was a disco located in the Roppongi district of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. Velfarre was the self-professed "largest disco in Asia" with a capacity of 1,500 people, with three floors above ground and three floors below; owned by

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...

and Avex Trax. Velfarre was known for

Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurore ...

Techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

Para Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most club dancing and rave dancing, there are specific synchronized movements for each song much like line dancing. Para Para has existed since the early 1980s when European countries starte ...

, and Disco related events. Velfarre held concerts for Avex Trax artists, and was able to be rented for private events.''A Special Tribute to Velfarre''
April 8th, 2007, by Dennis A. Amith, Michelle Tymon, Hiroshi Tagawa and Mamiko Kubota, retrieved April 8th, 2007

Influence

Velfarre played a significant role in the

scene. In 1998, velfarre hosted its first

event called SEF HYPER; ''SEF'' being an acronym for ''Super Euro Flash''. The weekly Para Para event at velfarre underwent two name changes over the years, first changing to: SEF MACH! (from the 3rd

boom); and ending with SEF GOLD. Hi-NRG Attack Studios produced several

songs dedicated to Velfarre, including: * Velfarre 2000 by Bazooka Girl * Hey Hey Velfarre by Bazooka Girl * Super Euro Flash by Franz ''V.I.P.'' Tornado & Bazooka ''T.C.V.'' Girl * Everybody Velfarre by Bazooka Girl * The Class Of Velfarre by Bazooka Girl * Velfarre 2006 by Garcon * Velfarre 10 by Franz Tornado & Bazooka Girl ''TCV'' stands for ''The Class of Velfarre''; the nickname of Velfarre's VIP Floor. Velfarre hosted many world-class Trance DJs, such as

Johan Gielen Johan Gielen () is a trance artist, DJ, and remixer. He was born on 23 February 1968 in the town of Mol, Belgium. Early years Johan started DJing at the age of 17 in his home country of Belgium, and during the latest 15 years has built up an ...

and

Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...

. Trance was a fundamental part of Velfarre. John Robinson first introduced it at Millenia and PLANET LOVE. Cyber Trance was a natural evolution from the movement started by John Robinson at PLANET LOVE. Johan Gielen also played a significant role with Cyber Trance at Velfarre. When he was working under John as a resident DJ from 1995 to 1997 - trance was a major part of their sets. Gielen was at the final Cyber Trance at Velfarre; John was the DJ for the final New Year countdown, Johan played after John ~ there then followed a succession of DJs who had played at Velfarre over the years before John returned at 11am and played the final set before Velfarre's oversized mirror ball was dimmed for the very last time.

Albums

Avex released its first Velfarre CD "Velfarre Volume 1 - Welcome To The Future" in February 1995. This release was the first in a series of discs, which was the replacement for the "Juliana's Tokyo" mix CDs. The importance of the mix CDs cannot be understated ~ without the Juliana's Tokyo series, there would be no Avex or Velfarre as that was what provided the seed money for the rapid growth of the company. ''(Both series were mixed and produced by DJ John Robinson who was also the head DJ at both clubs. He was later rewarded for his efforts by being appointed to the board of directors of Velfarre)''. "Disco Week in Velfarre" also released in 1995 was bundled with an Avex J-POP concert album titled "TK DANCE CAMP" to make up a 2-CD set titled "AVEX DANCE MATRIX `95 LIVE". "Disco Week in Velfarre" was also the first velfarre video release in VHS/LD featuring performances by International and Japanese performers. And additional performances not found on the CD version. In 1997, with the success of the "J-POP NIGHT" events at Velfarre", Avex released "VELFARRE J-POP NIGHT presents DANCE with you" which featured MAX, SPEED, D&D and many others singing a Eurobeat rendition of classic J-POP songs by Pink Lady, Finger Five and more. Velfarre's influence in the Cyber Trance genre prompted Avex Trax to release a moderately successful series of non-stop Trance mixes bearing velfarre's name. The first album in the series did not bear the velfarre name, released simply as "Cyber Trance" on July 4, 2001. The first album bearing velfarre's name is actually the second album in the series, "velfarre Cyber TRANCE 01 ～BEST HIT TRANCE～", released November 7, 2001. Whether series will continue after velfarre's closing is unknown. The most recent release in the series to date is a 2 CD+DVD box set titled, "Velfarre Cyber Trance Complete Collection" and "Velfarre complete best 1994-2006" which is a 6-CD box set featuring the different types of music from velfarre past broken down to groups such as "Hyper Techno Floor", "Hyper Trance Floor", "Dance Pop Floor", "Eurobeat Floor", "Disco House Floor" and "After Hours Floor" and including a booklet detailing the history of velfarre.

Legend has it that

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 ...

first met her future producer,

Max Matsuura , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notably Ayumi Hamas ...

, one night at velfarre. Ayumi was known to frequent velfarre in her teenage years.

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

recorded a live album, Greatest Hits Live, at Velfarre in 1995.

Closing

Velfarre opened on December 2, 1994 and closed their doors on January 1, 2007. After 12 years of operation, Velfarre was forced to close as the lease on the land that the club was built on could not be renewed. On December 31, 2006, velfarre hosted its final countdown event, "Countdown to the Future", and on January 1, 2007, featured "the LAST DANCE", the final event for velfarre and the first dance of 2007. Velfarre closed its doors and ended its 12-year history at noon on January 1, 2007. At the Cyber Trance FINAL event on 30 December 2006, Komuro Tetsuya stated on stage that, "Velfarre will be back!". In July 2011,

Niwango was a Japanese company that was created to manage Niconico. Its headquarters are in the in Shibuya, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Jap ...

, the operator of Nico Nico Douga, started operating "Nicofarre" at the same place but with a smaller size. The new club has five LED wallscreens that project comments to the crowd, much like Niconico's comment system. "Nicofarre" ended its business at the end of July 2019.

References

External links

official velfarre website (English and Japanese)
{{Avex Group Avex Group Nightclubs in Japan Entertainment companies established in 1994 Japanese companies disestablished in 2007 Japanese companies established in 1994 Entertainment companies disestablished in 2007