Love, Peace & Poetry Vol. 4 - Japan (2001)

Love, Peace & Poetry - Vol.4 Japan is the fourth volume in the Love, Peace & Poetry series released by QDK Media and Normal Records in 2001. This volume explores obscuro garage rock and psychedelic rock bands from Japan.

01. "Happenings Theme" (The Happenings Four) – 1:01
02. "Liver Juice Vending Machine" (Foodbrain) – 2:39
03. "Tomorrow's Child" (Apryl Fool) – 4:19
04. "Run and Hide" (Speed, Glue & Shinki) – 4:50
05. "Hidariashi No Otoko" (Yuya Uchida & The Flowers) – 4:39
06. "Brane Baster" (Blues Creation) – 2:02
07. "Freedom of a Mad Paper Lantern" (Shinki Chen) – 3:08
08. "Gloomy Flower" (Jacks) – 3:17
09. "Kimi Ha Darenanda" (Tokedashita Garasubako) – 3:00
10. "You All Should Think More" (Justin Heathcliff) – 2:23
11. "Keep It Cool" (Speed, Glue & Shinki) – 4:19
12. "The Lost Mother Land, Pt. 1" (Apryl Fool) – 5:41
13. "A White Dove in Disguise" (Masahiko Sato) – 2:03
14. "Kirikyogen" (Kawachi, Kuni & Friends) – 5:06
15. "Asamade Matenai" (The Mops) – 3:08
16. "Koishite Aishite" (The Beavers) – 3:15
17. "I Want You" (The Happenings) – 3:02

Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics

The Heliocentrics – the London-based collective centered around drummer Malcolm Catto, bassist Jake Ferguson and producer Mike Burnham – first performed with legendary Ethiopian Jazz composer/arranger/pianist/vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke in early 2008. The pairing went so well – Astatke celebrated the band as the Heliocentrics performed the classic songs Astatke recorded for the Ethiopian Amha label in the late 60s and early 70s – that a collaborative recording session became a must. Thus began the landmark sessions in the Heliocentrics’ cavernous studio that resulted in Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3.

Though the ensemble run though some of Mulatu’s classic recordings, the bulk of this album is newly recorded psychedelic jazz with a funk and rock edge. Astatke’s presence clearly challenged the band to write and record an album worthy of the legend. From melancholic modal musings to thunderous funk, Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3 follows in the lines of the landmark, impossible-to-categorize albums that Astatke and the Heliocentrics have offered to the world.

01. Masenqo
02. Cha Cha
03. Addis Black Widow
04. Mulatu
05. Blue Nile
06. Esketa Dance
07. Chik Chikka
08. Live From Tigre Lounge
09. Chinese New Year
10. Phantom Of The Panther
11. Dewel
12. Fire In The Zoo
13. An Epic Story
14. Anglo Ethio Suite

Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics - (OST)

Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics (OST)
Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Modal

Lloyd Miller and The Heliocentrics follows Now-Again's Heliocentrics collaboration with Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke with an album that pairs ethnomusicologist, jazz maestro and multi-instrumentalist, Lloyd Miller with the UK collective.

With multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Miller, a doctor who specializes in Persian classical music, The Heliocentrics create an album that is both courageous and moody. “Bali Bronze” and “Electricone”, for instance, with its haunting flutes, forceful piano, and pounding drums, crumble the distinctions between Western jazz and Middle Eastern compositions. The same goes for “Modality,” with roots established in John Coltrane-esque jazz and Iranian arrangements. But while (ost) is fidgety and restless, the Asian-influenced “Sunda Sunset” is a five-minute massage suited for deep meditation and immense introspection. All told, (ost) could be disassembled and studied for its dedication to international influences, or praised simply as good music. Then again, with musicians like the great Lloyd Miller and the distinguished Heliocentrics at the helm, should we really be surprised?

01. Electricone 3:40
02. Nava 4:52
03. Mandala 3:20
04. Spiritual Jazz 7:31
05. Bali Bronze 5:44
06. Fantasia Pt. 1 2:34
07. Modality 3:16
08. Salendro 2:07
09. Pari Ru 4:53
10. Lloyd's Diatribe 3:24
11. Fantasia Pt. 2 2:26
12. Chahargah 2:56
13. Sunda Sunset 5:29