I’m currently plodding through the albums listed here, none of which I’d listened to before…
I’m only as far as the Rei Harakami one and to be honest it’s the only one that’s really grabbed me.
Anyone have any particular favourites from this list, or other Japanese techno releases that should have been included?
IIRC that DJ Shufflemaster - EXP album is a monster. Long time since I listened to it, though.
Just started on the DJ Shufflemaster and you’re right, there are some bona fide bangers on here
My mind is blown by that Ken Ishii video from 1995 by the Akira animation director!? Never seen it until today (and up until recently Ken Ishii for me was “that guy with a track on Rez”) so I have a lot of catching up to do
I am so monitoring this list, I’ll listen to nearly anything from Japan. Incidentally Jeff Mills recorded his best set ever in Tokyo. Behold:
I highly recommend “cx audio ie” that despite its name is highly soulful detroit-ish techno house in a quirky Japanese way.
Also Hitian Twin on Torema records was great. If you dare go there M1DY is the absolute undisputed of speedcore and a genius in his own way
For recent stuff I like YPY and the Iero label.
Otherwise it has always been a mystery why there were relative few Japanese producers in the club scene.
Seriously recommend giving some of your time to Shinichi Atobe, ‘Ship-scope’ is mentioned at the end of that list and that’s the classic release, but last year’s surprise EP ‘From the Heart, It’s a Start, a Work of Art’ is sublime. His story is sorta compelling - after Ship-scope he went missing for 13 years till Demdike Stare tracked him down and put out some twenty years worth of unreleased tracks. Even then he was still super reclusive, but a friend of mine in Tokyo swears he’s been playing sets lately.
I remember watching that video on MTV AMP around '97 and it has been a significant video for me. To this day I want to use the imagery from “Extra” on my car, Itashi-style lol
Damn not a lot of new names for me except Susumu Yokota. Quite like some of his stuff though.
I’ll second (or third) Shinichi Atobe though. He made some amazing dubby techno records.
susumu yokota so prolific he’s on this list twice but could even be on it THRICE w/ Prism
Much more of an ambient album than techno but highly recommend Iori’s album from a few years ago. Deep space gazers.
Mr YT - Brand New Day - A compilation of deep house / techno 12"s from a Japanese producer, presumably quite hard to come across before Apollo/R&S compiled this excellent retrospective…
Yeah Shinichi Atobe is amazing, tunes to get lost in…
Haruomi Hosono is most famous for his solo synth-pop work and the stuff he did with Yellow Magic Orchestra, but ‘Laugh-Gas’ of this record is definitely techno:
Apparently played by Powder during her 9h set at Nowadays recently too, old and new Japanese visionaries in one place!
Agreed! Just saw last week that supreme reissue label Light In The Attic is reissuing a couple of Hosono’s albums, out in October!