Japanese-born Koji Yonezu (a.k.a. Yone-Ko) is a rising talent in today’s minimal techno movement. The Berlin-based DJ-producer, who is perhaps most widely acknowledged for his residency at Club der Visionäre, relocated to Europe in 2011 after almost a decade in Tokyo, Japan, where he became a key fixture in running Cabaret events alongside DJ Masda, So Inagawa, Sackrai and Keisuke Kondo.

Today, he has shared a segment from his New Year’s Day set at Arena Club, available to download exclusively below.

Could you tell us a bit more about the party the mix was recorded at?
The party HYTE was five days NYE weekender held at Glashaus and Arena Club in Berlin across 2015 and 2016. I played from 1am for three hours on New Year’s Day at Arena Club. This set is one part of it. I was imagining the party starts slowly even through it’s New Year’s Day day because Berlin parties are very long. But the atmosphere was amazing while I was playing. I returned to the party after my set, and I really enjoyed myself.

The venue is just a stone’s throw from Club der Visionäre—do you think your residency there has changed the way you DJ?
Yes CDV is the club where I feel that I could connect with European scene as a DJ. I have learned many things from playing there. When I was in Japan, I used to organize parties with my friends where there would be this family atmosphere—and I have same feeling at CDV. That is why I love this special place.

How does it compare to the scene in Japan, with things like the Cabaret parties?
I can not really compare the European scene with that in Japan, because I’ve been in Berlin for a while now. However, one thing I would say is that the scene in Europe is a big industry, whereas the Japanese scene is more underground, by comparison. I don’t need to explain how great the European scene is because I moved from Japan to be a part of it!

Looking at Japan, there is a big scene in Tokyo, but also there are lots of small underground scenes. I feel that each city has there own unique character, but and they also have lots of quality clubs and artists. There are all supporting the Japanese scene as a whole. I am also really impressed with the quality of sound systems at Japanese clubs when I go back there to play. They are not super loud compared to those in Europe, but the sound design is very delicate. I started to play as a local DJ in Japan, and I am sure that this has affected my skills and attitude towards music.