For those in need of epic, exotic, metronomic - and dare I say it 'proto-psychedelic-hip-hop that defies categorisation' - you need look and listen no further. Imagine, if you can, an educational bubblegum multicultural psych-rock opera with lavish choral arrangements and overweight drumbeats and basslines, when it comes to musical genres 'Yamasuki' is a lonely record... with attitude.

Yamasuki was originally a French/Japanese choreography project designed to bridge the European and Eastern-Asian culture gap through the power of deep and funky music. French pop composers Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger actually decided to learn Japanese when they undertook the project and after rehearsals with a selection of children's choirs the recording began on location at the infamous Madeleine Studios (birthplace of Marc Moulin and Placebo LPs, as well as Andre Brasseur records) in Brussels (the budget evidently couldn't stretch to a trip to Tokyo).

The only Yamasuki LP is an artefact with hidden depths. Uncredited contributors include West European luminaries such as Raymond Van Het Groenewoud and Claude Lombard who would conduct the choir which was partly comprised of the entire Nico Gomez Family. Kluger and Vangarde had previously worked with Russian musicians to create the holiday-camp smash called 'Casatchok' and welcomed the multi-lingual challenge in the only way they knew how. They enlisted the help of a famous black-belt Judo Master to introduce the tracks with an engaging roar!

The 'dance craze' was a die-hard phenomenon in France throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. Even the maverick Gallic svengali Serge Gainsbourg had his own 'move' entitled 'La Decadanse' which was emulated by young Parisian love-birds in the French nightspots. The Yamasuki dance, albeit a decidedly less sultry affair, was created in Paris at The François-Patrice Saint-Hilaires and became very popular. Thousands of people were seen 'Doing The Yamasuki' during the summer of 71. From "les Frères de la cote" in Menton to 'The Byblos' in St Trope. 'The Yamasuki', believe it or not, was a one-time contender to 'The Monkey' or 'The Mashed Potato' and with an imminent release date for the vinyl accompaniment 'Yama-Yama-fever' looked set to take the world by storm.

Original copies of 'Yamasuki' came out on the French label 'Biram' in 1971 to a mixed reception of wonderment, fascination and confusion and, as with most concept albums or gimmick-heavy releases, its shelf life was limited. In recent years original copies of 'Yamasuki' have become something of an endangered species pursued relentlessly by obsessive collectors, producers and home listeners. Territory-specific variations on a 45 single of the track "A.I.E.A.O.A." surface regularly however, due to the song becoming a sensation in Europe and Africa. It was later covered by a Zairian group called 'Black Blood' and was a seasonal favourite amongst disco DJs. In a bizarre, cross continental twist of fate, a troupe of 3 British models heard the song in an African nightclub and recorded it in the U.K. under the name 'Bananarama', this was the first-ever studio recording for the internationally renowned girly-group and the pounding sound of the far-out-East echoed-on throughout teenage Europe once again...

Mastered from the original studio tapes thirty-five years after its inception, the elusive music from this team of theatrical, progressive conceptualists remains, understandably, unchallenged in its own bizarre niche. Often mistaken for a soundtrack LP, a Library album, or a spoken word record 'Yamasuki' can't even find a pigeonhole on the record shop shelves.

When taken out of its original context, 'Yamasuki' appeals to retro-lovers and avant-gardeners alike. Both ironic and iconic in equal measures 'Yamasuki' is a unique-freak of a record with timeless appeal regardless of your musical taste.