FRICTION

Where does Juke/Footwork belong in Osaka today? FRICTION is a new party in Osaka bringing Juke/Footwork into the same space as punk, noise, experimental and alternative music. At the centre of its first edition is CRZKNY, a key figure in Japanese Juke/Footwork, joined by DJ Kaoll, HYPER GAL, SHITTY HUNTER2, House Of The Blood Choir, astmidori and hOLysHiT. Juke emerged from Chicago’s ghetto house culture, while Footwork developed in close relationship with the city’s dancers, DJs, battles and local communities. As the music travelled beyond Chicago, it found new audiences and contexts around the world, including Japan. Japan has built its own relationship with Juke/Footwork over more than a decade, with Osaka playing an important part in that history. But scenes change, and for hOLysHiT — who has played Juke/Footwork for more than ten years — a different question has emerged: Where does this music belong in Osaka today? Curiously, many of the people he encounters in Osaka who connect with Juke/Footwork come not from a clearly defined Juke scene, but from bands, noise, experimental music and other corners of the city’s underground. FRICTION begins with that observation. Rather than trying to redefine Footwork or detach it from its Chicago roots, the party asks what relationships the music can form within Osaka’s underground today. For its first edition, Juke/Footwork is placed alongside HYPER GAL, SHITTY HUNTER2 and House Of The Blood Choir — three highly individual bands offering a glimpse into the singular character of Osaka’s current alternative underground. The suggestion is not that these different forms of music are the same. They are simply being placed in the same room to see what happens. DJs and live acts are not separated in the lineup. There is no prescribed way to listen, dance or respond. FRICTION is both an experiment around Juke/Footwork and a snapshot of what is happening in Osaka’s underground right now. Different sounds, different histories, one room. What kind of friction will they create?