it the sense of standing in some vast space, with dripping rusted pipes and dilapidated walls, or endless canyons of low bitrate whooshing winds. Tracks like ‘Blue Calx’ emanate a strange kind of peace, with synths that sound like wobbling laminated paper or underwater radar blips while a constant knocking keeps pace. Elsewhere, curious microtonal keys flutter and subtly morph, low frequencies throb and purr, and oscillating hums induce hypnagogia.

The gossamer soft chords of ‘#3’ (AKA ‘Rhubarb’) move slow as clouds, airy wisps that are translated into orchestral grandeur on the exclusive ‘Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev’ with quivering strings, ethereal choir, and reversed molten bass, while ‘th1 [evnslower]’ is a sonorous blur floating from hopeful lifts to anxious dissonance. Finally included on all formats after 30 years, ‘#19’ (AKA ‘Stone In Focus’) seems to smooth over all the wrinkles of life with its blissfully monolithic chords and faint ripples of melody, its ticking like skipping stones marking the passage of time till it slows to a gentle halt.


- Polylined inner sleeves
- Foil blocked wide spine outer sleeve
- Fold out poster
- Sticker insert
- Expanded edition includes all songs on all formats for the first time, including previously vinyl-exclusive track #19 alongside two additional tracks (officially released and on physical formats for the first time)
- Artwork by Paul Nicholson, original album designer + Aphex logo designer More

Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition) is due for release on Oct 4, 2024, celebrating the original album's 30th anniversary.

Written when Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) was in his early 20s, the album gained critical acclaim both upon release and retrospectively (10/10 Pitchfork review, #2 Best Ambient Album of All Time, 4 star Rolling Stone review + more).

Aphex Twin and SAW II’s influence continues to grow and take new meaning across generations.

Selling Points
• 30th anniversary edition of Aphex Twin’s critically acclaimed Selected Ambient Works II
• Expanded edition includes all songs on all formats for the first time, including previously vinyl-exclusive track #19 alongside two additional tracks (officially released and on physical formats for the first time)
• Artwork by Paul Nicholson, original album designer + Aphex Twin logo designer

- Specs 3CD in foil blocked case bound sleeve with booklet

Tracklist:
CD01:
1. #1
2. #2
3. #3
4. #4
5. #5
6. #6
7. #7
8. #8
9. #9

CD02
1. #10
2. #11
3. #12
4. Blue Calx
5. #14
6. #15
7. #16
8. #17
9. #18
10. #19

CD03
1. #20
2. #21
3. #22
4. #23
5. #24
6. #25
7. th1 [evnslower]
8. Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev More

Distant Call, In contrast to Spell Blanket, is a collection of early demos of songs that would subsequently appear as finished productions on the albums Haha Sound, Tender Buttons and The Future Crayon.

The album also includes two songs discovered by James after Trish’s passing: “Come Back To Me” and “Please Call To Book”. These were her response to Broadcast’s 2006 ‘Let’s Write A Song’ project, where fans were asked to submit lyrics on a postcard which would then be worked into a finished song.

Distant Call is a closing of the door on Broadcast and will be the last release from the band.

- Spec Black 1LP Vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve

- Listen: https://warp.ffm.to/broadcast-tittp

Tracklisting:
A1. Tears In The Typing Pool [Demo]
A2. Still Feels Like Tears [Demo]
A3. Come Back To Me [Demo]
A4. The Little Bell [Demo]
A5. Distant Call [Demo]
A6. Valerie [Demo]
A7. Colour Me In [Demo]
B1. Ominous Cloud [Demo]
B2. Flame Left From The Sun [Demo]
B3. Where Youth And Laughter Go [Demo]
B4. Poem Of A Dead Song [Demo]
B5. O How I Miss You [Demo]
B6. Pendulum [Demo]
B7. Please Call To Book [Demo]

https://broadcast.warp.net/ More

Endlessness is a deep dive into the cycle of existence. The 45-minute album delicately spans 10 tracks with a continuous arpeggio playing throughout, creating an expansive, mesmerising celebration of life cycles and rebirth. Following Sinephro’s critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Space 1.8, Endlessness further elevates her as a transcendent and multi-dimensional composer, beautifully morphing jazz, orchestral, and electronic music.

The album was composed, produced, arranged, and engineered by Sinephro. Performing on the album are Sheila Maurice-Grey, Morgan Simpson, James Mollison, Lyle Barton, Nubya Garcia, Natcyet Wakili, and Dwayne Kilvington, joined by Orchestrate’s 21 string players.

The album will be available on black 2LP vinyl with d-side etching as well as CD.

- Specs Black 2LP vinyl with etching to d-side in printed inner sleeves in 5mm spine sleeve. Housed in PVC wallet with flap.

Tracklist:
A1. Continuum 1
A2. Continuum 2
B1. Continuum 3
B2. Continuum 4
B3. Continuum 5
B4. Continuum 6
B5. Continuum 7
B6. Continuum 8
C1. Continuum 9
C2. Continuum 10

Praise for Space 1.8:

"An ambient jazz classic" - The Guardian

"A benchmark in ambient jazz featuring outstanding players and delicately woven arrangements." - 8.3 ‘Best New Music’ Pitchfork

"Music so vast could feel lonely, but the sense of smallness one feels listening to Nala’s music is humbling and reassuring; the magnitudes of beauty we can create are unbound." - Jazzwise More

Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009 comprises songs and sketches drawn from Trish’s extensive archive of 4-track tapes and MiniDiscs. The recordings lay the groundwork for what would have been Broadcast’s fifth album, offering a window into Trish and James’ creative process during the post-Tender Buttons period from 2006-2009.

Photography used in its artwork is by Trish and James and the artwork is designed by Broadcast’s long-time collaborator Julian House. Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009 will be released via Warp Records on May 3rd and available on standard black 2LP and CD.

- Spec Black 2LP Vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve

- Listen: https://warp.ffm.to/broadcast-ftl

Tracklisting:
A1. The Song Before The Song Comes Out
A2. March Of The Fleas
A3. Greater Than Joy
A4. Mother Plays Games
A5. My Marble Eye
A6. Roses Red
A7. Hip Bone To Hip Bone
A8. Running Back To Me
A9. I Blink You Blink
A10. Infant Girl
A11. I Run In Dreams
B1. Luminous Image
B2. A Little Light
B3. Hairpin Memories
B4. My Body
B5. Follow The Light
B6. Tunnel View
B7. Where Are You?
B8. Singing Game
B9. I Want To Be Fine
C1. The Games You Play
C2. Grey Grey Skies
C3. Puzzle
C4. The Clock Is On Fire
C5. Petal Alphabet
C6. Tell Table
C7. Fatherly Veil
D1. Dream Power
D2. Heartbeat
D3. Call Sign
D4. Crone Motion
D5. Sleeping Bed
D6. Join In Together
D7. Colour In The Numbers
D8. I Am The Bridge
D9. Spirit House

https://broadcast.warp.net/ More

Scottish and Danish composer Clarissa Connelly’s debut album on Warp Records, “World of Work”, is set to be released on April 12th.

Over the years Clarissa has explored sacred sites and mythology, finding inspiration in Celtic and Nordic culture. For her most recent album, “The Voyager”, Clarissa walked the Scandinavian landscape, channelling melodies from ancient pre-Christian sites. The album received global acclaim and was awarded the prestigious Nordic Music Prize.

On “World of Work”, Clarissa explores themes of acceptance and growth, by creating a sonic embroidery, a powerful testimony of her production and composition abilities.

- Specs Black 12" Vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. Into This, Called Loneliness
A2. The Bell Tower
A3. An Embroidery
A4. Life Of The Forbidden
A5. Wee Rosebud
B1. The Excess Of Sorrow, Laughs
B2. Turn To Stone
B3. Tenderfoot
B4. Crucifer
B5. S.O.S. Song Of The Sword More

Mount Kimbie’s fourth studio album, The Sunset Violent, is seeded in the wake of 2017’s Love What Survives and marks an important full circle moment for the group as they return to a band-like setup (Dominic Maker, Kai Campos, Andrea Balency-Béarn and Marc Pell).

The Sunset Violent was made under the empty sky of the American desert, where Kai and Dominic relocated to for a month. A town with little to offer but a couple of saloons, a basin with a history of alleged UFO sightings and a selection of local country radio stations ends up birthing a new Mount Kimbie record that harks back to a time where the guitar lead the way through the band’s sonic tapestry.

On The Sunset Violent, an album that marks fifteen years of Mount Kimbie, it’s clear that their creative spark is by no means at an end.

- Specs Black 1LP Vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. The Trail
A2. Dumb Guitar
A3. Shipwreck
A4. Boxing (Feat. King Krule)
A5. Got Me
B1. A Figure In The Surf
B2. Fishbrain
B3. Yukka Tree
B4. Empty And Silent (Feat. King Krule) More

Over the past decade, New York-based composer and producer Kelly Moran has solidified her status as a trailblazing figure in modern music, challenging the piano's traditional, classically-imposed school of thought with a more contemporary, experimental approach. An accomplished and highly sought-after composer, Moran has collaborated with artists the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never as part of his touring ensemble for 2018 album Age Of, as well as singer and composer FKA Twigs' live ensemble. Moran has also composed for classical musician Margaret Leng Tan and worked with other visionary contemporaries like Kelsey Lu and Yves Tumor. As a solo artist, Moran's critically acclaimed albums, Bloodroot and Ultraviolet, have explored a variety of extended piano techniques like John Cage-inspired prepared piano and exercises in improvisation. Her unique strand of experimental piano compositions, which conjure hypnotizing textures and dramatic compositional arcs, have been included on year-end lists across classical, avant-garde, and metal genres.

Moran’s upcoming album, Moves in the Field, is a series of duets for herself and the Yamaha Disklavier – a technologically advanced version of a player piano. Able to perfectly replicate humanlike playing through intense fine-tuning and programmable dynamics, the Disklaviers used on Kelly’s new music act as a foil to her own striving for a balance of technical perfection and emotional expression in her performances and compositions.

Kelly Moran Shares: “In early 2020, Yamaha loaned me a Disklavier player piano - a special instrument that allows you to record your performance for the piano to play back on its own. I was initially working on a duet for myself and another pianist, but when the pandemic hit, the player piano became my duet partner. I began writing a series of duets for myself and the Disklavier, exploring all the different ways I could utilize this instrument to merge its inhuman capabilities with my own playing. The Disklavier allowed me to record multiple layers of my playing so I could create music on the piano that would require more fingers or greater endurance than I physically have - like chords that had more than 10 notes in them, or chords that were spaced out farther than my hands could stretch. Sometimes I’d record a pattern and then speed it up to play back faster than I could ever physically play. My imagination exploded at all the possibilities this instrument allowed me to create, and these explorations culminated in my new record Moves in the Field.”

- Specs Clear 12" Vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. Butterfly Phase
A2. Superhuman
A3. Don’t Trust Mirrors
A4. Dancer Polynomials
A5. Sodalis (II)
B1. Leitmotif
B2. It’s Okay To Disappear
B3. Hypno
B4. Moves In The Field
B5. Solar Flare More

Dostrotime is Squarepusher-style fun. Heavy, intense, tear out experimental electronic music for the sheer exhilaration of it. Unapologetically, one for the Squarepunter Massive!

In early 2020, Squarepusher had just released Be Up A Hello to huge acclaim, and was gearing up for a worldwide tour featuring some of his biggest shows to date. Then the pandemic hit, and it was all off... Devoid of distractions, naturally the artist headed to the studio to begin recording. He says that “ [...] Without customary interruptions, time elapsed differently”. It’s an episode he’s dubbed “Dostrotime”. As such, Dostrotime is an attempt to capture the peculiarity of music catalysed by lockdown being part of the celebration of lockdown’s demise.

- Specs Black 2LP in paper inner sleeve in gatefold outer sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. Arkteon 1
A2. Enbounce
A3. Wendorlan
B1. Duneray
B2. Kronmec
B3. Arkteon 2
C1. Holorform
C2. Akkranen
C3. Stromcor
D1. Domelash
D2. Heliobat
D3. Arkteon 3 More

Dostrotime is Squarepusher-style fun. Heavy, intense, tear out experimental electronic music for the sheer exhilaration of it. Unapologetically, one for the Squarepunter Massive!

In early 2020, Squarepusher had just released Be Up A Hello to huge acclaim, and was gearing up for a worldwide tour featuring some of his biggest shows to date. Then the pandemic hit, and it was all off... Devoid of distractions, naturally the artist headed to the studio to begin recording. He says that “ [...] Without customary interruptions, time elapsed differently”. It’s an episode he’s dubbed “Dostrotime”. As such, Dostrotime is an attempt to capture the peculiarity of music catalysed by lockdown being part of the celebration of lockdown’s demise.

- Specs Black 2LP in paper inner sleeve in gatefold outer sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. Arkteon 1
A2. Enbounce
A3. Wendorlan
B1. Duneray
B2. Kronmec
B3. Arkteon 2
C1. Holorform
C2. Akkranen
C3. Stromcor
D1. Domelash
D2. Heliobat
D3. Arkteon 3 More

Debut studio album by Dutch electronic music producer and DJ Speedy J (real name Jochem Paap), Ginger was originally released in June 1993 as part of Warp Records Artificial Intelligence series.

Remastered in 2021, the reissue contains the original design by longtime Warp collaborators The Designers Republic.

Rotterdam-based Jochem Paap began creating techno tracks such as “Three O’Three” and “Something For Your Mind” in his hometown to play out in clubs, and chose the artist name Speedy J as a reference to his DJ skills. As commented on by All Music, Paap's clear intent with Ginger was "to take his music out of the rave and into the home-listening environment," and balance elements of the manic energy that defined his early releases with a lush sound palette. Writing and recording on his own in The Plant studio, the album was released on a number of different labels internationally and brought his minimal but melodic production style to a far wider audience, with critics noting his meticulous attention to audio design, skillful use of track interludes (the “Fill” tracks on Ginger, something Black Dog Productions also explored on Bytes), and a careful balancing of four-to-the-floor grooves with ambient textures. He released a second album with Warp, 1995’s G-Spot, and has continued to make a diverse range of electronic music, included releases on labels such as Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu and Peter Namlook’s FAX +49-69/450464, and showcasing a more experimental strand of releases via his own Electric Deluxe imprint. The music on Ginger has been highlighted as a seminal release in a number of retrospective features by the likes of Pitchfork, The Wire and FACT. More

The first full-length studio album by Richie Hawtin, who was 22 years old at the time and living in Windsor, Canada. It was first released in June 1993 under the F.U.S.E. name on Hawtin’s own Plus 8 Records imprint and again on Warp Records as part of the ‘Artificial Intelligence’ series.
Remastered back in 2019, the reissue features original artwork from Richie’s brother, Matthew Hawtin.

Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Richie Hawtin aka F.U.S.E. would make frequent excursions across the border to Detroit in search of record shops and new clubbing experiences. Soon he would take up a residency at the small subversive club The Shelter and develop his skills as a DJ. Together with his close friend John Acquaviva they launched Plus 8 Records in 1990 to release their own creations and to support other up-and-coming, like-minded techno producers who were in search of a musical home. Richie started recording under the cryptic alias F.U.S.E.- abbreviation for ‘Futuristic Underground Subsonic Experiments’ - and released seminal tracks like ‘F.U.’ and ‘Substance Abuse’ (1991). The From Our Minds To Yours compilations released on Plus 8 would make a mark on the developing techno scene in Detroit and beyond. At age 22 Hawtin released his first full-length studio album under his F.U.S.E. pseudonym. Dimension Intrusion was largely inspired by science fiction films and a collection of available vintage synthesizers and drum machines. Playing with their electronic yet warm sound effects, the young producer in turn discovered some of his favourite instruments. His heady manipulations of the Roland TB-303 acid sound helped develop an influential style that would have a lasting impact on electronic music. The tracks on Dimension Intrusion range from club focused techno to soundtrack ambience and can be seen retrospectively as experiments leading to what would soon become Hawtin’s trademark acid-laced Plastikman sound.

- Spec Black 2LP Vinyl in polylined inner sleeves in wide spine outer sleeve with 12” poster insert

[4th October 2023] Today, Warp announces reissues of two more albums from their Artificial Intelligence series: Dimension Intrusion by F.U.S.E. (aka Richie Hawtin) and Ginger by Speedy J. Both records were originally released in 1993, and these new vinyl editions mark their 30th anniversary.

Although unique records by distinctive artists, there are some strands that tie the two albums together. Dimension Intrusion was the fifth album in the Artificial Intelligence series, originally released on 7 June 1993, whilst Ginger was the sixth album in the series, coming out two weeks later on 21 June. Whereas the rest of the series focused on elevating underground electronic producers from the UK such as Autechre, B12, Black Dog Productions and Polygon Window, these two entries in the series added an international dimension, representing North American and Northern European takes respectively on the techno genre. Both albums were also released in Canada on Richie Hawtin’s own fabled Plus 8 label, with Paap putting out a domestic edition of Ginger in the Netherlands on his Beam Me Up! imprint, echoing the accidental Star Trek reference in Warp’s own name (actually a shortening of original name Warped). Both artists would go on to record for NovaMute, a dance music subsidiary of Mute Records.

The concept that unites this music above all however is the idea of crafting electronic music for home listening, charting the evolution of a musical form that had started out purely dancefloor-focused. Both Paap and Hawtin had started to make tracks with this idea in mind independently, and it chimed perfectly with the series that Warp founders Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett were putting together concurrently to showcase exactly this development. The compilation that gave the series its title and kicked things off, housed in a striking sleeve featuring a robot reclining in an armchair, surrounded by album sleeves, succinctly communicated the central idea with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek humour. It was after Paap had contributed to Artificial Intelligence with Speedy J’s “De-Orbit”, alongside Richie Hawtin making an appearance using his UP! pseudonym, that Mitchell and Beckett invited them to come on board to the series with full artist albums for release on Warp.
More

Revanchist is the long-awaited debut album by Evian Christ, scheduled for release by Warp on 20th October 2023. The eight-track record explores the latent potential in Trance to evoke, beyond Euphoria, the fullest feeling of the Sublime.

On Embers, Revanchist’s opening track and lead single, encapsulates Christ’s inclination towards the total annihilation of Trance’s default affects; soaring, rapturous supersaws meet a tempest of indecipherable noise, mangled 808s and broken shards of Defected gospel house acapellas.

Revanchist follows 2020’s Ultra, a landmark label-debut that demonstrated Christ’s emerging command of an abstractly destructive musical vocabulary. The album draws from an unlikely and diverse pool of influences; compositing, at once, the suffocating throttle of Demiurge-era Emptyset (2011); the worldliness of Madonna and William Orbit’s Ray Of Light LP (1998); the acute uncanniness of Laibach’s Across The Universe (1988); and a highly stylized approach to mixing and sound design primarily inspired by Sasha’s seminal Xpander EP (1999).

Revanchist’s album artwork is designed by long-standing collaborator and celebrated graphic designer David Rudnick, and features works by 19th century Norwegian landscape painter Lars Hertervig and British video artist Chris Bucklow. Inspired by classic Trance singles, the limited edition CD is housed in a slimpack jewelcase with 5 colour screenprinted PVC inlay and fluro sticker; the vinyl, similarly limited to an initial pressing of 1000, is housed in a screenprinted transparent bag with a printed inner-sleeve and double-sided 36x24” fold-out poster.

Evian Christ (b. Joshua Leary) is an Ellesmere Port-based musician, producer and music programmer signed to Warp and DONDA/Sony ATV Publishing. Initially recognised for his production contributions to Billboard-topping albums by Kanye West and Travis Scott, and subsequently as the founder of the enduringly influential TranceParty clubnight, Christ’s recent years have seen him lead an idiosyncratic range of projects that enquire into the legacy of Trance in contemporary cultural life.

- Specs Black 12" vinyl in printed inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve with 36 x 24" fold out poster and download code packed in printed transparent outer bag

Tracklist:
A1. On Embers
A2. Yxguden (feat. Bladee)
A3. The Beach
A4. Nobody Else
B1. Silence
B2. Xkyrgios
B3. With Me (feat. Merely)
B4. Run Boys Run More

- Specs Black 12" Vinyl in in polylined inner sleeve in 3mm spine sleeve and download code

Tracklist:
A1. The Weather
A2. House Music
A3. Undercommons
A4. Olde Joy
A5. New Joy
A6. Arms, Armor
A7. Fission for Drums, Piano And Voice
A8. Love Letter Zzz
A9. Half-Life
B1. The Great Wedge
B2. I Hear A New World
B3. No! (Geiger Dub)
B4. Destroyer X
B5. Voyager
B6. Divider
B7. Challenger
B8. Decades, Castle Romeo
B9. Us (Tower Of Love) More

Tracklisting:
A1. Sorry (Won’t Cut It) feat. Olivier St. Louis
A2. Shine A Light On Your Mirror
A3. A Matter Of Fact
B1. Rosewoods
B2. All Of The Above
B3. Clay Dots
B4. Sunbursting feat. Óskar Guðjónsson More

Diving deeper into the story of Japanese reggae pop, Tokyo Riddim Vol. 2 explores an electronic, new wave and often experimental sound unlike anything Japan or Jamaica had ever heard before.

The first time Ryuichi Sakamoto left Japan, he did not go to the United States or Europe - he went to Jamaica. It was 1978, YMO were about to release their debut album, but Sakamoto was in Kingston, invited to play synths for Japanese idol singer Teresa Noda at Dynamic Sound Studios in a band alongside Neville Hinds and none other than Rita Marley. It’s not a story many know, but one which would spark Sakamoto’s fascination with dub and mark a new chapter in the ongoing Japanese love affair with reggae.

The Teresa Noda tracks they cut - ‘Tropical Love’ and ‘Yellow Moon’ - bookend this second volume of Time Capsule’s Tokyo Riddim compilation, which tells the wider story of how a fascination with Jamrock swept Japan, adding a dash of lime to that sweet city pop sound, embracing a globalised musical palette and creating a whole new genre in the process.

For some, like Sakamoto, a diversion into reggae was part of broader fascination with new sounds and styles, tipped into the global disco of homage and appropriation that made Japanese music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s some of the most creative and undefinable in the world.

You had iconic shape-shifter Yosui Inoue, who toyed with reggae, afro-beat and electro-Balearic, (and whose For Life Records released several tracks on this comp), and Kay Ishiguro, who enlisted J-reggae originator Pecker on the ambitious Stevie Wonder-esque ‘Red Drip’.

Then there were the Compass Point devotees - producers and musicians alike who were enthralled by the sound of the Bahamas studio and drew on the detached cool of Grace Jones - as heard in the music of Juicy Fruits, and the disco noir of Casablanca-signed femme fatale Yuki Nakayamate. Sometimes, as was the case with Risa Minami, the J-reggae influence said more about Japan than it did about Jamaica.

But where Tokyo Riddim Vol. 1 focused on the city pop sound, this compilation goes further, digging out the more experimental collaborations and hybrids exemplified by Tomoko Aran, who in working with Yusuaki Shimizu and Mariah emphasised just how far reggae had travelled to be recast into something entirely new on the other side of the world.

Perhaps more than anything, in connecting the dots between Tokyo and Kingston, between Jamaica and Japan, the Japanese reggae was building a musical language that existed outside of the paradigms of US and European cultural hegemony - an encounter shaped by commerce, capital and creativity that is now being recognised more broadly for the first time.

Compiled by Kay Suzuki
Artwork by Noncheleee
Liner notes by Anton Spice, Kay Suzuki & Ayana Honma
Coordinated by Ken Hidaka & Kay Suzuki
Mastered by Mike Hillier at Metropolis Studios, London, UK
Time Capsule | TIME021 | 1979-1986 -> 2024
UPC: 748322322256 More

Distinctive Merciless Grinning Killers More

It's a pleasure to see MOY back on AF. Sure, Jonny doesn't invent anything, but everything he does sounds incredible and his tracks have the ability to grab you and never let go. He seems to say: "I know what you're here for". The particular way he executes hyperactive beats, acid basslines and melodies, makes the material very emotive and timeless, walking his influences around and elevating the machine's rhythms to new emotional levels. Jonny Moy always delivers, in fact, the brilliantly titled 'Supermassive EP' is not just a title but a statement of intent. These four tracks will stick in your head for a long time, for the club, nightdriving or home. What are you waiting for? Go on! More

Secondo's awaited return comes in the form of Unlikely Companions — a growling, alien rhythm from the warmer tropics of technofunk. Marco Passarani’s wild take flips the mood with some skittering Aphex-style darkness, primed for the late, after hours dancefloor. More

Simon hafner AKA Sun People is an adventurous maverick in quick rhythms. His productions are well known for being fascinatingly hybridised. Footwork meets jungle meets techno meets electro meets dub! After his smashing debut LP on dBridge's Exit Records he is releasing his new EP on Candy Mountain. 'Emotional Distortions' is a unique EP centered around his deft beat programming and takes us on a contemporary dance floor journey of uncompromised fearless groove. This is next level production! Not to be missed for the serious d&b, dubstep, broken beat and electro freaks out there!!! More