Out of many compilations released in 2024, this Time Capsule collection is a highlight, picking some of the fabulously fun, inventive, hybrid jazz-funk-Latin-reggae-electronica pop of the innovative Japanese composer and pianist. Exuberant joy and experimentation is palpable throughout by an artist, still very young at the time, has always keen to mix cultures and sounds. These eight recordings come four of Mimi’s first five albums – Sea Flight (1978) recorded with her group Flying Mimi Band, as well as Coconuts High (1981), plus Nuts Nuts Nuts (1982) and Tropicana (1983) under her own name. Mimi mixed a talent as jazz-funk pianist with a curiosity for electronica, and wrote some of Japan’s best-known TV themes and pioneered the use of drum machines in anime soundtracks. Outside of Japan, she has worked with Depeche Mode and Swing Out Sister, toured with the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra and made beats with Attica Blues’ Tony Nwachukwu. Highlights include the opener, an electro-funk cover of Sergio Mendes’ tune Mas Que Nada (from Tropicana) and the crisp and stripped back techno-pop of Coffee Rumba (from Nuts Nuts Nuts), and also the sixth and eighth tracks, Naze and Angel Sky, from Sea Flight (1978) that recall her collaborations between Herbie Hancock and Kimiko Kasai. An innovator who certainly deserves a revisit or first-time discovery, this compilation will hopefully inspire deeper digging. A recent interview with her is also below. Out on Time Capsule.
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