Label of the month: Kagerou

Hypnotic techno from the heart of Tokyo - Ryogo Yamamori tells the story of his imprint

It’s no secret that I have always been fascinated with Asian culture, music and traditional art, even though unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to visit this part of the world yet. Regardless of that, I am always on the lookout for new artists, music and inspiration coming my way. Today I have the honour to present you a special label coming from the heart of Tokyo, Japan – Kagerou. The label is run by Ryogo Yamamori – a Japanese DJ and Producer, who has been participating in and shaping the local scene for the past 20 years and is known worldwide for some of his previous releases on Non Series and трип. Stick around to find out more about his imprint, the sound that he is trying to push and what is coming for Kagerou until the end of this year.

‘’A shimmer, or heat haze in English, is a phenomenon that occurs when light is refracted by the mixing of atmospheres with different local densities. It is a misty shimmer that rises on the asphalt of a road, on the roof of a car, etc. on a clear, sunny day with strong sunlight and not too much wind. The shimmering is seen when light passing through this updraft is refracted in various directions. In other words, the concept of this project is to leave a lasting impression on people's memories.’’ This is the true meaning of Kagerou and what Ryogo kindly shares with me in our conversation. Founded in 2017 in Tokyo, the imprint is currently a home to 7 excellent releases where deep, hypnotic elegant sound is presented by label boss Ryogo Yamamori and other artists like Temple Rat. Since the beginning of his music path in 1999, techno has become a natural part of the artists’ life, and with time it became even more important to have a platform where he would be able to release his work.

‘‘The concept of this project is to leave a lasting impression on peoples’ memories!’’

The core sound of Kagerou is definitely within deep techno and Ryogo is pursuing minimalism within the curation of his catalogue. ‘’This is an eternal theme. I've been active since the early days of techno. I cherish the rhythms of classic techno. And my goal is to make the Japanese techno label more recognized abroad! I want to create a label that will be etched in the history of Japan. It is to be recognized by the world as Kagerou, when it comes to Japan!’’ I was curious to find out whether there are many labels focusing on this sound in Japan or Tokyo in particular, and to my surprise it turned out that it is still a niche. In my eyes, this is definitely the kind of techno that would probably best fit together with the traditional cultural values, and I honestly cannot imagine a better place than Japan to get inspired to create within this realm of music given the incredible history and nature of the country. In that sense, I suppose that Ryogo Yamamori has started something which will certainly leave a mark in the Japanese electronic music scene’s history, and will hopefully inspire and motivate a lot of up and coming artists to get deeper into this sound, to understand it better, love it and eventually create it.

Ryogo Yamamori

And speaking of the local scene, I wanted to know what would Kagerou’s contribution be in the long term? ‘’This is a difficult question. In Japan, even if you tell high school students that you are making techno, they don't understand. The scene is definitely getting worse. We need more ideas that will resonate with the younger generation. I have a lot of ideas, but it's going to take a while.’’

I find it bizarre that in such a progressive country, something as simple as dancing has been technically illegal for decades, which ultimately influenced the development and progress of the electronic music scene. For those of you who don’t know, in 2016 the 67-year long ban on dancing – the ‘’Fueiho law’’ was lifted. In the period after WW II until 2016 it was illegal to dance after midnight in a venue without a licence for dancing. Even though the police were turning a blind eye on a lot of cases as this law has been routinely broken by many, there have been consequences as well. It’s been a few years since then, but there is still a long way to go until reaching the ultimate freedom especially in people’s minds. I think in the past 1,5 year we all got a taste of what life without dancing is like – grey, unexciting, tense and frankly kind of oppressing. Let’s hope that soon this will be all behind us, and nowhere in the world would such laws have power ever again!

Moving back to the main topic of our conversation the music and the label, I wanted to know how does Ryogo decides which artists to invite to be part of his label? ‘’Label artists are very special to me. I prefer musicians more. They are the ones who can use their instruments and can perform things that people will remember. I met Temple Rat who is living in Shanghai now. As a music artist, she is one of the few talented people who can use ancient instruments.’’

Temple Rat appears on Kagerou as its second release with ‘’Spring Dawn’’ EP - four tracks that also includes a drum remix by Ryogo himself. This is an example of this incredible mix between techno and traditional ancient instruments and melodies that completely send the listener into a dreamland. What I personally find fascinating is the presentation of the music. With a little poem, the artists provide an insight into the idea and cultural backlinks of the concept of the EP. To me such level of detail is always appreciated as it gives me a chance to really understand well the message that the artists or music are meant to convey, even though techno is music that leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation.

‘’春曉 Spring Dawn

Introduction:
春眠不覺曉，
In Spring one sleeps, unaware of dawn;
處處聞啼鳥。
everywhere one hears crowing birds.
夜來風雨聲，
In the night came the sound of wind and rain;
花落知多少。
who knows how many flowers fell?

春曉 are Chinese words to explain the season between spring and summer, for me this time is like daydreaming. – Temple Rat ‘’

Ryogo continues to make another interesting point: ‘’I am a person with special abilities. Those who can make melodies with their own senses without musical notation on an instrument are precious. If you don't have something outstanding, it will be difficult. I'm not looking for passion for music, because I sometimes force my passion on others. What is important is the number of times the song is played, and that it always meets the expectations of your fans by creating a song they want to listen to over and over again.’’

Looking back to the debut release of the label, the ‘’Syakunetsu’’ EP, he shared that it all started with vinyl, but moving forward he decided to go digital and here is why. ‘’Sales were good and it sold out. However, when I thought about the next release, I decided to release it digitally because I thought the vinyl market would stagnate and I would lose money. Every label wants to release a vinyl every time. It's a very difficult decision. I could call on multiple artists to do pressings, but that's not my style. I think of each release as a single person. In the future, I will check the sales situation and if I can press it, I will do so. This is a problem that all labels have. I want to make my work tangible, but I can't get any results. In clubs, CDJs are becoming mainstream, but sales are not good. If only there were more DJs overseas. I think we can negotiate with distributors on good terms for the future.’’

Unfortunately, Ryogo is stating the absolute truth – as much of a comeback vinyl has made in the recent years especially within our industry, it is still hard to afford this medium or to maintain an entirely vinyl-only label. He does make an interesting point about a collaborative effort though, which I hope that he will explore further and that will lead to a more accessible market for all.

Speaking of the creative process when curating the label or producing as well as the advantages of being a producer when running a label Ryogo shares. ‘’ When I release tracks on my own label, I decide on a concept. For my next release, I'm using the sounds of field recordings. It expresses a natural ambient techno atmosphere. The track production matches it. I can't proceed with track production without an idea, so I have to have some idea of what I'm going to do.

I don't feel I have an advantage; a DJ can play all over the world if they have the ability to be respected in the world. Producing is the same. I don't think you need to run a label if you have the talent that makes people want to listen to your music again and again, and makes them want to play your music every time. It's okay to leave the label management to those who are good at it. ‘’

‘’ My goal is to create a label that will be etched in the history of Japan. It is to be recognized by the world as Kagerou, when it comes to Japan!’’

This summer we can be expecting the next release on Kagerou by Ryogo Yamamori, but that is not all. He has some exciting upcoming releases on other labels that will certainly catch your ear so stay tuned to find out! Talking about the second half of this year and his personal goals, the Japanese DJ and Producer is hoping to be able to perform overseas and so do I! After enjoying his music from the comfort of my home, I was triggered emotionally and I can only begin to imagine what kind of a mind and body experience it would be to hear it in a club!

Ryogo recorded a special mix for me consisting of mostly unreleased work that will appear on Kagerou later this year. ‘’I wanted to express myself with my own tracks. I'm pursuing more of an artist side. It's also fun to connect other people's tracks together to create a groove, but I'm getting a little bored with it, so I thought I'd give it a try.’’ What better way to get the music essence of the label than listening to an hour long mix of its releases? Press play and enjoy this elegant hypnotic journey into the world of Kagerou that entails also a live piano improvisation at the artist’s studio!