Oyubi: The ‘Shine A Light On’ Mix

Music

Written by Annie Parker

Emerging out of Tokyo, young talent Oyubi has been making some serious waves worldwide with his constant stream of self-released Bandcamp uploads.

These range from footwork and juke right through to dubstep and grime, and have received recent support from the likes of Kush Jones, Objekt and Ben UFO.

His most recent EP ‘Earnin It’, saw him collaborate with fellow Japanese producer, Fetus, and was released via Tokyo’s Trekkie Trax – a label with which Oyubi was already acquainted, after featuring on a remix compilation of Roska’s ‘Pree Me’ early last year.

Across the vast range of genres that these releases encompass, each track shares the meticulously-engineered sound design that situates Oyubi’s music in an era not-yet-past. At times, this futurism is captured in a tripped-out Japanese nursery rhyme (‘ALEX (いつまでふたり)’ ), and at others in an alien-bongo, laser-blipped footwork track (‘C Tom’).

Oyubi continues in the rich lineage of Japanese Juke which has elsewhere seen contributions from Hyperdub affiliate Foodman and DJ Fulltono. Strap into his ‘Shine A Light On’ mix which features releases from the likes of AceMoMa, Coco Bryce, Djrum and Proc Fiskal.

Ransom Note · Oyubi: The ‘Shine A Light On’ Mix

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you?

Oyubi. I am a DJ and music producer in Tokyo, mainly playing juke music.

What does your music sound like?

Even though my sound isn’t quite as concrete as this painting, I wanted to convey both the hand-drawn and the linear. I didn’t want to make it seem three-dimensional, but rather to show that my music should appear to be hand-made.

Where was the mix recorded?

Home, the kind of house with USB sticks XDJ and Lo-D 90’s speakers,
where I play with my friends every day.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Although it is dance music, the mix is mainly jungle and footwork, so
maybe at home or in the car.

What should we be wearing?

Whatever you want to wear.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/
format?

I’m curious about how mixes recorded in the mountains will turn
out. I don’t get to go there very often.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Kung-fu Empire 猫伹Master+. Before I started playing music, I was the kind of person who played on beatmania, and from then until now, the music of 猫伹Master has always left an impression on me.

<a href="https://oyubi.bandcamp.com/album/2020-unreleased-trax">2020 unreleased trax by Oyubi</a>

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

For me it would be the 30 minute TREKKIE TRAX takeover of Hessle Audio’s Rinse FM show. I feel like I was able to weave and present my roots on that show, it’s a great memory for me.

Rinse FM · Hessle Audio – Trekkie Trax Takeover – 20 September 2021

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

There are so many different people and it’s hard to say… I would love to B2B with TRAXMAN, but I don’t think I would be able to keep up with him. lol.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

It was DDJ-RB. Now it’s XDJ and SL-1200 with my roommate and his equipment.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

“All’s well that ends well” I think that’s actually a Japanese proverb, LOL.

What were the first and last records you bought?

The first one was DJ Nasty – Freaky Tails, which I bought at a record store in a town called Tachikawain the western part of Tokyo, because I was surprised by the sleeve. I also recently bought an ambient cut which has a nice guitar sound (Jonny Nash – Suzanne Kraft).

What’s upcoming in the world of Oyubi?

I’m preparing two remixes and one EP, and may even make another EP. I have not been able to write songs for a while due to personal reasons, but I hope to release a lot of new music again.

Anything else we need to discuss?

As I mentioned earlier, I am now preparing an EP with the Kyoto label, 85acid. I’m really looking forward to it!

Follow Oyubi on Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp