Sunrise in Tokyo
How the Japanese club scene has captured our imagination.
Lost in Translation? Quite the opposite in fact. Roz Wilson takes a look at why the Japanese club scene has captured the imagination of British DJs and clubbers.
How does a place become the Next Big Clubbing destination? France invented a whole new take on electronic music with Daft Punk and all the French artists that have followed in their footsteps. Germany has Berlin, which adopted Richie Hawtin and ubercoolische minimal. Chicago stumbled across some radical new fad called ‘house music’. Even Croydon staked its name on the dance music map with dubstep. But what about Japan? Japan hasn’t got a Derrick Carter or a Skream yet, but in recent years every DJ and his granny wants to play there, and the British dance music press have embarked on a passionate long-distance love affair. What’s caused this Anglo-Japanese rapport? It’s hardly a destination you can pop over to on Easyjet for the weekend. Japan’s DJs and record labels haven’t so far made the same impact on the UK scene as those of Chicago, Detroit, or Paris, nor has it got an established ex-pat community of UK DJs like Berlin. But despite all of these things, Japan seems to be the place that every DJ or clubber who’s been to loves, and everyone who hasn’t wants to go to. Just what is it that makes Japanese clubbing so special, and why has Britain sat up and taken notice?
The club scene in Japan is concentrated in the major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagoya and Sapporo. Different genres of electronic music are more prominent in different areas – Hiroshima is great for drum & bass, Sapporo is well known for its house and techno scene and Osaka is less focussed on electronica and more on live music, reggae and hip hop. Many people have heard of Womb in Tokyo, but there are plenty of other excellent venues worth a mention. Others in the capital include Yellow - one of Japan’s longest running clubs, about to celebrate its 16th anniversary, and Air - a basement club in Tokyo which featured in the film ‘Lost in Translation’. Ageha is an opulent 3,000 capacity venue on the waterfront in Tokyo’s reclaimed industrial district with an open air pool on the terrace. Outside of Tokyo, Pressuresoul in Sapporo is legendary for its house and techno parties, and Saza-e in Osaka is one of Japan’s newest clubs and also the city’s biggest venue.
UK DJs who’ve played in Japan tend to wax lyrical about it. James Holden reckons that Japanese clubs have “some of the most open and enthusiastic crowds I've played to, and some really lovely promoters too.” Dylan from Mutiny has had similar experiences. “There is a definite affinity between the Japanese and the British, I feel very much at home over there,” he explains. There seems to be a surprising lack of ego and attitude in the scene – a refreshing change for jaded, cynical old Londoners. The obsessive genre pigeonholing doesn’t seem to have taken hold in Japan yet either. According to Dylan, “The Japanese crowds are pretty much into anything. It’s great that me and Rob can do a house night at the same club where the next night there’ll be a trance party and the next a drum & bass night.” James Holden agrees, “They are definitely more open to weird music than in the UK, and there’s no chance of getting a meathead asking you to play harder!”
The Japanese club scene is still much more underground, and much less entrenched in popular culture than in the UK – and perhaps that’s part of its appeal. Tomoki Tamura, who also DJs as GeishaDiscoBoyz, explains, “The UK and Japan are very different. In Japan there are less people who like clubbing, whereas in London everybody seems to go to clubs all the time!” In a way this may be partly what makes the scene so full of energy – the people who do go out all really want to be there, rather than half heartedly following the classic British Saturday night formula of pub-nightclub-afterparty.
Womb in Tokyo is, of course, the most high profile Japanese club – with reviews and photo reports regularly appearing in the UK music press, and artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Sasha and Deep Dish gracing the decks. A purpose built 1,000 capacity venue with a killer soundsystem, the club is well known for its electric atmosphere, created by the hugely enthusiastic crowd. It’s the photographs of Womb that make an impact – a sea of hands, every single one reaching into the air like their life depended on it. Yuuki, one of the key figures behind the scenes at the club, is quite humble when talking about the club’s success, but you can see how proud he is of what they have achieved. “I could find better clubs for me than Womb – maybe they have a beach, a sunset…but it would never be the same as what we have here – and we totally understand why people are so fascinated with it. It’s not really about being competitive or trying to be the number one club in the world. What’s really important for us is that we build good relationships with international artists we admire – DJs who really have the passion and do completely different things each time they play here.”
And international artists definitely do have a good relationship with Womb and the other Japanese clubs. Big name DJs have been playing in Japan for years – not surprisingly artists such as Sven Vath, Richie Hawtin and DJ Marky are huge, along with less obvious names such as Space Cowboy and MSTRKRFT. But it’s only more recently that Japanese DJs have been making an impact on the UK scene. DJ Aki, resident at Womb’s drum & bass night, is a regular figure on the international DJ circuit (including gigs here at The End for Swerve and Ram Records). Tomoki Tamura started off pestering Kenny Hawkes with his mix tapes years ago, and now runs Holic - one of AKA’s most successful parties – as well as nights at Notting Hill Arts Club and Ministry of Sound. Japanese producers have been slow to filter through to the British music market – but hopefully that is slowly starting to change. Well established artists such as DJ Krush, DJ Kensei and Shinichi Osawa (Mondo Grosso) have got hot new producers following in their footsteps such as Soil & Pimp Sessions and Riow Arai.
Matt Cheetham is another man on a mission to draw our attention to the vibrant music scene in Japan. He started Japanese internet radio station Samurai FM four years ago because, “We wanted to bring the freshest international sounds to the Japanese music fans and at the same time export the best Japanese musicians to the world.” Samurai FM now broadcasts to over 140 countries, and provides a valuable platform for showcasing Japanese artists and bringing cutting edge underground DJs and producers to Japan. The small independent record labels certainly do their bit as well, such as Yuuki and DJ Aki’s O6S label, which in their words, “is becoming a bit of a hub for young drum & bass producers” - inspiring them and helping them to get their tracks heard by big international labels. With platforms like Samurai, the greater attention on clubs such as Womb, and the UK finally waking up to some of the musical talent coming out of Japan, it shouldn’t be long before we see more Japanese artists appearing in UK clubs and on the pages of UK dance music magazines.
Fascination with the unknown, fantastic reports from DJs, and the underground nature of the scene all go some way to explaining our obsession. But maybe the Japanese-UK dance music accord comes down to something a lot more simple - basic human nature. Matt Cheetham agrees, “On a human level, I think the Japanese and British characters have a lot in common so it's easier for the two nationalities to get along and understand each other.” Whatever the cause, whilst the UK music press and British DJs continue to sing the praises of this brave new clubbing world, Japanese DJs and promoters are just getting on with what they do best – throwing great parties. As Yuuki succinctly puts it, “It's not really about the Japanese guys coming to conquer the world – we are just doing our thing. It will always be unique, it will always be special – we just want to keep it that way.”
Photos by Matt Cheetham www.watchlooksee.com
Published: 12/11/2007
