Satoshi Tomiie has being mixing up his own blend of house goodness for over 13 years now. Having built a Fanbase in his native Japan he moved to the US to further his ambition to become one of the worlds best house DJ’s. A move and decision that has certainly worked, earlier this year he completed number 6 in the Global Underground CD spin-off series ‘Nu-Breed’ and has yet to look back, as he tours the globe promoting his own unique sound.

Satoshi has been doing it for over a decade, so Claire Woodcock (Head of Media at Global Underground) helps put the ‘Nu-Breed’ debate in perspective "Nu Breed is all about capturing boundary-stretching talent, artists that are pioneers in the studio and insatiable behind the decks. It's not necessarily about a DJ being new to the scene, rather being an artist whose sound and style is emerging as a fresh force on the international dancefloor." Satoshi, I think she means you.

A quick glance at the cover of Satoshi Tomiie’s ‘Nu-Breed’ album, whilst I waited for my call to be patched through to his New York office, gave me an idea of what to expect. He looks intelligent, reserved and composed, once our 40mins was up I hadn’t had to change my opinion, he was indeed the Satoshi I had expected.

As any in demand global DJ must, he has come to accept the lifestyle he has chosen. Leaving Ibiza in the evening, arriving in New York in the morning and then heading straight to the office to continue work, which no doubt contains an abundance of e-mails and re-mix requests, it’s 8:00pm, Satoshi has hardly slept in two days and in true Japanese politeness he sounds happy to hear from me. Hows the schedule? “Well due to different worldwide release dates for the ‘Nu-Breed’ I’m still touring to promote that. The American release wasn’t until August 28, so I have 2 days break here, then I’m off to Washington and Sante Fe for more gigs” a slightly fatigued Satoshi explains. How's the body clock coping? Satoshi is quick to point out his body has no idea what is going on with the constant time zone fluctuations “My body clock is Fu*ked up, for sure, but that’s the game isn’t it. I’m doing what I love and the constant travel is part of that, I’m not going to complain that’s just the way it is”.

Satoshi had his name thrown around Global Underground message boards, the Newcastle corner shops where the boxed boys lunched and lounge rooms of house music enthusiast for over 2 years before he finally got offered the opportunity to compile his first worldwide released compilation album. Satoshi Explains “I have done many compilation CD’s before, but nothing on this scale. It’s my first with a worldwide release and in my opinion a Nu-Breed' is not a bad effort for one's first mainstream compilation CD“. Indeed Mr Tomiie, all other DJ’s in the ‘Nu-Breed’ Series had had previous world wide release success. That’s as far as I’ll take the references to the other ‘Nu-Breeders’, it is unfair to put them all in one category as their styles vary to such a degree. Satoshi is as he put it “Easily excited by whatever sounds funky, I find inspiration from tunes all over the world that can get me moving and are funky”. He finds it difficult to put his finger on his own sound which after hearing him play a few times is fair enough “It’s house music obviously, but with a mixture of most dance music elements, I like to cross the boundaries of genres and have an abundance of variety in my box.” With a background which found him playing the keyboard in a local Japanese band and being exposed to hip-hop influences it is easy to see why Satoshi is easily bored if constantly exposed to the same sound. “If I go on tour and play three gigs in a row with similar records I get bored. Sticking to one style isn’t an option from me, by crossing boundaries and fluctuating sounds it keeps me inspired and interested”.

Record shopping creates an outlet for him to explore all his house music styles and search for inspiration in an individual 12”. “Whenever on tour I always go record shopping, Just yesterday I was waiting for a plane and bought records from one of my favourite stores in Canada on the internet; weird!” Not enough record shops in New York to keep you happy? “Na, things are too hectic here with the office, studio and so on, so I find it much easier to shop for records when on tour” Australian record shop owners should be clearing the dust off shelves and on the phone ordering in their latest parcels from overseas and from local producers in anticipation of Satoshi’s arrival.

Satoshi sounds like a perfectionist and a DJ who takes a mental note of each gig he travels to, remembering what they like and what keeps the crowd moving. “Yeah, I do. I think you have to vary your set wherever you travel, but if I go on a long tour through many countries I take the same records, so I tend to change the sets programming more so than the actually records played.” The clever cat has his finger on the pulse each time he plays to determine what is required “I look at the vibe, the crowd and the party overall, taking in all those elements I alter my sets accordingly.”

As international DJ’s travel through Australian airports with alarming regularity it always intrigues me as to what perception they walk away with. What thoughts are racing through their head as they nestle into their seat on the Boeing 747 and return to the Northern Hemisphere. “…last year was brilliant, great fun. Melbourne was a really good gig and the outdoor gig in Sydney was also great” Satoshi explains enthusiastically. What is he expecting this time around? “To be honest I don’t know until I arrive, I haven’t played their in 10months, so a lot can change in that time. If it is like last year, it will be a great tour”.

A brilliant producer for over 13 years, he has marked the dance music world with great tunes. ‘Tears’ a collaboration with Frankie Knuckles in 1989 was a hit the world over, whilst more recent house music groovers will have no doubt have shuffled their feet to ‘Up in flames’ and ‘Love in Traffic’. The former receiving re-works from David Morales and John Digweed, whilst Australian DJ’s had the ‘Love In Traffic’ spine chilling Kelly Alley vocals on the spin for months. What pieces of Satoshi studio brilliance will be in local record stores shortly? “When I finish touring for the ‘Nu-Breed’ I’ll be back in the studio with Redanka working on a track that we started 18months ago, but with our schedules it is really hard to find time.” A slightly disappointed Satoshi-remarks. Starting both production and DJing at a similar young age, he has grown to love both in equal share. “I have grown up with both and I think they go hand in hand”. However long periods away from either re-ignites his desires “If I’m on tour, I miss the studio. DJing is the reason I produce and production is the reason I DJ, so I think I would find it difficult to have one without the other.”

Australian production is running hot at the moment with a number of the worlds best DJ’s labelling Australia as a great source of fresh underground sounds, Satoshi readily agrees ”Yeah for sure, we just recently signed a Luke Chable record and Thunk recordings in Sydney have some really nice tech house stuff. Australia, especially Melbourne, are producing some great deep sounds”

Although tired his unassuming sense of humour flows effortlessly through the interview “previous Australian visits have being good, even Melbourne New Years 2000 where Digweed stole all my crowd when he started” he laughs. Not a problem he will have this time as he finds his name in the largest print on flyers for Godskitchen in Melbourne, Escape in Canberra and Sounds On Sunday in Sydney. A class act. Not to be missed!