DJ X Lab 4 and Proteus – Full Metal Jacket

Posted by PlasmaDancer on June 9, 2008
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I’ve been a bit lax when it comes to keeping track of what the Lab 4 guys have been up to lately, I must admit, but Guld recently brought my attention to this tune, calling it his ‘tune of the year’, no less. A ferocious fusion of Industrial and NRG, from the preview on DJ X’s MySpace page it sounds like it could really marry the styles of the two producers perfectly. It’s NRG, and so the bpm’s a bit lower than I might like, but this appeals to me a lot more than some of Proteus’ recent solo tunes.

Talking of fusion tracks, it might be worth taking a look at DJ X and Dirty Secret’s electronic/guitar experiment, Overlords of the Underground. Their World on Fire track is a real thumper, and one of the best uses of guitars/electronica I’ve heard since Voodoo People.

Code of Silence – remix competition

Posted by PlasmaDancer on June 9, 2008
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After the blinding Hellfire remixes that resulted from the last competition, it’s great to see another one getting under way – and even greater to see which tune has been chosen. Code of Silence is definitely one of my favourite recent Finrg releases, and there’s plenty of potential there for changing the feel of the tune (going even more trancy, or harder, or something else entirely…). If you’re a budding producer, get yourself over to the Finrg forum topic to download the .rar.

Tano* C 6th Strike, 14th June @ Heavy Sick, Nakano

Posted by PlasmaDancer on June 6, 2008
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Behold – a Hardcore Tano*C event that I’m actually really keen to attend. Sadly, it’s another of those 1pm starts, meaning that I can’t make it – but squint at the really lovely poster art (definitely my favourite flyer for a long while) and you’ll notice the lineup. Thanatos, Betwixt & Between, Alabaster…all of the regulars are present, but my eye was caught this time by umbrella’s name down there at the bottom – his tracks are always enjoyable semi-freeform, and I’d really like to see what kind of set he’ll come up with. Alas, it’s not to be, at least this time.

Incidentally, this event is held on the 14th (a week Saturday), which those of a sharp memory will recall is also the date of the next NRGetic Romancer. Betwixt & Between will therefore be playing at two very different events in one day – the first in Nakano, the second in Tamachi. Rather him than us, eh?

And yet! Betwixt is repeating the trick the following weekend, playing at an as-yet undisclosed event around lunchtime, and then returning to Heavy Sick (Nakano) for Tokyo Hardcore Construction, beginning at the traditional raving hour of 4pm. THC definitely leans towards the harder side of things, with Lunch, Horny and Technetium (among others) playing this time. However, I’ll be wheezing around a football pitch that Sunday, and so won’t be able to make it (although I suspect that I’ll wish that I had, once the match is underway).

Shanty & Twisted Freq

Posted by PlasmaDancer on June 5, 2008
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Yes indeed….most people may well be aware of this news from the FINRG forums (among other places), but Twisted Freq is soon to be leaving the freeform scene to concentrate on his new breakcore/drum and bass/industrial style tracks (under the moniker Belial), while this will also be the final year for Electronica Exposed and Shanty himself.

Both have given an enormous amount to the scene, and I was mentioning to someone not so long ago that without EE and Kreatrix, the freeform genre would be virtually non-existent. Their own tracks have been a big inspiration for other artists/DJs – but as well as that, a quick check through the past releases on both labels brings home how forward-thinking they’ve both been. Innocence, Darkstar, Religion X, The Ghost of Jupiter….listing all the tracks that come to mind would take an eternity, but huge credit to the two of them for unearthing and supporting the new and more established artists in the scene. It might not strictly be the darker side of things, but huge shouts are definitely owed to EE for recently releasing the first (and second, eventually) Full Circle DJs album, a great example of how wide ranging Shanty’s releases have been.

Of course, in such a tiny musical subgenre, maintaining a label must be murder, and so it’s perfectly understandable that they’ve both decided that the time is right to call it a day – but let’s hope the scene can keep going without them. Here in Japan, freeform/Hard NRG artists have effectively been without a dedicated label for a few years now (Guld has got enough to be getting on with running NRGetic Romancer/producing tracks to be looking after releases for all the other artists too, at least for now), and so the scene is being kept alive through DJs/Live PAs at events – indeed, it’s pretty much the only way to hear newer tunes. Might something similar end up happening in Finland and the UK? FINRG’s releases have slowed right down these days, and Nu-Energy’s output is definitely a separate subgenre altogether.

There are still a few more releases to come from both Twisted Freq/Kreatrix and EE, and so let’s hope that the newer artists (and the new incarnation of Kreatrix, post-Twisted Freq) will be ready to step into the (twisted) breach after that. It’s largely thanks to those two that the scene is at its current level, and us humble DJs/listeners should definitely be thankful for that, eh?

X-Treme Hard, 31st May

Posted by PlasmaDancer on June 2, 2008
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No pictures at the moment, sorry to say (actually, if I wasn’t a lazy good-for-nothing, I could have taken some myself), but let’s press on anyway. This event had Shibuya’s DESEO absolutely packed, partly due to the whole-new-CD-release aspect, but also the variety of DJs performing. It was actually quite entertaining to see all the different kind of ravers gathered together in one small space (rather uncomfortably, it has to be said) – from the NRGetic Romancer crew who’d turned up for Betwixt & Between’s set, to the overwhelming mass of otaku-tinged Sharpnel/Shimamura etc fans, and the speedcore/Akira Death nutcases. Guld himself made an appearance too, only to dash for the exit as soon as Betwixt had finished.

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Betwixt & Between – Skybreak / X-treme Hard Compilation Vol.1

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 29, 2008
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I don’t suppose you remember me mentioning the upcoming X-Treme Hard Compilation Vol. 1 launch party? Well, a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and so I’ll be staggering along to DESEO after work this Saturday. More interestingly, the CD tracklist has already been announced, and includes Betwixt & Between’s Skybreak.

Make your own minds up, of course, but to be honest I’m not that interested in the rest of the tunes – aside from some happier efforts from Joshka, DJ Shimamura and Buzzmasta, the majority of the tracks are various degrees of gabber/speedcore (along with the obligatory ‘squeeze-in-a-hilarious-profanity-in-any-way-possible’ antics of the last tune), which is all a bit too much for home-listening, at least for me. The tracklist, then:

1 DJ SHIMAMURA – SPACESHOWER
2 Joshka – Unforgotten
3 DJ DEPATH&M-Project – Satisfaxtion
4 DJ SHARPNEL – XTREMEPOLESTA
5 DJ CHUCKY – RUSH DA SOUNDZ
6 DJ TECHNORCH – Carck Work
7 RoughSketch – No Force
8 BUZZMASTA – Rockin’ Jelly Devotion
9 Betwixt & Between – Skybreak
10 C-TYPE – MONEY MAKE A CRAZY
11 CARDOPUSHER – 25YEARS FOR MURDER
12 m1dy – WANI
13 AKIRA DEATH – Sleeper
14 Bokusatsu Shoujo Koubou – COME TO MY GIG AT FUCKOKA

Look the part, Finrg style

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 27, 2008
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If you haven’t already noticed, over at Finrg a new batch of T-shirts/sweatshirts have hit the online shelves. A lot more colourful than the typical Finrg offerings, the Rx and Swoosh shirts in particular are pretty adventurous designs (in a good way, mind) – although having said that, my favourite might be the classic Epyx & Cyrez logo on a black shirt.

Head this way to have a look at them all.

Energetic Trance presents BOOTEK JAPAN TOUR, July 20th @ CLUB ASIA

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 27, 2008
Posted in: Events, Japanese, Mixes, Releases. 1 comment

           

Another event that’s quite some way off, but definitely worth postponing the summer holiday for. The Bootek series of CDs are, as you might imagine, generally schranz/techno/hard house bootlegs of older tunes (one of which, Underworld’s Born Slippy, was played by Zio at an NRGetic Romancer not so very long ago), and the purpose of this event is to showcase some of those releases.

Anyway, aside from the Bootek Showcase and Mix CD ‘present’ for 100 lucky folk, the line-up at this one really is something. Headliners are Nish and Munetica/Stripe, but Remo-con, Overflow and our man Guld are all playing too. If that wasn’t enough (and not even noted on the flyer), DJ Yousuke and Buzzmasta are playing on the second (‘Hardcore’) floor.

Hardcore Syndrome

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 27, 2008
Posted in: Japanese, Releases. 2 comments

This isn’t new, by any stretch of the imagination, but for some reason I completely forgot to post about it back when it was released. Shame on me, because Hardcore Syndrome is quite possibly the best Hardcore Tano*C release yet.

I must admit that I usually feel a sharp pain in my wallet upon buying a Tano*C CD, as aside from the occasional Technorch/Alabaster tune I’m usually paying out 1500-ish yen for a single Betwixt & Between track. This release, however, has got plenty to keep NRG/Freeform fans happy, even without including any Betwixt tunes. How is that possible, you cry? Well, this one includes Hase’s absolutely excellent ‘intelligent NRG’ track, Meditation, alongside some typical kenta-v.ez madness and some nice tunes from Alabaster and Technetium. Even the ‘happier’ efforts are a bit harder than normal here, with DJ Champ and RED ALiCE’s Warp Attacker joined by umbrella’s Optical Force. Finally, we get some extremely hard schranz-esque hard NRG courtesy of Beserk+Haste. If the synths sound a little familar, then you might have picked up on the fact that this is actually one of Betwixt & Between’s pseudonyms – used mainly for experimental/harder tracks. This is one of the more listenable B+H tunes, and definitely worth checking out, as is the whole CD.

 

  • 01.Joshka / Cascading Emotions
  • 02.源屋 feat.野宮あゆみ / BLUE SKY (ORIGINAL MIX)
  • 03.DJ SHIMAMURA / DOCUMENTAL (DIGITAL REMASTER MIX)
  • 04.DJ CHAMP vs REDALiCE / Warp Attacker
  • 05.EVOL / BRIGHT FUTURE (M-Project Remix)
  • 06.DX PASTA / Perky Pat (320000msec Mix)
  • 07.Thanatos / Lovely Lovely Lovely (Cutie Mix)
  • 08.テクネチウム / Tc-ma_007
  • 09.Next Tribe / August 31
  • 10.umbrella / Optical Force
  • 11.HASE / Meditation
  • 12.Alabaster / Forgotten Ancient
  • 13.Berserk+Haste / Quicksand
  • 14.kenta-v.ez. / rE-LibErAtioN pLus+
  • 15.t+pazolite / Ofcourse you Need and nEed and neEd and neeD and NEED ME?

Energy Cocktail, 1st August Shibuya DESEO

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 20, 2008
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I heard a little while ago that Kevin Energy might be on his way to Tokyo, although I couldn’t imagine him playing a set at NRGetic Romancer. As it turns out, he’ll be joining Tekka, DJ Champ, T-Energy and KA->NA at DESEO’s Energy Cocktail (which isn’t the most spectacular event name I’ve ever heard, to be honest).

Anyway, Champ’s sets are always worth catching, and Kevin is bound to play some gems in amongst the, ah, slightly more generic UK stuff, but the highlight for me will be the chance to hear KA->NA play again, who hasn’t been very active at all of late.

It’s still a long way away though, and the main reason for posting this up was the just-released flyer design, featuring a surreal-yet-cool London/Tokyo hybrid scene.