Yusuke Kawai tries to start a para para dance halfway through his Sept. 5 DJ set, but the inside of an Apple Store isn't an ideal space for this endeavor. Kawai, who records under the name tofubeats, is performing a special show at the recently opened Omotesando store. Half of the floor eagerly watches the producer, while the other half looks at iPads, occasionally looking up at the guy playing, among a whirlwind of other genres, a hyperactive form of dance music last popular in the late 1990s.
"It was a little awkward," Kawai says the next afternoon about his Apple Store gig. "I couldn't really play the music too loudly, but I was happy with the turnout."
Performances inside electronics shops may not be the norm for him, but it's part of his new major-label life. Kawai is signed with Warner Music Japan's Unborde label, who will release his major-label debut, "First Album," on Oct. 2. It's a collection that features big-name guest spots from J-pop singers such as Chisato Moritaka, Bonnie Pink and many others, demonstrating just how much attention tofubeats has been getting.
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