Celebrating his 25th anniversary this year, SUGIURUMN has completed his first album in seven years, “SOMEONE IS DANCING SOMEWHERE.” It has been over 30 years since the indie rock era of the early 1990s, and nearly 25 years since I began my close association with him in 2001. His path has been intricately tied to the dance culture of 1990s Europe. Driven by remarkable determination, he has relentlessly pursued the music he believes in, influenced by a dynamic scene that generates significant trends every few years. His journey spans over three decades, leaving an enduring legacy. While no one can live exactly like he does, he remains a unique figure.
The album project began exactly a year ago. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he liberated his music from the confines of dance beats by creating the soundtrack for fashion designer Takahiro Miyashita’s TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA The Soloist. collection and the score for the stage play of the same name written and directed by playwright and director Toshi Kawamura. This creative freedom was a major catalyst. Over the year, as each track was completed, the increasing presence of dance beats reflected his genuine style. In this interview, we focus on SUGIURUMN’s journey as a DJ, exploring his early years in the late 1990s and his international success in the 2000s.
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SUGIURUMN, whose real name is Eiji Sugiura, began his career in 1992 as the singer for the indie band Electric Glass Balloon. After the band’s breakup in 1998, he continued his career as a DJ and solo artist under the name SUGIURUMN. He has released nine albums and produced numerous singles and remixes. SUGIURUMN has performed at DJ booths worldwide, including Pacha in Ibiza and Sankeys in Manchester. In 2019, he launched a new band called THE ALEXX, bridging dance and rock styles, and quickly leaped onto major stages.
Bandman Eiji Sugiura Transforms into SUGIURUMN
– This year marks the 25th anniversary of your debut as SUGIURUMN. What made you decide to do dance music as a solo artist?
Sugiura: I’ve talked about this in various places, but towards the end of Electric Glass Balloon, things weren’t going well with the band members. We decided to break up, but we still had one more album to release under our contract with the label. When the label rep asked what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to make a solo album. I still believe that making music with a band should be a collaborative effort, but at that time, even with my own songs, it was often difficult to achieve what I envisioned with the band. Even when the members didn’t think a song was good, I would feel that something wasn’t right. I wanted to try making something entirely on my own to see if I could realize my ideas. How old was I then?
– It was around 1998, right?
Sugiura: Right, I was around 28. At that time, I was starting to think that maybe I was done with music. I didn’t intend to keep going for much longer. So, I decided to finish the songs that were rejected by the band in the sound that I wanted. The producer of the early singles for Electric Glass Balloon was Yukihiro Fukutomi, and he would bring a Mac, a sampler, and a synthesizer to the studio. I found that really interesting. So, I quickly bought a Color Classic Mac, an AKAI S2800 sampler, and a Roland SOUNDCANVAS for about one million yen on a 36-month loan. I used Digital Performer software and Fukutomi-san taught me everything. I was around 22 at the time.
I made a lot of demos on a 4-channel cassette MTR, mimicking Spacemen 3. Some of the songs didn’t seem to fit with the band, so I just created them based on that feeling. This led to my first album as SUGIURUMN, “Life is serious but art is fun.” So, initially, it wasn’t necessarily dance music.
– Around 1998, dance music was also played at indie rock events, wasn’t it? You were also listening to dance music, weren’t you, Sugiura?
Sugiura: Yeah, that’s right. Around that time, at the “VEGAS” event I was doing with Keiichi Sokabe and others in Sangenjaya, my DJ sets were mostly focused on house music.
– How long have you been doing “VEGAS”?
Sugiura: Around 1997, I think. Before that, I started the “INDIE 500” event at CLUB QUE with Arai (Jin) from N.G.THREE and NORTHERN BRIGHT, and later Kin-chan (Suzuki “KINK” Hitoshi) joined us. Initially, it was truly an indie rock event, but by the time it evolved into “VEGAS,” dance music had become the focus. Wasn’t that around the time of Big Beat?
– I guess so, because The Chemical Brothers’ first album was released in 1995 and their second in 1997.
Sugiura: Yes, from around 1997, I started to focus on house music when DJing. I was getting a little tired of the unique groove of rock events at the time, where everyone had to know the same songs to get the crowd going.
– I was getting a bit tired of the groove peculiar to rock events at the time, where the crowd didn’t get excited unless everyone knew the song.
Sugiura: That’s how I got into big beats, and from there it became more and more house.
– Can you tell us some of your favorite big beat and house songs from that time?
Sugiura: They are all here (pointing to the record shelf at home), but I really don’t remember the past [laughs]. I liked Big Beat, too, because the way they used samples wasn’t as complete as The Chemical Brothers. I don’t know about house, maybe Full Intention?
– What about Armand Van Helden?
Sugiura: I don’t really like him.
– So Masters at Work?
Sugiura: Other units with “masters”….
The Beatmasters, right?
Sugiura: Yes!
– The reason I ask is that I want to remember the atmosphere of the time when SUGIURUMN’s first album came out. I was already in the middle of the trance party at that time, and I was in a different place from where you were. You were in the midst of the change of indie rock DJ events from big beat to house and techno, and I can understand it from around 2000, but I really don’t understand the late 1990s.
Sugiura: Yes, I wanted to get out of there, so I was very happy when I was invited to Aoyama Maniac Love’s “MACINEGUN” (an event organized by Capten Funk).
– Did you buy a ticket to go to parties?
Sugiura: Yeah, I went, places like Liquid Room’s “Club Venus.” Everyone was just drinking water, which surprised me [laughs]. It was there that I first saw VJs. The energy from the crowd was incredible, and I thought, “Something incredible is happening here.” There were a lot of foreigners and a variety of people, which amazed me. But other than that, I don’t remember anything at all [laughs]. I envy people who can talk about those times in detail, because I really don’t remember anything.
