Interview: Ksuke - Ultra Japan 2015 Exciting Young Japanese Artist #2

MUSIC
Sep. 20, 2015 16:28 PDT

The curtain will soon rise on Sept. 19 over the Japanese version of the Ultra Music Festival (UMF), Ultra Japan. Continuing from the previous interview with creative director Kenji Kohashi, we’re reporting on a third exciting Japanese artist, and on their appeal.

This time we’re interviewing Ksuke who made his successful Ultra debut at Ultra Korea 2014 last year, and as a newcomer to Ultra Japan 2014, made an unprecedented performance on the main stage. He also appeared on the unique World Wide Stage as a Japanese person at the Ultra Musical Festival in its base in Miami this past year in March, and has now grown to being called the DJ most connected to the world in Asia. We asked him about his thoughts related to music.

[Encountering “DJing”]

ーWhen did you start being a DJ?
In high school I was in a band, and I thought I’d get another one together once I got into college, but getting members together just didn’t work out, so I gave up on forming a band. I just really felt like doing music. After that I started working in a club, and that’s when I became aware of DJ’s. I studied while watching DJ how-to videos on sites like YouTube and Nico Nico Douga 1, and I gradually became more interested in it. That’s when I downloaded some free DJ software and starting DJing on my computer.

ーAre there any DJs who have influenced you?
Carl Cox. I saw him for the first time when I went to see this big event in Tokyo with coworkers from my part-time job in college. I was fascinated with his long set as a techno DJ, and watching that had a huge effect on me. Right now my main set is dance music, and Cox had a direct effect on my style of making grooves that people can enjoy for long periods of time.

[DDR and Beatmania as Dance Music Origins]

ーWhen did you start becoming interested in dance music?
I got into Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) at a game center while I was in high school. One day my family found and bought a DDR pad for me, which they didn’t sell much at the time. That’s when I got into rhythm games. I played every series up until around my third year of high school. I especially played Beatmania IIDX, which I think still affects my music now. When kors k 2 followed me on Twitter, I was really happy because I’ve always listened to his music. You can choose from a lot of genres when selecting songs in rhythm games. And there are a ton of genres that actually come up in Beatmania, so some of those are the genres I remember. “This is trance… Eurobeat… House…” things like that. I think rhythm games are one of the major reasons I got into dance music.

[The Internet Opens the World]

ーYou started off with some activities based in Las Vegas this year, but why was that?
As everyone is probably imagining, Las Vegas is an entertainment district. The top dance music DJs are achieving incredible things playing there. I wanted to see the pinnacle of this entertainment with my own eyes. If you don’t experience that, you can’t have a clear image of what you want to be, and I thought it’d also connect to keeping myself motivated.

ーHow do you feel about being ranked as one of Asia’s top DJs?
Being told that is a huge honor. I want to keep working hard to be number one in both Asia and in the world.

Nowadays it’s different than before; whether it’s a party or festival, it’s connected to the internet. For example, even if there were people doing the same thing I am just a little while ago, I don’t think they’d be so widely featured. Above all else, if you get picked up by media, then in Japan where the DJ profession isn’t all that major, you can use the internet to be seen by people all around the world. The internet opens things up that have been underground up until now and lets you run into things you didn’t know existed before, like Ksuke.

ーWere you aware of overseas distribution?
I wasn’t really aware of it overseas, but I was already familiar with SNS and Cloud services like Twitter, SoundCloud, and Instagram, so naturally by using those, I was connected to people all over the world. Bit by bit I’ve gotten more of a response from overseas. At any rate, I’m just focused on wanting a lot of people to see me now.

ーWhat do you focus on with your own playlists and music?
The first thing I focus on is how much I’m enjoying it. If the DJ isn’t having fun, then the audience feels that, too, so I’m aware of myself as the conductor for parties and concerts. Even when putting together a DJ set, I make it while keeping in mind getting myself pumped, too, and giving the audience as much energy as possible, as well. I also put in famous songs they’ll enjoy, and songs that the core audience will like, and create an overall groove. It’s the same with making tracks; I keep in mind what I think is cool.

[Encountering Ultra]

—Having participated in Ultra Korea 2014, do you feel like something has changed in you?
Actually, I went to see Ultra Korea in 2012 and 2013. UMF wasn’t very popular in Japan yet, but Carl Cox had also appeared, so I had known about it since then. I told my friends around me that I was going to eventually go to UMF. Even when I said that about performing at Ultra Korea 2014, there was a moment of realization of myself as an artist, so it was a big turning point for me.

— You were on the Main Stage at Ultra Japan 2014. What was your impression of it?
I was honestly nervous about my own performance, so I was stiff, and when I look back at clips now, it’s a bit embarrassing.

I thought the stage at Ultra Japan was especially cool. I even saw the after movie and thought the logo on top of the stage exclusive to the Japan show was pretty. Everyone probably thinks that. I really got the impression of the spirit of Japanese craftsmanship. Even in videos, I think it’s the most attractive stage. I’m really looking forward to seeing this year’s, too.

—What enthusiastic or appealing points are there upon performing at this year’s Ultra?
I think more people know my name this year than last year. I want to put my all into a performance that shows my work from the past year with emphasis on what I enjoy, and on the audience’s enjoyment.

I want to give a performance to the audience that’s clear with harmonizing and climatic points represented all throughout it. I hope the audience gets that sense when they see it, too.