Why a special about Japan? Well because we feel that there is, and has been, a lot of good stuff happening over there in the last 5 years on the turntablist, producer and DJ front which has largely gone unnoticed by most people outside of the country - the cultural and linguistic gaps between Japan and the Western world also mean youíre less likely to hear about artists out there. While people like Kentaro have made a name for themselves worldwide, thereís a ton of talent in Japan which hasnít really been heard from and so we decided to try and shine a light on this talent and hopefully turn you all onto some interesting and different artists. This show follows on from a series of articles which appeared last year on the Spin Science website after the discovery of a documentary called 'Kaikoo', interviews with DJ Kentaro, meeting a London based collective called Studio Rarekwai and meeting a Japanese DJ and producer living in London called Tatsuki.
Hopefully this show will help give you all a better idea of whatís been happening out there - however this is by no means a definite look at Japanese DJs, tablists and producers. Just a snapshot really, so if you like what you hear then be sure to check the links below and go and find out more about the artists and DJs out there, including those we werenít able to feature (such as Izoh, Miyajima, Ske, Martin, Ken One, Jifrock, Quietstorm and more).

As for the format of the show itís pretty simple - thereís one mix from ourselves, featuring a wide range of tracks from the last 5+ years and covering various artists and styles. After that weíve got an exclusive mix from Tatsuki, who lives in London and works solo as well as with a Danish band called Blue Foundation. Tatsuki has put together a very special mix for this show featuring tracks from his forthcoming solo LP, remixes and collaboration work with a Danish producer called Bichi. In between these two mixes, there's an interview with Tatsuki conducted in January this year - the interview covers info on the man and his work (which includes the live turntable band ëWhakhakhaí with Baku and Klock - a rarely heard of project which is not disimilar to the likes of Ned Hoddings, BNN or the Bastrd Language Tour), his forthcoming solo LP, the Japanese scene, DJ Krush and more.

Thanks must go to the following people for helping make this show possible: Sparky T, Hiroki @ Pop Group, Tatsuki, SRK, Kentaro & Kotaro and Laura @ Ninja Tune.

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