Tokyo Bliss

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.