Wata Igarashi Credit: Courtesy the artist
Good DJs are deft vibe curators, but the best DJs—including stalwart Japanese techno producer Wata Igarashi—are also gifted storytellers. Now based in Amsterdam, Igarashi creates cerebral sets that combine the melty free-jazz spirit of Japanese psych rock with the journey-oriented narrative qualities in the vivid soundscapes of early video-game composers such as Koji Kondo. The result is a singular sense of world-building that’s dark and atmospheric without brutality or chaos. No matter the quest, Igarashi guides his listeners through the lows and highs of a moody, liquid universe filled equally with existential tension and buoyant relief.
Igarashi painstakingly considers his work from start to finish. Many DJs treat their albums like collections of ideas or attitudes to be remixed, but Igarashi approaches his like adventure arcs. On his first full-length, 2023’s Agartha (Kompakt), he considers the fabled kingdom hidden at the Earth’s core—long a subject of fascination for occultists and esotericists. The track list alone—“Searching,” “Subterranean Life,” “Floating Against Time”—hints that the record is about something otherworldly. It opens with “Abyss,” a foggy wind sound that evaporates into an accelerating free fall, then drops you to the ground and sets you to traveling at a steady rhythm that’s as cautious as it is curious. Nine tracks later, Agartha concludes with “Eternally,” which rolls like waves undulating beneath a night sky. It’s punctuated with electronic flickers, as though ambient light from stars were grazing the water, and it carries a wistful, resolute melody. There’s a sense of closure—not just an ending but a feeling of having been through something and changed as a result.
Wata Igarashi Brenda and Josh Tong open. Sat. 8/23, 10 PM, Smart Bar, 3734 N. Clark, $25, $19.75 in advance, 21+
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Chicago Reader staff writer Micco Caporale (they/them) is an award-winning journalist and Korn-fed midwesterner bouncing their way through basement shows, warehouse parties, and art galleries.
They’re interested in the material, social, and political circumstances that shape art and music and the subcultures associated with them.
Their writing has appeared in outlets such as Nylon, Pitchfork, Buzzfeed, In These Times, Yes! Magazine, and more.
When not nurturing their love affair with truth, beauty, and profanity, they can be found powerlifting.
Caporale lives in Chicago. They speak English and you can reach them at mcaporale@chicagoreader.com and follow their work on Twitter.
More by Micco Caporale
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