Fumiya Tanaka

Fumiya Tanaka is a DJ and producer from Kyoto. He played in punk bands as a teenager before finding his way into house, techno and hip-hop at the start of the 90s. He became one of the key figures in bringing intense, minimal techno to Japan. Based in Osaka early on, he launched his Chaos party series, introducing local crowds to the best Detroit and German producers, and ran it across Tokyo, Osaka and later Berlin for the best part of three decades.

He set up his own label, Torema Records, in 1993, a pioneering Japanese techno imprint, and made his name with hard, driving records like the Unknown Possibility series and mixes such as "I Am Not a DJ." That early sound sat somewhere near Jeff Mills or Surgeon, all hefty, percussive minimal techno. Alongside his own name he explored downtempo and more experimental work as Individual Orchestra and Karafuto.

In 2009 he moved to Berlin, opening a new chapter. He soon collaborated with Ricardo Villalobos on the "Fumiyandric" 12", and his own sound gradually warmed, drifting away from thunderous techno toward deeper shades of house and minimal. Since 2016 he has found a home on Perlon, building a distinctive world of tumbling basslines and spooky atmospheres across albums like "You Find the Key" and "Right Moment." Fittingly, Perlon's Zip and Sammy Dee were long-time regulars at Chaos, so the relationship runs through both the parties and the records.

These days his take on minimal is one where engaging the mind matters as much as moving the feet, pulling out depth and thickness rather than simply stripping things back. He plays widely, from Panorama Bar in Berlin to festivals across Europe, and still returns to Japan regularly, including a much-loved annual New Year's Day set at Tokyo's Liquid Room. It is a sensibility he has carried across three decades and two continents without ever settling into formula.