8 Tracks: Of 80s Japanese Funky Synth Fusion W/ Kay Suzuki

 
Music

A familiar face amidst the undercurrent of Londons club scene Kay Suzuki could well be called an unsung hero of sorts. As a producer he has released an impressive back catalogue of music, far more expansive than you might be inclined to believe or assume. With an array of outings on Round In Motion and recent collaborations with Leonidas his music has been championed by purveyors of the finest funk and balearic, his tropical sensibilities have run deep throughout his production and the music has a sun kissed sensibility. Sometimes those who shout the loudest are the most heard but that is not to say that those who don't aren't as capable. Kay Suzuki is full of surprises…

We invited him to contribute to our eight tracks series as he guides us through Japanese fusion. 

See below: 


Kay Suzuki will play at General Public this weekend. See HERE

Yuji Toriyama & Ken Morimura - Night Together [1982]

Yuji Toriyama is an unsung guitarist/producer outside of Japan, but he left some beautiful tracks throughout 80s on his albums and had so many pop music hits under his production from 90s onwards.?The keyboardist Ken Morimura is also a member of world famous Japanese salsa band called Orquesta Del Sol. This record was made for TV program for Aerobics which was as popular as Yoga these days in 80s. Well programmed heavy drum machine, fat analogue synths, sharp guitar chops & solo with feeling-good melodies. All the key ingredients of Japanese 80s fusion are there.

  • Yuji Toriyama & Ken Morimura - Night Together [1982]

    Yuji Toriyama is an unsung guitarist/producer outside of Japan, but he left some beautiful tracks throughout 80s on his albums and had so many pop music hits under his production from 90s onwards.?The keyboardist Ken Morimura is also a member of world famous Japanese salsa band called Orquesta Del Sol. This record was made for TV program for Aerobics which was as popular as Yoga these days in 80s. Well programmed heavy drum machine, fat analogue synths, sharp guitar chops & solo with feeling-good melodies. All the key ingredients of Japanese 80s fusion are there.

  • Toshiki Kadomatsu - Step Into The Light

    Toshiki Kadomatsu is another fusion musician / singer / producer who was almost synonyms of Japanese City Pop alongside with Tatsuro Yamashita or Eiichi Ohtaki. I should add that he had some funkiest pop tracks around that time though. Don’t laugh at the lyrics, just feel the groove!

  • Haruomi Hosono - Living Dining Kitchen

    You can’t talk about Japanese 80s music without mentioning Haruomi Hosono who is the founder of Japanese techno god father(s) Y.M.O. This Linn Drum LM-1drum machine lead track is almost like a prototype techno, but I can still hear the funk with a hint of oriental melody line.

  • Miharu Koshi - Parallelisme

    Another Haruomi Hosono production for Japanese singer song writer Miharu Koshi. A ground breaking beat of LM-1 with incredible pop sense to it. I’d imagined this would be one of unreleased prince track from the era if the vocals are different.

  • Hiroshi Sato - Evening Shadows

    Thankfully, My favourite album of Hiroshi Sato “Orient” was just reissued a couple weeks ago, but this track was my ultimate Hiroshi Sato track and probably most played record in my room and the DJ set. I believe this is Linn 9000 drum machine and every line of riffs and melodies are beautifully entwined with various synth sound and melting tones. Absolutely beautiful track. I love every second of it.

  • Ryo Kawasaki - Lucky Lady (1983)

    Ryo Kawasaki is the real OG when it comes to crossing boarder between Jazz and electronic music. This virtuoso guitarist / producer used Roland TB-303 and TR-808 (which are the main choice of weapons for classic techno producers) to create this futuristic fusion funk jazz in 83. respect.

  • Seigen Ono - Something To Hold On To

    Seigen Ono is a musician, engineer, producer and sound designer who worked from Miles Davis to King Crimson and everyone in between. He started his career in early 80s and signed with Virgin UK in 87 as its label’s first Japanese act. This track is taken from the sound track album for a fashion brand in Tokyo.

  • Yasuaki Shimizu - Tamare-Tamara

    Yasuaki Shimizu is another OG that now every digger in world knows about. He was living in Paris & London during the late 80s and those three albums from the era (Subliminal, Dementos, Aduna) are real inspiration for a fellow Japanese music producer in London 30 years later. Those albums has real fusion of sounds from Africa, Japan and Europe with incredible production skills. Must listen albums in 2018.

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