BUY: Various Artists – Nihon Kizuna

It’s harrowing to comprehend the state of the Pacific right now. Whilst millions of people’s lives have been irreversibly affected by last Friday's earthquake, its aftershocks and the tsunami it prompted, the Western world continues on the same, slightly altered axis. And whilst good intentions and well wishes make for great social network status updates, it takes a certain kind of person to pull their finger out and do something. Something that might actually make the average internet user donate to the Japanese Red Cross - an organisation that can directly help the Japanese population in this time of media hysteria.

What follows is information on Nihon Kizuna, a project and compilation cultivated by sometime journo Laurent Fintoni, who arrived in Tokyo the day before the earth’s surface ripped open, and his associates...

“Following the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northern coast and prefectures of Japan on Friday March 11th 2011, a small group of Tokyo-based artists (from Japan, Ukraine and France) and one visiting London-based journalist (from Italy) decided to pull their efforts and contacts together to do the only thing they could to help the country and its people – sell music to raise awareness of the devastation that hit the area and raise money for its people and the relief effort.

The motivation behind Nihon Kizuna was simple: in face of the feeling of helplessness many felt here in Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami this compilation seemed like the best way to express our support and love for the country and its people. Amid widespread scaremongering and panic from the foreign media it felt only right to stand tall alongside the people of Japan who have always welcomed foreign artists and musicians with open arms and hearts.”

Over 40 internationally renowned artists have contributed to the Nihon Kizuna compilation, which was reportedly put together in just 5 days, including people like Kode9, Kuedo, Illum Sphere, Rudi Zygadlo, Om Unit and a slew more who you’ll have read about if you’ve followed our writing over the past 2 years.

It costs £10, or whatever you are willing to pay for it, and the full list of artists who have contributed music is below.

BUY: Various Artists – Nihon Kizuna / 日本絆



Tracklist:

Kode 9 (UK) – 9 Samurai (Hyperdub Records) **
Don Leisure (UK) – Trio of Desserts *
Kuedo (UK) – Zap (Planet Mu) *
Himuro Yoshiteru (JP) – Missing Links *
Onra (FR) – High Hopes (All City Records) **
Tatsuki (JP) – Mirror In Bologna (Original Cultures) *
Om Unit (UK) – Lavender (All City Records) **
Danny Drive Thru (UK) – Prescience (Fat City Records) *
Slugabed (UK) – Rockin U (Ninja Tune) *
Ken One (JP) – Mindrain (Raid System) *
Paul White (UK) – Grimy Light (One Handed Music) **
Darkhouse Family (UK) – Lemon Drizzle (Fat City Records) *
Illum Sphere (UK) – Sweat The Descent (Hoya:Hoya / Tectonic) **
A Taut Line (UK/JP) – Azul (Dyskotopia) *
Fink (UK) – See It All (Ninja Tune) *
Mus.sck (US) – Happiness Is The Best Face Lift (Car Crash Set/Daly City) *
Rudi Zygadlo (UK) – Perdu (Planet Mu) *
Broken Haze (JP) – Move Forward (Raid System) *
BD1982 (US/JP) – Aluminium Riddim (Seclusiasis/Diskotopia) *
Nightwave (UK) – Hokusai Dream *
The Electric ft. Yarah Bravo (UK) – Beautiful (Memory9 remix) (Organically Grown Sounds) **
Ernest Gonzales (US) – Beneath The Surface (FoF/Exponential) *
Jono McCleery (UK) – Garden (Ninja Tune) **
Ido Tavori (UK) – Haunted Top Hats *
Jay Scarlett – The Rising Sun (Ampsoul) *
Paper Tiger (UK) – Lunar Notes (Jus Like Music) *
Kid Kanevil (UK) – One For Tokyo (One World Records / Ninja Tune) *
Takuma Kanaiwa (US) – Senpo World (Concrete Sound System) *
B-Ju (GE) – Philly Run (Mux Mool remix) (Error Broadcast) **
Primus Luta & Lonesome D (US) – Lockdown (Concrete Sound System) *
2phast (IT) – JapaN *
Doshy (DE) – Space Attack (Robox Neotech) **
Sesped (VE) – Too High To Drive (Jus Like Music) *
Yosi Horikawa (JP) – Passion (Eklektik Records) *
Audace (FR/JP) – Indestructible Soul (Inductive) *
Scrimshire ft. Inga Lill Aker (UK) – Warm Sound (Wah Wah 45s) **
Kan Sano (JP) – Bless (Circulations) *
Elliott Yorke (UK) – Wormhole Squirm (Five Easy Pieces) *
Daisuke Tanabe (JP) – Artificial Sweetener (Circulations) **
Super Smoky Soul ft. Guilty Simpson (JP/US) – Knockout Kings (Circulations) **
Emika (UK) – Count Backwards (Ninja Tune) *
Eccy (JP) – EFH (Slye/Milk) *
Throwing Snow (UK) – The Luck Without (A Future Without) *
XLII (UA/JP) – Standuptall Nippon (Raid System) *
Pete Sasqwax (UK) – Aggro A Go Go *
Virtual Boy (US/FR) – Thrust (Turnsteak remix) *
F.A.M.E (US) – Real Surreal (F.A.M.E/4OneFunk) *
re:ill (JP) – We Are Possible (Circulations) *
The Qemists (UK) – Stompbox (Ninja Tune) **
Kper (IT/FR) – Chotto *

*exclusive to compilation
** previously released

P.S. "Tokyo is not glowing green or empty, contrary to what you may have read in the press" according to Fintoni who is currently still out there.