The next Hell’s Gate isn’t far away at all, and the line up this time around is fantastic - joining regular/organiser Zio is DJ Chucky, making a guest appearance alongside Konny MC - a hint that things are darker/harder than ever for this one (the flyer design gives that impression too, for some reason).

DJ KA->NA is also returning from an epic break, prior to her set at August’s Energy Cocktail, and I’d really like to hear what kind of set she comes up with this time.

All being well, I should be able to make it, but there’s a chance that I’ll be otherwise engaged….After narrowly missing out on the last event, though, it would be great to show some support and wander along if at all possible. We’ll see…

My mp3 player recently survived a deep-sea adventure in the washing machine, so I’ve once again been able to while away the hours on the train by checking out some new (and not-so-new) mixes. I thought it might be worth collecting them all together in one post - and if anyone happens to know of any other ‘must-listens’, maybe you could add a comment? There seems to be a lot of freeform/NRG mixes around at the moment, so maybe this kind of round-up could become a regular thing (or as regular as my slack updating will allow, anyway).

The first mix is Android Lime’s Alien Autopsy Promo, which Guld recommended to me a while ago, and it’s easy to see why - this one’s dark and thumping all the way, and heavily weighted towards Adam Lab 4/DJ X/Proteus-style tracks. Anyway, it progresses really well, and takes a welcome turn for the more melodic towards the end of the mix - a nice touch, I reckon.

The next mix is Sam One’s FINNISH 2008 HARDTRANCE SET (click ‘Kuuntele’ to download). I’ve heard a few of Sami’s tunes on the Finrg Forum, but didn’t realise he’d already got enough for a solo artist mix like this. Even more surprising was the high standard of all the tunes - his melodies are really great in an uplifting-trance-but-still-NRG style.

Here’s a mix I should have posted earlier - DJ Yousuke’s set from this month’s NRGetic Romancer. Definitely one of his best so far; how he gets so much variety into a set, while making it flow so well, I’ll never know.

DJ Rx recently posted up the Rx vs Alek Szahala live set from last year’s Hakkapelitta Tour, and it’s a stormer, as you’d expect. In my too-picky opinion, the set doesn’t flow as well as it might have done with a few different track choices, but then that’s not the point of ‘vs’ sets, is it? Instead, this is a showcase of some of the best tunes that the two of them have to offer, and so you simply must give this one a listen.

Another that I forgot to mention is Girdler Synthetic’s recently posted Energize freeform mix. Some classic oldies on this one are mixed up with newer tunes from Alek Szahala, Epyx & Cyrez, A.M.S etc - well worth checking out, the combinations are very original. The opening few tracks are great choices, too.

(click for tracklists)

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Sorry, I’ve been away for quite some time. Now I’m not away, so time to catch up with a few things that have been going on lately. I’ve actually got a couple of very interesting pieces of news….er, which I can’t reveal just yet. Instead, let’s concentrate on two new Full Circle DJ remixes which have just been announced.

The first is a Shanty vs Epyx & Cyrez remix of the fabulous Things Past (yet another of my ‘favourite’ FCDJs tracks), while the second is a remix by Invader of DJ Yousuke and Buzzmasta’s Spiral Life. The original is an awesome tune, so it’ll take something special to top that. No word of a release for either of those - but as the originals still haven’t seen the light of day, it would surely be bit mad for the remixes to appear first..?

I’ll wait for the photos to arrive before I write up the usual NRGetic Romancer piece, but here’s the flyer I picked up on Saturday night - I’d completely forgotten that NRGetic Romancer has been going for a full 4 years now. To celebrate, Guld is bringing over dark NRG supremo DJ X, which should be fantastic. I have to admit I was hoping for some Finnish artists too, but still, this is another great event in the making. As long as the attendance is up from last weekend, that is - but that’s another story…

By the way, no Top Tens for the time being (I’m sure you’ll miss them desperately), as I’m sorting out the tracks for the next mix. Maybe I’ve decided on 60-70% of the tunes so far, but I want to have a bit more of a structure in mind before I start throwing them together…it might be a while until it’s ready, in other words.

edit: I wrote this post a bit too quickly, and forgot to mention that there’s a present waiting for those who make it to August’s NRGetic Romancer - a 4th Anniversary DVD! No details about it yet, but sounds very interesting…

There’s no stopping ALiCE’S EMOTION at the moment - here’s yet another new release, Funny Princess. As far as I can tell, this is an original release, rather than a remix/arrange album, but the twist this time (there has to be something, doesn’t there?) is that every track uses the Vocaloid singing/voice synth software. This is the first I’ve heard of such a thing, and although the cheese factor will probably be off the scale with some of these, I’m looking forward to hearing what the Betwixt & Between and Bezerk + Haste (!) tunes sound like. Sadly, although there is a dedicated page up for the release already, the ‘cram-every-tune-into-a-one-minute-sample’ doesn’t seem to be online right now. Betwixt was actually playing around with a vocal drum and bass remix a few months ago, so he’s not completely new to using lyrics, surprisingly.

Here’s the tracklist in full:

• 01.REDALiCE - North Blue Sky
• 02.未来派 - miku-Jump
• 03.REDALiCE - Are You Hungry?
• 04.源屋 - macrocosm
• 05.REDALiCE - Connects with Me
• 06.nadeco - Dear Explorer…
• 07.REDALiCE - miku you, fxxk you
• 08.Berserk+Haste - くるくるキーキー [Kurukuru kiikii]
• 09.未来派 - ミクマル [Mikumaru] (true mix)
• 10.REDALiCE -そのときめきはハピネス [Sono tokimeki wa happiness]
• 11.Atsushi Ohara - ひだまりのコトバ [Hidamari no kotoba]
• 12.Betwixt & Between - Think of You

I was strolling through Ikebukuro the other night, and stumbled across a night market selling CDs for the princely sum of 20 (!) yen each. Even more miraculously, I managed to come up with the CD single released last year to coincide with the Appleseed Ex Machina anime - the great thing is that the CD is a product of HASYMO, the group formed by one of my musical heroes, the effortlessly cool Ryuichi Sakamoto. Rather than the (interesting, but not really my thing) title track, RESCUE, I was bowled over by Rydeen 79/07 (see above for a live performance of the tune in Yokohama) - a rework of the 1979 Yellow Magic Orchestra original.

I’ve only once had the pleasure of witnessing Sakamoto live (with Carsten Nicolai/Alva Noto in London), and it would be something else to catch HASYMO here in Tokyo (or Yokohama, even). He’s quite an inspiration, that’s for sure.

I’ve been a bit lax when it comes to keeping track of what the Lab 4 guys have been up to lately, I must admit, but Guld recently brought my attention to this tune, calling it his ‘tune of the year’, no less. A ferocious fusion of Industrial and NRG, from the preview on DJ X’s MySpace page it sounds like it could really marry the styles of the two producers perfectly. It’s NRG, and so the bpm’s a bit lower than I might like, but this appeals to me a lot more than some of Proteus’ recent solo tunes.

Talking of fusion tracks, it might be worth taking a look at DJ X and Dirty Secret’s electronic/guitar experiment, Overlords of the Underground. Their World on Fire track is a real thumper, and one of the best uses of guitars/electronica I’ve heard since Voodoo People.

After the blinding Hellfire remixes that resulted from the last competition, it’s great to see another one getting under way - and even greater to see which tune has been chosen. Code of Silence is definitely one of my favourite recent Finrg releases, and there’s plenty of potential there for changing the feel of the tune (going even more trancy, or harder, or something else entirely…). If you’re a budding producer, get yourself over to the Finrg forum topic to download the .rar.

Behold - a Hardcore Tano*C event that I’m actually really keen to attend. Sadly, it’s another of those 1pm starts, meaning that I can’t make it - but squint at the really lovely poster art (definitely my favourite flyer for a long while) and you’ll notice the lineup. Thanatos, Betwixt & Between, Alabaster…all of the regulars are present, but my eye was caught this time by umbrella’s name down there at the bottom - his tracks are always enjoyable semi-freeform, and I’d really like to see what kind of set he’ll come up with. Alas, it’s not to be, at least this time.

Incidentally, this event is held on the 14th (a week Saturday), which those of a sharp memory will recall is also the date of the next NRGetic Romancer. Betwixt & Between will therefore be playing at two very different events in one day - the first in Nakano, the second in Tamachi. Rather him than us, eh?

And yet! Betwixt is repeating the trick the following weekend, playing at an as-yet undisclosed event around lunchtime, and then returning to Heavy Sick (Nakano) for Tokyo Hardcore Construction, beginning at the traditional raving hour of 4pm. THC definitely leans towards the harder side of things, with Lunch, Horny and Technetium (among others) playing this time. However, I’ll be wheezing around a football pitch that Sunday, and so won’t be able to make it (although I suspect that I’ll wish that I had, once the match is underway).

Yes indeed….most people may well be aware of this news from the FINRG forums (among other places), but Twisted Freq is soon to be leaving the freeform scene to concentrate on his new breakcore/drum and bass/industrial style tracks (under the moniker Belial), while this will also be the final year for Electronica Exposed and Shanty himself.

Both have given an enormous amount to the scene, and I was mentioning to someone not so long ago that without EE and Kreatrix, the freeform genre would be virtually non-existent. Their own tracks have been a big inspiration for other artists/DJs - but as well as that, a quick check through the past releases on both labels brings home how forward-thinking they’ve both been. Innocence, Darkstar, Religion X, The Ghost of Jupiter….listing all the tracks that come to mind would take an eternity, but huge credit to the two of them for unearthing and supporting the new and more established artists in the scene. It might not strictly be the darker side of things, but huge shouts are definitely owed to EE for recently releasing the first (and second, eventually) Full Circle DJs album, a great example of how wide ranging Shanty’s releases have been.

Of course, in such a tiny musical subgenre, maintaining a label must be murder, and so it’s perfectly understandable that they’ve both decided that the time is right to call it a day - but let’s hope the scene can keep going without them. Here in Japan, freeform/Hard NRG artists have effectively been without a dedicated label for a few years now (Guld has got enough to be getting on with running NRGetic Romancer/producing tracks to be looking after releases for all the other artists too, at least for now), and so the scene is being kept alive through DJs/Live PAs at events - indeed, it’s pretty much the only way to hear newer tunes. Might something similar end up happening in Finland and the UK? FINRG’s releases have slowed right down these days, and Nu-Energy’s output is definitely a separate subgenre altogether.

There are still a few more releases to come from both Twisted Freq/Kreatrix and EE, and so let’s hope that the newer artists (and the new incarnation of Kreatrix, post-Twisted Freq) will be ready to step into the (twisted) breach after that. It’s largely thanks to those two that the scene is at its current level, and us humble DJs/listeners should definitely be thankful for that, eh?