DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Makoto – Human Elements

2004

Plate 1 & 2 – Side A / B & C / D

As the weekend disappears and another new week of reviews begins, we hit our fifth album in the Good Looking catalogue. I hope everyone is doing ok and you had some time to enjoy some good music? I’m sure those that made it to The Runout yesterday had another incredible time mingling with the legends, friends and bagging some top tunes! One day, I’ll visit this Eighth wonder of the world. 🙂

   For this week we will focus on musical talents from a guy we’ve reviewed during the Good Looking 12” singles. His style of drum and bass, future jazz and funk based fender guitar and bass playing prowess, unleashing orchestral warmth in arranging journeys in sound, pinpoint the artists approach. The two albums up on the podium came 4 years apart. The first one is today’s feature, so let’s draw back the curtain and applaud Makoto Shimizu, who composes  the album, ‘Human Elements’. We also get a smattering of guests on this album, worthy of a mention. MC Conrad (R.I.P), Cleveland Watkiss (both on the CD) and Lori Fine, along with an assortment of artists that Makoto included. 

   The tracks chosen for this vinyl release are a pretty decent selection too. The CD has a few that didn’t make the wax pressings but all in all it’s a strong snapshot. The CD also has a few bonus remixes too, from John B, Kyoto Jazz Massive and Nookie. 

   Artwork for this release is courtesy of Gareth Paul Jones who brings a contrasting style and a dash of the symmetrical prints on the inside of the booklet in the CD. I also really like the figures with the backdrop filling in as silhouettes. I’m opening up the floor for Gareth to give us the lowdown on things:

“Another special one for me. It was MAKOTOs debut album on GLR, and we wanted to create a slightly different look and feel for this one. Nick Purser was the master when it came to illustration, but I wanted to flex out some of that style in my own way too. So I came up with a more illustrated / graphic style that was a bit more ‘Manga’ in approach, an obvious route with Makoto’s Japanese heritage. It was also a way for his releases to have their own vibe within the labels roster of artists. I did some initial photos with him and then worked from a few selects for the artwork itself. My symmetry / repeat style is then deployed in some of the inner artwork, creating these abstract worlds. The style was also adapted to number of other releases including his Progression Sessions mix release. Makoto is another artist I’ve been lucky to collaborate with recently, continuing a connection that stretches back nearly 25 years”

Thanks to Gareth for this info!

   Let’s get these discs rotating and review the first two plates in ‘Human Elements’ today and the last one, tomorrow. 

   ‘Where Are You Going’ is our first track on Side A of the album. Makoto brews up one of his hot servings of free-styling, jazz infused drum and bass in a fashion that has his name coursing through it. The choral drops, fresh snare snapping rhythm, live guitar, the switch in chords and radiating bass, combine for a hearty ladle of damn fine music. You can picture a stage full of people just playing their hearts out and moving in their own individual fashion. Each person, an expression of identity, yet working together to form an exotic jigsaw of complete beauty. The fingerprint of Makoto is unmistakable. If you’re thinking of leaving before the end of this track, you may well be asked, “Where are you going?”

    On Side B we have ‘Sky High’, streaking across the barriers of magnetic fields, alternating cloud formations and arching your back as the winds take you higher and higher. I fucking love this one, largely due to that bass line which is fucking brilliantly put together. It compensates the airy music by showing you the shadows which lurk on the underside, creating the full dimensional sound of this track. On a big system, this one delivers a perfect balance of the deep atmospherics and something to move your body too, as you grind your feet through the ground. Makoto was dropping some incredible work around this time. This tune sums up just how addictive and unique his sound was. 

    Disc Two has the remix on Side C, of 2001’s ‘Take My Soul Baby’ from Logical Progression Level 4. From the first snare-clap beats and the drip feeding of the Fender Rhodes, the beautiful guitar work from Takashi Chida, and then the way that unmistakeable bass work lifts out the main riff and expels a wave of pure funk finesse, hits you with nothing but smiles. Makoto already had so much of the groundwork for this track in his original mix, but the little adds and tweaks keep it flowing. Lori Fine adds her vocals into the breakdown in this remix too. One of those jam sessions that slots into any part of your day. I love the way that as the tune starts to end, you can hear the background crowd starting to chat and mingle as they start to depart from the club, after a bloody good night listening to the sound of a funky D&B, jazz fused artist like Makoto. 

   Side D has ‘Treasure Towers’ to end this first day of Makoto music. This is probably my favorite track of his on this album. While we still have the majestic sweeps of pads and firmly placed snare percussion, there is a darker, mysterious layer in this track. The strings speak of a suspenseful, derelict meadow of blind corners and uncertainty. The bass hums, the brass wafts the last breaths of the departed over you, and you become transfixed in the beauty and the glory. It’s haunting, pure and genteel in a manner that works. I really love this side of Makoto, which spins his style into a heart racing, chair gripping tease, throwing the music into a jet stream of emotions. 

   More up tomorrow, from the last plate on this album, and four more tracks and a good mix of styles. 

   My blog has the Good Looking Records that I’ve reviewed so far. You’ve reached it, so hope you enjoy perusing back over the reviews so far. Thanks for checking it out!