Japanese Abstract Music 1997-2004

Between 1997 and 2004, Japan’s music scene saw techno, hip hop, IDM, trip hop, and dub intersect, creating a uniquely abstract sound. Based in New York, Kenya Kanazawa weaves together tracks from that era exclusively on vinyl, delivering an archival work that captures the atmosphere of the time.

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It was the period after the early internet and before YouTube, when the web was just starting to become part of everyday life.

Back then, music was an exciting crossover of techno, house, underground hip hop, IDM, trip hop, and dub.

For listeners like me, these sounds spread through clubs, record stores (and of course CD rental shops), as well as small corners of the internet such as web shops and BBS boards.

For this mix, I focused on tracks with abstract and bass/dub elements, blended entirely on vinyl.