Pushing the Peruvian Progressive scene forward since 2005, Juan Carlos Tokumori Pinna aka Tokumori has followed his passion for beautiful melodies and deep drums to spread his music throughout the world. A continuous learner of the craft, Tokumori attended the electronic music school OHM in 2005 and recently participated in the Sudbeat Bootcamp to take his production skills to an even higher level. As a DJ he has played at a wide variety of venues – from clubs, to festivals, to fashion shows – where he brings his experience and energy to each situation. Now with the launch of his new show “Wormhole” on FRISKY, he is ready to share his well developed sound to a new audience from around the globe. Listen to the premiere of Tokumori – Wormhole now only on FRISKY
What first drew you to electronic music?
Hello friends, thank you very much for this interview and this space to expose my music, I am very happy.
At first I learned music from the age of 9, as I grew up I learned to play different instruments, at 15 years of age I played with bands made up of friends from school, I mean, I was used to playing and listening to conventional music, structured music with instruments conventional such as drums, guitar, bass. So, the first thing that attracted me to electronic music were the sounds, those wonderful synthesized sounds, the beautiful melodies accompanied by effects and the deep drums full of energy accompanied by the weight of the bass, all that was what attracted me to the Electronic music when I first heard it, it was new and amazing to me.
What was the local scene like as you were first getting into the music, and how has it changed over the years?
In the local scene there was a nightclub called Blue Buhhda, this nightclub was a pioneer in the electronic music scene in Lima
A brand called Fiestas Frank started doing the first events with international DJs, in such a way that the events became bigger and more massive, they started bringing DJs like Sasha, Hernan Cattaneo, Tatana, Sandra Collins, Mauro Picotto and many more. At that time, house, tribal, techno, trance, progressive house were heard, over the years these events became more and more followed, the Fiestas Frank brand ceased to exist and a new brand called Loop Peru appeared, they continued with the events, always brought top djs from the world scene, over time other brands appeared, and many events were held with great international djs, this was very good for us because for a while we were listening to, for example, Martin Garcia, John Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo, Steve Lawler and suddenly a festival was announced that brought them all together and you had the privilege of being able to listen to them
The scene was changing as the musical trends were changing in the world, in the 90s and early 00s the music Trance, House and Progressive house was heard in Peru, the Progressive House had a strong punch in the 00’s until the 2007, in that year minimal techno began to appear and began to hit hard in Peru, then tech house began to hit and techno always had a good reception, the brands of the events known as Creamfields, Resistance arrived in Peru, local festivals, among others, in such a way that the local scene currently has its followers according to the style of music.
When I started playing it was 2007, I played tribal, minimal techno, progressive house, finally in 2009 I decided to play Progressive House, precisely because it had beautiful sounds.
I started playing on the scene with various promoters, over time more DJs appeared, more promoters who organized events, currently we have DJs
very good in all their styles. In Peru there are electronic music production and mixing schools, currently these schools have grown, they continue to train DJs and producers, there are techno, minimal, deep house, house labels, we have good representatives of electronic music DJs like Rodrigo Lozano, Christian Berguer , Bencho, Jon Aragon, No One Name and many more
It can be said that the scene was very good in terms of House, Tech House, Minimal Techno, Techno and the aforementioned styles, all this until before the pandemic, then as we already know the pandemic arrived and the events were paralyzed, but I am sure that when the events return they will continue to bring international artists and the scene will continue to be at the forefront.
Who were some of your early influences?
Some of my early influences were Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tool, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Depeche Mode, Underworld, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk
Who inspires you today?
Today Hernan Cattaneo, Guy J & Alex O´Rion
What has been one of your favorite or most memorable gigs?
I really don’t have a favorite one, I have several that I quite liked. In general I like when people enjoy music and dance, shout, I love when people are happy with the music that I am playing in those moments
How would you describe the sound of Tokumori?
The sound of Tokumori is a deep sound of dark backgrounds (Drums and Basses) counteracted by hypnotic and structured melodies and harmonies (Synths, piano, and so on), which ranges from the sensual and hypnotic of deep house to the intensity of techno dark and melodic techno without breaking the musical line.
What are your current goals as a DJ & producer?
My goal as a DJ is to grow professionally, to earn a worldwide position as a progressive house DJ. Another objective is to get international dates.
My goal as a producer is to edit tracks on labels such as Sudbeat, Lost & Found, Meanwhile, among others, to elaborate excellent tracks that can be played by the great DJs of the Progressive world scene.
What are certain sounds or styles that particularly love to hear?
Currently I love the sound of the Omnisphere pianos that come with a kind of reverb and echoes, I like the sounds of the effects that Subandrio puts on his tracks, I like the sound of Paul Kardos it seems that he is putting sounds of the IDM In his music, I love the sound of Guy J with his heavy kicks and well-defined atmospheres and melodies, Alex O’rion with his beautiful tracks, Hernan Cattaneo’s style with his Residents is unique, Soundexile´s tracks that are always amazing, the sound of Folgar since it was Interaxxis with some distortions that scratch the head, the wonderful sound of Kevin Di Serna is something magical, the compositions of Ezequiel Arias with their intense backgrounds and I could continue to name more artists with their styles but I would spend it naming everyone hahaha
Do you have any current projects you can share with us?
Yes, I have this list of some projects.
I have some new projects but I’m still working on it and they are not ready yet.
What are you hoping to accomplish with Wormhole?
With Wormhole I hope I can reach more listeners, I hope to make Tokumori known and I hope I can earn a place on the world progressive house scene.
