Courtesy of Womb

Under the theory that some of the best things are found closest to home, house imprint King Street Sounds launched Tokyo Calling half a decade ago to highlight local producers and singers. The series is the brainchild of King Street Sounds’ Hisa Ishioka, a transplant to New York who has used his label to bring American house music to Japan and vice-versa for over a decade now.

Tokyo Calling 2 offers up a diverse cast of artists giving their producing, remixing and vocal chops a workout over the course of a dozen tracks. First up is veteran New York artist and frequent Tokyo visitor Danny Krivit. A DJ/producer whose credits go back to Studio 54 and, more recently, the legendary Body & Soul Sunday shindigs, Krivit gives Jephte Guillaume’s “Shining Your Way” a light touch, with Japanese songstress AK getting the party moving.

True to the name of the album, Tokyo is amply represented by artists from R&B diva Double to young producer Studio Apartment to veteran face of Japan’s house scene, the clear-voiced Monday Michiru. Overall, the emphasis is on upbeat vocal house that harkens back to house’s early, post-disco days, rather than the tech-house of the moment. Throwaway lines like, “Love is free/In the Land of the Rising Son” from Studio Apartment and Blaze’s “The Rising Son” are also good for a laugh or two. Krivit and singer AK headline the release party for Tokyo Calling 2 in another installment of Ishioka’s “Urbanphonics” events at Yellow...

Meanwhile, domestic drum’n’bass linchpin and resident of Womb’s 06S events, DJ Aki lets loose the second episode in his Mimo mix/compilation series. Rather than the take-no-prisoners, high BPM jungle you’re likely to hear at one of Aki’s sets, Mimo2 is, like its predecessor, a mellow outing cut for lounges and living rooms.

Twenty tracks take in a swath of producers from Alex Perez to DJ Marky, with Aki himself joined by veteran MC Cleveland Watkiss for the trance-y “Adeus.” Overall, the accent is on accessible, melodic dru m’n’bass with liberal lashings of vocals.

Pioneering UK jungle producer Fabio joins Aki in celebrating the release of Mimo2 at the upcoming 06S event this Friday at Womb. Aki’s continued efforts to bear the torch for drum and bass almost two decades after its creation also take form in a new radio show he’s doing for NHK Digital Radio, “Universal Sounds,” which launched in March. Tokyo Calling 2 Release Party@Yellow, Aug 18. Mimo2 Release Party@Womb, Aug 17. See club listings for details.