As announced earlier, this month’s regular podcasts are all cancelled aside from RIPL which will drop on Monday. Despite having been kept busy by our work on the Nihon Kizuna compilation, we’re starting to get back into normal mode here in Tokyo and I’m finally starting to be able to enjoy the holiday and get stuck into the shows I had booked, which are no longer getting cancelled as the city returns to life after a couple of interesting weeks.

This mix was originally going to be a promo mix for the Mo’ Fun party I’m doing next month. Then it also became a mix to promote the Nihon Kizuna release before the work on that kept us too busy and the success proved that additional promotion probably wasn’t that much needed, especially not when we had so much to do. And so it went back to being a mix to promote Mo’ Fun vol.12 though by then it had become a love letter to Japan, a country I feel spiritually connected to and which I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for.

A lot of the music in this mix reminds me of Japan, with many tracks – old and new – having a direct link to the country and its people. For example the Skeng remix which closes it features samples recorded by The Bug and Kode 9 in Kyoto in 2007 when they were visiting/touring. The Baku megamix of Poison Dart was recorded shortly after that same tour. Cut End was a long standing anthem at BTC before Mala released it on Deep Medi. While Yosi Horikawa’s tracks always transport me to Japan whenever I listen to them. Alongside these tracks there’s a bunch of new stuff I’m feeling and the whole thing is joined together and interspersed by recordings I made on the streets of Tokyo in 2008, namely in Ogikubo, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Kiyose.

Mo’ Fun vol.12 is going down on April 9th, at Heavy Sick Zero in Nakano, Tokyo. Full details can be found on the Facebook event page. Many thanks to KK-san for inviting me to play.

If you enjoy this mix then please make a donation to the Japanese Red Cross, or alternatively buy a copy of the Nihon Kizuna compilation – all proceeds from which go to the Japanese Red Cross.

Many thanks to all the artists and labels featuring in this mix. Dedicated to the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Download Kper – Japan Love Letter (right click and save as)

Tracklist:
Earthquake intro
2phast – JapaN – Unreleased
Himuro Yoshiteru – Night Shift – Unreleased
Lopez – Leviticus – Forthcoming Keep Up Records
Exile – Distopian Utopia – Forthcoming All City Records
Dilla – In The Streets – Operation Unknown
Eccy – Grease Spot – Slye Records
Krush ft KAN – Mosa – Sony
Paul White – Flying Across Tokyo – One Handed Music
Squeaky Lobster – Turkish Delight – Forthcoming Vlec
Naive Machine – Afrika (Om Unit remix) – Forthcoming Hit & Hope
Jamie Woon – Night Air – Universal
Yosi Horikawa – Passion (live) – Unreleased
Coco b – Date Theory – Unreleased
Yosi Horikawa – Wandering – Unreleased
Artek – We Save Lives (Brey Red Cross Remix) – Unreleased
Daisuke Tanabe – Witch Hunt – Project Mooncircle
Ena – Sign – 7even Recordings
Goth Trad – Cut End – Deep Medi
Om Unit – Searching – Stretched Records
100 Mado – Johnny – Unreleased
The Bug ft. Warrior Queen – Poison Dart (DJ Baku skratch megamix) – Ninja Tune
The Bug ft. Flow Dan – Skeng (Kode 9 remix) – Hyperdub
Ogikubo outro

A couple of new Maisonette Electronique Ustream shows are available to stream again at your leisure in our archives. Latest show went out yesterday and can be streamed above or at this link. It features a hefty dose of new music and lots of unreleased beats from producers worldwide as well as a short Dilla selection to celebrate the man’s monthly anniversary of his birth and death.

Few weeks before that we returned for the second show of January. This one was streamed for 40 minutes to Italy on FM radio as well – which I think may be a first? Anyways you can check the first hour of it below and the rest at the following URLs due to Ustream splitting the recording into four for some reason: January show pt1.1, January show pt1.2, January show pt2.

And remember Maisonette Electronique goes live on Ustream every two weeks or so. Best way to find out is to follow us on Twitter/Facebook where we inform you ahead of time!

This mix came into our inbox earlier this week with little explanation other than it is an open letter to a loved one. With Valentine’s Day tomorrow we thought it’d be timely, even if it’s not your usual uplifting lovers mix. Instead it’s a trip into melancholy, soundtracked by a selection and movie samples that evoke all these feelings when someone has been lost. Alongside the mix was a message:

An open letter to the woman I love and who I can’t be with. Despite the pain it causes me, as Lord Tennyson said: I hold it true, whate’er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; ‘Tis better to have loved and lost; Than never to have loved at all. Dedicated to all those who have loved and lost. There is a brighter tomorrow somewhere.

I won’t be adding much, instead I’ll let you enjoy the music and the message – whatever feelings or emotions it may echo inside each and everyone of you.

Tracklist and download/stream below.

Download Hitori – Welcome To Melancholia (right click and save as)

Tracklist:
Michita – Melodic
Isley Brothers – Footsteps In The Dark (King Britt remix)
Bonobo ft. Andrea Triana – The Keeper
DJ Cam ft Cameo – Love Junkee (Dilla remix)
Bibio – Lovers’ Carvings (Leatherette remix)
Cannibal Ox – The F Word
Jose James – Black Magic
Take – Make Believe
Slum Village – Fall N’ Love
Mr Chop – I’ve Got a Love
Nosaj Thing – Heart Entire
Pangaea – Memories
Martyn ft D-Bridge – These Words
Jesse Boykins III – Amorous (Afta 1 Love mix)
FaltyDL – Our Loss
Ernest Gonzales – Untitled Love Song
Burial – Fostercare
Mono/Poly – Spring Crossings
Lucy Pearl – Without You (Jay Dee remix)
King Midas Sound – Sometimes
Boards of Canada – Sunshine Recorder

We return to the more ‘regular’ Rhythm Incursions shows this week, and with both Trick and Waxfactor unfortunately otherwise engaged and unable to step up as they normally do (real life’s crazy like that!) I’m strapping on my presenter goggles and bringing you an hour of fresh new music. Considering it’s been about 2 months since the last show, there’s quite a few bits to get stuck into from the likes of Mochipet, Mighty Joseph, Uncle Lew, Nosaj Thing, Mweslee, Dilla, Samiyam and Free The Robots. Oh and we’ve got a mini-feature on the excellent Various Production too.

I was lucky enough to be travelling for the last couple of months, and the contents of the show reflect that to some extent, with quite a few tracks from people I hooked up with during my travels. Same goes for the Various Production mini-feature, with a taste of things to come from them as well as a look at some of their recent releases. Elsewhere we’ve got a brand new track from the recent ‘One Year and A Day’ compilation on Equinox, a track from the excellent 7×7 series on the Irish All City Records, Samiyam on Kode 9′s ever evolving Hyperdub label and RI favourite The Bug with another track from his recent ‘London Zoo’ album which we really can’t recommend enough.

The show comes to you in glorious high-quality 320 mp3 as always, with a direct download link below for those not subscribed (and let’s face it, what are you waiting for?!). Check the tracklist and links for more info on all the artists and releases. Enjoy!

1. Intro
2. Pattie Blingh – Brother (2562 remix) – Ramp Records
3. Mochipet ft. Dopestyle, Humanbeings and Casual of Hieroglyphics – Mr Malase – Daly City Records
4. Mighty Joseph – Legend – Urchin Studios
5. Dilla ft Ghostface Killa and MF Doom – Sniper Elite & Murder Goons – Stones Throw
6. Free The Robots – Times Like This – Equinox Records
7. Eliot Lipp – The Machine and the Wind – Mush Records
Mini-feature starts
8. Various Production & Gerry Mitchell – Idiot Box – Fire Records
9. Various Production – Chief – Various Production
10. M.I.A – Bird Flu (Various remix) – Various Production
11. FOOL – Real Thing (Various remix) – Huw & Haw
Mini-feature ends
12. Nosaj Thing – Coat of Arms – Unreleased
13. Mweslee – Chandal 500 – All City Records
14. Uncle Lew – Angry – Unreleased
15. Samiyam – Trick Platform – Hyperdub
16. Vex’d ft. Warrior Queen – Take Time Out – Planet Mu
17. The Bug ft. Ricki Ranking – Judgement – Ninja Tune

Click here to download the show!