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We fought the language barrier to chat with Hokkaido's Hiroaki Iizuka
House | Friday 5th September 2014 | Cristina
We got in touch with Hiroaki Iizuka, one of the most succesful artists to emerge from London label THEM Records. Based in Japan, Iizuka's dark tehno recalls old school beats with a contemporary house twist. Iizuka's latest release with THEM, the Run, has received exciting reviews and he looks set to bring his tunes to a wider audience in Japan and across the ocean. Done over email to avoid the language barrier, the Q and A sees Iizuka hopeful about his Hokkaido contemporaries. Perhaps Iizuka is the first of much Japanese techno about to come the UK's way.
Where in Japan are you based? For all of us Londoners, and everyone else, can you tell us a bit about the house/techno scene there? Along with yourselves, who are the biggest names? Can you name any stars currently emerging from that scene?
I’m based in Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest island, where the intimate but thriving scene revolves around two great clubs. One of which is Precious Hall (http://www.precioushall.com) and the second being Plastic Theater (http://www.plastictheater.com). Both are located in Sapporo (the central city of Hokkaido) and concentrate on electronic music. As for rising stars, 7th gate (Rotation Records), Yamaoka (Holzplatten/Kazumi), Hiroki Esashika (Intec Records), Ko-Ta (Stratosphere Records), Kuniyuki Takahashi, Naohito Uchiyama, o.n.o., Takuya Yamashita and Yamaoka are all definitely worth mentioning.
Tell me about the technology / music hardware you produce with.
I work with an Akai MPC2000, an analog sequencer and the classic Roland SH101.
Where have you played lately?
It was a live set at Plastic Theater in Sapporo.
Detroit/90s house and techno has influenced your sound to a degree. What's your favourite old school DJ?
I’m tied between Derrick May and Jeff Mills.
What are you listening to right now?
Plastikman/EX
Any up and coming artists you think we should all know about?
I would definitely suggest Takaaki Itoh https://wolsrecords.bandcamp.com and Go Hiyama’s Hue Helix https://huehelix.bandcamp.com.
What do you think is the best environment for people to experience your music? Big festival? Smaller club? Large warehouse?
I think that listeners should decide for themselves, therefore it’s quite difficult to answer your question. Personally though, I’d say a small club suits my sound the best because I come from a small club scene and I think that influences me when making my own tracks. But don’t get me wrong, I still fully enjoy playing large festivals.
If you could choose any artist to work with right now, who would it be?
I would like to work with Takaaki Ito and Go Hiyama simply because I truly appreciate their sound approach. I have been undoubtedly influenced by them both, drawing influence from them both for quite some time.
How did your relationship with THEM begin?
The London - Hokkaido connection all began with THEM contacting me about a track that I put up on Soundcloud. I can’t underline enough how appreciative I am of THEM getting in touch with me. It’s great that people are hearing and enjoying my music around the world What can I say? Naturally, there’s more to come!
What else have you been working on lately? Remixes? DJing? Record label?
I’ve been quite focused on producing and releasing my own music. You can check out more of my productions at https://hiroakiiizuka.bandcamp.com and my Soundcloud page (https://soundcloud.com/zeroset).
If you could listen to only one album on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Anything by Basic Channel.
Check out THEM Records here. Get a taste for Iizuka's beats on his soundcloud.
