DJ Mitsu (JPN/Jazzy Sport) @ The Turnaround - Fri 24th Sept
DJ MITSU THE BEATS
A native of Sendai in the north-eastern Tohoku region of Japan, DJ Mitsu The Beats cut his teeth as a hip-hop battle DJ, perfecting his technique with countless hours of practice before eventually hooking up with his home town homeboy DJ Kentaro (2002 DMC World Champion). At the turn of the millennium Mitsu formed the hip-hop group GAGLE with his younger brother MC Hunger & DJ Mu-R, taking beat production duties & serving as ‘side MC’. The group burst onto the Japanese hip-hop scene with their debut EP Bust The Facts on Next Level Recording & have since recorded four full length albums, the latter three – 2005’s Big Bang Theory, 2007’s 3 Peat & 2009’s Slow But Steady – for major label Columbia Music Entertainment.
Having turned heads internationally with his world class productions for GAGLE, Mitsu teamed up with Tokyo-based Jazzy Sport Productions to conceive a debut solo album featuring collaborations with likeminded artists from across the globe & the musical spectrum, including American rappers Phonte & Big Pooh from Little Brother, neo soul artists Dwele from Detroit & Lady Alma from Philadelphia, & New Zealand’s own globetrotting keyboard king Mark de Clive-Lowe. The resulting record, New Awakening, released by PlanetGroove in 2003, explored hip-hop, soul & uptempo club sounds, earning the respect of
Mitsu’s hip-hop heroes Pete Rock & DJ Spinna & airplay from tastemaking DJs including the BBC’s Gilles Peterson & Benji B. Two volumes of remixes were commissioned from artists as diverse as Waajeed from Platinum Pied Pipers, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Rich Medina & Phil Asher, & fellow rising Japanese stars Grooveman Spot & Breakthrough.
The success of his debut album opened further doors offshore for DJ Mitsu The Beats, with remix & production work flooding in & invitations to perform overseas at events like Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival in Sète, France. One of only a handful of Japanese DJs making waves outside their homeland, Mitsu’s supreme DJ skills have been flexed in clubs worldwide & on mix CDs for Blue Note Records, BBE & the excellent Extra Feeding & Sound Maneuvers series out of Japan (the latter alongside his GAGLE DJ partner Mu-R). In 2009, DJ Mitsu The Beats returned with his second solo album A Word To The Wise, another international affair boasting guest spots by Elzhi from Slum Village, Black Spade, Stones Throw artists
Wildchild & Georgia Ann Muldrow, & Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings jazz signing Jose James. Korean MCs Dynamic Duo also featured, as did a repeat appearance from Mark de Clive-Lowe, a frequent visitor to Japan.
Just a year after releasing of A Word To The Wise, Mitsu released his third solo album Universal Force in August 2010, this time targeted firmly at a domestic Japanese market & featuring only Japanese MCs & singers including Hunger from GAGLE & female rapper-cum-r&b-singer Coma-Chi. This has been another busy year for DJ Mitsu The Beats, who always reps hard for Japan at home and abroad.
TARO WASSUPSKI
Acting as label boss, artist and tour manager, Taro Kesen is one of the original founding members of Jazzy Sport. After working for "File Records" in Japan alongside Masaya Fantasista, it seemed a natural progression to set up a shop and label. Always on the look out for fresh and unique talent, Taro comes to Aotearoa to showcase his vision for Jazzy Sport .
JAZZY SPORT
Originally conceived as a record store in Morioka City, Jazzy Sport has become a Japanese hub for hip underground beats since opening its flagship store in Shibuya in 2003. Recently relocated to nearby Gohongi, the world-renowned beat boutique is sought out by visitors from around the globe & doubles as a headquarters for the Jazzy Sport production house & record label’s ever-growing roster of DJs, MCs, producers & designers. In addition to breaking homegrown artists like Grooveman Spot, Breakthrough, Cro-magnon & TettoryBad, Jazzy Sport have released a steady stream of collectible records by cult international artists including Count Bass D, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Steve Spacek & IG Culture. Lovers of music & sport, the close-knit Jazzy Sport crew come together to play futsal as UFC Jazzy Sport & climb & ski as Jazzy Sport Expeditions.
"ONE FOR THE JAZZ, TWO FOR THE SPORT" DJ MITSU THE BEATS productions mix
Tracklist:
1. DJ Mitsu The Beats - M.o.o.d for Otis feat. Medaphoar (DJ Mitsu The Beats remix)
2. DJ Mitsu The Beats - The Game Changer feat. Wildchild & Georgia Ann Muldrow
3. Alex Attias presents Mustang - Help Me (DJ Mitsu The Beats remix)
4. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Right Here feat. Dwele
5. GAGLE - フトコãƒãƒŽãƒ‰ãƒ¬ã‚¤è§£æ”¾é‹å‹•
6. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Spireedom 2004
7. GAGLE - 赤ã„シャドー
8. GAGLE - 雪ノé©å‘½
9. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Get'em Up feat. Elzhi
10. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Feelin Alright feat Phonte & Big Pooh from Little Brother
11. GAGLE - Inter-Mood
12. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Playin' Wit Crime feat. Maspyke
13. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Intro feat. Hunger from GAGLE
14. Crown City Rockers - Weekend Soul (DJ Mitsu The Beats remix)
15. Julien Dyne - Falling Down feat. Parks (DJ Mitsu The Beats remix)
16. GAGLE - Snowflake
17. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Dim Skyline feat. Mark de Clive-Lowe
18. GAGLE - Eastern Voyage (instrumental)
19. GAGLE - 昂サãƒã‚¤ãƒ´ feat. Hunger & ç’°Roy
20. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Free Your Mind feat. Black Spade
21. GAGLE - Constellation feat. KOHEI JAPAN
22. GAGLE - 黒フェッショナルMC (instrumental)
23. GAGLE - 黒フェッショナルMC
24. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Impulse feat. Mathematik
25. DJ Mitsu The Beats -Â ä¸€æ›²å…¥é‚ (Dan Aikido's 0-900 Blend)
26. DJ Mitsu The Beats - Night In Vienna
Selected and mixed by Dan Aikido for The Jewel School, August 2010
Includes tracks from GAGLE - 3 Men On Wax (Next Level Recording, 2001) DJ Mitsu The Beats - New Awakening (PLANETGROOVE, 2003) DJ Mitsu The Beats - Re-New Awakening 02 (PLANETGROOVE, 2004) GAGLE - Big Bang Theory (Columbia Music Entertainment, 2005) DJ Mitsu The Beats - The Excellence: Selected Works (P-Vine Records, 2006) GAGLE - 3 Peat (Columbia Music Entertainment, 2007) DJ Mitsu The Beats - Word To The Wise (PLANETGROOVE, 2009) GAGLE - Slow But Steady (Columbia Music Entertainment, 2009) DJ Mitsu The Beats - Universal Force (PLANETGROOVE, 2010)
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