For a number of years, Japanese-born and now London-based DJ Junki Inoue was one of the capital’s best-kept secrets. Helping to usher in an era of hard-to-find and lesser-appreciated eclectism music from across the spectrum as a resident at Cartulis as well as sets from all over Europe. A digger in every sense of the word, Inoue carved out of the most distinctive sounds in a perennially crowded scene, re-introducing us to forgotten and obscure music, combining breaks, acid and house in a way that revitalised every record involved to sound like something new.
With his dedication to unearthing the obscure and forgotten, it seems like a fairly natural progression for when the time came, his label would be focused on the same task. With the launch of his label, Saisei, meaning ‘reproduction’ in Japanese, Inoue both re-issues and releases never-released tracks from Japanese producer Kino-Moderno‘s back catalogue dating back to the 1990s.
From the first note of melody, A2’s ‘Acid Water’ presents itself in the organic warm that encompasses so much of the music produced in the early ’90s. There’s a wonderful juxtaposition between the drizzling, 8-bit melody and the jackin’ 303 that fights against it, which will instantly remind those who’ve become familiar with Junki’s sets of the distinctive sound that involves a plethora of often contrasting influences. The hypnotism of Acid Water is only bettered by the pumping drum programming throughout.
Also featuring on Into The Future is A1’s title track ‘Into The Future, a conscious-altering trip that’s only interrupted by booming drums, a snarling 303 and sinister laughing. The B-side contains an extended re-edit of Eclipse, originally recorded in 1991, featuring playful rolls of bass and delightfully gentle chord progressions whilst The Globe rounds things off with a mind-burrowing trip thanks to it’s surrealist sound textures and a gliding, spine-tingling melody. Perfect for opening a set, closing a set, or putting your headphones on and forgetting about the world.
Kino-Moderno’s ‘Into The Future’ is available to purchase directly from Saisei’s Bandcamp page.
More info on Junki Inoue
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More info on Kino-Moderno
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More info on Saisei
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