Review: KINO MODERNO - Into the Future [SAISEI]

Renowned record collecting connoisseur and respected DJ Junki Inoue welcomes us with his brand spanking new label SAISEI, that aims to deliver the sounds of his beloved birthplace Japan and combine them with the aesthetic of his current home of London.

The word SAISEI originates from Japanese and means 'reproduction' and 'to play', and sees Inoue's intentions to fuse traditional Japanese culture and its futuristic outlook as a main influence for the label. Having been fascinated with digging culture from the age of 16, Inoue was captivated by 90's productions originating from Japan. What Inoue wishes to bring to the label is the opportunity to release a variety of electronic tracks, previously unreleased and share these cherished pieces with a new fan base to rediscover them on vinyl.

The first release is an E.P. from the dynamic duo KINO-MODERNO, consisting of Dat Planet and Wah Wah Fuzzmaster. The pairing of Planet and Fuzzmaster has lead to experimentation with various techniques, such as synthetic voicing, rapping and poetry-reading in their early work. The record delivers an injection of playful Acid House and Electro and was initially made using BMC, a 3D recording system that nods the origins of the music but they have also blessed it with a modern day concept. With the record comprising of a binaural recording technique via dummy head and an off the cuff digital remix reworking via the much loved early digital synthesizer Synclavier 2, a new audience can appreciate this blistering E.P. that has harnessed a 3D audio and used it to its maximum potential.

Kicking off proceedings from the original album we see 'Into The Future', a song that has been heralded as being extremely experimental and a dance floor classic of its day. The title track blends a glitchy melodic tone, one sounding reminiscent of early Chemical Brothers productions, which is quickly switched up with a punchy Electro, Kraftwerk like feel in the songs breakdown, giving a pleasant balance throughout with a mixture of floaty trippiness and ferocious heavy hitting beats.

Having not previously been released before and exclusive to this vinyl issue, 'Acid Water'; is carrying on from the latter tracks glitchy Electro manner and inserts playful vibes with a homage to the late 80s/early 90s hedonistic rave period. The track has an undertone of throbbing and energetic Acid style progression thrown in for good measure that gives it an other-worldly/out of body style sensation.

Flipping onto the B side we have another unreleased gem 'Eclipse' that has been re-edited by Yuzo Iwata and was produced in 1991. The gentle pulsating House sound of the tune makes it a joyful experience for its entirety, whilst the blissful pace and spaced out feel wouldn’t be amiss in the chill out rooms of yesteryear.

Closing things up is 'The Globe', a nod to Balearic that transports you back to the golden age of Ibiza, and makes you feel you have had an epiphany about life on the beach at 8am after losing your inhibitions all night at the legendary KU club. The elements of emotive vocals, rolling drum patterns and the added sound effects of waves gently crashing the shores makes this the perfect and pleasurable ending to an impressive E.P.

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KINO MODERNO's 'Into The Future EP' is out now, you can catch it HERE.

Laura Zuanella is a DJ and writer from Wolverhampton and is part of the collectives Selextorhood, Girls Need Music and All Hands On Deck.