Review: Yasushi Ide - The Journey (Grand Gallery)

When folks say the old cliche, "It's a small world", sometimes that world just goes and proves it as Yasushi Ide comes back and delivers 'The Journey' - and what a journey it's been!

Just to repeat, nearly 2 years ago, seemingly out of the blue, we got the fantastic 7" release of Yasushi Ide's 'A Place In The Sun' (by way of Karou Inoue remix on Brooklyn's Love Injecton Records - see review HERE) and just to backtrack, you'll recall Ide made a name for himself (in the UK anyway) as Lonesome Echo Strings some 20 plus years ago on some 12 inchers with collaborations with nu-jazz/Gilles Peterson golden era 'names' as Monday Michiru and Big Youth and getting remixes by Joe Clausell, Nuyorican Soul (both doing loads of house remixes at the time) and Mr. Glücklich himself, Rainer Trüby (see review HERE).

Now, the 'Don of Shibuya-ker', Ide latest project involves "merging past recordings with futuristic production, redefining what remix culture and musical storytelling" thus, creating  a new level of remix album - prog-remix? Especially when it's a non-stop 115 minute log mix, re-edited and dubbed up by Ide & Watusi.

The 15 featured artist include the diversity of Ken Ishii (he of Sublime Records who have just released, Ayane Shino - 'River せせらぎ The timbre of guitar #2 Rei Harakami' - see review

HERE), Shuya Okino (as name checked in the review of Masaru Imada Trio + 1 - see review HERE), Charles Webster (DJ/Producer/Remixer), the cult DJ Nature and Blue Room veteran, Chris Coco.

This album is the perfect introduction to the ever expanding world of J-Jazz, J-Reggae or J-House and more out-there dance and dub culture.

Artwork: Japanese painter Yuko Kamiyama..

Artist : Yasushi Ide / Various Artists

Title : The Journey

Release Date : 25th April, 2025

Catalog Number : TBC

Label : Grand Gallery

Format : Vinyl LP 28th July 2025 / 2 x CD / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Yasushi Ide - A Place In The Sun (Kaoru Inoue Remix) (Love Injection Records)

When folks say the old cliche, "It's a small world", sometimes that world just goes and proves it as on this fantastic 7" release of Yasushi Ide's 'A Place In The Sun' by way of Karou Inoue remix on Brooklyn's Love Injecton Records!

Back in the day, Japan's Yasushi Ide made a name for himself (in the UK anyway) as Lonesome Echo Strings some 20 plus years ago on some 12 inchers with collaborations with nu-jazz/Gilles Peterson golden era 'names' as Monday Michiru and Big Youth and getting remixes by Joe Clausell, Nuyorican Soul (both doing loads of house remixes at the time) and Mr. Glücklich himself, Rainer Trüby (see review HERE).

He went onto work with worldwide known names as diverse as Tom Verlaine, Don Letts, James Chance, DJ Krush, Pharaoh Sanders, U-ROY and many more.  

So in 2012, there was a Japan only Ide album release with a track called 'A Place In The Sun' (that featured reggae legend Ernest Raglin no less) and it seem to have been "lost" until Love Injection’s Barbie Bertisch and Paul Raffaele happened upon it in the form of a 1/50 dubplate remix by Kaoru Inoue - what are the chances?

Anyway, the remix itself is a slimmed down version of the original so it's a great warm-up Balearic beach groover but in the way of a re-imagined Lonnie Liston Smith in the Fender Rhodes lounge bar; and there's a dub version too!  

This single is the perfect introduction to the ever expanding world of J-Jazz, J-Reggae or J-House and wouldn't it be great if the album the track is taken from, 'Late Night Blues' gets a re-release too.

P.S. This is not the first time Love Injection Records have released such a track: listen to the Photay Remix of Phil Moffa's 'Ala Del Mundo' on BBC Radio 6 Music with Gilles Peterson (27 May 2023:  www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001m1h3) and the label are mates with musclecars too (they of the Jazzanova remix - see review HERE).  Seems like we all live in Brooklyn (baby), small world.

Artist : Yasushi Ide 

Title : A Place In The Sun (Kaoru Inoue Remix)

Release Date : 17th November, 2023

Catalog Number : LIR 009

Label : Love Injection Records

Format : 7" vinyl / Digital