Audiopile Review: New imprint Feedback Waves materializes with a first time vinyl reissue of Palomatic’s 1995 release, Trill, which lands a month after Music From Memory’s jaw-dropping survey of ambient-techno and IDM culled from the fertile Japanese scene of the early ‘90s. The inclusion of Palomatic’s “Flutter”, which kicks off this sprawling 2xLP set, was one of Virtual Dreams II’s highlights, perfectly encapsulating Japanese electronic music of the era  with its fusion of new age bliss and intertwining synth melodies that are both complex and effortless feeling. But the rest of Trill reveals much wider interests of the producer, Koji Takahashi, who previously had a string of singles issued on imprints like Syzygy Records and the legendary Transonic Records, all of which appear here alongside tracks built specifically for the album, the lone release issued under this guise. Flitting from lush trance, pulsating downtempo, and energetic acid house, Trill reaches well beyond the typical fixations in Japan and has the restless feel of a producer invested in the varied global dance subgenres that were popping up on what seemed like a monthly basis during the explosive early ‘90s. An incredibly promising start for Feedback Waves, their dedication to vinyl reissues of albums never before seen on the format couldn’t have started at a better place. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

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Feedback Waves — the new imprint from independent label Rings of Neptune — is proud to present Trill, the first and only album by Palomatic. Almost thirty years after its original release on CD in 1995, this beautiful nine-track work is now available on vinyl for the first time.

Palomatic is an alias of Koji Takahashi, an active member of the bubbling Japanese electronic music scene of the early-to-mid 90s. Besides his solo work, he was a core member of Takahashi Tektronix (with Nic Yoshizawa) and Mutron (with Kiyoshi Hazemoto, aka Interferon), as well as working as a synth programmer for supergroup Denki Groove. Following the release of his debut track ‘Halo’ on Syzygy Records in 1993, Takahashi made a series of contributions to compilations on the scene-defining Transonic label. His first and only full-length album, Trill, combined these tracks with original material to form an absorbing and versatile standalone statement of the Palomatic sound.

From the oscillating lilt of ‘Flutter’, which opens proceedings at a measured 104bpm, through to the symphonic epilogue of ‘Soar’, Trill is rooted in the fertile territory between organic and synthetic sounds — ground that was nourishing the work of many likeminded producers worldwide at the time. West Coast psychedelia and East Coast funk, the moody bass weight of Bristol trip-hop and Sheffield bleep, and the chemical rush of German techno and Belgian trance: with a distinctly Japanese sensibility, Trill drew these strands together into an elegant musical tapestry. The result is timeless — indeed, album centrepiece ‘Foaming Waves’ would sound right at home on the faster-paced dancefloors of today.