Japan’s DJ Nobu to edit Detroit’s Moods & Grooves

Japan’s DJ Nobu to edit Detroit’s Moods & Grooves

27 February, 2008 | 9.05AM

• Section: Music News Topics: Beatport Blog
• Written by: Yuko Asanuma

An ambitious album is to be released in Japan in early April.

It’s entitled ‘Creep Into Shadows - The Midnight D Edits,’ and it’s basically a mix CD of re-edited tracks.

The DJ of choice is Nobu [check a crazy video of him DJing after the jump!], an underground star DJ, who built his style and reputation by throwing a local party called Future Terror in Chiba city through word of mouth.

Moods & Grooves, on the other hand, is a deep house label run by a DJ/ producer Mike Grant in Detroit.

It may seem like an odd combination, but it’s not, at all.

In the past few years, DJ Nobu has been opening for the acts like Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish, Octave One and Ian O’Brien in Japan. He has also been inviting guest DJs such as Mike Grant himself, Mike Clark, and Terrence Parker to play at Future Terror. He has visited Detroit many times, and got invited to play at Moods & Grooves and Detroit Beat Down club nights. 

His home town Chiba is about 25 miles away from Tokyo. Its inner city is often compared to Detroit for its industrial cityscape and its predominantly working class community.

Chiba is not a big musical city like Detroit is, but there’s definitely a strong thirst for quality music among the young people - and DJ Nobu was there to save them. Instead of trying to become a part of the scene in Tokyo, which he found boring anyway, he decided to build his own scene in his home town. He started Future Terror with three other local DJs in 2001.

Future Terror is running now in its 7th year, and half of the crowd come from other cities mainly from Tokyo and Yokohama area, but some of them from Nagoya, Osaka and even Fukuoka. It’s a very intense, wild party, and it’s addictive. That’s why people take a journey to an anonymous club in the middle of (pretty much) nowhere.

So DJ Nobu is a very unique and skilled DJ.

Check out what he has done with the following tracks on ‘Creep Into Shadows - The Midnight D Edits.’

01.JEFF PILON / Level 7 (remix)
02.EWAN JANSEN / Twenty Twenty Blue (edit)
03.KDJ / Untitled (remix)
04.EWAN JANSEN / Take Two (remix)
05.GENE HUNT / Inspire - BP’s Deep Spirit Mix (edit)
+ Digital Funk Addicts / Never Change (edit)
06.DJ NOBU / Unknown Original
07.GENE HUNT / Skeemin Bohemian (edit)
08.GENE HUNT / Inspire - Balmoral St. Mix (edit)
09.THEO PARRISH / Chunky (remix)
10.JOVONTE / We Go Way Back (edit)
11.BLACK ART / Sweet (edit)
+ BLACK ART / Just Groovin (edit)
12.ANDRES / You’re Still The One (edit)
13.BLACK ART / Heat (edit)
14.ALTON MILLER / Chasing Dreams (remix)
15.MIKE GRANT / My Soul My Spirit (edit)
BONUS TRACK
16.DJ NOBU / Eleven

The album will be released from Underground Gallery, and planned to be distributed worldwide.

Artwork by La Mano Fria (Beta Bodega Coalition)

Video: DJ Nobu at Raw Life Festival 2006

Here’s a taste of what DJ Nobu is like on the tables - quite intense.

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