Soundmenonwax

Shuji Hirose Biography For Shuji the journey to where he is today as one of NYC’s most respected DJ’s started in the 328 Nightclub in Tokyo around the mid 80’s. This is when he started learning how to DJ and around the same time his passion for the garage movement captivated him so much that he moved over to New York where the garage scene lived and breathed. Whilst mixed up in the experience of true garage music Shuji started playing at local nightclubs such as afterhours of The Choice at his own loft and Cave Canem in the Lower east side till the late 80’s. After the unfortunate shutting down of The Choice in 1990, Shuji moved back to his homeland where he joined Victor Rosado on tour around Japan. Victor got him connected to the main players of the industry at that time and he soon got official residency spots at clubs like Club Cave (Shibuya), Club Next, Club Yellow, Endmax and his home, Club 328. Things quickly grew as Shuji’s residency gigs got more hectic by the week, with locations stretching as far as the world famous underground party called World Connection where he’d feature alongside NYC’s finest DJs; Tee Scott, Walter Gibbons, Kenny Carpenter, Joey Llanos, Victor Rosado, Nick Jones, Robert Ownes, David Morales, John Robinson, Kerri Chandler and many, many more. Recognition for his skill and passion grew and he soon became the notable liaison DJ of the growing Tokyo underground house scene. An exchange of mutual respect built a strong friendship between Shuji and the late Larry Levan between the December of 1991 and the time of his passing a year later. Larry had invited him over to NYC to play some guest spots at his gigs and likewise, Shuji became Larry’s mentor DJ back in Japan. At the time of his passing it was only fitting for Shuji to be the one to pay homage to the legend on Tokyo FM in a special Larry Levan show. Between NYC and Japan the vision to become more globally known started to become a reality one small scale project at a time. Alongside Bobby E. Davis, Shuji established SURE Record Pool which was aimed at providing the finest US house music as exclusive promo packages to Japanese DJs with official membership to the pool. After acquiring a label deal with Toshiba EMI Japan in 1995 Shuji started his first label Free Bass Records which signed artists like nyc Peech Boys, Michael Watford, Su'Su Bobien, Ricky Nelson, Lenny Fantana, Angie Break and B.O.P. This label soon became a legendary landmark in and around NYC and the rest of the world at large. It boasted quite a number of achievements including platinum selling records and other notable accolades. 2 years later Soundmen On Wax was formed, a label that would become the world’s most active underground establishment, and being Shuji’s second imprint, things could only get bigger. Featuring artists like Kenny and Su'Su Bobien, Michael Watford, Foremost Poets, Man Friday, Dawn Tallman, Intense, Toni Smith and Kerri Chandler, underground anthems such as ‘Father’, ‘Thank You’, ‘For Your Luv’ and many more were created and released one after another, keeping the progression and consistency of quality house music alive in parts of the world where it mattered. In 2009 his travels took him to Los Angeles where he established Movement Factory LLC to cover the wide range of dance music that was available out there for listeners and fans alike. Almost 20 years later and Shuji’s worldwide imprints are still going strong, pushing gospel house music and other known angles of dance music far and beyond cultural, social and economic boundaries. In these past 20-odd years Shuji has been spinning all over the world and hitting milestones of his own, his biggest being named TDK DJ Award winner at the Italian Music Conference of 2003 and starting his radio show underwritten by his SOW imprint called Chill Lover Radio which now boasts a listenership over 100 countries strong. Kenny Bobien, SuSu Bobien, Kerri Chandler, Karen Bernod, Carlos Francisco, Umbi, Mario Bianco, Anthony Poteat, Kenny Carpenter,Juki Juks,& many more