Photos Courtesy of Music Interchange

The nod for massive New Year’s bash of the year goes to the one-off New Millennium Countdown, designed to appeal to all comers with four “zones” - hip hop, house, techno, and trance - sprawling over the numerous halls of Tokyo’s bayside Big Site.

The headlining talent of the event comes in the form of soul diva Chaka Khan, best known for her endlessly remixed 1984 cover of Prince’s song “I Feel for You.” Khan, whose most recent album is 1998’s Come2MyHouse, will be performing live in the house zone along with two of New York’s premiere house DJs, Danny Krivit and Todd Terry, as well as leading Tokyo house DJ Emma.

One of the resident DJs at New York’s hottest current house party Body & Soul, Danny Krivit joins fellow Body & Soul DJ François K. in making December Tokyo appearances (François K. played last weekend at Yellow). Todd Terry, meanwhile, has worked with everyone from Everything But the Girl to Michael Jackson. His most recent album Resolutions was acclaimed on the Astralworks website as “dark, deep and edgey - imagine a head-on collision between Grooverider, Tricky and Nine Inch Nails.”

Over in the techno zone, Detroit techno legend Derrick May heads up a formidable roster of artists including DJ Rok and Heiko Laux (from Germany), Japan’s own Takkyu Ishino (of techno-pop duo Denki Groove) and minimal techno powerhouse Fumiya Tanaka. It’s been a while since May - a regular visitor to Japan throughout the ’90s - has played here, and his uniquely intense style should raise the bar high for the other (no doubt worshipful) DJs.

In the trance zone, the bumper crop of artists will include live sets by a number of acts familiar to Japan rave-goers including X-Dream, Koxbox, the Growling Mad Scientists and Tokyo trance banner-waver Tsuyoshi’s group Joujouka. DJ sets will also come from Tsuyoshi and Bakie Baki (Third Culture).

The hip hop room is targeted at Japanese B-boys, with a bevy of domestic talents including Japanese hip-hop pioneers Rappagariya, the all-star group Kaminari (Twigy, Rino Latinaii, GK Maryan, You the Rock), Nitro Microphone Underground and Ozro Saurus.

New Millennium Countdown takes place at Tokyo Big Site on 12/31. See listings for details.