SATOSHI TOMIIE

Satoshi Tomiie was born in Tokyo, where he received classical piano training before developing an interest in jazz. After playing in bands during his student years, he began DJing and eventually discovered the production techniques of club music. A demo he produced around 1988 opened the door to the international scene: “Tears” (1989), which he gave to Frankie Knuckles. The track became a worldwide hit, leading Tomiie to relocate to New York City and join Def Mix Productions.

Throughout the 1990s, as house music swept across the global music scene, Tomiie built an extensive body of work. He produced Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Heartbeat” (1991) and joined the accompanying tour, while releasing his own music under various projects and aliases including LOOP 7, Black Shells, Mes, and Level 9 with his longtime collaborator Ko Kimura. In 1999, he released his album “Full Lick.”

In 2000, Tomiie founded Saw Recordings with Hector Romero, which became a home for his solo and collaborative releases. He later established Abstract Architecture as an outlet for his own productions and collaborations, releasing the artist album “New Day” in 2015. This was followed by “Abstract Nature” in 2017, featuring remixes by Ron Trent, DJ Sneak, Maayan Nidam, Fred P, Cab Drivers, Brawther, Pablo Mateo, and Hugo LX of tracks previously released on limited-edition vinyl.

Continuing to push his production further, Tomiie launched A_A, a project incorporating elements of electric jazz and experimental noise music. Its self-titled album “A_A” was released in 2018. The project has continued to explore a production approach based on live, one-take recordings of entirely hardware-driven jam sessions.

Alongside releases on his own two labels, Tomiie has continued to release solo and collaborative work on labels including Yoyakuza, YOY, Kaoz Theory, No.19, Holic, and MFR.

With more than 30 years behind the decks, Tomiie continues to tour extensively across Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia, performing at venues including DC10 and Rex. His performance and production methods continue to evolve, from live sets created entirely with hardware such as modular synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers, to hybrid DJ sets combining these technologies with traditional DJ tools such as turntables and mixers.

Based in New York, Japanese DJ, producer, and label owner Satoshi Tomiie is a pioneering figure who has helped shape the global electronic music scene since the early days of house music.