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Since the first release 5 years ago, Jazz Room Records has released an eclectic and interesting selection of releases.From the Jazzy commercialism of the Take Vibe version of The Stranglers "Golden Brown" (5,000 vinyl single sales) to the 1960's Headshop Sounds of West Coast Fluteman Eric Ghost.Other notable releases on Jazz Room include the critically lauded album by Vibraphonist Khan Jamal "Infinity", a compilation of Japanese tough funk fusionists indigo jam unit put together by DJ Colin Curtis, Nuyorican Latin House from Tata Vasquez, Jazz Dance Madchester Rave from Cruisic and some South African Holy Grail grooves from Abacothozi! The latest release is the Underground Latin J-Jazz of Copa Salvo, first introduced to London by DJ & Music Legend Jean-Claude.Next up is an in demand Jazz Funk Obscurity from Educator and Trumpet Player John Lamkin whose self released album "Hot" saw the light of day in 1984 then disappeared into the Rare Jazz ether.Currently changing hands for €300 and upwards it's again about to see the light of day in 2025!This is an album that is aptly named with all the elements we love: Latin, Funk, Soul, Jazz and all round Double Hipness. What a Hot item it is too. From the Funky as it gets opening bars of "Ticket" through the Rio bound flight "722", taking in a visit to Wonderland with some Soul Jazz Vocal stylings on "Flower Power" and the Funkiest 17 minute Journey to Trumpet Enlightenment in the Title track "Hot" which is, true to its name, Scorching by the finish line is reached.Already getting Big Ups on UK Jazz Funk Scene Founder Colin Curtis's Cult Radio Show "Jazz Dance Fusion" it's gonna be getting plenty of plays worldwide at the "Hottest" radio stations and funkiest jazz dance nights near you soon! Ross Allen: It's brilliant!! Perry Louis: Massive! Dr Bob Jones:I Love Big Time!Colin Curtis: Killer!

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PAUL MURPHY PRESENTS: COPA SALVO

JAZZ ROOM RECORDS – JAZZR 040

Fom the Sleevenotes by Paul Murphy: Jazz Room Records:

"I took a trip to the If Music Store, 2nd Floor, above the paint shop and that got me hooked on the sound of COPA SALVO.

"You NEED this!" said Jean-Claude. "They're an amazing and unique Jazzy Combo from Japan!" But at the time I was stuck in some dead end Gulag job getting things together for the launch of a record label idea I'd been working on and the bobs were just not in abundance. Especially in the part of the wallet marked "Japanese Vinyl Import Department". But he gave it a spin and I was pretty much hooked from that day on.

Things soon looked up though and the next sighting of COPA SALVO was on the BBE Records release: A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 (Compiled by that very same Jean-Claude!) which featured COPA SALVO - Hasta La Victria Siempre, a pounding piano driven homage to Fidel which incidentally is one of the featured numbers of the album that is soon to be released on Jazz Room Records.

I kept looking for more COPA SALVO as I was really intrigued by the sound they produced and, over a period of time I managed to obtain nearly all of their sparse catalogue. Once Jazz Room Records had started to get established and the release of the Colin Curtis Presents: indigo jam unit compilation had been a success I thought "Time for COPA SALVO to make their Jazz Room debut!"

This Jazz Room Records Compilation will feature their unique and highly original compositions which are an energetic meltdown of Funk, J-Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Boogaloo and range from the Heavy Latin Jazz Vibes of Bolivia 67 to the Kung Fu '70's sound of Tong King Rock with a journey that takes in an Eastern Folktale and a Jump Up Life along the way."

Vocal/Guiro : Tadahiro Masuda

Piano : Eri Konishi

Bass : Hironori Kobayashi

Percussion : Yo Sato

Percussion : Pyon Nakajima

Timbales/Drum : Peach Iwasaki

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A strikingly unique dance music project from Nagasaki producer, DJ and sound director Keisuke Yamazoe, Aflex Combo has always been an impressive project, straddling several EPs stretching back to 2002 - and all centring, in the artist's own words, on heavy funk beats and obscure jazz and Latin grooves. Jazz Room Records are pleased to release this special cover of the underground club classic "Hibaros" originally by B&G Rhythm (Donny Beck & Steve Gutierrez and featuring Bobby Lyle!) and after one listen you will agree that this is a must-check 45! Over on the flip is "Something Special", a Latin-tinged jazz-funk number that's every bit as essential as the floor rocking A-side.

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Big thanks to a certain Mr. Gilles Peterson who first alerted Paul Murphy, Head of Jazz Room Records to this Spiritual Jazz meets Bebop gem when he played the track "I've Known Rivers" on his show on BBC6 MUSIC. Paul immediately took steps to contact Mr. Noviello with a view to release this previously unknown (to him anyway) hidden delight. It's Frank Noviello's debut album and a mixed bag of Jazz Standards and highly original covers and originals. Randy Westons's "High Fly" has a really grooving arrangement, Vocal Bebop in the original "Tribal Dance" and the highlight in the Gary Bartz/Langston Hughes Spiritual Jazz outing "I've Known Rivers". If you're known to glide in and around to that Mark Murphy bag then this is hip to the trip for you!

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THE legendary release by Ronnie April's Positive Energy, pressed by Ronnie on his own Jude imprint and distributed only locally by him without success, leading to the disappearance of all but a few copies. An impossibly rare holy grail which has changed hands in the past for as much as £300! "Snowflake" has been a stable of the jazzdance scene for years and the track was even bootlegged at one point! Most importantly, the music is amazing - composer, arranger, producer, saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist, Ronnie April has performed with many greats such as Tito Puente, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong, to name a few. It's a limited pressing at 500 copies only.

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ALPHA RAY by The Norio Maeda Trio was originally released in the Swinging Sixties and this hot latin number was rediscovered by the Tokyo Hipsters at the height of the Acid Jazz Boom and became part of Shibuya Jazz Dance Folklore.

HAKUCHU NO SHUGEKI - THEME by Terumasa Hino Quintet is from a Japansploitation thriler made in 1970 with plenty of guns, gals, guys, sharpsuited action and gallons of studio blood! Mostly freeform blowing by the Legend that is Terumasa Hino for the soundtrack, one of the exceptions being this Blue Note Styled Soul Jazz number that sounds as if it came off the Van Gelder production line circa '66 to '71. Easily could be mistaken for Blue Mitchell, Donald Byrd or Freddie Hubbard's outputs post soul, pre-electric happenings. Another Jazz Room thing of beauty!

Now on 45 RPM release by Jazz Room Records, a 2 cut slab of wax that will have Jazzfloorista's waiting at the gate!

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Abacothozi were formed in 1973 by bassist Berthwel Maphumulo, formerly of the Elite Swingsters.

Together with Mac Mathunjwa on organ, his brother Innocent Mathunjwa on drums, and Joe Zikhali on guitar, they recorded at least two albums: "Thema Maboneng" released in 1975 and "Night in Pelican" released in 1976 (reissued on Matsuli Music Compilation "Night In Pelican"). These six sizzling tracks were originally recorded by West Nkosi for the Mavuthela label.

Released without fanfare and then forgotten, they remained totally unknown to DJs and clubgoers for over 40 years.

Rediscovered by Diggers Extraordinaire Kon & Amir for their much-lauded "Off Track Volume Two: Queens" (3xLP) on BBE Records and suddenly, a Volcanic Meltdown Frenzy for a Holiest of Grails emerged with sightings reported in hushed tones just in case you were beaten to the draw in some backstreet waxcave that someone foolishly whispered about on a social media site for all the world to see.

Now, Jazz Room Records is proud to release this epic fusion of sun-soaked exuberance, funk-infused rhythms and soul-jazz-driven beats for the first time in 50 years.

Sounding as if it were recorded yesterday, it is poised to light up dance floors again, from the Vibrant Streets of Soweto to the Funky Basement Dives of Barcelona, filling floors from the Outasite Getdown Grooves of Uncle Funks Palace to the Solid Soul Boulevards of Funky Broadway.

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Two fabulous funky tracks originally released on the award winning album Goma-Laca – Afrobrasilidades in 78 rpm which updated Brazilian Music originally recorded on 78's in the 1920s to the 1950s. With musical direction and arrangements by Letieres Leite, the vocal pyrotechnics of Russo Passapusso and Juçara Marçal masterfully accompanied by double bassist Marcos Paiva, Hercules Gomes on piano, Sergio Machado on drums and percussion master Gabi Guedes. Under the direction of Letieres, the group created with the singers arrangements of jazzy tones over Afro-Bahian rhythms, and everything was recorded live at Estúdio Traquitana, in São Paulo.

The version of Cala Menino Boca best known from the version by Joao Donato that's been doing the Dancefloor round since the early Acid Jazz days here gets a funky and rhodes led percussive update and of course the traditional tune "Ogum" gets a soulful jazz run through, folky funk like you've never heard before. This is yet another welcome addition to the Jazz Room canon, watch those dancefloors light up when this wax spins!

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Soul Jazz of the First Order from Robert Dubwise Browne with two epic takes on tunes that should be in every DJ's grab bag of goodies. Sun Goddess originally by Ramsey Lewis and written by Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White together with a Ruff and Tuff version of the Grover Washington Jazz Funk classic "Mister Magic" featuring Jamaican Sax Man Dean Fraser. Guitarist Browne's appearance credits include the likes of his father Dennis Brown, as well as Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond and Toots Hibbert.. Produced by Japanese Reggae Legend Hayassen for his label Vortex and signed up on first hearing by Jazz Room Supremo Paul Murphy. If you've got a dancefloor you need these tunes!

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A Jazz Dance Favourite that Jazz Room Records Head Honcho Paul Murphy was hepped to by Brownswood and 6Music Jazz Supremo Gilles Peterson at the 20th Birthday Bash of London's most Underground of Clubs: Shiftless Shuffle. Murphy: "I'd quite forgotten all about it, but when I saw the reaction on the dancefloor it was "Mental Note Time, get on the case for a full investigation and let's see some Vinyl re-issue action!" The head of the original Danish Label, Pick Up Records, later reminded Paul that he was selling the originals in his original Jazz Record Shop "Fusion Records" when the original was released and that he, Peter Littauer, had actually delivered them personally on a trip to London. Synergy in action! The music is a mixture of 100mph Latin Jazz (Girl With Three Faces/747 To Rio/From Dusk Towards Dawn) and Funky Rhodes driven workouts (Travelling/Circles In The Air), plus the vocal pyrotechnics of Hawaiian singer Lei Aloha Moe who guested on two of the tracks.

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The A Side of course is just one of the biggest tunes from the grunge era and is given a Jazzy Funky Groovy version by Blue Mode of Nirvana's Biggest Hit. It turns out that they were influenced by everything from the Gap Band to Louie Louie and a fair smattering of 80's indie and this production by Chip Wickham mixes together a Swinging '60's Blue Note Vibe with the Acid Jazz sound and brings it bang up to date with the Nu-Jazz Experience. First time on 45 and is already a DJ favourite after being included in the Paul Murphy set "Jazz Room" on BBE Records. Side 2 is a Boogaloo Latin Jazz version (produced by Paul Murphy Live in the studio in Budapest when he was living there) of the Lonnie Smith track "Hola Muneca" beloved of the Acid Jazz era DJ's and previously released on a now impossible to find 7 inch single that goes for crazy prices.

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Paul Murphy: Jazz Room Records. "The first time I heard this I said "I gotta sign it!" as not only was it featured in one of the maddest and most memorable scenes on one of my favorite TV Shows "Severance" from Apple TV, but it's also on one of my favourite albums anyway, "Nation Time" by Joe McPhee." Takumi Moriya's version Is as funky as it gets and is truly way up there and meeting the high as a kitemark standards of "Defiant Jazz" (What a Niche Genre to be in!) This is going to cause some serious Defiant Jazz Shake on a dancefloor near you! Break out the Maraccas!" A limited vinyl 45 release and it's release number 30 on Jazz Room Records so ultra special.

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2020. Full On Lockdown: Musician Laurence Mason puts together this off the wall idea meshing together two of his biggest musical heroes, Dave Greenfield of the tough 1970's proto-punk band The Stranglers with the oh so cool 1960's jazz of Dave Brubeck. He puts up his demo on Youtube not really expecting much in the way of feedback. And gets ONE MILLION hits. And hundreds of requests for a release. Jazz Room Records Head Honcho Paul Murphy says "Do you wanna record that and release it?"."Affirmative!" The result is this grooving Soulful and Funky Jazz version of "Golden Brown". On the "B" side is a languid and super cool version of "Walking On The Moon", originally by 80's Supergroup The Police. The first release sold 3000 (!) 7-inch singles and got into the Official Vinyl Singles Top 30. (Yes, there's still such a thing!). The latest version of the best selling Jazz Room Release. Now in Blue Splatter Vinyl.

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Formed by singer SAKKO from tokyo and quickly booked by the hippest clubs in TOKYO nite life area SHIBUYA. From the same label (FLOWER RECORDS) as JAZZ ROOM hit makers "CRUISIC" (JAZZ CARNIVAL/PACIFIC 707). The super funky version of the KRAFTWERK mega hit "TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS" with it's freaked out sax and supercool vocals is a special mix by DJ KOCO aka SHIMOKITA who amazed audiences with his turntable skills recently on a UK TOUR. "AEO" the flipside is a longtime DAVID MANCUSO LOFT CLASSIC and this version has been given the seal of approval by ITALIAN AFROCOSMIC FOUNDER & DJ LEGEND DANIELE BALDELLI.

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Another Holy Grail album from Jazz Room Records with Danny Ward & Reality who were the Go To Funky Jazz Band for College and other Hardcore Funk Party gigs in the Mid to late '70's in the Seattle area of the Pacific North West. They didn't just drop covers of the latest Disco or Top 40 hits though but instead took their audiences on a musical trip through the Funkiest and Jazziest sounds of the day featuring cuts made famous by George Benson, Lydia Pense and Coldblood, The Headhunters , Mandrill and many more. This unique recording capturing them live at a midweek gig showcases their style which of which Danny Ward says: "In the summer of 1977 this album was recorded at a club called The Tyee Restaurant and Lounge in Bremerton, Washington State, USA. The night this album was recorded, there was hardly an audience, perfect conditions for making this recording. We played every kind of venue, a lot of Top 40 dance clubs,but our style was to do a lot of soloing, despite the pressure of club owners and agents not to do so much soloing and be so "jazzy". We didn't care, we knew the audience loved us and we were very popular. This was the best group of musicians that i've ever worked with under the name of Danny Ward and Reality."

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indigo jam unit, a Japanese super heavy jazz dance fusion supergroup, are set to release their specially compiled album in the UK for the first time. They are renowned for their unique blend of hard-hitting piano and percussion-driven jazz. Gilles Peterson asked Colin Curtis to start his radio show on Worldwide FM called Jazz Dance Fusion at the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020 and this meant he could introduce underexposed music that he loved. indigo jam unit was a natural fit. Following a conversation with his long-time Jazz Ally Paul Murphy of Jazz Room Records, they both quickly decided that now was the time to unleash some of the best indigo jam unit tracks to the world on an exclusive vinyl-only release. With pounding bass lines, percussive piano breaks, and the distinct addition of two drummers and percussionists, indigo jam unit's sound is truly unique. They have carved a path for emerging bands in the jazz scene of today. The four musicians from Osaka, Japan - Isao Wasano (Drums Percussion), Katsuhiko Sasai (Bass Double Bass), Takehiro Shimizu (Drums), and Yoshichika Tarue (Piano) - take no prisoners with their uncompromising style! Power, passion, drive, and incredible playing - like a lethal force.
From 2006 to 2016, they had a prolific output of albums with single-minded titles: Demonstration, Realism, Collectivity, Pirates, Roots, Independent Rebel, Milestone, Lights, and more - over 17 projects. indigo jam unit embody the same energy as those jazz dance greats like Art Blakey, Dom Um Romao, Stone Alliance, and the like - just uncompromising raw passion!

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Saxophonist, flautist Chip Wickham takes us to Cloud 10 with his most soulful and lyrical album to date Chip Wickham is a jazz musician and producer who divides his time between Spain, UK and the Middle-East and who has made a name for himself with a series of beautifully crafted solo albums that draw equally on the hard swinging spiritual jazz of Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef and Sahih Shihab, alongside the music of British jazz legends such as Tubby Hayes and Harold McNair and the more contemporary sounds of Jazzanova, Kyoto Jazz Massive and Robert Glasper. Originally from Brighton, Chip studied in Manchester and became involved in the 00's UK jazz, soul. trip-hop and funk scenes, working with the likes of The Pharcyde, The New Mastersounds and Nightmares On Wax as well as playing with Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Orchestra. And his relationship with Gondwana Records goes right back to the very beginning as he played on Halsall's 2008 debut Sending My Love. Cloud 10 is his debut album for Gondwana Records (following a 12" of Lonnie Liston Smith covers in May) and it is a wonderful, timeless, lyrical, slice of hard-hitting, soulful, spiritual jazz and modal hard-bop with a distinctly UK flavour - driven by Chip's deftly funky flute work and hard-hitting tenor. Underpinned by Chip's restless energy and driven by his desire to connect with the listener on a deeper level.Cloud 10 features pianist Phil Wilkinson, vibes player Ton Risco, bassist Sneaky and drummer Jon Scott (all veterans of previous albums) together with harpist Amanda Whiting and percussionist Jack McCarthy whom Chip met touring in the Gondwana Orchestra, and rising star Irish trumpeter Eoin Grace who also doubles on flugel horn. The album was recorded at the legendary all analogue Estudios Brazil in Madrid, with the band spending a week at Chip's house in the mountains just outside the city, eating and drinking together, listening to music till the small hours and recording all day. It was a magical time and the positivity seeped into the recording.



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Tracklist
A1. Super Boiro Band - So I Si Sa
A2. Bembeya Jazz National - Armée Guinéenne
A3. Kaloum Star - Maliba
A4. Balla Et Ses Balladins - Nyo
B1. Quintette Guinéenne - Douga
B2. Le Simandou De Beyla - Festival
B3. Horoya Band - Zoumana
C1. Kaloum Star - Gbassikolo
C2. Sombory Jazz De Fria - Nana
C3. Syli Authentic - Fabara
D1. Balla Et Ses Balladins - Paulette
D2. 22 Band Kankan - Deny

(2LP, High quality records in gatefold sleeve with extended liner and song notes) This is the second of a two-volume release which presents a selection of the best songs from Guinea's Syliphone recording label. This volume focuses on recordings from the 1970s, when Guinea’s authenticité policy had transformed the nation's music through a network of over 30 orchestras, each representing their local region, and each presenting Guinean musical traditions alongside the influences of Cuban music, jazz and funk.

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Black BioVinyl LP, in printed coated board sleeve, packed in a resealable protective bag..
Saxophonist, flautist and producer Chip Wickham casts a formidable shadow across the worldwide jazz landscape. Originally from Brighton, but now dividing his time between the UK, Spain and the Middle-East, he has made a name for himself with a series of beautifully crafted solo albums.

Listen: listen.k7.com/28827e1a-2894-49d1-811a-eb1dbaeadb41

Track Listing:
A1. Drifting
A2. Nara Black
A3. The Eternal Now
A4. Lost Souls

B1. No Turning Back
B2. The Road Less Travelled
B3. Falling Deep
B4. Ikigai
B5. Outside


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Vancouver-based production duo Potatohead People team up with longtime friend and collaborator Slippery Elm on the debut release from their new label, Mysterybox Records. Known for their smooth blend of jazz, soul, and hip-hop, Potatohead People have worked with legendary artists like Kaytranada, De La Soul, Redman, Phife Dawg, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Illa J, and T3 of Slum Village. Slippery Elm, a founding member of the jazzy hip-hop collective Elekwent Folk, has long been a fixture in Vancouver's underground scene, sharing stages with influential acts such as Digital Underground, Digable Planets, Shabazz Palaces, Moka Only, and Saul Williams. Their collaborative release, Emerald Tablet, features a standout appearance from Philly hip-hop icon Bahamadia, alongside Vancouver-based artists TARANEH, Kapok, and Kendra Dias. The project has received widespread acclaim and international radio support from BBC Radio 2 & 6, KCRW, KEXP, FIP, Radio Nova, CBC, and SiriusXM. Press outlets such as Pitchfork, Stereogum, Complex, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC 6 Music, Exclaim, and The Vancouver Sun have all highlighted the release, which has also been featured on top Spotify editorial playlists including lush lofi, State of Jazz, Butter, Jazztronica, and Nu-Funk.

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Blue note / Schema / Far Out recordings artist shares a new compilation of golden age italian library music.

Following his acclaimed five-part Viagem compilation series celebrating Brazil's forgotten bossa nova and samba jazz, Far Out, Blue Note and Schema recording artist and international DJ Nicola Conte turns his curatorial attention homeward with Viaggio, an extraordinary exploration of Italy's library music renaissance 1970-79.

The 12-track compilation spotlights the remarkable creative explosion that occurred during the seventies: when some of the greatest yet most historically overlooked composers, including Amedeo Tommasi, Alessandro Alessandroni and Max Rocci, were composing and recording huge amounts of original music for film and television libraries.

Unlike commercial releases designed for mass consumption, library music was created specifically to accompany images on screen. This meant creative freedom for composers who imagined scenarios, feelings and worlds to soundtrack. Pressed in limited quantities, these recordings were distributed only to internal circles of music supervisors, journalists, and television professionals – making them virtually invisible to the general public for decades.

"This is a journey through a largely forgotten world," explains Conte. "While major jazz recording opportunities were scarce, an incredible network of small labels owned by publishing companies – often created by the composers themselves – began to flourish. This created an open space where musicians could express more experimental and free thinking sounds."

At the heart of Viaggio stands Amedeo Tommasi, the sophisticated jazz pianist who emerged in 1960 backing international stars like Chet Baker, Bobby Jaspar, and Jacques Pelzer. Tommasi was among Italy's earliest artists to introduce Black US modal jazz influences, and when traditional recording opportunities dwindled, he pivoted to soundtrack and library music, helping define a distinctly Italian sound that bridged experimental jazz with the emerging possibilities afforded by developments in synthesizer and recording technologies.

The compilation features rare gems from small label outputs, namely the Cenacolo and Rotary label catalogs. Tommasi's contemporaries include the great Alessandro Alessandroni and his vocalist wife Giulia De Mutiis (Kema), Stefano Torrosi (under the alias Farlocco - meaning fake/phony), and Belgian composer Joël Vandroogenbroeck. The recordings capture the technological evolution of the era as beguiling synthesis often combines with global influences spanning Brazilian rhythms, jazz-funk explorations, and Middle Eastern scales.

"You can hear both the haunting melodies and sun-kissed atmospheres so typical of Italian culture from that era," Conte observes. "Some of these albums could have been proper artist releases, while others were specifically designed for accompanying images on screen, yet all were crafted with exploratory creativity that still resonates powerfully today."

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World Of Echo announces the reissue of two remastered albums by Japanese guitarist and songwriter Naoki Zushi, 1988’s Paradise, and 2005’s III. Two classics of Japanese psychedelia, both Paradise and III were originally released on Org Records, the imprint of Shinji Shibayama of acid-folk group Nagisa Ni Te, with whom Zushi has guested on second guitar for decades. Both intimate and expansive, rich with revelatory songwriting and blasted, sky-scouring guitar, these reissues return these albums to print for the first time since the 2000s. It’s the first time III has been officially released on vinyl, with an extra, previously unreleased track, “Under The June Moonlight.”

Recorded in Kyoto’s Townhouse Studios in mid 1987 and released in limited-to-500 vinyl pressing in 1988, Paradise emerged from a scene in Kansai, Japan that was embracing the idiosyncracies of 1970s singer-songwriters, the soaring solos of early seventies psychedelia, and the DIY impulse of 1980s post-punk. While Zushi’s musical history stretched back to the early eighties – he was a founding member of Jojo Hiroshige’s noise outfit Hijokaidan – he found his feet with groups like Hallelujahs, whose dream-pop collection Niku O Kuraite Chikai Wo Tateyo was recently reissued by Black Editions, and Idiot O’Clock.

Paradise appeared two years after that Hallelujahs album and share much the same membership – Zushi’s backing band on several of the songs includes Shibayama on drums and Ken-Ichi Takayama (aka Idiot) on electric guitar, though just as often, Zushi plays all the instruments himself. The coordinates here are wide-reaching – you can hear the volume and intensity of Neil Young & Crazy Horse (on “Hallelujah: Left Side” and “Paradise: Midday”), the slow-motion magic of Galaxie 500, the idiosyncratic spirit of The Only Ones, all mixed up with tender guitar miniatures and stumbling garage-psych-pop moves.

Seven years later, after the transitional album Phenomenal Luciferin, Zushi released III. Perhaps his masterpiece, it’s already been bootlegged on vinyl, but this reissue is the real deal. The album was recorded at Studio Nemu over seven years, and sees Zushi backed by Shibayama (bass) and Masako Takeda (drums), his erstwhile bandmates in Nagisa Ni Te. By this stage, Zushi had started to really stretch out, and many of the songs on III swoon languorously, taking their sweet time to say what they need to say. It’s rich with lovely, melancholy songs, in a similar realm to bandmates Nagisa Ni Te, of course, but you can also hear traces of everything from Syd Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs, through seventies private press loner folk, to the slow-burn meanderings of the likes of early Low or Damon & Naomi.

When interviewed by Shibayama in the mid-nineties, Zushi said of Paradise, “it was a sort of collection of songs that had meant something to me up to that point… it was my paradise. I wanted to create paradise.” That’s something Zushi achieves on both of these albums – visionary Japanese psychedelia, en route to paradise. - Jon Dale

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