Ashigakari, Vol. 2

The Tokyo-based Diskotopia imprint is excited to announce the second mini-compilation on their dancefloor-orientated sub-label Ashigakari.

Following 5-tracks of club burners on Volume 1 from the likes of RGL, Ryota OPP, and Tr One, Ashigakari Volume 2 delivers a second collection of exciting and varied DJ cuts grown from the cross-contaminated soils of house, techno, electro, drum & bass, qawwali, breaks, jazz-fusion and more.

The compilation opens with Rubber Fig from Jacktone Records co-head Doc Sleep, coming off the back of releases on Tartelet, Dark Entries, Detour, Future Times, and 100% Silk, to name a few. She has also been a celebrated resident DJ in clubs across the world, from Berlin to San Francisco.

Track two comes from Thread Heather, a new side project from Diskotopia co-founder A Taut Line as an output for club-based music that takes in influences from classic dance music, Balearic house, smooth jazz, and 90s RnB.

Diskotopia co-heads BD1982 and A Taut Line return with their collaborative Sense of Sense project for the first time since 2020's Sense of Sense EP. Only Heaven May Manifest is a mountain techno creature designed for tribal transcendental escapism from the failing capitalist trappings of modern life.

Diskotopia is elated to welcome back Memotone following some incredible releases on Impatience, Sähkö Recordings, Accidental Meetings, and Termina. Turn the Corner is a psychedelic electro-fusion salamander that twists and turns around tabla patterns at a flickering 124 BPM tempo, making it fit for warm-up selections and more out-there hypnagogic peak-time sets alike.

The compilation rounds off with a dark-n-dusty hardcore-techstep hybrid from N4shi and Downstate, two Japan-based artists and DJs collaborating for the first time on this murky VHS drum-n-bass groove. Perfect heads-down track for any time of the day or night.

After over a decade of releases, the Diskotopia sound has shifted away from club-based releases, so the Ashigakari sublabel was created to showcase exciting and fun designed-for-the-dancefloor music from Japan-based and global artists in their extended family.

These compilations came from a hope to provide a foothold for artists to come together by having their music on the same release for the first time, fostering new collaborations, and joining the dots between the different segregated groups within the Japan underground music scene and out across the globe.