Mars89

Mars89 is known as one of the most unique and exciting figures in Tokyo's underground club scene with his uncompromising electronic music. Since moving to Tokyo in his late teens in 2008, he has established himself as someone who expresses, in every way, the difficulties of living in one of the world's most populous cities. His discography to date is a mix of styles. In addition to musical influences such as the sub-bass of the UK dubstep heyday and the mutated rhythms of Bristol's distinctive bass music scene, he is also heavily influenced by filmmakers such as David Lynch and David Cronenberg, especially their unparalleled talent for the eerie and gruesome. Tracks that instantly ignite the potential energy of club crowds, and ambient tracks that take listeners to unsettling landscapes reminiscent of dystopia and biotechnology collapse, are his weapons, and the ability to seamlessly weave the two together is what defines him as an artist who uses his sensibilities to design entire worlds. This is reflected in his boundary-pushing VR explorations with Bokeh Versions and his collaborations with Patrick Savile. Under the moniker Temple Ov Subsonic Youth, his hardware-based live sets create chaotic dance floors with space-shaking drum machine bass and distorted sounds created by overlapping diverse sampling. He also launched the label Nocturnal Technology, which, as the name suggests, constantly releases nocturnal electronic sounds. The label name, Nocturnal Technology, refers to the way DJ technology comes alive at night. The logo is an homage to the bat, an animal that is active at night and sees through sound waves, symbolizing the label's concept of "Nocturnal Technology." Outside of music, he has collaborated with UNDERCOVER's Jun Takahashi on a project that deconstructs military wear to create a collection that appeals to anti-war sentiment with a true punk spirit, and he has also released a record from the brand. The latter is based on the show soundtrack he created for UNDERCOVER's AW19 collection, and includes remixes by Thom Yorke, Zomby, and Low Jack, who collaborated with Takahashi when he curated the club night "Sound Design" hosted by Virgil Abloh. The fact that these three artists immediately responded to the remix request shows how highly Mars89 is regarded by his peers around the world. Mars89 is also a key figure in Tokyo's activist community, and at Protest Rave, he encourages young people to participate in political activities by driving through Tokyo's iconic landscapes in a truck loaded with a sound system blasting hard techno.