Insense Music Works Vinyl, CD & Tape 14 Items

A special 7-inch single featuring Uyama Hiroto’s cover of The Isley Brothers’ classic, "(At Your Best) You Are Love," with vocals by Hanah Spring—previously sung by Aaliyah—has been released to celebrate the collaboration project between Café Apres-midi, which marks its 25th anniversary, and Baycrew’s interior brand Acme Furniture.

A “City Pop Reggae” singer Natsu Summer's new song “pretty IN SUMMER,” written and arranged by Cunimondo Takiguchi (ryusenkei), who is also the main producer and is trusted immensely as the man behind the city pop boom, is now available on 7-inch! City pop reggae with lyrics about never-ending summer and the story of lovers who meet through music in the city, imagining landscapes and scenes. Light and mellow lovers reggae gives a pleasant and nice feeling.

The 7-inch single cut from the digital-only EP by chill/lofi-surf producer “Shimon Hoshino,” who is gaining attention in the chill/lo-fi scene, is now available!

Side A features a collaboration with singer-songwriter “Michael Kaneko,” born in Shonan and raised in Southern California, on the track "closer." On Side B, there's a B-side collaboration with trilingual rapper “Salty Jua,” born in Hawaii and raised in Kyoto, titled "freeze mains."

The artist “Shimon Hoshino,” who is making waves in the chill/lo-fi scene, first gained attention in 2019 by forming Henryne Girls with Osteoleuco and, later in 2024, with DÉ DÉ Mouse. Alongside these projects, he has released chill/lo-fi works under his solo name, which have become viral hits. As a surfer himself, Shimon Hoshino’s creations are chill-out sounds crafted at the beach.

Side A's "closer" is the first collaboration with Michael Kaneko, with whom Shimon shares many commonalities, such as Shonan, the sea, and surfing. The lo-fi beat with its mellow mid-tempo, combined with the beautifully melancholic piano melody and retro-flavored vocal harmonies, creates an atmosphere of dreamy bliss.

Side B's "freeze mains" is a collaboration with trilingual rapper “Salty Jua,” whose sharp rap flows over smooth piano and smoky lo-fi beats. The rhythm and flow, reminiscent of the ebb and flow of waves, make for a refreshing track.

This marks the first collaboration between legendary Hip Hop/R&B producer DJ Hasebe, rapper Chico Carlito from Okinawa, and R&B singer Ryuto Kasahara from Hokkaido.

The track blends DJ Hasebe's signature 90s-inspired sexy mid-tempo groove with Kasahara’s mellow and soulful vocals and Chico Carlito’s solid rap, creating a perfectly groovy and smooth number. The lyrics, which express the honest feelings of being in a long-distance relationship and longing for a loved one in the city, offer a positive message that will resonate with couples separated by distance. This love song is a unique collaboration between artists from Okinawa, Hokkaido, and Tokyo.

The artwork was designed by Uncuts, a graffiti artist affiliated with the label “Chilly Source,” creating a visually artistic piece to accompany the music.

The third installment of the highly praised compilation series themed around the “marriage of fragrance and music,” curated by Toru Hashimoto (suburbia) and featuring artwork by Jiro Fujita (fjd), with mastering by Calm, titled “Incense Music for Dining Room,” is set for release as a 7-inch record!

Selected and supervised by Toru Hashimoto, with artwork by Jiro Fujita, and mastered by Calm, a top Japanese artist bridging jazz, chillout, and Balearic scenes, this 7-inch single is a cut from the third installment of the compilation series “Incense Music,” titled “Incense Music for Dining Room.”

The 7-inch features two versions of the excellent cover of Miles Davis' classic "Flamenco Sketches" by Nobuyuki Nakajima, a globally renowned musician based in Paris, who has worked in various fields such as film music, jazz, pop, commercial music, and classical. Side A includes a new remix of "Flamenco Sketches" by DJ Mitsu the Beats, specially produced for the compilation, adding beats and restructuring Nakajima's original into a fantastic DJ-oriented track. Side AA features Nobuyuki Nakajima's original version, which was well-received after being produced for Toru Hashimoto’s 2024 compilation “Sunset Chillout Breeze,” themed around evening chillout.

Lisa Halim, a singer-songwriter representing the Japanese surf music scene, and Cunimondo Takiguchi, one of the most important figures in the city pop/city music scene, have collaborated for the first time!! In 2021, the single "Kimi to Blue" produced by Cunimondo Takiguchi was released and became a hit among fans of sea-oriented city pop music, which led to this collaboration with Ryusenkei!! "Love is Jealousy" is an extremely pleasant fusion of Hawaiian AOR and city music. Perfectly matched groove of Ryusenkei's performance and Lisa's gentle vocal.

The LP for "Sunset Chillout Breeze," a compilation featuring a selection of relaxing and comfortable music perfect for chilling out during sunset and feeling the pleasant breeze, will be released on October 30, 2024.

Toru Hashimoto (suburbia) has been a guiding force for music listeners since the 1990s, curating over 350 compilations including "Free Soul," "Cafe Apres-midi," "Mellow Beats," "Good Mellows," "Jazz Supreme," "The Soundscape of Music," and "Incense Music" series. Celebrating 30 years as a compiler, he launched a new compilation series, "Chillout Breeze," in July 2024.

Joining him is graphic designer Jiro Fujita, known as FJD, who has created artwork for various music projects, from jazzy and mellow beats like Nujabes to works by artists like Calm, Sakura Fujiwara, and Keisuke Kuwata. His design work can be seen all over Tokyo, from architecture to hotel lobbies, and shop logos.

This new compilation series "Chillout Breeze," curated by Toru Hashimoto with artwork by Jiro Fujita and mastering by Calm, a top Japanese artist in jazz, chillout, and Balearic music, will release its second volume, "Sunset Chillout Breeze," on September 25, 2024. The vinyl LP, featuring 10 carefully selected tracks from the 17-track CD, will follow on October 30, 2024, and also showcases captivating artwork.

The compilation features a range of tracks from cool and mellow grooves, chillout Balearica, surf×bossa×folky, lovers' rock & dub, to jazzy and mellow beats, creating an ideal collection for an enjoyable lifestyle.

Included are fantastic new covers: "Quiet Moments," a mellow breeze masterpiece by Lonnie Liston Smith, newly recorded by DJ Mitsu the Beats, and "Sunset Red," a twilight breeze gem by Lucinda Sieger, reimagined by NOA NOA.

■Song selection and supervision = Toru Hashimoto x Artwork = Jiro Fujita, and the first volume of the new compilation series "Incense Music" mastered by Calm, a top Japanese artist of jazz ~ chill out ~ Balearic. "Incense Music for Bed Room" 7 inch single cut from!

■side-a, which contains the latest tracks recorded by Hiroto Uyama for the same compilation, is a wonderful cover of Pharoah Sanders' famous song "Moon Child." Side-aa includes the spiritual and mellow masterpiece "Bliss of Landing" from Yoshiharu Takeda's 2018 first album "Aspiration", an up-and-coming composer/keyboardist who has been praised by many artists!

■The first edition of the ultimate lifestyle compilation that proposes domestic and international ambient - jazz - chill out - Balearica - post-classical - jazzy & mellow beats as music for a comfortable life is the time spent in the Bed Room. A compilation of soothing music perfect for. Two 7-inch vinyl titles including the new recordings included in this album have been released, so please enjoy the wonderful music representing the album on vinyl.

■The 7-inch single (imwvr-1029) released at the same time combines haruka nakamura's newly recorded homage to Bill Evans' masterpiece and Nobuyuki NAKAJIMA's cover of Vinicius de Moraes' masterpiece!

★Artists Profile ■Uyama Hiroto https://roph.net/ He became familiar with music from an early age due to the influence of his uncle, who was also a jazz guitarist. Since ``Letter From Yokosuka'' he has been involved in many nujabes works and has performed with them on numerous live shows. In 2008, he released his first album, ``A Son Of The Sun''. After Nujabes passed away in 2010, he became involved in the production of works such as the ``Luv (sic) series'' and ``spiritual state'', and also participated as an artist. After that, in 2013, he launched roph recordings in order to aim for even more pure music. In 2014, he released his second album ``Freedom of the Son'', which was his first in 6 years since his previous album. In addition to featuring Cise Star, Pase Rock, and Fat Jon, who he has been friends with since his days at hydeout productions, the song is a sequel to his first album. In addition, in 2016, they released their third album "Freeform Jazz", two years after their second album. The content strongly emphasizes the Japanese identity and stands out from previous works as a proposal for a new Japanese Free Jazz, and its originality has attracted not only Japanese but also overseas listeners, such as being featured on Hypebeast overseas. It also received many excellent reviews. He is currently working on music for his new album. (From the official website)

■Yoshiharu Takeda Fantastic music that expresses fluctuations, flows, and contours. Yoshiharu Takeda lives in Tokyo and is an up-and-coming composer/arranger/keyboard player and music selector. Around 2000, he studied music theory on his own and started producing music by composing and arranging on the piano and keyboard. His first album “Aspiration” released in 2018 received praise from Calm and Kaoru Inoue, and after listening to the album, Soichiro Suzuki (World Standard) fell in love with his talent and released his second album “Before The Blessing” in 2022 from the label . It beautifully expresses the wildness hidden within sophistication and the movement contained in stillness, further deepening the sound world that only Yoshiharu Takeda can create. It has been highly praised by many music lovers.

City Funk remix of Yuji Ohno's mellow soul "Fairy Night feat. Sonia Rosa", the ending theme for the anime "Lupin the Third Part Iii" (1984), sung by Sonia Rosa!