試聽：http://www.flyrec.com/en/release/stepper.html

繼2003年備受好評的首張專輯《Turn》，五人團體Mas經過不停現場演出的歷練，製作出以節奏導向、groove更為強烈緊湊的"Steppers"組曲，呈現他們多層次重奏與電子聲響混合的樂風。專輯後半部是《Turn》的混音，操刀者包括曾來台演出的Kazumasa Hashimoto、Mokira等人。

New album from mas consists of beat oriented tracks "Steppers" which is the fruit of their live feedbacks and "+" (Turn remixes) which is a remix collection from their first album "Turn".

After releasing their last album "Turn", they have gained much tighter groove by carrying out numerous live performances. "Steppers + " is a compilation of these Rhythm oriented tracks. The tracks were developed through their live performances and again reconstructed and turned into this powerful album: multi-layered band ensemble skillfully blended with edited electronic sounds.

"Trivial joke" is a track with rhythmic tight beats and floating sounds.
"Circus" features Origami's (a popular Japanese rap group with unique poetry style and original flow) Shibit and Nanorunamonai as MC's.
"Bring on" is a loose mixture of middle tempo rhythm with kokyu, bass and stereophonic sounds.
"Cael rock" is a development of "Cael" which was included in their last album "Turn" and it directly expresses themselves as a live band.
"Fadomi" brings a nostalgic feeling with sound focused structure and strings which ends up the (beat oriented) first half of this album gradually.
You can discover something new every time you hear this album.

Furthermore, this album includes 5 remix tracks from their first album "Turn". The remixers are "Tokyo Zawinul Bach" which is an outfit of keyboardist Masayasu Tsuboguchi whois active in bands like Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden (DCPRG) etc., "Kazumasa Hashimoto" who leads the composed electronica scene, the dub unit "Pasadena" which has a successful new album out exchanging remixes with Mas, "Beige" who has released from Nonplace under the name Braun & the Mob, Andreas Tilliander's "Mokira" who is known for the great works on Mille Plateaux, Force Inc, Raster Noton etc.

mas profile

Mas was formed in 1999 by the band leader Tatsuya Yamada. The present 5 members are Tatsuya Yamada (Laptop/keyboards), Kiyomi (kokyu/glockenspiels) , Yoshio Ootani (SAX), Masami Hokama (Bass/Trumpet), Yoshinori Kuno (Drums). In 2003, They released their first album "Turn" (FLYCD-05) from Flyrec which was a highly acclaimed album of precise editing and thrilling grooves. They are also active in live performance and overwhelms the crowd with their outstanding playability and the dub mix. They have participated in Asana "Ini Apa?"(Thanks giving) and Pasadena "One point five"(Mao) as a remixer.
They also contributed tracks to Flyrec compilation album "Out", Mao label compilation "UR" and for the Afterhours magazine.

mas website : http://www.dubdish.com