Courtesy of Liquid Room

DJs come and go, but three-man collective UFO have remained an essential constant on Tokyo' club scene since their formation in 1990. An upcoming New Year's Eve set at Ebisu Garden Hall will provide the perfect opportunity to gauge where they are now, a decade later.

With their suave urban flair and passion for funk, R&B, jazz and Latin, the trio comprised of two Japanese, Tadashi Tabe and Toshio Matsuura, and one Frenchman, Raphael Sebbag, UFO have cultured the tastes of Tokyo's exploding club scene, and in the process become leading architects of the Shibuya sound.

Through their weekly residencies at Blue in Aoyama and their monthly Jazzin' parties at Yellow, UFO have defined not only a sound but also a lifestyle. That lifestyle  - one that blends a healthy respect for the musical achievements of the past with a new artistic and personal freedom that emerged with the Bubble economy.

UFO has carefully crafted their sound over the years with a series of releases on England's leading acid jazz label Talkin Loud, and later for Mercury Music sub-label Brownswood. Their first, self-titled album was released in 29 countries and sold 100,000 units. More recently, an excellent best-of collection, Now and Then appeared in 1997, and their latest album, Bon Voyage, in 1999.

UFO will be DJing with a spectrum of acid jazz, drum 'n' bass, hip hop, and abstract DJs including: Dego (a.k.a. 4Hero), DJ Krush, and Patrick Forge, just to name a few from the power-packed lineup.

UFO perform as part of the 2000Black Countdown party at Ebisu Garden Hall. See listings for details.