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Studio Apartment
The house duo looks to light up Ageha
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| Courtesy of King Street Sounds/Night Grooves |
Partnering in 2000, DJ/programmer Masanori Morita and keyboardist Noboru Abe make up one of the preeminent production teams in Japanese house music today. Metropolis tracked them down ahead of the release of their debut full-length album, The Rising Sun. An inspired slice of New York “garage” house, the disc brims with remix and vocal contributions from some of the legendary characters of the scene, like producer Kerri Chandler and singer Stephanie Cooke.
Why the name Studio Apartment? Just like the name says, we started out in a “one-room mansion.” How did you connect with the contributors to The Rising Sun?
We listed up the singers and producers we wanted to work with, and then asked our label King Street Sounds to hook us up. They all kindly accepted our offer. How is The Rising Sun an evolution from your previous work? Well, this is a remix album. So please check out how we evolve on the next one. What’s your opinion of the current state of Tokyo’s club scene? Our home-ground club Yellow is closing, and there are rumors of other clubs closing too. I’m really not sure what’s going to happen. People still haven’t fully absorbed the impact of Yellow’s closure. What is right and wrong with worldwide dance music? We hear less black-oriented dance music like New York house at clubs worldwide recently. We don’t know if that’s wrong per se, but personally it’s a sad development. What’s right about clubs abroad is that, whereas in Japan dance music equals underground music, that’s not the case overseas. We’re envious. How would you describe your contribution to dance music? We’re now in the middle of a house boom in Japan. We may have helped spark things in a small way. What can we look forward to at your upcoming release party? We’re planning some guest live performances, so it should be a lot of fun. Please come down!
World Museum@Ageha, July 26. See club listings for details.
This year’s Royal Tone Luxury Party is set to outdo the 2007 event, with over 1,500 revelers expected to arrive at the sprawling party rooms of the new Mado Lounge on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills. This year’s performers are headlined by DJ Kaori, Japan’s top female turntablist. Also to be featured are fashion shows by Victoria Webb and the LA-based Bohemian Society, salsa dancers, a “tower” of candy and cupcakes, celebrities and some serious VIPs. The first 500 women through the door will receive a party bag, which includes such goodies as perfumes, a travel set from Bandai, moisturizers from Victoria’s Secret and more. Dress code is “sexy smart,” and you’ll definitely want to look your best—Fashion TV will be filming the event for broadcast on its global network.
May 17, 10pm-5am. Tickets available at the door: men: ¥4,500 w/1 drink; women ¥4,000 w/1 drink. Mado Lounge: 52F Mori Tower, Roppongi Hills, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Nearest stn: Roppongi. See www.ma-do.jp or call 03-3470-0052 for more information. |
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