Cinedelic Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: Akira Ishikawa's first band was Count Buffaloes, a collective who emboldened his jazz fusion explorations and yielded countless albums of psych-charged, groove-oriented magic. Now Cinedelic are turning their attention to the 1970 album Bakishinba: Memories Of Africa and offering new listeners a chance to savour its sweet and rare delights. If you dig the way the likes of Santana brought Latin, jazz and rock flavours together in pursuit of good-time, enlightening musical expression, you're going to love the sound on this record. It's a gem of Japanese jazz fusion which no discerning digger should be without.

Review: Japan meets funky disco in an explosive fusion led by maestro Jiro Inagaki here on a classic album that gets a worthy reissue. In a particularly inspired year during which he also released Funky Stuff on Nippon Columbia, Inagaki masterfully reinterprets tracks by Quincy Jones, Commodores, Graham Central Station, B.T. Express, Kool and The Gang, Stevie Wonder, Sly and The Family Stone, Ohio Players, Ripple, and Billy Preston on this one. He does so in collaboration with Hiromasa Suzuki, a prominent name in Japanese jazz, and seasoned session musicians who add their own spice. Inagaki brings a fresh, danceable sound here with a broad mix of inspirations from jazz to city pop all shining through.

Review: The 1968 film 'Gangsters 70', also known as 'Days Of Fire', is a lesser-known classic Italian crime thriller directed by Mino Guerrini. Something of a lost relic in the genre, we're surprised that it's taken this long for the soundtrack, composed by Egisto Macchi, to be reissued alone for the first time here. The stylistic fusion of free improvisation, abstract electronic ornaments and jazz lends well to the film's noir, thrill-of-the-chase overtones, and will surely be a favourite of just about any and every lover of free, abstract musics. The soundtrack also tapers off into horrific, screechy directions, reflecting the ever-unfurlingly paranoid mood of the flick.

Review: The late Masahiko Togashi was a legendary Japanese jazz percussionist and composer. Alongside the likes of Yosuke Yamashita he was one of the spearheads of free jazz in Japan, starting his career as a bandleader in 1969. Recording with a quartet consisting of himself on perc, Masahiko Sato on piano, Yoshio Ikeda on bass and Mototeru Takagi on tenor sax and clarinet, Togashi created a masterpiece in Speed and Space. The title says it all, as time gets tested to every extreme and flurries of musicianship burst around unpredictable structures. Recorded in 1969 and still sounding light years ahead, this is a true gem in Japanese free jazz history.

Review: A Day of the Sun is a spiritual jazz masterpiece full of poetry by two geniuses of the Japanese musical scene. Masahiko Togashi and Isao Suzuki: pivotal figures in jazz, with a unique talent and sensitivity that transcends conventional jazz forms and styles. In addition to being skilled performers they demonstrate extraordinary compositional talent that transcends their sensibilities and wisdom of more conventional jazz. A Day Of The Sun is based on Togashi's drums and percussion and Suzuki's bass, with occasional changes to cello and piano/synths, and is skillfully performed by just the two of them, creating a unique worldview; a performance that far exceeds expectations. The mystical melodies of the East, earthy percussion and the sensibilities of the two intertwine to create a unique groove, resulting in a universal masterpiece that will never fade away and connects with today's sound makers and DJs. Top sound quality from original master tapes. Includes four-sided insert with a very interesting interview at the time with the two musicians regarding the record.

Review: Singing siblings from Millbrae, California, a suburb of swinging San Francisco, the Flower sisters - their actual surname - released one full length album, Genesis, in 1969, at the tail end of a decade that had transformed youth culture and society as a whole. The sound could not have been more apt, a combination of floaty surrealism, delicate pop, and floral grooves (whatever that means). Aside from a couple of other appearances - background vocals on two Cal Tjader albums, and Wendy's work on Jane Weaver's Fallen By The Watchbird LP - they vanished into the ether from which they came, only celebrated by artists who have looked to recreate and represent their work, most notably Super Furry Animals with 'By The Sea'. Diving into the quiet, calm, soothing and emotionally nourishing originals here is proof of why those who remember are still in love with what they heard.