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Yukihiro Fukutomi
The “Transformer” has a new remix compilation that looks back at some prime moments in J-pop
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| Courtesy of Avex Entertainment |
Veteran house DJ and resident of The Crossing event at The Room and
A New Dimension at Loop, Yukihiro Fukutomi has been producing and remixing long enough to have amassed
a catalog of remixes alone numbering over 100.
Ranging from Ayumi Hamasaki to Incognito, his resume bursts with collaborations with A-list stars. But on his new two-disc collection out on Avex, Transformer: Remix Works by Yukihiro Fukutomi, it’s his treatments of J-pop songs on disc one that will be of most interest to house heads who probably already have plenty of imported talent in their iPods.
The bright sheen of Kirinji’s “Futagoza Grafitti” sets the tone, while “Tokyo wa Yoru no Shijiji—The Night is Still Young,” featuring the irrepressible vocals of Pizzicato Five’s Maki Nomiya, is a reminder that the kitschy group provided the soundtrack for Bubble-era Tokyo. Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Trauma,” on the other hand, reminds us why Ayu-chan is famous for her chameleon-like image manipulations rather than her strained vocal delivery.
Other standouts include the superb Latin percussion of Japanese salsa champions Orquesta De La Luz’s “La Puerta,” and the funky jazz-fusion of rappers m-flo’s “Come Again.” Infectious but unobtrusive, Fukutomi’s production allows his artists space to shine in a setting of mixable house beats.
Fukutomi says he creates remixes by separating the tracks of
a song and reducing it to the basics, before building it back up again with freshly programmed sounds. At the end of the process, often the only thing left are the vocals. “Most artists get off on hearing their songs put in a house context,” he says, “although there were a few who were opposed to having their songs included in the album…”
One of the most able DJs in alternative hip-hop, Peanut Butter Wolf is back for one of his annual Stones Throw nights at Air.
As the Silicon Valley native Chris Manak—or Peanut Butter Wolf, as he calls himself—has demonstrated at Air and the Fuji Rock Festival, he’s a DJ who knows no stylistic bounds, happily flipping a Beatles track against something by Kool Keith. Manak has been a fixture of the West Coast alternative scene since the late ’80s, signing his first contract with Hollywood Basic alongside DJ Shadow.
Founding Stones Throw Records in 1996, Manak has been a regular visitor of late, along with Stones Throw Crew partners-in-crime JROCC, Egon and Jamie Strong, who will be making the trip this time. The proximate reason for the upcoming visit is the reissue of the late, great Detroit rapper J Dilla’s Ruff Draft. The tour is meant as a tribute to Dilla, better known as Jay Dee, who died last year of complications from lupus.
The Crossing@The Room, June 2.
A New Dimension@Loop, June 16. Stones Throw Show@Air, June 1. See club listings for details.
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