Japanese DJ Yousuke Yukimatsu has started a UK tour, performing his unique mix of experimental techno, Beastie Boys, and Taylor Swift, after overcoming a brain tumor.
Ten years ago this month, Yukimatsu suffered an epileptic seizure and was diagnosed with a brain tumor after friends found him collapsed at home.
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He underwent two craniotomies, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, leaving a scar from his left ear to his hairline.
The experience pushed him to pursue DJing full-time.
“If we can keep living [for] tomorrow, if I can encourage people … that’s what I’m always trying to do,” he says.
Yukimatsu believes it’s important for musicians to speak up about global issues. “The world is getting much worse than the time when techno was born.
Weapons are being developed; it’s getting easier to commit a massacre. In Japan, if a musician speaks about politics, they can be hugely criticised.
But I think it’s really important to speak up.”
His Coachella debut in April featured a rapid genre shift from Beastie Boys to experimental techno, Taylor Swift, and Aphex Twin within 10 minutes.
“Coachella was amazing. I only had an hour, so I really had to cram everything in.”
Growing up in Osaka, Yukimatsu was exposed to music through his father, who sold records from their garage.
He started DJing in the mid-2000s after discovering electronic artists like Underworld and the Prodigy.
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