Blue Asia is the brain child of Japanese producer Makoto Kubota. He toured the world in the 1980s with his group the Sunset Gang, and the later the Sunsetz. He introduced Okinawan and Asian elements into his music, eventually becoming a full time producer, working with a variety of artists from Indonesia (Elvy Sukaesih, Detty Kurnia) to Madagascar (Njava). His co-conspiritors in Blue Asia are long time assistant Yoichi Ikeda and Malaysians Mac Chew and Jenny Chin, both Berklee graduates and top arrangers. Hotel Ibah is their first album featured around the gamelan music of Bali. As always with Kubota's projects, the is of the highest quality. Original, inspiring, a cool ambience of jegog bamboo gamelan, kecak chants, suling flutes, bells, chimes and more blended together with stylized electronic backing.
