In 1994 Ken Ishii released his second studio album, six-track LP Reference to Difference, via Sublime Records. Blending elements of Detroit techno with ambient, early IDM and YMO-influenced electronic sounds closer to home, it was a landmark record in an infant Japanese techno scene that would boom in the mid-90s. A decade-plus of influential releases would follow, and he helped build a subgenre from the bottom up in the Tokyo subterranean. Now, to celebrate 30 years since the original release of Reference to Difference and a remastered vinyl edition that dropped last month, we invited the Japanese pioneer to take over the 596th Crack Mix, where he provides an all-systems-go, peak-time club mix of four-to-the-floor heft and wonky bangers. Strap in.
Who: Ken Ishii
What: Forward-thinking electronic music
Where: Tokyo, Japan.
When: From the last hour of a night to dawn, having your last drinks before going home or to bed. It was actually recorded around 5-6am and I was drinking two cans of IPA.
Why: Music is never the same every time. I still keep learning new things from doing music every day.
Crack Mix 596: Ken Ishii
Crack Mix 596: Ken Ishii
In 1994 Ken Ishii released his second studio album, six-track LP Reference to Difference, via Sublime Records. Blending elements of Detroit techno with ambient, early IDM and YMO-influenced electronic sounds closer to home, it was a landmark record in an infant Japanese techno scene that would boom in the mid-90s. A decade-plus of influential releases would follow, and he helped build a subgenre from the bottom up in the Tokyo subterranean. Now, to celebrate 30 years since the original release of Reference to Difference and a remastered vinyl edition that dropped last month, we invited the Japanese pioneer to take over the 596th Crack Mix, where he provides an all-systems-go, peak-time club mix of four-to-the-floor heft and wonky bangers. Strap in.
Who: Ken Ishii
What: Forward-thinking electronic music
Where: Tokyo, Japan.
When: From the last hour of a night to dawn, having your last drinks before going home or to bed. It was actually recorded around 5-6am and I was drinking two cans of IPA.
Why: Music is never the same every time. I still keep learning new things from doing music every day.
See Tracklist
