Various Artists - TOKYO BLISS JAPANESE FUNK, BOOGIE AND CITY POP FROM KING RECORDS 1974-88 - SELECTED BY DJ NOTOYA *Pre-Order

Following the success of the 'Tokyo Glow' and 'Funk Tide' sets, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Tokyo-based DJ Notoya for a breezy selection of Funk and Boogie recorded in Japan for King Records in the 70s and 80s. Most tracks here are making their debut on vinyl outside of Japan and the album, like its predecessors, has been designed by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda and is annotated by DJ Notoya. The audio has been newly mastered in Tokyo by King Records and remastered for vinyl by Colorsound in Paris.

For Tokyo Bliss, Japanese Funk expert DJ Notoya has picked a diverse selection of great Funk, Boogie and City Pop tracks recorded between 1974 and 1988 for King Records, one of the most venerable record labels in Japan. These tracks - which are in demand on the Japanese groove scene - are mostly new to international ears and showcase the breadth and quality of Nippon music recorded during the 70s and 80s. 

The selection kicks off with the group Buzz, a folk duet formed in the early 70s by Hiroshi Koide and Masakazu Togo who released a handful of albums for King during the 70s. The track "Garasumado" (Glass Window) is from the 1974 album "Requiem The City" which was produced by Nobuyuki Takahashi, the older brother of future YMO superstar Yukihiro Takahashi who's playing drums here seconded by Ray Ohara's formidable bass line. At the time both were members of cult group Sadistic Mika Band. 

Next comes the synth boogie sound of singer Mami Ayukawa, who was active on the Japanese music scene in the mid 80s, followed by drummer Johnny Yoshinaga's 1978 hard funk "The Rain" featuring great keyboards action from Hiroyuki Namba one of Tatsuro Yamashita's key musicians, present on the latter's cult album "For You." Keiko Toda's mid tempo delight "Fade In" was released in 1983 and adds a touch of class to the ensemble with its languid rhythm and synth riffs. For the anecdote Toda is also a well known voice actress famous for being the voice of Anpanman, one of Japan's most famous anime cartoons.

The rest of Tokyo Bliss alternate between the stylish funk-folk floater "Bokura no Date" by Koji Kobayashi from 1978 and the 80s funk bomb "Your Love's Away" by Kumiko Sawada, produced by prolific guitarist Kazuo Takeda with his group Creation who is backing Sawada here.

The selection closes with the superb Moog and Fender Rhodes-led space funk instrumental "Paper Machine" released in 1977 by Fujimaru Band and which ends the set on a perfect note.  To quote DJ Notoya from his liner notes - Tokyo Bliss is "a perfect snapshot of the cool Tokyo sound from the 1970s and ‘80s" and which Wewantsounds it delighted to release.

Tracklist

Side 1

A1          BUZZ - Garasumado  1974

A2          Mami Ayukawa - Sabita Gambler  1987

A3          Johnny Yoshinaga - The Rain  1978

A4          Keiko Toda – Fade In  1983

A5          Koji Kobayashi - Bokura no Date  1978

Side 2

B6           Yuko Imai – Hotel Twilight 4.49  1988

B7           Kumiko Sawada – Your Love’s Away  1979

B8           Masatoshi Kanno - Day By Day  1976

B9           Yuji Mitsuya – After Five At Café-Bar  1984

B10        Fujimaru Band - Paper machine  1977