mas "steppers +" [ steppers ] 01: trivial joke 02: circus Ûijoint origamiÛj 03: bring on 04: cael rock 05: fadomi   [ + turn remixes ] 06: a beauty pear - tokyo zawinul bach remix 07: tick - beige remix 08: smood - pasadena remix   09: hokama bass - mokira remix 10: turn - kazumasa hashimoto remix   10 tracks / total time: 56'01" All songs Written by mas Produced, Mixed and Edited by Tatsuya Yamada Mastering by Masayo Takise (M's disk mastering) Illustration by sen Design by ATsystems New album from mas consists of beat oriented tracks "Steppers" which is the fruit of their live feedbacks and "+" (Turn remixes) which is a remix collection from their first album "Turn". After releasing their last album "Turn", they have gained much tighter groove by carrying out numerous live performances. "Steppers + " is a compilation of these Rhythm oriented tracks. The tracks were developed through their live performances and again reconstructed and turned into this powerful album: multi-layered band ensemble skillfully blended with edited electronic sounds. "Trivial joke" is a track with rhythmic tight beats and floating sounds. "Circus" features Origami's (a popular Japanese rap group with unique poetry style and original flow) Shibit and Nanorunamonai as MC's. "Bring on" is a loose mixture of middle tempo rhythm with kokyu, bass and stereophonic sounds. "Cael rock" is a development of "Cael" which was included in their last album "Turn" and it directly expresses themselves as a live band. "Fadomi" brings a nostalgic feeling with sound focused structure and strings which ends up the (beat oriented) first half of this album gradually. You can discover something new every time you hear this album. Furthermore, this album includes 5 remix tracks from their first album "Turn". The remixers are "Tokyo Zawinul Bach" which is an outfit of keyboardist Masayasu Tsuboguchi who is active in bands like Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden (DCPRG) etc., "Kazumasa Hashimoto" who leads the composed electronica scene, the dub unit "Pasadena" which has a successful new album out exchanging remixes with Mas, "Beige" who has released from Nonplace under the name Braun & the Mob, Andreas Tilliander's "Mokira" who is known for the great works on Mille Plateaux, Force Inc, Raster Noton etc. mas profile Mas was formed in 1999 by the band leader Tatsuya Yamada. The present 5 members are Tatsuya Yamada (Laptop/keyboards), Kiyomi (kokyu/glockenspiels) , Yoshio Ootani (SAX), Masami Hokama (Bass/Trumpet), Yoshinori Kuno (Drums). In 2003, They released their first album "Turn" (FLYCD-05) from Flyrec which was a highly acclaimed album of precise editing and thrilling grooves. They are also active in live performance and overwhelms the crowd with their outstanding playability and the dub mix. They have participated in Asana "Ini Apa?"(Thanks giving) and Pasadena "One point five"(Mao) as a remixer. They also contributed tracks to Flyrec compilation album "Out", Mao label compilation "UR" and for the Afterhours magazine. mas website : http://www.dubdish.com