Artist: Jap Kasai 
Album: OWN ℃ 
Format: Digital / Tape 
Cat.No: CHI028 
Master: Jap Kasai 
Artwork: Saphy Vong 
Release Date: 10th May 2021

Japanese folk, Juke and Footwork meet in a joyful, hook-filled union on Jap Kasai’s newest album, OWN ℃. Using the Japanese concept of 温故知新 (onko-chishin), meaning "developing new ideas based on study of the past," Jap Kasai finds a totally unique expression of Japanese Ondo and Minyo folk music infused with a hypnotic and exuberant modernity.

Jap Kasai has been experimenting with ancient folk styles since 2015. He later discovered Footwork and juke.

“They created a new groove by sampling old soul music. They use soulful voices effectively,” explains the Kyoto-based producer. “So, I decided to replace [the vocals] with Japanese Monyo folk songs, because it was said that Minyo was the soul music of the country where I was born. At first it was half a joke. But, I gradually felt the depth of Minyo.” 
The marriage of Minyo and footwork isn’t as strange as it might sound on paper. On OWN ℃, the rhythmic, distended vocal style of Minyo singers (often backed by Jap Kasai’s own vocals) and the skittish, loose architecture of footwork creates a compelling new style that honours both musical traditions. Tracks such as 酔鴨 yoi kamo build in a grooving, circular loop, driven onwards by a ramshackle undercurrent of complex beats.

“Juke is a relatively new rhythm, but somehow ancient,” says Jap Kasai. “And fast rhythms make you feel slow in a way. Curiously, I got the same feeling when listening to Japanese folk songs. It's often a mix of slow drum rhythms and fast, metallic rhythms. Voices are also used differently from the West. I found this very interesting.” 
The title OWN ℃ combines a number of his concerns as an artist. It is a nod to his grandmother, ヲウン or Woun. Also, as he explains, "OWN ℃ can be read as "Ondo" in Japanese. And also OWN ℃ means "own body temperature". It is important in coronavirus disasters. Therefore, a simple wordplay gets a strange meaning.”

Despite sampling music from the recent and distant past, OWN ℃ addresses some very timely concerns. “Now the division of labour is very advanced,” he says. “We often feel as if our mind and body have become separate by internet. There are positive aspects to these systems. But I also think it has become more difficult to empathize deeply with things and to feel raw realisation. We need to change our lifestyles based on a real sense of mind and body.” A jubilant, danceable record, OWN ℃ reminds us of our own warm materiality.  

About Jap Kasai:
Based in Kyoto, Daisuke Iijima has been making music since 2015. He runs the cassette label hoge tapes.

OWN ℃

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Kerrie - VEIL OF ECHOES I - Jump The Gun
PWCCA - Dweller of Darkness - Legions and splendor
Fireground - IT072 - Smile As One - Smile As One
BLED - Comets Sessions - LV-426

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Toiret Status is Isamu Yorichika from Yamaguchi, Japan. His new work Otohime is his first vinyl record and his second album on Orange Milk following ◎omaru◎ in 2016. Otohime includes collaborations with Co La, and Yoshitaka Hikawa. He has also released music on the labels Noumenal Loom, Plus 100 Records, Pedicure Records, Wasabi Tapes, and Slagwerk.

Isamu began making music as a drummer for noise and hardcore bands which led to his first solo recordings in 2015. As Toiret Status he has said that he wants to create work resembling the idea of food going through digestion, excretion, and then flushing. This cycle is like the regurgitation of sounds sampled from his daily life: movies, video games, and field recordings. The sources are digested and then flushed back out as a different color.

I watched a Toiret Status performance in Fukuoka Japan in a shrine on top of a sumo ring. The show promoters were serving Japanese BBQ (Yakiniku / Yakitori) with a distinct common Japanese BBQ sauce and Heinz yellow mustard, and it was possibly some of the best food I have ever had. While I was eating I watched Isamu aggressively move around the sumo rink using a nintendo controller as a midi device, triggering intense bursts of sound. The first two steps in his goal - consumption and digestion - were happening to me when I first met him. The dedication Japanese people often display in art was also apparent while watching his performance; it felt like a congealing of "Japanese-ness" with the sumo rink, shrine, food, joyful and absurd music all meshing together in a quick burst.


Isamu’s new Toiret Status record Otohime is named after a fairy tale queen (with magical powers?) who lives undersea and entertains travelers by giving out gifts like jewelry. In Japanese this title could be an apt pun for - sound queen. However, Isamu stated that the title is a wishful statement about how his music would be utilized in the future. When people flush a toilet, he hopes his music might play and become a funny reminder of the Japanese emphasis on politeness and social tact. He likes the idea of turning something awkward into something fun. Toiret Status uses romaji (English letters written in Japanese phonetics to describe a foreign or new idea that is not in the Japanese tradition) for his album title, to hint at a pun and imply the desired function of the music while simultaneously alluding to Japanese folklore - a queen who makes music.

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( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)( ´^ิ益^ิ｀)

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