Victor Entertainment Japan 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Yoko Kanni's seminal "Tank! Gold: Cowboy Bebop' soundtrack is now a quarter of a century old and to mark that occasion it has been pressed up for this special 25th Anniversary Edition across a double album including a booklet courtesy of Victor Entertainment. The anime movie itself is one of the most famous of the genre and follows the adventures of the crew of Bebop, a bounty hunter ship that chases criminals and turns them into the Inter Solar System Police for reward, Kanno's zany fusion of rock, blues and jazz oozes cool. It's a musical mix of Afro-Cuban rhythms, New York horns and plenty more.

Review: One of many names in the pantheons of Tokyo's electronic music triumphs, despite their acclaim, reverence among boffins, and the sprinkling of high profile UK remixers that helped spread their output further (copies of reworkings by The Black Dog, Autechre and Global Communication fetch a fair song on the resale market) most will never have heard about Nav Katze. Their loss, and one we'd like to put right if possible.

Formed in 1984 as a trio - Naoko Iimura (guitar), Miwako Yamaguchi (vocals and bass), and Shino Furutachi (drums) - the band would put out two well received record on SWITCH before migrating to the far more prominent label Victor Music Industries for 1991's Kanki, at which point three became two with Furutachi stepping down. This package showcases not only why their original material was so sought after, with trance notes, IDM and ambient and pop meeting in beautiful soundscapes - but also what can happen when new parties get involved, with remixes from Aphex Twin, Sun Electric and Disjecta included.