Susumu Yokota

Yokota created his own record label, Skintone, as an outlet to self-release his growing collection of ambient, experimental and abstract work. The Skintone albums initially ran in tandem with Yokota’s techno and house output, but gradually came to eclipse his role as a dance producer, bringing a growing loyalty among the music community and broader listening public.

Yokota was something of a polymath: trained as an economist, working as a graphic designer, established as a musician. His influences were wide and varied. Never entirely at ease with being considered solely a house music producer, his approach to creating was always an experimental one. In 1998 he had become increasingly disenchanted by the commercialisation of the Tokyo dance music scene and launched his own label, as an outlet for his gathering collection of ambient, experimental and abstract work. Named after the informal parties he had hosted, Skintone.

He often cited Sawaragi Noi as a key influence. Sawaragi had defined the development of Japanese pop culture as a process of ‘destruction and reconstruction’ of western influences, and it was this concept that inspired Yokota throughout his career. He often alluded to ‘kona’ or powder when asked about his working methods, suggesting that the sounds he created were granular: once scattered never reassembled in their original form. Developing a channel for his creative endeavours was therefore a natural and necessary step for him, and Skintone was to become the umbrella under which he could explore and expand.