Sushi with a side of beats
02:35 PM CST on Thursday, November 27, 2008
Dallas newcomer Asahi Suzuki is pretty focused right now. With less than a year in the city, his ultra-polished look and great taste in tunes have him in the musical driver's seat at one of Dallas' most acclaimed hot spots.
We asked Asahi to tell us about his residency at Nobu, his preference in dinner music and his dorm room DJ days.
Q: So, tell us a little about what you're doing at Nobu. I know some people probably aren't used to seeing a DJ playing while they are eating
Asahi: Basically I'm playing music to create an atmosphere for people to relax and enjoy themselves. I try not to stick with one genre of music, but instead touch on a little bit of everything. You're going to hear house, hip-hop, R&B, breakbeats, mash-ups, funk and soul. I try and steer clear of dirty South, drum'n bass and trance. Not my favorites, and not too "dinner crowd-friendly," to be honest. ... I think people like what I do. In fact, they've told me so.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the atmosphere on Fridays and Saturdays? Is it usually crowded or laid-back?
Asahi: It's hard to say which in terms of which night is more crowded than the other. They're a well-known spot, and their weekend crowd is pretty consistent. I think I like spinning a bit more on Saturdays, though. It tends to be more of a bar crowd, and people are more apt to chill and hang out until close.
Q: What kind of people are coming in there? Any famous faces?
Asahi: They get a lot of corporate people who work near downtown, SMU students. It's an upscale spot, so they pull that type of crowd. Of course, you get your fair share of celebs, too. One of my friends waited on Z-Trip, and I got to shake hands with Tum Tum. Not bad.
Q: Have you seen Robert De Niro in the spot yet? I know he's part owner. Any former Sopranos working there?
Asahi: I have never seen Robert De Niro, but I think some of the workers might be gang-related. ... Kidding!
Q: Who was the first DJ you ever saw playing records? Did you know right away that that was something you wanted to do?
Asahi: Well, the first time I ever heard a DJ was at a breakdance show in Tokyo. I was 16 at the time. There were breakdancers spinning on their heads, windmills, the whole thing. There was a DJ there, but I didn't see him. And truthfully, I wasn't concerned with who was playing the records. I thought the music was cool. I never thought I'd be a DJ at that time.
Q: So, how did you get started? Did you learn on your own?
Asahi: I had a friend who was a DJ in college, Ken Kurauchi, a.k.a. DJ Autlow. He had turntables at his apartment and was always playing music. Me and my friends used to be there on the weekends quite a bit, playing cards, flipping through records and generally hanging out. This was about five years ago. Very simply put, Ken taught me what good music was. He saw I was interested in DJ-ing, so he gave me a bunch of records.
Q: I've seen you do an incredible set with just funk and soul records. How did you get into spinning that stuff, and what attracted you to it?
Asahi: As you know, I started mixing house music, which gave me the skills to be able to mix whatever kind of music I wanted to, as long as the songs were more or less the same tempo. It's not very hard if you know the right point to throw the next song in. The key is having good ears, and really knowing your records. I love mixing funk and soul! Not only American funk and soul, but also European funk like Northern soul.
Q: What's one song you're going to play at Nobu that nobody else would think to play? Sort of your signature?
Asahi: I believe that songs made by somebody else are, in effect, somebody else's. ... So me playing a song by another artist is really just me playing their song, and putting their vibe out there. I've made several of my own tracks and I definitely slide those into my sets. ... They're far from the perfect, or even sellable in the music industry sense, but I made them, and they are some of my favorite tunes.