Mike Sunda - The Japan Times

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Mike Sunda

Mike Sunda is a music writer focusing primarily on electronic music and the Tokyo club scene. He graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England with a degree in Japanese and has been contributing to The Japan Times since 2010.

For Mike Sunda's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 4, 2014

Tim Deluxe makes 'Radicle' move to get healthy

We've all been there before. Sometimes it's a New Year's resolution, sometimes it's the realization that you're out of breath just running up the stairs to catch your last train — but at one point or another, we've all decided to try and get in shape.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 25, 2014

After25 seeks music ties for Tokyo, Berlin

From Vincent Van Gogh's ukiyo-e inspired paintings to novelist Natsume Soseki's period of studies in the United Kingdom, Tokyo has long cultivated intercity relations with the likes of Paris and London through the mediums of art and literature. However, when it comes to linking Japan and Germany's respective capitals, you'd be forgiven if nothing immediately came to mind.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 4, 2014

Eadonmm's beats prove black is back

"Black is the new black" always seems like a safe motto when it comes to picking clothes, but in an electronic-music world that is constantly churning out micro-genre ephemera, some would argue that black has gone out of fashion.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 31, 2013

Tokyo prepares to get schooled in the art of beats

Although the major spectacle looming on Tokyo's horizon is undoubtedly the 2020 Olympics, there is one event this year that will be eagerly anticipated by anyone who spends longer on their gym playlist than their workout: The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is set to take place here in October.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 31, 2013

Red Bull Music Academy grad Mr. Beatnick has tips for the Class of '14

Londoner Nick Wilson took part in one of the early editions of the Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) in Cape Town in 2003. The ensuing years have seen him heavily involved in the city's underground scene, whether it is producing genre-hopping electronic music as Mr Beatnick or writing for publications such as Fact Magazine. The Japan Times figures he's the perfect person to give us an appraisal of the academy's evolution over the past decade.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 17, 2013

The best Japanese albums of 2013: Sapphire Slows, 'Allegoria'

If there's one thing I've taken out of 2013, it's that the kids are alright. Perhaps as a result of growing up Internet savvy, with easy access to decades of music and countless genres at their fingertips, Japan's young artists have spent the year pasting together aural collages that gleefully defy categorization.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 12, 2013

Sapphire Slows comes away from North American tour with new confidence

No matter how busy you think you were last month, it would take a lot to top the exploits of Hiroshima-born, Tokyo-based musician Kinuko Hiramatsu.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013

Jul 31, 2013

A year of tough choices at Fuji

Wandering around on the opening day of this year's Fuji Rock, I got the impression that numbers were down on previous years. Of course, anyone who has ever been stuck in the event's seemingly never-ending lines for the portable toilets — or who's been shut out from seeing their favorite band as the tent-like confines of Red Marquee filled to the brim — will be able to tell you that this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013

Jul 31, 2013

You're performing on the Red Marquee this year as a result of winning the Rookie A Go-Go competition at last year's festival, how does that feel?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013

Jul 31, 2013

This is your third time at Fuji Rock, you must like it?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 10, 2013

Jesse Ruins take cinematic inspiration for debut full-length

Although many Japanese indie bands find it a struggle breaking into overseas markets, Tokyo's Jesse Ruins have always seemed to strike a chord among both international and domestic listeners alike.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 7, 2013

From Björk to Kyary, festival season has arrived

Summer means a lot of things in Japan: stifling heat and humidity, fireworks and the Bon holidays, nagashi-sōmen noodles and chilled barley tea. For music fans though, the season brings a different kind of to-do list: booking cheap train tickets in advance, stocking up on essential supplies — and searching for your tent's instruction manual. Summer music festivals are an institution in Japan, and when you're hibernating six months from now, it'll be the memories of the season's highlights that will warm you up as much as any kotatsu.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Entertainment news

May 21, 2013

X Japan waxes lyrical at Madame Tussauds debut

This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48's Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

May 16, 2013

Thaemlitz's mix tackles antidancing law

It's fitting that I should be meeting Terre Thaemlitz on May 1, International Workers' Day — she wryly refers to herself as a "feminist Marxist" before we begin our interview in proper.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

May 2, 2013

Back to school for two Tokyo DJs

Whether it's an annual soapbox derby or sending a man to the edge of space just because they can, energy-drink manufacturers Red Bull have never been afraid to throw their cash at projects that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) — the brand's foray into the world of electronic music, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year — leans firmly toward the former. As the name suggests, it aims to provide an "education" for promising musicians, flying in established names to share advice as well as providing fully stocked studio spaces for participants to collaborate and bounce ideas off each other.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 22, 2012

We've got TNGHT: Young producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice join forces to bring a new spin on hip-hop

The Red Bull Music Academy studios in South London are the venue for my interview with Ross Birchard (26) and Lunice Fermin Pierre II (24) — better known as Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — about their new project TNGHT. As graduates of the classes of 2007 and 2010 respectively, both have benefited from the energy-drink manufacturer's yearly "finishing school" for musical up-and-comers. Looking around, though, it's a wonder how any music gets made — table tennis, foosball and retro arcade machines are just a few of the distractions. As we wait for Birchard to join us, Pierre mentions that someone once tried to interview him over a game of table tennis. I asked how it worked out. "Not well for him, he didn't even get one point!" he quips back.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD

Nov 22, 2012

DJ Ken-ske (real name Kensuke Sato) is a DJ's DJ — he eschews celebrity club culture in favor of a purists' approach to the medium, which allows him to play more than 100 gigs a year. Although primarily mixing hip-hop in a B-boy style, he's hugely knowledgeable in a variety of styles, as proven by his residency at the weekly "Royal Flush" party at Tokyo's Club Harlem where he explores old-school rap, disco and house. This month, he gave The Japan Times a peek into his record bag:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD

Oct 18, 2012

A mainstay of the Tokyo underground electronic scene and cofounder of the Raid System label/collective,

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 11, 2012

Lapalux, Taquwami tap into a West Coast sound

It's early on a Saturday evening at the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch festival in London and Lapalux is taking the stage. He's only armed with a laptop, a MIDI controller and some select software, but the hundreds in the audience haven't shown up expecting a flashy light show; the music is more than enough to hold their attention.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 19, 2012

Rustie to bring hyperactive set to SonarSound Tokyo

When Rustie (Russell Whyte, 29) makes his Japan debut at SonarSound Tokyo this weekend, it will mark the culmination of a remarkable few years that has seen the Scottish producer swap house parties in his hometown of Glasgow for headline spots at some of the biggest clubs in the world.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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