Skulldiggery

Updates coming...

2008-10-05T12:36:00.002+09:00

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile... I've been crazy busy lately.

Just to let anyone reading know, the site is not defunct, but was just in stand-by mode.

There were a couple comments lately that actually weren't spam... shocking. Now I feel guilty that people have actual come here lately, and no recent updates.

I'm on it.

Peace...
Dr. Malta

B-Boy Parkz' "Harajuku Snap" Mix with Photo Track-list!

2007-11-29T13:21:00.000+09:00

Awhile back, B-Boy Parkz had his mix of Japanese breaks, beats, and rares, "Harajuku Snap", featured on Soulstrut. This mix is dope... so if you haven't heard it, I'm posting it for download. Once you listen to the mix, you'll probably be wanting to know about the records...

Well, Parkz has forwarded me a photo track-list he put together for the mix! There are some fantastic records on here, and the photos should be indispensable in giving you something to look for whilst diggin' in Japan... The records go in order, top left to right, bottom left to right.

Thanks Parkz!

*a quick note about divshare. You probably already know, but you can either stream it, or dowload it. To download, just click the divshare logo in the embedded player, and you'll be taken to a divshare page where you can download the file.

... Happy digging!

Exclusive mixes from Mista Donut & B.K. Akilla!

2007-11-19T13:32:00.000+09:00

For those that don't know, Mista Donut is a writer/DJ/producer out of Japan. Those into Japanese hip-hop may have heard of him through his superb mixes released on the Subcontact label. He also does "Drum Lesson", a monthly hip-hop event in Koufu, Yamanashi.

I had the pleasure of being on the monthly line-up while I was living in Yamanashi, and while the event was always great, I guess things really started taking off after I left Japan... go figure. I am assuming/hoping that my departure did not contribute to the shows current success, instead, it could be due to the addition of DJ Bonchi Kuts Akilla, an excellent DJ from what I've heard (the mixes attest to this).
Anyhow, the DJ's put out an occasional mix as a promo for the show, and I got a couple of the recent ones to share with you.

First up is "Summer Jam '07", by Mista Donut and Bonchi Kuts Akilla (Too Perverted Brothers). Its a pretty chill mix of hip-hop, jazz, some soul, and I even spotted a Maeda Norio joint on there (who put you up on that tune Donut?). Anyhow, enjoy:

01.Too Perverted Bros / Intro (Too Perverted Bros In Deep Concentration)
02.The Pharcyde / Passin' Me By (Fly As Pie Remix)
03.Roy Ayers Ubiquity / Serching
04.Bobby Hutcherson / Montara
05.Scha Dara Parr / Summer Jam 95'
06Jungle Brothers / Brain
07.Bahamadia / I Confess (The Roots Remix)
08.Heavy / Do For You
09.Minnie Riperton / Baby,This Love I Have
10.Robert Lamm / Love Song
11.Peter Brown / For Your Love
12.A Tribe Called Quest / 1nce Again
13.Lucy Pearl Feat.Phat Katt / Without You (Dwele Aphrodisiac Mix)
14.O.C. Feat Yvette Michelle / Far From Yours
15.George Duke / You And Me
16.Adriana Evans / Reality
17.Jazz Liberatorz / That's Reality
18.Headnodic / One Lude
19.The Esso Trinidad Steel Band / Cecilia
20.Jaz / Hawaiian Sophie
21.Moka Only / Live From Lio
22.Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band / Express Your Self
23.Sweet Charles / Yes It's You
24.De La Soul Feat.Jungle Brothers & Q-Tip / Buddy
25.Cut Chemist / The Garden (Beats)
26.Milton Nascimento / Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser
27.Suiken / Double Trouble
28.Jose Feliciano / Golden Lady
29.Sound Direction / Wanda Vidal
30.Tin Pan Alley / One Note Samba
31.Hydroponic Sound System / El Narco
32.Ozomatli / Eva
33.Flora Purim / Vera Cruz

Mixed & Edited
Track 02,03,06,07,09,12,14,16,17,18,20,22,24,29,31,33
By-Bonchi Kuts Akilla
Track04,05,08,10,11,13,15,19,21,23,25,26,27,28,30,32
By-Mista Donut

Next up we have "Too Perverted Blends". This time they do a pretty straightforward mash-up style mix of hip-hop acapellas and instrumentals. Blends and cuts smooth as butter, and some interesting choices for the mixes:

01.Intro
02.M.O.P. / World Famous Manipulator
03Jeru The Damaja / Grind War Clean
04.O.C. / We Got Time
05.Black Moon / How Many Lyricist
06.Mos Def / Travellin' Plan
07.Big L / Say It MVP
08.Big L / L Is Like
09.Lupe Fiasco / I Gotcha Summer
10.Kool G Rap Feat.Nas / Fast Ride
11.Mobb Deep / Shook One's Part.50
12.Nas / One Love (Mista Donut Remix)
13.KRS-ONE Feat M.O.P. / Booyaka!!Original Premier
14.Kanye West,Nas,KRS-ONE And DJ Premier / Gold Classic Is Here
15.Uptown / Dope On Police
16.Queen Latifah Feat.Freddie Foxxx / So El Barrio
17.Pharrell Feat.Kanye West / Number One Problem
18.Young Gunz / Friday Night(Bonchi Kuts Remix)
19.Ozomatli Feat.Rebirth / Too Much Saturday

Special Thanx To J-Rocc,Time Machine,Kero One

Blended & Remixed
Track 02,03,06,07,10,12,14,17,19
By-Mista Donut
Track 04,05,08,09,11,13,15,16,18
By-Bonchi Kuts Akilla

Gifts from Mista Donut

2007-10-29T10:29:00.000+09:00

I just got some stuff from Japan, a couple of japanese rare-groove mixes, and a few records.

I've yet to give all of it a good listen, but I figured since I lied about updating, I'd throw up some pictures...

DJ XXXL/Muro's second installment in the Nippon Breaks & Beats Series:

Sarudog from Mu-Stars jazzy Japanese mix:

Shirou Michi, Miwaku-no-Electone... Very nice, if drums and electone is up your alley. A little elevatory, but its got some nice breaks, and the drum track is on a separate channel than the electone:

Yazawa Toru, " Variety Tour":

Johnny Kira, "Johnny":

Good looking out to Mista Donut!

New & Improved!

2007-06-28T08:11:00.000+09:00

Ok... It's actually a bit embarrassing that I haven't updated in so long. It's a long story, but after a bit of a haitus I'm gonna start posting again.

Anyhow, I just discovered divShare, so a late-pass is in order. I'm going to put up some files and replace dead rapidshare links with divShare files, so feel free to revisit the older posts.

Anyhow... I still have tons of Japanese stuff to put up, and since I've been in the states, I've been getting my dollar-bin diggin' on. Should have lots of my recent finds to post too.

I've also been toying with the idea of actually posting up every record I buy... Kind of like a record diary... It would be kinda cool, and probably a bit embarrassing... we'll see.

Peace!
Malta

Thanks Parkz!

2006-10-28T07:58:00.000+09:00

Christmas came early this year thanks to BBoy Parkz! Thanks a lot Man, I'll get you back!

The records are:

T. Onodera and Los Onoderas, "Rock & Drums / Free"
Hissatsu BGM Series, "Hissatsu Shigoto-nin Vol. I"
V.A., "Guitar Workshop Vol. 2 Live"
Emu, "Emu II"
?, "Kikaider Kikaider Zero One: Hit Songs Memory"

Turning Tensai Tracklist

2006-09-16T02:15:00.000+09:00

Some people had been asking me for the tracklist, and I finally got the tracks all written down. The tracklist was originally on the CD we gave away for one of the Drum Lesson shows, but there were some tracks missing from the oirignal list. Anyhow, here it is in its correct form, and props to Árni Kristjánsson for hooking it up in a nice graphic.

Angry Puzzle

2006-08-26T05:30:00.000+09:00

At the last Drum Lesson show before I left Japan, I was given a mixtape of old Japanese songs by a fellow who frequented our event. Unfortunately, there was no track list, and I'm having some trouble getting ahold of the guy who made it.

While the whole mix is quality, theres one track in particular that caught my attention. It's in english, and the singer sounds American to me. I have absolutely no clue who this song is by, or if it is American or Japanese.

Anyhow, Ant from Studiogangster.com took a listen, and while he couldn't hook me up with any information, he did hook me up with a lesson on how to write a proper review.

Mystery song tentatively titled "Angry Puzzle", review by Ant:

What cheery chords and melody! Starts out with a happily anticipated homecoming. A fly annoys him. Damn nature! And nature says, "Damn Man!" Then everything begins to fall apart. He's envious of the immortal seagull, idealizing its apparent harmony with nature. He considers euthanizing the world with a gun, but the world beats him to it. According to the news: "The world is just a bomb, and we just lit the fuse." But the entertainment industry soothes our agitated futility, saying life is just swinging. Who do we believe?

The answer is in the guitar. Everything's just swinging. Yes, the world is an angry puzzle, but listen to how the notes fit together! So bouncy and carefree.

Is the irony bitter sarcasm or paradoxical serenity? "Funny how when you think you got it all, it ends." Serenity arises when both sides of the illusion fade away, the pleasure and the pain. With nothing to hold on to, all we can do is ride the rhythm and swing with the singing. And it actually sounds good.

Back in the States!

2006-08-11T03:52:00.000+09:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately... Just trying to keep things consistent! Actually, I have a good reason this time... I've moved back to the States, and the last two months have been incredibly crazy. Moving to another apartment is difficult enough, but it's a real bitch moving to another country.

Anyhow, I'm home now, and I've finally got my records after some trouble getting them through customs. Actually, it wasn't a problem with customs, as much as it was a problem with the customs brokering. My stuff was shipped under the wrong classification, and I had to find a new customs broker once I got back here. Anyhow, everything went well in the end, and everything came in perfect condition.

So... should be more updates now. I'm back in America, culture-shocked, and with plenty of time on my hands. Check back shortly.

Peace!

Turning Tensai!

2006-07-08T18:25:00.000+09:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately... Anyhow, here's the second Dr. Malta mix of japanese goodness, "Turning Tensai"!

I'll update with a tracklist soon.

Enjoy!

迷信

2006-05-27T12:45:00.000+09:00

迷信 (Meishin)... Superstition.

There's quite a few nice Japanese cover versions of this classic Stevie Wonder track... I'm posting up three such records, two of which are pretty well known by this point. The hypertext is a link to the rapidshare download for the track. If the track gets at least one download a month, the link will stay valid indefinitely.

First up, Pedro & Capricious, from their self-titled album from '76. This one seems to be quite popular, and why shouldn't it be? Nice crunchy drums on the "Superstition" track, not to mention theres also a great cover of WAR's "Cisco Kid":

Next up, we have the Noguchi Goro version, from "Goro in Rock"... This was one of my first finds in Japan, and I still think it's great. I really like cover versions in languages other than english, and the lyrics to this version are quite interesting if you can understand Japanese (or so I'm told!):

Rounding out today's trio, we have a version from the PCM Master Record. I really think this is a dope record, and theres a few excellent songs on here. There are a couple bands playing the music for this record, but the "Superstition" track is performed by Hiromasa Suzuki and His Orchestra. Another excellent track from this record is version of "Historia De Un Amor", performed by Tadaaki Misago and His Tokyo Cuban Boys (the version that's on the Dr. Malta, "Holiday In Nippon" mix). Anyhow, there are quite a few great test records in to be found in Japan, and this is one of them:

Enjoy!

Audible Treats

2006-04-19T21:22:00.000+09:00

Here's a little something for you to bump in your headphones (or jeep, home hi-fi, at your church bazaar, block party, etc.)...

The "As Yet Untitled Kitty Is a Slut Mix" of rare and assorted Japanese joints, mixed for you by BBoy Parkz... Get it for free now, and be sure to buy a copy when the official release drops. Dope dope shit from another afficianado of Japanese records. Also, I said a while back I would put up a song by Asakawa Maki, and I never got around to it... well, one of the doper tracks from the album I posted is on this mix... Over 50 minutes of shit you ain't prolly never heard, but need to.

And once again (possibly finally). For those who keep missing it, a repost of the "Holiday In Nippon Mix" by Dr. Malta. Get it while you can.

"Dr. Malta's Holiday in Nippon" mix repost

2006-03-19T10:59:00.000+09:00

Here's a yousendit link to the Japanese funk/jazz/soul/rock/soundtrack mix. Someone had requested it, so I figured I'd post it again... ~~It's yousendit, so don't know how long it will last.~~ The mix is now uploaded on rapidshare.

You can download it...................... here.

Enjoy!

Congratulations D.!

2006-03-07T17:15:00.000+09:00

D. just returned from the Motherland. While there, he meet the woman of his dreams... and he's now a married man! I thought the whole story of his Ugandan adventure was bullshit until he sent me the proof. Congrats, Brother D.!

茶木みやこ

2006-02-27T10:03:00.000+09:00

"Tobenakunaru Wa" by Chaki Miyako... Dope female vocal folk with elements of soul and disco interspersed.

Thanks to Chaki's at times haunting vocals, much of the album seems to invoke the tone of the cover art... that is, reflective, soulful, and even a bit sad at times. These songs are contrasted with the more upbeat numbers, which even go as far as venturing into disco at some points...

While this might seem a strange contrast, it works very naturally here, everything being underpinned by a nice soulful groove running throughout the albums entirety.

Peace...

Pleasure From The Drum Lesson Group...

2005-12-19T10:45:00.000+09:00

Ok... Finally, something to post... or at least the few minutes required at home to post it. We finished the CD for our Christmas edition of drum lesson, and it turned out decent, despite the technical and time constraints...

Anyhow... Here's some pics of the CD cover... Four mixes, two on each CD. Click the pics to see it bigger if the tracklisting ain't legible...

The Front:
The Back:

And here's a link to the Dr. Malta mix... "Japan On a Dollar a Day"

Let me know when the link expires, and I'll do something about it.

Peace...
Alamout_Black

お久しぶり！

2005-12-07T21:53:00.000+09:00

Ok, it's been awhile since I've posted. To anyone who has checked the site lately, I apologize. It's been incredibly hectic lately... Work, doing a mix, studying for and taking the Japanese Language Placement Test...

Anyhow, a lot has gone done on the record front, so my next post should be a decent one. Check back, as it should be up in a couple of days.

Peace...
Alamout Black

今週のドラム・レッソン！

2005-11-15T15:00:00.000+09:00

To anyone in Yamanashi, I'd like to extend an invitation to November's Drum Lesson... This Friday.

Check the Drum Lesson blog for more info...

Fan Art!

2005-11-12T11:14:00.000+09:00

I've recieved some art from a reader out in North Dakota, little Johnny Faurve, age 28. He said he was a fan of the blog, and wanted me to post his art... Also, he said something bad would happpen if I didn't. Beautiful art from a clearly deranged young man...

He said it was a "prophetic triptych". Titled simply as "Giant Robo". You can click on them to see them enlarged.

池玲子の『恍惚の世界』

2005-11-05T01:28:00.000+09:00

This weeks find, "Koukotsu-no-Sekai" or "World of Ecstacy" by the Japanese actress, Ike Reiko. Another Hard-Off steal for ¥500. Really kills me how clueless those dudes are with their pricing... Most of the fire can be found in the dollar bins, and in the for pay bins, you'll find the above record for 5 bucks, while a Boz Scaggs is going for 10.

Above we got the front cover... It's interesting to see how ideals of beauty change over time... Reiko looks like a real woman, and is nice-and-thick, which isn't quite the ideal in today's Japan...

The album is kinda on the "exotica" tip music wise, and it's done quite well for the most part. Lots of nice percussion, congas, bongos, etc. Regardless, I don't think most people (men) were really buying this album for the music...

Check the back cover below...

Reiko sings throughout this record... When she's not singing, she's talking... When she's not talking, she's moaning, sqealing, whimpering, etc... This record ain't called "World of Ecstacy" for nothing. Judging from the album cover, I think they refer to this as Reiko's "scat"... Shee-bop-a-do-wop. Dope shit.

I don't think this is a soundtrack, but as the picture above, from the inside of the gatefold shows, I think it was somehow connected to a film. Sorry, if only my Japanese was better... I'll update as soon as I consult with someone and get the low-down. Anyhow, the gatefold is nice, with various pictures of Reiko getting busy with some unknown girl... and getting busy with herself while probably talking to the same unknown girl on the phone.

As an extra bonus, you get this nice poster inside the gatefold. Like I said, I wanna find out more about this girl, and her films (which look quite interesting). Anyhow, I'll post it up as I figure it out. Oh, and soundclips to come as soon as I find a host.

ただいま！

2005-11-03T10:11:00.000+09:00

Ok, finally got internet back up and running at home. Gonna try to post an installment later on in the day. For now, here's a pic of a gangster chick from a soundtrack record.

Had a few hits, kinda surprising... If I keep getting hits, that's motivation to post. I'm a lazy sombitch.

Anyhow... Shout out's to the Rapton 5 Crew, Mr. Upstart, Military Spouse, Curry Poop, Mr. Parkz, Teenwolf, the Drum Lesson Cabal... Oh, and Ofal P. Wackenstack.

Peace....

浅川マキ

2005-10-28T14:09:00.000+09:00

Ok, last night I saw an Asakawa Maki concert in Koufu. Wow. For those of you who dig spooky chicks who always wear black, have long straight black hair, wear dark sunglasses at night, and chain smoke... You need to get hip to Maki.

I first discovered her while browsing the new arrivals at my local record spot. I came across this:

... To my sensibilities, the cover was quite striking... Or at least the girl was. The record was from 1970 (though the one I got is a repress, the original has an obie that is a bit different, and I believe it may be on red vinyl). The picture at the top of this post comes from the back cover of this record. I asked my boy Takasugi, who runs the shop, what the record was all about... He said that she was kind of a folk chick, but that this record was jazzy, and had at least two "funky" tracks on it. I gave it a listen, and was very impressed...

The two funky tracks are nice, in my opinion (others have disagreed with me, and with my idea of what consitutes "funky"). The record is interspersed with bizarre little snippets... kinda like sound-skits with dislocated sounds, footsteps, creaking doors, crackling records playing, etc. The two up-tempo tracks would make great play-out material, but the rest of the album is perfect for some chillin' out action. There's a pretty interesting version of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" on here too... Overall, I really dig this record.

So about the concert... It was held at place in Koufu called Sakura-za. Basically, an empty warehouse that has been painted black on the inside, and with logs for seating. There was a bar in the front, some people were hawking organic foods and shit... Cool place. The warehouse part was a perfect venue too... It was quite intimate, and even those seated in the back had a nice view. Although she often has a band, for this show, she was accompanied solely by pianist, Shibuya Takeshi.

Really skilled pianist... He also had a strange little organ sitting ontop of the grand piano that he used to great effect throughout the show.

The show started with Maki entering the stage alone. She sang a few songs accapella... And talked a bit to the audience. Unfortunately, I didn't understand much of it, but she had the audience cracking up. Despite her severe and imposing appearence, I guess she has a great sense of humor! So... Shibuya-san comes out and joins her, and they proceed to play a great set. Really soulful stuff... She would sometimes say she wanted to just listen to the piano, and sit down to have a smoke. If you search for images of her, she's always smoking. Damn if she doesn't make smoking look cool as fuck. Seriously... you know it looks cool, even if you don't smoke. One thing that is neither here nor there... Before the concert, the thought entered my mind as to how she'd light her cigarettes on stage... Something about a plastic lighter strikes me as uncouth, and something about a zippo is a little too rough... I put my money on wooden matches... and sure enough, wooden matches it was.

When she ended the show, she came out to do an encore... She sang two songs, one of which was her cover of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", that appears on her first record. When I first heard her version on the record, I loved it immediately. It was a song I felt I could relate to, being a foriegner Japan, and feeling pretty alienated alot of the time. They did a real dope, haunting version... Shibuya-san used the organ quite a bit for this. Anyhow, it was a perfect choice, and she couldn't have ended on a better note...

Very soulful night, and I was honored to get a chance to check her show out in person. She seems like a real fascinating person. Chick hasn't changed for nobody... and although change is sometimes good, there's also something to be said for consistency. She looks almost exactly like she did on the cover of of her record, except she's about 35 years older (I'd have posted some pictures of her now, but there were no cameras allowed). And in 30 years, she's doing her music the same, and hasn't resorted to gimmicks or musical trends.

Check her out, and buy her CD's, and records if you can find 'em.

Peace.

未だインターネットに接続できない。

2005-10-21T10:41:00.000+09:00

Still no internet at my home, and I've found that the firewall at work prevents me from making any longer posts ... I get something called a "Zero Sized Reply". Anyhow... Gonna try to post up some more records soon... People hold on...

Peace.

劈頭第一

2005-10-18T10:47:00.000+09:00

Native Son. This was possibly the first Japanese record I found that struck me as funky. Actually, I've only seen this 45 once. The LP, however, is rather common, and if you dig funky disco, it might appeal to you. This 45 is for the track "Super Safari", and is backed with "Wind Surfing". Real nice picture sleeve... although fans of the homo-erotic will prefer the wet-and-wild antics of the LP cover.

Since this was the first record I found in Japan, I figured it would be a fitting for the first record entry.

Native Son was formed by jazz pianist/keyboardist Honda Takehiro, in 1978. Additional members were Ohde Motoburo, Kawabata Tamio, Murakami Hiroshi, and Mine Kohsuke.

遺失物取り扱い所...

2005-10-14T11:29:00.000+09:00

Here's a photo I found in the LP dollar bins at Hard-Off... It's really fascinating the stuff you can come up on when when dealing with second-hand shit...

Lost and found... Really interesting to me how one strangers private memories can end up on my refrigerator.

いらっしゃい！

2005-10-11T13:49:00.000+09:00

Salaams, and welcome to Skulldiggery... This blog is open-ended as of right now, but we'll find our purpose as we evolve. The general subject is diggin' records and life. I'm in Japan now also, just so you know where I'm coming from. Be patient, shit should get better as I learn how to fruckin' blog... And that's word.