DJ AKi
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Biografía
- AKi’s DJ carrier started all in New York in 1996. Living there as an illustrator, not being too successful, he was working as a bartender in one of the most popular cafés in the East Village, O’leans. This cafe was where he first met the co-owner of th..Dara once took AKi to his store and he decided to buy their records. AKi recalls at that time he was only there to please Dara for the sake of their record sale. AKi then had absolutely no clue that these first few records he bought would end up changing his whole life dramatically... AKi eventually found his friends who had turntables around and he began mixing one record to another... He was always into music, but not the one who would have wanted to perform. He used to go to listen to Indie, rock, techno and house music in the city, but ever since he discovered drum&bass, he fell in love with the sounds of filthy bass lines and speedy & chunky beats as well as performing as a DJ. He literally has been playing at least 4 hours a day from this day and he has everyday for the last 17 years. His first big show was in New York at a legendary club, Twilo in 1999. As he was going to the club just as one of the club goers, he suddenly caught a chance to play out at one of the biggest clubs in the city. After this show, AKi gets involved deeply in the New York drum&bass scene until he returns to his home, Tokyo in 2000. As soon as he returns to Tokyo, he begins his monthly residency at WOMB, “06S”. This party is now going into their 13th year and still running strong in Tokyo’s club music scene where he’s been gaining his popularity through his original hard & uplifting style sound. Many of the UK DJs are also crediting him for his style and his impeccable deck skills. AKi’s first mix CD was released in 2004, "New Type Drum+Bass 06S". With this release, his name got well recognized by many of drum&bass heads not only in Japan but also across the world. In April 2005, AKi first went to South America and played at SKOL BEATS in Sao Paulo (Brazil), where his high energy and outstanding talent were well perceived. Since then he has gone back to Brazil 5 years in a row playing at clubs like the famous Warung & Sirena. AKi, not only promoting drum&bass in Japan through his residency in Tokyo, but he has been touring across the world (UK, Australia, Serbia, Netherlands, U.S.A, Brazil, Taiwan, Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore and many more…). In 2006, AKi with his team launches one of the first ever Tokyo based drum&bass record labels, “06S Records”. Many of the UK drum&bass producers also supported the label and collaborated by co-producing and remixing their tracks. One of the collaborating tracks with Sonic, “ACCELERATOR” later gets into in the compilation EP released by Hospital Records’ “FUTURE SOUND OF TOKYO”. His mission then became clearer than ever. That was to promote this music to as many people as possible he can ever reach out to. In 2007, one of the most successful record labels Ram Records’ offered him to play at their party, “RAM NIGHT” at Matter in London. During the same tour, he also played at Liverpool based big party, “Chibuku Shake Shake” and many other UK parties. With this tour, his name finally became known in the UK & rest of the world. AKi is now recognized as one of the best drum&bass DJs in Asia where he has played with many of the top DJs such as Andy C, Fabio & Grooverider, DJ Hype, dBridge, and Friction to name a few. AKi also puts his effort strongly into producing music and his mixes to be heard. In 2011, Nike released their music for runners, "Nike+ speed Mixed by DJAKi " which became no.3 on the national iTunes chart. He also produced remixes of more main stream artists of Japan, Genki Rockets’ “Heavenly Star”, and one of the top Japanese female pop singer Kumi Koda’s “BUT/DJ AKi ES9 REMIX”, and "Go To The Top / DJAKi ASY REMIX". These works encouraged and gave Japanese audience more opportunities to listen to drum&bass. As for a Japanese DJ, it is a milestone to play out in the famous Fuji Rock Festival. AKi finally got his slot in 2012 with his partner, YUUKi MC where they performed in front of 5,000+ people. Since last year, AKi’s main focus has been his new bass music unit, “ASY”. By bringing in the new partner, STY, as a track maker, AKi & YUUKi MC are pushing the envelopes to reach out to even bigger & wider audience. Together, they introduce a new & original styled band that still brings the bass cranking sounds for the audience to rediscover the sound of bass music. In April 2013, they will launch a new label called “ANOTHER TOKYO”, and will start releasing from many tracks that have already been produced, performed, and well perceived on their previous performing stages. AKi regularly plays at his internet radio show, “BASS TECH” on block.fm and his monthly Ustream program, DJ AKi Stream, on the first Thursday every month. During these shows, he gathers his core fans and communicates directly with them through the timelines. AKi has an amazing group of followers. In general, there are many club goers who would see drum&bass as not their cup of tea. However, when they experience the “AKi’s sound”, it just blows their mind and many of them say they now understand why people like drum&bass. AKi is simply in the scene to let any of you touch his sound and he will give you the answer to why he is so passionate about his music. Ever since the very first record he picked up in New York, his music journey has been continuing and it is a journey that he will not put an end to.