since so many european labels have been reissuing lost and obscure 1980s japanese ambient albums of late, it was probably inevitable that at least one label would put together a compilation paying tribute to the sound. it turns out that jazzy couscous has won the race with kumo no moko, a superb double album that does a terrific job in putting japan s 80s ambient scene in context. as you d expect, the majority of the tracks feature either dreamy electronic sounds or a mixture of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, with nods to jazz coming thick and fast. there are naturally a couple of fairly well-known names on show, but for the most part the compilers have done a terrific job in highlight lesser-known tracks from unsung heroes.

james kumo on his own imprint kmusic with three atmospheric tracks plus a strong dj spider remix!

james kumo is back, this time on his own imprint kmusic. kumo supplies us with two original mixes of his track, yellow, inspired by the infamous & former tokyo based nightclub. the original mix is tech house at it s best, ladened with deep percussive drums, dub influenced chord stabs & warm pads throughout. the dub mix is exactly that, stripped down and pounding, designed for big room dance floors.

james kumo grew up in kent but moved to london and later manchester. in february of 2008, his first ep got released on amsterdams ann aimee records, a delsin sublabel. 2009 saw one more release on ann aimee and a record for dan curtins metamorphic label. now curle is proud to announce james kumos next ep, featuring two original tracks and a remix by our compatriot and man of the moment, peter van hoesen.

kumo returns! after his well received debut ep earlier this year - he comes in with two movers in his own style. alphawave on the a side has this haunting, escapish synthline, dreams on the flip intrigues as well - with the rough beats and almost ravey synth burning in.

highly succesful imprimt kumo is about to enlarge its scale of high quality music, this time with japanese long time and inside japan well known dj sodeyama together with a remix from mr. glimpse whos name is surely not unkown. this release is a perfect mixture of superb minimal techno (original) and slightly moody relaxed housy tunes (remix).

three times deep obscure electronics - think along the lines of the latest carl craig or marcel dettmann productions. deep!!

rock

our latest examination of esoteric, modal & progressive jazz of the 20th century has taken us to japan. the liberating force of jazz has been created and felt all around the world, but few nations on earth embraced the jazz message with the passion and intensity of japan. from the dawn of the jazz age to the present day, japanese audiences have been renowned tastemakers, enthusiasts and champions of the music in the 1980s, japan was the biggest per capita market in the world for jazz records, and it has even been said that japanese jazz fans kept the jazz record industry alive through the lean years of the 1970s, when the music fell from commercial favour in the land of its birth.

psycomat return with another super limited and experimental offering, this time from reason stendec. the a-side is an electronic dream take on an acapella version, subjecting reason stendec to extreme stretches, bends and vocoder abuse. the aa-side tries gamely to accommodate jono’s 9-minute kumo mix, a slab of unashamed banging techno that kicks like a buffalo and belches noxious acid fumes from arcane circuits that swell into an analogue meteor shower.

kicking cheerfully against the compression and conformity of the modern digital age, antique futurist analogue wizards metamono return with their finest, fittest album to date. comprising jono podmore, aka kumo and sometime collaborator with can members irmin schmidt and jaki liebezeit, paul conboy and fine artist mark hill, the crystal palace based trio enchanted audiences during 2014 with their live soundtracks to secrets of nature, early 20th century short films using new photography techniques to reveal the processes of the natural world including the lives of cuckoos and barn owls. many of the pieces they wrote feature on the new album. it was an ideal fit for the metamono sound - organic, playful, basking in the joys of new mechanical possibilities. recalling the early electronic adventures of raymond scott, brian eno, cabaret voltaire, cluster and acid house but always bearing their unmistakable bespoke signature, metamono are as unmissable live as they are on vinyl. do not miss this!

the meant label returns with a brand new ep from monoblok & pslktr featuring remixes from the hacker & la dame noir. more quality from the meant label, nothing less than you would expect, enjoy!
support from agoria, laurent garnier, maetrik, mr. g, justin robertson, james kumo, rub n tug, swag, mock & toof, my favorite robot

huge third release on bastardo electrico from ku.bo (aka james kumo and roberto bosco) thst has gained massive dj and press reactions as below, this is not to be missed!

tokyo based production duo side b returns to kumo with an amazing track with some hookline youll not forget that soon. perfect temporary sounddesign and the additional remix by u.s leading technomate audio injection makes this release superbig

early support from locodice, matthias tanzmann, gregor tresher, dubfire, nic fanciulli! new japanese dance music label, arpa records is launching as its first release very own label boss dj sodeyamas techno track >miles<. previously having released on respected labels zenit, ante zenit and more recently on labels archipel, kumo, we are, dj sodeyamas tracks feature a wide range of musical dimensions and have gained much credibility and interest from djs worldwide. the original mix features ontop of some heavy minimal beats and an expanding rhythm, a poetry reading by richard spitzer and a deep but solid synth groove. 8bit and cecille label boss nick curly takes the other side into a trade mark remix featuring some long breaks but kept together by some solid groovy rhythms throughout.

supported by: angel molina, david mothersole, dj tlr, paul woolford, simbad, jörn werner, franck roger, fabrice lig, will o brien, hakim murphy, esther duijn,.. >my electronic soul< is probably one of franco cangellis most personal tracks. slow and almost sensual 909 drums create a sonic canvas on which soulful pads and elegant melodies create a timeless electronic ballad reminiscent of early chicago deep house combined with the melancholy of detroit. as the title suggests, this track pretty much exposes francos true roots and is an ode to those long lost and almost forgotten days. >house for brunch< is another deep house offering with more detroit melodics

6th release for rising imprint kumo brings us japan based dj sodeyama and a huge agaric remix!

kumo returns with an big release from akina aka w.j. henze! early support from: gregor thresher, adam beyer, paco osuna, sascha carassi...

support by: adam beyer, technasia, chris liebing, perc, brian sanhaji... side b from tokyo are the guys being responsible for a huge follow up release on kumo. a very interesting definition of modern flavoured techno, rolling and stomping at the same time. hazakura changes it character several times, turning from a groovebased effectmachine into a spacy peaktime-track while daybreak more focusses on the crunchy side of minimal techno. the tracks already caught the attention of alex bau so that he delivered a bau-like bass-driven technoremix for hazakura.

two building up monsters with very precise production and clear mixing. these tracks will dominate the floor for sure and drive people crazy with their hypnotic style. the return of a. mochi, who made his name not only with releases on luke slater s >mote evolver< imprint, also his last kumo-release was a massive success by finding a way to combine shaky minimal grooves with the energy of clearly arranged, straight techno

twice high quality dark atmospheric techno deepness. nebula is the more straight forward track, thick pounding rhythm and vibes make it ending up somewhere between mills & maurizio, raw straight techno. estuary gives some deeper dubby vibes. revived is the delsin sub-label ann aimee! once again outlet for the more experimental sides of delsins electronic music. after the superb fine release by james kumo, another fine debut ep. this ep is done by delta funktionen, who goes in real life by the name of niels luinenburg. 23 years old - living in the northern part of holland. hes inspired by maurizio, basic channel, convextion, carl craig, steve rachmad, jeff mills, robert hood and others. the superb artwork is done by another delta, namely delta inc