NAIBU Vinyl & CDs

Review: After nearly two decades' worth of releases on prominent drum & bass labels such as Creative Source, Soul:R and Paradox Music, Paris-based producer Naibu finally launches his own imprint, Minato Music, and so kicks things off with a fresh new solo LP, Sans Soleil, drawing inspiration from the very best of 90s drum & bass as it was heard in the Japanese anime of that period. Indeed, a vast array of anime spectacles, from Noiseman Sound Insect to Perfect Blue, make riveting use of the formative genre as an auditory driver of plot action; Naibu pays homage to this now established connotation, working in a 40-piece string orchestra, a Japanese women's choir, and the vocals of singer Robert Manos, blending the evocative beauty of the human soul with cold, synthesized sounds, deep subs and original, handcrafted breakbeats. A massive project, Sans Soleil took nearly 5 years to complete.