While much has been made in the media about the resurgence of vinyl in recent years, indie music shops — especially ones that carry wax — have been quietly holding their own for years in Japan. A culture that appreciates sonic quality and the fine art of package design, an excursion to a record shop in the Land of the Rising Sun rails against the digital music revolution that changed the entire music industry. Pay a visit to one and you’ll see salarymen on their lunch breaks, corporate IDs tucked inside their shirt pockets, digging through stacks in search of new jams and rare nuggets.
One of Tokyo’s finest vinyl emporiums is Technique Records. Located in Shibuya on the second floor of 33-14 Udagawacho, a side street off the main street called Dogenzaka, Technique Records is a haven for techno and house DJs and enthusiasts. Carrying an amazing selection of new and used vinyl, the shop’s selection is incredible.
The first thing that strikes you upon entering the well organized store are the walls. They’re adorned with autographed white record sleeves from an array of world-class DJs such as Move D.
“Thank you Technique for keeping vinyl alive,” reads an inscription from Boys Noize.
Berlin-based DJ/producer Alexander Ridha, better known by his stage name Boys Noize, will unveil Fabriclive 72 on November 18. The 31-track DJ mix will feature tunes by heavyweights including Jimmy Edgar, Four Tet, Dave Clarke and Surkin.
Obligatory press gush from Mr. Noize: “I really tried to sum up my two to three hour set in 70 minutes. My sets usually include many styles and at some points I mix pretty fast too. I play some jackin’ house and techno with crazy energy stuff and then go back to reduced dub or even classic electro or breaks. My goal was to combine all of the styles I play but also make it listenable. All in all I think this DJ mix is pretty timeless, colourful and happy.”
Fabriclive 72 Tracklisting:
1 Mr Oizo feat. Marilyn Manson – Solid [Ed Banger]
2 Boys Noize – Starwin [Boysnoize]
3 Costello – Pegasus [BNR Trax]
4 Jimmy Edgar – Shout [Ultramajic]
5 Surkin – Warehouse [Marble]
6 Feadz – Go On Girl [Boysnoize]
7 Pilo – Ghettocoder [Boysnoize]
8 Kingdom – Femme Litre [Fade to Mind]
9 Gingy & Bordello – All Day (Robert Hood Remix) [Turbo]
10 Four Tet – For These Times [Nonplus]
11 Randomer – Meat & Dancing [white]
12 Kowton – TFB [All Caps]
13 Boys Noize – Anoid (Demo Version) [Boysnoize]
14 Craze – Selekta (Valentino Khan Remix) [Slow Roast]
15 Dog Blood – Chella Ride [Boysnoize / OWSLA]
16 Worthy & Eats Everything – Tric Trac [dirtybird]
17 Djedjotronic – Kaikō [Boysnoize]
18 Gesaffelstein – Aufstand [Turbo]
19 Aden – Luft [Ultramajic]
20 Special Request – Wall To Wall [Houndstooth]
21 Anthony Naples – P O T [Proibito]
22 DJ Deeon – Work This MF [Dance Mania]
23 Tracques – Motor [Boysnoize]
24 Dave Clarke – The Compass [Skint]
25 Tom Rowlands – Nothing But Pleasure (Boys Noize Pressure Fix) [Phantasy]
26 Alesia – Andrea [OWSLA]
27 The Chain – Maje [R&S]
28 Boys Noize – XTC (The Chemical Brothers Remix) [Boysnoize]
+ Spank Rock – DTF DADT (Acapella) [Boysnoize]
29 I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass [Disko B]
30 Kölsch – Goldfisch [Kompakt]
+ Boys Noize – XTC (Acapella) [Boysnoize]
31 Apparat – Arcadia (Boys Noize Reprise) [Shitkatapult]
Spring is in the air (officially) but Miami is already red hot with the start of Ultra Music Festival weekend two.
A brisk walk along the South Beach boardwalk and I caught the end of W&W’s set at the swanky, exclusive SiriusXM Music Lounge/Motorola Music Lounge at the W Hotel in Miami Beach. A step in any direction and one runs into Bobina or Chad Cisneros of Tritonal — literally because the place is the Miami Beach hot spot of the day and is packed! This year’s lounge boasted, “…invited guests get to rock out to Sol Republic headphones and create their own custom pair while they enjoy Corzo Tequila cocktails in a lush outdoor private oasis.” Armin van Buuren performed on the courtyard stage promoting his forthcoming album Intense. Unfortunately there was no time for a complimentary Corzo drink because Ultra Weekend Two day one was already in full swing.
Catching a cab ride is the challenge of the weekend but once inside out of the rain it’s a scenic and relatively quick ride over the Venetian Causeway to Ultra Music Festival, the media check-in and the yacht media tent at Bayfront Park. Martin Solveig was hanging in the wings backstage prepping for his set just a few minutes away. Grabbing a quick posed shot of Mr. Solveig I then made my way to situate myself in the pit for his performance. He played a captivating, well-received set including his smash hit “The Night Out” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” all in a massive downpour.
Nicky Romero, who is quickly rising to the well-deserving title of epitome of the superstar DJ, played the Ultra Worldwide Stage to an overflowing crowd. His productions, remixes, live performances are all flawless. He entertained with the crowd-reeling “Sparks,” the promotion for this year’s Ultra Music Festival.
Boys Noize was off the hook at the Live Stage DJing from a skull prop deck with red glowing eyes. He feverishly dropped “Yeah,” “Lemonade,” “Jeffer” and “My Head” to a crazed audience.
Bloody Beetroots followed with a live set including their crowd-pleaser “Dimmakmmunication.”
Quintino closed out the Jacked stage with a special appearance off-and-on by R3hab and thrilled the crowd with the UMF hit “Pursuit Of Happiness.”
Rather than contend with the mass exodus catching a cab to South Beach, Club Therapy in Miami with High Contrast seemed like the better bet. The MC introduced with, “Who’s ready to blast off for High Contrast?!” and the remainder of the night was an ecstatic blur although I know he did drop “Show Me Love.” A few tracks in Camo & Krooked’s set including a sampling of Beastie Boys “Hey Ladies” and an intensified remix of “We Are Your Friends,” it was time to call it a day and head back to South Beach to be re-energized for the remainder of UMF weekend.
Wednesday of Miami Music Week launched with what was promoted as a “We’re All Friends! 8 hours and 8 labels Beach Party” featuring A-Trak, Boys Noize, Skrillex, the electro disco-house sounds of Bromance and more. When a promoter and artist manager e-mails you and asks, “Can I really not tempt you to the pool party tomorrow?” and it’s featured poolside at the lovely South Beach Raleigh Hotel, with this lineup, how could you pass. A 45-minute downpour only added to the intensity of the crowd’s passion especially when it was an all-hands-on-deck moment literally as almost all of the featured artists gathered on the stage for a few rounds of tracks.
An impromptu interview with Chicago house great Felix da Housecat gave some insight to his cherished EDM roots and what EDM artist he’s feeling these days as a rising star in the business. Spoiler alert: his response was Boys Noize who minutes later spontaneously appeared at the poolside lounge interview sight where the two proceeded to offer their mutual appreciation for each other’s contribution and influence on the scene.
Concerned about missing the minimal timeslot of the multi-faceted South African duo of Dominic Peters and David Poole (better known as Goldfish), the mad dash across the street to the Gale Hotel rooftop presented a pleasant surprise result. Goldfish’s set was delayed due to the earlier downpour and they were just now setting up for their timeslot. Once settled their creative utilization of an electric up-right bass, saxophone, keyboards, flute, the Roland MC 909 sequencer/synth and vocals created an upbeat, funky, jazz, African-influenced dance music so pleasantly and surprisingly unique. Massive imagery spanning the façade of a nearby midrise projecting the artistic, cult, martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the multi-colored sky from the post-storm setting sun, and the aroma of the jerk chicken and rice available at the rooftop event offered the perfect elements to the outdoor set.
Midweek Miami nightlife was in true form as always during Miami Music Week presenting an eclectic palette of choices from the drum ‘n’ bass of Andy C, Goldie and Ed Rush & Optical at Therapy to the Kyau & Albert and Dennis Sheperd event at Club Euforia. LA’s DJ Kristina Sky, DJ duo Myon & Shane54 and Anjunadeep’s DJ Jaytech were on hand at Euforia to show support, network and mingle with fans. Jaytech was honored to hear Kyau & Albert play his recent smash hit “Stranger” offering a lip-synch rendition from the VIP. Closing time at 4am at Euforia on this particular night was still not an indication that the Miami nightlife was over and that fans were turning in for the night any time soon.
