The Sabukaru Guide to Japanese Techno
Since its origin in 1980s suburban Detroit, techno, characterized by its iconic “four on the floor” repetitive drums, has developed one of the most dedicated communities of fans and creatives in electronic music, and music as a whole.
Although the genre would not gain a substantial Japanese following for several years after its founding, the country’s connection to techno has been massive from its inception.
Derrick May, a co-founder of the genre, cited Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra, along with other electropop outfits such as Kraftwerk, as chief influences to techno's creation. Moreover, early DJs produced techno music using primarily Japanese drum machines; particularly Roland’s TR-808 and TR-909 models.
Quickly the genre began developing a following in Detroit and surrounding regions, being played at underground raves and on shortwave radio stations. Soon the DJs that were pioneering the genre were being picked up by major record labels and by the late 1980s, countries across Europe were taking strong Detroit influences in their own brands of electronic music, spurring regional variations.
Early 1980s Detroit techno rave
It wasn’t long after this that the genre began developing a following in Japan. Similarly to the genre’s origin in Detroit, the genre got its start in the country with cliquish underground raves before gaining notability as Japanese DJs got their recognition from record labels and ravers around the world.
By the 1990s, techno was an unstoppable force in the country with raves becoming more popular and techno DJs performing at mainstream festivals.
Thanks to these early adopters of the genre, Japan has managed to become one of the most notable countries for techno in the world.
The Sabukaru team would like go through some of our favorite early Japanese techno DJs and discuss their influences, styles, and unique characteristics that make them stick out not only in Japanese techno, but in the global scene as a whole.
Takkyu Ishino
Takkyu Ishino garnered substantial global recognition for his unique trance and Eurodance inspired pop techno sound. First forming Denki Groove in the 1990 with high school friend Pierre Taki, Ishino developed his unique style throughout the early half of the decade.
The group’s sound, with Ishino’s style still developing at this point, utilized bright instrumentation featuring progressive chords and upbeat drums, while also layering intriguingly eccentric vocals over the fast paced tempos that reached as high as 160 beats per minute. After two successful LPs, the pair split to focus on solo projects.
Ishino’s first two solo efforts, Dove Loves Dub and Mix Up Vol. 1 were instant classics and put him on the map for European techno fans. Ishino implemented trippy ambient samples over beats that toed the line of techno and trance, while also taking notes from breakbeat, jungle, UK garage, and just about every electronic genre popular at the time in Europe, landing him a annual tenure for several years at Belin’s famed Love Parade.
Ken Ishii
Ken Ishii first began DJing techno music in 1993, debuting under Belgium's prestigious R&S records. This placed him at the forefront of the European techno scene, and quickly earned him respect for his traditional approach to the genre.
As a sort of techno purist, Ishii utilizes 8bit-esque synthesizers and drum kits that resemble early Roland drum machines, mirroring the infant days of techno in Detroit’s underground dance clubs.
Jelly Tones, his 1995 LP, became a smash hit in the electronic scene, and even earned Ishii a “MTV Dance Video of the Year” for the music video to “Extra”, directed by Akira animator Koji Morimoto. Ishii then went on to produce music for a number of notable projects including the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympiad and LSD: Dream Emulator for the Playstation 1.
Takaaki Itoh
Itoh gained notability in the techno scene through raves he threw in the mid 1990s in his rural hometown in Iwate Prefecture. These parties established many of the core mantras that would go on to solidify the genre domestically as it gained popularity.
Itoh began adding other rising DJs to his lineups and quickly these parties [as well as Itoh’s newly established psychedelic sound] became well known inside techno circles around the globe, eventually landing Itoh sets at Berlin’s Berghain and Amsterdam’s Awakenings.
Although Itoh's trademark dark ambience fits well into Europe’s notoriously close knit underground techno scene, the layered minimalistic drums and mesmerizing vocal samples made his sound distinctly unique to him.
Susumu Yokota
Susumu Yokota, frequently known as Ebi, is a standout across electronic music for his ambient and house releases as well as techno. Zen, released in 1994, is perhaps Yokota’s most notable project released under the pseudonym Ebi. In this tape Yokota combined his multigenre production experience into a cerebral tech house trip.
Later that year, Yokota released The Frankfurt-Tokyo Connection. A hardcore German inspired techno record utilizing scifi-esque instrumentals and fast rhythms.
Yokota would continue to blur lines and dabble with a wide range of styles until his untimely 2011 death in his mid 50s after a long struggle with illness. Yokota sticks out as being defined not by any particular genre of electronic, but by his penchant for experimentation.
Fumiya Tanaka
Beginning his career as a DJ in the mid 1990s, Fumiya Tanaka is well known among techno fans for his distinctively cutting edge production which relies on intense, pounding drums, and challengingly unconventional synthesizers.
His 1997 and 2000 releases, Unknown Possibilities vol. 1 and 2 respectively are his most notable projects, relevant across the electronic scene for their experimental production which layers razor sharp percussion and long build ups.
Now based in Berlin, Tanaka still returns to Japan to play frequently, including at his annual “Chaos” party which he has organized for over 25 years.
Hiroshi Watanabe
Hiroshi Watanabe, often referred to by his stage names [most commonly Kaito], got his start DJing in New York City after graduating with a Masters in Music Composition from Boston's Berklee College. Focusing on both techno and house, he performed at many of the most respected 90s electronic clubs around the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan such as Twilo and Tunnel.
Watanabe made a name for himself in this competitive scene, producing several tracks that charted, including “Circles” with vocalist Kimara Lovelace which went number one on Billboard’s Club Play Chart. Watanabe even provided music for Playstation’s Beatmania before moving back to Japan in 1999.
In Japan, he has continued to produce music under a number of different music projects and pseudonyms, exploring more atmospheric and experimental electro, such as his 2006 classic Special Life.
Tatsuya Kanamori
Tatsuya Kanamori, usually known by his stage name DJ Shufflemaster, is an early adopter of techno within Japan, and a legend in the underground corners of the international techno scene.
Kanamori has made a name for himself across Europe, particularly in Germany, where he has performed at Love Parade and Tresor nightclub, both of which are pilgrimages for dedicated fans of the genre. In addition to Germany, Kanamori has toured in Belgium, England, France, Spain and Switzerland, making him one of the more notable Japanese underground DJs internationally.
His most recognizable project, EXP was released in 2001 on the legendary Tresor label, a partner of the aforementioned Berlin nightclub. This project was praised for its infectious grooves and rapid tempos, quickly becoming a classic and placing DJ Shufflemaster into global admiration.
Techno at its core is simple, following the same iconic percussion formula that birthed the genre, yet each DJs unique take makes it so diverse, oftentimes blurring the lines into other genres such as pop, house, trance, and even ambient.
Japanese DJs have managed to find a sound that is not only unique enough to stand out in the international scene, but also familiar enough to be successful within a notoriously cliquish subculture.
Today, thanks to these musical pioneers, Japan stands on the forefront of electronic music in the Eastern Hemisphere, keeping the local scene not only alive, but highly inspired.
About the author:
Kade Nations is the music brain of the Sabukaru team.
