Wewantsounds is proud to continue its Akiko Yano reissue series with the release of the singer's third studio album 'To Ki Me Ki', recorded in New York and originally issued in 1978 in Japan.

It follows her cult "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" LP and retains a similar blend of Japanese pop and New York funk. "To Ki Me Ki" features such musicians as Rick Marotta, Will Lee and David Spinozza and also programmer Hideki Matsutake who would soon join the YMO with Akiko for their international 1979/1980 tour before she recorded her next studio album "Tadaima" that year, featuring the YMO musicians.

​“To Ki Me Ki” came hot on the heels of her 2nd studio album, 1977's "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" (with its unforgettable dolphin cover), retaining its cool blend of sophisticated Japanese pop and New York funk sound.

Recorded in New York at Power Station and Sound Ideas and at Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, the album features a glittering array of US session musicians including Rick Marotta and Steve Jordan on drums, Will Lee and Frank Blair on bass plus Fania legend Nicky Marrero on percussion. Two key additions come in the form of synth programmers Hideki Matsutake who had worked with Isao Tomita and who would soon become YMO's unofficial fourth member and Roger Powell, a Robert Moog protege who was playing with Todd Rundgren's Utopia group at the time.

A superb album brimming with great melodies and inventive instrumentation, "To Ki Me Ki" is a key works in Akiko's discography just before she embarked on the YMO adventure and recorded her landmark album "Tadaima" in a radical shift of sound.

Remastered by Mitsuo Koike, OBI and 4 page colour insert with new liner notes by Paul Bowler.

Tracklist:
01 kodomo tachi
02 katarun kararan
03 uo sao
04 two on the stage
05 okina ishi
06 andante cantabile
07 yameru wakenya ikanaiwa
08 yo ro ko bi
09 to ki me ki