2009年5月30日土曜日

Rock4four: Wintering in Yokohama




2.4 Dancing while under the influence.




The rain starts to fall heavily. 'umeyu', or the rainy season is coming soon - a time when it doesn't rain, so much as heaven unloads all the angels tears, and waterfalls descend from the skies, splashing all of creation. I've had too much coffee.




We could stay talking in the park, on the harbour front, as Fox brought his golf umbrella, but when he suggests continuing the conversation at his apartment, I'm there. I love that place.




Yuji is up, and about, when we get back, and makes us all some green tea. "best hangover cure there is" he tells me.




Yippee. More caffeine. I smile weakly, but gratefully, and continue asking questions. "Do you just play rock?"




"95%, but you can drop in a few sneaky ones, like "sho nuff" or "brimful of asha" Yuji tells me. "When the party rocks, tunes like that fit nicely. besides, we met at big beat boutique", so those tunes are meaningful to us.




"Yeah, we've been together ten, nearly ten years" says Fox"




"Planning a party?", I ask




"Absolutely!" Says Yuji. "June 6 - straight after the Yokohama Big Beach festival. Are you there?"




I nod. I can't speak, as my teeth are grinding, with all the caffeine.




"Any other influences?" I ask.




"Well, Yooj is a bit older than me, says Fox. So he got me into Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, even Scarlet Fantastic".




"Why don't you just put my birth certificate online?" Harumphs Yuji.




I make my excuses, and bid goodbye. Out into the Sunday morning rain. Kind of refreshing, actually.




next: the anniversary party
Featured tracks:
Happy Mondays - Stayin' Alive:
Primal Scream - Loaded:
Fatboy Slim - Sho Nuff:
Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory:
Alphaville - Big in Japan
Japan - Life in Tokyo
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2009年5月29日金曜日

Rock4four: Wintering in Yokohama




2.3 The Rock Knockers


On a recent, rainy Sunday morning, I called Fox and Yuji, and asked if they felt like a chat. Yuji was too groggy and hung over to accept, but Fox said 'lets go to Yamashita Park. I love hanging out in parks!'


I'm a bit wary about that, as some poor guy got battered to death there, only the other morning. Fox assures me it'll be fine, and just the two of us head over to the park, on the bay, in the rain. Maybe because of the rain though, the park is eerily quiet, and the usual view of the bay, and the suspension bridge is shrouded, as is the bench, where the murder took place. The talk is that a homeless guy was attacked, but it hasn't been confirmed. The homeless problem here isn't spoken about much, but it's actually pretty chronic. And to make matters worse, some kids think its funny to beat the shit out of homeless people. Talk about kicking people while they're down...


Anyway, I ask Fox how the previous night's event went:


'Absolutely rockin! Packed, lively, and late! We finally stopped playing at seven. I ain't been to bed yet. I don't like to stop playing, 'til the floor's empty, though, and this time, they just didn't want to stop dancing. Fine by me. It gave me a chance to drop some of my favorite tracks - Cornershop, 'Come Home', by James, stuff I like, but which I wouldn't normally play. I'm not sure the Americans would like tracks that were too 'British', but they went down really well, last night. They love us, those kids!'


While it's undeniably popular, Rock4four does have its critics. Joe Crackles, music reviewer for Tokyo Life magazine, called it 'stars on 45 - the extended dance mix from Hell'
I tell this to fox, who roars with laughter, and exclaims: "I wish I'd thought of that - I'll play 'stars on 45 next week!!"


I also pass on the withering put down, recently uttered by Don the Gaul, for the 'JapanandLovinit' web site: 'Rock4four is two (nightmare) trips down memory lane, for the price of one: all the rock tracks which were deemed suitable for all the cringe inducing wedding receptions you ever went to, PLUS the cheesiest of continuous a.m. radio mixes, that they play when djs have the trots"


I ask him, once he stops belly laughing, for a response:


"No music scene is perfectly cool and acceptable, to everyone. To some, disco is cool, to others, it's ludicrous. Some indie kids and bands were seen as moody, and full of attitude. But to me, that scene was always too white, too hung up, too middle class. I could go on..."


"Please do" I say.


"Well, 'house music' - that passed the indie kids, and their magazines by, dinnit? They were missing, by dismissing the rave scene, the coolest, most enjoyable youth movement in Britain, for decades. And that, more than any other scene inspired Yuji, I, and the other posse members, to start Rock4four. We don't just play cheesy a.o.r. as Joe Crackles would have you believe. We cut, splice, beat mix, loop, mash, extend, strip and funk up good, danceable rock tracks, because, from the perspective of underground dance events, we saw potential in doing that.


"I'm not really interested what Joe Crackles thinks, anyway. He just writes for the sake of writing, to see how many times he can use the word 'seminal' or how many names he can drop, in one article. Club culture has hardly ever been encapsulated, in the press, in literature, or film. Only seriously talented writers can do it. Not wannabe hacks, writing for Tokyo freesheets. so it's easier just to diss the scene, 'cos it's beyond their ability to put the vibe, the freshness, the positivity, and energy, into words.'
"Do you have a problem, with Joe crackles?"
"Yeah, actually. Ages ago, he asked for guest list tickets, so we said yeah, if he'd do a review. So, someone else comes down, but Crackles writes a shitty review, and then calls us again, asking for more guest list tickets. Obviously, Rock4four is SO bad, he needs to come down again, by himself, just to take it all in. Tossbag"
-----------------------------------------------
Featured Tracks:
Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim Mix):
James - Come Home:
Stars on 45, Vol 1:
Stars on 45, Vol 2:
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2009年5月28日木曜日

PREVIEW: Fatboy Slim, Big Beach Festival, Hakkejima, June 6


Hiya


Big Beatniks, Ravers, 4Four Rokkers, and party monsters all over Japan will undoubtedly be aware that the incomparable Fatboy Slim is bringing the wonderful Brighton vibe (but hopefully not the weather) to 'Yokohama Beach', this summer, in what promises to be just the beginning of a great party season.


In anticipation, I wrote a preview, for the SeekJapan Website:




Hope to see lots of you there!


Des.
P.S. Here's Brimful of Asha, by Cornershop, a Fatboy Slim classic we often hear on the floor at Rock4four too:
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2009年5月26日火曜日

Rock4four: Wintering in Yokohama










2.2 Friday night in Yokohama

It's Friday night, here in Yokohama. I love this place. Like New York, it's a totally 'now' kind of place, but with one eye on a future which will probably never be. The main architectural influence seems to be Gerry Anderson.
Dusk comes, and in Rock bar, the place is buzzing. Local people, Tokyo people, Japanese and foreigner alike, here to party. The Yokosuka Navy crowd are here too.
Fox, now taking over dj duties, from his regular warm up DJ, the excellent 'The Temple Cat', ups the tempo, mixing the beats from the killers' 'all these things that i've done' with 'dreams', by the Cranberries. When the Cranberries' riff kicks in, the crowd go ape. They know the party is really starting, but Fox loops the riff, and beats, for a minute or so, sometimes mixing back to the previous track. He's working the floor well, but doesn't milk it, and lets the Cranberries vocal kick in. Once more, the crowd roars in appreciation.
More tracks are seemlessly mixed. I listen to Blondie's 'Rapture', before I beckon the manageress over, for a chat. 'We were always a busy bar, at weekends', she tells me. 'I love helping Yuji (Fuji) out, but I think that after they move out to the beach, in summer, they need to find bigger, more suitable venues. I don't think the building manager is too happy'.
Later, Yuji, who had been listening to the conversation, tells me, confidentially. 'I don't know about the manageress here, but other 'rock' bar owners have told me, that because of the rise in business, 'certain' people have been muscling in. I think, for the next couple of months, we'll be ok, but when we come back, to Yokohama, in the autumn, we need to find a solution'
'Such as?' I ask.
'such as pay 'them' off ourselves, or find our own, bigger venue, out of 'their' reach. the Rock of Gib pub would have been perfect. A big enough, foreign owned venue, but things are really up in the air, with that now.'
---------------------------------------------------------------

Back on the dance floor, Fox is looping 'sometimes' by James, which is going down great. But when the 'oooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh' of New Order's Temptation can be heard, working its way into the mix, the crowd goes even wilder. They're really, really up for it, on nights like tonight. However, Rock 4four is not without its critics...

_____________________________


Next: What is the meaning, of Rock4four?


Rock4four DJ Roster:
DJ Fox White
DJ Miki Ohara
DJ J1
DJ The Temple Cat
DJ 北星　(a.k.a. DJ KH)
Ex DJ: Tommy Tokugawa

_____________________________




















Featured tracks:








The Killers - All these things that I've done:








The Cranberries - Dreams








Blondie - Rapture:












James - Sometimes:
















New order - Temptation:








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2009年5月21日木曜日

Rock4four: Wintering in Yokohama







2.1　Little England


Probably due to economic, conditions, British businesses: mainly pubs, and a chip and pie shop, but also a hostess bar, have taken a hit, recently, in Yokohama. Many have closed, but some have relocated, to a row of previously disused, and low rent commercial properties. Here, 'Little England' has flourished, sandwiched between the harbour, and Kotobukicho, one of only three slums, in the whole of Japan.



One such establishment, a pub, called the Rock of Gibraltar, is my next port of call.The future of the Rock, though, is in doubt, since the recent death of Neil Greaves, the proprietor. Like me, Neil once called Brighton his home. But since 1990, he ran the Rock, at various locations, around the harbor, with his partner, Yuji Yoshida. Yuji isn't certain now, whether the Rock of Gib will continue. 'I'm a businessman. The pub was Neil's idea. I could just do something else, but Neil owned half the business. Things are uncertain right now. I feel like I just want to grieve. At least for a while.


It would be a pity, if the Rock closes. Not only was it one of the best pubs in Yokohama, with a great owner, in Neil, but in recent months, it had rode the crest of a wave of interest, in the city, in things British: music, fashion, and, dare i say it, even food. I, for one, hope the Rock of Gib survives. It is a terrific bar, and I hope Yuji can continue with it.


The increase in Anglophilia, in the city perhaps coincided, with the decision of Yuji Fuji, after the end of last year's beach season, to continue the rock4four dance events, In the bars of Yokohama's Little England, through the winter. Fuji recalls:


'The demand was definitely there, after the successes of the summer. But no venue was big enough to meet demand. The result was lots of events, each week, at various pubs, clubs, live houses and bars. We'd hold an event, called 'Brighton Rock' on Friday nights. Absolutely packed. Mostly local kids. Then some of the Rock4four djs would have an alldayer, at the Rock of Gibraltar, on Saturdays. Also, there would be a simultaneous event at Club 24 West:

www.club24west.com

'This also had a live aspect. Local bands playing dancefloor savvy rock. Then, on Saturday nights, just Fox (White) would play at the Benbow. Jam packed, again. Then, on Sundays, there'd be a J-rock event, at the Brass bar... again, dancefloor friendly. In addition, the Dragon Club holds regular dance rock events:

www.dragon-club.asia

'And across town in the Jack Cafe Basement, they're running a night, which combines rock and dance styles too':

www.jcbassment.com



At this point, Fox arrives, to set up for the Friday night, at Brighton Rock. I deem it a good time to ask him his opinions on Japanese Rock. 'Its good, yeah', he says, fiddling with his mixer.


'But I haven't heard you play any'.


He seems engrossed in a beatmixing program, on his p.c. After about thirty seconds, he responds:


'I play the Ballad of John and Yoko, sometimes'.



I'm about to respond back, but Yuji has something to say:


'The interest we've brought, to Little England has definitely helped bar owners, and other businesses. Benbow was on the point of closing, but it is heaving at weekends, now. Yuji Yoshida and Neil, at Gib said business had never been better. Continuing rock4four events, through the winter was a gamble. But it paid. It kept places open. And it's kept the level of interest in the music, and the dance nights so high, that I'm sure, when we return to the beaches, in July, the interest and energy will be even higher than last year.


next: the local hoods take an interest.
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2009年5月13日水曜日

Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks




1.6 White Only Dance Night


------------------------------------------




Early one Saturday evening, last July, Tyrell Hathaway, some of his colleagues, from the U.S. Navy base, at Yokosuka, and a couple of their girlfriends were sitting in a bar, in the town, planning what to do with the rest of their night off.




"Anyway my 'bro walks in, looked kinda agitated" recalls Tyrell. "He's holding this flyer. I can remember the EXACT wording:




"Tonight, at Yuigahama: Rock4four presents: White Only Dance Event




" So of course, we're immediately p***ed off!" remembers Tyrell, now sitting in Yuji's 'Rock Bar', in Yokohama, recounting the course of events. "Not only p***ed off for ourselves, but some of the 'bros were stepping out with local Japanese girls, who are not exactly white either.




"A few of us decided to go down there, and kick up some shit - we thought the KKK had set up a chapter in Kamakura, or something. So we get the train, head down to the beach, and this guy's standing there at the bar, mixing drinks, looking chill". Tyrone points at Yuji.




"I pull out the flyer, and say to him "what's this SHIT, man?" And HE says....." Tyrone gestures at Yuji, to continue the story.




"I said "Hi guys, usually we have a few guys, playing here, from the Rock4four sound system. But tonight, there's only ONE DJ: Fox White." Luckily, they saw the funny side, as I hoped they would. So I gave everybody a cocktail on the house, and asked them to stay a while, and have a good time. I didn't figure the Navy guys would stick around for long, but their girlfriends dug the music, and soon hit the dancefloor, with other girls, who'd started dancing as well. Of course, the guys followed."




"I WAS diggin' the music!" laughs Tyrone. "the fact that I stayed a while had NOTHING to do with the free cocktails, and the HOT, HOT women who had come along to dance, too! And when I saw the DJ was a brother, too, I knew there was no malice involved."




"In reality", Yuji continues, "the first couple of Rock4four events at the beach had gone OK, but Fox mentioned that alot of the crowd were just muzos, who were happy to sit, drink, and enjoy the music. Which is fine, but I knew then, that we had to get more ladies on the dancefloor, so we offered a special 'ladies' price', on drinks. We knew that guys would follow, and they did, but it wasn't really filling the dancefloor. That's when I had the 'WHITE ONLY DANCE NIGHT' idea. I told the rest of the crew to distribute flyers, some around Yokosuka, and some near the air base, at Atsugi. Then, I told them to take the night off, and told Fox he'd have to DJ all night."




"That was fine with me", Fox shouts across, from the pool table, where he's playing 9 ball, with some of Tyrell's friends. "By that time", Fox continues "I'd reworked enough good rock tracks for the dance floor - probably enough for five or six hours. I was keen to see how it worked, so I was really glad, to see people dancing, although I'd had misgivings about Yuji's idea. In all honesty guys, though, what did you think?"




At this point, Kendrick, one of Tyrell's buddys chips in. "I wasn't amused, not at all, in all honesty, and I'm still not. But I could see there was no malice there, too, even though I don't appreciate being fooled. The vibe was good though, the ladies were lovin' it, and yeah, I had a good time. It's obvious these guys wanted to try something different, and it works pretty well. Heh heh. We were there pretty much every weekend, last summer, after that. Especially T-Bone." Kendrick points his pool cue at Tyrell. "Or should I say T-BONER...? He fell in luuuurve. Heh heh!"




Tyrone winces, playfully, and waves Kendrick away. "Yeah, that first night down there, I met a terrific girl, Sayaka. We danced, we exchanged numbers...."




"And a few other things!" Kendrick shouts over.




"Hey, I'm a good, Christian Gentleman, man!" remonstrates Tyrell. She was the sweetest, most beautiful creature I've ever seen. And MAAAAAN, could she dance! Respect to the DJ!" He shouts over, to Fox, and punches the air. "My MAAAN!"




Tyrell smiles, dreamily, and looks down, at the floor, by his bar stool. "I'll never forget last summer. When the season finishes, at the end of August, they have to close all the bars, and take everything away, 'cos the typhoon season's coming. I never wanted it to end, but it does".




"Are you still in touch with, uhm, Sayaka?" I ask, tentatively.




"Hell, yeah!" retorts Kendrick, as if I've just asked the stupidest question, EVER! They're glued at the Goddam hip, most of the time..... and glued at the groin, the rest of the time!" It's obvious that Kendrick is the Joker, in this pack.



"We got engaged, three days ago", Tyrell announces, sheepishly.
The bar erupts. "Hell, why didn't you say, man?" Kendrick asks, his voice a mixture of surprise, and annoyance. Everyone mobs Tyrell, offering congratulations, and ordering drinks.
"Because he's a dark horse?" Yuji quips, mischieviously.

"hey man, CUT THAT OUT!" Kendrick shouts, pointing at Yuji, his tone carrying playful indignation. "Besides, I provide the comedy, around here!"
============================================
In PART 2, Rock4four takes to the bars and clubs of Yokohama, for the winter season.














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Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks




1.5 In the Mix
------------------------------------------
The sun is setting, over Yokohama. From Yuji and Fox's apartment, the view, over the harbour, and the modern skyscrapers, on one side, Mount Fuji, silhouetted by the dusk sky on the other, is astonishing. Yokohama looks lively, below us: izakaya (japanese pubs), hostess bars, karaoke boxes, and the baseball stadium are all opening their doors, and welcoming their patrons. From the tv, the sound of last summer's Rock4four Enoshima beach party is picking up tempo.




I return to the leather sofa, in the beautifully decorated lounge, of Yuji and Fox's flat, and continue to watch the dvd. Fox hands me another can of kirin lager. "The tracks that are playing now, are often used in mash-up sets", fox explains. "Hard to explain, by the Strokes, Guns n' Roses, Taper jean girl, by Kings of Leon. That sort of thing. We've sampled sets of beats from each one, though, to extend the tracks, so we can work the floor, and mix them into each other". The dvd also, shows a setting sun, over Enoshima, and here too, the majestic Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance. Darkness brings a breeze onshore, a respite from the murderous daytime heat, and the Thai fire dancers appear, to entertain an increasingly genki crowd.




And in the DJ box, Fox and his posse are picking up the tempo still further. A mashed up, looping, building reworking of U2's one tree hill, and Larry Mullen's terrific precision drumming, and Brian Eno's soaring string arrangements have been sampled and looped, and work terrifically in the mix. By now, the crowd is large, happy, and dancing hard. Some of them wearing Kamikaze headbands (mainly tryhard foreigners), while a few of the Japanese kids prefer to clack, with those wooden fire alarm sticks, that old people bang, at dusk, in potentially flammable neighborhoods. Impressively, the kids clack perfectly to the beat, and add a certain shiranai mono, to the proceedings.




At the beach bar, Yuji, is shaking cocktails, to the beat. Beautiful waitresses, in bikini tops, and sarongs, bring the freshly shaken drinks to a group of young, happily intoxicated American servicemen. One of them shouts into the camera "this place rocks, man! The chicks are amazing, and the DJ is slick. I never thought I'd get into the moozik, but this place has a hell of a vibe!"




Yuji tells me that the cameraman is his brother, one of Japan's top adult video film makers. Judging by the way he effortlessly focuses the camera on the best looking girls on the dancefloor, I can easily believe it. The cameraman weaves through the crowd, and some of the girls dance extra seductively for the benefit of the lens. Young guys of all nationalities whoop and holler, in a sincere, but cliched way, to show that they're having a great time, too.




The crowd shrieks, as one, as the "ooh ooh ah aah" of Blondie's Heart of glass works its way into Fox's seamless mix. the wooddecking, the makeshift dancefloor is packed, now, with scores more revellers dancing on the sand. The camera pans around, and shows the party people dancing, all the way to the water's edge. The sheer euphoria, and energy is incredible, and tangible, even as I sit watching it, here,on dvd, months later.




Next: I interview some of the Rock4four party goers.
Featured tracks:
The Strokes - Hard to Explain:
Guns N Roses - Sweet Child o' mine:
Kings of Leon - Taper Jean Girl:
U2 - One Tree Hill
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2009年5月12日火曜日

Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks








1.4 - The idea.






I'm sitting the luxury apartment, overlooking Yokohama harbour, which Yuji Fuji has shared with Fox, since they moved here, from Brighton, three years ago.

"Yokohama's perfect, for us" enthuses Fox. As well has being Yuji's home town, it's perfectly positioned between Tokyo, and the beaches. Not to mention the fact that there wasn't really a distinctive Yokohama nightlife, before we arrived, despite its long history as an international port town."
"What does being a port have to do with having a good music scene?" I ask.

"It might seem strange, to suggest that a port city, with international connections, is inevitably connected with a vibrant nightlife, and music scene", Yuji continues. "But the number of times such a thing happens is uncanny - Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol - all ports. Brighton, also by the sea. In America, New York (New Wave), San Francisco (psychedelia), and Seattle (Grunge), on the coasts, and in the Great Lake cities, Chicago (Blues and House) and Detroit (Motown, and Techno)."


It's obvious that these guys know music history. But can they use that knowledge, to make a party rock? I'm about to find out. Yuji puts a DVD into his player, and shows me a 2 hour homemade film, of last Year's Rock4four Kamakura beach parties, overlaid, by one of Fox's mixes, which he said he did for the Ocean Day Alldayer, at Enoshima beach last year.


There are, it has to be said, alot of people, who seem to be enjoying themselves, in this film, from Fox, Yuji, and their fellow DJs, and VJs, to the Bar staff, to the heavenly, bikini clad babes, down from the big cities, and the young guys, of all nationalities, who watch them, admiringly. Loafer dudes, surfer dudes, surf rockers, Japanese Garage rockers, ravers, wavers, U.S. Navers, not yet shavers. All are having fun.

"The trick is, to get the perfectly balanced dancefloor", says Yuji, observing events on the DVD. "And to do that, you have to play to the girls - it doesn't have to be girly, but it does have to make you wanna move. Once the girls are on the floor, the boys'll follow. In Britain, the great DJ's, Danny Rampling, Graeme Park, the Big Beat Boutique crew - they all seemed to know that!"


But how do you do it, with Rock music, if the kids just wanna dance? Fox's mix starts with the Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", but the instrumental sections are looped and extended, and there's a clear, thumping beat underlaying it. The beat, it becomes apparent, is spliced from INXS "Not enough time", which is the next track up. The early tempo is restrained 4/4 - not full on, but increasingly dancey. Numb, by U2, Loaded, by Primal Scream, WFL by the Happy Mondays....


Hang on! the Primal Scream and Mondays' tracks are Rock??? I ask Yuji and Fox, incredulously. They were remixed by Weatherall and Oakenfold - legendary dance DJs and producers. Right?

"Right" Yuji responds. "But definitely these bands have always had one foot in the indie rock camp. If you went to a full on underground dance night, you were never gonna hear these tracks. You'd hear house, techno and trance. These tracks are are dancey rock tracks, for a rock crowd. You might hear them at Temperance, but not Renaissance.


"When I was in Manchester" Yuji continues, "there were lots of DJ's who weren't scared to drop Rock tracks... Dave Haslam's Temperance Club, at the Hacienda, and Justin Robertson, upstairs, at Jolly Roger. Really inspirational - got me thinking. But not even they would play Rock all night. You couldn't, because often the beat isn't clear enough, it's invariably a bugger to mix, and it's too focussed on the vocals. But the stuff the Big Beat crews did to rock, and other tracks, cutting and splicing, add to that the advances in mash up software, and suddenly you're looking at a whole new set of possibilities. These possibilities helped us decide to put on our first rock dance night, at my "Rock bar", on the harbor front here, in Yokohama, at the beginning of last year".

Was it a success?


"In a sense, yeah." Fox chips in. "But the crowds weren't big, and we had to pad the sets out with pre existing dancey remixes, alot of stuff, by the Strokes, and the U2 perfecto mixes. But the longer the night went on, the more the word spread. And because this ensured that the nights could continue, it gave me time to make some tracks I couldn't previously play more dance floor friendly, and DJ friendly, by looping the instrumental parts, and sticking clear, mixable beat patterns on each end. By the time we did the first beach party, at the beginning of July, musically, and commercially, it was really starting to come together.
--------------------------------
Featured tracks:
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots:
U2 - Numb:
Primal Scream - Loaded
(Link pending)
Happy Mondays - WFL
The Strokes - Reptilia:
U2 - Lady With The Spinning Head (remix):









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2009年5月11日月曜日

Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks







1.3 - The Beach scene

Yuigahama, Hase, and Enoshima are the rather spectacular, if somewhat crowded Pacific facing beaches of Kamakura. Lying at the head of a peninsula, just to the south of Tokyo and Yokohama, summer afternoons and evenings see the beaches thronged, with youngsters, down from the twin metropolises. They are here to chill, and forget, momentarily, about the hurly burly of daily life, and the demands that life in this most manic of countries places on them. For a few hours, courtesy of the themed bars and restaurants along the beach, they can imagine themselves in Hawaii, Goa, Ko Pha Ngan, or now, thanks to Yuji Fuji's Brighton Rock Bar, the South Coast of England. Or even just be content to be in Kamakura. They are not here for the temples, beautiful though they are - they're here to let their hair down.

And there's no shortage of options. Every summer, there'll be firework displays, Thai fire dancers, Thai boxing, and cocktails a plenty. The boys and girls from the American Navy base, across the peninsula often come down, to join in the fun too, which means R&B will be pumping out of many speakers. And for the Euro/Antipodean/hippy crowd, down from Tokyo, where they teach, or study there's no shortage of trance, and ambient.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
For cutting edge though, until now, there's been no substitute, for the mega clubs of Tokyo, where Japan's and the world's leading DJ's pass through, every weekend, and play, to packed crowds. Yokohama, though quite cosmopolitan, in a daytime way, has always been a non starter, regarding nightclubs, but Kamakura despite not having the edge of Tokyo, is just a great place to be, to dance, to drink, to bill and coo.

However, last summer, starting in Yuji's Brighton themed bar, a different sound could be heard, coming through the speakers. Sure, it was rock. And only rock. But it was to a continuous beat. Solid 4/4, looped, chopped, mashed up but seamlessly mixed rock. Everything from Blondie and the Strokes, to the Happy Mondays, Primal scream and the Stone Roses, Franz Ferdinand, U2, Radiohead, Blur, T-Rex, INXS, even a bit of Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who, but not like anyone had ever heard them before. Not together. Not like this.

Pumping out onto the dance deck, of the Brighton Rock Bar, courtesy of DJ Zak (Fox) White, and his Japanese DJ friends, the Rock4four sound system played the summer of 2008 to larger and larger crowds. Yokohama and Tokyo kids, who wouldn't previously have been seen dead outside the clubs of the capital, on a weekend, let alone dancing to rock, were turning their Nissan Cubes and Honda Stepwagons, southwards, towards the beach. Something was going on, and it was going on in Kamakura!
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Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks




1.2 the place




Kamakura reminds me of Brighton, in many ways. Both owe much to the patronage bestowed upon them, by powerful and influential regents. Brighton's origins, as the sophicated beach retreat of choice, for the residents of the nation's capital go back to the days when the Prince Regent, later George IV, used to visit his mistress, in the town, and built, facing the beaches, a pavilion, rivalling in its splendor, and ostentatiousness, anything that Kublai Khan could have conjured up, in Xanadu.


Likewise, Kamakura was the home of the Hojo regents, who ruled Japan in the thirteenth century. Wise and strong, the dynasty, which began with Masatoki, introduced Zen, and several other forms of Buddhism into Japan, repelled the Mongols, and left the small, beautiful seaside city with such a plethora of fine temples, statues, and other cultural artifacts, that even nine centuries later, tens of thousands of tourists descend on Kamakura, from Tokyo, and beyond, on a daily basis.
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Rock4four - the sound of choice for Kamakura beach beatniks



1.1
Rock4four. Ever heard? The chances are you have heard many of the tunes - classic 4/4 rock tracks. AND you may have heard them on a dance floor. But not the way you'll hear them, if you go to Kamakura's beaches, this summer.





This is part 1, of a story I'll be writing, over the coming weeks, and months. It started small. An idea, simple, but brilliant, developed by DJ Fox White, a native of Brighton, and a veteran of that town's legendary big beat scene, with the help of his friend, Kamakura bar owner, DJ and promoter, Yuji Fuji.
Yuji, a confirmed Anglophile, cut his teeth, as a promoter, after returning from the U.K. where he's spent much of the last twenty years, experiencing five great musical movements that sprang up, during that time - the Ibiza inspired Acid House movement, that took London's Clubland by storm, in the late 80's and early 90's; Madchester, the fusion of indie rock, and House, that captured the imagination of twenty four hour party people everywhere; Britpop, centered around Camden, North London, Trip Hop, which had it's capital in Bristol, and finally Big Beat, nationally popular, but with it's spiritual home, in the clubs, and on the beaches of Brighton, where Yuji first met Fox White.

"I wanted to recreate the amazing vibe, positivity, and energy, of those great scenes, when I returned to Kamakura" recalls Fuji, a healthy looking, late thirtysomething surfing addict, sitting at his bar, facing out, onto Kamakura beach. "But musically, while tipping my hat to my British experiences, I wanted to come up with something new. There were, and are good parties, and positive, energetic crowds, here, but their soundtracks, R&B, Hip-Hop, House, Trance, they're hardly unique to Kamakura, and that, more than anything, is what I desired to see."




Selected Track - My current Fave Rock4four Anthem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQd_41xNCE

A rock cover of the opening song, from a classic movie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Fever
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2009年5月7日木曜日

This Weekend


Hi Folks,


This weekend in Tokyo's Unit club, in Daikanyama promises a feast of funky house, as U.K. legend Ashley Beedle rocks into town. He's been a member of the storied X-Press 2, since way back when, and produced such Rockin' hits as Rock2House, Music X-Press, London X-Press, and Say What?


Rock down to Daikanyama, to see the legend himself. Highly recommended.


Des
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2009年5月6日水曜日

Hi, this is Des, in Yokohama

RE: Metropolis Ad - Go here:
http://deslaughtoninjapan.blogspot.com/2009/09/metropolis-magazine-ad.html


Hi everyone,

This is Des Laughton, Freelance Dance music journalist, and night life reviewer. The main publication I write for, is Beat Beacon, a nightclub/nightlife/dance music guide, based in Brighton, England.

I'm based in Yokohama, reporting on the great club and music scene in the Tokyo area. This spring/summer, I'll be reporting on all that's hot, in Tokyo, and Kanagawa, after dark.

If you have any info, on clubs/nights, worth checking out, email me, at:

deslaughton@gmail.com

happy clubbing!

Des
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