Really, it’s marketing that can’t be beat — if you make instruments, why not have musicians come in and make original songs using your top-of-the-line gear? Korg has done just that, and one of the folks they’ve called up is Minami Kitasono, who went ahead and made as loving a tribute to ’80s Japanese fusion/funk as possible. “On The Sunny Side Up Street” features copious saxophone playing, locked-in bass and (obviously) a lot of Korg…the song seems designed to show off the many sounds the company’s offerings can create, both slippery and more organic. Yet Kitasono takes this way beyond a pure gear expo, constructing a sweet City-Pop-tinged number that reminds me of a synthed-up Soichi Noriki. Listen above.
