May 21st is the date of the next installment of BTC, now a bi-monthly all nighter affair held on the third wednesday of the month. And it’s also my last BTC for the foreseeable future, so I’ll borrow from Skepta’s lyrics book and ask ‘Are you dumb?’ No? good cos you’d better get your ass down there, it’s a celebration bishes.

I’ll be doing a back to back set with the man like Ske for the occasion while 100 Mado rocks it back to back with ENA and Goth Trad does his usual ting of murdering the dancefloor. As for the live end of things, we’ve got Skyfish and Chinza Dopeness doing what they do best in fine combination style and Dokkebi Q dropping a live set! And seeing as these guys are living in London and not Tokyo, I’d say this makes the occasion a special one if it wasn’t already.

Full details are below. The venue is Club Asia, ladies are free till 1am, and there shall be bass and funky shit, a lot of it, truss. See you there! Peep the BTC blog for more and all that jazz. Oh yeah and there’s also a BTC Facebook group for the FB massive out there.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, clubs, dubstep, goth trad, Japan, mad rave, Music

Last month’s edition of Back To Chill was special for a few reasons - end of year celebration, another all nighter and live sets by Japanese artists T2R and Quarta330. Quarta’s set was a particular highlight for me, as it was the first time I got the chance to see him do his thing live, which is pretty spectacular not the least because it involves him making some absolutely banging music using 2 Gameboys, some pedals and an interface. It was 30 mins of 8-bit, platform memories inducing, bass driven goodness. T2R’s live set was also nice, a lot darker than I expected it but very interesting.

And I guess even better is that we’ve managed to get audio from the whole night, thanks to man like Hyaku Mado. And so here’s a selection of sets from the night as well as the live from Quarta and T2R.

For more info on the BTC nights peep the blog. For more info on Quarta go to his myspace, and if you haven’t already go and cop his excellent Hyperdub release, which includes the devastating ‘9 Samurai’ refix.

BTC vol15 audio:

Hyaku Mado b2b Kper - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Goth Trad b2b Kper ft. Chinza Dopeness - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Onedown DJ - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Quarta 330 live set - 27 mins (right click and save as)
T2R live set - 20 mins (right click and save as)

Big up to everyone involved, check the blog for info on the next one.

Popularity: 9%

written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, goth trad, Japan, Music, night life, quarta 330

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.

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Popularity: 5%

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

It’s been a while since I went out all night and raved till the early hours of the morning. But last week was a special occasion - it was golden week, my first holiday in four months, it was Ella’s birthday and I’d been invited to play at Back To Chill once more, and this time it was a special all night affair with the Japanese mad rave family taking over the second room at Club Asia, one of Shibuya’s main night clubs.

And it was a wicked night, as expected. The BTC crew squared off against the Zion Rise crew, with two rooms of electronic mayhem going on all night. It was a pretty weird mix on paper - breakcore, junglism, dubstep and more spread over 6 hours with DJs and live acts. The main room, hosted by Zion Rise, was host to Rotator from France, a pretty big breakcore artist (I wouldn’t know as it ain’t really my thing to be honest) on the Tokyo leg of his Japanese tour, Com.A, Melt Banana and Rebel Familia all playing live. While the second room was hosted by the Back To Chill crew, with Ske, Hyaku Mado, Goth Trad and Kaji Peace in full effect alongside guests Skyfish and myself.

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Popularity: 5%

written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, clubs, dubstep, mad rave, raving, Tokyo

We went to the amazing (I say that with a heavy dose of sarcasm) Namjatown amusement park in Ikebukuro the other day, an indoor amusement park from Namco which is pretty ‘peculiar’ to say the least. Amongst all the tacky weirdness, we played Namco’s Taiko drumming game for the first time.

Taiko drums are a traditional Japanese instrument, with origins in Korea and China, which has seen a massive resurgence in popularity in recent years, primarily due to the release of the aforementioned game Taiko no Tatsujin aka Taiko Drum Master and the increased popularity of taiko drumming ensembles.

Taiko Drum Master is a classic arcade game - two big drums, some sticks and a screen and speakers pumping out covers of various ‘classics’ to which the players have to drum in time, accumulating points in the process. Anyone who’s ever played the likes of Guitar Master or the more classic (and my personal favourite) Samba De Amigo and Parapa The Rapper will know what I’m talking about. The kind of game that allows you to feel like you can play an instrument if you have no musical bone in your body.

So anyways we played a couple of games on it, it was incredibly good fun, and I even managed to beat Ella even though I’m totally rhythmcally challenged.

I would actually like to check some proper Taiko drumming while I’m here, as the few bits I’ve seen on TV have been pretty interesting, and it’s apparently a really great live experience.

And then today I came across these two youtube video gems :shock: out to the otakus out there, some serious skills!

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written by Laurent \\ tags: taiko, video games

Damn what a night. Been waiting for this since I came over - Mala from Digital Mystickz playing the main room at UNIT nightclub alongside Goth Trad and Doc Scott at what is normally a dnb only night. The result was superb and well worth me getting near to no sleep and have to work with a frazzled brain :grin: .

It’s got to be said UNIT’s sound system is definitely up there with some of the best I’ve ever witnessed. And definitely gives most big London nightclubs a run for their money. And where else but Japan are you going to find a big club with bins all over the place, lockers for your stuff, drinks dispenser with beer and water and toilets that clean your backside and play soothing sounds to you! (that last one is ladies only apparently though, us men have to contend with simple cleaning options)

Anyways the music was excellent - it was wicked being able to see Mala again after missing him before I left London. Everytime I’ve seen him in the last few years has been a great memory. He brings so much energy and amazing music it’s always a pleasure witnessing it. This time round was no different with an hour and a half of old and new tracks, and plenty of unreleased dubs I won’t be hearing for a while on a big system. This is the man that most definitely puts the step in dubstep (a shite line I know but I had to say it) - the floor was constantly moving for his whole set, showing the often unrealised potential of the music.

The crowd reaction was amazing too - the whole place was going nuts, and people were seriously loving it. It was crazy seeing Japanese people react to dubs I’ve heard plenty of time as if they’d heard them all before too (which a lot of them probably have thanks to the internet but still). And just in general it was great to see such an amazing reaction to Mala and Goth’s sets from what is normally a dnb crowd. Definitely was an eye opener for a few people by the looks and reactions I was seeing all night.

Goth Trad also came correct with his live set which get better everytime I see them too - the way he just changes it every time, adds to it, tweaks it and just generally fits it perfectly to the mood and the place is wicked. The man has some seriously amazing rhythms and him and Mala playing one after the other was ideal, because in a way their styles really complimented each other perfectly. Mala with his polyrhythmic, bass heavy productions and Goth with his widely diverse rhythms, from grime and dubstep patterns to dirty, technoy styles and all out rave music. All of which are linked by an insane amount of sub bass and serious production talent. It’s just so nice to hear music that is so diverse and just makes you want to move like a nutter all night. I miss that feeling and it’s becoming incredibly rarer when I get it.

But yeah it was incredible, totally worth it and just great to see the reception and how far the sound and vibes have come from their South London beginnings to Tokyo, as well as New Zealand (where Mala is headed next), Russia, America and more. The music never fails to grab you by the chest when you see it live especially when it’s given to you by people like Mala - the man just has the magic touch it’s crazy.

I took a whole bunch of pics which you can see on this Flickr set:
Mala at UNIT Flickr set

In two weeks is the next BTC which is going to be live, and then in May Skream is playing with Zinc and if all goes well Kode 9 is then coming over in July. Bring it on.

Popularity: 4%

written by Laurent

Last night was the 7th installment of Back To Chill, and once more it was a proper skankin and pleasurable affair. Good crowd, good people, good sound, good food (the food was so good, it sold out last night! Big up the curry lady, it sorted me out and it was lush) and good vibes all round. As I said before the night is definitely growing in popularity with every occasion and it showed last night, with a packed dancefloor.

Music wise it was good too, with guest DJ Quarta330 dropping a heavy set (see below for some audio) and the residents coming in good too. Ske played b2b with Hyaku Mado and I played b2b with Goth Trad and it was fuckin dope. Thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to more of the same next month. There was also an MC who got on the mic during Ske and Hyaku Mado’s set and dropped some lyrics in Japanese, which was nice and went down well too.

The next big night is in two weeks, with Mala Mystikz, Doc Scott and Goth Trad playing the main room in Unit and the BTC crew handling the downstairs room. You know it’s gonna be heavy, and it’s looking like Kode 9 might also be putting in an appearance in Tokyo over the summer, which should be dope. All in all it’s definitely shaping up to be an interesting year for the music in Japan.

Didn’t take any pictures this time, but the guys did and you can check a little gallery over at the BTC Blog.

I managed to get some audio of the night, though my laptop packed it in halfway through my set with Goth Trad Next time i’ll have to remember to bring a power plug! Click on the audio player below to listen to Quarta330’s set and about 50 mins of Goth Trad and myself b2b. You can find out more on Quarta330 (and hear his excellent remix of Kode9’s ‘9 Samurai’) on his myspace page.

Next BTC is on the 5th of April!

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written by Laurent

Back at BTC in two weeks - can’t wait. And two weeks later Mala Mystikz and Doc Scott are playing at DnB sessions. Should be a good month.

Come down on the 1st if you’re around - gonna be heavy again.

Popularity: 3%

written by Laurent

Last night was our first proper night out in Tokyo - and it was one to remember, as I was invited to play at Back To Chill, Goth Trad’s monthly session of Dubstep, Grime and Madrave.

The night was wicked, it was a pleasure to play down there and it felt good to be able to play some tunes after over 3 months of not having touched any decks or vinyl… The regulars, Goth Trad, Hyaku Mado, Ske and Kaji Peace all played wicked sets too - with new bits from Ske, Hyaku Mado and Goth Trad going down particularly well alongside a whole bunch of old and more recent tracks from a wide spectrum of producers and labels.

The venue was real nice too - Saloon @ Unit, which is a tiny little spot but with a system that packs a mighty punch. No messin’ about there, and the bass was exactly as you’d want it.

It was nice to see the impact the music is having in Tokyo - it’s still a fairly small affair, with a hundred or so people passing through during the night, but it’s been growing with every event and people seem to really be feeling the music, even if the crowd reactions are quite different to the UK. Not a lot of shouting or expression, just a lot of dancing and looking dazed by the bass and beats. The atmosphere is real nice too, feels like a proper family affair, with people lounging about in the bar area, chatting, drinking and even a little food table where you could get some curry after some heavy skankin!
And with both Mala Mystikz and Skream coming over to Tokyo in the next few months as well as Goth Trad soon to release his first 12″s on UK labels including Deep Medi, it should be a pretty good and interesting year for the Japanese massive and the spreading of the virus in Nippon.

Check the Flickr set below for more photos from the evening.

Back To Chill vol.6 Flickr Set

Also check some more pics and words from the boys at their blog

BTC blog

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written by Laurent

Records are on their way… it’s gonna be big. Respect to Goth Trad and the BTC crew for having me down!

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written by Laurent