Gorgeous gatefold packaging with gold foil accents - nice!
"After announcing himself to a worldwide audience with his Solid Steel mix On The Wheels Of Solid Steel (NJT109), Japan's DJ Kentaro returns with his full production debut, Enter. Forty minutes of beautifully structured beats, musical smarts and an occasional smattering of turntable magic, the record also features guest turns from The Pharcyde, Spank Rock, New Flesh, Little Tempo, Hifana and Fat Jon.
Kentaro is best known as a phenomenal turntablist and former DMC World Champion, but on this debut record, he's more concerned with showing his muscle as a music producer. Which is why Enter runs from the funk of "Free" to the dubby downtempo soul of "Tasogare Highway...", through the drum and bass attack of "Rainy Day," the live reggae feel of "Handmade Gift," the squelching dance aesthetic of "Space Jungle," on into the tribal space-jazz of "Harvest Dance," the epic turntable cut-up of "One Hand Blizzard" and, finally, the cosmic hip hop of "Let It Go". It's not that he can't scratch the sh*t out of a piece of vinyl when he wants to (check finale "Grateful To You") it's just that he understands that making a great album demands a wider palette.
Utterly contemporary, completely rooted in hip hop's old skool aesthetics and with a magpie naivety which gives him a freedom within them... Kentaro enters your musical consciousness so that you can enter his. Come in...
