Holic Trax Vinyl & CDs

Review: ***B-STOCK: Torn sleeve, otherwise in excellent working condition***


Recorded in 1999 but only released in December 2020 on Takecha's excellent 120A EP, 'Duration Rhyme' is a simply gorgeous slab of sunrise-ready deep house in which glistening chords, sun-kissed melodies, elongated chords and jazz-funk synths rise above a locked-in beat. Previously, we've only ever heard an instrumental mix, even though Takecha recorded a full vocal version with singer Mayumi Tusruta at the tail end of the '90s. Here that mix finally gets released, and it really is a doozy: a super-sweet, life-affirming affair that sits somewhere between deep, warming pop and classic deep house. It comes backed with a luscious, piano-heavy, jazz-funk-flecked dancefloor revision from Tofubeats and a handy acappella.

Review: The no-nonsense Holic Trax crew have got two superbly assured artists together on one fine 12" here. Ibiza based talent Tucillo and Fat East magician Took Tamura both have already long since proven their credentials and here they draw on their vast reserves of creativity for a varied EP that opens with the pulsing minimal house of 'Golden Ring' before 'Salvadanaio' gets deeper and more dubby, with mysterious chords slowly hypnotising you. 'Stella' picks up the pace with fatter, fleshier drums and modulated synth texture and last of all is a breezy, super cool and smooth deep house cut 'Joint Soft' (Japanese Napolitan edit).

Review: Osaka duo Zero Zero - Keiji Shimazaki and DJ Kurachi - made waves in the 1990s with a maximal style smushing gritty house, deep acid, and jazz-inflected funk. After decades in the vault, a standout session from that era finally surfaces under the cat no Holic Trax 033: 'Synchronicity'. Originally intended for a live set at Tokyo's Space Lab Yellow, these three thrombotic thrusters span rugged, bass-heavy stompers, hypnotic acid workouts, and smoother late-night grooves with a jazzy twist. From the raw punch of 'Rock Da Echo' to the midnight pocket-calc twizzles of 'Under The Moon', it's a window into a fertile, unsung chapter of Japan's underground house scene. Painstakingly recovered and restored, this release feels less like a reissue and more like a rediscovery.