Ki-Oku

Ki-Oku
Studio album by
Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush
ReleasedAugust 8, 1996 (1996-08-08)
StudioMetal Box (Kawasaki)
Genre
Length56:40
LabelSony
Producer
  • Toshinori Kondo
  • DJ Krush
DJ Krush chronology
Meiso
(1995) 		Ki-Oku
(1996) 		MiLight
(1996)
Alternative cover
European edition
Alternative cover
US edition

Ki-Oku (記憶, Kioku) is a collaborative studio album by Japanese jazz trumpeter Toshinori Kondo and Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush. It was released on August 8, 1996 in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment.[1] The album was issued in Europe by the R&S Records imprint Apollo on January 26, 1998,[2][3] and in the United States by Instinct Records on March 23, 1999.[4]

Composition

Ki-Oku consists of 10 proper tracks and three short interludes. It features a cover of "Sun Is Shining", which was originally written and performed by Bob Marley.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Guardian[6]
Muzik9/10[7]
Uncut[8]

Rick Anderson of AllMusic said that Ki-Oku is primarily an album of "smooth-groove jazz" music, but "reveals more with repeated listens; if it sounds too easy at first, listen again – there's lots of interesting stuff going on beneath what sometimes sounds like a merely pleasant surface."[5] In 2015, Fact placed Ki-Oku at number 25 on its list of the best trip hop albums of all time.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Toh-Sui" (透睡) 4:57
2."Tobira-1" (扉-1) 0:35
3."Mu-Getsu" (無月) 6:19
4."Ha-Doh" (波動) 5:24
5."Sun Is Shining"Bob Marley6:52
6."Mu-Chu" (夢宙) 6:28
7."Tobira-2" (扉-2) 0:45
8."Fu-Yu" (浮遊) 4:56
9."Ki-Gen" (帰幻) 4:40
10."Ko-Ku" (孤空) 5:23
11."Shoh-Ka" (昇花) 4:39
12."Bu-Seki" (舞石) 4:58
13."Tobira-3" (扉-3) 0:44
Total length:56:40

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]

Musicians

Production

  • Toshinori Kondo – production
  • DJ Krush – production
  • Noriko Asano – executive production
  • Shuichi Ikebuchi – mixing, recording
  • Masahito Kitayama – executive production
  • Koichi "Oppenheimer" Matsuki – mixing on "Sun Is Shining"
  • Yuki Noda – executive production
  • Masayo Takise – mastering
  • Naohiko Yamada – associate production

Design

  • Mikio Hasui – photography
  • Miki Terada – art direction, design
  • Masakazu Yamamoto – art direction, design
  • Shigeru Yamaoka – art direction, design

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 155
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[12] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[13] 12

References

  1. ^ "記憶～KI-OKU～ | 近藤等則×DJ KRUSH" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  2. ^ Ki-Oku (liner notes). DJ Krush and Toshinori Kondo. Apollo Records. 1998. AMB 8949 CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "Release". mmjp.or.jp. Archived from the original on March 1, 2000. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Ki-oku". Instinct Records. Archived from the original on January 13, 2004. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Anderson, Rick. "Ki-Oku – DJ Krush / Toshinori Kondo". AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  6. ^ Glaister, Dan (January 23, 1998). "DJ Krush and Toshinori Kondo: Ki-Oku (R&S)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Wyatt, Kieran (February 1998). "Toshinori Kondo & DJ Krush: Ki-Oku". Muzik. No. 33. p. 69.
  8. ^ Lewis, Simon (March 1998). "Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush: Ki-Oku". Uncut. No. 10. p. 85.
  9. ^ Twells, John; Fintoni, Laurent (July 30, 2015). "The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time". Fact. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  10. ^ Ki-Oku (liner notes). Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush. Sony Music Entertainment Japan. 1996. SRCS 8093.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Chart Log UK: Alex K – Kyuss". Zobbel.de. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. February 7, 1998. p. 21. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 15, 2017.