Label - WRWTFWW

“Midori Takada’s 1990 collaborative album with Masahiko Satoh, Lunar Cruise, is receiving its first vinyl reissue. It arrives September 15 via We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want, and it’s available for pre-order now. The LP features recordings of ambient pioneer and percussionist Takada and jazz pianist Satoh, as well as contributions from Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono and Kazutoki Umezu. The vinyl package also includes the original studio masters and a CD with a bonus track called “Iron Paradise.” The reissue of Lunar Cruise follows the recent reissue of Takada’s debut record Through the Looking Glass. Listen to a preview of Lunar Cruisebelow.” – Pitchfork

“…Satoh has had a long recording career, with albums that date back to the late '60s. He's made music alongside free jazz players like Steve Lacy and Peter Brötzmann, as well as Gary Peacock and Toots Thielemans. Released seven years after Through The Looking Glass, Lunar Cruise straddles the line between Satoh's versatile playing and Takada's meticulous percussion. The CD reissue opens with "Iron Paradise," which is sleek and strange at first pass. Wonky digital bass, courtesy of Haruomi Hosono, and squalling synth lines mark Takada's steadfast percussion, her fills more grand than anything onThrough The Looking Glass. Hosono also contributes to "Madorone," a queasy ambient piece of disembodied voices, rubbed wineglass drones and Takada's small percussive accents. 

Takada's more measured, gamelan-like timbres can be found on the second track, "Nahm," entwining with Satoh's more overt melodies. "Ancient Palace" hews even closer to the template established on Through The Looking Glass, with gongs resonating in negative space and marimba lines bringing to mind sunlight rippling on a river's surface. The latter instrument also surfaces on "In "D"," which resembles a pitched-up Steve Reich's "Six Marimbas." "Monody" shows how well the two artists combined, with Satoh's sparkling melodies out in front. 

The album's longest composition showcases Takada's dynamic playing. "Chang-Dra" builds for two minutes with little more than the sound of struck metal, a tom roll slowly emerging underneath it. The middle section of the piece finds Takada toggling between many different rhythmic patterns, a showstopping display of her drumming talent. Satoh is a good foil for Takada, pushing her rhythms into prog, synth pop and new age realms. On Lunar Cruise, he helps bring out another side of Takada's sound.” – Resident Advisor

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“WRWTFWW Records is proud to announce the highly anticipated official reissue of holy grail album MKWAJU by acclaimed Japanese percussionist Midori Takada’s MKWAJU ensemble, sourced from the original masters…

…Originally recorded in February and March 1981 and released by fabled Japanese avant-garde label Better Days (home of Ryuichi Sakamato’s debut album, Yasuaki Shimizu’s Kakashi, Colored Music self-titled LP and many more) MKWAJU is the fruit of the collaboration between Takada’s crew and world-famous composer/musical director Joe Hisaishi, the man behind most of of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli anime soundtracks and over 100 other films scores, including Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine, Hana-Bi, and Kikujiro. The ensemble’s transcendental wonder is, in fact, the first-ever Midori Takada album and the first-ever Joe Hisaishi-produced album. Historic.” – Bandcamp

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One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo’s Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by Jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process’ Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase’s quest for musical freedom, he explains:

"Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album".

Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way, and Yutaka Hirose’s Nova. – Bandcamp | WRWTFWW

Inspired by John Cage, Jon Hassel, Brian Eno, and the emergence of house and techno music, Technodrome is jazz bassist turned electronic experimentalist Motohiko Hamase’s foray into what he calls ambient house or, as he explains, "using the gritty sensation inherent to the core of house music" to create an ambient record "aiming to express inverted images, optical illusions, and the sense of déjà vu that modern people can get in the city".

Technodrome is constructed around innovative minimalism, a robotic funk orchestrated by bass lines and percussions, and monochrome moods. It’s the most intriguing project in Hamase’s discography, a ghostly ride set in 90s urban landscape, where repetition sets the groove and brings things to life, echoing Hamase’s deeper subtext for his compositions: "and attempt to recreate (as metaphor) the time in our mother's womb".

The album was initially released in 1993 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo’s Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. It is now reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase’s #Notes of Forestry and Anecdote albums – Bandcamp | WRWTFWW