Mute Beat
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Mute Beat was an influential dub
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
band from Japan. They are often considered a precursor to
acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...
,
ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...
and
trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
having performed similar-sounding music before those genres emerged. The band was formed by Kazufumi Kodama, who grew up enjoying
marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...
music and later discovered reggae in the late 70s. In 1981 he formed Mute Beat with the aim to make dub music that would go boldly into unexplored music territories, including the use of marching band techniques. The original keyboardist
Gota Yashiki , born 26 February 1962, is a Japanese musician. He performs an independent acid jazz artist and drum/bass player, and was a member of English band Simply Red. Biography Born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he le ...
left the band in the mid 80s and moved overseas to produce music for
Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
and
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...
amongst others. Mute Beat's first release was a self-titled cassette on New York's
Roir ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...
label. They collaborated with many musicians including Jagatara,
Gladstone Anderson Gladstone Anderson (18 June 1934 – 3 December 2015), also known by his nickname "Gladdy", was a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sou ...
,
Roland Alphonso Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites. Biography Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso c ...
,
King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's studio work, in which as a mixing engineer he achiev ...
, and
Lee Scratch Perry Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...
.


Members

* Kazufumi "Echo" Kodama - trumpet * Akihito Masui - trombone * Hiroyuki Asamoto - keyboards *
Gota Yashiki , born 26 February 1962, is a Japanese musician. He performs an independent acid jazz artist and drum/bass player, and was a member of English band Simply Red. Biography Born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he le ...
- keyboards (previously) * Takayoshi Matsunaga - bass * Hideyuki Imai - drums * Izumi "Dub Master X" Miyazaki - dub mix


Discography


Albums

* '' Japanese Dub'' (Cass) (1986) * ''In Dub'' (Cass) (1986) * ''Still Echo (LP)'' (1986) (Wackies) * ''
Lovers Rock Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...
'' (Cass) (1987) * ''
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
'' (CD) (1989) * ''In Dub'' (CD) (1996) * '' No. 0 Virgin Dub'' (LP) (1996)


Singles

* (1984) Mute Beat * (1988) Sunny Side Walk


References

Japanese reggae musical groups Japanese dub musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 {{Japan-band-stub