Nariaki - Zatto (2025) Hi-Res

The possibilities of Japanese soul, sounding in a new era in a crowd of intersecting beats. This is an ambitious work by Obukuro Naruaki, who has been pushing the frontline of J-R&B since his debut. The possibilities of Japanese soul, sounding in a new era in a crowd of intersecting beats.

Obukuro Naruaki's fourth full-length album, "Zatto," his first in three years, is a culmination of the inspiration he gained from his life in London. Many musicians active in the London music scene are participating, including Rosetta Carr, who plays bass in Sampha's support band, Ayo Salawu, the drummer of KOKOROKO, and Lyle Barton, who is also the support pianist for Nala Sinephro, who made his first visit to Japan in November 2024. The mixing engineer is Russell Elevado, a renowned Grammy Award-winning engineer who has worked on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" and Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun."

The work is a fusion of international music such as jazz, reggae, dub, and Latin with the beauty of the Japanese language.