About

Versatility does not even come close to describing how the humble Japanese ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U is considered to be one of the best DJs in the world by many of his peers. From his debut at DJ Nobu’s FUTURE TERROR event to performing 3 years consecutively at Berlin Atonal Festival, Yukimatsu’s sets have to be heard for you to understand.

In this special mix album, Yukimatsu gathers round his producer friends to build vessels of the story structure. Threading the pages together, interweaved by friendship and sine waves, he has crafted a masterful presentation from their individual messages. Pulling and stretching all sonic shapes and shades while exploring the farthest reaches of sound, the result is a frequency soup of twelve outstanding tracks that when sequenced together, become part of a greater, grander story: Midnight is Comin’.

From the sound art experimentations of orhythmo – Nagel and wide yawning strings in Ryo Murakami – Reminiscence to the rhythmic slo-mo haze of Sapphire Slows – Hinotori and the exponentially pulsing colours from DJ Nobu - Yakou Gai. The DMT-like spacious virtual meditation hall of KEIHIN – Exhale follows the uneasy footsteps of YPY – MS to the intermissioning chapter of City – 9K. Fall into the wormhole of COMPUMA –Flowmotion (IN DUB) and be transported to the reverb-drenched, intimate experience of Coni – Ängelsbäcksstrand, the primal invocations of Gabber Modus Operandi – Kisah (which also means story in Bahasa Indonesian) to the transcendent notes of SPINNUTS - Zweimal schlafen atmosphäre. The soaring universe of Albino Sound – Celestial Sphere wraps up the album with crystalline notes. — (via Label)

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In fall 2020, as streaming fatigue was reaching its apex, I stumbled on Yousuke Yukimatsu's Boiler Room x Super Dommune set. Watching his shirtless and sinewy torso bobbing behind the decks was like watching the magician David Copperfield chug a Four Loko and perform some mind-bending illusions with the CDJs, mixing The Empire Line and The Weeknd together with cameos from groups as far apart as TNGHT and New Order. That set was par for the course for one of Tokyo's most skilled and eclectic DJs. Yukimatsu has been a fixture since the late '00s, making regular appearances at festivals like Atonal and hosting artists like Equiknoxx and Rabit at his Zone Unknown parties in the Japanese capital. Hitting play on Midnight Is Comin', his latest mixtape, I was expecting more of the same: adrenaline-fueled, sweat-soaked club music. But instead, Yukimatsu brings together hazier and slower—but no less intense—experimental music on this 12-track compilation and mix that showcases the velocity of ambient music. 

The first half of the mix has a mournfully cinematic quality, where the colors of the tracks bleed into one another with little flecks of venom. He begins with the negative space and plucked notes of orhythmo's "Nagel" but the pressure quickly drops when he mixes in Sapphire Slows' "Hinotori," a piece of otherworldly funk built around a raindrop arpeggio. Yukimatsu seamlessly folds the track into DJ Nobu's "Yakou Gai," a track that sounds like Barker's recent work—beatless dance music that pummels with a prism of colors. 

After a brief intermission with CITY's undulating "9K," where each note feels pleasurable and mournful in equal measure, Yukimatsu switches gears in the mix's back half. It's still beautiful, but also darker and more mechanical, as he opts for a rougher style of blending. The mix reaches a climax with the pairing of Trilogy Tapes alumni Coni's "Ängelsbäcksstrand" and Gabber Modus Operandi's "Kisah." The former's broken rhythm, violently strummed guitar and lyrical refrain ("All I want is for you to take me when I die") come together in what sounds like a Devendra Banhart record pressed on a piece of corroded steel and remixed by Helm. It becomes even more disarming as it warps into the haunted chants and decaying trance synths of "Kisah."

While the mix-as-mix is outstanding, Midnight Is Comin' works even better as a series of individual tracks. There are some marquee names here—Ryo Murakami, DJ Nobu, Gabber Modus Operandi—but the focus seems to be showcasing lesser-known Japanese artists whose work might be too clubby for the ambient crowd and too ambient for the clubbers. Case in point: highlights from YPY, Compuma and KEIHIN. All three made their bones with dance music. YPY has popped up everywhere from Workshop  to Nous, Compuma has helmed the decks for Hessle Audio's Rinse show and KEIHIN has been making techno-dubstep hybrids. 

Midnight Is Comin' follows a number of other mixtapes Yukimatsu has released over the years. All them are excellent — I'd particularly recommend his outing for Bedouin Records), this one hits different. Not only does he maintain the seismic force of his club DJing with ambient records (making the mix worth the price of admission alone), but he also perfects an aesthetic that he recently described as "both aggressive and melodious." Ferocity and wonder is a balance hard to perfect, but Yukimatsu threads the needle perfectly as he brings together some of the strangest, most beautiful and occasionally jarring tracks from a hidden pocket of Japanese experimental music. — (via Resident Advisor)

Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Orhythmo – Nagel
A2 SPINNUTS – Zweimal schlafen atmosphäre
A3 YPY – MS
B1 Keihin – Exhale
B2 DJ Nobu – Yakou Gai
C1 Gabber Modus Operandi – Kisah
C2 Coni – Ängelsbäcksstrand
C3 City – 9K
D1 Ryo Murakami – Reminiscence
D2 Sapphire Slows – Hinotori
D3 Compuma – Flowmotion (IN DUB)
D4 Albino Sound – Celestial Sphere

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Label: Midnight Shift Records
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Mixed
Released: 2022
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient, Dark Ambient, Dub, Japanese

File under: Electronic // Japanese Electronic
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