The first-ever live recording from an elusive icon of dubby electronic music.
Lore is an underrated quality. Neuroscientists have mapped that music elicits similar feelings in the brain to when we satiate cravings, but what about the psychological impulse that drives listeners of a certain disposition toward everything they don't know?
It's tricky to put your finger on, but artists able to conjure intrigue without overhawking the backstory can really cut through—just ask SAULT, [ar:pi:ar] or Gerald Donald. Then there are those who don't try whatsoever. These are the ones who stay in mind the most.
In 2001, a striking 12" called Ship-Scope emerged through Chain Reaction, credited to Shinichi Atobe, with no other info available. Okay, mulled fans, this is probably a cat-and-mouse game dreamed up by someone on a label with a fine line in foggy obfuscation. Vainqueur on a wind-up? Another Moritz 'n Mark alias?
But no: Atobe was real, and really had posted a demo to Hard Wax. It was that simple. Then he went back to his day job—until, after 13 years of silence, an even better follow-up emerged.
From the near-perfect Butterfly Effect onwards, Atobe has built up one of the most revered catalogues in underground circles. A steady clip of elegant, transportive dub techno and deep electronics has arrived on Demdike Stare's DDS, complimented by the launch of his own label, plastic & sounds, earlier in summer 2025.
Atobe has also made strides into the public domain, DJing intermittently, as well as performing live for the first time in 2023, gracing WWW at the tender age of 52. It's that debut 2023 show heard on RA.1009: a hypnotic yet comparatively pumping set full of Atobe staples, as well as material you won't find anywhere else.
Contact with the big man, as you might anticipate, is glacial: since we first reached out, the RA Mix has changed name, look and rolled over into its second millennium. Still, patience pays off. This is a one-off we're stoked to run. – Gabriel Szatan
@shinichiatobe
Find the interview at https://ra.co/podcast/1028