In Print  Home  Directories  Reviews  Get In Touch  Forums  Links  Gig Guide  

RARE SHOT BLUE: Where I Was Born

Hideto Kobayashi moved from Tokyo to Christchurch in 2001 and soon started DJing and producing as Rare Shot Blue. This self-written and produced debut album has his influences stamped all over it – trip-hop fused with downbeat soul to create an interesting mix of styles. Hideto’s choice of vocalists is interesting, with the elegant, warm soulful voices of L.A. Mitchell, Lucy Boanas and Sacha van Beek contrasting with the colder precision of the digital beats. While the album has plenty of moments to enjoy, the best ones come with the trip-hop menace of No Fear, which takes me back to the mid ’90s, and the beautiful One Day, which features a stunning vocal from Mitchell, (as does the melancholic Sad Note, which has a background very reminiscent of Massive Attack’s Teardrop). Hideto uses his sounds in interesting ways; pulsing synths, scattershot drums, plucked strings, blues guitars, and trumpets all appear in various guises, and this makes the album become more than a typical electronica record. While a little long, and occasionally over-playing his trip-hop influences, ‘Where I Was Born’ is a strong and rewarding debut from a talented creator who chooses his vocalists well.

Related Information