In partnership w/ Sounds Familiar
Alex from Tokyo is an international man of musical wonderment with a career spanning more than three decades. Liken music to landscapes, and Alex from Tokyo becomes the famed moss temple of Kyoto: a lush, paradisical garden as diverse as it is beautiful, as serene as it is wild, full of life and eager to share it. The organic vibrancy of Alex from Tokyo’s music reflects his rich palette of life experiences and creative endeavors.
Born in Paris but calling Tokyo home from the age of four, Alex grew up amid the sounds and spectacles of earth’s largest city. Alex returned to his birthplace of Paris in 1991, in principle for university studies but really to dive into the Paris underground club scene. Music and fate brought him together with DJ Deep and DJ Gregory in 1993, who together formed the DJ unit “A Deep Groove” known for their now legendary lunchtime radio show on Paris’ Radio FG 98.2 fm.
Japan called Alex home in 1995, and found him working for the Tokyo branch of Mr.Bongo and its sub-label Disorient and as a correspondent for legendary French labels such as Laurent Garnier’s F Communications. His coordinating and curatorial skills gained repute at the same time. Alex arranged the Japanese part of the compilation project “Bossa Tres Jazz…When East Meets West” on the French label Yellow Productions and helped produce one of the earliest Japanese dance music compilations, “Showa 64,” on Mr.Bongo’s Disorient label.
The last decade of the twentieth century saw Alex blossoming as an artist in his own right and breaking out as one of the strongest crossover DJs in Japan. While in Japan, Alex began producing original music under the name Tokyo Black Star with sound engineer Isao Kumano. Tokyo Black Star’s debut release, a remix of “For You” by Big Moses (ft. Ja’nel), came out on Kerri Chandler’s label Basemental in 2000.
Berlin label Innervisions selected Tokyo Black Star’s “Psyche Dance” EP to be its very first release in 2005, the same year Alex made the move to New York City. Innervisions has since released four other Tokyo Black Star EPs, including the group’s debut album “Black Ships” in April 2009. The duo-turned-
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