Published
Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 01:58
- The Tokyo record store owner, who passionately promoted the sound of Bristol bass in Japan, passed away yesterday.
Naoki E-Jima, the founder and operator of Japanese record store Disk Shop Zero, died yesterday after a bout of illness.
Since opening his shop in Ekoda, Tokyo back in 1993, E-Jima—real name Naoki Iijima—championed bass music coming out of Bristol, forging a strong link between the two cities' scenes. That vision continued when he and a group of friends started their BS0 party in 2015 (they refer to BS0 as a made-up Bristol postcode) and released a series of records on a label of the same name shortly after. In addition to running his shop, Iijima also worked as a music writer.
Disk Shop Zero has been intermittently shut since the beginning of the year, after Iijima complained of discomfort in his right thigh last November. The final post on his store's website indicates he was due to return to hospital on January 21st, which led to emergency hospitalisation and surgery on the 28th.
Read a feature Iijima wrote for RA on Goth-Trad back in 2012.
Friends from around the world have taken to social media to express their condolences. A Facebook page called Raising Funds For Naoki DSZ, which was set up in January to help Iijima with his treatment, is now raising money for his family and has a tribute compilation in the works.