Tokyo Black Star's debut, BLACK SHIPS, flies in on some mighty strong digital wings as "Powder Dreams" blips into life with a warm Detroit sound, and "Caballero" and "Deep Sea" push forward with a strong dub techno influence. The musical flavors run the gamut: "Violent Rush" gets more psychedelic, replete with noodling guitar stabs, while the mellow jazz of "Black Star" slinks in to give your ears a massage. "Still Sequence" starts with a martial feel before the warmer synths creep in. The beatless arpeggios of "Kagura" brings an almost Tomita-like ambiance, in direct contrast to the blipping tech dub of 'Game Over" or bongo beat of "Midnight Emperor" or electro groove of "Sepiaphone." A lovely album all around.

Hearing Tokyo Black Star's "Black Star" featuring Rich Medina's mighty voice about a year ago on a compilation, I knew these guys were up to something big. Guess what - here it is! A wonderful blend of electronic music's many styles and sounds. "Game Over", "Midnight Emperor" and "Blade Dancer" are standout tracks. The album has a very light, spheric and warm sound. The large hall effects used seem to become a bit too dominant sometimes, but maybe it's just a question off me having to get used to that as my old favourite, "Black Star", is the only track on the album kept significantly dry. Outer Space Funk!