WONK - Shades Of [2LP]

EPISTROPH

£60.93

Format: 2 x LP
Catalogue No.: EPST-048
Barcode: 4560452131920
Release Date: 27 Dec 2024
Genre: Jazz

A1. Fragments / WONK
A2. Essence / WONK Fleeting
A3. Fantasy / WONK,Kiefer
B1. Skyward / WONK,BewhY
B2. Life Like This / WONK,Toshinobu Kubota
B3 Here I Am / WONK,Jinmenusagi
C1. Passione / WONK
C2. Shedes / WONK
C3. Endless Gray / WONK
D1. Voice_03.10.2013 / WONK
D2. Miracle Mantra / WONK,Bilal
D3. One Voice / WONK,T3,K-Natural,Bilal

WONK's first album in two years, ‘Shades of’, is now available on two 180g heavyweight discs! Returning to a sound centred on soul, jazz and hip-hop beats, this album features a total of seven groups of soul and hip-hop legends from home and abroad who have left their mark on music history! WONK, which plays the role of a hub for diverse music genres, has put together a single chronicle.

Tokyo-based experimental soul band WONK release their first album in two years, ‘Shades of’, a 180g heavyweight, two-piece record!

After 10 years of activity, the band has returned to a soul-jazz-hip-hop beat-centred sound since their first album ‘Sphere’. This album is, so to speak, ‘a beat music chronicle (chronicle) compiled by WONK from its origins in Tokyo’.

Legends of soul and hip-hop who have left their mark on music history, as well as artists who will leave their mark on music history in the future, resonate with the music of this work, with a total of seven groups from Japan and abroad participating. The album is a chronicle of WONK's role as a relay point and hub for a diverse range of musical genres and artists.

Guest artists on this album include the most important singer in the neo-soul scene ‘Bilal’, rapper ‘T3’ from J Dilla's rap group Slum Village, Detroit rapper and trackmaker ‘K-Natural’, legendary LA label Stones Throw's Keyboardist & trackmaker ‘Kiefer’, young Korean hip-hop heavyweight ‘BewhY’, Japanese R&B pioneer ‘Toshinobu Kubota’ from Japan, and rapper ‘Jinmenusagi’, whose collaboration with DJ KRUSH has become a hot topic, are among the seven participating groups.

After two years of production, the four members of WONK have reexamined their roots in jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, classical and pop music, and have pursued them in the sound of this album, Shades of. This album, which can be said to be WONK's current work in 2024, is not only a must-listen for today's music listeners, but will also be a valuable chronicle of the times from the future.