[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to Asia Engineer – HAREMOYOU 2007 / Umi

December 12, 2007 by Dennis Amith 

GROUP: Asia Engineer

CD SINGLE: HAREMOYOU 2007/Umi

LABEL: RhythmZone

CATALOG #: RZCD-45584

DURATION: 41.3 minutes

RELEASED ON: June 27, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. HAREMOYOU 2007
2. Umi <Single Edit>
3. 抜け出せ！
4. HAREMOYOU ~Dub of Joy Remix~
5. HAREMOYOU instrumental
6. Umi <Single Edit> instrumental
7. 抜け出せ！ instrumental
8. HAREMOYOU~Dub of Joy Remix~ instrumental

Asia Engineer is a four-person hip hop group that debuted back in 1998 and signed with RhythmZone in 2005.

The group consists of four MC’s: YOPPY, KZ, ZRO and SHUHEI which created the group for their love of hip-hop and just wanted to have fun and make inroads to Asia. Thus the name “Asia Engineer”.

The group is known for their songs “Eternal Pose” which was used as an ending theme during a season for the popular anime series “One Piece” and have had other songs which appeared on several Japanese TV series.

Their eighth CD single “HAREMOYOU 2007″ features a slower tempo hip hop song which starts out with some harmonica and then a beat, I guess if you have heard of Asian Engineer’s music before, the group mixes hip hop with singing. Each member raps/sings in unison and then each part is a rhyme from each member of the group.

In the case for this song, “HAREMOYOU 2007″ is catchy and the lyrics quite positive of one doing their best. Overall a fun, catchy song by the group but nothing groundbreaking. The beats are simple and not barraging but the group makes up with their catchy rhyme in unison and solo. The track is produced by YANAGIMAN known for his work with artists such as Arashiro Beni and BoA.

The coupling song “Umi” is a tropical song and the “Summer Release” for 2007 for the group which features a tropical sound courtesy of the ukelele playing by IWAO. Very catchy chorus and a fun enjoyable that is slightly faster paced than “HAREMOYOU 2007″ but has more of that tropical sound.

The third coupling track “抜け出せ” which I will refer to as “Sneak away” is the faster upbeat song of the entire CD single featuring the group rapping in a faster paced and I really liked the competent flow of their rhymes for this track. Catchy and very different from the other two tracks. The song is written by members YOPPY & KZ and mixed by oqd Spa.

The fourth track which is a “Dub of Joy Remix” of “HAREMOYOU” is very cool! The song starts of with an electro, almost old school Depeche Mode synth style of opening but then comes the drum machine and mixed by Yoshimura Kenichi.

The remaining four tracks are the instrumental versions of each track.

As for the CD insert, the CD insert features the lyrics and comes with a flyer promoting Summer 2007 releases on the RhythmZone label.

Asia Engineer is one of those groups that you like or you don’t. There are many Japanese hip hop groups in Japan and for Asia Engineer, being on the big labels has helped them get airplay on various television shows and used on theme songs which helps promote the group.

Are they a revolutionary rap group from Japan? No, they’re not. Is their music hard like Zeebra or featuring any awesome beats that you hear from CHRIS, not on this CD single.

But all in all, it’s an enjoyable track if you are familiar with the group and their music. Unfortunately, there are many other hip hop groups that sound like Asia Engineer but all in all, their music has a positive vibe and I find no fault with the CD single.

I’ve listened to it several times now over and over and it’s a fun Summer CD single and that’s pretty much the bottom line.