For part three of our interview series surrounding the release of Anime Toonz Vol. 4, we “visit” Japan and get the skinny on what is happening in DJ A.Q.’s world. Having worked in music production since 1999, A.Q. has been a huge fan of the anime aesthetic both visually and aurally. It comes across in many of his trance-influenced productions, and made him an obvious choice for this project. Let’s hear what he has to say about his two loves, music and animation. Interview after the jump.

http://www.auraqualic-sounds.com/
http://www.myspace.com/auraqualicsounds

New York-Tokyo: How did you get involved in electronic music?
DJ A.Q.: I was a pop and rock composer back in 1999. When 2001 came the first music that I fell in love was System-F’s “Out of the Blue,” the pads and those synth melodies made me fall towards trance, dance, and so on.

NYT: What is the music scene like where you live now?
AQ: I live in Japan, and music in Japan is pretty colorful. A lot of entertaining melodies are made. If you compare to the American and European scenes a lot of music can get you some idea about the basics of music culture.

NYT: When did you first discover Japanese animation? What was the first film or series that you saw?
AQ: I haver been watching Japanese Animation since I was little, the first anime that really took me to the hobby and made me an “OTAKU” was the first Dragon Ball series in the 80’s.

NYT: Tell us about your method for remixing an anime theme. What was your main focus?
AQ: I remix anime songs that I like when I’m in the mood, I listen to the song until it won’t get out of my head so I can feel it and learn it. My main focus is to not wreck the original song feeling and stay to the same beat that made the song how it was. I look at it and think what genre I can do with the song itself so I can adjust to my self.

NYT: Besides yourself, who would you want to see do an anime remix and why?
AQ: From the first to the last Ferry Corsten is the one I want to see remixing an anime song. he is the one who taught me how to make Trance and step further into electronic music, and for that reason I want to hear his classic trance sound just like the old days in an anime remix.

NYT: If you could remix any anime theme song out there, which one would you choose and what would you do to it?
AQ: With my 7 years of experiencing anime game soundtracks remixed into trance and dance music, the only song I never wanted to remix is an anime called “Kisetsu wo Dakishimete” it was a game called “Yarudora (Yaru Dorama)” an interactive anime back in 1998 on Playstation 1 and even now a resell on the PSP, from the story to the ending theme “Kisetsu wo Dakishimete” made me fall in love and it was the first anime that made me cry. I have always wanted to remix the song with a heavenly trance feeling.

By NYT