Tracking Down Funky DL

Funky DL, a modern purveyor and preservationist of all things jazz, has been releasing records for more than 20 years. An artist revered for his jazz-hop mixes and work within the United Kingdom, DL went on to utilize UK exporters to ship vinyl globally for distribution. A large importer within Japan, and loyal customer of DL’s vinyl, was Guinness Records. In particular, its owner, Jun Seba.

He was buying my stuff for about a year and a half, and it just so happened that I decided to include my cell number on one of my releases.

He called me, this was in ’99, he called me and explained who he was, what his idea was, and how he just started producing and really liked my style. He actually had just been trying to reach out to me way before that, he said.

I was doing releases with Utmost Records, and every time that he would get a hold of someone, apparently they said they would forward the information to me, the detail and whatnot, but they never did, so it took a while to connect the two of us. He called me in ’99 as I mentioned, and we contacted each other just like that, on my cell phone.

It was this straightforward technique Jun used to reach out to artists overseas, allowing for a more diverse sound and wider range of collaborations. A total of 10 songs were crafted between DL and Jun; 5 during the first trip to Tokyo, and 5 the following year, in ’00. Tuesday Evening, a collaboration between Jun and Verbal, a then-unknown Japanese MC, is one of several songs from those sessions, now two decades ago, that have yet to be released.

The last time I heard that song, it was played by Verbal at a Nujabes tribute show in a club. The thing about Nujabes was that he was very selective in what would be released, even though he’d record a lot of songs. Just about how he felt about the recording at the time, that’s what dictated the recordings being released, or shelved.

Among the most useful information learned from Jun along the journey was his approach to the business side of Japan’s music industry, DL says. As an owner of a vinyl shop, Jun knew how to move music very well, and kept up with trends daily to stay ahead of competitors, researching what was hot or not. Aesthetic of both business and music played large parts in Jun’s formulaic approaches.

He taught me more about presentation, and food for thought about album aesthetics. … For example, we did an album called the Latin Love Story. … So, I did that album, and followed it up with Latin Love Story: Volume 2.

Jun said something like: “DL, it’s not the best idea to name things in succession, such as Volume 1, Volume 2, or Remix. These are songs you’ve already recorded, so put a new spin onto it. Instead of calling it Latin Love Story: Volume 2, why not call it Music from Naphta?”

Naphta is my first name. He mentioned this would intrigue the Japanese market, as they would be unaware of what “Naphta” was. A place, a person, a thing? It would spark interest. Those were kinds of things he would give me advice and insight on.

Music from Naphta, cover created by Jun himself in 2005

So, he did. More literal and clever thoughts also emerged, and sparks the question of how exactly certain albums are regarded as more legendary or revered in Asia regarding hip-hop, as DL details here with Slick Rick, via Takumi Koizumi, Jun’s tour manager and label manager of Hydeout at the time:

Speaking with Jun and his manager Takumi, I recall a time where we were talking about Slick Rick’s album, Children Story. He said DL, the audience in Japan may not know what you’re rhyming about, but they may enjoy the sound.

…

Even someone in Japan who doesn’t speak English would probably know the word “children” or “child” and know the word “story” and have a sort of idea for what the album would be speaking on or talking about.

After Jun’s passing in ’10, DL mentions how difficult it was to match up sounds on Spiritual State, the posthumous project released in 2012, paying homage to Jun. Although the project itself was sounding alright, a number of people including Takumi worked endlessly to attempt to line up sounds and correctly infer what the songs were supposed to sound like.

It took a really long time to figure everything out. Even something as simple as what you hear as a piano, it would have to be matched. Music programs these days, you can open a window and there’s 50 piano sounds, so which one is it? A hard sound, soft sound, a more sustained or subtle sound.

That’s something which I think is interesting about his last project.

As for Funky DL, he continues to make jazz-hop, while keeping Jun’s jewels of knowledge in mind as he navigates the music industry.

Shing02 and the Luv(Sic) Hexalogy

Shingo “Shing02” Annen has been a staple to many Nujabes songs throughout the years. The Luv(Sic) hexalogy is a rare entity within not just the Japanese hip-hop scene, but simply in general. A 6-part series spanning nearly 15 years, it had stood the test of time and has become one of the more interesting collaborations within music.

Remember that Pase mentioned that Luv(Sic) was actually pitched to him by Jun first, and after not feeling the beats vibes that much, it was then passed to Shingo:

The original Luv(sic) beat which people know Shing02 for rapping over, was originally for me, I started to record a song for it but I just didn’t really like it so I turned it down and he offered it to Shingo.

I went ahead and inquired about it in retrospect, if he holds the same stance on the beat’s vibe:

Yeah for the most part. There is a different appreciation for it now though. I understand Shing02 doing Luv Sic and what Jun was going for. After I heard that song the beat made more sense to me. I think Shingo just did it justice. I wouldn’t have made the song come to life the same way he did. My biggest beef with Jun were his drums, they were so dry at the time. I didn’t like his drum sounds back then. That, and him making beats perfectly on time.

They were exactly perfect, there was no swing in his hi-hats. And for Fat Jon and I, we were very rigid about our “rules” for beats. Stiff hi hats with no swing was like a cardinal sin. But I was young, naive and not very open minded. Jun kinda helped get me out of that. He expanded my horizons a lot to say the least.

With the release of the Luv(Sic) hexalogy vinyl also came the full story, as told by Shingo himself, in regards to the collaborations and how they occurred:

We all know that love can be sickening. That true love, it turns your world upside down, a feeling that can transform your constitution and render you helpless.

…

Love defies formula, it borders on insanity and spirituality, No matter how slim the chances, once you meet the love of your life, you might just end up creating something that may outlast your lifetime…

He goes on to break down and analyze each piece of the puzzle, mentioning the heavy and dense scratches heard throughout (by various DJ friends, including SPIN MASTER A-1 and others), which any listener will recognize as a distinct sound that floats on top of each beat:

The importance of the scratch DJ to the entire Luv(Sic) series cannot be overstated. It was ingrained on me from early on that having a good scratch to a rap song is key, so I took the time to select the samples from various sources. Of course we only used vinyl records without exceptions, which enhances the analog aesthetic that Nujabes adhered to.

I reached out to Shingo for further comment; he respectfully stated that he’s said everything necessary already through his music, and hopes for all to continue to enjoy him and Jun’s work. Below you can see scans of concert posters:

Luv(sic) Pt. 1/2 notesLive concert poster; design by Syu, the same artist for Jun's album coversThe incredibly rare Sound Labs set, performed only a handful of times ever (only live), by Jun, DJ Ryow, and Nao Tokui

Exploring Music and Self with Nao Tokui

Nearly two decades ago in 2001, Nao met Jun at the Digital Signal Processing Workshop of Japan, an intense 5-day summer workshop which covered algorithms and techniques used for signal and sound processing, utilizing Max/MSP, a visual programming language for music.

If I remember correctly, it was the last lecture session in the morning of the first day of the workshop. I knew very few people then, so I took a random empty seat.

Right next to me, there was a quiet/self-possessed guy, who looked like a few years older than me. After the lecture, we started chatting somehow and introducing ourselves to each other.

He said, “I make hip-hop tracks.”

This would serve as the genesis of their friendship. Following a few sessions, Nao invited Jun to hang out and discuss music; after hearing snippets of Nao’s upcoming album Mind The Gap, Jun was interested in collaborating further. This lead to them coming together on Rotary Park, arguably one of the most experimental tracks within Jun’s catalog. Rightfully so.

After the workshop concluded, both headed back to Tokyo, to continue theory-crafting and exploring the strongest thing they had in common—a deep passion for music. Nao, with a few words on their sessions:

During our studio time, we tested many different ideas on mainly sampling, sequencing and complex sound effects using granular synthesis and such.

Those snippets of ideas/half-made drum patterns/sound effects must be somewhere in his hard drives, but I believe Rotary Park was the only track we managed to finish.

I think we spent too much time on the exploration of new ideas, rather than composing actual music, which I sincerely regret…

Evident was the yearning Jun had to twist and bend sounds to their limits, to create his own vision of emotional throughput from a seemingly-magical array of crate gems he had dug far and wide for, internationally.

The friendship of Nao and Jun remains an interesting juxtaposition. An accomplished guru of computer science coming together with an adept record store owner. Both diving into the realm of sound to explore further, pushing one another to creative limits, resulting in a grotesque yet controlled product. Bliss, to some.