Japanese house DJ
Makai had met with mixed success over the course of his mix albums, gaining a following bit by bit but having high chart positions elude him. That changed in 2008 with a straightforward house mix in
Garden. The full album reached only the Top 40 on the Japanese Oricon pop charts, but the standout hit "Garden of Love" (powered by a mix of
Makai's strong and simple house mix and
Thelma Aoyama's vocals) easily found its way to the top of the digital Japanese charts. ~ Adam Greenberg