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by Don Crispy
Justin Robertson
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| Justin Robertson |
Two parties on the event horizon look promising
this coming weekend: one features a rare appearance by the
DJ who taught the young Sasha and Chemical Brothers to buy
records; the other brings together some of the major players
in the Japanese house and trance scenes of the past decade.
Justin Robertson rose to prominence in 1990 in Manchester
by launching the Spice club sessions, a name that Tokyo promoter
Koji Tsubouchi took for his now well-established Spice! parties
at Yellow in Nishi-Azabu, which will be a sort of homecoming
for Robertson this Friday.
The party provided a meeting place for likeminded folks such
as the Chemical Brothers (at that time the Dust Brothers),
while alongside Andrew Weatherall, Robertson subsequently
became among the most prominent of a new wave of DJs, with
his sets at Manchester's Most Excellent club making
him well-known within the dance music community.
Subsequent high points have included remixing for Bjork, New
Order and many others, while Robertson also performed through
the '90s as part of the Lionrock unit that spawned
dance-floor hits such as "Carnival." More recently,
he ditched the designation for his first production album
under his own name, 2001's Revtone…
Meanwhile, Project X ("Mistresses of Magic and Masters
of Illusion") next Saturday promises to be an unusual
event in that it crosses the usually impassible boundaries
between house and trance, blending them with a touch of the
erotic. The event came about as a result of house promoter
Luciano Uchizono (Protocol) joining forces with Tania Miller
(Vision Quest), both of whom have been organizing parties
for the better part of a decade, along with design and performance
direction from Keziah Xavael. "The idea is to mix in
one night all genres of electronic music and later build it
into a music festival," says Uchizono, across the conference
table at Metropolis.
Project X joins the growing ranks of fetish parties, and will
feature erotic performances and live experimental music from
Tokyo-based R-Deeper fronted by singer Rina, as well as a
formidable range of DJ sets. DJs from the house world include
Simon Eve, associated with the UK's premiere React
records label, Jet More from Australia, Roger from Brazil,
and former Protocol resident Taka. From the trance scene,
the names reflect Vision Quest's association with the
Israeli trance world, with Skazi, Avi "Space Cat"
and Invision being joined by domestic veteran of the seminal
Equinox trance parties, Kotaro…
Finally, word has just come in that New York monster DJ and
Madonna remixer Junior Vasquez will once again be bringing
his over-the-top progressive house to the turntables of a
Tokyo club, after opening Womb (punters lined up to pay ¥10,000)
three years ago. The Sound Factory and Twilo veteran will
be spinning on a far more affordable basis in Brand New Made's
Junior's World event this time, so look for even the
massive bayside Ageha/Studio Coast to fill up quickly.
Spice!@Yellow, 8/15, 10pm, ¥3,500.
Tel: 3479-0690
Project X@TSK Building (ex-Pylon), 8/16, 10pm, ¥4,000
(w/costume), ¥5,000. Info: 3401-6003
Junior's World@Studio Coast, 8/16, 10pm, ¥5,250
(adv), ¥7,000 (door). Tel: 5534-1515
photo
credit: Fareast Underground
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