Japanese Telecom - Japanese Telecom (2021)

Clone's stellar Aqualung Series surfaces once again with Japanese Telecom, another side project of Gerald Donald's late-90s repute to discover. Remastered and reissued for the first time since its original release some 30 years ago - that ain't old - Japanese Telecom takes inspiration from an age still in the midst of dreaming up internet gaming, robots, high speed trains and electronics to the point we know it today. Combine that with some hi tech soul straight outta Detroit and you got def jams like "Kubi", "Nipponese Robots" and "Character Maps". With dope, stripped back numbers coming through in "Bullet Train", this album's pop hits come through "Japanese Animation" and "Game Player", and alongside interludes like "Asian Amazons", this reissue presents an exploration of culture and technologies inspired by the land of the rising sun.