Makoto

Emma Warren

We're very lucky because we've got Makoto on the couch today, best known for his very musical take on drum & bass. Hello, Makoto. [applause]

Makoto

Hello.

Emma Warren

What are you going to play for us today, so people know what you're about?

Makoto

"Golden Girl," featuring MC Conrad. It came out about three years ago.

(music: Makoto feat. MC Conrad - "Golden Girl" / applause)

Emma Warren

There's obviously a big musical element to your music. Has all the music you've made always been that musical?

Makoto

Yeah. I never tried but it just always comes in my heart. I always say, "Let it go."

Emma Warren

You got into music, into classical music at a very young age, didn't you?

Makoto

Yeah, about 6 years old. My dad loves music very much and he was always listening to jazz and classical music. I didn't like it at first, but suddenly just got into it.

Emma Warren

When you're 6 and your dad's listening to jazz and classical music, what do you get into?

Makoto

I don't know. It just suddenly, I liked it.

Emma Warren

What specifically did you like?

Makoto

I suppose Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Emma Warren

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. You were a pretty advanced 6 year-old.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

Where would you be? Would you be pestering your dad, "Dad, dad. Can we have some Beethoven, please?" How would it happen?

Makoto

I don't know. I just liked it. [laughs]

Emma Warren

Once you discovered Beethoven and classical music, what was the next thing that came along for you?

Makoto

Japanese pops for a while. Michael Jackson and stuff. When I was 15, that was about '92, acid jazz was very big in Japan so I always went to a club to listen to acid jazz.

Emma Warren

I definitely want to talk to you about acid jazz because I think there is a lot to say.

Makoto

Right.

Emma Warren

Before we move on to that, when we were talking before, you were telling me about how much you're influenced by soundtracks, and particularly, by the soundtracks of The Last Emperor.

Makoto

Yeah, I really like Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was doing YMO, Yellow Magic Orchestra, or electronic music, and then he started doing soundtracks.

Emma Warren

Do you remember when you first heard The Last Emperor or even saw it?

Makoto

Yeah, it was amazing.

Emma Warren

Did you go to see the film at your local cinema or did you just hear the music on the radio? How did it happen for you?

Makoto

I just bought the CD. I didn't know about the movie, just bought the CD soundtrack.

Emma Warren

It sounds like it had a pretty instant effect on you. What was it about the music that touched you?

Makoto

It just really was very emotional. I like emotional music.

Emma Warren

Let's have a quick listen to the emotional music, then - the title tune to The Last Emperor.

(music: Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Theme from 'The Last Emperor'" / applause)

Emma Warren

If you were suggesting to people, if they didn't know anything about Sakamoto, which record or album would you recommend them to buy?

Makoto

I prefer his soundtracks.

Emma Warren

There's a big thumbs-up for soundtracks, then. You started to tell us before about how you were 15, you were hit by acid jazz, and began going out to clubs. How did that happen?

Makoto

I just bought a CD at a CD shop. I didn't know anything about a club or anything. At the time my friend was into acid jazz as well so we both went to the club.

Makoto

Do you recall which CD it was that made you want to go to clubs?

Makoto

It was the United Future Organization. I forgot the name of the album.

Emma Warren

You went and bought the UFO, United Future Organisation's album, and it turned on another light bulb in your head?

Makoto

Yeah, totally.

Emma Warren

I'd quite like to hear a bit about, as I'm sure everyone else would, about 15 year-old Makoto going out to nightclubs. Is this underage for nightclubs in Japan?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

What was your trick to get past the bouncers?

Emma Warren

There wasn't ID check or anything in Japan at the time, so I just went there. [laughs]

Emma Warren

You didn't have to go through the rigmarole of making yourself a fake ID and...

Makoto

Nothing.

Emma Warren

None of that. Well, you were lucky then. The rest of us had to try a lot harder.

Makoto

Yeah, true. [laughs]

Emma Warren

You've selected a track for us. Can you tell us what it is?

Makoto

It's "Loud Minority" by United Future Organization.

Emma Warren

Well, let's have a listen then.

(music: United Future Organization - "Loud Minority" / applause)

Emma Warren

When acid jazz hit London, there were lots of people doing acid jazz dancing, some very well, some very badly. Were you a dancer as well?

Makoto

No.

Emma Warren

You never went for the jumping-through-your-own-legs trick?

Makoto

No.

Emma Warren

Damn. We could've got you to do it for us and everything. Why do you think... Obviously acid jazz had quite a big impact in Japan, didn't it? Why do you think that was?

Makoto

Because there were quite many Japanese acid jazz artists. The United Future Organization is three Japanese guys wearing suits and they got ties and everything.

Emma Warren

That's a sharp look.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

I suppose the same goes for Major Force and some of the other people that were signed to Mo' Wax.

Makoto

Yeah, the DJ Krush as well. I think [inaudible] at the time. Looks like it.

Emma Warren

But there was definitely...I mean you talked about United Futures in a sharp suit. It was really specific aesthetic, and a design look around all of that in Japan, wasn't there?

Makoto

Yeah. It was big.

Emma Warren

If people, again, obviously most people would know what to check out, but if there was something from that era of Japanese music, maybe aside from your foe, what would be the thing that you would tell people to go and buy or download?

Makoto

I just said [inaudible], DJ Krush and [inaudible], Kyoto Jazz Massive.

Emma Warren

Kyoto Jazz Massive, yes. Obviously you started going out to clubs, but then that turned you in to a promoter, didn't it? You started putting on parties and DJing yourself.

Makoto

Yeah, because I didn't have a chance to do DJ but I really wanted to do DJing, so I just organized party myself and did DJing.

Emma Warren

It's that classic thing, you're going out you want to DJ, you don't know anyone, what do you do? You start your own parties. What were your parties called?

Makoto

I even don't remember. [laughs]

Emma Warren

Like that is it. That hazy. What kind of parties were they?

Makoto

I went to music university but that was actually art university so there were like photos, designs, arts, and everything in that one university.

Emma Warren

It was an arts university.

Makoto

Yeah, so we did everything like photo and painting and DJing.

Emma Warren

Again in keeping with that period of Mo' Wax acid jazz year of Japan, you had a really nice design style around what you were doing.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

I would like to see some of those later. Perhaps if you have any pictures or anything, maybe, if anyone is interested in, how you make your sound look good, this is the man to ask. You started DJing at your parties. What were you playing?

Makoto

I was playing the acid jazz and rare groove soul and Brazilian stuff.

Emma Warren

Okay, then. We can tell what you are musically at this point. Now fast forward a few years and you're a drum & bass producer. What happened to turn you onto drum & bass?

Makoto

At the time, the United Future Organisation and Gilles Peterson started playing drum & bass. I went to a club, I heard the drum & bass and I just, yeah.

Emma Warren

There was a period with Gilles Peterson who previously had been playing acid jazz began playing drum & bass. He started playing artists like Photek or Goldie or LTJ Bukem.

Did you hear those artists through Gilles Peterson's radio show or did you hear them through Gilles Peterson coming to Japan? Or did you hear them just because he had started doing it, other people started doing it?

Makoto

When I went to a club to listen to Gilles Peterson, I just heard the drum & bass.

Emma Warren

You were there on the dance floor, listening to Gilles Peterson, you were expecting him to play acid jazz and what did you hear?

Makoto

Drum & bass and jungle stuff and then ...

Emma Warren

What was the first music in the area that really appealed to you?

Makoto

It was Goldie's "Inner City Life."

(music: Goldie - "Inner City Life" / applause)

Emma Warren

What was it that appealed to you about that?

Makoto

It just felt right, this music it's so futuristic. I just felt futuristic, that's it and just got to dig other stuff.

Emma Warren

Once you found this futuristic music, what were you looking for? Who did you find?

Makoto

I just went to a record shop and bought everything. Every drum & bass release, every week.

Emma Warren

Which were your favorite record [labels] from the era? Of course Good Looking, LTJ Bukem, and Goldie's Metalheadz.

Makoto

Good Looking, Metalheadz, all the key labels from that time.

Emma Warren

When LTJ Bukem and Conrad used to come in tour Japan, you used to go and see them, didn't you?

Makoto

Yeah. Every month, UK DJs were coming to Japan to play every month so I always went there to see what they were playing.

Emma Warren

When you think about that period, what sticks in your mind?

Makoto

I just enjoyed.

Emma Warren

You were heavily, heavily into it.

Makoto

Yeah. That's it.

Emma Warren

Anyone who's interested might want to check out on YouTube... You could get a documentary which was screened in the UK in 2000 about LTJ Bukem and Conrad touring Japan. It's a piece of extreme comedy and well worth checking out if you have a minute.

Aside from that, this was your first contact with Good Looking Records, wasn't it, to whom you eventually went on to sign? Before we talk about how you got signed, I think we should talk about some of the music from Bukem and from Good Looking that really inspired you because he had a really specific sound, didn't he? What appealed to you about he was doing?

Makoto

I just thought he was doing musical stuff and then I just felt like he's doing really intelligent stuff, yeah.

Emma Warren

He really had the musical side of things, didn't he?

Makoto

Yeah, compared to others.

Emma Warren

Which is the track you have chosen for us?

Makoto

It's a famous track called "Music" by LTJ Bukem.

(music: LTJ Bukem - "Music" / applause)

Emma Warren

How did you end up getting signed to his label?

Makoto

I started making drum & bass in '96. I released some tunes in Japan, and I always wanted to go outside of Japan like Ryuichi Sakamoto did. I just decided to send out my demos to a few labels. I probably send, like, 10 labels. Only LTJ Bukem got back to me saying, "Change the beats, change the pace, change the arrangement."

Emma Warren

Just the pace, just the beats, just the arrangement. Not much, then.

Makoto

I changed it, because I was so happy he got back to me. I sent it to him, and he sent me back the contract.

Emma Warren

Then, you were a Good Looking artist.

Makoto

Yeah, and since then, I released a few 12"s, and then few years after, he just asked me if I want to be a exclusive for Good Looking. That was in 2000.

Emma Warren

You put out singles and albums on Good Looking. That was a pretty big deal at the time, wasn't it, to be signed to Good Looking. They were absolutely the top of their game, weren't they?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

What was the benefit of that, and what was not so good?

Makoto

I was like 22, so I didn't know anything about music business. I was just so happy to sign the contract. I even didn't read properly.

Emma Warren

Not reading a contract?

Makoto

No. [laughs]

Emma Warren

Not a good idea.

Makoto

I couldn't speak any English back then, and I couldn't read either.

Yeah, I just talked about it to a few people, and everyone's saying, "yeah," because Good Looking was so big at the time. I was thinking about it that few months, and after all, I just signed. Good thing is because I could learn what the professional artist is, because it took me on tours all over the world. Back then, I haven't done any Orbus' gigs, and yeah.

Emma Warren

It opened things up for you and made it possible for you to DJ internationally.

Makoto

Yeah. I learned so much about how to DJ as well. Yeah. Was good then.

Emma Warren

Shall we move on to your first release on Good Looking?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

And then you can take us through some of the rest of the music that you produced and released around this time, but first off, we're going to hear "Wave," the first thing you put out. Was it the first thing you put out full stop, or the first thing you put out on Good Looking?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

But was it your first release as well, or had you released stuff on Japanese labels?

Makoto

Yeah, I had in Japan, but it was my first release on Good Looking.

(music: Makoto - "Wave" / applause)

Emma Warren

As an artist making music from a scene that's very geographically specific... This was London music, at that time. How do you overcome the fact that you're geographically very, very separate from what's going on?

Makoto

I just listen to other drum & bass every day, and then there were... No one was making drum and bass in Japan. I just tried to copy. That's why my first direction sounds like Good Looking. Nothing else. I just copied it.

Emma Warren

Sometimes, taking a template of something else you like and trying to recreate that can be a really good starting point for an artist. Lots of people who've been here, who've sat on the couch, have said exactly the same thing. They started making music by finding something they liked, and trying to do the same thing. By doing that, you end up finding your own version of that eventually, don't you?

Makoto

Definitely.

Emma Warren

How did your music change when you gained confidence as a producer, and gained experience? How did your music progress?

Makoto

At the time, I couldn't make what I... I always tried to make what I wanted, but I couldn't. There was idea in my head, but just my hands didn't do it.

Emma Warren

I think we all often have that problem. I did hear - and they're just getting them out - that connection problem.

Makoto

Yeah, so it was different from my ideas, but yeah.

Emma Warren

It would be nice, then, seeing as we're talking about kind of the evolution of you as an artist, to hear something from a bit later on. You put an album out on Good Looking, didn't you? Do you have something you can play us from that first album?

Makoto

Yeah. This tune is my favorite, actually. This tune is like I wanted to make.

(music: Makoto - "Take My Soul Baby (Remix)" / applause)

Emma Warren

What did you achieve musically with that particular piece that makes you so happy with it?

Makoto

I don't know. It look 6 months to make it.

Six months?

Makoto

Yeah, I played the [inaudible], and put vocal on it, and the guitar, and everything. The idea was 2 hours, but it took 6 months to finish it.

Emma Warren

That is a work of love if I've ever heard of one. Wow. Good Looking, you put out some 12"s, an album, and you went on later to put out another album with Good Looking. On reflection, would you suggest to anyone who's at a position where they're signing with a label that they should read the contract and get it checked over by a lawyer?

Makoto

Yeah of course. [laughs) I just didn't know. I said that already, but I just didn't know about anything, and I was so happy to put out my music worldwide. I thought music was speaking for me, but it wasn't. I needed to speak English. I needed to learn English. In the beginning, music would speak, but after that, you really need that speaking English and everything.

Emma Warren

Your music could speak for you up to a point, but you also needed to be able to communicate in English as well.

Makoto

Yeah. It was really important.

Emma Warren

What happened next?

Makoto

After this album, I think that point was record sales just went down, and at the same time, Good Looking went down as well, so they just stopped paying me. They said, like, "I helped you." I was like "what?"

I love making music. I don't expect to get money from music, really, but at the same time if you're doing this for five years, you have to earn from music. If you don't earn from music, you can't live. You can't buy any equipment or everything.

Emma Warren

Just to recap on what you're saying there, you're saying they stopped paying you, and said, "But we helped you."

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

That's an interesting argument. [laughs]

Makoto

Yeah. I did sign to them, but I had to leave it and everything, but they just didn't listen, because they went down.

Emma Warren

You were contractually obliged to remain with them.

Makoto

Sorry. Say ...

Emma Warren

You were under contract to remain with them, regardless of whether or not they were paying you.

Makoto

Yeah, but then I went to a lawyer. [laughs]

Emma Warren

At last. At last. The lawyer comes in. Good.

Makoto

They stopped paying me, and they still didn't let me go for like 4 years.

Emma Warren

Four years after they stopped paying you, you had to stay with them.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

What does that do to you creatively?

Makoto

I got DJ bookings. Not much, but a few. I started making music just for friends, just for DJing, but I just stopped making musical stuff. I was making DJ tracks, DJ tools. I wasn't really happy about it.

Emma Warren

Yeah. I don't think anyone would be really happy about it. That's a really tough situation to be in as an artist.

Makoto

Sometime, I was thinking I should quit music or just get another job, but luckily, I got another job making music for games.

Emma Warren

Like video games.

Makoto

Yeah, like PlayStation.

Emma Warren

Which games did you work on?

Makoto

It's called TT. They didn't give me a game or anything. I just made music for games.

Emma Warren

OK. OK, but you still carried on making drum & bass, and releasing music on Good Looking during this period, didn't you?

Makoto

Yeah. Good Looking actually just released one tune during that 4 years. It was "Golden Girl," because they knew that was big.

Emma Warren

What advice would you give people? Obviously every artist, every musician, goes through trials and tribulations, goes through difficult periods where it's hard to make music. For you it must have been incredibly difficult to keep making the music that you loved when you were in such a bad situation in terms of your record label. What should people do when they're in that situation?

Makoto

I just believed in the future, because I didn't think I could get out, but just I hoped I could release the music again. That's it, really.

Emma Warren

Hope for the future. Even if you're having a tough time, there may be brighter days around the corner. It's a salute to retail, really, because it's the kind of thing that so many people go through, and just that basic fact of making sure you know what you're letting yourself into contractually helps.

Makoto

I'm saying bad things about Good Looking, but there was really good things as well. I still appreciate what they've done for me. They got me to tour, and worldwide, and things like that.

Emma Warren

Good sides and bad sides to that particular story. You're going to play us something else, aren't you? We're talking about your MC. Do you want to play us something that you've done with her, or do we still have another track to play from your second album?

Makoto

Actually, I want to play something downtempo I made.

Emma Warren

Some downtempo music?

Makoto

That was on my last album.

(music: Makoto feat. Lori Fine - "You're Divine" / applause)

Emma Warren

Tell us something about your MC. Let's start dragging things we're talking about up to date.

Makoto

It's actually a female MC. Her name is Deeizm. We always write together. That's really good to have one MC, because I play musical drum & bass stuff, and she knows what I'm doing. I know what she's going to do. We try to make a story in our one-DJ set.

Emma Warren

Where have you been playing recently?

Makoto

All over the world. Of course Japan, Asia, Australia, Europe, UK, America.

Emma Warren

What do you think is different about having a female MC?

Makoto

I don't know. It's just not ... I mean sometimes drum & bass is very male ... My music, how can I say

Emma Warren

Masculine.

Makoto

[laughter] But I'm doing that quite musical stuff so really good having a female MC. And she also can sing, and of course can rap, not just by hyping the crowd.

Emma Warren

So does she sing, as well as MC for you?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

So your live set has a kind of singing element in it too?

Makoto

Yeah, yeah.

Emma Warren

Well, I know that you've got something that you've done together that we can have a listen to. Can you tell us what it is?

Makoto

This is just a demo, not released or anything.

Emma Warren

Okay, so this is a little special we've got here. A little exclusive taste of something that's a work in progress, actually unreleased. What's it called?

Makoto

It's called "Release the Bird."

(music: Makoto & Deeizm - "Release the Bird" / applause)

Emma Warren

So, for the bass heads among us, can you tell us how you get your bass sounds?

Makoto

Just that sound wave. Just on Logic, just sound waves. That's it.

Emma Warren

Do you have any special tricks to make them sound particularly expansive?

Makoto

I don't care about bass much, I always kind of write keys, how to make sounds nice on keys, and drums. I think my bass is quite boring [laughter], just like sound waves.

Emma Warren

But you play, don't you? You play Rhodes, among other things.

Makoto

Yeah, yeah. I just play those a little bit.

Emma Warren

Did you always play the music on all of your records? Do you always play everything on your records?

Makoto

Yeah, I always play keys, and my friend plays guitars, yeah.

Emma Warren

Another thing I wanted to ask you about is, as a drum & bass DJ working in Japan, how do you deal with the dub play culture of drum & bass? Other people who are working in areas where there are lots of drum and bass producers, whether it's the UK, or Brazil, or anywhere else that has a really strong scene, they're around people who can swap specials, they can get exclusives.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

How do you keep up, basically, as a DJ when you're not in that position?

Makoto

I use instant messenger to talk to people and get tunes, yeah.

Emma Warren

So for you, the internet has meant it doesn't really matter where you are?

Makoto

No.

Emma Warren

If you are separate from everybody else, is that more impetus on you to make more of your own music so you have more to DJ with, you have more specials when you go out to DJ?

Makoto

Yeah, I think so. Because 30% or 40% of my DJ set is my own music.

Emma Warren

It is an important thing, isn't it, to be able to, especially in your scene, to be able to be having your music, so that when people come and see you, they know that they're going to be hearing stuff that they won't be able to hear anywhere else?

Makoto

Yeah, that's true.

Emma Warren

Is this a good time to talk about bootlegs?

Makoto

[laughs]

Emma Warren

How important, as a DJ, is it to have bootlegs to play?

Makoto

It's quite happy to see people's face if I play bootlegs, everyone's face is happy.

Emma Warren

There is that thing, isn't it, you can be at a club, you're hearing someone play, you're kind of lost in the zone, you maybe know some of the records, maybe you don't know any of them. But it is really nice to have something come at you. A kind of really well-known record done in the style of where you are. It definitely brings a smile to most people's faces. So can we hear something you may have made?

Makoto

[laughs] Yeah.

(music: Michael Jackson - "Human Nature (Makoto and The Specialist Vip Mix)" / applause)

Emma Warren

So what does Michael Jackson do to people in the middle of a drum & bass rave?

Makoto

[laughs] I might do this, but I just wanted to make it, that's it. I didn't intend to release or anything. I just wanted to play my set.

Emma Warren

Well, that's where some of the best ideas come from, isn't it? Just wanting to have stuff to play in your set, whether or not that is the desire to make more music for yourself, or whether or not it's a desire to do remixes or specials of other people's tunes just for yourself. And I think that's a creative verge that lots of people understand, especially in this room.

Makoto

[laughs] Hopefully.

Emma Warren

We talked very briefly a minute ago about Brazil having a big drum & bass scene. Now you've got a strong working relationship with Marky, haven't you? He's one of the biggest of the Brazilian drum & bass DJs.

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

Can you tell us about how you started working with him?

Makoto

I think he just contacted me, and I knew who Marky was, and we just started working. He would send me samples and stuff, and I think that is when we both were in London, and I went to Marky's hotel room. We just worked on a laptop, with no speakers, just laptop speakers. And we made one tune [laughter]. And Marky played it in a club; it was quite good.

Emma Warren

Excellent, so proof that you don't need to have good speakers, always, to hear what you're doing. So I guess you were relying more on your inner ear at that point.

Makoto

Yeah, we didn't have keyboard neither, just a laptop. I played keys on this laptop, I mean.

Emma Warren

Yeah, it's all about DIY isn't it? And making do with what you've got.

Makoto

Yeah, I think that works just fine, because Marky's really passionate, and then we were making tunes. He was just dancing in the room.

Emma Warren

So you had your own little party. Your special little two person drum & bass party in a London hotel room. That sounds good, you should invite us all next time.

So how many tunes have you made with Marky and how long have you been making music together for?

Makoto

I think three years, sometimes we do make a tune via internet. Just sending ideas to Marky and Marky sends something to me, and we just build up the tune.

Emma Warren

Obviously, you'll be bringing a strong musical element to your collaborations. What does Marky bring to it?

Makoto

Just the vibe. Vibe is very important. Sometimes if I make a tune of my own, I just don't know if this is good or bad. But if he is there, he's just like "Yeah, that's good, that's good." This tune is called "Secret Place," and it's a year old.

(music: Makoto & Marky - "Secret Place" / applause)

Emma Warren

One thing I did want to ask you about was how you've brought your music back really strongly to the jazz and funk that initially inspired you. You made a track with Cleveland Watkiss.

Makoto

Yeah. He's a jazz legend.

Emma Warren

And how did that come about?

Makoto

I was looking for the right male vocalist and Cleveland Watkiss was an MC for drum & bass as well, so I just really liked his style and at first, I didn't think he would do a tune for me, but he was really nice and just did it for me.

Emma Warren

Was this one that you did in person in the same place, or is this another iChat wonder?

Makoto

This one, when he came to Japan, we just went to the studio to record vocals. There's not much vocal on it, just scat.

Emma Warren

And is this one of your little unreleased gems you're blessing us with, or is this something that's already come out?

Makoto

It's unreleased.

Emma Warren

Unreleased? A bit more unreleased pressure, then. So what is the track called?

Makoto

It's called "Lalique".

(music: Makoto and Cleveland Watkiss - "Lalique" / applause)

Emma Warren

Is this likely to be released in the near future?

Makoto

I hope so, yes [laughter].

Emma Warren

So what's going to be your situation for releasing music?

Makoto

My contract with Good Looking just finished just six months ago. I'm just trying to release as much as possible from various labels. At the same time, I'm setting up my own label.

Emma Warren

So can we be expecting more from you from your own label over the next few months?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

Excellent. Now you're going to be DJing on Friday night, aren't you?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

With Zinc? What are we going to be expecting from you? What will we see? What will we hear? What's going to happen to us when we come and see you play?

Speaker 1: Makoto

[laughter] That music I'm feeling right now.

Emma Warren

Excellent. Now we do have one more track to play. Maybe before we play our final track, perhaps we should see if anyone else has any questions here, and kind of open up. But remember, use the mic. Any questions from anyone?

Audience Member

You mentioned earlier that you sort of found film soundtracks inspiring. I was just wondering if your work in computer games has opened up any doors going down that path in doing film scores or anything.

Makoto

No, not yet. I really want to do it, but no, not yet.

Emma Warren

So that's one for the future. Any filmmakers out there who need a particular kind of soundtrack? Here's your boy.

Audience Member

Music-wise? Can you picture drum & bass in two years? How is it going to sound; where is it going to?

Makoto

Drum & bass in two years...

Audience Member

Five years.

Makoto

[laughter] I don't know, I'll do my own thing, and I hope the culture of drum & bass will be more bigger in the future.

Emma Warren

Do you feel like people are going through a phase where, maybe because some of the more commercial pressures are off, that people can go off and be more inventive, and explore their sounds, and maybe come up with some really interesting music?

Makoto

Yeah, definitely.

Emma Warren

Any other questions? We've got one over there, oh?

Audience Member

Can you not get Sakamoto out of retirement and do a collaboration with him?

Makoto

[laughter] That was my dream, and I respect him so much.

Audience Member

Hi, um, I know Japan is a place where styles and trends and what's hot change very rapidly. And I'm wondering, musically, is it hard to stay on top of that? What's new and what's current? Or do you just ignore it altogether?

Makoto

I mean, I've been in other countries so much, I just realized now I didn't do good promotion in Japan. I think my name is known better in the world. I feel that people are always saying to me "You are bigger in world, not big in Japan," I think that is my problem. I'm just trying to promote myself in Japan. I didn't know. I did promotion in Japan, but I think there was a way to promote for Japanese people, but I've never done it.

Emma Warren

So that's one for the next while?

Makoto

Yeah.

Emma Warren

Any other questions? Okay. I think what we should do, then, is play you one final track. Can you tell us...Is there a question over there? My apologies.

Audience Member

I just wanted to know if you ever got into a darker stage of production, where the music was maybe more aggressive or less musical.

Makoto

Yeah, actually, I've done a few. I think that came from my angry [laughter] for something.

Emma Warren

Okay, then, is there anything else? No? Okay. So can you tell us something about the last track you're going to play us?

Makoto

Yeah, this track, sorry, was the first time I went to Zinc's studio, and we did a tune. I played keys. It's called "Take You Back."

Emma Warren

So what name do you and Zinc record under? When you record together, what name do you use?

Makoto

What do you mean?

Emma Warren

Is it just Zinc 'comma' Koto, or is it a different name?

Makoto

At the time, I couldn't use my name because of the contract, so I was co-producer. I was quite happy about it.

Emma Warren

And what's the track called?

Makoto

"Thinking Back" featuring Stamina MC.

(music: DJ Zinc & Makoto - Thinking Back (ft. Stamina MC) / applause)

Emma Warren

It was great to hear that properly. So a big thank you to Makoto.