(Editor’s Note: Our next guest post comes from Paul Cheever, aka The Cheebacabra, whose new solo joint and past work (as part of The Makrosoft) gets plenty of play around here. An arranger and multi-instrumentalist who’s been dubbed a ‘synth maestro’, Paul just returned from a whirlwind tour of Japan and hit us with these Tokyo inspired choice cuts. Keep up to date with his work HERE. Thanks Cheeba! – DM)
9DW [Catune,2007]
“Black Coffee”
“Balancer” b/w “Stone and Fruits”
I just returned from my first DJ tour of Japan a few weeks ago. I had the time of my life there. And the fact that I had the opportunity to go pretty much traces back to this 45. Back in 2007, I was killing time on MySpace, adding friends, connecting with other bands. I clicked on a page and was instantly hit with the dope sounds of 9dw. I started an email friendship with the Tokyo-based bandleader Kensuke Saito. I sent him some of my music and he mailed me this 45. All three of these tracks are sick instrumental grooves with crisp drums and catchy melodies. “Black Coffee” and “Balancer” are loaded with juicy analog synth and “Stone and Fruits” showcases Kensuke’s thoughtful guitar playing. I helped put him in touch with Wax Poetics and they went on to release a 9dw double LP in 2009. Kensuke and the label he manages, Catune, released my latest album in Japan and also arranged the tour. It was amazing to finally meet in person after a five year internet friendship. I’m so grateful for the ways that music can connect.
UCND [NNNF, 2012]
“Morondava b/w DJ Shinya “SK. High”
Keeping on the Japanese tip, this is a 45 I picked up while in Kyoto. UCND is a duo: Masato Ucon on upright bass and KND on beats/samples. I saw them perform live and they were hyped, relentless with their groove. There’s not much that satisfies me more musically than some tight drums combined with a funky bassline and that’s what this track delivers (there’s also a lot of percussion, rhodes and didgeridoo). On the B-Side, DJ Shinya presents a nice reworking of the Nat Adderley track “K. High”, slowing it down, beefing up the drums and really bringing the clavinet and best sax parts to the forefront. DJ Shinya seems to preside over the funk scene in Kyoto. Not only is he the buyer at a local record store called Japonica, he also organizes a live event called Butter which brings together the dopest DJ’s, funk bands and visual artists (when I was there, there was an artist painting a massive Gil Scott-Heron portrait). Both of these tracks are solely available on this 45 which is limited to 200 copies.
