Camiflage
Snaretrade004

SAISEI founder Junki Inoue continues his vital archival work uncovering the riches of Japan’s distinctive electronic music scene and bringing them to new audiences around the world.
The PMA EP compiles four dynamic tracks recorded around 30 years ago by the duo of Shigeru Nakamura (drums/vocals) and Mikio Kato (synths) aka B-2DEP’T.
Nakamura and Kato’s first album as B-2DEP’T, Products Plus, appeared on cassette in 1993 on Trigger Records, the predecessor label to Transonic (given a retrospective on SAIS004). Its bright yellow and blue retro-futurist artwork – which is echoed in the design for this reissue on SAISEI – matched the sounds held within: inventive, out-of-the-box dance music blending overseas influences with an idiosyncratic Japanese sensibility.
Two tracks from Products Plus appear on this EP, All tracks re-edited by Junki Inoue and regular collaborator Yuzo Iwata for vinyl extended play and available now for the first time on vinyl. ‘Clockwork Giant Panda’ appearing in a version co-produced with Yoshinori Sunahara (ex - Denki Groove), merges a breezy US house groove and bassline with twinkling, almost parodic Japanese keys that act as a kind of meta commentary on Western perceptions of Japan (a concept pioneered by Yellow Magic Orchestra). The two parts of ‘BSMH’, or Body Sonic Mental Health from ‘Products Plus’, were originally remixed by Daishi Hisakawa of Tanzmuzik, who draws on darker sounds from Europe and the UK: restless Depeche Mode synth harmonies spiral above a pacy EBM pulse, with robot vocals intoning the titular slogan. The package is completed by the unreleased track ‘PMA’, whose driving, bass-heavy mood falls somewhere between Sheffield bleep and the ambient techno of early Biosphere.SAISEI is a Japanese word which translates to ‘reproduction’ and ‘to play’ (as in playing records). Japanese culture is widely known for its traditional nature just as much as it is for being forward into the future and this label’s concept does justice to exactly that. Having started digging for records as early as 16 years old, Inoue delved into productions from 1990s Japan to uncover these native gems. SAISEI’s core concept is to recapture and reintroduce unique pieces of Japanese electronic music onto vinyl, to an audience it never reached before as most of this music was only released in Japan.

"How that time has gone, vanished beneath night’s cover, just as if it never had been! The wall, wondrous high, decorated with snake-likenesses, stands now over traces of the beloved company. The ash-spears’ might has borne the earls away—weapons greedy for slaughter, Fate the mighty; and storms beat on the stone walls, snow, the herald of winter, falling thick binds the earth when darkness comes and the night-shadow falls, sends harsh hailstones from the north in hatred of men.All earth’s kingdom is wretched, the world beneath the skies is changed by the work of the fates. Here wealth is fleeting, here friend is fleeting, here man is fleeting, here woman is fleeting—all this earthly habitation shall be emptied."— Exeter Book (1072)

Wonky minimal and house from Lucretio & Omar Akhrif and Darren Allen marking label's 20th vinyl release.

ITRIA VOL.3 is a slow techno-inspired cosmic journey that condenses in a single orbit a great cast of artists coming from different galaxies. It marks an evolution in sound and mood, taking us to a deeper and more visceral dimension.The first track by Interstellar Funk is a 100% pure electronic mind-trip, a machined groove where thoughts still roam frenetically paves the way for a more intimate experience.Tamburi Neri’s downtempo track shapes a space-time portal in which to sink; their sound is like a beat echoing from the bottom of the chest and spreading to the tips of the fingers softly.For the first time, Salamanda co-works with Polifonic framing a Korean unknown soundscape, an ambient loop track through which we break away from this dimension and move towards the exotic.Hiver restore a connection with reality through their pulsating bass. The heartbeat speeds up, but we still float into a dreamy techno atmosphere.Claudio PRC & ZIPPO come into play with a powerful combination of techno textures that gets us to resurface and awaken the senses.

Spacetravel hits with his first outing of 2019 on Miami-Berlin label Hearing Colors second vinyl release. Four stripped down club cuts trademarked by Luca’s signature driving sound. A1 shows his 2 step influenced cowbell ridden flow whilst the A2 opens up in to peak time electro 4/4 . Tripped out B1 uses vocal cuts and a rolling acid bassline to maintain solid groove, before B2 brings that signature drive and punch that gets heads nodding. Mastered at Scape, Berlin with full colour artwork sleeve courtesy of Krikrak.