Official Reissue On Vinyl LP!
Sourced From Original Masters & Cut at Emil Berliner Studios!
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 and cut at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of Deutsche Grammophon).
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 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.
Led by Midori Takada on marimba, gong, vibraphone, and tom tom, MKWAJU is an inventive and riveting take on Eastern and Western minimalist traditions, African rhythms, and early electronica. Drawing from its jazz-rooted polyrhythmic improvisations in the most inventive ways, the album covers a wide spectrum of sounds, from colorful dance floor-ready percussion pieces that stand somewhere between proto-techno and experimental synth-pop, to cinematic ambient landscapes and ethereal drone delicacies. The feverishly sought-after full-length is a stepping-stone in Midori Takadas career and an all-around pioneering album.
Alongside Takada and Hisaishi (who not only produced the album but also played synthesizers), personnel on MKWAJU includes famed Japanese musicians Yoji Sadanari and Hideki Matsutake of KI-Motion fame, Junko Arase (heard on Satoshi Ashikawa's legendary Still Way - Wave Notation 2), and Pecker (whose stacked resume boasts collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Jun Fukamachi).
Features:
• 140g Vinyl LP
• 350gsm sleeve with sticker
• Sourced from original masters
• Mastered at Music Matters Mastering
• Cut by Frederic Stader at Emil Berliner Studios
• Import
Musicians:
Midori Takada, vibraphone, gong, marimba, tom tom
Yoji Sadanari, bass marimba, gong, tom tom
Junko Arase, mitla marimba, gong
Pecker, latin percussions, etc.
Hideki Matsutake, computer programming
Joe Hisaishi, keyboard
Selections:
Side A:
1. Mkwaju
2. Shak Shak
3. Lemore
Side B:
1. Tira-Rin
2. Pulse In The Mind
3. Flash-Back
Sourced From Original Masters & Cut at Emil Berliner Studios!
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 and cut at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of Deutsche Grammophon).
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 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.
Led by Midori Takada on marimba, gong, vibraphone, and tom tom, MKWAJU is an inventive and riveting take on Eastern and Western minimalist traditions, African rhythms, and early electronica. Drawing from its jazz-rooted polyrhythmic improvisations in the most inventive ways, the album covers a wide spectrum of sounds, from colorful dance floor-ready percussion pieces that stand somewhere between proto-techno and experimental synth-pop, to cinematic ambient landscapes and ethereal drone delicacies. The feverishly sought-after full-length is a stepping-stone in Midori Takadas career and an all-around pioneering album.
Alongside Takada and Hisaishi (who not only produced the album but also played synthesizers), personnel on MKWAJU includes famed Japanese musicians Yoji Sadanari and Hideki Matsutake of KI-Motion fame, Junko Arase (heard on Satoshi Ashikawa's legendary Still Way - Wave Notation 2), and Pecker (whose stacked resume boasts collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Jun Fukamachi).
Features:
• 140g Vinyl LP
• 350gsm sleeve with sticker
• Sourced from original masters
• Mastered at Music Matters Mastering
• Cut by Frederic Stader at Emil Berliner Studios
• Import
Musicians:
Midori Takada, vibraphone, gong, marimba, tom tom
Yoji Sadanari, bass marimba, gong, tom tom
Junko Arase, mitla marimba, gong
Pecker, latin percussions, etc.
Hideki Matsutake, computer programming
Joe Hisaishi, keyboard
Selections:
Side A:
1. Mkwaju
2. Shak Shak
3. Lemore
Side B:
1. Tira-Rin
2. Pulse In The Mind
3. Flash-Back
