- In recent years, few promoters would consider themselves as unlucky as the team behind Rainbow Disco Club: having been forced to cancel the 2011 edition of the festival following the Great East Japan Earthquake, they returned to Tokyo again in 2012 only for heavy rain and stormy conditions to once again put a halt to the festivities. Undeterred, they refocused their efforts in 2013, only the festival's second time in Tokyo after the inaugural event in 2010. The format was tweaked in light of last year's misfortune, when the cancellation of the outdoor part of the festival had the promoters scrambling to rearrange venues at the last minute: though the daytime programme would still be the centrepiece, two nighttime events were also added from the outset, at Shibuya's Womb and Seco Bar.
Despite an early 10 AM start, punters quickly flocked to Harumi Port Terminal, a waterfront event space near Tokyo's Odaiba district with stunning views of the high-rise architecture nearby and the capital's Rainbow Bridge. Earlybirds were treated to a deep and soulful disco set by Tokyoite Sisi, followed by Cottam, who continued on a similar tip, adding some Balearic flourishes to match the midday sun and finishing with one of last year's best releases, Paranoid London's "Paris Dub 1." Next was a somewhat rare local performance by Japan-based artist DJ Sprinkles, who kicked things up a notch with some rough, analogue acid house, complemented by his trademark style of long mixes, harsh transitions and heavy use of effects.
Next came Sapporo resident Kuniyuki, America's Kevin Yost and veteran DJ Nature. Kuniyuki was the pick of the bunch for me, playing a concise, varied set that regularly switched between pounding acid house and improv jazz piano. The the live keys he layered over the top of his and Henrik Schwarz's "Once Again" were a particular crowd-pleaser.
Rounding off a day of such varied and eclectic music, it was a shame that Dixon's 4/4 tech house set came across as an entirely more generic affair, never throwing up the surprises that you'd hope for—Âme's remix of The XX's "Reunion" was a rare standout in an otherwise forgettable 90 minutes. His decision to finish the set, and thus close out the daytime proceedings, with "A Real Hero" from the Drive OST felt ill-advised, and will likely linger in the mind as long as the day's far more numerous highlights.
With little more than an hour before the music was set to continue elsewhere, it was a case of grabbing a quick dinner and relocating to Shibuya, arriving at Womb just in time to see Dixon peddle more of the same fare as he had done earlier. This at least meant a chance to check out the Japanese artists in the club's smaller rooms. Dubstep mainstay Ena and Yosa x Shu Okuyama were two acts that particularly impressed, the latter duo playing a live set that brought life to their multi-textured, saccharine house productions. Things picked up in the main room as Barker & Baumecker took the stage, the duo aptly representing Ostgut Ton with a live jam that encompassed the nuances of the contemporary Berlin techno sound, although Womb's disappointing soundsystem struggled to do justice to the treasure trove of analogue hardware the duo had brought with them.
Closing duty was left to Ben UFO, a newcomer to these shores. The Hessle Audio boss soon won over the dance floor with industrial-tinged techno that included Container's "Acclimator" and much slept-on Levon Vincent B-side "Together Forever." The audience responded equally as well to quieter, more introspective moments, including "Busy Signal" from Anthony Naples' excellent release on The Trilogy Tapes earlier this year and Elgato's "Dunkel Jam," which was tenderly let to breathe for its entire eight-minute duration.
Then it was time to make the relatively short walk (although at 6 AM it felt anything but) over to Seco Bar, a smaller, one-room venue, where the party was still in full swing. Baumecker kept people dancing with some buoyant vocal techno before passing the baton to Japanese artist Gonno. Around 9 AM, coming up to 24 hours since the festival had kicked off, the mind was willing but the body was weak and I called it a day. From the atmosphere at the time I can only assume that the party was still going strong right until it closed at midday.
