DJ Kawasaki has given the world plenty of great club tracks over the years – but here, he reworks his music in a variety of different styles – sometimes funk, sometimes soul, sometimes a bit of jazz – all with a level of expression that really takes us back to that moment when the Japanese scene was really crossing over with American soul! The vibe here is much richer than if you've just caught some of Kawasaki's tracks floating around the digital world – and the whole thing works really well as a whole – with guest work from Bird, N'Dea Davenport, Karin, and others – on titles that include recreations of the tunes "I'm So On Your Mind", "Let The Music Play", "Shooting Star", "Blazin", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Bright Like Light", "So Far Away", and "Planetary Track". (New Grooves, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

A great guide for digging into the world of Japanese music from the mid 80s onward – and a book that's different than some of the more vinyl-centric disc guide, in that it focuses strongly on city pop titles that were only issued on CD! The Japanese city pop movement really got going at the start of the 80s, when vinyl and cassette were still king and queen – but it kept on going even after formats shifted – at a level that makes this book such a key document of the scene and style, which is often just tied to the vinyl market. As with other Japanese disc guides, the bulk of the text is in Japanese – which can now easily be read using Google Translate on your phone – but the book has entries for hundreds of titles, each with a full color image of the cover – which will offer up plenty of information for your digging. The book has a few other features alongside the disc listings – and is a total of 242 pages, softcover, with hundreds of full color images throughout. (Books, Japanese) Book

A wicked bit of Japanese soul, and a rare album done by an American singer who was working on the scene at the time! Shoody sings in English throughout, with a soulful style that's wonderful – mixing her own great vocals with jazzy backings in a level that's a bit like some of the Japanese fusion of the late 70s that was recorded over in Cali when an American singer might drop in vocals on a track or two! Yet here, the vocals are throughout, and work wonderfully with the backings put together by Hiroyuki Namba, who plays keyboards throughout the record too. Shoody steps out on a few mellower cuts too – and titles include "Tokyo Melody", "AM Lonely", "Don't Say Hello Say Goodbye", "Melodies Of Love", "Chased The Blue", "Ecstasy", and "Tomorrow's Child". LP, Vinyl record album

Really lovely guitar work from Masayoshi Takanaka – music that's part of that great solo change after his work in Sadistic Mika Band – as he really expanded his sound on guitar with all these cool chromatic touches that are perfect for the light fusion-based sound of the record! Masayoshi sings a bit too, but his main "voice" is the guitar – set up here in a small combo that features saxophone work from the great Jake Conception, and keyboards from Hiroshi Imai – all at a level that's nicely laidback, compared to some of Takanaka's later records. Titles include "Tropic Birds", "Oh Tengo Suerte", and "Funkee Mah Chan" – plus other titles in Japanese. (Jazz, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Hako Yamasaki, and a set that really bridges a few different eras of music on the Japanese scene! At some level, Hako's got the richly expressive style of female singers of the late 60s – but she works here with more acoustic guitar, and some more down-to-earth touches that aren't exactly folk or singer/songwriter, but showcase an intimacy that gives the record a tremendous amount of power – even if you can't understand the lyrics! Electric elements and more powerful backings come into the mix from time to time, but never overwhelm – as the recording quality has Hako's vocals right up front, at a level that's extremely expressive, even for her young age. Titles include "Taketombo", "Sayonara No Kane", "Kazaguruma", "Sasurai", and "Bokyo". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Hako Yamasaki, and a set that really bridges a few different eras of music on the Japanese scene! At some level, Hako's got the richly expressive style of female singers of the late 60s – but she works here with more acoustic guitar, and some more down-to-earth touches that aren't exactly folk or singer/songwriter, but showcase an intimacy that gives the record a tremendous amount of power – even if you can't understand the lyrics! Electric elements and more powerful backings come into the mix from time to time, but never overwhelm – as the recording quality has Hako's vocals right up front, at a level that's extremely expressive, even for her young age. Titles include "Taketombo", "Sayonara No Kane", "Kazaguruma", "Sasurai", and "Bokyo". CD features the bonus track "Oktoko To Onna No Heya". CD