Japanese DJ and band latest ‘forces of nature’

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Japanese DJ and band latest ‘forces of nature’

Tomorrow night in Seoul, forces of nature will entrance those sleepless on a summer night, as party organizer Riskei brings a grand-scale DJ party to the Vista Hall in the Sheraton Walkerhill hotel in eastern Seoul. The sixth installment of the “Forces of Nature” series tomorrow night will go Japanese, featuring Paris Match and DJ Emma ― thanks to the growing popularity of Japanese electronic music in Korea.
Over the past year, Riskei’s “Forces of Nature” series has showcased many internationally renowned DJs, and names like Bobby Kim, Towa Tei, Boy George, Who Da Funk, Smoking Jo and Sandy Rivera have helped place Korea on the global map of electronic music. Paris Match is best-known for Shibuya-ke, or Shibuya-style, acid-pop-meets-house music. After the techno boom began to erode in the late 1990s, Shibuya-ke music rose from the hip clubbing district of Tokyo, combining house, lounge, jazz, bosa nova and more. Paris Match is at the pinnacle of Shibuya-ke music and the belated recognition of the band in Korea came through TV commercials featuring its music and other Shibuya-ke music as background sound.
Paris Match, named after a song by the British band, Style Council, debuted with “Play It Cool Vol. 1” in 2000 after two composers, Yosuke “Jazoulster” Sugiyama and Tai Furusawa met Mari Mizuno, a female vocalist, in a club. With Mizuno’s breezy, sultry and at times ticklish, yet stylish singing mostly in Japanese over versatile dance melodies, the band boasts many hits, including “Saturday” from the “Type III” (2002) album; “Summer Breeze” and “Angel” from the “Quattro” (2003) album, and “Desert Moon and “Oceanside Liner” from the “5th Anniversary” (2005) album.
The Korean performance, according to the organizer, chronicles the band’s best pieces plus samples from its latest album, “After Six,” released in March of this year.
DJ Emma, who is scheduled to spin after Paris Match, is currently one of Japan’s best house DJs. His CD albums “Emma House 11” and “Live At Yellow, Tokyo,” both released in 2005, are full of energetic, stimulating house music for those who like to gyrate into the wee-hours.


by Ines Cho

“Forces of Nature Vol. 6” is from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day. Advance tickets through Interpark (1544-1555 or http://ticket.interpark.co.kr) cost 20,000 won ($17) or 30,000 won at the entrance. For inquiries, call Riskei at (02) 542-1567.
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