... LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's definitely all woman – thanks to the sexy sounds of Monica Lassen on vocals! The singer works at a wordless level here – breezily scatting alongside these slinky, jazzy lines from The Sounds – a Japanese group who've clearly drunk deep from the well of bossa nova and European soundtrack influences of the 60s – and find a way to create their own small combo variation of those styles! The music has bits of organ, guitar, flute, and even what feels like electronics at points – and Monica's often more than content to step back, and let the group groove, then come in for a sigh, a moan, or a lighter vocalized passage. Titles are as sexy as the image on the cover – and include "Three Woman", "Love Touch", "Whimper", "Incitation", and "Happiness" – plus the long "Tie In/Double Bed/Enjoy Time". (Vocalists, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

Back in the 70s, there were plenty of records that mixed together the Japanese shamisen with more contemporary sounds – but of them all, this set might well be one of the wildest – as it features two side-long tracks that mix the acoustic strings of the ancient instrument with a mix of moogy electronics and keyboards! Konae Imato handles the shamisen in a very classic style – with lots of raspy touches along the three strings – while Masashi Komatsubara delivers all these different sounds from the moog – sometimes very abstract, sometimes tuneful, sometimes very experimental – all of which makes for a wonderful sense of variety throughout the record! Hideki Matsutake (aka Logic System) was part of the album's creation too – and the record features the long tracks "Journey To Edo" and "The City Of Edo". (Out Sound, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album