Ship To Shore Us 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: BoomBaptist's critically acclaimed LP Boom Shakalaka finally lands on vinyl. It is a love letter to the basketball video game that was all the rage in arcades and on the earliest games consoles some thirty odd years ago now. It is a masterclass in trip hop beat making with nostalgic melodies, crunchy beats and samples packed with soul. The whole thing takes you back to that era in an instant but with some fresh modern production techniques. It comes on splattered vinyl for extra old school vibes.

Review: The iconic Contra saga gets a big revival here with Ship to Shore unveiling the inaugural vinyl release of KONAMI's Contra: ReBirth soundtrack. In this superb adventure, Chief Salamander threatens Earth by altering history, plunging it into chaos. Exclusive to WiiWare in 2009, Contra ReBirth offers a nostalgic homage to classic 16-bit run-and-gun gameplay, enhanced with modern graphics and seamless action. The soundtrack, remixed in signature KONAMI ReBirth style, revitalises beloved Contra melodies and delivers an electrifying fusion of past and present. Complete with liner notes by Jeremy Parish and captivating artwork by Drew Wise, this one comes on striking purple-blue swirl wax.

Review: It's astounding to think that Mother 2 was released in 1994. A landmark moment for the SNES video game system, it arrived five years after its predecessor, and as such enjoyed the benefits of what was then a next generation platform. Felt in terms of graphical and gameplay capabilities, suffice to say the upgraded hardware was also capable of capturing much more engaging and imaginative music. Here we are, almost 30 years on from when this sequel first captivated people, and the score itself gets a re-release on vinyl. Again drafting Hirokazu Tanaka and Keiichi Suzuki as composers, the pair would later explain how much more freedom they had due to the technological progress made between this and its predecessor. Translated into a music review, think deep, atmospheric ambient constructed from many layers of sound. A futuristic sonic trip into the far reaches of the cosmos that still holds up within the genre today.

Review: Acclaimed Japanese artist Yuji Toriyama's self titled album has long been hard to find. It now gets its first ever official issue outside of Japan and what a joy it is. The man was known for his work on TV, film and game sound design but also dropped this one in 1993 and it is a sublime fusion of Japanese jazz-rock with smooth melodies and catchy grooves. A perfectly retro-future record full of 80s nostalgia and ripe for sun drenched beaches and lounge bars alike. Whether you're a die-hard fan or this is the first time you have been enchanted by the sounds of Toriyama's music, you will keep on coming back for more this summer and beyond.