Ai Love Japa Reggae! – Sweet Lovers Selection – (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

May 1, 2009 by Dennis Amith 

“The latest reggae compilation from Cutting Edge goes ones step further by licensing tracks from other major labels and indie labels and giving exposure to upcoming, talented reggae groups and artists in Japan.  Overall, a good compilation feature a diverse playlist of upbeat to slow reggae tracks revolving around the theme of ‘love’.”

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ARTIST: Various Artists

ALBUM: Ai Love Japa Reggae! – Sweet Lovers Selection -

LABEL: Cutting Edge

DURATION: 1:08:20

RELEASE DATE:December 10, 2008

1. もう一度あなたに会えたなら by MEGARYU
2. TRUST ME by HAN-KUN
3. なみだの日 by lecca
4. Lovin’ you by RUDEBWOY FACE feat. ACO
5. 夏の終わり by Metis
6. ありがとう by CHEHON
7. ひとめぼれ -Songs Of Delusion- by 導楽
8. 星にお願い by Home Grow Feat. H-Man & Neo
9. SUNDAY LIFE feat. ICE KOH feat. Carmin
10. やっぱり好きな人 by Chop Stick & Chee
11. もしも by PANG
12. FOREVER by MICKY RICH
13. 雨たらたら by Spinna B-ill & The Cavemans
14. LONELY by AMY-N-RYOO
15. 愛の詩 by C&K

As a big reggae listener, to this day I’m still passionate for the music of Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, Eek-a-Mouse, Pato Banton to name a few.  But it was around the mid-90′s where I started to discover Japanese reggae. Avex has been one of the major labels who started incorporated Japanese reggae artists to their lineup, especially for their cutting edge record label. In December 2008, the label released a compilation album titled “Ai Love Japa Reggae – Sweet Lovers Selection” The theme of the album of course is love and features many of the well-known Cutting Edge reggae artists such as MEGARYU, PANG, lecca but also artists licensed to other music labels such as TOYS FACTORY MUSIC’s HAN-KUN, Columbia Music Entertainment’s ACO and RUDEWBOY FACE, CROWN RECORDS Metis, PONY CANYON’s Home Grown, GENEON ENTERTAINMENT’s ICE KOH and many, many more. You get a good variety of reggae styles from mellow to dance hall but a total of 15 tracks that really stood out for me on this compilation was the upbeat “Lovin’ you” featuring ACO doing a cover of the Minnie Riperton classic with RUDEBWOY FACE combining reggae style and hip hop. Metis’s “夏の終わり” features that classic reggae style with a deep bass groove and her passionate vocals. PANG’s “もしも” has beautiful vocals and here track sounds more modern but overall, a nice reggae jam. Spinna B-ill & The Cavemans “雨たらたら” has that live sound type of feel without the studio enhancements, so I really dug their natural sound. And my favorite track from this compilation album was New Style Vision Co., Ltd. artist C&K (Clievy & Keen) with their acoustic guitar-driven track “愛の詩” combining the sounds of the beach or ocean, cool harmony and overall for me, was the most passionate song that I’ve listened to over and over again. The CD insert booklet features only the lyrics and production credits. Overall, I actually applaud Cutting Edge for releasing a reggae compilation album but instead of just focusing on their artists lineup, showcasing artists from other major and Indie labels and giving them the additional exposure of being on a major label release. There were a good number of artists that I was not familiar with their music before and some of those artists really did capture my attention. All in all, if you are looking for a Japanese reggae compilation, “Ai Love Japa Reggae – Sweet Lovers Selection” is an album featuring slow-jams to upbeat tracks that definitely showcases the variety of talent in the Japanese reggae music scene of today.

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