Tokyo Pulse - Japanese Funk, Modern & City Pop

 FROM THE TOKYO SCENE 1974-88 SELECTED BY DJ NOTOYA

Hot on the heels of the Tokyo bliss and Funk Tide sets, Tokyo-based DJ Notoya delivers Tokyo Pulse a new selection of Funk and Modern soul recorded in Tokyo in the 70s and 80s. Most tracks here are making their debut outside of Japan and the album, like its predecessors, has been designed by Manuel Sepulveda (Optigram) and is annotated by DJ Notoya. The audio has been newly mastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia Records and remastered for vinyl by Colorsound in Paris.

Tokyo Pulse’s lush funk selection open with the nocturnal groove of Naomi Chiaki’s “Yoru E Isogu Hito,” recorded in 1978. The track perfectly sets the mood with its laid-back tempo and late-night atmosphere. From there, Yumi Murata’s “Ranhansha” (1979) brings a funkier touch, before the mellower funk of L-E-V-E-L’s “Bagdad No Atari Nite” signals the stylistic shift toward the early 1980s. Side one closes with GAM’s “Lake In The Forest,” an elegant reggae-inflected piece from 1980, played by several musicians from the cult Arakawa Band.

WEWANTSOUNDS / WWSLP 121