Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge (2002)

«While bossa nova certainly had its moment in the sun in the U.S., it seems to have enjoyed an even greater impact in Japan – check out any of the superb Café Après-midi compilations for proof of the continuing Japanese obsession with vintage bossa beats, or better still check out Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge, a fantastic collection of Japanese originals from the 1960s. The sound and vibe are so close to their Brazilian source material that you'd be hard-pressed to discern a difference between this stuff and, say, Sergio Mendes – until the vocals kick in, that is. Most of the performances are in Japanese, and they're often recorded with a gauzy, echoing patina that's utterly unique. Good stuff all around; highlights include Keisuke Egusa's "Summer Samba," Kyoko Okada's "Donnafunki," Masami Kawahara's "Mas Que Nada," and Hiroshi Matsumoto's "Agua de Beber."» (AMG)

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Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - World Famous (1991)

«“I'd make time for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra anytime,” said no less an authority than the band's one-time producer, veteran reggae guitarist Dennis Bovell. Starting out in the late '80s as a ska revival group playing the streets and clubs of their hometown, the sharply suited Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra quickly became the flag-bearers for the Japanese ska scene. This movement gained popularity in the 1990s and included the arguably more “authentic” ska sounds of the Ska Flames and the Determinations from Osaka. Like those two acts, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's sound is largely instrumental, with powerful, punchy arrangements that re-create the jump-up energy of Jamaican ska originals such as the Skatalites. It's a sound as vibrant as any modern-day ska – anywhere. Over the course of more than 1,000 live shows, the band has forged a live reputation that has seen it invited to perform at England's Glastonbury Festival and France's Eurockeennes. Redefining their sound over the course of more than ten albums (including the occasional European release), the deaths of two bandmembers, and the departure of their bandleader, Asa-Chang, the ten-man-strong Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra have also recorded with some of the biggest names in Japanese music.» (AMG)

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Uttara-Kuru - East Wind (1999)

«Uttara-Kuru had an astounding debut in 1998 through their combination of sutra recitation and digital music which created a highly original style. In addition, pop style elements seem fundamental to their music. Their concept has been to create a new kind of music by combining the instruments, melodies and other features of traditional Japanese culture with western harmonies, synthesizers, computers etc.. Music which focuses on great themes can easily be difficult to understand, but Uttara-Kuru’s work is melodious and funky, with power and gentleness. It stirs the listener’s feelings. Of course, their success comes not just from their extraordinary talents, but also from their fundamentally pop style.

Their previous release, Prayer, was mainly sutra recitation. On this album the Shakuhachi (a vertical bamboo flute), Koto (a long Japanese zither with thirteen strings), other traditional folk instruments and traditional Japanese folk songs are featured in various pieces. The featured instruments and voices are excellent, and every song’s world is strongly expressed and created. In particular, the sound of the Shakuhachi captures the spirit of the album’s title, East Wind.
Like Uttara-Kuru’s previous album, this one shows us the tolerance and strength of people who live in heavy snowfall areas and wait quietly through winter, thinking of spring time and summer festivals. Anyway, this is a wonderful album which reminds us of the depth which Japanese folk instruments and traditional melodies have.» (Pacific Moon)

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Love, Peace & Poetry - Vol.3: Asian Psychedelic Music (1999)

"Love, Peace and Poetry is a consistently high-quality series, with nine volumes to date covering almost all of the world. The focus here is on psychedelia, with most of the recordings coming from the late sixties and early seventies. These collections have very little overlap with any other series out there. Each volume is well documented and the tracks are varied and well chosen. A particularly nice touch is that each volume includes information on obtaining original records or reissues, as well as other psych related contacts.

This collection of Asian psychedelic music, the third volume in the series, is perhaps the best of the lot – and that's saying quite a bit. Perhaps the reason that this collection is so strong is that many of the artists on this compilation were stars in their homelands with long careers, despite being little known in the West. As the liner notes point out, the combination of Asian musical traditions and the experimentalism of psychedelia often produced breathtaking results. This is particularly true of the four Turkish artists on this volume of Love, Peace and Poetry. The chords and rhythms that drive these tracks are not rock and roll, but the guitar sounds featured on these tracks draw freely on Western influences in the late 1960s, from the fuzz guitar of Erkin Koray and Baris Manco, to the trippier guitar sound of Mogollar. Japan is also represented by three artists on this collection, all of whom were no doubt listening to what was going on in the West in the late 1960s. You Know What I Mean by Justin Heathcliff (apparently the band's name was an attempt to sound British) had the Beatlesque sound of I'm Only Sleeping, complete with backward guitar solo. Blind Bird by the Mops could be mistaken for an American record (other than the Japanese lyrics) and Yuya Uchida & the Flowers cover the Jefferson Airplane's Greasy Heart. That is not to say that these artists were just imitating Western music, but rather they were creating compelling hybrids. And while British and American rock and roll bands were drawing on Indian music, the two Indian artists on Love, Peace and Poetry demonstrate that this was a two-way exchange. The tracks by the Confusions and the Fentones are taken from the Simla Beat collections, which came from «battle of the bands» competitions in India where the winner was determined by who could play the best garage rock. Though the title Voice from the Inner Soul by the Confusions would suggest a psych freak-out, this track is straightforward garage rock. The other Indian entry in this collection, Simla Beat Theme by the Fentones, is one of those transcendent tracks that stays with you long after you hear it. It's ironic that the Fentones achieved that «eastern» sound with a guitar-bass-drums arrangement that so many American garage bands were trying to achieve by adding a sitar to their sound. The two tracks from Korea (It Was Probably Late Summer by San Ul Lim and Korean Titel A2 (huh?) by Jung Hyun and the Men are latecomers, having been originally released in the 1970s but they each have a sixties light psych sound. Also represented on this collection are artists from Hong Kong (the trippy Magic Colours by Teddy Robin and the Playboys), Singapore, and Cambodia (the best track from the comp Cambodian Rocks). In fact, every track on this compilation is interesting." (Turnmeondeadman)

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