KO KIMURA (FUTIC RECORDINGS TOKYO)
Ko Kimura celebrated his 23rd year of Djing as a professional DJ in 2008. He started DJing in his teens, and was one of the very first DJs to spin House music in Japan. Now he is known as one of the most influential and talented DJs in Japan always selecting most cutting-edge sound from diverse and ever-changing global dance scene. The tunes he reviews on magazines and plays at clubs become hit items in record shops / online stores. He often appears on Japanese media as a charismatic opinion leader for underground culture.
His resident parties have always been held at major clubs in Japan. "KOOL" @ YELLOW kept running every month for 12 years and the final party was held in May this year due to the closing of the legendary club YELLOW. It was the longest thriving weekend night at YELLOW and his amazing 5+ hour set left so much influence to the Japanese scene.
KO launched bi-monthly residency at AIR (www.air-tokyo.com) titled “REC●”. He has been using Serato Scratch Live for about 2 years now and this new night will feature the digital era of dance music; Sound system at AIR will be tuned to the best for digital/MP3 DJ environment; at every party new tracks will be released digitally from Ko’s own FUTIC RECORDINGS TOKYO mainly on Beatport, Ko’s dj mixes at REC● will be available for streaming at website.
Ko also plays at clubs in major cities throughout Japan. He also plays in Asian cities such as Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore from time to time, and one of the highlights of his overseas gigs is Ministry of Sound in London. Places Ko was invited to spin include Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Miami, Sydney, Melbourne, Hannover (Germany), Amsterdam, Bogota, and cities in Belarus and Ukraine. Everywhere he goes, even where not many know about Ko, he rocks the dance floor and brings happy faces on the crowd.
Ko started his own label FUTIC RECORDINGS TOKYO in 1997. FUTIC has introduced talented Japanese producers and released 12 titles in vinyl. Ko’s ambition with FUTIC is to introduce Tokyo sound to the global dance scene. The first compilation of the label “FUTIC RECORDINGS COMPILATION 01” released in 2007 featured tracks by KO KIMURA himself as well as remixes by artists like JIMMY VAN M, POLE FOLDER, PQM, OMB, PHIL THOMPSON (Moonface). This compilation is available on Beatport. http://www.beatport.com/futic+recordings+tokyo
Ko supervised and appeared on the how-to-dj DVD DJ FIRST MIX (www.tfc-dvd.net/djfirstmix/index.html / www.myspace.com/djfirstmix). Although it’s only available in Japanese language, this DVD focuses on how the beginners can learn djing most quickly and it marked good sales. Attached Practice CDs (identical discs) featured tracks by Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E, Randall Jones, Pole Folder, Access Denied, Derek Howell and more.
Ko had support from key brands such as Calvin Klein, Guess Jeans, Swatch, Seiko Watch, NIKE on several occasions. He has been endorsed by Stussy since early 90’s and other charismatic street brands of Tokyo such as Neibgborhood, WTaps, realmadHectic, Supreme, Ptolemy to name a few.
Ko has collaborated with VESTAX, ROLAND, AKAI, KORG, TECHNICS, ALLEN & HEATH and PIONEER as a development advisor. He also taught DJ courses at Van Tan Sound Institute and Tokyo Announce Academy.
Ko is a pioneer DJ for mix compilation CDs in Japan. When dance music was not yet so big here, he compiled and mixed the first mix CD ever released in Japan ‘Ultimate DJ's Anthem’ (Toshiba EMI) in 1995. He created a new Mix CD series ‘MIXWORK’ in 1997 from Warner Japan. It was received with surprise because the CD featured many tracks from different independent labels, for it was normal in Japan back then to have tracks from only one record company or label.
In 2002 Pioneer Japan released John Digweed’s Bedrock works in CD first time in Japan (they were only available as imports till then) and launched a mix CD series by Japanese DJs to introduce Bedrock sounds to Japan. Ko was picked to do the first one since he was pushing the sound and played alongside Digweed almost every time Digweed spun in Japan. He selected tracks from all Bedrock material and mixed in “Ko Kimura” style.
As a remixer / producer; Ko worked with his close friend, Satoshi Tomiie and they created hits together in late 90’s. As LEVEL 9 alias, they produced ‘Don't Stop’ which ranked on Billboard chart. They also remixed Japanese group COSA NOSTRA's track and it was aired massively on FM stations throughout Japan.
He’s also known for his depth knowledge in Japanese animations, and in 2006 he was asked to produce a track for TV anime series “EUREKA SEVEN” (http://eurekaseven.bandai-ent.com/).
Ko is currently working hard in studio with Kazuaki Noguchi, and their latest remixes under MODEWARP alias include ‘Revolutionary’ by Berbesso & Michael Mishima (Progress Recordings), ‘Fashion for Freaks’ by ACCESS DENIED (Klang Elektronik), productions with Randall Jones (Tigerhook Corp/MYNT) and DJ Gabriel. Check www.myspace.com/djkokimura and www.modewarp.com for their latest works.
Ko hosted Ministry of Sound radio show broadcasted on J-WAVE, most influential FM station in Tokyo. The first of its kind in Japan with non-stop mixes by top DJs every week, also featured Ko’s mix and this helped draw more population to the scene. Ko also hosted the radio show CARL COX GLOBAL on InterFM every Friday night for more than 2 years up till March 2006.