EX GENERATION
The Napoli Exchange

Japanese vocalist Q.i & producer Hair Kid, originally from New Jersey and now also based in Japan, are the duo known as Milk Talk. Their off-kilter brand of synth funk sits somewhere between modern funk & city pop but is sure to please fans of vaporwave, future funk, disco & deep house as well. Their recently-released album is still an elusive find outside of Japan but “Wagamama Riso,” a digital-only loosie released during the early days of the pandemic, has now been unleashed in physical form on Los Angeles-based MoFunk Records. MoFunk's head, XL Middleton, remixes the track and adds his own retro-electro/R&B flair to the leftfield boogie feel of the original version. Both versions on a single 7” make this a top choice for anyone who loves their funk loaded with analog synthesizer action.DJ support:- DJ Notoya (Tokyo Condition)- Walla P (Voyage Funktastique)- Soul ClapMilk Talk's self-titled debut album was released recently in Japan and has added greatly to the buzz surrounding the group. However, the difficulty of procuring physical copies of their LP outside of Japan will surely make this 7” a desirable piece of add to any DJ or record collector's stash. Milk Talk was also recently featured on the Soul Clap Records compilation “New Directions In Funk Vol. 1,” curated by XL Middleton.

Loveface arrive with their De Mix series of releases, revving their Delorean up, ready to go back to a 1980's NYC dancefloor!Two classic vocals given the electro boogie treatment, transporting them back to a pre house dance floor...Early support from Groove Armada, Dr Packer, Horse Meat Disco, Graeme Park, Hi Fi Sean, Andy Smith, Nude Disco & Mighty Mouse, Jimpster, Ben Davis, Hot Toddy, Gino Grasso, Mufti, Alan Dixon,

✺ 180gram HQ pressing on Seaside Blue blue colored wax.✺ Old school style tip-on sleeve & insert.✺ Lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.✺ First-time vinyl reissue.Safari was a jazz-fusion unit led by keyboardist Toshiyuki Daitoku, who had recorded with the likes of George Otsuka and Mukai Shigeru, and Gregg Lee, a Californian who had previously played in fusion bands such as Caldera and Native Son.Their eponymous debut album ended up being the band’s sole release. It included the track ‘Safari’, which was used as the signal song for a sports program on Fuji TV at the time. Released in 1984, the album itself is a hidden gem of AOR / jazz-fusion, showcasing mellow grooves and lush vocal harmonies.Standout tunes include the funky ‘The Morning After’, replete with the buoyant poolside vibes of midsummer, the Latin funk number ‘Brass Monkey’, and the mellow funk of ‘All Right in The Night'. Aside from of this album, Safari recorded a number of BGM tracks for the for the same label before disbanding. While this might explain the lack of due recognition for the band, more recently they have attracted a following among DJs and fans of the newly ascendant City Pop / Mellow Groove genres. After a steady stream of requests from them, the long-awaited reissue is finally here!

Tokyo based band and Afrobayashi pioneers Ajate are back with their third album: experience the explosive encounter of Afro groove and Japanese traditional Ohayashi music! During a stay in West Africa in the late 2000's, Japanese musician Junichiro "John" Imaeda was taken aback by the similarities he felt between the Afrobeat that resonated in the streets of Accra, and the sounds of the "Ohayashi", the music played during ancestral Japanese festivals, in which John had participated since his childhood.On his return to the archipelago in 2009, Imaeda created Ajate, a collective of ten passionate musicians. Together they started crafting music that moves from one world to another, with intertwined roots. The drums, flutes and bells are joined by curious instruments handmade by John himself with the essential material of the Japanese countryside: bamboo. The "Jaate", an amplified xylophone-balafon equipped with piezoelectric sensors on each of its keys, or the "Piechiku", a bamboo version of the Malian "Ngoni" or the Gnawa "Guembri", equipped with shamisen strings and connected to an arsenal of guitar pedals, give Ajate an absolutely unique sound. Powerful and catchy Japanese female and male vocals bring the final touch to an incredible groove where Afrobeat and Ohayashi music are woven together so seamlessly that Ajate has managed to capture a truly distinct fusion. The band sings about the power of human connections, the force of being and living all together, the joy of sharing, and the beauty of life. Ajate's music is a magnificent example of the way sounds are able to migrate in contemporary music.The band's explosive live performances have taken Ajate to the most prestigious stages in Japan, such as the Sukiyaki Meets The World and Fuji & Sun festivals. The release on French label 180g of their "Abrada" and "Alo" albums, in 2017 and 2020 respectively, opened the doors to Europe, with memorable shows at the Transmusicales de Rennes festival - followed by a session on KEXP (Seattle, USA) - at Jazz a Vienne, and at WOMAD UK, among many others. With their brand new album "Dala Toni", Ajate prove once again that they are at the forefront of global music "made in Japan".