-- Could you tell us about the theme or concept behind this DJ set?
Today, I decided to bring only records that I’ve bought from ELLA RECORDS so far. So every track you hear in this mix is something that was found at ELLA RECORDS. I guess it’s kind of a little promotion for the shop as well (laughs).
At the same time, I wanted to create a vibe that felt like the morning sunlight. When I was on the train heading here, the weather outside was gloomy and overcast, so I wanted to play music that would slowly guide things into the atmosphere of the morning and bring out the sun.
-- Among the records you played today, were there any tracks you were especially excited to play or particularly wanted to introduce to the audience?
One track I especially wanted to play was the edit of Nuyorican Soul’s 12-inch “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun,” which I played second in the set. Nuyorican Soul is a side project of Masters At Work. The B-side, “Runaway (Rascal Edit),” is more dancefloor-oriented, but the A-side has this amazing laid-back rap vocal that really feels like early morning to me.
And then there’s Minako Yoshida. She’s popular in Australia as well, and people have been listening to her music for a long time. I think, like many others, she was one of the artists that got me into city pop in the first place. I played a few of her tracks today — something from “Monsters in Town,” as well as a track from her earlier album “Minako.” Even compared to the rest of her catalog, that album is definitely one of my favorites.
And one more record — I was incredibly lucky to get my hands on an original pressing of Hiroshi Sato’s “Awakening.” When I came to ELLA about a month ago, it was hanging on the wall, and honestly, if I hadn’t bought it then, it probably would’ve sold immediately. It’s become one of my favorite records as well. I love every track on it, but I especially wanted to play either “Awakening” or “I Can’t Wait.”
-- You just moved from Melbourne to Gunma this spring, right? What made you decide to make the move?
I met my partner in Japan two years ago. And obviously, when you’re with someone from a different culture, there’s always a bit of a language barrier, right? So I’d always wanted to try living in Japan for at least a year. Since then, we’d come back to Japan together a few times for holidays, but this time we decided to actually make the move and live here for a year. I think we’re really lucky that Japan offers visas for people from many countries that allow them to stay for up to a year. You can travel, work a little, and basically do whatever you want. But for me, the biggest thing is learning the language. And of course, collecting records too.
-- Now that you’ve actually started living in Japan, how has it been so far? What parts feel comfortable, and what parts have been challenging?
It’s much bigger than I expected — my partner calls where she’s from a country town, but that doesn’t compare to an Australian one once you see the scale here. The best part of the first weeks was having friends fly over to explore with us. The biggest practical challenge has been our campervan build — nobody warned me how many hills we’d be driving with it loaded with records and gear; we’re burning through fuel at a pretty rough rate.
The language barrier has been smaller than expected since I prepared beforehand, though my Japanese is improving slower than I’d like. Food-wise, I’m still completely obsessed with sushi and ramen, and I miss Melbourne a lot.
People here are often surprised I’m Australian — I haven’t met another one in Gunma, and I’m the first person in my partner’s extended family with any real connection to Australia. I think what surprises people most is that I’m staying a full year and actually travelling the country, not just passing through. My partner and I have grown a lot closer since the move, which is exactly what we hoped for.
The pace of life is different — less busy than Melbourne, but in a good way, with more time for the record collection and a few personal projects. My favourite spot is the rice fields near us, where I run most days, and one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen is a countryside temple that completely caught me off guard.
Nothing has disappointed me. If I had to sum up this chapter in one line: a genuine shift in the direction of my life, for the better.
-- Had you already had a special interest in or connection to Japan before moving here?
Of course. I think it probably started with Japanese city pop. I’m also really into snowboarding, and as my skills improved over the years, my interest in Japan kept growing as well. So whenever I visited Japan before, it was mostly all about snowboarding and music, and I never really had the chance to properly explore the surrounding areas. But this time, I’m really excited to do more of that. That said, snowboarding is still probably the number one thing for me. The snow here is just incredible, and the music scene feels completely unique as well. It’s really something special.
-- Had you visited Japan many times before moving here?
I came in the winters of 2023 and 2024, and also once in April this year. I went to Gunma to meet my partner’s parents, but before that I stayed in Tokyo for about two weeks. During that time, I also stopped by ELLA a few times and bought some records. Last time, I was also able to see cherry blossoms for the first time, and I got to experience a different side of Japan compared to the winter landscapes I was familiar with.
-- From your perspective as a DJ, what do you think about Japan’s record culture and club scene?
I haven’t been to that many clubs yet, but at least from the underground clubs I’ve experienced so far, I think Melbourne has a lot to learn. Of course, there’s a big EDM scene as well, and that’s probably where the money is.
But when it comes to record culture, I think it’s amazing that places like this exist — record shops with such beautiful spaces, with really strong selections of jazz and rare groove, and still managing to stay in business. In many other parts of the world, record stores often have to lean more towards dance music or broaden their selection quite a lot just to survive. So for Japan to be able to stay true to what it loves and still keep these places going is really significant. And I think that applies not just to record stores, but to clubs as well.
-- What do you find appealing about DJing with vinyl records?
I like being physically tied to the music — no phone, no laptop, just the record and the needle. I went vinyl-only when I moved to Melbourne three years ago, after about a year of collecting; my sound engineering degree helped me understand why it sounds the way it does. I’ve come to appreciate the fragility and commitment of it too. When a mix clicks on vinyl, you can feel the room respond — conversations pause, people lock in, someone comes up afterwards saying they loved a track they’d never heard. That’s the whole appeal.
I build my bag around whatever I’ve bought recently — two or three records a week — and shape the tempo and genre shifts from there. I keep a fairly consistent style for my regular Melbourne spots and step outside it elsewhere. With five or six hundred records, I know the collection well enough that packing is quick. If a record skips, I tap it past the loop and sticker the sleeve to fix later. Having records at home has changed my mornings completely too — music goes on the second I’m up.
On originals versus reissues — unless it’s a deep groove pressing, I don’t get the obsession with paying huge money for an original. A good reissue is still the same song, the same emotion, just cut later. My advice to anyone starting out: just start. Buy some records, learn where the energy sits in a song, then grab a second turntable and start mixing.
-- Besides DJing, what stimulates your creativity?
Mornings, mostly — no distractions, easy to drop into. Honestly my whole life feels creative these days: photography, startups, fashion, music, it all overlaps. Being in Japan has reset something creatively for me; I think it’ll shape my style and taste over the next year. Learning Japanese, by contrast, is more of a grind than a creative outlet. I’m also working on a healthcare startup project at the moment, and my audio engineering background still shapes how I hear and make creative decisions generally.
Collecting records is a creative act in itself — its own kind of composition — and I’m lucky to have a genuinely huge creative community around me, in Melbourne and beyond. When I’m feeling flat, I just step away, relax, or learn something new. As for creativity versus curation: creativity is exploring new ideas; curation is organising and shaping them into something, drawing on everything you’ve learned before.
-- What kind of mindset is important to you as a DJ?
I think of myself as both performer and curator — I’m a vinyl DJ, I don’t make music, so curation does a lot of the work. Reading the room matters most; it gets more natural over time. My philosophy is simple: a set should make people feel something. If the crowd isn’t connecting, there’s not much to do beyond falling back on something familiar — but I don’t often play rooms where that happens.
I don’t over-plan, except for specific gigs like bar slots. I’ll sometimes play something purely for myself if friends are there to support. For longer sets — five hours, say — I’ll open around sunset, upbeat and chill, and let it get jazzier and deeper as the night goes on. I don’t get nervous anymore, and when a transition doesn’t quite land, it’s rarely as bad on replay as it felt live — one imperfect moment doesn’t ruin a set that’s otherwise been close to perfect.
Ego is probably part of it somewhere, but I don’t dwell on it — I’m more focused on helping others, running events, getting people involved. I feel a real responsibility to credit the artists I play. I only play venues I’m genuinely fond of, and there’s no single moment I live for — it’s all good when it’s working. Staying present is just about focusing on the music. If anything, DJing has become more about both control and surrender as I’ve gained experience — and I don’t think patience really factors into it; you should be creating the whole time you’re behind the decks.
-- What plans do you have for 2026?
Lots of vinyl collecting, music listening, snowboarding and travel, starting with Kyushu in July before working through the rest of the country. I want to make some videos along the way and hit every record shop I can find. No DJ gigs locked in here yet, but I’m keen — Repeat Dance is running a bi-monthly slot back in Melbourne in the meantime.
Fluency in Japanese by year’s end is probably my most ambitious goal, alongside building out a proper body of video work. Travel-wise, we’re considering Europe or Perth before heading back to Melbourne, maybe via a few other Asian countries. Bringing Repeat Dance to Japan would be great eventually, but it’s hard while we’re living out of a van. When we’re back in Melbourne, I want to go deeper into events again.
My Japan wish list: see as much of the country as possible, get better at snowboarding, DJ at a club here at least once, and properly learn the language. This year has already shifted what I want the future to look like — we’ve seen a few places in regional Japan we’d genuinely love to own one day. The one fixed point on the calendar so far: a flight already booked for our dog to fly back to Australia.
-- Finally, how did you feel about playing at ELLA RECORDS today?
It was a lot of fun. It was really great seeing everyone dancing in the corner as well. It was a slightly different selection from the music I usually play, but as I mentioned, all the tracks I chose were found in this shop. So I think the set really reflects how wide the selection here is, and the kind of music you can discover. And there are also some pretty expensive records on the wall shelves too. So if you’re looking to get your hands on similar sounds, definitely come down to ELLA RECORDS. Thank you very much!
