Interview with TREKKIE TRAX

This has been the first American tour the four members of TREKKIE TRAX performed. Can you tell us how you thought of hosting a tour on such a large scale?
futatsuki: Seimei, one of our members of TREKKIE TRAX, has been studying in the US for 3 years and he’s been interacting with local producers, DJs and promoters, spreading the name of TREKKIE TRAX. He’s coming back to Japan next February, so we thought it was best for us to make use of his connections before he returns to Japan.

What was different at the shows in America compared to the shows in Japan?
futatsuki: To be honest, I think it depends on the city you’re in. We went over Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, but Los Angeles had a strong hip-hop culture, so we decided to play hip-hop and our favorite club tracks together.
Carpainter: In Seattle we played house and techno. The age group there was older than in Los Angeles, but it was good in a different way. Every city we played in had their own unique cultures so we took them into consideration and played different genres.

While you were in the US, you played a set at one of the dates of Porter Robinson and Madeon’s Shelter Tour. Were there any differences between playing as supporting acts for foreign DJs in Japan, compared to playing as supporting acts for DJs abroad?
futatsuki : First of all the venue of Shelter Tour was huge, perhaps it was bigger than Budokan. It was said that the only DJS that could fill the venue were Jack Ü, but Porter and Madeon sold out their tickets. Not just for one day, but for both!
futatsuki : We played at the after parties and the tickets for them were sold out as well; lots of people came. We always hang out with Porter when he comes to Japan, so we were overwhelmed by the things he was doing there and it was amazing.
andrew : We heard that hip-hop is popular in San Francisco as well, but there were far too many Porter and Madeon fans than we imagined so the crowd didn’t enjoy our Hip-Hop music as much as we had anticipated. So we played some of Porter and Madeon’s tracks, and that’s when the party started. This is only my interpretation but club music in the US is changing into more tracks like Porter and Madeon.
Carpainter : Even in Japan, each party has a different audience and even if we play the same tracks, one audience may like it while another may not. The TREKKIE TRAX CREW doesn’t really decide on a track list. Rather, we just talk roughly about the list and usually decide what to play according to the audience and the atmosphere.
futatsuki : On top of that, at clubs in Japan that young people come to, enjoy all kinds of music, unlike clubs in the US. I think you can say that it is easier to play in Japan. In Los Angeles, the audience didn’t really enjoy trap music, but they started to heat up when we played hip-hop. That
was very different from Japan and showed that Americans prefer certain types of music over others.
andrew: Also, there are more people who come to clubs to listen to club music in Japan. There’s way less people who go clubbing so I just think that in Japan there’s more people who know music.

Tell me about some things that went well and bad during the tour.
andrew : We were able to interact with the artists over there. Producers who released their songs through TREKKIE TRAX gathered up. Elevation, who lives in Atlanta, flew all the way to see us even if he didn’t have much money. Artists who live in Los Angeles came to our show in San Francisco. It was great, and now I see great things for our future.
futatsuki : I also think that it was a good timing. We went on tour when TREKKIE TRAX was increasing its popularity.
futatsuki : Also, playing in the US for the first time allowed me to think that if I play again I can make an even better playlist. So it’s more like “Please let me play again!” instead than feeling like there’s lots of area for improvement.
andrew : The trends in the US change rapidly. I think we have to know the style of the time and try hard.

Based on what you’ve experienced throughout this tour, how would you like to perform overseas as TREKKIE TRAX?
futatsuki : We were pumped up and ready when we went. We were finally able to go on tour in America, we solved financial problems, promoters over there supported us and as a result we were able to come back in a good mood, but next time I’d like to go a little more light-hearted.
futatsuki : Both going overseas and coming to here from there have its difficulties. But I think that it’s possible for us to solve financial problems much more smoothly. We’re getting ready to go to America next year so I hope to make the process of going much easier next time.

Have you ever thought of going to countries other than America?
futatsuki : We don’t have it planned yet but I definitely want to do a European tour, so we kind of have rough ideas. Carpainter is releasing songs under an English label, so I’m thinking it would be great if we collaborated with his tour.

I think you were inspired from this tour. Would this affect the future direction of TREKKIE TRAX?
futatsuki : Yes, of course. I was so shaken in Los Angeles…. It was a sight I would never see in Japan, and I just felt the gap between the US and Japan. It’s not like I’m going to adjust based on what I saw in Los Angeles alone, but I discovered something I’d never seen before.
andrew : There are a lot of parties where the crowd can heat up with hard music in Tokyo and Los Angeles, but when I actually went to Los Angles the heat was much greater and it was like it was held every week. The music trend is fast so I have to keep that in mind when I play next.
Carpainter : TREKKIE TRAX was more of showing Japanese music to the world, but I hope there’s less borders when we look into music.

How would the music change?
futatsuki : I don’t think that the music would change. Rather, we’ve been releasing our music more strategically. We think about what the next trend will be, or which producers will be a great hit. At the same time, there are songs that we haven’t released yet, so we will probably start releasing the songs that we haven’t been able to in the past. I think the confines of genres will be lesser.

What do you guys, who have strong views towards performing overseas, think Japanese artists need in order to succeed in other countries?
futatsuki : Putting aside whether we are successful or not, I definitely think that speaking English is a necessary skill. Even if you are able to speak, how you communicate with the artists is important as well. How to communicate is very important and comes before whether your music is good or bad. I think TREKKIE TRAX has been doing great on this part and is why I think we’ve been having good results.

Are there any Japanese producers that grab your attention?
andrew : fellsius and EGL. I put their tracks in almost every single set and the reaction in America was great, so I think their time will come too.
Are there any foreign producers that you want to come to Japan?
andrew : I want to invite producers that I have met overseas. I want to invite local artists and create a more casual image.
I also think that inviting foreign producers will lead to word spreading of what Japan is like to play.
futatsuki : We’ll be done by the end of this year in deciding who to invite next year. We don’t have plans to invite any famous artists yet.

2016 is almost at its end, but how was this year been as a group?
futatsuki : The biggest achievement we’ve made is that we overcame the boundaries between Japan and the World. I feel that this was the year that we really started to communicate with artists from overseas.
andrew : I think I learned that the producers from overseas are also human. It was good to know that communication is important in gaining lots of opportunities.

Finally, please tell me your resolutions for 2017.
futatsuki : I want to lose the border between Japan and overseas. I want to go to lots of countries using what I learned when I went to Hawaii this year and take Japanese producers with me. It’s always been about language, management and money that we had to save, but I want to get rid of all restrictions by us being more involved.

TREKKIE TRAX
TRAKKIE TRAX is an indie label that inaugurated in 2012 by Japanese young DJs. With the aim of delivering unconventional music to the world, they have been releasing songs with many popular track makers around Japan. Since its foundation, the rebel has released more than 50 songs. Now, their high quality sounds have received great acclaim from not only Japan but also from all over the world.
https://iflyer.tv/ja/artist/39388/

futatsuki
Began his career in 2012 as DJ/producer.
Co-founder and current creative director at “TREKKIE TRAX”, one of the leading dance music labels in Tokyo. He aims to spread the Japanese dance music to the world, by producing many young artistes.

Carpainter
A solo project by Taimei, from the real-brother dubstep duo Seimei&Taimei based in Yokohama.
Their Future-like tracks like UK Garage / 2step / House has gained support.

andrew
andrew is a track maker/DJ based in Tokyo.
With his specialty in Bass music such as UK Garage/UK Funky/Grime/Dubstep, andrew aims to establish his own all-rounder playstyle by expanding into genres like House and Beat.

Thunder – TREKKIE TRAX CREW

iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/album/thunder- single/id1175971118
Bandcamp
https://trekkietrax.bandcamp.com/album/thunder