Saito Nagasaki

Saito Nagasaki

Saito Nagasaki, 2007
Background information
Also known as DJ Renegade
Born (1981-07-22) 22 July 1981
Origin Singapore
Genres Futurepop, Industrial music, Electronic Body Music, trance music
Occupation(s) Musician, Producer, DJ, Promoter
Instruments Turntables
Keyboard
Years active 2002 - present
Labels Netmanagement, Hamburg
Associated acts Aesgrade, Divine9
Website SDAM

Saito Nagasaki , is the founding member of the Singapore Dark Alternative Movement (SDAM),[1] [2] an alternative, non-profit social collective, and a Singaporean Promoter (entertainment) and Disc Jockey.[3] Nagasaki is associated with Singapore's goth subculture and underground BDSM scene in the media [4] and champions alternative culture in Singapore. Saito Nagasaki is credited with starting Singapore's first Goth club night, "Heart of Darkness" (hosted at Gashaus)[3] as well as the nation's longest-running dedicated alternative music night, "Alternation" (hosted at DXO, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay)[4] which lasted 31 weeks since its launch on 9 August 2007[3] to the finale on 6 March 2008. Nagasaki is also associated with X'ho, a veteran Singaporean Musician and Radio Disc Jockey who currently anchors the "Lush Night" program on Lush 99.5FM; the two have held several DJ residencies together since the launch of Heart of Darkness on 7 March 2007, with X'ho playing under the moniker "DJ Mentor".[5]

Promoter Career in Western Australia

After moving to Perth, Western Australia, to study in 2002, Nagasaki began his mobile disco / events outfit, Outbreed which was his vehicle for over 20 singular events and club nights, which included fashion shows and raves, in the state.

Nagasaki originally formed Outbreed with Zebedee Paterson and John Webb, two friends who met Saito while they were mutually members of the Perth Order of Gothic Societies (POGS) [3] Notable events done by outbreed include Digital Injection, a controversial all-ages, 24-hour rave and LAN party that substantiated due to Nagasaki's exploitation of a loophole in licensing. Digital Injection was described as a success and still managed to accrue sponsorship from Thermaltake for prizes for the LAN component despite the underground nature of the event.[6][7] Another notable event was Arkham, an asylum themed Gothic Fashion Parade and Art Exhibition that Nagasaki conducted in an old church, The claremont Town Hall or the "old Wesley Church"[8]

Return To Singapore

Upon return to Singapore in 2005, Nagasaki rapidly adapted to the thriving local music scene, quickly establishing Outbreed in the city-state as a local independent label / agent and began recruiting Singaporean live acts to commercially represent such as Flybar, Ronin (band), Project Ultrasound, The Sexies, Bad Obsession, Launchbox and TIEN [9]

Nagasaki entered into a trilateral business relationship through Gashaus with the iLLers and Play Projekts as well as sponsors Nokia (presenting Sponsor) and Adidas to create Flow!, the largest indoor music festival ever to take place in Singapore on the 2006-12-06 at Ministry of Sound Singapore.[10] Nagasaki served as Flow's Event Manager and almost singlehandedly executed the production of 20 bands across 4 stages.[11] The event was enormously successful with excess of 3200 attendees,[10] and hailed as a monumental 'long overdue' effort for local music in Singapore.[12]

Saito's Singapore Goth event debut Heart of Darkness won critical acclaim in Time Out magazine's Singapore Edition as the Number 1 critic's choice, ranking above Zouk (club)'s "Readyset Glo, The Motored Sessions" and Ministry of Sound Singapore's "Godskitchen Presents Les Hemlock" [13]

Musician and DJ career

In an interview with the Straits Times on Razor.tv, Saito revealed that his moniker was an amalgram created by combining the Japanese state nagasaki as a fictional surname with the family name of Saitō Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin) as a first name.[14] He allegedly came up with the name as both a means of masquerading as an ethnic Japanese to rebrand himself and gain more show opportunities while in Australia. Saito originally used the moniker "DJ Renegade" initially before switching to the present Japanese pseudonym.

DJ Residencies

Year Event Name Venue Country
2002 Radium Labs Gilkisons Dance Studio Australia
2003 The Haven Old Brizzy Bar Australia
2004 The Adrenalin Experiment Big Apple Club and Bar Australia
2006 Ghast Gashaus Singapore
2006–2007 Heart of Darkness Gashaus Singapore
2007–2008 Alternation DXO Singapore
2008 Dark Friday LEGENDS @ Orchard Singapore
2009 Dark Friday Night and Day Bar Singapore

Saito formed a now-defunct Electronic Body Music/Futurepop outfit Divine9 with Chad Zarkk Ostrowski (guitarist and vocalist) and Glenn William Wallace (bassist) in Perth, that failed to achieve much success. The band failed to pass the first leg of the 2005 "Next Big Thing"[15] band competition. Chad left the band due to a no-show at the competition date and Shane Ross was an emergency stand-in vocalist. The band would undergo a line-up change, adding members of Perth Cover band Airbag (band); Shane Ross (Vocalist), Steve Balaban (Guitarist) and Tim Fikas (Drummer). Nagasaki brought the new Divine9 on a promotional tour in Singapore for December 2005, playing at Home Club (2005-12-22), IJ Studio (2005-12-23) and a newly opened Gashaus (2005-12-24).[16] During Flow!, Saito brought Divine9 over again as the headlining act for the festival on the main stage of Ministry of Sound Singapore, this time replacing Steve with Shannon Noll's guitarist Leigh Siragusa.[11]

Saito was ultimately more successful with solo Disc Jockey work, with notable performances such as opening for Sheep on Drugs (2003-07-05 at The Rosemount Hotel, Perth), Interlace (Sweden) on 2006-03-30 at Home Club, Singapore during their phoenix Tour,[17] Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot (2007-09-20 at DXO during Alternation, Singapore), DJ Panic (Pure Industrial, UK), resident DJ of the world's longest-running Goth Nightclub, Slimelight [18] at Bridge Bar on 2008-09-05 as well as a back-to-back ("Versus set") set with Eskil Simonsson, frontman of Covenant (band) (Sweden) [1][19] on 2008-10-03 at Dark Friday and opening for Angelspit's Zoog and DestroyX [20] on 2009-12-05

Singapore Dark Alternative Movement

Main article: Singapore Dark Alternative Movement

References

  1. 1 2 Liu, Ervin (2008). "What Makes a Goth". The Urbanwire Singapore. Singapore: Tri Media Publishing (published 4 October 2008). Archived from the original (– Scholar search) on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  2. ↑ Wong, Phin(host), Lo, Howard(host) (2008). Music to the Ears (Blog TV (Season 2, episode 12) TV-Series). Singapore: Channel Newsasia. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ree, Wayne (30 March 2007). "Oh My Goth!". I-S Magazine. Aziacity. p. 24. Archived from the original (– Scholar search) on 3 October 2011.
  4. 1 2 Ansar, Asif (1 February 2008). "Goth Club". Today (Singapore newspaper). Mediacorp. pp. 50, 52.
  5. ↑ Ansar, Asif (2008-02-01). "Goth Club". Plus. Mediacorp. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  6. ↑ "Digital Injection Press Release" (Press release). Outbreed. 2005-09-11. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  7. ↑ "Lan Party Zone - Digital Injection LAN in Perth, Australia" (Press release). Thermaltake. August 2005. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  8. ↑ "Arkham Press Release" (Press release). Outbreed. September 2004. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  9. ↑ Tay, Benjamin (2007-10-01). "Outbreed.org". Outbreed. Outbreed. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  10. 1 2 Toh, Esther (2007-01-05). "Flow!". Nokia Music. Nokia Singapore. Archived from the original on 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  11. 1 2 Bodia, Joe (2006). "Flow! Support". Think Magazine (24). Singapore: Inky Brain Media Ventures (published November 2006). p. 38.
  12. ↑ Liong, Amelynn (2006). "Flow! Support". Today (Singapore newspaper) (April 2007). Singapore: Mediacorp (published 30 November 2006). p. 10.
  13. ↑ Wong, Cecilia (2007). "Nightlife: Critic's Choice". Timeout Singapore (April 2007). Singapore: Ink Publishing (published April 2007). p. 77.
  14. ↑ De Silva, Bryan (2009-11-15). "The Head Goth (Goths in Singapore pt 5)". Goths in Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  15. ↑ NBT WA Music inc, NBTWA (2006-01-01). "Archive". The Next Big Thing. NBT WA Music inc. Archived from the original on 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  16. ↑ Jeffree, Benet (December 2005). "Divine9 live in singapore". Think Magazine (16). Inky Brain Media Ventures. p. 15.
  17. ↑ Aase, Kasper (2006-03-17). "Official tour dates for Interlace Phoenix Tour". Design for a New Breed. Interlace. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  18. ↑ Myers, Peter (2008). "Dark Friday". Timeout Singapore. Singapore: Ink Publishing (published August 2008). Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  19. ↑ Simonsson, Eskil (2008-09-10). "Back in Black". News. Covenant. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  20. ↑ Tan, Amelia (2008-12-15). "The Diary Of Miss X: Singapore Edition". Diary of Miss X. Angelspit. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
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