Relation

RF's first 7-inch single released in 2009 was an immediate sellout both inside and outside of Japan, especially in UK where it was ranked #1 in weekly album sales at Fat City, and was fervently played on radio stations, such as WAH WAH 45 and Mukatsuku. First full album, which was released in 2010, sold 100 copies in a week at the late HMV Shibuya, and caught the attention of DJs and radio stations in North America and Europe. The album has received worldwide critical acclaim, and has been dubbed as "the Jazz of the Hip Hop generation," a fresh genre previously unheard of.

At the end of 2010, another instant sellout, 12-inch was released, which included brand new tracks as well as tracks selected from the first album, and now in April 2011, RF is already releasing their 2nd album. The music is live and is full of energy, owing to their solid playing skills, and with close kinship between the members built upon numerous recording sessions and rehearsals, the album has become, without a doubt, an unforgettable one that has reached yet another level of musical mastery.

The album opener is a tighter and groovier rendition of a Gospel classic, "I'll Still Love You," which was used as the main sample loop in Ningen-Hatsudensho by Buddha Brand, followed by Track 2, "Sexy Woman," a rather modern interpretation of Japanese-Naniwa soul music that was sampled in Japanese Dreamin' by Jay-Z. On track 3, Pharaoh Sander's spiritual jazz number, "Save Our Children," was polished into simple, yet sophisticated Jazz Trio sound, and track 4, a Balearic classic, "Question of Faith," of which its remix by Idjut Boys is widely known for, turned into an electrifying acoustic jam. Track 5, "Trinkets and Things," a Brazilian fusion number and also one of Ryo Kawasaki's masterpieces that Bob Jones, UK's influential DJ, has been pushing and has made Japanese Jazz gain international acclaim, was remodeled into an organic Brazilian Drum'nBass. Luiz Bonfa's "A procurra da batida pefeita," on Track 6 is an unplugged Brazilian Hip Hop version of the unique sampling Marcero D2, one of the most celebrated rappers in Brazil, did for the same song. Chef d'oeuvre of Jazz Hip Hop, "Talkin' All that Jazz," which was spectacularly sampled in Lonnie Liston Smith's Expansions, took another step higher with RF's tight live performance on Track 7. On track 8, Stevie Wonder's beloved ballad, "From the Bottom of my Heart" transformed into percussive Latin floor filler giving it a midsummer flavor. RF then went on to meet Antonio Adolfo's Brazilian fusion piece, "Acalanto," which DJ Hasebe had also fearlessly sampled, on track 9 and for the last track, with their bluesy and soulful performance, RF portrayed a different side of melancholiness from that of Radiohead's original. The album contains a wealth of landscape that tells the story itself, effortlessly overcoming the barrier of genre or category. Truly, it is a piece to genuinely enjoy the candor of music.