in late 2017, thomas gandey and danny mclewin - known from the popular disco-influenced electronic music collective psychemagik - emerged from their studio in bordeaux, france, claiming to have produced an extended musical arrangement, both entitled, and containing the sounds of, the shakuhachi. furthermore, they insisted, for the purposes of this production, and a further album of related arrangements to be released subsequently in conjunction with the successful german record label kompakt, they should be referred to henceforth as ghost vision. shortly thereafter, the audio recordings described by gandey and mclewin came into the possession of noted los angeles degenerate, dj and nymphomaniac citation needed dirty dave, who was quick to relay the hallucinatory qualities of the duo’s productions to fellow dj and trusted hallucinogenic expert paramida, of esteemed german musical imprint love on the rocks. paramida, recognising the innate quality of the sounds presented to her, decided that such recordings warranted immediate release through her audio distribution channel, and not without remixes. quite without thinking of the origins of the instrument which had given the recording its particular sonic distinguishment, and of course, its title, she enlisted the help of two musicians named alex - one from tokyo, and one from kyoto. both alex from tokyo - teaming up with his colleagues isao kumano & kenichi takagi as tokyo black star, known for their prior releases on popular german label innervisions - and his counterpart, alex from kyoto, better known as al kassian, rising tamagotchi on paramidas love on the rocks imprint, and his own label, planet sundae - turned in striking reinterpretations of gandey and mclewin’s composition.

support from rainer truby, kenichi yanai, mad mats, ross wakefield, aroop roy, iiya rasskazov....

auf ihrem zweiten gemeinsamen album -imagori ii- zeigen hans-joachim roedelius (harmonia, cluster) und christoph h. müller (gotan project) neue facetten ihrer zusammenarbeit. die zwölf stücke pendeln zwischen zartheit und scharfen kanten, zwischen science fiction und garten eden, lassen organische klangkörper aufkommen, die sich wieder fragmentieren, erschaffen stimmungen zwischen melancholie und euphorie, stets begleitet von jenem filmischen pathos roedelius , der ohne große gesten auskommt und vielmehr die grenzen des minimalismus auslotet. auffällig oft kommt dabei auch sprache zum einsatz, so zum beispiel in der ersten single -fractured being-, der miss kenichi alias katrin hahner ihre stimme leiht.

night blind is richard fearless second release on drones white label series. the title track coalesced in the early hours of the morning as diffuse, turneresque lights glimmered across the thames and the container was pounded by a storm. unnerving and melancholic yet with a glimmer of light, this is fearless at his best. on the b side is cancan. with xaviers spiritual acid head, kenichi iwasa, on percussion duties, this is one for peak time body shaking. both tracks were recorded and mixed at the metal box by chris blakey and produced by richard fearless. stamped and numbered edition of 300 vinyl

modular ball is an experienced duo from japan. sound engineer isao kumano teamed with musician kenichi takagi for their first release on rowtag records. they usually work together with alex from tokyo under the name tokyo black star. they share a same passion for analog old synths but kenichi added his touch on the project using his own modular systems.

unique 21st century galactic samurai artists tokyo black star are a trio led by new york-based international dj alex from tokyo tokyo-based sound engineer / music producer isao kumano and man of mystery / analog equipment otaku / musician kenichi takagi.

mass united is massive!