Oblivion Ball
Underworld host a mega-rave named after their new album

Underworld

Courtesy of Beatink

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Oblivion Ball was simply Electraglide, the massive rave that Underworld launched in 2000 and headlined again for its last edition in 2005, under a new name. In fact, says Ray Hearn of promoter and record label Beatink, it’s an entirely different ball of wax.

Why Oblivion Ball, not Electraglide this time?
There is no real connection between the two events except that Underworld have headlined Electraglide on a number of occasions, it’s an all-night event, and the venue is Makuhari Messe. We made a conscious decision to take a break with Electraglide, as it was in danger of endlessly repeating itself. It was always intended to be a platform for the latest trends in electronic music; however, with a venue of that size, it is dependent on new artists breaking through to higher levels. With the current priorities of the major labels, there has been very little support for electronic music in recent years. There are still many great new artists emerging such as Battles, Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism, Vitalic, etc. But in recent times there has not been the support to allow them to get to the point that they can headline or even co-headline 20,000-plus capacity events.

How is it an evolution from Electraglide?
We do not see Oblivion Ball as an evolution from Electraglide. The event is intended to allow Underworld to make their own statement and present an environment that encompasses their varied activities. It will center around a new live set that includes material from their new album Oblivion With Bells, but inevitably will also include a number of the classics that make them such a mighty live act. They have been closely involved in all aspects of the event including the production and choice of artists. There will also be an art space involving them and members of Tomato, and a film space showing the films they have worked on.

Are Japanese dance music audiences changing?
Inevitably, dance music audiences are at the mercy of the agendas of the major record companies. Recently, this means that apart from a couple of international superstars and the smaller underground acts coming out of the indies, it’s pretty much the worst kind of pop music that has been heard for years. Young music fans form their own opinions and hear new things in the clubs and on the internet, but in Japan this tends to kick in when they are far older than Western club audiences due to the Japanese licensing laws. This is taking its toll on the club scene and means that what is happening here is starting to fall behind a lot of other countries, which is sad because Japan has been at the forefront of the club scene for many years. Tokyo has some of the coolest music fans in the world, but unfortunately the current Japanese media and particularly the (usually very old) people who control it are letting them down badly.

How has Beatink adapted to those changes?
I don’t think we have made any real attempt to adapt to these changes, which may or may not be a good thing. We do our best to present high-quality music that appeals to us and hope that we can expose it to enough people to remain viable. If you look at the music that we release as a label or as concert promoters, then I hope that there is a consistency to what we do and that it reflects our taste. This year we have toured !!! [Chk Chk Chk], Battles, Adrian Sherwood with the Slits, and DJ Kentaro, and now have what I believe will be an incredible event with Oblivion Ball, so we would like to believe that for us it’s pretty much business as usual.

What does the lineup say about the current state of dance music?
Underworld and ourselves both believe that it represents a broad reflection of Underworld’s tastes and the club/art/fashion scene in general, and hope that the combination of Underworld performing with Simian Mobile Disco, The Orb, 120 Days and four very different sets from Andrew Weatherall played out against the setting of an art space, film space, bars, restaurants and a few other surprises will make for a very special night.

Makuhari Messe, Nov 24. See concert listings for details.

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