Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2010

Courtesy of Real Grooves

After almost two years in the Daikanyama wilderness, minimal techno long-player Real Grooves returns to Nishi-Azabu’s Eleven (the moniker of reborn superclub Yellow) with a posse of German laptop and turntable wizards.

Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe both grew up in the Hamburg countryside, but were soon lured to the bright lights and pulsing beats of the big city, where they became vinyl hounds and DJs at the dawn of the ’90s. Numerous gigs later, they began to issue highly rated tech-trance outings under the name Midi Miliz, debuting in Tokyo before 12,000 crazed ravers at Big Sight in 1999.

Now performing as Extrawelt, the duo return to Tokyo with a new full-length, Schone Neue Extrawelt, from vaunted German label Cocoon. The disc shows that the pair have put trance firmly behind them, stripping away the psychedelic nonsense to reveal the minimal synth superstructures and pounding bass substrata that define their sound.

Backstopping them in the DJ booth will be German DJ Marc Schneider along with local deck hounds Conoley Ospovat, Yoshitaca, Ozmzo and many more…

On the new release front, drum ’n’ bass, dubstep and electro aficionados should pick up the new mix-compilation album from French artist F. Energy Distortion is out on 7EVEN Recordings, presently run from Japan by French DJ/impresario Greg G.

Underpinned by F’s spacey futuristic dub, the album includes tracks by the likes of Hologram and Funk Injection, with textures ranging from mellow, contemplative house to earthshaking dubstep…

Finally, he of the many DJ tags, Mark O’Sullivan, is back with a worthy listen himself. Best known as the force behind electro dub unit The Mighty Quark, O’Sullivan also goes by the monikers Bacuzzi and Boolaboss, among others. In Japan, he’s remembered for a number of Mighty Quark releases on the now defunct Play Label, but for his new Fragments from a Long Country (Nice & Nasty), he returns under his own name.

Leaving dub’s syncopations behind him, O’Sullivan opts for more straight-ahead, four-to-the-floor beats. Fragments ropes pulsating industrial noises and Kraftwerk-like melodies to insistent hi-hat cymbals and minimal bass lines for an effect that is at once tuneful and menacingly dystopian.

April 17 @ Eleven

Real Grooves Volume 40, Special Event – The Return. DJs Marc Schneider, Ryuji Suganuma x Mitchelrock, etc. Live: Extrawelt, Conoley Ospovat. From 10pm, ¥4,500 w/1d. Nishi-Azabu. Tel: 03-5775-6206. www.go-to-eleven.com