Any club celebrating its 15th anniversary is obviously doing something right, and the lineup this weekend (Dec. 15-16, 10 p.m.-late) at Space Lab Yellow provides plenty of clues as to how the Nishi-Azabu nightspot has managed to keep its dance floor full for so long. While most anniversary parties tend to feature an endless list of DJs mixing countless genres throughout the night -- a policy that can leave a party feeling stagnant -- only two DJs, one tonight and one tomorrow, will be playing Yellow's birthday bash.
Yellow regular Laurent Garnier will be playing Dec. 15, and as compilations like the recently released "Kings of Techno" demonstrate, the DJ has a dance floor friendly, "anything goes" music policy. While the focus of the set will be techno, other genres such as jazz, funk and punk have all found their way into Garnier's record box in the past.
Dec. 16 will see New Yorker Joaquin Joe Clausell behind the decks. As a resident of the Big Apple's Sunday "Body and Soul" parties, where he spins alongside Francois K and Danny Krivit, Clausell is known for sets that combine deep house, soul, jazz and disco and create a vibe reminiscent of the earliest days of modern dance music parties, when DJs were more concerned that the crowd was having a good time than sticking to the confines of genre.
Asked why they had chosen to bring only two DJs to the club for their anniversary, Yellow spokesperson Yuko Ichikawa said: "Since these DJs debuted at the club in 1994, they have become very successful, yet are still happy to play longer sets. Both these DJs play underground music -- and Yellow clubbers love that. We hope to continue bringing DJs like these two to the club and keep the good vibe going."
Tickets are 4,000 yen (weekend tickets 6,000 yen). For more info, visit www.club-yellow.com
