Kentaro Okamoto (born c.1982), better known as DJ Kentaro, is a musician and DJ from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.''Tuff Kuts'' review, ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'', 2008, vol. 293-298, p. 70 He won third place in the Technics category of the DMC World DJ Final in 2001 and won it in 2002 at the age of 20.DJ Kentaro
, Ninja Tune. Retrieved 20 January 2013Gritt, Emma (2012)
DJ Kentaro: I threw my first party aged 14 at a club called Ghetto
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The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 20 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013Jarnes, Mark (2012)
DJ Kentaro set to scratch a new itch
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The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', 28 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013 In doing so, he became one of the first persons of Asian descent to win the DMC World DJ Final, receiving the highest score in DMC history in the process. He was signed to

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visit ...

and released a

Solid Steel ''Solid Steel'' are a series of DJ mix albums issued on Ninja Tune, an independent record label in the UK. ''Solid Steel'' also has a radio station webcast and related live concerts which further showcase the DJing talents of such artists. In 1 ...

DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

album in September 2005, entitled ''

On The Wheels of Solid Steel ''Solid Steel'' are a series of DJ mix albums issued on Ninja Tune, an independent record label in the UK. ''Solid Steel'' also has a radio station webcast and related live concerts which further showcase the DJing talents of such artists. I ...

''. The tracks on the album come exclusively from Ninja Tune's back catalogue. His first album of entirely original material, ''Enter'', was released on April 30, 2007.Marinaccio, Elena (2007)
DJ Kentaro ''Enter''
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'', July 2007, p. 44. Retrieved 20 January 2013 Kentaro recently supported hip-hop artists

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

and

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...

. Kentaro is well known for having remixed various songs of Japanese megastar

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

. Kentaro was featured by

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions Soil & "Pimp" Sessions (stylised as SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS) is a Japanese club jazz sextet who formed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001. They are known for their energetic live performances, having coined the term "death jazz" to describe their music. Histo ...

on their 2013 album "Circles".

DJ Awards

*2002 DMC World Final - Champion *2002 DMC Japan Final - Champion *2001 DMC World Final - 3rd place *2001 DMC Japan Final - Champion *2001 Teens DJ Championships - Champion *2000 VESTAX Extravaganza - World Finalist *2000 ITF Japan - 2nd place

Discography

Albums

* ''On The Wheels Of Solid Steel'' (2004), Beat - reissued (2005),

* ''Enter: DJ Kentaro'' (2007), Ninja Tune - includes appearances by Spank Rock and Pharcyde * ''Pressure Sounds Presents: "Tuff Cuts" DJ Kentaro's Crucial Mix'' (2008),

Pressure Sounds Pressure Sounds is a British DIY record label, specializing in releasing reggae music. Run by Pete Holdsworth, it is one of the most enduring reggae labels in the UK, specializing in reissuing obsolete tunes. It was originally a subsidiary o ...

- reggae mix * ''Nama: Live Mix'' (2008), Endeavor Entertainment - includes tracks by Hexstatic, Spank Rock, Squarepusher and DJ Kentaro's own tracks * ''Contrast'' (2012), Ninja Tune * ''Jaran'' (2017), TREKKIE TRAX * ''Wakataka'' (2018), Endeavor Entertainment Ltd.

DVD

*''Enter The Newground Live!!'' (2008), Ninja Tune

Singles

*"Harvest Dance" (2007), Beat *"Trust" (2007), Ninja Tune *"Free" (2007), Ninja Tune *"New Future" (2018), Endeavor Entertainment Ltd. *"Matsuri" (2022), Endeavor Entertainment Ltd.

References

External links

* – official site *
DJ Kentaro
interview by

Andrez Bergen Andrez Simon Bergen is an Australian musician and writer. , Bergen lived in Tokyo, Japan with his wife, Yoko Umehara, and their daughter Cocoa. He has performed and released electronic music as Little Nobody. Biography Andrez Simon Bergen, ...

(

Daily Yomiuri The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four ...

, 2007)
DJ Kentaro
profile at Weeloop {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentaro, Dj Japanese DJs Ninja Tune artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Miyagi Prefecture