Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May joined Tokyo's DJ Emma on New Year's Eve to say goodbye to one of the capital's most respected electronic music venues, Air.
Since opening in 2001, the 600-capacity club in Shibuya Ward focused almost exclusively on techno and house. And while venues tend to come and go, each can be vital to the development of a music community. Air's shuttering is a blow to Tokyo's electronic music fans, a group that has also had to deal with an increase in the enforcement of antidancing laws in recent years and wider culture cultural issues affecting Japan.
Contemporary electronic music (particularly techno and house) is fostered in cities such as New York and Berlin, where artistic communities can develop and grow. Tokyo has also been vital to the scene, and Air was arguably an essential part of that.
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