Back to Japan: Deep Cut, released in 1987, was the second album from ex-plastics Toshi Nakanishi and Chica Sato as Melon. (See here for their first album, Do You Like Japan?) On this album the band also includes Kudo (turntable, keyboard) and Gota (drums, computer programming, keyboard, guitar, backing vocals); guest musicians appearing on some tracks are Guy Pratt, bass; John L. Walters, Lyricon; Preston Heyman, percussion; Frank ricotti, percussion; and Colette, backing vocals. (See the discogs.com listing for specific track credits.) Deep Cut opens with a cover of Les Baxter's "Quiet Village" (made famous by Martin Denny), and the whole album has a loose "techno-exotica" theme, as evidenced by the song titles:
- Quiet Village
- Uptown Downtown
- Hard Core Hawaiian
- Hawaiian Break
- Time Enough For Love
- Somewhere Faraway
- Faraway
- Pleasure Before Your Breakfast
- Funkasia
- The Gate of Japonesia
Also notable is the electro vibe that Gota brings to Melon's sound (which was state-of-the-art back then), with "Pleasure" and "Funkasia" being real dancefloor contenders. Get the vinyl rip here or here.
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3 comments:
This is a great album that I was fortunate enough to be turned on to back in the late 80s, and I was all the more fortunate to find a copy of the original Alfa label CD issue in a used CD bin quite reasonably priced to replace the cassette I played to death. Anyone taking the time to read this ought to download this gem and have a BALL listening to it. Any Plastics to post?
I really like your blog, thanks & keep up the good work.
cheers. for some reason I think it was, now UK media personality, David Quantick then writing in the NME that pointed me towards this record 20 years ago. But then it was a long time ago
much appreciated
Gosh, I haven't heard this for nearly 2 decades. Pleasure before your breakfast is just as i remember, a wonderful 'up the garden path' beginning. All the wonderful eurocockney accents and meaningless twaddle that used to turn up on so many T-shirts. Thanks so much. I have the Hardcore Hawaiian single by this lot.
Incidentally, I am part of a cabal that shouts "Only the frequency modulation and resonance change" at Mr Quantick whenever we see him out and about.
Electroaimant
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