Depth Charge

Among the many expats active in Tokyo' music scene, DJ and A&R man Jeff Hammond (a.k.a. Young Jeff) has carved out a niche for himself on the chill-out side of electronica, second to none. On Sat, Feb 10, Hammond brings a number of the artists - English, Swedish and Japanese - represented on his newly formed independent Play Label to Club Asia for an evening of dub, ambient and warm electronic grooves.

Named after the first Play compilation, Stone Scissors Paper, the event will feature Depth Charge from the UK and the Mighty Quark from Sweden, as well as Tokyo artists Takayuki Shiraishi, Dub Squad, DJ Khuv and 74, Tsutchie, Muthafunka and Joos, Spiritjack, and Hammond himself in his Young Jeff incarnation.

Beginning his DJ career at the tender age of 16, Depth Charge (a.k.a. J. Saul Kane) releases his own hip hop and dub-influenced tracks through his DC Recordings label. He is best known for enlivening his songs with humorous snippets from Western and martial arts films.

Based in Sweden, The Mighty Quark are the production duo of Walter Baecklin and Mark O'Sullivan. Tapped by Hammond as one of Europe's brightest new acts, their recent album Ian Hendricks Disco was playlisted by techno luminaries Leftfield and the Orb.

Releasing music since the early-'80s, Takayuki Shiraishi has to be the veteran among the Stone artists. While first influenced by Detroit techno, his more recent releases, including 1999's Reach For The Sun, evince a passion for free-form experimentation blending hip hop, house, techno, jazz and breakbeats.

Dub Squad, meanwhile, are Tokyo's ganja-fueled dub and drum'n' bass evangelists. Hammond says they will offer a typically high energy live set that will no doubt feature tracks off their brand new release, Versus.

Among the other artists appearing - each worthy in their own right - Tsuchie is producer for Japanese hip hop phenom Shakkazombie, while UK native, DJ Muthafunka is well known on the Tokyo rave circuit for his passionate house and techno-flavored sets, as well as for his own mix CDs.

Stone, Scissors, Paper: Club Asia, 2/10, 11pm, JY3500, JY3000 (w/flier), w/1d. Tel: 03-5458-1996. Info: Play label 03-5489-4173. www.playlabel.com