Howard Williams (check his amazing Japan Blues show on NTS radio!) has assembled a compilation of Japanese funk, soul and disco for Ace Records offshoot BGP International.
From mavericks like Haruomi Hosono of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, with his low-down proto-disco groove, to soul singer Minako Yoshida belting it out on the epic title track; jazz vocalist Yasuko Agawa (of LA Nights fame) sweetly covers Roberta Flack, while Memphis soul group Ebonee Webb, funk up a Japanese folk tune, and that's just for starters. This compilation shows that Japan not only voraciously consumed soul and its offshoot genres, but - unknown to the rest of the world - it carved out its own sound too.
With original sleeves and label artwork, and voluminous sleeve notes.
Essential!