Urban Discos Japan Vinilo y CD

Review: A new 7" all the way from Japan's Urban Discos label, from a live band with roots in soul, jazz and funkFirst up is their cover of 'Give Me Your Love,' a Curtis Mayfield jam. It's an instrumental in their hands and one that has some superb guitar solos and nice drum jams under organ vamps that are warm and subdued. 'Koi No Yokan (The Premonition Of Love)' is another vibrant mix of Hammond organs, swaying drums and splashing cymbals that is full of laid back melancholy.

Review: HF International, the duo of DJ/beatmaker KH (Magic Ways) and multi-instrumentalist Seiki Fukuda, debut with 'Tokai', a reggae/city pop split 7" paying due homage to esteemed Japanese singer-songwriter Taeko Onuki. The duo covers Onuki's classic song 'Tokai' from her 1980 album Romantique, infusing it with their very own lovers' rock twist. On the B-side also comes a jazzy, never-released-before rework from rare groove band and Urban Discos favourite, Nautilus.

Review: We've become accustomed to hearing Nautilus offer-up authentic, Hammond-rich jazz-funk of the sort associated with such 1970s titans of the genre as Lonnie Liston Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith and Herbie Hancock. On 'Caught Up', the flip the script, recruiting vocalist Emi Tawata to help conjure up a wonderfully starry, warming, organic and mood-enhancing slab of R&B-influenced modern soul. Their Rhodes-laden (and genuinely inspired) original mix comes accompanied by an alternative take from Jazzy Sport regular Grooveman Spot, who brilliantly re-imagines the song as a squelchy, synth-laden slab of slipped soul rich in colourful electronics, bold electronic bass and crunchy machine beats.

Review: Urban Discos continue to stake their claim forebearers of Japan's electronic underground, this time releasing a new split J-funky, neo-soul single from Spice Rhythm as proof. The project, consisting off bassist Mitsuta Mori and drummer Shunsuke Uehara, here deliver their first 7", 'Without U' and 'Sozo'. Guest vocals are provided by stars Miri, Go and Hanah Spring, blending the "warm smell of coffee" with trilling la's, slapping funk instrumentals, and easily slick progressions. This is contentment in musical form; we hope it assuages your anxieties as it does ours.