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LP
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MMDS 24003LP
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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. 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. 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. 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. The new liner notes for this release 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.
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3LP
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MMDS 24004LP
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Triple gatefold heavyweight 180g vinyl. Remastered original LP, including five unreleased tracks, presented for the first time on vinyl. Susumu Yokota's venerated 1994 classic Acid Mt. Fuji is reissued in expanded, deluxe fashion, as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the label that originally presented it. Japan's Musicmine -- specifically it's electronic subsidiary Sublime Records -- released the album on June 29th 1994, simultaneously with Ken Ishii's Reference To Difference, as their inaugural joint offering. Acid Mt. Fuji is an enchanting mix of mystical ambient acid and futurist minimal techno, taking the listeners on a psychedelic pilgrimage, where 303, synths and electronic percussion are scented with reverb, echo and forest recordings. Merging Japanese new age and sparse electronica, the recording is free, organic, and energized -- proffering a unique blend of early '90s western styles and the essence of his home country. Yokota originally planned an ambient record, but Acid Mt. Fuji evolved into a concept work featuring the Roland TB-303, which he recorded live at home alongside a sampler, yielding experimental and innovative results. With references to Japanese folklore, nature and shrines, tracks like "Kinoko" and "Meijijingu" invite the listener to immerse themselves in the album's spiritual depths. Acid Mt. Fuji is a powerful testament to the establishment of rave culture in Japan, which rapidly developed within just two years, from 1992 to 1994. Largely due to praise for the breathtaking originality of the LP, within this burgeoning national techno scene, Yokota rose to prominence as one of its key figures. He then became one of the most renowned artists to emerge from his homeland and enter the global electronic pantheon. He inspired a new wave of Japanese producers and DJs, contributing significantly to the growth of the techno movement in Japan. This triple vinyl deluxe edition includes the original album's eleven tracks alongside five raw and jacking rare gems, available on wax for the first time, which were previously included only in the Japanese 2016 deluxe edition CD. The liner notes are written by DJ/producer Alex From Tokyo, who was a good friend of Yokota, and experienced the '90s Tokyo club scene firsthand as an insider. His compilation Japan Vibrations Vol. 1 captures this golden era, and features music by Prism (Susumu Yokota), Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Yasuaki Shimizu, Quadra (Hiroshi Watanabe), and more.
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LP
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MMDS 22013LP
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This live album is a recording of the last live performance by Drumwolf (Toru)'s with the band. The concert was held at WWWX in Shibuya on March 11th, 2023 and includes 13 of the songs that they played at this gig. It is the last memorial live performance for Toru, the bedrock of Guitar Wolf for many years and will be permanently etched on vinyl. This is a must record that fans need to get hold of, as it is the live recording of the band's latest performance featuring many of their classic songs. Guitar Wolf have been expanding their horizons of their activities in recent years, including an appearance at the Shimane Jet festival, and they hope you can appreciate the pure joy of their universal rock and roll vibes on vinyl that might be too hot for the whole world to handle! And as a bonus item, you can stream the full live performance of this monumental concert of Guitar Wolf in its entirety as well! It was directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi, who had previously worked on Guitar Wolf's music videos for many years. This video of their live performance was edited full of tension and speed and it truly displays how much Guitar Wolf deserves the title of Japan's number one rock and roll band.
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