Gibson Brothers
My Heart's Beating Wild (Tic Tac Tic Tac)

One of those tracks you simply can't forget - perhaps because it's a hard one to put in any specific genre category - laying somewhere in between the realms of synth pop and italo disco with hints of even new beat, this Austrian diggers delight has been haunting Discogs want-lists for years. Aesthetically smooth and sexy (as it shares chord changes with non other than “Careless Whisper”) but with accents of less orthodox production techniques in the “Wunderbar” mix emphasize a uniquely charming playfulness. Originally released as a 7” single, THANKYOU brings it back to your record collections now in a 12” format with an additional extended cut by Castro for those of you who might have thought the original was just a little too short. Remastered by Man Made Mastering.

Thandi Zulu known as T.Z. Junior was a young girl from Soweto, a township of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Soweto became an independent municipality with elected black councilors in 1983. T.Z. Junior started her musical career with Peter Moticoe who produced "Love Games" with The Young Five on Heads label in 1984. Then, Peter Moticoe brought her to Phil Hollis at Dephon Entertainment who then teamed them up with Attie Van Wyk who was the producer for Yvonne Chaka Chaka at that time.Phil Hollis started Dephon Promotion (Dephon Entertainment) in the late 70's and developed into the largest independent record company in South Africa. He describes himself as the only person who has been involved in recording of major hit songs in nearly all genre's of music in all the languages in South Africa. Phil Hollis was involved in all aspects of the Entertainment industry from production of recordings, recording company, distribution, marketing and promotion, events management, staging major events and filming."Sugar My Love" and "Are You Ready For Love" were produced and arranged by Attie Van Wyk. “Back in the 80's I was a songwriter for a band called Ballyhoo when I got an offer from the Dephon Record Company to join them as a music producer. So I quit the band and joined them, producing records mainly for music targeted at the black market in those days,” he says. Between 1982 and 1992, Attie Van Wyk produced over 120 albums, including many for Yvonne Chaka Chaka for whom he also wrote songs. “At that time, I realised that the only way to sell records was to put the artists on a touring circuit.” Hit song writer, band member, music producer, tour organiser, and concert promoter, Attie Van Wyk started Big Concerts in 1992 when, after helping to negotiate the end of the cultural boycott against South Africa, he brought out Paul Simon, one of the first international acts South Africa had seen for a long, dark time during Apartheid.

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.