Korg Arp

Masabumi Kikuchi - Wishes/Kochi (1976) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 329 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 126 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 158 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1976, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9173
Jazz / Post Bop / Fusion

An excellent mid 70s Japanese fusion set, led by the Gil Evans protege Masabumi Kikuchi – with a very similar group to the one on his awesome Susto LP! The vibe isn't quite as funky on this outing – in fact it's a bit more reminiscent of Miles' spacey electric explorations – though there are some pretty hard groovin' moments should definitely appeal to fans of funky fusion. Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman play some nice coloristic lines on reeds, and Terumasa Hino is in fine form on trumpet. The rest of the group is rounded out by Reggie Lucas on guitar playing some hard choppy accompaniment to Kikuchi's synths and electric piano, Mtume on percussion, Al Foster on drums and Anthony Jackson on bass. We're especially keen on the dark and heavy "Auroral Flare", the spacious "Pacific Hushes" which opens with a beautiful line played by Hino and the set's closer "Alone".

In the late seventies, every other episode of Tomorrow’s World seemed to feature the futuristic ‘synthesiser’, a mass of patchboards, knobs and wires which was all set to make orchestras redundant around the world. But the singles chart was largely immune to the synth - with the honourable exceptions of Hot Butter’s Popcorn and Kraftwerk's Autobahn - until the watershed year of 1979. Then, Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric stormed to number one with its blend of bleak sci-fi, European cine-drama, and the heavy, ominous noise coming from machines labelled Roland, Arp and Moog…

Franco Battiato is one of the most successful singers in Italy. He began his career as a "light" singer, recording a few singles. In 1971 he started his particular journey through experimental music, recording his proggiest issues: "Fetus", "Pollution", "Sulle corde di Aries". Some very atmospheric parts and some very melodic songs make these records worthwhile, along with musical references to the arabic culture and italian folk that will surface from time to time in all of his following output…