Monday, September 27, 2010
One of my fav sites that I check daily. I can indulge my years-long fascination with Russia
My latest article on American military bases in Japan
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010
U.S. Navy 'Friendship Festival' draws line at the French
Mysterious inclusion as only country in Western Europe on military 'blacklist' spoils Yokohama day out for Frenchman
Could it be that the Friendship Day festivals held at the U.S. Navy Negishi Housing Base are not as friendly as the name suggests?
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| Your country's name's down, you're not coming in: Frenchman Eric Fior peers through the fence into the U.S. Navy Negishi Housing Base in Yokohama after being refused entry to the Negishi Open Base Bon Odori Festival last month. BLAIR MCBRIDE PHOTO |
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For the last 14 years the Negishi Heights complex in Yokohama has hosted public family festivals. The events feature bands and traditional Japanese music such as taiko drumming, along with stalls selling food andmatsurisouvenirs. Most attendees are families living on the base and Yokohama locals. At the Negishi Open Base Bon Odori Festival last month, yukata-clad children munched on hot dogs and danced with their families.
But not everyone is welcome to these biannual events — perhaps surprising considering the international character of Yokohama. Eric Fior, 37, a French teacher living in Yokohama, has been denied entry to the event two years in a row.
"Two and three years ago they let me enter; only last summer they didn't let me in," he explains. "You need to show your ID to enter the base. I showed my 'gaijin card' to them at the gate. When they looked at the card they said I couldn't enter. I asked why and he said, 'Because you're French.'
"They said there are new rules and French people cannot enter. I asked why and he didn't give a reason."
The situation worsened when Fior phoned his British friend, Yokohama resident Oliver Arlow, 39.
"I arrived and asked the Japanese guards why (Eric couldn't enter) and they didn't have an answer. Their immediate reaction was to call the American military police. The Americans showed up in full camouflage attire, combat boots, wraparound glasses — big guys. It was very intimidating," recalls Arlow.
"I asked the Americans why we weren't allowed on and they said, 'We can't give you that information.' I asked again and they escorted me, my kids and my girlfriend off the premises. There was one guy in front of me and two guys were flanking him. He put his hand up and walked me backwards until we were on the road, which was then Japanese territory. They had achieved their aim at that point: I was off American territory.
"Then the Japanese military police came and I asked them questions and they wouldn't answer anything. There was nothing we could do."
So who is allowed onto U.S. military bases in Japan?
Michelle C. Stewart, public affairs officer at the U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka base, said in a phone interview that "there is a listing of countries that have to go through extra paperwork to get onto the base."
"It takes a month to get those visitors approved," she added. "The U.S. government determines what countries are approved or not into base installations."
In an e-mail exchange with Lt. John M. Harden, deputy chief of public affairs at the Yokota Air Base, he explained that certain nationalities are on a TCN (Third Country Nationals) list.
"Third Country National access is part of our overall base access procedure and is therefore an operational force protection issue," he said.
Asked which countries are on the TCN list, Harden replied, "The TCN list is not meant for public release, and I cannot provide further information about it."
However, a simple Google search turned up what appears to be the TCN list. The scanned, six-page document with the official seal of United States Forces Japan is titled "Restrictions On Third Country Nationals To USFJ Installations And Areas" and dated April 1, 2009.
Page 5 contains the list of 62 TCNs. Much of the list is unsurprising. It includes most Middle Eastern nations, several African, Asian and Eastern European countries and a few South American ones. And then, sticking out oddly between Egypt and Georgia is the only Western European country on the list: France.
The days of tension over the Iraq war between Presidents Jacques Chirac in the Elysee and George W. Bush in the White House — and "freedom fries" in the cafeterias in U.S. Congress — are long gone. U.S. combat operations in Iraq are over, and France is the fourth-largest contributor of troops to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.
Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy is known as "Sarkozy l'Americain" in his homeland for, among other things, his close relationship with Bush, unabashed admiration for the U.S. and his love of Elvis Presley. All this begs the question of why France features on the TCN list.
Neither Stewart nor Harden would comment specifically on France's inclusion.
"I wish they would give a reason," Fior said after being turned away again from this year's Negishi Bon Odori Festival on Aug. 21. "I was very disappointed. I came to the gate with my three kids and showed my gaijin card. I could see that there was a problem.
"The guard said, 'You can't come in,' and I asked why and he said, 'Because you're French.' I said, 'I'm not a terrorist.' The guard said, 'I feel very bad that you can't enter.' He told me I needed to get some special permission. I really don't understand. I know that Chirac criticized America a lot, especially about Iraq. But now the president is Sarkozy and everyone knows he is pro-American."
Frustrations and exclusions aside, the Friendship Festivals are held on a military base. And not only are U.S. military bases American territory, but also particularly sensitive territory.
"It's their territory, but people need to know," says Arlow. "Clearly there's a security risk for some nations like the Chinese or North Koreans. But I'm shocked that they've singled out the French as undesirables. I find that very curious."
"There's no indication beforehand that some groups aren't allowed on," he adds. "This part of Yokohama is very international. I have friends around here from all over the world: Ghanaian, Tunisian, American. I don't see any problems in this community. If you come a long way for this event and you aren't allowed in, then you simply have to go home."
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Dubstep article I had in the Japan Times last March
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| Glass beats: DJ100mado spins tunes at Back To Chill, a monthly dubstep event in Shibuya, Tokyo. |
Japan's dubstep forges own path
Goth-trad, 100mado build scene from scratch
Young people dressed in baggy jeans and hooded sweaters groove to chunky rhythms in a dark, smoky club. The music is spun by the night's DJ, Goth-trad. It may look like any other club, but the style is unique to Japan.
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| Scene stealer: Goth-trad was among the first DJs to bring dubstep to Japan. |
Goth-trad is spinning dubstep, a genre imported from England by Japanese DJs around four years ago. Since then, they have built the local dubstep scene from scratch and reworked the genre to their own liking, a move considered rare in the country's dance-music world.
Created in London seven years ago, dubstep is defined by 2-step beats and deep, rumbling bass lines. A common misconception is that dubstep is a form of drum-and-bass, a much faster form of dance that evolved from breakbeat records. While dubstep has taken a little from drum-and-bass, the sound has absorbed an array of other genres such as dub, U.K. garage and minimal techno.
Dubstep in Japan has a smaller range than in Britain. Producers here churn out darker, more aggressive tracks that emphasize the beats over the bass.
Goth-trad, one of the original Japanese dubstep DJs, promotes the ground- breaking Back To Chill (BTC) parties at Club Asia in Tokyo's Shibuya district. BTC began three years ago, and is now the hub for dubstep, hosting the most active DJs and producers in Japan and from overseas. Last year, Goth-trad opened a new BTC night at Club Triangle in Osaka and he also broadcasts a radio program from the BTC Web site. Goth-trad — short for "Gothic traditional" — takes his name from the European movement.
"It has very dark images," he says. "I often write downtempo hip-hop and dark dance music."
Goth-trad produced, released and performed experimental music for 10 years before venturing into dubstep in 2006. Since then, he has released five 12-inch records on several U.K. labels and has toured abroad. But his baby is BTC.
"I do the parties not only for dubstep — it's for Japanese underground music," Goth-trad says. "In the U.K. a lot of DJs hook up young guys and I saw that there are good relations between music and people. In Japan, I think producers in the underground scene don't want to talk about producing because they worry about guys stealing their ideas. But in the U.K. people talk about it. . . It's a very beautiful style. We don't have that yet in Japan, but it's starting (to happen) around BTC."
Dubstep became recognized as a distinct genre by dance-music fans around 2003. It was pioneered in South London by such DJ/producers as Benga, Skream and DJ Hatcha. Since then, it has spread around the world and been taken into other genres such as minimal techno, where Chilean-German DJ/producer Ricardo Villalobos remixed the dubstep work of Shackleton. More recently, the genre has widened its fan base with a string of remixes for major acts such as Dizzee Rascal and La Roux.
Culture defines many of the differences between the London and Tokyo scenes. Non-Japanese clubbers sometimes decry an apparent lack of energy in Japanese fans. As Goth-trad explains, "When I started the BTC parties people didn't really move. They were too slow. But now it's getting better. I think that Japanese people don't listen to bass very much; they listen to the beat mainly. Maybe it's Japanese culture — maybe because of taiko drumming. Japanese venues have good sound systems, but are not very good for bass."
Physical formats of music — a touchy topic in U.K. dubstep — also set Japan apart. Tokyo is different from London where DJs in the original dubstep scene shunned CDs and MP3s for vinyl records. Also, the dub plate culture of the British reggae and dub scenes didn't really develop in Japan [see sidebar]. The vinyl vs. digital debate in electronic music therefore tends to settle toward digital in Tokyo. And as Goth-trad laments, "I love to play vinyl and when I tour in Europe I cut my tunes onto dub plates, but there are no good dub plate studios in Japan."
DJ100mado (DJ Hyaku Mado) is another BTC resident who appeared in the Tokyo scene around the same time as Goth-trad. His name is Japanese for "100 windows," which he links to the nature of dubstep.
"There used to be buildings with 100 windows, and they were also in the old anime show 'Ultra Seven,' " 100mado says. "Those buildings appeared in those shows for secret things, and they were really rare. That's similar to dubstep. There was no information about this music at all, so it was mysterious and secretive, but it was still functioning."
Even though he appreciates the exclusiveness of dubstep, 100mado points to event promotion difficulties in Tokyo that keep the scene from blowing up.
"The scene is getting bigger," he says. "But some people think that dubstep is so underground they're turned off of it. Some think that to have a good party you shouldn't be too underground and far out — you don't want to only attract maniacs. You have to think about making money, too."
Most Tokyo dubstep events offer discounts for women, but thus far that "maniac" impression remains. Michael Condon, a Tokyo-based music-video director who attends BTC parties, notes, "You are basically looking at your 20- to 40-year-old male music geek crowd. This is not a party scene, this is a scene for guys who are deeply into this kind of thing and go to listen to the music."
Another BTC resident is the soft-spoken DJ and producer Ena. He also runs drum-and-bass/dubstep label IAI Recordings.
Ena stresses how sound systems make a difference in how Japanese clubbers receive the music.
"Wobble style is popular here although I usually like to play hard — jungly, aggressive, wild," he says. "Many Japanese can't understand these styles. Most of the sound systems of Japanese clubs are cheap. The bass isn't heavy. But with most English clubs the bass is very heavy. Or maybe it's because of Japanese peoples' ears. They aren't used to the sound. Club Asia is different — it has the best big-bass sound."
One of the few regular non-Japanese DJs at BTC, and fast becoming a central figure in Tokyo dubstep, is French DJ and producer Greg G. Now based in Tokyo, Greg owns dubstep label 7even Recordings.
Does Greg bring a French-style of dubstep to Tokyo? "Dubstep was British in the beginning, but I don't think we can say there is an American style or a French style. I don't think we have the maturity of the British way yet."
Despite Tokyo's distance from London, Greg can see surprising distinctions.
"Maybe there is more of a Japanese style of dubstep than French," he says. "The dark style is working well here, and there is a lot of experimentation. They blend all the styles too. I can see more of an identity of the sound here from Japanese producers."
Greg also notes the scene's connection between performing and producing: "The most impressive thing is that there are a lot of producers here. And a lot of producers play live as well, which is quite rare in the dubstep scene. They do it in more extreme ways here, too. They know why they come to the event, especially BTC it's a very underground night — they come because they want to listen to dubstep music."
As more DJs from Japan and overseas play at dubstep parties each month, the future for the scene appears increasingly solid. Goth-trad highlights the value of the parties: "Some dubstep labels in Japan do releases only, no parties. After releasing (a track) it's very important to make chances for playing. Maybe they'll lose money, but it's an important thing. . . . The DJs are developing, too. Their style and productions are getting big. People really like this music."
Back To Chill will take place April 1 at Club Asia in Tokyo. The event will take place April 7 at Club Triangle in Osaka. For more information on Japan's dubstep artists, and Goth-trad's radio show, visit backtochill.com
Earlier in the decade, DJs in all music scenes began increasingly to incorporate CD turntables and MP3-mixing technologies such as Serato Scratch into their sets. Many DJs now use CDs or MP3s exclusively. The original South London dubstep scene was obsessed with bass and most dubstep tunes were DJed only with vinyl or dubplates — music pressed onto acetate records that are cheaper to produce than vinyl. The "wobble" sound of undulating, melodic bass sounds proved particularly powerful when played on vinyl. As the dubstep subculture matured, more DJs added digital devices to their repertoire. Supporters of digital technologies say digital forms are more portable, affordable, user- and environmentally-friendly and expand the creative possibilities of making sound. Supporters of the physicality of vinyl records argue that playing CDs and MP3s bleeds the "human touch" out of music. They say the expense and inconvenience of carrying records makes it more likely that those using the format will maintain a higher quality.