What is Tech House 2.0 that is now sweeping the world's dance floors?
DJ DARUMA, who belongs to LDH and works with EXILE MAKIDAI (EXILE) and VERBAL (m-flo) as the creative unit PKCZ®, is active in the overground, but at the same time he never stops exploring his roots in the underground club culture, Both have been at the center of the electro movement and have continued to provide fresh music up to the present day. They are both at the center of the electro movement and have continued to provide fresh music to this day. The two have recently come across "tech house," a genre that has already become a big breakthrough overseas. What kind of music is this "tech house"? We will interview DJ/producer YOSA, who is a close friend of the duo, to get the full picture of this new movement.
A DJ who brings the soul of HIP HOP to dance floors across the country with various styles of sound. In the late '00s, as the DJ/production team "DEXPISTOLS," they revolutionized the Japanese club scene with their electro sound. After announcing the indefinite hiatus of "DEXPISTOLS," he signed a contract with LDH as a DJ/producer and started a new project "PKCZ (PKCZ®︎)" in earnest. At the same time, he is also a designer for the apparel brand "FULL-BK," and is one of the DJs who always attracts attention for his movements. www.instagram.com/djdaruma
JOMMY.
He is one of the DJs that indexes the Tokyo street culture movement, traveling around the party scene in Japan and Asia. He is also a brand communicator for the fashion brand Diesel, and is active in a wide range of fields including clubs, culture, fashion, and the street scene. www.instagram.com/jommytokio
DJ DARUMA and JOMMY met, a fresh movement.
To begin with, when did you start using the name DJ DARUMA & JOMMY?
DJ DARUMAIt's been a long time since JOMMY started DJing.
JOMMY.Yes, that's right. At the time, DARUMA was active as DEXPISTOLS, so we were doing it in parallel with that. Both of us are former dancers, so when we performed together, we mainly played for the dance scene. However, rather than starting out as a DJ unit, we started doing things rather casually, like when one of us would play at an event that looked interesting, and the other would say, "Let me play with you. We played not only hip-hop, but also 90's house, Moombahton, and other music that made the dancers dance.
Indeed, I have the image of the two of you freely selecting fresh music of the moment.
JOMMY.Yes, that's right. Recently, another interesting movement has emerged, and it is represented by a party called "elrow," which started in Barcelona. For the past two years, DARUMA and I have been influenced by this scene, and we have been trying to express it in Japan as well.
DJ DARUMAWhen Moombahton and twerk were popular, it was easy to understand because there were predetermined rhythms and tones, but what we are into now is more vague and difficult to understand. It's called "tech house" for the sake of convenience, but it's perceived differently by different people, and there are many aspects that cannot be clearly defined. In that sense, it is similar to the feeling we had during the electro movement. Tech house as a genre of music has been around for a long time, so I have always resisted calling this movement "tech house," but now I think the term "tech house 2.0" is more like "tech house 2.0. As JOMMY said earlier, it encompasses not only the music, but also the culture and worldview that goes along with it. So I found a new genre! It's not so much that I've found a new genre, but rather that I've found a movement that I don't know what it is.
JOMMY.Until now, tech house has been music with a stoic image for dancing silently, but it is different from that. So at first, we even called it "new house" between the two of us. But when we talked about it with artists from overseas, they all clearly said, "What we are doing is tech house. Since then, I think we have become comfortable with calling it tech house.
DJ DARUMAYes, yes. They also recognize that it is completely different from conventional tech house and call it tech house, just as we do. They also recognize that this is a completely different type of tech house and call it "tech house." They say, "This may be a transient movement, but the current situation is becoming very good worldwide, so let's enjoy this tech house as much as we can. Personally, I felt better after hearing that and started calling it "tech house" in general. That experience actually happened in the early days of electro, when Masaya of KITSUNÉ told me, "What DARUMA and his group are doing is electro. Until then, it was also called "new rave" and people didn't know what to call it, but Masaya assured me that it was, and since then the word "electro" has become common knowledge among us. In fact, there are now talk sessions and media features overseas titled "Can Tech House be the Next EDM?
However, there are still many people who will misunderstand just the word "tech house". Especially those who have been involved in dance music for a long time. That's why the term "Tech House 2.0" that Mr. DARUMA mentioned earlier may be a good description of the current movement.
DJ DARUMAThat's exactly right, because we don't see tech houses as cutting-edge in nature. We want everyone to understand that.
With parties like elrow breaking out and artists like FISHER emerging to represent the scene, there is a good chance that this will become a bigger and bigger movement in the future. How did you two come across Tech House 2.0 in the first place?
JOMMY.I first heard about elrow because a lot of artists I was interested in were performing there. When I saw the event on Instagram, I was amazed to see the excitement of not-so-flamboyant house music in a circus-like setting. I did some research and found out that elrow is a mobile party held in various places around the world. There are several different themes for the decorations, such as nomad-inspired, Chinese historical, and 90's hip-hop graffiti all over the venue, but the contrast and balance between the worldview expressed by elrow and the music played there was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The contrast and balance between the worldview expressed by elrow and the music played there was something I had never seen before, and I guess that's what got me.
DJ DARUMAELROW has a number of decorative themed concepts that move around the world. So on the same day that the Nomad concept is being held in New York, the Chinese New Year concept is being held in Ibiza at the same time. It was originally started 150 years ago by Jose Satorres in a cafe in Spain, and now it has become a big event like Cirque du Soleil that is performed all over the world. Like JOMMY, I saw their parties on Instagram and wondered what was going on with this interior and this music. I was like, "What the hell is this music with this interior? There are camel people with abnormally long hands on the floor, and avatar-like creatures that scream, etc. It's simply very interesting to watch, and I think elrow's worldview that blurs the line between reality and unreality is really new.
elrow" determined the arrival of the movement.
In this age of social networking, elrow's strong visual expression may be very much in tune with the times. You two actually played with elrow at last year's SONICMANIA, didn't you?
JOMMY.To be able to play there and actually experience elrow was a big part of what convinced me that this tech house 2.0 movement was here to stay. There was never any commercial music on, but thousands of people on the floor were dancing the whole night through. I thought it was great that it was possible in Japan, and I think it should become like the Japanese club scene used to be.
DJ DARUMAI could understand the situation if big name DJs were playing, but I think most of the audience on the floor that night probably had no idea about the resident DJs from elrow who were playing that night. Still, it was such a moving scene that when the sound stopped at the end, the floor erupted in applause, and I thought the power of elrow was truly amazing, not only because of the DJ's fame, but because of the pure music and the way they rocked the place with their worldview.
There must have been many SONICMANIA visitors who passed by without knowing about elrow, but were first visually attracted by the worldview and found themselves dancing until morning.
DJ DARUMAI later searched on social networking sites and found that there were many such customers, and it was a really great party, with a mix of people who like the sounds of Flying Lotus, EDM, and festival-goers who like Summer Soni, all enjoying themselves in their own ways. I think the team of creative people who run Summer Soni also felt that elrow had a lot of potential and potential. In fact, I believe that elrow will become a party that attracts at least tens of thousands of people in Japan in the future.
JOMMY.Not only elrow, but Tech House 2.0 should be that open, and I think that's the interesting part.
In fact, FISHER has become so large that it has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
DJ DARUMAThe nominated song "Losing It" has been edited into various genres and is now being played at many parties other than four beat parties.
JOMMY.Not only Losing It, but there has been a recent increase in hip-hop edits of so-called "tech-house 2.0" songs. There has been a lot of sampling of hip-hop songs and putting them on a four-track, but it is interesting that the opposite is starting to happen now. I feel that we are in the midst of a Tech House 2.0 boom.
EDGE HOUSE, a party embodying Tech House 2.0, was launched.
However, in Japan, there is still a lack of a Tech House 2.0 recipient, isn't there?
DJ DARUMASo, we decided to start a party to share this new feeling of Tech House 2.0, "EDGE HOUSE", which will be held at SOUND MUSEUM VISION in Shibuya. The VISION team was aware, as we were, that a new house movement was emerging, and Mr. Daizo (President of Global Hearts, Inc., the company that manages VISION) was interested in what we were doing. (the president of Global Hearts, Inc., which operates VISION) approached me directly to see if what we were doing was similar to what they were doing. The basic idea was supported by Mr. Taishi, the director of Global Hearts, and the organizing team included Kosuke, formerly of ageHa (current representative of Lost and Found) and Naoki (FLEMMING representative ), who did a lot of the logo and artwork. The logo and artwork were designed by GUCCIMAZE (a Japanese designer who also designed the logo for Nicki Minaj), and the event will be started by a very good staff sharing the same feeling.
JOMMY.I really feel that not only the performers but also all the staff members are trying to create a party with the same mindset. It is not an event that is left up to the restaurant or the performers, but "EDGE HOUSE" has a sense that each person is trying to reach a single goal from their own standpoint, and I am sure it will be a great party. At first I thought it would be a monthly or bimonthly event, but then I heard that it would be held every Saturday.
Holding the event every week is quite a big step for a club, and it shows how much potential VISION sees in this movement.
DJ DARUMAIt may indeed seem bold, but I think this way of steering VISION makes a lot of sense. I think that by holding the event every weekend at the belt and unifying the colors, we can clearly convey to domestic and international customers that this is the kind of box VISION is. In order to completely unify the colors of the weekend boxes, it is difficult to express and establish the image of the box in a once-a-month or once-every-two-month event. But I think it is very reasonable, considering that the number of foreign customers will be increasing toward 2020. Holding weekly events is a lot of work, and since we are just getting started, there are still many things we don't know how it will turn out, but I hope that through repeated trial and error it will become an established HOUSE/TECH HOUSE party in Tokyo by the summer.
JOMMY.The first of these parties will be held on Saturday, February 2, and the guest will be Marc Maya, a resident of elrow who has often been mentioned in previous talks, and I hope we can make it a party where everyone can share and enjoy the new sensation of Tech House 2.0, with a strong decorative element.
Upcoming Events
EDGE HOUSE
Date & Time: Saturday, February 2, 22:00-
Venue: SOUND MUSEUM VISION
Address: B1, Shin Daimune Building, 2-10-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5728-2824
Ticket: ¥2,500 in advance, ¥3,000 at the door www.vision-tokyo.com
LINE UP:
【GAIA]
Marc Maya (elrow music / Spain)
DJ DARUMA(PKCZ®)&JOMMY
YOSA
CARTOON
KENTACATS & YO4
VJ:VJ MANAMI (SYMBIOSIS Inc.)
Deco : KANOYA PROJECT
Date and Time: February 9, 2019 ( Sat ) from 22:00
Venue: SOUND MUSEUM VISION
Address: Shin Daimune B1F, 2-10-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5728-2824
Ticket: ¥2,500 in advance, ¥3,000 at the door www.vision-tokyo.com
LINE UP:
【GAIA]
Bastian Bux（elrow music / Spain)
DJ DARUMA(PKCZ®)&JOMMY
CARTOON
KENTACATS
TOMOYA
VJ:VJ MANAMI (SYMBIOSIS Inc.)
Deco : KANOYA PROJECT
【DEEP]
yamarchy(disko klubb)
FAME
TEE
MASATO (KANDYTOWN)
Minnesotah (KANDYTOWN)
【WHITE]
WATAPACHI
Ryuw.
MARZY.
NABEWALKS.
UG GATES
Koshy.
Produced by PROPERPEDIGREE
【D-LOUNGE]
Shohei Yamashita
JUN NAKADA
Boiledeggs
EDGE HOUSE vol.3
Date and Time: February 16, 2019 ( Sat ) from 22:00
Venue: SOUND MUSEUM VISION
Address: Shin Daimune B1F, 2-10-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5728-2824
Ticket: ¥2,500 in advance, ¥3,000 at the door www.vision-tokyo.com
