Soichi Terada

Frequently spotted in a Hawaiian shirt and beaming with an oversized, radiant smile, Tokyo native Soichi Terada ranks among electronic music’s most engaging figures. The veteran DJ and producer built his reputation on early-’90s deep house while also supplying music for numerous video games, most prominently the Ape Escape series, and explored additional directions such as jungle and downtempo. A broader audience discovered his catalog through the 2015 anthology Sounds from the Far East, and he returned to long-form house with Asakusa Light in 2022, his first such album since the mid-’90s.

Terada’s path began in the late ’80s as a member of the rock group Tax Flee, whose self-titled Polydor album appeared in 1987. After completing studies at the University of Electro-Communications in 1989, he launched Far East Recording because established labels showed no interest in his electronic work. The buoyant, exuberant house cuts he made, frequently alongside Shinichiro Yokota, attracted DJ attention, especially once New York garage-house originator Larry Levan reworked the single “Sun Shower.” Several of those joint releases, among them a version of Cheryl Lynn’s disco staple “Got to Be Real,” were gathered on the 1992 CD Far East Recording. That same year also saw the more experimental Urban Rhythm Solutions, recorded with DJ Keizo, while Far East Recording 2 arrived in 1993 and Smoky followed in 1994.

Mid-decade, Terada grew fascinated with jungle and drum’n’bass, applying the same verve and individuality that marked his house productions. Sumo Jungle, issued in 1996, remained his sole dedicated full-length in the style, though rapid breakbeats continued to surface in later pieces. Game scoring began in 1998 with titles including the Ape Escape series and Fantavision. After remixing material by min-yō and enka vocalist Akiko Kanazawa, the pair formed the duo Omodaka, merging Japanese folk and pop elements with chiptunes and issuing multiple albums and EPs on Far East Recording.

Renewed attention to his early house work surfaced during the mid-2010s. Rush Hour’s 2015 retrospective Sounds from the Far East, assembled by Hunee, introduced many listeners to the catalog for the first time; one standout, “Do It Again,” had originally been produced by Yokota for a split release with Terada. International DJ and live engagements followed, accompanied by fresh house material. Employing the same synthesizers and drum machines from his ’90s sessions, Terada completed Asakusa Light, issued by Rush Hour in 2022.