Track By Track: Alex From Tokyo – Japan Vibrations Vol.1

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Alex from Tokyo@ziptripp-D060974-R1-01-36

Art & Culture

Written by Wil Troup

Born in Paris but a Tokyo resident since the age of four, Alex from Tokyo’s sonic memoir, ‘Japan Vibrations Vol. 1.’ casts an eye on a golden era of Japan’s electronic music from the mid ’80s to the mid ’90s.

From Balearic obscurities through to futuristic IDM – featuring tracks by trailblazers like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono – it sounds as futuristic as anything from the present. This release cements and emphasises electronic Japan in a new light and is a nostalgic, yet forward looking journey through renowned club venues in Tokyo, Sapporo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka, capturing the essence of a paradisiacal period in Japanese music history.

Alex’s extensive involvement in the world of the electronic includes collaborations with DJ Deep and DJ Gregory in A Deep Groove, as well as work with Mr Bongo and Disorient in Tokyo. Operating under his Tokyo Black Star alias, he has released music on labels such as Basemental, Innervisions, and Deeply Rooted House records. “Japan Vibrations Vol. 1” showcases 11 newly remastered tracks spanning various genres, providing a glimpse into the creative energy of an era marked by the fusion of international and Japanese sounds.

We asked Alex to talk us through the album Track By Track.

1. Haruomi Hosono — Ambient Meditation #3
The compilation opens with an invitation to tea in the dream layer. This beautiful, gentle and dreamy tranquil piece, dedicated to new age legend Laraaji and ambient great Brian Eno, from the Japanese legendary musician is the perfect opening welcoming track to this music journey featuring Laraaji on the zither. From Haruomi Hosono’s album Medicine Compilation From The Quiet Lodge which was released on my 20th birthday on March 21st 1993.

2. Silent Poets — Meaning In The Tone (’95 Space & Oriental)
This slow bubbly dubby bass heavy trip hop groove is a self re-mix by the duo (turned solo) of “Meaning In The Tone” from their 1993 sophomore album and came out in 1995 for Nobukazu Takemura’s new label Idyllic records compilation 1st release. Silent Poets had already established their name internationally as one of the main trip hop units from Japan by then. I remember meeting Michiharu Shimoda and Takehiro Haruno at their studio in Sendagaya in central Tokyo around that time. I shared a studio with Shimoda san in Tokyo in the late 90s and we worked together on a couple of album projects for Yellow Productions. One love!

3. Mind Design — Sun
Soft and resonant with a cinematic build up, “Sun” is a gorgeous atmospheric electronic track feeling like one of those unforgettable sunrise on top of the Mt.Fuji. From their one and only album View From The Edge (only released on CD) by the techno duo Mind Design (Tomonori Sawada and Koji Sakurai) on one of Japan’s first indépendant underground electronic music labels Transonic ran by the producer Kazunao Nagata who used to share his office with the record label Flavour records I started my project label world famous with.

4. Quadra — Phantom
A rare slow percussive emotional cinematic downtempo synth gem that elevates you to new dimensions. Produced by Hiroshi Watanabe under his Quadra alias between 95-96 during his early New York days after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston featured on his 1st album Sketch From A Moment (only released on CD on Frogman records back then) . Hiroshi and I met while he was working on the album. He invited me to his DJ residency at the underground club “Save The Robots” in the East Village and to his house in downtown Manhattan where he played me some of his sketches from the album.

5. Yasuaki Shimizu — Tamare Tamare
Enter “Tamare Tamare,” an electro, world-fusion dance-floor killer featuring Shimizu singing and sax-ing with renowned Senegalese singer Wasis Diop. Shimizu is a true musical genius always ahead of its time. Recorded in Paris’ ADS-Colour studio with Martin Meissonier, worldbeat and ethnic music producer extraordinaire (think Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Salif Keita, and Manu Dibango) and released on Shimizu’s 1987 album Subliminal on the label Invitation. I chose this track also as part of my Paris-Tokyo connection. I met Shimizu san in the early 90s in Tokyo thanks to my dear friend Gilb’r who met him in Paris at Radio Nova.

6. Ryuichi Sakamoto — Tibetan Dance (Version)
This stripped down, funky and dubbed-out club-oriented version of one of his most catchy piece was released only in Japan part of a limited vinyl version of Sakamoto’s 1984 album Ongaku Zukan, one of my favorite albums of all-time I have carried with me through all my life. I had the chance to meet personally our “professor” Sakamoto san a few times between New York, Tokyo and Berlin. He is definitely one of my music heroes since my childhood growing up in Tokyo from Yellow Magic Orchestra and the movies “The Last Emperor” and “Merry X’mas Mr. Lawrence”. He was a prodigious musician and a beautiful human being.

7. T.P.O. — Hiroshi’s Dub (Tokyo Club Mix)
This atmospheric club classic tells a story of scenes and genre merging at the close of the ‘80s in Japan. An early release by the powerhouse hip-hop label and posse Major Force, this track is a remix twice over. It started with the uptempo “Punk Inc.” by Tiny Panx Organization (T.P.O.), brainchild of Hiroshi Fujiwara, Kan Takagi, and K.U.D.O. Next came the dub take by Hiroshi, supreme music and culture tastemaker. And here we have on the “Hiroshi’s Dub remix” 12-inch, on the B2 the Paradise Garage-inspired deep-house reworking (with its thunderstorm intro featuring Kan Takagi on the mike imitating those Hercules productions from Chicago) by one of the earliest Japanese garage-house DJ Heyta from Sapporo is for me the ultimate soundtrack of Tokyo’s club scene in 1989! The Major Force posse was shaking the Tokyo club scene. Dj Milo from The Wild Bunch was a regular. They were a big influence for me. Heyta had a great residency on Wednesday at the tiny basement club Aoyama MIX back then I would go.

8. Okihide — Biskatta
This smooth, uplifting, Detroit-inspired jam from Kyoto producer Okihide’s eclectic, “intelligent” 1996 debut album A boy in picca season is full of feeling. Okihide Sawaki, a sound otaku since childhood (proud owner of a Korg Mono/Poly at age 12!), caught the attention of Fukuoka’s top DJ and producer Ken Inaoka in 1994 when he was playing live under the moniker Tanzmuzik at Shibuya On Air in Tokyo. Inaoka signed the young artist, to his just-launched techno label “Syzygy Records”. I reconnected after many years with Okihide and Ken Inaoka earlier this month on my Japan tour.

9. Mondo Grosso — Vibe PM (Jazzy Mixed Roots) (Remixed by Yoshihiro Okino)
Japanese crossover club jazz from 1994 at its best. The Kyoto-based acid-jazz collective Mondo Grosso roared to life in the early 90s, led by the multitalented Shinichi Osawa. “Vibe.P.M” (Jazzy Mixed Roots) appeared on the compilation Kyoto Jazz Massive (For Life Records), the brainchild of Shuya Okino who, along with his brother Yoshihiro, formed the eponymous musical project (Shuya had been managing Mondo Grosso while working at the Kyoto club “Container”). This is the 1st remix of Yoshihiro Okino reminiscent of Japanese Jazz legend Terumasa Hino’s productions, a true dancefloor club jazz classic! Along with the trio United Future Organization in Tokyo, the acid / new jazz scene in Japan were exploding in parallel to the electronic dance music scene a bit like in the UK. I interviewed Mondo Grosso on radio FG 98.2fm in Paris in 1994 during their 1st International tour.

10. Prism — Velvet Nymph
A masterful straight-up deep-house track by one of the masters of Japanese electronic music, the late Susumu Yokota. Working under the pseudonym Prism, and fittingly so, Susumu refracted and refined the Detroit techno sounds he loved into Metronome Melody, released in 1995 on the newly formed Japanese label Sublime Records ran by Yamazaki Manabu. The 1st time I met with Yamazaki san he gave me a promo copy of this album. I would play in my DJ sets a few tracks. I represented Laurent Garnier’s label F Communications in Japan from 1995 and I got to connect with the whole Japanese techno scene. I was also working at the Tokyo branch of the London Mr.Bongo record shop in Shibuya. We became close with Yokota san. He was a very curious, pure and productive artist and he would come to Mr.Bongo to discover new music. He invited me in 1997 to start with him a little party called “Skintone” that would become his own personal little record label.

Without Yokota the Japanese electronic scene wouldn’t be the same. I miss you!

11. C.T. Scan — Cold Sleep (The Door Into Summer)
We are closing the compilation with this epic futuristic techno anthem that spins the story of the Japanese techno scene produced by C.T. Scan (better known as synth-pop artist, producer CMJK of J-pop fame and early Denki Groove member) as the very first release in 1994 of the highly influential label Frogman records ran by Kengo Watanabe and Dai Sato. This version is not the one on the 12-inch, it is a slightly different mix made for listening that appeared on Frogman’s 2008 entering-into-hibernation compilation, Fine – The Best of Frogman. Inspired by Robert A. Heinlein’s sci-fi tale about traveling back in time to find oneself, the track is reflective, floating, and gently futuristic. Looking back to create the future, the highest Japan Vibration.