Synth Pop / New wave

A stylish selection of city pop, funk and modern soul from Japanese label Nippon Columbia, selected by DJ Notoya and featuring cult classics and rarities by Hiroshi Sato, Hatsumi Shibata, Hitomi 'Penny' Tohyama & many more.Annotated by Notoya with journalist Nick Luscombe and artwork by Optigram.Newly remastered audio.The selection on ‘Tokyo Glow’ starts with 'Kimugare' a relaxed mid-tempo track by Kumi Nakamura, actually a famous actress who only recorded one album in 1980 for Columbia.The set continues and flows effortlessly with the sunshine grooves of Miyuki Maki, Hatsumi Shibata and cult keyboard player Hiroshi Sato before the pace starts going faster and funkier with New Generation Company, Kengo Kurozumi - with his superb boogie, 'Juggler'- and one of the queens of the genre, Hitomi 'Penny' Tohyama with 'Tuxedo Connection'.Another fine example on the set is the mid-tempo groove of "I Wander All Alone Part III" by New Generation Company, an aggregate group of some of the best Japanese session musicians led by arranger Katz Hoshi and including Hiroyuki Namba (key), Kazuo Shiina (gtr) and Yutaka Uehara (ds) who all played with Tatsuro Yamashita among many others.There are many other excellent examples in 'Tokyo Glow', showcasing the diversity and specificity of Japanese City Pop during the late 70s and 80s.Nippon Columbia opened their much-guarded vaults to curator DJ Natoya. Tracks were remastered in Tokyo and the result, ‘Tokyo Glow’, is a unique insight into a most creative period in Japanese music.

What would happen if Florian Schneider from Kraftwerk fell in love with Anne Dudley from Art Of Noise? That’s exactly how “A Spanner In The Werk” sounds : a mix of soulful melodies and robotic rhythms, which proves, at last, that Techno and love songs can meet… and have a fruitful relationship!Composed in 1996, this unreleased track by French New Beat veteran Guillaume U. Chifflot received massive positive feedbacks as a bonus track on the recent 2xLP compilation by n9.So here’s a brand new “Longform Mix”, taking android sensuality even further, lovingly pressed by Swewax onto a collector item, with a beautiful floral etching on the flip side by artist Yül-Rik.Mastered by techno and acid superstar Thomas P. Heckmann (Trope, Drax, etc.), the EP also features the participation of cult Rephlex duo D’arcangelo, who offer an exclusive remix, filled with a firework display of the delicate electronic drifts they excel at.n9 is a French label founded in the early 90’s to release new beat and techno-rave tracks. After focusing on graphic design for a decade, groups of Discogs fans brought n9 back into the field, and the label began to pioneer a 21st century blend of New Beat and TBM, while making room for a growing number of like-minded French techno artists.

✺ Neuromantic is Takahashi’s first solo release for ALFA and his third solo album overall.✺ Features Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay (Roxy Music), and Tony Mansfield.Neuromantic is Takahashi’s first solo release for ALFA and his third solo album overall. In addition to Japanese musicians Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Kenji Omura, the album also features Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay (Roxy Music), and Tony Mansfield whom he recorded with during a long stay in London. This record builds on the techno sound of YMO’s BGM (released the same year), infusing Takahashi’s unique romantic aesthetic and is considered one of his masterpieces. The sixth track, “Drip Dry Eyes" is a self-cover of a song that he wrote for ALFA artist artist Sandii.Yukihiro Takahashi explains, “The early 80’s was one of the busiest periods of my music life…When I think back now, I think that my recording style and production process that I continue to this day may have been solidified then, during the early 80’s.”The new reissue of Neuromatic is part of ALFA’s ongoing reissue series featuring many of Yukihiro’s early 80s solo albums from his first hit record Murdered by Music (1980) to his last record from his ALFA era Poisson D’Avril (1985 soundtrack to the film of the same name).

“Tutu”, Koshi’s first album after moving to Alfa/YEN label, was produced by Haruomi Hosono.Her style, which combines cutting-edge techno-pop sound in the early 1980s with coquettish vocals, attracted a lot of attention and acclaim at the time.All tracks except one were written and composed by Koshi herself. “L’amour toujours” is a collaboration with Belgian electronic group Telex. This album was also released in The Netherlands from IDIOT Record.Artwork for this reissue is newly designed using the front cover photo of the CD reissue in 1992.

Second LP of the founding member of french electronic duo Il Est Vilaine : synth-pop, balearic, featuring Nico Motte from Antinote on synthetizersProducers like Simon Says are rare these days. Imagine a kid born in the first parisian rave era, who played guitar during the week, the head in the sky with diamonds and raving around Paris on saturday night. Leather boots and Techno, with attitude. These school of hard knocks was helpful for Simon : more than twenty years after the beginning of his electronic journey, he's still able to play an edgy techno-set or some tunes to make the girls dance on the floor. Knives or flowers, heavy rhythms and tropical kisses... Between groovy oddballs records released on Dialect Recordings and his Il Est Vilaine side-project duo, Simon can talk to everyone.His first album, " Epoca Blu ", 10 tracks as introspective as much solar, sing in different languages by several voices (Manthos Kaloumenos who recite the words of a famous greek poet on " Taxidi ", Sofia Fanego on " Une Nuit ", Natalia Modenova who say a Ukrainian text from Myhailo Kotsiubynsky on " Intermezzo " or his partner from Il Est Vilaine on " Djinn Tonic ") present a consistent project with a positive melancholy and bittersweet vision of love.The intimate's project assembled in a studio will not be presented in live. Music will be the link between the audience and the artist.