Fine: Frogman Cold Sleep Party
The long-running techno imprint marks the end of an era

Courtesy of Frognation

When yours truly began writing this column a
decade ago, one of the first contacts I made was Japanese dance imprint Frogman. The electronica wave was just starting to sweep Japan, and along with labels like Sublime and Torema, Frogman was at the heart of a community of producers holed up in tiny studios trying to find their voice.

So it was with a sense of sadness that I heard Frogman was taking a “cold sleep.” Hopefully, this won’t be the last we’ve heard from them.

In the meantime, the label is salving the pain with a retrospective two CD set and a blowout party featuring some of the artists they’ve introduced over the years. Fine: The Best of Frogman includes classic tracks by some of Japan’s most roguish techno innovators.

Among them are Kagami, who is also known as part of the Disco Twins duo with DJ Tasaka. Kagami’s tweaky “Tokyo Disco Music All Night Long” became one of the label’s first hits when it was licensed abroad.

Another contributor is Susumi Yokota (below), who is present with “Extension.” Alongside Ken Ishii, Yokota became one of Japan’s first techno forces to make a name overseas when he sent off a demo to German trance legend Sven Vath—who was then, as the story goes, on a beach in Goa, India.

Ryo Arai made his debut on Frogman with tracks like the melancholic “Everest,” which launches the second CD in the set. Arai is now a globally respected breakbeats maestro, with a challenging, ever-shifting approach that has made him one of the more in-demand Japanese DJs abroad.

The second disc comes in the form of a megamix by Taichi Master, whose Cold Sleep was the first vinyl release by Frogman. Taichi Master went on to become one of Japan’s leading producers and impresarios, breaking hip-hop acts Kreva and Kick the Can Crew, and producing pop acts like Wyolica.

All of these artists and many others are to be featured at Daikanyama club Unit, both on its main floor and in the downstairs Saloon lounge, making for a broad look back at a decade of Japanese techno.

“The discontinuation of Frogman surely marks the end of an era,” wrote German DJ and producer Mijk van Dijk to the label. “It is up to a new generation to keep on the legacy of great Japanese techno labels that Frogman started alongside Subvoice, Sublime and Torema in the early ’90s. They all helped to give Japanese techno music its deserved place on the map of worldwide techno and will be remembered as true originators.”

Unit, Jan 25. See club listings for details.

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