An International Week

It was a great week for music last week in Sapporo, Tuesday was a public holiday due to it being the Autumn Equinox, again the power of the seasons in this country rears its head and graces the people with a day off. On the eve of this Autumnal celebration the well known Sapporo club A.Life hosted an International Party bringing together locals and expats under one roof for a night of music and dancing, the music provided by a range of expat DJs from afar afield as London, OZ, New Zealand and Canada. The following day brought UK heavy weights of Dub The Mad Professor and Dennis Bovell to the North Filmore one of Sapporo's more intimate clubs with a fantastic sound system and great vibe. The team of two kept the crowd of more than 100 "skanking" through the night with their distinctive atmospheric Dub sound. With Bovell on the Mic and The Mad Professor supplying the deep and "dubby" reggae rhythms it seemed almost as if we were taken out of the Hokkaido club and dropped in London Town. The two brought so much energy to the event at times one wondered who was having more fun them or the audience! Four nights after this superb duo came through one of Japans leading Drum and Bass DJs, DJ Aki also paid a visit to Sapporo, playing in the Live/ Club venue of Mole situated deep in Sapporo's Tanouki Kogi a covered mall that seems to be a must for all visitors to the city. DJ Aki is based in Tokyo but has played extensively through out the UK with superstars of the genre such as DJ Marky and Andy C. He played a great set with a wide variety of tracks that left the crowding crying out for more. After this week of rather intense nightlife this week may be a little more relaxed, the temps have certainly dropped and with a little luck those salmon may have finally begun to congregate around Shakotan Peninsula, only time will tell.