INTERVIEW: Risa Taniguchi
We chat with one of Japan’s rising techno star’s ahead of her Australian debut tour…
Risa Taniguchi will never forget when she heard electronic music for the first time. When a friend from university took her to a local dance music venue, it transformed her appreciation for music forever. She discovered an urge she couldn’t escape from – to (re)create the feeling that someone had created for her. Not long after that she found herself scraping pennies for savings to purchase her own gear.
Classically-trained in piano, violin and trombone, Taniguchi has always been a big fan of the classical artists, like Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. Their influence is recognisable through her productions: they’re minor-heavy and brushed with darkness. Her own spin comes from the 4/4’s she lost herself to in the basement clubs of London. While studying there, she was consumed by labels like 50 Weapons, Night Slugs, Hessle Audio, and Numbers. It is another world in the UK, especially when compared to Japan where clubbing isn’t as widespread. There are even places in Japan where dancing is forbidden.
“We have a law prohibiting dancing in some dance venues,” Tanaguchi says. “But this is actually now getting a lot better thanks to action taken by dancers and music lovers. But it’s still an issue.”
The introverted and modest culture of Japan makes the Tokyo scene quite small, and is often only in existence if you’re an EDM fan. Her new-found love of techno quickly became an obsession and soon she was running her own night at Module. She vowed to create a space where people could lose themselves the way she did when she fell in love with the scene.
But it isn’t easy producing in a city that fits a population nearly half the size of Australia. She never got the opportunity or the space to hold the kinds of musical equipment she would have liked. But this didn’t hold her back and she made do with what she had: “I used to use hardware synths for my basslines, like Novation’s Bass Station but my room is so small … I have to use plugins. But that’s living in Tokyo for you!”. In the end she didn’t need a lot to produce her acclaimed techno tracks.
Flash forward to today and it hasn’t taken her long to earn worldwide recognition: Her eerie vocals and left-of-field techno have been supported by International icons such as Daniel Avery, Maceo Plex and Perc, and her release ‘Ambush’, on Barcelona label Clash Lion, reached number five on Beatport’s ‘Leftfield Techno Chart’.
As a new producer, she’s been overwhelmed at all the support she has received from fans and friends alike. The news that Amelie Lens and Charlotte De Witte played her tracks made the world feel ever so small for her.
“I had friends saying to me that they heard Amelie playing my track. It’s nice,” she says, “and I am so happy they like my music. That’s what this is all about, and I appreciate all the support anyone has given me when they play my music.”
She hopes that Tokyo can become a key city for clubbing and underground music and wants to be a part of the scene’s growth. Luckily for Taniguchi, the scene is growing steadily. Her visit to Melbourne will be a very special one for her, not just because she’s never been here before, but because she sees this visit as an opportunity to embed Japan on the world techno map.
“We just have a very different history and culture which makes this easier said than done,” she says. “I would love to see it boom, while keeping its integrity. Hopefully I can be a part of making Tokyo one of the top destinations for clubbing.”
