sep 27, 1997

TSUYOSHI SUZUKI

(taken from: KERNEL Goa Infoblatt 15.10.97 copyright: 1997 Alan Frostick.)

Tsuyoshi Suzuki is currently touring Germany and Europe for his record label: Matsouri Productions. On the 27th September 97 he held the German Party at the Natraj Temple in Munich. Simply to go to this yearÔs Matsuri Party would have been enough to get me to travel from Hamburg in the North to the wilds of the undiscovered South of Germany (see party reports). But the offer of an interview with the Grand Master of Psy-Trance more than justified the 18-hour roundtrip on the autobahn. I hope you have fun reading it, Alan.

Tsuyoshi Suzuki (T.S.) of Matsuri Productions interviewed by Alan Frostick of the KERNEL Goa Infoblatt on 27.9.97 in the offices of the Natraj Temple in Munich, just prior to the Matsuri Label Party there.

KERNEL: You've been living in London for some time. Did you get interested in the Trance scene there or in Japan?

T.S.: I've been interested in Techno music since I was 12 years old. In those days it was just Techno. Then the Techno scene split and diversified into styles like Industrial Techno, Trance, Drum 'n Bass and Hip Hop. It was when I went to Goa, 8 years ago, that I first discovered Trance. In the Trance parties I saw a connection to Techno but it was at the same time very progressive and anarchistic. It has been my life ever since. Everything changed for me, my style, my life, simply everything.

KERNEL: What sort of music were you making previously?

T.S.: In the beginning it was more a rock-and-roll style, a bit like the Cocteau Twins. I used to play drums in a band while I was studying computer graphics and video arts in Tokyo and we used lots of synthesiser backings for our music.

KERNEL: I have a Japanese friend in London who was with Frank Chickens performance group. She organised Techno parties in Tokyo in '92 and found it difficult. What's the Tokyo party scene like nowadays?

T.S.: I was fairly active at the parties in Tokyo in those days too. It's much the same now as it was 5 years ago, still small and very underground, but some parties are really good.

KERNEL: I moved from London to Hamburg 5 years ago, because the parties over here are better. Previously it was also good in London, but since the Criminal Justice Act it's dead there... Why did you move to London rather than to Germany?

T.S.: Most of the music I'd heard came out of London and itÔs also the home of the best musicians. I'd heard German psychedelic and rock music but I think if you're doing anything in music then London is still the best place. You're right about the parties though. There are still a few good ones but the sceneÔs gone underground. Anyhow, I go to parties all over the world now... My last party in San Francisco was really great. There were only 800 people there but the Americans really gave me the feeling of being welcome.

KERNEL: What do you think about the German parties?

T.S.: The Trance parties in Germany are truly the best in the world, because there are lots of possibilities here. It's completely free, you can hold Open Airs and there lots of possible locations.

KERNEL: Yes, with six to ten Open Airs every weekend this summer, it's got to be the biggest scene anywhere...

T.S.: But for me personally, though, it's better in Australia, San Fransisco or Japan. I believe that in the future the ÓEast EdgeÓ is going to be much more important while the European scene is stuck in a rut. The party concept is lost here, there's too much going on, and the people here don't know what to do with it, they're really stuck, there's no concept and no future for it.

KERNEL: How do you think it ought to develop?

T.S.: I don't know... The social system doesn't allow the party scene to develop. I'm still working in Europe because there's still some a possibilities, but in the future the style here will change. Some really fantastic and progressive music comes from Europe but all the commercial media, the techno magazine people and party organisers have completely lost it, they just don't know what Techno is all about... Techno in Europe is becoming more and more like disco.

KERNEL: What about the Trance scene and its shamanistic elements?

T.S.: The Trance scene is a little different, because it's more anarchistic. But even here I've become increasingly unclear in the last 2 years. Since I've been running my own record label, Matsuri Productions, I've had to print adverts in music magazines. I don't really want to be involved with them, but to push my label and make money I've had to. These people have no idea what Trance music is about, and they don't even want to. I believe I'm doing modern art. There's a clear connection between Trance music and modern art. The deco-art and the philosophy of the Trance scene is full of the progressive elements of life.

KERNEL: So you see yourself as an artist?

T.S.: Yes, what I'm doing is a part of the art movement. Some people don't understand that. You must have a concept otherwise you just go stiff, especially in the Techno scene... If a certain style is going really well then everyone takes up the same style, it's like fashion. Everyone does the same: the same music, the same party style and nothing new develops. It gets really boring. Every weekend the same sort of party, it's no fun anymore. That's why you need a concept. You must even consider "why do people dance?", do you understand me?

KERNEL: Do you dance too?

T.S.: I dance quite a lot. I've liked to dance since I was a kid. That's why I'm involved in dance music. It's part of the Matsuri concept. Matsuri is a ritual ceremony in Japanese life, which my record label is called after. It's a gathering where people coming together on a certain day and dance like crazy. Why do people do that? In India there's a similar huge gathering called Kumbumala where all the Hindus and Sadhus come together from all over India, over 10 Million people. Why do the people do that?

KERNEL: I've often asked myself that question too in the Trance parties, when a thousand people danced happily on during persistent rain in the VOOV this year, for example. The parties seem to be addictive, even people who don't take drugs still come back to the parties time after time, they don't even know why themselves...

T.S.: Dancing is a basic need, if you're a party goer you don't have to think about why you're doing it. But if you're making music or organising a party you have to have a concept.

KERNEL: Everyone I've met in the Trance business complains about how difficult it is to make money at it. Why do you work so hard, why not make money at something easier?

T.S.: Because I want to do something progressive and to do something I enjoy. Of course, I could do Rock 'n Roll but it isn't progressive.

KERNEL: What are you going to play tonight, any new tracks?

T.S.: Oh, yes. I've brought some new records from London.

KERNEL: You said records, does that mean you mix Vinyl and not DATs?

T.S.: Yes, I like to mix vinyl mostly, it's much more responsive, I can change the pitch and mix together tracks to lift the atmosphere of the party progressively to a fever pitch.

KERNEL: Of all the jobs you do, running you record label, making new music in the studio and working as a DJ, what do you enjoy the most?

T.S.: That's really hard to answer. I like creating new music a lot, but I think I like being up on the mixer as a DJ the most because it's only there I get the response from the people to what I'm doing, it gives me a real kick when people like what I'm doing and enjoy it.

KERNEL: Then I hope you have a good set this evening and thank you for giving me this interview.

feb 97

TSUYOSHI SUZUKI
wordtraveller in trance

First published in Germany in the Mushroom Magazine March 97 edition.
Tsuyoshi Suzuki (T.S.) in an interview by Mat Mushroom (Mush) February 97.
Translation from German to English by Alan Frostick, September 97.

Tsuyoshi is surely one of the best-known Trance DJs on our home planet. Apart from his fully-booked weekends in every corner of the world, the japanese-born DJ also finds time to run his record label "Matsuri Productions" and is producing the soon-to-be-released Prana Album "Geomantic", at the moment, with his partner Andy Guthrie. About half of the new album consists of remixes and the other half original music.

Mush: Actually you come from Japan, what convinced you to come to London?

T.S.: That had to do with the Goa Connection. I went for the first time to India in '89 and met a number of people there who had already formed a scene here in London. For example the T.I.P. boys and Mike McGuire from Juno Reactor. In the end they asked me to come to London so that we could work on some projects together.

Mush: How is it that the scene here has grown so big over the years?

T.S.: That's because there are so many Psy-Trance labels here. There are also many really good Trance Musicians here too.

Mush: How would you describe the typical Matsuri sound?

T.S.: I don't know if I can actually... It consists of my own personal taste in music. What I don't like is the often overused Goa sound. That's the music from yesterday. I would rather listen to interesting sounds from various influences, including those from the ambient and experimental areas. I also like Drum 'n Base and lots of House very much.

Mush: Most Trance Party people have their problems with House music...

T.S.: I can't understand that attitude. Why are so many people restricted to such a narrow musical taste? Certain tracks from House labels fit perfectly into a Trance set. You can also mix House in a Psychedelic way. I think that you can recognise the professional DJ from his attitude on this subject. The typical Goa Trance DJ sticks solely to the Goa labels - that's just bullshit.

Mush: While we're on the subject - where do you like to buy your records?

T.S.: In London, Zoom Records is the best choice for Trance, Choci's Chewns are also great.

Mush: We were in Zoom today. The record shops in London are really small...

T.S.: They are small, but are lots of them. Every single one has its own quite personal style which it promotes. But when I want new records I usually godirectly to the record labels - that way I get them quicker - or they just send me their new stuff.

Mush: How would you describe the British party scene?

T.S.: It's a good scene, but partywise there's not so much going on. To put it another way, there are some good underground parties, underground because of the Criminal Justice Bill, but Open Airs are alomost impossible to hold and Indoor Parties have to finish very early. If an organiser goes against the law he finds himself very quickly in prison. That's the law here, hard and unjust.

Mush: If the parties have to end so early here, then presumably there are no "After Hour Parties"...

T.S.: That's right.

Mush: Isn't anyone fighting against this?

T.S.: Oh, yes. For two years before the C.J. Bill was made law there were many demos. Some people were killed fighting the police, many others were arrested and sent to prison.

Mush: And what about now?

T.S.: The best parties are now strictly underground because of this law.

Mush: What do you think about the German Trance Scene?

T.S.: I like it very much. The parties often go on into the afternoon, something which would be impossible here in the U.K. What I like about the German Trancers is they listen more to the music and respect a DJ's set, which can often include some old tracks. If I'm playing here, for example in Brixton's Fridge, the people expect me to play only the latest pieces. Here I'm much tenser than in Germany. In Germany I can arrange my set the way I think it should be.