AW: When did you start making music? What were your initial influences?

GT: When I was 11 years old. I found Kraftwerk. And I was interested in music. After that, I found UK rave music like a Prodigy, LFO, Night Mares On Wax and so on. And I met jungle, underground hip hop, dub, industrial, hardcore punk, and experimental noise music. So, through many kinds of music.

AW: How did you discover dubstep and what drew you to that sound?

GT: Wiley’s Mogue was the first to have an impact on me. After that, I tried to make instrumental grime tunes. The first tune which I made was Back To Chill in 2005. Dubstep DJs in the UK were interested in the tune, and played it at a dubstep night in the UK. I recognised it is dubstep.

AW: Your last album Mad Raver's Dance Floor is a mixing pot of different influences and genres, can you explain how that came about?

GT: I expressed the chaotic situation of Tokyo though that album. For better or worse, there is a lot of information in Japan. Sometimes, people lose their way. On the other hand, we can choose everything. Madraver’s Dance Floor is the diary of one night in my life.

AW: Are there any plans for a new album? What's next for Goth Trad?

GT: I’m writing new tunes now. I don’t know about a new album yet.

AW: What is the gh401STUDIO?  Are you looking to produce for vocalists and soundtracks?

GT: Gh401 was my old flat number when I started to write music. I [named] it [that] because I never forget and I keep the passion of that period, I sometimes write music for emcee’s, and last year, I produced some music for a Japanese traditional puppet theater. It was a kind of Opera. But normally, I’m producing instrumental music.

AW: What equipment do you use? I heard you used to make your own electronics.

GT: Now, I use the software Ableton Live with PC for producing. For Live sets, I use Ableton on PC, Mixing desk and some of outboard effects. And I made some pedals and original equipment when I was playing experimental/noise music. Sometimes, I record the samples from them.

AW: You've been making music for over a decade but only started DJing (relatively) recently, why the hesitation?

GT: When I start to produce music, I was not going to DJ because almost all of the DJs in Japan were not playing their own music. Just buying new vinyls or rare vinyls. I felt it’s not original. So, I was playing only live sets. But in the dubstep scene, DJing is very important. DJs are playing own tunes and dubplates. The scene is built with dubplates. So I started to DJing for the development of dubstep in Japan. I want to [show] this happen to other Japanese young DJs. And I hope this will develop to another genre.

AW: Is there a difference between Japanese and overseas audiences, or are we all just music fans?

GT: I feel overseas audience are interested in new sounds. In Japan, people sometimes hesitate with new things. But it’s the same audience for me.

GOTH-TRAD plays the Step Inn Saturday Jun 7. www.gothtrad.com.

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