#03 | Going Along with the Unexpected: Body & SOUL and Jazzanova

Hi, this is Chiai Nagano, shop owner.

This Monthly Shop Letter is the archive blog version of our monthly newsletter. Once a month, we share shop updates, behind-the-scenes production notes, and things I run into out in the world of music.

Bumping into music, people, and places I wouldn't otherwise encounter through my day-to-day production work is one of my most valuable inputs.

So this time, I want to share what I felt and discovered — with some BGM-making talk mixed in.

When I really wasn't in the mood... lol

If you only ever pick things based on your own taste, you naturally end up with fewer and fewer chances to stumble onto something you'd never have chosen yourself. That's been on my mind lately, thanks to two music experiences.

Neither one was something I decided to go to on my own — both came from a friend's invite.

Honestly, I wasn't that into it at first. But I figured "well, exposing myself to something new can't hurt," went anyway, and both turned out to be huge wins. Staying home really is the enemy sometimes, lol.

...So, here's the first one.

Body & SOUL: somewhere I'd never have gone on my own

First up was June 7th — "Body & SOUL Live in Japan 2026," held at KIRANAH GARDEN TOYOSU, a BBQ venue right at the tip of the reclaimed land in Toyosu.

Body & SOUL started in New York back in 1996, and this year marks its 30th anniversary (apparently). François K., Danny Krivit, and Joaquin "Joe" Claussell have been at the heart of the party, which originally started as a weekly Sunday gathering at Club Vinyl in New York. This time, though, it was held outdoors.

There was a big pool right in the middle of the venue and colorful balloons everywhere — the scenery alone was worth it. Plenty of seating and built-in sofas made it pretty comfortable too.

It threatened rain a couple of times and even came down hard for a bit, but overall it held off just enough — lucky us.

- KIRANAH GARDEN TOYOSU -
Loved the open-air feel. An outdoor DJ set like this reminded me of the Odaiba Nagisa Festival.

Plot twist: Danny Krivit ended up unable to perform — an injury meant his work visa paperwork couldn't get sorted in time.

Instead, François K. and Joe Claussell traded off in short intervals, and at one point started dropping mellow tracks right in my wheelhouse — the kind you'd expect to hear warming up the floor toward evening. So on a whim I tried Shazam-ing a few ("can this even pick it up?"), and honestly, way more of them got recognized than I expected, lol.

Now, just because Shazam recognized them doesn't necessarily mean the DJs weren't messing with tempo or pitch (I don't know the originals, after all) — but clearly some tracks weren't altered enough to throw off recognition, which was a fun little discovery.

I've added a few of the tracks to our club-leaning playlist, so if you're curious, go check it out. If this is your kind of thing, you'll really love it.

Cool Chill Driving

 

Two months later: Jazzanova

Fast forward about two months to August 10th, when I went to see Jazzanova at Blue Note Tokyo. The official show title was "JAZZANOVA Live feat. Wayne Snow & Clara Hill."

Jazzanova started out in 1995 as a DJ collective, crossing between jazz, hip-hop, latin, and funk — a Berlin-born unit.

My friend had mentioned they picked up live-band performances partway through their career, and sure enough, this show was a lavish 9-piece live band setup featuring Wayne Snow (male vocal) and Clara Hill (female vocal). Quite the treat.

It had been a long time since my last visit to Blue Note, and thanks to my friend's quick ticket-booking, we ended up front row — third table from the stage. Expectations were already climbing.

What completely captured me was the drummer: Jan Burkamp.
I was floored. Absolutely floored.

The first thing that struck me was how insanely precise it all was, and yet still dynamic — pinpoint accuracy with real momentum behind it. Most of the songs leaned minimalist, building up through repetition, and the way that build unfolded was genuinely stunning.

And then I noticed something shocking: two snares set up side by side. Took me a while to catch it, but at the chorus, he'd switch over to the sub snare.

I couldn't believe he was pulling off such a DTM-style technique live, for real.

in BLUE NOTE TOKYO
The sub snare on the right had this metallic edge to it — cut through with a real "clack."

It's true that in DTM (desktop music production), you rarely build a beat with just one tone — you're usually picking multiple sounds, switching between them, layering, fine-tuning as you go to sculpt the groove. But simply swapping a snare's tone like that was brilliant, and genuinely effective.

And he didn't do it on every song — only the ones where the snare sits on beats 2 and 4 as the backbone. That kind of judgment call was impressive too.

As someone who makes music in DTM, this idea really got me.

...Granted, being that close up probably played a part, but he's now my absolute #1 drummer.

Incredibly precise, and yet incredibly free.

I'd love to keep chasing this idea further — maybe dig into some videos on YouTube.

 

Riding along with something I wouldn't have picked myself

Looking back, June's open-air DJ event in Toyosu and August's live show at Blue Note Tokyo in Aoyama both felt strangely connected — both firmly within the world of club music.

Before Jazzanova started, DJ Shuya Okino was playing club music loud enough to drown out conversation, lol (treating the hall like a club dance floor, I'd guess).

I already have a decent handle on the genres and sounds I like — but every now and then, saying yes to someone else's invite opens a door I didn't even know was there. Really glad I got to relearn that. Thank you, S and O!

That expanded stash of music will probably find its way back into my BGM production, bit by bit. On the CHIAIS CREATION MUSIC PLAYLIST, I share not just my own tracks but also music I'm listening to, both from Japan and abroad.

I'll keep sharing more of what I pick up out in the world like this. Until next time!