As the global DJ community ponders the validity of Richie Hawtin playing Marquee in Las Vegas and if it’s okay for Disclosure to mime tracks on stage, Hello Kitty, the cat character popularized by Japan’s Sanrio Corporation, has been not so quietly taking the club world by storm.
The wildly popular feline has been working the decks for years, spinning at in-store appearances and doing gigs at clubs in Asia. She even works behind the boards, producing Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki’s upcoming single “Feel the Love/Merry-Go-Round” due out on December 25 and issuing her In The Mix DJ mix compilation featuring Bob Sinclar and Mariah Carey in 2010 and Everybody Dance in 2011 featuring a selection of Japanese artists.
According to her website, Kitty originally dreamed of becoming a pianist: “You can connect the hearts of people all over the world in music, want to get along together. This is the wish of Kitty. To realize this wish, the music that is capable commune and heart people in the same space. It was decided to send to the world. It is the beginning of ‘DJ Hello Kitty.'”
In this clip from an appearance at a shopping mall in Bangkok, DJ Hello Kitty shows that she’s down by dropping “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce for a crowd of excited children and their parents:
At this appearance in Shibuya, Japan, Kitty even shakes a paw during her set, dropping some dance moves while a song plays on her CDJs. Nervo, are you watching?
Sanrio, who just happen to market a line of DJ headphones, T-shirts and gear aimed at kids and collectors, is gearing up for Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary in 2014 and have announced that SMAP’s aptly titled “Hello” is the official song. Watch the Japanese ’80s boy band performing with DJ Hello Kitty here, and be on the lookout for cross promotion galore in the cat character’s upcoming club sets.
A character who wears a cat head and DJs. That leaves us to ponder the possibilities of a world tour with deadmau5.