UFO/No Sound Is Too Taboo – a superb album you will not find on streaming services

Part 1 of an ocassional series

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It may seem hard for some of you to believe but there is an enormous trove of music that is not available on streaming services. You will never know what they are – how could you? This is a serious problem for music lovers who, if Tidal, Spotify, Qobuz et al are the only places you search out music, because you simply have no way of knowing what you are missing.

Of the tens – and quite possibly hundreds of thousands – of sounds you are missing out on, there are some pretty amazing gems. In the first in a series of such articles I shall introduce you to a tiny number of recordings you cannot stream. They can even be difficult to find on CD or LP.

No Sound Is Too Taboo is the second UFO album – no, not that UFO; this is United Future Organization, a Japanese acid-jazz combo. The album was released in 1994 on the magnificent Talkin’ Loud label.

I was a great fan of acid-jazz as it emerged in Britain at the end of the 1980’s, with bands like the Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Jamiroquai. Paul Weller dabbled and in fact produced some of the best acid-jazz tunes in the 1990’s, often as remixes on CD singles.

No Sound is Too Taboo…

..is an excellent name for this album, where a loose collective of musicians cover jazz, latin, Brazilian, Caribbean and trip-hop flavours throughout. The three core members are Japanese and are supported by a wide range of guest artists on vocals and various instruments. It is very much a Japanese/British collaboration, with the album being mixed and mastered in London and Gilles Peterson (BBC6 Music) responsible for A&R.

The album is never dull with multi-layered textures that are complex but relaxed and effortless. It sounds just as fresh in the 2020’s as it did in the 1990’s, and never becomes dull with repeated listening. The sound quality is very high – if you have a good hi-fi system this will sound great. From the opening lines of track 1 – United Future Airlines – you are transported to exotic and warm places inhabited by exotic and warm people – everything from beach shebeen’s to colourful basement clubs. This is an album that conjures tropical cocktails, relaxed bars and interesting urbane internationalists mingling, chatting and dancing.

So, on a dull grey day in Britain I can put on my straw trilby, lie down on the zebra-striped sofa, set the mood lighting to oranges, pinks and lime green, put on this CD and imagine I am in a beach-club at sunset in Brazil.

United Future Organization released 5 original albums between 1993 and 2001. Sadly, one of the founders – Yabe Tadashi – died in 2024 at the age of 59.

My rating