House enthusiasts and fans of the legendary DJ Francois K have mixed emotions towards his upcoming performance at the closing of Tokyo’s revered Space Lab Yellow this June.
Club Yellow, which began as the host to a successful opening party in December 1991, soon evolved into an international landmark of electronic music. Founded in Nishi-Abazu by the owners of celebrated Tokyo clubs P.Picasso and Cave, Yellow was originally meant to hold the party “World Connection,” an initiative to bring together talented DJs worldwide under one roof. It did so successfully with an opening night audience of over two thousand, and it quickly became known as the second largest venue of its type in Tokyo. Its name and literal underground location (it resides in the two-story basement of a large building) reflect its experimental approach and substantiate its proclamation that “here, we can try anything.”
Since its opening, Yellow has enjoyed a successful sixteen years and has been visited regularly by acclaimed DJs from Frankie Knuckles to Derrick May and Laurent Garnier to Francois K . . .
. . . which is why February’s disappointing news came as such a shock. The close is rumored to be due to the building’s demolition but no speak of relocating has been offered and with the tragic demise of Cisco Records’ still fresh in their minds, Tokyo house listeners are taking the hit particularly hard.
Luckily, the mourners still have something festive to look forward to this summer. Although the bittersweet emotions will no doubt remain in the back of their minds, an extravagant closing-week lineup may momentarily help them forget their sorrows and pay an awesome final salute to the club.
Monday through Thursday’s programs offer an exciting preview of the weekend’s blowouts and include a collective of Japanese Jazz DJs, Detroit’s esteemed DJ Derrick May, DJ Danny Krivit, Distortion DJ Fumiya Tanaka, and a release party for David Mancuso’s book, “Love Saves the Day”.
Friday and Saturday then mark the long-anticipated closing parties featuring DJsLaurent Garnier and Francois K. Laurent Garnier, the much-admired French DJ, who, since his debut in Manchester during the beginning of the Acid House movement, has become a famed and respected icon of house music, will be the penultimate feature of the equally iconic Club Yellow. Laurent Garnier has played at Yellow several times before, including at its fifteenth anniversary, which he has described in interview as one of his favorite nights ever. According to Garnier, that night, the dance club was “absolutely going mad”. His performance of Friday, June 20th may take that phrase to a whole new level.
Francois K will then perform the final set ever in Space Lab Yellow on Saturday, June 21st. Though the night marks the end for Space Lab Yellow, it also marks an exciting return of a club favorite. Natively French Francois K, who began his music in New York and has since become a successful DJ, producer, and remixer, has been performing at Club Yellow often for the past sixteen years and knows its visitors well. Die-hard fans of the club eagerly await his arrival and think it only appropriate to have Francois K be the final performer of Club Yellow, given their long-standing relationship and mutual admiration.
The closing of Space Lab Yellow and its accompanying weeklong extravaganza will be one to go down in history. So if you can make it to Tokyo this June, get your tickets fast so you don’t find yourself basking in jealousy and remorse like the rest of us.
