Damn it’s been 8 months already since I first played at BTC. Time flies as they say. What started as a favour has turned into a monthly ritual and some of my best moments in a city that still feels alien a lot of the time. When Goth Trad came to Europe last year, I arranged a gig for him at the Dragon Bar (where I did a monthly open mic session). The night was great, Goth flipped it as expected and he invited me to play at his newly started BTC monthly session in Tokyo when I moved here. An offer I was only too happy to accept. Fast forward to February this year, and my first gig in Tokyo as the guest at the 6th edition of BTC. And I thought it’d be that, but Goth very kindly kept inviting me back, so much so that I’ve ended up playing pretty much every session bar a couple since then, something I definitely didn’t expect but which has been an amazing experience.

BTC has grown a lot since it started last year. With Goth Trad at the helm, who himself has had a pretty incredible year with his popularity and interest in his music blowing up worldwide, alongside Hyaku Mado, Ske, Kaji Peace and Diagram, BTC has become an amazing little night, showcasing the dubstep and grime sounds that have come (and keep coming) out of London (and in the last year or so the rest of the world) to a growing audience of fans. The parties are held at Saloon, which is basically the downstairs bar/room of Unit nightclub, one of Tokyo’s best clubs. And this venue has also been key to the success of the night, as is always the case, giving it an intimate atmosphere which is definitely reminiscent of FWD>> at Plastic People or the early DMZ parties at Third Base. The vibe and people are what makes the night and while these can be quite different from what I’ve experienced in London or Europe, the audience has started to change over the months I’ve been here and witnessed it, gradually becoming more open and a lot more vocal.

I remember when I played in February and both Ella and I remarked that the crowd reactions were totally different to what you’d expect back home. People seemed a little subdued, and their wasn’t a lot of the usual reactions you’d expect at parties like this. Not that it felt like people weren’t enjoying the music, just that maybe they weren’t showing their enjoyment in the same way as people in Europe would. The only people who reacted as you might have expected were the few foreigners who came down ceremoniously every month (Dan I’m looking at you mate! :smile: ). 6 months later when Kode 9 and The Bug toured and played 2 special parties in Tokyo, the crowd went absolutely bonkers and the vibes were most definitely on par with the best parties I’ve been to in London.

Since its beginning one year ago, BTC has not only been essential in providing a platform for the sounds and music in Tokyo (the only one of its kind, and a kickstarter of sorts for more dubstep and grime being played at other electronic music events) it’s also been there has a platform to help showcase emerging Japanese talents. I remember when I hooked up with Goth shortly after I arrived, and 5 months or so since BTC had started, he was telling me how keen he was to try and bring some new DJs, producers and artists to BTC. For the BTC crew the night was never just about them. And in the following months they kept their word and started bringing in more and more guests to the nights, including local Tokyo producers like Quarta330 and Skyfish, as well as MCs such as D2 and Cardz, who come from drum n bass, and Rumi, who comes from more of a hip hop background (though that’s not quite doing her work full justice). And that’s not all, they also managed to bring over pioneers of the sound including Mala from Digital Mystikz, Kode 9, and Skream. What was most interesting about seeing new DJs, producers and MCs at the nights was how the sound and vibe was starting to change from being just a place that played music that wasn’t so popular in Japan yet, to being a place which also showcased variations on the music and its ideas made in Japan. And led by Goth Trad, who always showcases his latest productions and work at the night, new sounds and ideas have started to come through with everyone bringing something different to the table, from the guests to the regular crew members.

All of which culminated this week with the 1st anniversary of BTC, which was most definitely a monumental event. Continuing on all the good work and progress they’ve made all year, the crew went all out and put on an all night event that will definitely be remembered round these parts. Not only did the night run from 8pm till 6am, which is a pretty long ting for a thursday night, it also featured a whole host of guests including live acts, DJs and MCs alongside the usual crew. And not forgetting the standard food stall (note to promoters reading this: providing food on the night is a mighty good idea, though I can see how it might be a bit more dangerous to pull off in Europe :lol: ). Which is where the BTC guys got it right - a whole night of DJing can only go so far, and having live acts as well as MCs for the most part meant that the audience were given more than just music to vibe to. This was a proper party, and a successful one at that. The place was rammed from pretty much the beginning until about 4/4.30am which is pretty good going for a mid week event, and a night promoting a sound that still isn’t that well established in Tokyo or Japan yet (though that is definitely starting to change quite fast).

The highlights, apart from the incredible vibes all night, definitely came from the live acts and MCs. Skyfish and MC Chinza Dopeness provided the first live act. I’d seen them before when they were invited to BTC back in May, and their show was definitely an interesting one, not limiting itself to just dubstep sounds and tempos, and incorporating the MC integraly into the performance, in a way not too disimilar to what Kode 9 and Spaceape have been doing. Which is funny because on thursday MC Dopeness put on a show which straight away reminded me of Spaceape. This time he just stood, or sat, behind Skyfish and kinda rambled into the mic, making weird noises, shouting, humming, singing and busting jokes in Japanese. At first it felt a little odd, as if he wasn’t quite with it, but soon enough you realised he was totally in it, and the crowd reacted accordingly. After 10 mins or so I realised that the rambling and noises actually fitted the music perfectly, going off beat and back on again, and just adding a new dimension to it. It was definitely a pretty interesting show to witness, with Dopeness showing another side to MCing and Skyfish showcasing more new beats and rhythms which are most definitely all his own.

They set off the tone for the rest of the night. The BTC crew went b2b for 4 hours with a host of guest MCs from various backgrounds. The first two hours saw D2 and Cardz, regulars at Tokyo’s drum n bass events, put on a remarkable show and if anything proving that dnb MCs can be a lot more interesting than what most people have come to expect from them in recent years. The last two hours were in the firmly good hands of Rumi, Candle and Shibitto, a trio of MCs who’ve made a name for themselves on the Japanese hip hop and alternative underground. Together they also totally flipped it, bringing a different vibe and style to the proceedings, contrasting nicely with D2 and Cardz. I realise that it might actually sound like a bit of a weird one, to have drum n bass and hip hop MCs at a night like this and I’d be the first to normally think twice about it but it actually worked really well. And I think the main reason is because they all brought something different to the music, from their respective backgrounds, but also adapted themselves to the different situation and went with it. They knew when to go all out and when to hold back, and there were a few funny moments when you could tell the track just threw them off as well (I think Shibitto had a bit of a shock when I played Vex’d’s ‘Bombardment of Saturn’ :lol: ). And most importantly they connected with the crowd and brought an added dimension to the music which was much needed. Most impressive on the night for me were Candle, Rumi and Cardz, who all showed off some incredible lyrical dexterity and flows.

In between the 4h b2b extravaganza the BTC crew brought another guest in, perfectly timed to break up the marathon session and change the vibe again. From Osaka, Sak Dub I was invited to bring his own take on dub, in a 40 minute set that was the perfect counterbalance to the energetic and vocal b2b sets. The man plays dub, with touches of jungle and other electronic music, live and his set was really refreshing. Slow and hypnotic, packing a hefty amount of bass weigth. The other two guests on the night were Mixmas and Quarta 330, who opened and closed the night respectively, each also bringing their own touch and rounding off what was a night to remember.

It’s been a successful year for BTC and all those involved, and by the looks of it they’ve got some more good things coming in the next 12 months. Hopefully I’ll be there to see it all, it’s been an honour to be a part of it and a pleasure to witness.

As usual I took a lot more pictures than I should have, which you can check on Flickr, right here:

BTC 1 year anniversary - Flickr set

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written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, clubs, dubstep, goth trad, Music, night life, Tokyo