Kuniyuki Takahashi

Long before he became one of Japan’s most revered deep house producers (see his effortlessly brilliant noughties albums on Mule Musiq for proof), Kuniyuki Takahashi produced dreamy, atmospheric ambient and new wave electronica. Up until now, much of this has remained unissued, sitting around on homemade cassettes. Happily, Music From Memory has struck a deal to release the best of the bunch, presenting them here on vinyl for the first time. It’s a magical collection, all told, built around Kuniyuki’s fluid and distinctive synthesizer playing, but also incorporating percussion hits created from homemade field recordings, curious samples, glistening guitar lines, dreamy vocals, occasional industrial textures and, on the standout “Signifie”, crispy drum machine rhythms.