my stage manager at Soulmate loves Westwood too

It’s only been a few weeks since my mini tour of Japan in July and yet I was back in Tokyo last week for the Soulmate Festival. Japan is no different to the rest of the world and it’s caught festival fever with many events springing up here and there.

This one situated in Yoyogi stadium in Shibuya had three different areas focussing mostly on house and tech-house with many big Nippon djs, a handful of live bands and Darren Emerson headlining (Underworld are still one of the most popular electronic bands in Japan).

I played on the main stage fairly early sandwiched between a techno girl dj and a superstar tribal jock but luckily that didn’t stop me dishing out my usual storming electro mix of rave/rock/pop which seem to drive the audience pretty wild – they love to jump up & down in Asia. What I was doing there I’m not sure (lol)… but I guess Kitsuné is so big in Japan, they’re always happy to have one of the imprint’s stalwarts (messrs Gildas & Masaya were contacted first but weren’t available on that date).

Now twelve hours flight might seem a long way to go for one single party but luckily I was able to spend three days in the heart of Tokyo and succumb to yet more frantic shopping. I also managed to hang out with the Pitchoun crew, a bunch of lovely French ex-pats who run a cool electro blog (http://pitchoun.jp/).

Chris, Steeve and Estelle have not only well integrated Japanese society, they’re also fun and friendly gang with plans of a label and more… We ended up at Le Baron - everyone always ends up at Le Baron in Tokyo, for proof I bumped into my old Kokon To Zai chums, Sasha & Marjan who own clothes shops in London & Paris and also design their own KTZ and Pejoski collections (http://www.kokontozai.co.uk). We all got seriously drunk and er, the rest is a bit of a blur as they say…

arriving in Shibuya

The Chemical Brothers - Midnight Madness [Freestyle Dust] UK only sorry.
Popular but somehow underrated, The Chems are the godfathers of the electrock scene – yet another awesome track under their belt. This is the Electronic Battle Weapon (extended) version.

autoKratz - Down And Out In Paris And London (ARTIST ALBUM) [Kitsuné] EU only sorry
Another Brit duo ready to rock and kick ass, kind of 21st century pop music, do not miss their debut album on Kitsuné

The Faint - The Geeks Were Right (Shadow Dancer Dub Mix) [Boysnoize]
Indie band The Faint ends up on Boys Noize records shocker! and it works…

Ratatat - LP3 (ARTIST ALBUM) [XL]
Not quite dancey but abstract & meaningful, perfect for the fashion shows’ soundtracks I put together with my JBAG partner Andrea

Heaven is waiting in Tokyo…