Uyama Hiroto ‎– A Son Of The Sun

Multi-instrumentalist and veteran Nujabes collaborator, Uyama Hiroto finally steps out with his solo debut, A Son Of The Sun. The album's style is very reminiscent of Nujabes, filled with multi-layered piano, guitar, saxophone and keyboards, but still sets itself apart by increasing the jazz factor and keeping things mostly rap-free. The album blends the borders between live instrumentation and samples. Aside from the occasional vocal sample, it's often very difficult to tell whether a melody was taken from somewhere else or made from scratch - often it sounds more like you're listening to a live jazz solo over a hip-hop beat. Once again, like Nujabes, Uyama takes hip-hop production to a higher level, bringing actual musicianship and performance to his songs, rather than just repeated loops. The result is an amazing album that is unique and deeply relaxing... and further evidence that Hydeout really needs to release its material outside of Japan!