DJ Tsuyoshi Interview

Psytrance Wizard is back

Author: Sam@Chaishop.com
Date: Apr 28, 2006
Views: 6347

Date: Apr 28, 2006
Text:
This interview has been done for Chaishop Music News 013. Listen to the complete interview and find out more about Chaishop Music News at www.chaishop.com/lasso/content.lasso?id=1617



The japanese DJ Tsuyoshi is one of the pioneers of Psytrance. He started playing in 1992/1993 and founded the legendary London-based label Matsuri in 1994. Tsuyoshi has been one of the most successful Psytrance Djs ever since and played at all major festivals around the world. Also he released music under the name Prana, Joujouka and Tsuyoshi on many labels worldwide. With the decease of Matsuri records Tsuyoshi moved back to Tokyo in 1999/2000 and decided not to play Psytrance anymore but put his focus on Electro House music. He founded his own labels Feedback Recordings and Mad Skippers. But – suprise – Tsuyoshi is back playing Psytrance again!

Why are you playing psytrance again?

When I came back to Tokyo in 1999/2000 I thought I’m not playing psytrance anymore because I thought it was not interesting anymore. But a few years ago I found very nice stuff from the psytrance scene and thought WOW maybe I can just put it in my set right now. And actually it’s just my taste of music, my mood of music too. So yeah from the psytrance scene people are thinking Tsuyoshi is coming back again. But I think this music is getting interesting now. I have been doing this electro house, electro rock stuff, more kind of vocal stuff in it, more kind of commercial stuff on the electro house scene. And this is what I keep on doing as well.

Ah ok so you still play on one hand electro house and on the other hand you play Psytrance.

Yeah Psytrance DJ Tsuyoshi, Electro House / Electro Rock is Numanoid and Joujouka, which is my band.

Maybe a couple of words about Joujouka...

Actually Joujouka is my kind of a balance between doing dj stuff and doing band things. Because I used to play in a band when I was teenage. Doing djing is ok but my musical expression in my life is not only making dj stuff. [...] Joujouka at the moment is me and a guy called Funky Gong, who sings and plays guitar. I do the concept and play samples and dj stuff and also percussion and drums.

Where is Psytrance going?

OK, that’s kind of a popular question! I think in Psytrance nothing is gonna change, Psytrance is Psytrance. The music has changed a bit from when I started in 1999. Also the crowd has changed and doesn’t know anything of Juno Reactor, Hallucinogen, Total Eclipse. People know only Astrix and Skazi and Infected Mushroom and kind of things. The generation has changed a lot actually. [...] My album will come out this year and I’m working on it right now.

So Psytrance God is back?

Hahahaha. No, I change the name over to Wizard or something.

What is hip right now in Japan?

There is no popular trendy scene right now in Japan. Everything is really popular, Psytrance is really popular, House music is popular, Drum and Base is recovered, Electro is not as big as the Psytrance and House scene but when popular artists come to Japan people are coming. There’re so many parties every weekend and – I don’t know – it’s just too much. It’s kind of flooded.

There’s not so much famous producers coming from Japan. Why?

I have no idea. This is one of the biggest problems that we have. There are so many parties. [...] There is actually so many great artists here but not so many people know about them as they don’t care about releasing overseas. I hope that now that this download business is coming along then japanese artists will be seen more often.

- Joujouka „Never Look Back“ has just been released on Tsuyoshi’s label Mad Skippers Records.
- Tsuyoshi’s new album is coming out it 2006
- Tsuyoshi’s new website has just been finished: www.djtsuyoshi.net

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