One World - Interview with DJ KAWASAKI

Producer, DJ and founder of Kawasaki Records, DJ KAWASAKI has just released “One World”, his first album of all new material since 2010 featuring vocalists from all over the globe and recorded fully with live instruments. Fellow disco/soul fan Royce Leong of Tokyo ON gets up to speed with DJ KAWASAKI to find out how we got here.

Tokyo ON: Firstly congratulations on releasing your first original album in 11 years! Especially with the pandemic, do you feel a sense of achievement?

DJ KAWASAKI: Thanks! Due to the pandemic many events got cancelled so I haven’t been able to DJ, but during that time I focused on making music. This is the first album I’ve made all the songs with live instruments. I was able to take plenty of my time to work on it by trial and error, so finally it worked out as something I could be happy with. Releasing something in the form of an album and not just singles was really important to me, so I do feel a real sense of achievement.

TO: 11 years is a long time between albums. But I know One World also contains some songs you released in the last few years. When did you feel like you wanted to put an album together?

K: As soon as I realized it, 11 years had already passed. During this time, I met many new people and made new discoveries, I think it was a really important time that I needed to thoroughly think about the kind of music I want to make. I decided I wanted to make a new album around the beginning of 2020. The reason I released it now is partly because I recently just had enough completed songs on my hands, but also because I felt a sense of mission to release an album during this difficult time in the history of mankind.

TO: Going back to your previous material in the early 2000’s, one would probably call it soulful house, but One World is a disco album made with real instruments. What changed for you in this time?

K: In the past, I was making music by doing all the drums and programming myself, but One World was recorded entirely with a band playing live instruments including the drums. It’s because I’ve always wanted to make an album someday composed completely with live instruments, and also because it needed to link to my current DJ style of playing not just house but also raw sounds like disco. I’ve wanted to take the opportunity to properly convey my current musicality that I’ve evolved in my own way.

TO: Were there any challenges you encountered when making an album with live instruments as opposed to programming?

K: The biggest issue was making the sound from the drum recording. Since these were live drums, I started with an image from a demo first as I wasn’t sure if I could achieve the sound I was aiming for. During recording, me, the drummer and the engineers discussed a lot about what snares to choose, recording with microphones I like, also we adjusted the position of the microphones so many times. Actually, my image for the sound of the drums is like when you hear it on the floor of THE ROOM, and I really wanted to capture that same vibe of that, so we decided to record everything in THE ROOM.

TO: One World will also be released on vinyl on your own label Kawasaki Records which you set up in 2018. Can you tell us the story behind Kawasaki Records?

K: Kawasaki Records is a label specializing in 7 inch vinyl records. I started this label because it had been a dream of mine for many years to freely create the music that I believe in on my own label, and also after meeting my best friend DJ RYUHEI THE MAN I got hooked on the charm of 7 inch records. To date, not only have I released my own songs on the label, but also records for other artists such as Mano Arriba, Natsu Summer & Early Summer and cro-magnon. This is actually the first time I’m releasing an LP on the label so I’m really looking forward to it. I just can’t wait until it's completed. In the future I plan to release a lot of music that I’ll be confident about and will be able to recommend, so you should definitely stay tuned.

TO: Did you have any specific influences for One World? A kind of sound you were aiming for?

K: I was aiming to create a sound that goes with the disco music that I regularly play as a DJ. I probably was influenced by underground crossover kind of disco, soul sounds, afro and jazz funk a bit like Universal Togetherness Band.

TO: Is there any particular concept or message for One World?

K: Although One World was made right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, as I DJ myself I had events cancelled and I was forced into a really difficult situation. In these circumstances, I felt a sense of purpose to release an album during this challenging time for humanity. Not only us in Japan, people all over the world are suffering the same difficult situation at the same time, but we’re all fighting hard to survive. When I thought about that, I realized we really live in one world. So, One World contains a positive message for us to keep our heads up and live.

TO: I know you play a lot of classic disco, soul and funk - can you tell us your top 3 favorite records and why?

Taken By Love / Universal Togetherness Band

This band has an amazing sense for songwriting, and every song on this album is brilliant. I love both the lo-fi sound and the texture. I play this a lot as a DJ, but I’m pretty sure this had a substantial influence on my music production.

Everybody Party / Firebolts

This is only available as a 7 inch vinyl, but this is one of the songs that got me into the 7 inch format. It features gospel-like, euphoric singing and a jazzy Rhodes with a heavy and funky bassline, it's a song that always gets everyone excited when you play it.

Makin' Love To Ya' / Got - Cha'

This one’s also a 7 inch record. I love this kind of crossover soul and disco, and I play it a lot. My good friend DJ RYUHEI THE MAN told me about this song when we went to the record shop together, so it has a special memory attached to it.

TO: It’s funny that in Japan many people think disco means eurobeat. Can you tell us a little bit about the disco scene here?

K: In Japan when you mention disco, there are a few people who still have that kind of image from back in the late 80’s, so it is what it is. But among us DJs, when it comes to disco what passes as OK are only the songs that no matter how old they are, those songs that have a rich musicality that will never fade even in the present, so it’s not to say that all disco is good. At MAGNETIC, which is my regular event held at THE ROOM in Shibuya, we select only this kind of real music to play.

TO: It might be difficult now with the current situation but were you planning to showcase the album material overseas?

K: In 2017, I went on a tour in Europe and played at beach festivals and southern soul festivals in Montenegro which was really awesome, so, once the pandemic situation gets better, I definitely want to play overseas again.

TO: It would be a dream to see an event featuring you together with guys like DJ KON, DJ Packer and Danny Krivit - do you think this can happen someday?

K: Oh, wow! That would be the greatest party ever. I’ve performed together at events with KON and Danny in the past, but not the four of us together at once, so I’d love to do that someday for sure!

TO: Looking forward to it! Thanks for talking to Tokyo ON and see you in THE ROOM again soon.

Follow DJ KAWASAKI on Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud, or you can catch him at his resident DJ event MAGNETIC held regularly at THE ROOM in Shibuya.

DJ KAWASAKI - ONE WORLD

01. Urban Origin
02. Sun, Run & Synchronize feat. sauce81
03. Light Your Light feat. Emi Tawata
04. Now It Comes
05. Don’t Put My Heart Down feat. Maylee Todd
06. Alive feat. Shea Soul
07. Midnight Escape
08. One World feat. Ayana
09. When It Feels Right feat. Monday Michiru
10. Step Out feat. Taliwa
11. Alive (Exclusive Horns Revibe)