Howard Williams' “Japan Blues” series continues, kicking off with live enka from Akari Mochizuki before Howard plays records from his extensive collection of Japanese music ranging from 50s rock'n'roll to 80s disco/boogie - all Made In Japan.

HOWARD WILLIAMS - DJ

In-house distributor for Honest Jon's Records and founder of Ethbo - a label whose roster includes a release by Mike Cooper; Killing Melody, a collection of 70s Japanese gangster soundtracks; and the crazed garage-rockabilly of Dean Carter. He co-compiled the Moondog retrospective "The Viking Of Sixth Avenue" for Honest Jon's, and made two compilation albums of vintage music for Ace Records: Nippon Guitars - a selection of Japanese guitar pioneer Takeshi Terauchi - and the follow-up Nippon Rock'n'Roll, a compilation of Masaaki Hirao's late 50s rokabirii.

An avid collector of old Japanese records, he has played at Life Bar, for Julian Opie, at tsunami charity events and, more recently, on KNYX, NTS Live and Rinse FM.






AKARI MOCHIZUKI – Live Enka

A regular guest at Howard’s nights at OTO Akari sings classic Japanese Enka, a type of blues or heartbreak ballad, comparable to Portuguese Fado, though its origins lie in nineteenth century protest song. It is the background music one can still hear wandering most towns and cities of Japan, emanating from bars and shops. 

Akari started singing Enka at the age of three.  She started her career as a professional singer in 2009 as Alika Mochida. Since then, she has performed at many events, such as WOMAD 2010, HYPER JAPAN and Japan Matsuri, showcasing traditional Japanese folk music with Tsugaru Shamisen virtuoso, Hibiki Ichikawa.