Susumu Yokota

During the 1990s, Susumu Yokota made quite a name for himself in numerous electronic circles, both in and outside of Japan. His later forays (including the superb MAGIC THREAD) saw him exploring fractal minimalism, but 1998 finds him scuffling on the clubhouse floor. This is fine, primetime tech-house, ripped from the straitjacket of '70s funk but infused with a keen sense of order--rigid, yes, but groovy as all get-out.
"Miracle Play" possesses all of house's ingredients--rolling processed pianos, sampled horns, and deeply grooved basslines--but Yokota works his beats up with methodical precision, gradually tweaking disparate sounds in and out of the mix. "Sexy Planet" does just what you think it does: woodblock percussive accents are anchored by a thickening four-note bass pattern that gracefully travels down an autobahn, while sumptuous streams of synth cascade down like silver rain. 1998 gets the funk flowing like there never was a 1999.|