Hiroyuki Kajino
Tokyo
Hiroyuki was born in Asakusa, Tokyo in 1965, an "Edokko".
Influenced by his uncle, he started listening to disco music at an early age and made his debut as a professional DJ at a disco in Roppongi in 1983.
He was the resident DJ every Saturday at Tools Bar, a club in Nishi-Azabu that triggered the club boom in Japan, and was a pioneer Hip-Hop DJ at popular clubs in Tokyo and throughout Japan.
In 1988, Hiroyuki produced Japan's first club specializing in house music, Another World, where he also became a resident DJ every Saturday, laying the foundation for the house music scene in Japan.
In 1989, Hiroyuki performed with legendary DJ Larry Levan at the New York club Choice, which was broadcast on Japanese television and made him one of Japan's top DJs in both name and reality.
After returning to Japan, he was selected to be the resident DJ every Thursday at Gold, the first large club to open in Japan.
Hiroyuki was chosen as the opening DJ for Yellow, which became the most prestigious club in Japan, and was the first Japanese guest DJ at World Connection, which was held every Saturday.
Since then, he has held regular parties at Yellow and other famous clubs such as Maniac Love and Air, always pursuing cutting-edge dance music.
On top of DJ, Hiroyuki also worked on track making.
In 1996, he released Kote moun yo on King Street label under the name DJ Hiro, which was remixed by Francois K. and Joe Claussell, and became a hit at popular parties such as Body&Soul and Shelter in New York City.
In 2019, he became the first Japanese to release on All Day I Dream, the top Organic House label.
In 2020, Phenomena was released on the UK label Everything Will Be OK and was a huge hit with Dixon of Innervisions playing it heavily for over a year.
In 2021, he was chosen as the first artist for All Day I Dream's new In Waves label, which released a 12" single.
Hiroyuki is also known for his accomplishment as a merchandiser of vinyl records.
In 1989, he opened OM Records, Japan's first record store specializing in House music, in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo.
In 1995, he opened a second-hand record store, Real Music Records, in Shibuya.
He frequently went overseas to buy records and became one of the world's leading collectors of disco 12-inch singles released in the 1970s.
In 2003, he produced Stylus, a next-generation record store that became a hot topic when world-renowned artist Tokujin Yoshioka designed the interior.
Currently, he has moved from Tokyo to Shonan, where he organizes Shonan Balearic and is building an original culture from Shonan linked to the world's most advanced club scene.
Hiroyuki Kajino’s tracks
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