J-Sundays – Come and Join the Fun!

Well, then, this is a small report on a J-Music DJ event that took place on Sunday (at ΚΑΒΑΤΖΑ Bar in Athens, Acharnon 164 – go up the pedestrians-only road and you will see it on your left hand – for our local readers) as much as an effort to make more widely known that there is finally our very own little corner of Athens where J-Music is played on a regular basis. First things first, the event’s flyer, as posted on MySpace bulletins (numerous times, might I add) by Somnium in Tenebris.


You know Somnium from her legendary Japan + Anime Parties in Salonika (the most recent of which was covered here), as well as her setting up the BLOOD live in Athens, in 2006. What has not been made very clear here, is that Somnium is a hell of a music AND accompanying video DJ, at least when it comes to Japanese music (not exclusively perhaps but that is all I have seen her play, after all). So then, she got a call from the one other person I have known to play j-music since ’96 (more correctly, I have been informed so, since in 1996 I was 14, for crying out loud), who goes by the DJ callsign of “room302”. A little while later, a joint event was set up for yesterday evening, starting at 21:00.

Now, room302 had already taken it upon himself to set up a niche of Japanese music EVERY Sunday at that selfsame bar, which I learned about from a common friend, Darkside Blues, with some elation. Much to my puzzlement, the one other time I had visited the bar, there were not so many people and disappointingly, almost none of the usual faces I see at all other events related to Japanese popular culture. Now, I cannot believe that the problem is basically time-related, since room302 starts playing at 21:00 and keeps it up for as long as the people interested want him to (or the bar closes for the night, whichever comes first), so even if someone (probably) has to go early to work on Monday, they can leave early enough to catch their much-needed sleep. I therefore conclude that for some reason, j-fans in Athens have not been informed of this seminal move. Well, you have now been warned, err… informed, I mean.

Fortunately, this event was more widely publicized and many familiar faces made their appearance while, most conveniently, I had my camera with me (don’t I always?). Somnium and room302 were joined on the decks by KrizD, while among the many cool stuff played were Dir en Grey, Onmyouza, Kat-Tun, Kaggra, Hide, X Japan, Abingdon Boys School, Due le Quartz, Psycho le Cemu and many others who, for the life of me, I cannot remember. To my delight, the event gathered quite a few people and I hope that, on future Sundays, all of you who were absent, will join us. There you have it, my rant is over, so we are moving on to the pictures; and a big thanks to the four lovely girls who indulged my photographic addiction. You rock!


















A huuuge "thank you" to Somnium, room302 and KrizD for a really cool and fun evening. Mata ao ne!

Speedgrapher