Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2012
Veteran impresario Takkyu Ishino’s Wire turns 13 this month—a testament to techno’s continued appeal in Japan. Other electronic music festivals may reach from disco to dubstep, but Ishino focuses ruthlessly on four-to-the-floor beats in what may be the world’s biggest techno event. Among the dozens of DJs and laptop performers on the bill, here are 5 must-see acts at Wire 12 in Yokohama.
Robert Hood
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Minimal techno pioneer Robert Hood makes his first appearance at Wire. Part of the second generation of Detroit techno innovators, Hood was cutting fiercely minimal tracks for Underground Resistance when the current minimal crowd was still in diapers. “Minister of Information” for the fabled label, Hood set the template with his Minimal Nation EP way back in 1993.
Jesper Dahlback
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Swedish producer Jesper Dahlback makes some of the most darkly mechanistic, industrial techno on the planet. Based on Stockholm, he releases tracks on his International Sound Laboratory imprint, and will be mounting the DJ booth at Wire for the first time. Steel yourselves.
Dusty Kid
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When Robert Hood and his Detroit posse were laying down the techno blueprint, Italian trackmaker Dusty Kid (Paolo Alberto Lodde) was learning how to digest solid food. But the Kid learned quickly, and by the early 2000s was creating formidable confabulations of instrumental wizardry and punishing beats for top label BPitchControl.
Format: B
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Also making their first showing at Wire are Berlin duo Format: B. Exploring the housier, sexier side of techno, Franziskus Sell and Jakob Hildenbrand helm Formatik Records and ply their trade at their regular night at Berlin’s Watergate club.
Denki Groove
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When Takkyu Ishino isn’t supervising Wire or helming his Sterne nights at Womb, he’s penning playful technopop tunes with longtime partner Pierre Taki. In fact, it was the early success of Denki Groove that launched Ishino’s career two decades ago. To celebrate, the pair recently released new single “Shameful,” which weds their spirit of mischief to Ishino’s harder solo approach. A must-see—at least once anyway.
