Archive for the ‘Ken Ishii’ Category

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Techno

Monday, February 13th, 2017

Want a Life In Japan story? Feels like I haven’t told one of them in a while Have I talked about Valentine’s Day in Japan?

Valentine’s Day in Japan is kind of stupid.

So, in Japan Valentine’s Day is all about the dudes. Women are not supposed to get gifts on Valentine’s Day. For real. Instead, women are supposed to give chocolate to men. Then, men are supposed to return the favor a month later on March 14tth. That day is called White Day, and on White Day men have to go out and give chocolate to any woman who gifted them chocolate the month prior.

I’m not one to besmirch another culture’s traditions or customs, but it’s hella complex and confusing to anyone who hasn’t grown up with it. And a lot of Japanese people I know aren’t particularly fond of it. I’ve heard men use the term “Chocolate Abuse” to talk about women gifting them large amounts of chocolate only because they want to force the man’s hand and make him gift them a similar gift a month later. It’s not gifting out of love, it’s gifting out of obligation.

But that’s not why Valentine’s Day in Japan bothers me. No, Valentine’s Day in Japan bothers me because there’s not protocol for what us gays are supposed to do. My boyfriend and I both agreed to celebrate Valentine’s Day and tell White Day to fuck right off. And that’s all well and good, but that means that every February 13th I’m the only dude in candy store, surrounded by women who look at my giant white ass with bemusement wondering if I’m just an idiot gaijin who doesn’t know better or, y’know, the correct assumption.

Anyways, gender stereotypes aside, I love giving my boyfriend chocolate because every year he acts surprised and it’s just the cutest shit. So I guess I can’t complain too much.

Here’s some techno. Happy Valentine’s Day.

808 State
Lift (7 Inch Mix)
Lift (12 Inch Mix)
Lift (Justin Strauss Remix)
Lift (Metro Mix)
Lift (Lift Up Dub)
Open Your Mind (Sound Garden Mix)
Open Your Mind (Open Mix)
I originally posted these tracks on January 13th of 2010. Let’s look back at that post to see what I was rambling about at the time…

Boy, I was really angry about Jay Leno. Seems like so long ago (probably because it was.) Anyways, venting and petitioning for my favorite late night talk show to stay on the air sure seems mighty quaint now, doesn’t it? Nothing like the sudden and brutal rise of fascism to really put things in perspective.

But where was I? Oh yeah, “Lift.” Bought this single in Kichijoji a few weeks back, totally not realizing that I already had a copy back in the states. Oh well, saves me the trouble of trying to bring my original copy here and it also gave me the chance to re-record it with much better equipment than I had back in 2010.

Ken Ishii
Pneuma
Twist Of Space
Low
I wanted to share more of this man’s amazing work, but shockingly enough a lot of it is in print and easily available (and cheap) on iTunes in the states! So if you like what you hear here I really recommend you check out some of his albums proper. Future In Light and Jelly Tones are two solid picks to start with.

Posted in 808 State, Ken Ishii, remixes | 2 Comments »

Disco Funk Techno Beats

Thursday, June 9th, 2016

Country disco, Japanese synth-pop and 90s hip-hop. I’m not going to be satisfied until I can somehow mish-mash jazz, classical, digital hardcore and calypso on this blog.

Dolly Parton
Baby I’m Burning (Disco Mix)
This song has an undeniable groove that is catchy as hell. I wish more disco crossover tracks from the 70s were this good.

The fact that none of the gay clubs I’ve been to have ever played this song really piss me off, I bet this was the shit back in the day. Makes me wish gay clubs in Tokyo had throwback nights. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some good Rihanna and Lady Gaga when I’m in the club, but would it kill a place to kick it old school once in a while and play some Donna Summer, Thelma Houston or Slyvester? I have a feeling that I went up to the DJ at my local club and dropped a request for “Do You Wanna Funk,” the single-greatest Hi-NRG track of all-time, he’d give me a look like I asked him to play Bach.

Basically what I’m saying is you punk kids and your music.

Targets
I Like The City
I posted a track by these guys a few months back, here’s the other one I have. The Targets were a Japanese synth-pop act in the early 80s who released one album and then promptly vanished off the face of the Earth. The two members credited on Discogs apparently never released anything ever again, and the album has never even been reprinted on CD. The only reason I have two songs by them at all is because they were on a a compilation I got. The vocals here aren’t great, I know that, but the proto-acid sequencer backbeat is totally radical and sounds like nothing else from that era.

Ken Ishii
Echo Exit (Boom Boom Satellites remix)
In case you missed the absolutely horrible news, Boom Boom Satellites are no more, their lead singer being forced to retire due to complications resulting from surgery to remove a brain tumor.

This news completely devastated me. I wrote a brief thing about it on my other site and I don’t have much more to say about it at the moment. I do plan on putting something else together soon though, hopefully to coincide with the release date of their upcoming (final) release, which is due out on the 22nd.

Until then, I thought I’d share this track they remixed, which is by Japanese electronic artist Ken Ishii, a totally rad Japanese DJ and producer who has been laying down dope techno in Japan for over 20 years. Gamers might know him thank to his work on the soundtrack to the seminal rhythm game/acid trip Rez. If you’re a fan of hard techno with a Detroit edge, you’ll probably dig damn near everything he’s ever put out. This track is from a CD single I picked up last night at the greatest record store in Tokyo. A place I’ll tell you more about when I finish my record store guide, which should be sometime next month.

Naughty By Nature
O.P.P. (Ultamix Remix)
O.P.P. (Charming Radio Mix)
O.P.P. (DBM Remix)
O.P.P. (Out Of Mind Version)
Yeah. You know me. Actually no, fuck that. I love my boyfriend.

One thing I never noticed about this song until today is at one point the crowd refrain shouts that “everyone in this party” is down with O.P.P. That means, unless I’m mistaken as to what O.P.P. actually is, that everyone in that party is up for cheating on their significant other or fucking someone else’s significant other. Damn skippy indeed.

Posted in Boom Boom Satellites, Dolly Parton, Ken Ishii, Naughty By Nature, remixes | No Comments »