Danny Howells: fast-emerging UK house DJ Renaissance

Out beyond the Yamanote line are a number of edge cities with small but dynamic nightlife scenes of their own. Kichijoji - student center and home to many foreigners - is one such place. Now Scottish transplant and DJ Alistair "Ali" Campbell is looking to bump up the level of Kichijoji clubbing with a new house event, Reboing.

"The idea for Kichijoji is a collective of people who are not yet well known - the main thing is dancing, rather than big name DJs," says Ali, a former Edinburgh DJ. The first Reboing kicked off on Mar 31 at Warp - a former live house that recently reinvented itself as a dance club - featuring Ali and DJs John, CauseandEffect, and Naichin spinning a mixture of Detroit techno and house variants including hard, New York, deep and progressive, with added effects and samples to give their sound a live feeling. Ali - who also mans the decks on the last Thursdays of the month at Sugar High - says the event was bangin' and that the next Reboing on Apr 28 should be even bigger...

Alistair "Ali" Campbell: kick-starting Kichijoji Reboing

Meanwhile, on Sat, Apr 28 Liquid Room sees a collective of Japan's finest hip hop and abstract DJs come together to launch the third and latest in the Tags Of The Times CD series on the independent Mary Joy Recordings imprint. With the title Exspecto Sonitus Posterus 2 (Spanish for "Expect the sound of the future"), the event will feature stalwart abstract/downtempo DJ Kensei and diverse Japan talents joined by expat resident DJ Quietstorm, and overseas guest MC Scarab and others.

With his own studio in Nakameguro - Yakkyoku Recordings - Quietstorm has been associated with the Living Legends, has remixed Tags Of The Times 2, and is a frequent face at Liquid Room. Scarab, meanwhile, is himself a member of the Living Legends crew, and has been described as "not only a poet but an expressionist within hip-hop culture."

Finally, clubbers looking for something special this weekend should consider heading over to the next Tokyo installment of England's stylish club event, Renaissance, which sees fast-emerging tech house DJ Danny Howells make his first stop at Liquid Room on Saturday, Apr 21. Recently ranked number ten in DJ magazine's top 100 DJ poll, Howells has just cemented his position atop clubland by landing a regular slot at New York's Twilo alongside hard house legend Junior Vasquez.

Reboing: Kichijoji Warp, 4/28, 11pm, JY2000 w/1d. Tel: 0422-22-3516.

Exspecto Sonitus Posterus 2: Liquid Room, 4/28, 9pm, JY3800 (adv), JY4300 (door), w/1d. Tel: 3200-6831.

Renaissance: Liquid Room, 4/21, 11pm, JY3500 (adv), JY4000 (door), w/1d. Tel: 3200-6831.