Ken Ishii Added by Chris, 9 October 2002

  1. Groovetrackers
  2. Archive
  3. Artists

Within a span of eight years, Ken Ishii, with his unique taste for production and flair for blending the uncanny, has been considered by many as leading the 21st century post-techno revolution. Citizen has named a model after him in return for some custom alarm noises, and amidst his crumpled jeans and t-shirt outfit, this is the only clue to Ishii's status and Japan's first and biggest electronica export.

Whilst still a student at Hitotsubashi University studying sociolinguistics, an extremely impressed Belgian beatmaster Renaat Vandepapeliere, who heard Ishii's demo tape, offered to release 'Garden On The Palm' on R&S in 1993. The single immediately highlighted Ken's unique approach to musi, a wild and embracing style being neither techno nor ambient, leftfield nor 'pop', but rather an mysterious dreamscape at once both beautiful and strangely exotic.

Part of the diverse influences which affect Ken Ishii's productions include the electonica of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk and DAF, and more recently Black Dog Productions and D-Jax Up Beats empires, whose experimental edge is reflected in his own 'techno futurist' works. His unconventional and idiosyncractic arrangements on surreal digitones and bizarre signatures have established Ishii with performances and sets alongside the likes of Alex Patterson (The Orb) and Richard James (Aphex Twin), with two No. 1 hits on New Music Express's techno chart in 1993.

Ishii's popularity with Europe and Japan is enormous, recording with labels like Rising Sun and Flare (Europe) and R&S, Sublime, Apollo and Sony in Japan. A notable triumph in the course of his career occurred with “Extra,” the opening track from Jelly Tones, and its spectacular anime video directed by Kouji Morimoto (Akira). It was chosen as dance video of the year by European MTV viewers, edging out The Prodigy and Pharcyde. It was this album and single which gained Ishii prominence in North America as well.

This sound innovator, who has challenged the ears time and again to enchant and mesmerise with hardened, minimalist edges, released his fourth full-length album in North America in March 2001, and supported the release with eight DJ dates around the country which ended early April.

Ken Ishii
Japan
http://www.kenishii.com/index-e.asp

Performances

» Ian Pooley
« Xavier Perec

You are visiting the archive. Check out groovetrackers.com for the best parties and festivals in the Netherlands and beyond.