Dance-music maker Paul Dolby, aka Seiji, has played with many electronic genres since he began DJing in the 1990s. The Seiji coming to Japan this weekend releases club-centric tracks for free on his website while also putting his personal spin on artists such as Erykah Badu and Gorillaz.
Dolby started his music career as a classically trained cellist, but then discovered the likes of jungle and hardcore dance music as a teenager. His first tracks were released on drum 'n' bass label Reinforced, where he put out records by himself and with fellow artist G Force. In the late '90s, Seiji teamed up with several other prominent West London producers to form Bugz in the Attic. This collective was among the pioneers of broken beat, helping spread the sound by playing at the Co-op event at London's Plastic People club.
Seiji left Bugz in the Attic in 2007, and soon afterward released his solo album, "DJ Tools," a collection of experimental beats. Seiji also wrote and coproduced a large chunk of Roisin Murphy's critically lauded album, "Overpowered." Recently, he has been releasing a ton of remixes for artists such as Crookers, Basement Jaxx and Friendly Fires. This year, he provided a remix of Tokyo instrumental quartet Mop Of Head's "Retronix Symphony" for their debut album.
Besides remixing others, Seiji has been steadily releasing new, original songs on his official website. Called the "Seiji series," he has been dropping two new tracks every three months during 2011. These releases are "dancefloor-focused," which bodes well for his sets in Tokyo and Nagoya this weekend.
Seiji plays at theTachytelic Special event at Club Air in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Oct. 7 (8:30 p.m. doors open; ¥3,500); and at Club Margo in Nagoya on Oct. 8 (10 p.m.; ¥2,500). For more information, visit www.seiji.co.uk.
