WAMONO A to Z Vol. III - Japanese Light Mellow Funk, Disco & Boogie 1978-1988 (Selected by DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite & Chintam)

Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold-out. The book unveiled a myriad of beautiful and rare records from a highly prolific, but still then unknown, Japanese groove scene.

After many years working as a record buyer for several stores, DJ Chintam opened his own Blow Up shop in 2018 in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. A member of the Dayjam Crew and a specialist of soul, funk, rare groove and disco music, Chintam is also an expert of the home-brewed Wamono grooves. He supervised and wrote the Wamono A to Z records guide book together with Yoshizawa.

For this third chapter of the acclaimed Wamono series, Yoshizawa and Chintam unheart some of the best and rarest light mellow funk tunes and disco boogie bangers produced in Japan between 1978 and 1988. Put the needle on the record, turn up the volume and dig right now into the Wamono sound – the cream of the Japanese jazz, funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan!

A really fantastic entry in this really great series – one that shows just how strongly the spirit of invention continued in the world of Japanese music as it moved into the 80s!

As with previous volumes, the work here is a unique hybrid of influences from American and Japanese sources – partly based in jazz, but also with a fair bit of funk and soul too – modes that are used more directly here than on some of the more polished city pop work of the time – which means that if you like the sweet sound of American electric jazz funk of the late 70s, you'll find plenty to love here too!

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Tetsuo Sakurai - Kimono
• A2. Jadoes - Friday Night (Extended Dance Mix)
• A3. Yumi Sato - Ame
• A4. Kiyohiko Ozaki - Ojosan Ote Yawaraka Ni

• SIDE B
• B1. Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama - Rainy Driver
• B2. Sentimental City Romance - Hello Suisei
• B3. Mizuki Koyama - Kare Niwa Kanawanai
• B4. Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama - Sweet Soul Music (Kiss Of Life)