Soichi Terada has long been a bastion of charming house music in Japan. A 2015 showcase of his work by Hunee, “Sounds From The Far East” on the Rush Hour label, turned a western audience on to his pleasingly innocent yet emotionally resonant sound, and he now regularly heads overseas with a full live show.
With a sound that bears the subtle hallmarks of 80s and 90s New York, Terada has continually cooked up his own melodically rich slant on house, and for that reason he has always stood out. Ranging in style from personable and fun to moody and soulful, he has a broad sound palette full of character and humour. Tracks like the Larry Levan-backed “Sun Shower,” which he produced in 1989 for the Japanese singer Nami Shimada, are full of melody and stirring arrangement that never fail to connect with dancers and DJs alike. His live show re-creates these classic tracks and newer material in captivating fashion.
Over a career that dates back to the ’90s, Terada has also been responsible for the soundtracks of computer games like Ape Escape, for which he composed over 500 hours of original music in the late 1990s to middle 2000s, as well as countless great releases on his Far East Recording label alongside good friend Shinichiro Yokota. The Ape Escape soundtracks became cult favourites, first reissued by Rush Hour as the six-track compilation Apes in the Net, and more recently revisited as 2 titles of quadruple vinyl box sets through Far East Recording in collaboration with Cartridge Thunder Recordings.
Alongside his house outings, Terada now presents Sumo x Apes, a one-hour live AV set that brings together his work across jungle, house and video game soundtracks for the first time. The performance reimagines highlights from his 1996 album Sumo Jungle, a playful yet technically masterful excursion into breakbeats and basslines, alongside material inspired by his Ape Escape compositions. Central to the show is a new visual concept designed by Terada himself, merging traditional Japanese imagery with the surreal aesthetics of computer games. Synchronised to the music, the visuals turn the performance into a dynamic, game-like environment where sound and image interact in real time. A celebration of his legacy and a fresh leap into the future, Sumo x Apes invites audiences into his playful universe, where jungle meets joystick and simulation goes Sumo.