Ever since I first interviewed Alex Fish of Holosound last year we’ve kept in close contact. I had been a fan for quite awhile, hoping that Holosound would make it to Toronto before I left for Japan. When this didn’t happen I was pretty disappointed, thinking that it would be a long time until I got to hear their ‘Illectro’ sounds live.

So when Alex mentioned that he was thinking of making a stop in Tokyo on his way to Thailand, I really wanted to make some sort of event happen. Not only did I want to hear Alex spin, but I finally wanted to meet a friend who I had never actually seen face to face. Plus, it just so happened he was going to arrive on my birthday, the perfect day for a crazy introduction to Tokyo.

Anyone who has ever tried to get a gig in Tokyo knows how difficult it is. There’s an over population of Japanese DJ’s in Tokyo who make it hard for outside talent to get booked. And unless you are a superstar DJ, clubs are very reluctant to pay for flights. Even the DJs who live here have trouble getting decent gigs.

So when Alex asked me to help out I knew there was almost nothing I could do. Of course I asked around, but on such short notice I didn’t know how we were going to make it happen.

The only person who I knew that could possibly get a club for a CiTRiC party was DJ Que, who Alex put me in contact with when I first got to Japan. When Que finally pulled through with a decent venue I was so excited. I now had a wicked party to promote for my birthday.

On February 16th (the day after my birthday) we all headed to a traditional Japanese izakaya for a warm up dinner. Alex and I were both pretty hurting from the crazy night we had at Womb the night before, but after we filled our bellies and quenched our thirst, we were ready to get the party going. I rounded up the crew and we headed down to the club for 11:30pm, picking up friends on street corners along the way.

None of us had been to Club Ever before, so we didn’t know what to expect. Upon entering we made our way downstairs to the bar and passed a large dimly lit lounge area filled with white couches. To the right of the bar was a dark dance floor, one light and a large screen which projected visuals.

After a few visits to the bar and Que’s fantastic warm up set, Alex was ready to work his magic. I don’t know who was more excited, him or I. Once he got behind the decks, the dance floor immediately picked up. He mixed a beautiful set of classic tracks, high energy build ups and fresh new vocal beats that had everyone smiling.

Prior to Alex’s arrival in Tokyo I asked him what he was going to play. He said that people were telling him to play techno, and of course I said “NO!” We hear way too much of that here. Alex knew the crowd I was going to bring had a different kind of ear, a kind he definitely satisfied that night.

Now you get to be the judge. I listened to the entire two hour set again while lying on my bed the other day and it was really hard to stay still. This was one of the best birthday’s I have ever had. Thank you Alex Fish for making your Tokyo dreams a reality!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Holosound Live in Tokyo PT1
Holosound Live in Tokyo PT2

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 12:09 am and is filed under Reviews, What's Going Down. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.