Universal Japan Vinilo y CD

Review: The yokobue is a distinct Japanese make of flute, and it was mastered by one Michiko Akao, who brought the instrument to the popular sphere with 'The World Of Michiko Akao'. Spanning downtempo funk, robo-disco and loopy ambient, this new reissue of the album by LITA is its best rendition yet, with a new remaster shedding stellar light on the production chops of Shigeaki Saegusa. An instrumental dream for new age collectors the world over.

Review: In hindsight, the summer of 1997 saw the release of some genuinely brilliant and ground-breaking dance albums - not least Chemical Brothers' second studio set, Dig Your Own Hole. As this expanded 25th anniversary edition proves, the album was the musical high point of the often painfully shallow big beat movement - a thrill-a-minute ride that races between funk-fuelled, break-heavy hits ('Block-Rockin' Beats'), rock-tinged heaviness (the title track), fuzz-fuelled post-techno hedonism (''Electrobank'), La Funk Mob-influenced trip-hop ('Pikup'), heady ambience ('Lost in the K-Hole') and riffs on the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows' ('Setting Sun' and the incredible 'My Private Psychedelic Reel'). CD two will delight fans, featuring as it does a quintet of previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions, with the opioid pulse of 'Cylinders' and the slamming 'It Doesn't Matter (alternate mix)' standing out.

Review: The late, great Jose Padilla was a big fan of the work of Stan Getz, whose easy-going, sun-soaked and accessible take on jazz - and especially his more Latin-tinged offerings - appeared frequently in the Balearic legend's DJ sets. Jazz Samba Encore, the saxophonist's 1963 collaboration with Brazilian jazz guitarist Luiz Bonfa, remains one of the most unashamedly joyous sets in his catalogue. Reissued here in a Japanese edition, it sees Getz and Bonfa trading solos over luscious bossa-nova and samba grooves. There are plenty of standout moments, with our picks including the dreamy 'Sambalero', the sparkling breeziness of 'Samba De Duas Notas (Two-Note Samba)', the glorious 'Suadade Vem Correndo' and smoky closing cut 'Ebondy Samba'.

Review: Fans of this one have long been waiting for a reissue and it is now finally here. It's a soundtrack to the movie Marusa no Onna which was directed by Juzo Itami and was set in the National Tax Bureau Inspection Department. The film's main theme marks the start of the album with its epic sax melody. It really shows off Toshiyuki Honda's impressive sound and kicks off an immersive and evocative record that was first released back in 1987 and has been a real digger's delight ever since.

Review: Kyoto Jazz Sextet are an acoustic jazz 'unit' established in 2015 fronted by Shuya Okino. After their first two albums 'Mission' and 'Unity' this new third album channels only the best of what Tokyo's jazz scene has to offer, illuminating both past and present musical narratives in Japan by enlisting both new artists and legends (Takeo Moryiama appears on drums) alike.

Review: Paul McCartney gets a lot of (arguably unwarranted) stick, but the former Beatle has always been open to trying new things and allowing people to reinterpret his work. It's for this reason that he's allowed an interesting mixture of artists to remix his solo lockdown album, McCartney III. After opening with a pleasingly funk-some, low slung Beck hook-up (the excellent 'Find My Way'), we're treated to a mixture of collaborations (the stellar, laidback and psychedelic 'Pretty Boys' with Khruangbin), new cover versions by hand-picked artists (see the contributions by Dominic Fike and Phoebe Bridgers) and largely impressive remixes. In the latter category, we're particularly enjoying Damon Albarn's woozy, downtempo take on 'Long Tailed Winter Bird' and 3D RDN's 'Temporary Secretary'-esque version of 'Deep Deep Feeling'

Review: Yumi Murata's Uterus Uterus is a jazz-pop classic from 1985. Yumi is a vocal coach and former singer who was active from the late 70s and through the 80s before opening her own Murata Yumi Vocal Training Room in 1991 and teaching ever since. This long-player was a later one out of the seven she released in all and is one of her most popular as it mixes up fusion, new wave, funk, pop and jazz across synth sounds. These are enjoyable and sophisticated sounds from this talented vocalist.

Review: Blissful boogie reissue from Junko Ohashi, whose 7-inch promo for 'Dancin' here functioned as the promo material for the 1983 album 'Point Zero'. Sounding just as rough, farty and raw as its original LP cut, the track is a perfect example of what Japan brought to disco - blending it largely with city pop - at the time. 'In Your Lovin', as it did on the original album, brings up the B-side with a downer-tempo funk beat, and a lyrical subject dealing with a romanticized, ideal lover.

Review: Japan's Hiroshi Sato is well known to record obsessives who value his ability to craft pure musical nostalgia for a place you haven't even been to, He has turnabout tens of essential records, many of which are in the process of being reissued right now. His masterful jazz-funk classic Orient is one of his best known works from 1979 but All Of Me is another classic. It came much later in 1995 and is a killer pop record with glistening synths, infectious drum programming and contributions from a number of guests.

Review: Japanese keys wizard Hiroshi Sato recorded many albums across his career, bringing the vibrant sound of synthesis into earshot with his earliest albums in the late 70s. Orient was his third solo album, released in 1979 on Kitty Records in a pitch-perfect daydream of AOR goodness. Tracks like 'Son Goku' sum up the persistent appeal of Sato's music, fusing the smoothest compositions with some playful sound design approaches, which show he was having fun with the studio gear beyond writing exquisite melodies. Elsewhere, he had fun going into full freak mode with the madcap ear candy of 'Donkama'. If you can't get enough of that era of Japanese synth pop, this reissue is an absolute must.

Review: Hikaru Utada is one of Japan's biggest stars, regularly selling records by the millions since they began their career in the late 90s. Their third album Deep River became one of Japan's top-selling records of all time after its release in 2002, helped no end by the success of singles 'Hikari' 'Travelling' and 'Sakura Drops'. Not only the singer, Utada also wrote and produced much of the album, drawing on a sleek pop-folk sound which is now synonymous with modern J-pop. It's been nearly 20 years since the album was available on vinyl, so this repress is long overdue, not to mention hotly anticipated by Utada's fans worldwide.