MINT

Gatefold 2xLP + MP3 download code with obi-stripBack in 2015, Japanese deep house pioneer Soichi Terada stepped back into the limelight courtesy of Sounds From The Far East, a Rush Hour-released, Hunee curated retrospective of material released on his Far East Recording label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Buoyed by the positive response and renewed interest in his work, Terada went back into studio to record his first new album of house music for over 25 years, Asakusa Light.Developed over 18 months, Terada tried to recreate the mental and physical processes that led to the creation of his acclaimed earlier work. Those familiar with Terada’s celebrated, dancefloor-focused sound of the 1990s – a vibrant, atmospheric, and emotive take on deep house powered by the twin attractions of groove and melody – will find much to enjoy on Asakusa Light.“I tried to recall my feelings 30 years ago, but when I tried it, I found it super difficult,” he explains. “I didn’t even know what I thought about myself five years ago, and the mental metabolic cycle seems to be faster than I thought. I tried different methods, including digging up my old MIDI data and composing by remembering old experiences. With the help of Rush Hour, I found some of the light from my heart that I had 30 years ago. I nicknamed the light I found in my heart, ‘Asakusa Light’.” Produced using the very same synthesizers and drum machines that powered his 1990s work, the album is a joyous, colourful and life-affirming collection of timeless house music that not only recalls Terada’s own impeccable back catalogue, but also that of similarly celebrated contemporaries such as the Burrell Brothers or Ben Cenac (Dream 2 Science, Sha-Lor).Terada, who has spent much of the last two decades writing video game music, has always had a gift for combining warm, undulating synthesizer basslines and perfectly programmed machine drums with stirring chords, smile-inducing melodies and mellow musical flourishes. It’s this immersive, sun-kissed and tuneful trademark style that takes centre stage on Asakusa Light, an album for the ages.The set begins with the alien-sounding chords, soft-touch percussion and dawn-friendly warmth of ‘Silent Chord’ and ends on a high via the bouncing string stabs, starlight chords and thickset grooves of ‘Blinker’; in between, you’ll find a deluge of effortlessly feelgood music that’s the aural equivalent of a dopamine rush at sunrise.There are subtle variations aplenty throughout the album – see the 8-bit lead lines and pulsing electronic textures of ‘Takusambient’, the vintage Tony Humphries flex of ‘Diving Into Minds’ and the effortlessly funky ‘Marimbau’ – but it’s the uniquely atmospheric, vivid and tactile nature of Terada’s loved-up sound that resonates. After well over 30 years in house music, the light in his heart is shining brighter than ever.

Kalita are excited to announce the first ever reissue of student medical group the IgG Band’s highly sought-after 1980 soul, funk and disco grail ‘Ultra/Sound’.Originally privately released in a small run on bandmember Clifford Becker’s Infusion Records imprint, the album has since become a treasured prize of but a handful of diehard collectors and DJs as a result of both its scarcity and quality. Now, in partnership with the band, Kalita shine a light on the album for the first time in over forty years, accompanied by never-before-seen archival photos and extensive interview-based liner notes. Formed in March 1979 out of a young group of musically talented students at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, the IgG Band was, as leader Clifford Becker recalls, first created ‘to play music to please ourselves and friends, and as an outlet to the ever pending and growing pressure of our medical education’. However, by 1980 the IgG Band had developed enough original material that they were ready to put their music to wax, and ‘Ultra/Sound’ was recorded at Hilltop Recording Studios in Nashville, with each band member contributing their part separately when their busy medical schedules allowed. Each song on the record was notably written mostly by only one band member – ‘IgG Theme’, ‘I Still Want You’ and ‘Daydreaming’ by Kendal Foster, ‘Another Love Gone’ and ‘When I Think of You’ by Solomon Pollard, ‘Funky Music’ by Murray Riggins and ‘Infusion’ by Kermit White. As Murray explains, ‘initially every band member had the opportunity to contribute original songs and from there we collaborated to make each song better’. The record was released at the close of 1980, manufactured and distributed by the band themselves. The album was a local success, and the band sold out within a short space of time, with most copies sold to family, friends and Meharry College students. However, at the end of their studies at Meharry the band went their separate ways. Their educational qualifications required that they partake in internships, and these were at different hospitals in different states. As Murray divulges, ‘each of us chose our own path and to live our own separate lives. We have stayed in contact periodically over the years, but we have never been able to get together and play music because of our medical practice time constraints’. We hope therefore that this much-needed re-release of ‘Ultra/Sound’ helps to keep the IgG Band’s musical legacy alive and showcases their musical quality to the world once again.Key Points:- First ever reissue of the IgG Band’s 1980 privately released soul, funk and disco album ‘Ultra/Sound’- Original copies currently sell online for $500+ on the rare occasion they come up for sale- Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen archival photos

New album by pioneering German beatmaker FloFilz. On Close Distance, the lofiturned-hifi producer blends hip-hop inspired beats with contemporary jazz, alt r&b and a little rap. Featuring Alfa Mist, Blue Lab Beats, Jerome Thomas, KeepVibesNear, Summers Sons & C.Tappin, Dal & Hunter Rose. Close Distance is his fourth album for Melting Pot Music. Since 2013, the self-taught bedroom producer and classically trained violinist has sold more than 10k LPs and gained 200 million streams.Close Distance literally means “near in space or time” (or “nah dran”, as we say in German). The 16 songs on Close Distance came to life over the past two years. Many sketches were birthed at FloFilz's old home studio in Aachen. Some songs were made from scratch in London, where Flo did sessions with UK jazz supremos Alfa Mist and Blue Lab Beats at their studios. One was recorded in a kitchen in Streatham, where rap duo Summers Sons and pianist C.Tappin reside.More sessions were already in planning when lockdown kicked in and travelling was no longer an option. Around the same time, Flo was about to move from Aachen to Berlin which he eventually did in November 2020. Once installed, he started sharing beats and files out of his makeshift studio in Moabit. Beat folders were sent to London where two of our favourite new alt R&B vocalists – Jerome Thomas and KeepVibesNear – live. Another one went to Dartmoor where the jazz/hip-hop trio Dal added their magic touch while Hunter Rose processed her sultry vocals in Cape Town - 12 flying hours away from Berlin. The album artwork has been created by Indonesian illustrator Fatchurofi, who caught FloFilz's attention through his work for everybody’s favourite band Khruangbin. Taking influences from Japanese Ukiyo-e art, Fatchurofi is adding a zen-like clarity (and tranquility) that resonates very well with the album. It is no exaggeration to say that FloFilz has not only created another inspiring album with Close Distance but one that demonstrates how music can close the distance which we all have experienced (and still do) in a beautiful way.