Afrotech sound stylist Yellow

It' a long way from the parking garage beneath an apartment complex at a US military base in Germany (where his family was stationed) where he DJed his first party at age 14 to the world's top house clubs. But on Sat, Apr 14 Jaymz Nylon arrives in Japan with Italy's Irma Records to spin a World Connection special party, Irma Records Japan Tour, at the venerable Yellow in Nishi-Azabu.

Hailed by leading club magazine Urb as, "a man who has more than a passing interest in his heritage, one who's done his research and through his music has paid his own personal homage to the motherland," Jaymz Nylon launched his DJ career in earnest in New York in the early '90s.

Releasing his first single, the dancefloor smash "It All Begins Here" with Tribal America in 1993, Nylon has gone on to issue tracks with King Street/Night Grooves and other leading dance imprints before signing with Irma for his first full-length, last year's Afrotech.

Putting his own African roots into the context of contemporary electronic dance music, Nylon on Afrotech combined tribal rhythms, old-skool house and Detroit flourishes with Latin rhythms for one of the year's most unique house releases. In a career that has recently taken him from New York's Tunnel and Limelight to Ibiza and beyond, Nylon's visit to Yellow should be one of the most highly anticipated house parties of the spring.

Backing Nylon will be fellow Irma stablemates Fabrizio and Taka as well as the always dependable Kaoru Inoue a. k. a. Chari Chari.

Meanwhile, if you're stumped for something to do over the weekend, consider dropping in to Shibuya's grooviest DJ bar, Sugar High, where DJs CMJK and Yanagi will be hosting a new event entitled Base of Operation this Saturday. Promising sounds ranging from "fever house" to "Balearic groove" and "good old Detroit," the party will also feature DJs Humberger, Tora and a live set from K.G.G.

World Connection: Yellow,
4/14, 9pm, JY3000 (w/flyer), JY3500, w/1d.
Tel: 03-3479-0690.

Base of Operation: Sugar High,
4/7, 6pm, JY1500, w/1d.
Tel: 03-3780-3022.