- A mixtape compiling some of the best experimental electronics from the Japanese underground.
- 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.
Midnight Is Comin' is available in two formats, a collection of individual, exclusive tracks and a continuous mix by Yukimatsu. The mix and the double-pack of vinyl do two very different things. The mix is a showcase of Yukimatsu's singular skills as a DJ. He is something of a kindred spirit with Teki Latex as he barrels along with an intensity that borders on the manic as he jumps between tempos and genres, and working with primarily ambient tracks on Midnight Is Comin' doesn't dull this impact.
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.
This compilation, however, features their strangest music to date. YPY's "MS" isn't much more than drawn-out synth notes with muffled scratching across the top, while Compuma's "Flowmotion (In Dub)" is a sea of pulses and sweeping chords. When Yukimatsu mixes KEIHIN's "Exhale," he only keeps it in for a minute or two which doesn't give you a full picture of its weirdness. The eight-minute version, on the other hand, is like listening to Darth Vader doing breathing exercises over short-circuiting lightsabers.
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.
Tracklist01. orhythmo - Nagel
02. SPINNUTS - Zweimal schlafen atmosphäre
03. YPY - MS
04. KEIHIN - Exhale
05. DJ Nobu - Yakou Gai
06. Gabber Modus Operandi - Kisah
07. Coni - Ängelsbäcksstrand
08. CITY - 9K
09. Ryo Murakami - Reminiscence
10. Sapphire Slows - Hinotori
11. COMPUMA - Flowmotion (IN DUB)
12. Albino Sound - Celestial Sphere