Ray Kajioka Interview

Hi Ray, 
we are pleased to have you here with us on AltroVerso.

Hello! 🙂

First of all, we’d like to know at which age you started to make music and how you got there. Perhaps you have been influenced by someone, who? 

Music has always been within me. I’ve always loved to sing, whistle, to make noise and rhythms with my mouth or jingling on objects that sounded interesting to me. For example, when I have dinner with friends, it doesn’t take long for me to grab the chopsticks next to me and start drumming on bowls, glasses or whatever is in arm’s reach. I can’t turn that off. It’s a sort of constant need that I have to express myself through sound. However, my first encounter with a piano during a family trip to Japan around 1989 was a significant event which really inspired me musically.

Your friends and your family probably imagined a different future/destiny for you, how did your beloved ones react when you started to make it seriously? 

I have been fortunate that my family and friends have always supported my decisions up until this day. My parents always gave me the freedom to go in my own direction – maybe they could see that I was confident in what I was doing and that this is something I truly wanted.

Tell us about your first release, your first production for a record label. Would you have expected it? 

My first release was a four track EP called “Ichi-Ni-San-Shi”, released on Müller Records in 2000. At that time I only had a keyboard, a drum machine and a computer which I used to make my first tracks. My production skills were not as refined as they are today, however it was enough to attract the attention of the label boss Frank Müller. I had no expectations that I would ever have my music signed, but I really wanted to have my own tracks on vinyl, to be able play them and to be able to store the memories.

It’s in these days the release of Consistency Remixes for the Kanzleramt, with the partecipation of artists such as Rolando, Heiko Laux and Jesper Dahlback as remixer, it must be a satisfactory experience for you.

These guys are some of my favorite producers and their tracks have often appeared in my DJ sets over the years. I have a warm respect for each of them individually, and their works, so it’s nice to have their contributions on this record.

I would like you to share your future projects, where, as we know, there must be also a new album for the Kanzleramt.

That’s right! The remix package is the prelude to my second album which is coming up at the end October/ November.

What do you think has changed today in the international panorama of electronic music compared to when you began? What do you think it will change in the next years for the future producers?  

The interest in electronic music has expanded enormous over the last 20 years. When I started DJing, electronic music was popular already. Today it is omnipresent. The market has changed so much, there are so many artists, releases and events these days; it’s impossible to follow all of it. Even the music itself has become more multifaceted. 
The technological progress and the media dissemination are also playing a big role. Technology and music have a direct relationship. Both of these have evolved and will continue to do so. With the digitalisation it has become more accessible, which has created more possibilities for making music. I think, for future producers it will be a challenge to create something new, because the wheel cannot be reinvented again. 
But i’m sure there will be new talents setting new trends. 

Thank you Ray.

Buy Consistency Remixes On Juno

 

Links

www.raykajioka.com
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