◾️Artist Comment◾️
AKIO NAGASE’s *Makedub*—a cult classic in the world of Japanese electronic dub and dub techno—is finally being released on vinyl!

AKIO NAGASE is based in Osaka. In recent years, he has released the 12-inch “Global Acid,” “African Acid,” and “Dub Acid EP”—commonly known as the Acid Trilogy—on “[Emotional] Especial,” a sub-label of the edgy UK electronic music label Emotional Response. In 2025, he released the collaborative album *Sekahō Aifu* with Ryukyuan folk singer Yukino Inamine. Considering that he was inactive for a period during the 2010s, his career has clearly picked up steam once again.

Now, AKIO NAGASE’s debut album—which could be considered the starting point of his career and was originally released only on CD—has finally been reissued on LP by 〈Glocal Records〉, the same label that released the aforementioned *Sekahō Aifu*.

The label behind this release, 〈Sound Channel〉, was active around the year 2000, amidst a trend that could be described as post-techno or post-drum ’n’ bass, emerged from a scene where avant-garde breakbeats〜 dub, and IDM—that was emerging in the underground. The label initially gained attention with a 10-inch split single featuring two artists. Alongside releases like *Revirth* and *Pickin’ Mushroom*, these works helped shape the signature sound of that scene. Furthermore, after label head TAIYO relocated his base to the Kansai region, the label became a key player in the energetic Osaka underground dance scene of the mid-2000s—a scene centered around the Aji-en Building and venues like the eponymous club and “Tsuru-no-Ma.” AKIO NAGASE made his debut on the third installment of the aforementioned 10-inch series in 2000 with “Makedub”—a track also included on this album—alongside a track by JUZU a.k.a. MOOCHY. This album was subsequently released in 2003.
This work was created using what is described as a “pre-DAW bedroom DIY setup” consisting solely of “an AKAI sampler, a MACKIE 16-channel mixer, two synthesizers, two inexpensive effects units, and a Roland MC-50 sequencer.” It begins with the one-drop track “Makedub,” featuring thick breakbeats, followed by “Drop Out,” a dub-infused take on minimal house; “Real Life,” a tribal deep dub house track; and the terrifyingly ahead-of-its-time dub dancehall “Dance Hall King” (released as a 12-inch at the time), the dirty downtempo tracks “The Rock” and “Give Me,” the breakbeat track “Fisherman’s Dub,” and finally “Dub House Disco,” which fuses reggae rockers-style rhythms with dub house. It can certainly be called a classic electronic dub album, featuring an exquisite blend of elements such as techno, house, and breakbeats. Although more than 20 years have passed since its release, its ideas and sound sensibility remain original and simply cool even today. With this LP reissue, it’s an album that truly deserves further reappraisal.

Yusuke Kawamura (Editor-in-Chief of *Introduction to DUB*)