- The issues facing Tokyo's club scene are well documented, from an aging population to the complex Fueiho laws. The After 25 conference viewed these issues through the prism of Berlin's club culture, which faces its own, very different hurdles, mostly stemming from gentrification and the challenges of managing success. The central question seemed to be: What can Tokyo learn from Berlin?
The centerpiece of the daytime conference was a discussion overseen by Tobias Rapp (author of Lost And Sound: Berlin Techno And The Easyjetset), who was joined by Japanese lawyer Takahiro Saito, Bar 25 co-founder Juval Dieziger, Marc Wohlrabe of Berlin Clubcommission and Native Instruments' Tobias Thon at Tokyo's Goethe-Institut. Rapp's opening remarks were insightful, but the Q&A became bogged down with talk of moody bouncers and door policies, scratching around the key topics (like how to get the next generation of Japanese kids into dance music). While this felt like something of a missed opportunity, the range of people taking part in the Q&A—middle-aged art gallery curators, young clubbers and aspiring DJs—reflected the wide cross-section of people who care about the future of Tokyo's club scene.
That night the conference moved from the Institut to Unit. Guenter Schickert's kosmiche guitar unfurled like clouds across the sky, while upstairs Rainbow Disco Club's Sisi worked his way through slow-tempo, reverbed disco tunes punctuated by bursts of sax. Burnt Friedman's set at times felt sluggish, the subtlety of his sounds not quite filling Unit's main room.
The night's headliner was Robert Henke, AKA Monolake, who was performing his Lumière show for the first time in a club. It's unlikely he'll find a more receptive crowd than in Tokyo, a city bathed in neon and obsessed with electronics. Lumière is all about lasers, and while lasers can do lots of things—cut through metal, fix damaged eyes, zap meteorites—their role in electronic music is clichéd. But where so many other similar shows place style over substance, Henke brings a level of technical nous few can match. Too often the "V" in A/V performances comes a distant second to the music, but it's the lasers that drive Lumière in a very real sense, with each of Henke's visuals triggering different sounds (a circle drawn by the laser will have a different sound to a square, for example).
As blue streaks of light darted across the screen, some looked on transfixed, while others cheered wildly. At times the imagery evoked computer code or vague scientific experiments, but there were also more expansive moments, with swirls and twists providing a trippy edge. Though the focus on visuals occasionally made the music fall flat, it's hard to complain when you're this mesmerised.
Swathes of people headed to the exit after Lumière, but those who stayed where rewarded with a classy set from local favourite DJ Nobu. From Schickert through Friedman to Monolake, there hadn't been much opportunity to dance at the conference, so hearing Nobu work his way through a selection of swampy techno records gave us a perfect excuse to let loose until closing time.
Photo credits: Masanori Naruse