“I’m not very good at English, so I think there are some places where I couldn’t answer well.“

Dear reader, do the math: if Mari Sakurai was 15 years old when she was clubbing for the first time and she’s djing since six years, how old is she now? Exactly, we don’t know and Mari won’t tell. What we do know is, that she’s mixing way beyond 150bpm because she was playing at the TISSUE N°666FFF release party at Koara Bar in Shibuya, Tokyo. We also know she spends a lot of time walking her dogs and we learned she prefers to choose punk songs when Karaoke. She’s involved in protest raves and organises queer and sex positive parties in Tokyo. Please read below Mari’s original answers to the short questionnaire prepared by Nadja Preyer.

QUESTIONS: NADJA PREYER
SNAPSHOTS: UWE BERMEITINGER
MIXTAPE ARTWORK: YIS KID

Mari, your mix is pretty much straight forward uptempo!
Originally I like fast and heavy styles like this, but recently I‘ve been accelerating more and more, and these styles are my favourite.

You played at the TISSUE N°666FFF pre-release party in Tokyo organised by Chico of Neu Banal. That’s also where you met our editor-in-chief Uwe. How do you remember that night?
Yes, I was really happy to see him because I‘m big fan of TISSUE Magazine. It was first time we met. That night was so much fun! We went to Karaoke after the party.

“I like fast and heavy styles”

The music scene in Tokyo is known for it’s high standard approach to music in general – speaking of the phenomenon of the listening bar, but also of well-selected record shops or nerdy-techy spots like Taruya with their high-end DJ cartridges. How are you as a DJ profiting of this “land of milk and honey”?
Perhaps many Japanese music lovers like to pursue what they like. There are so many places in Tokyo that satisfy such people that we are fully immersed in our world. As a DJ, the environment where you can always be curious about music is very exciting. So I think it’s exactly how you described it.

As an addition to the question before: Which are your go-to record shops in Tokyo?
Pianola Records, Organic Music, Los Apson? and Upstairs Records.

“Many people in Japan still find it difficult to share their opinions about politics and society.”

I heard you are involved in “Protest Raves”. Can you tell us more?
“Protest Rave” is a music-based demonstration started by my friends DJ Mars89 and Miru Shinoda. They started it as an attempt to restore self-affirmation. I first participated as a DJ, and from there I started working together as one of the members. Many people in Japan still find it difficult to share their opinions about politics and society. So first of all, we are trying to create a place and an opportunity where everyone can think in their own heads and raise their voices.

What’s your thoughts on techno as a protest music? Especially in these politically intense times of the BLM-movement?
We can reaffirm our value by listening to techno and dancing freely. I think to dance is an act of liberating the body, making people feel free and feel able to resist. (It is difficult for me to explain what I think in English.)

“I pray that I can play in a club soon”

How is the scene in Tokyo coping with the current Corona situation and how much are you missing djing in front of real dancers in a real club environment yourself?
In the recent Tokyo scene, after about months of self-restraint, people have begun to be proactive in their lives to the extent possible. It seems that some clubs are starting business while taking measures. I haven‘t been djing in public for about three months or more. I pray that I can play in a club soon.

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TRACKLIST:
coming soon …

Introduction jingle by Harmony Horizon
Digital cover artwork by Yis Kid, taken from ‘4 colours’
Full story: https://tissuemagazine.com/story/yis-kid-4-colours/

Additionally to our mixtape portfolio we mashed up one hour of hardcore vibezzz mixed by Mari Sakurai with the visual essay by Yis Kid.

Please note: Big servers and streamed data are eating up energy. And our planet. So do the world a favor: Download the mix and play it on your own device. Keep mother earth alive. Thank you.

Visitez:
https://soundcloud.com/marisakurai
https://www.instagram.com/_marisakurai/
https://www.instagram.com/slick.party/