Safari

Artists

Album Info

Release Date: 2024

Label: Beatball Records

Arranged By – Safari (23)
Bass – Gregg Lee
Chorus – Kikuyo Sakurada, Mizuki Koyama, Teruyo Sakuma
Cover [Photo] – Kazuo Hamada
Design – Tomoaki Yoshihara
Directed By – Masami Yoshida
Drums – Shiro Ito
Engineer – Hideo Ito
Engineer [Cutting] – Yujiro Kasai
Guitar – Yoshimasa Shiozaki
Keyboards – Toshiyuki Daitoku
Mixed By – Tomiji Iyobe
Percussion – Akiyoshi Adachi
Producer – Tadatoshi Akita
Recorded By – Tomiji Iyobe
Vibraphone – Kazuhiro Matsuishi


-180gram HQ pressing on Seaside Blue blue colored wax
-Old school style tip-on sleeve & insert
-Lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
-First-time vinyl reissue

Safari was a jazz-fusion unit led by keyboardist Toshiyuki Daitoku, who had recorded with the likes of George Otsuka and Mukai Shigeru, and Gregg Lee, a Californian who had previously played in fusion bands such as Caldera and Native Son.

Their eponymous debut album ended up being the band’s sole release. It included the track ‘Safari’, which was used as the signal song for a sports program on Fuji TV at the time. Released in 1984, the album itself is a hidden gem of AOR / jazz-fusion, showcasing mellow grooves and lush vocal harmonies.

Standout tunes include the funky ‘The Morning After’, replete with the buoyant poolside vibes of midsummer, the Latin funk number ‘Brass Monkey’, and the mellow funk of ‘All Right in The Night'. Aside from of this album, Safari recorded a number of BGM tracks for the for the same label before disbanding. While this might explain the lack of due recognition for the band, more recently they have attracted a following among DJs and fans of the newly ascendant City Pop / Mellow Groove genres. After a steady stream of requests from them, the long-awaited reissue is finally here!