Dj Jinnai
Mix it up. Mix it up. How do you mix it up? With a turntable like this. Mix it up.
Don’t fret if you can’t understand that caption. It’s an inside joke between Glenn and I. Anyway, today I thought I’d write about an artist that you’ve probably never heard of. Although, some of you may have heard the name Dj Jinnai if you like to attend anime conventions. You may have even seen him perform. He’s a small-time DJ who primarily focuses his attention on remixing anime theme songs, J-pop, and will occasionally blend that music with American pop. No matter what the original songs may have sounded like, Dj Jinnai’s takes are always quite fast with aggressively pounding drum loops.
I remember saying in reaction to Kid606’s remix of The Locust’s “Well I’ll Be a Monkey’s Uncle” that I was a sucker for really fast drum loops. That love of speedy, synthetic percussion still applies today, so I may be a bit biased towards Dj Jinnai’s style. And I’ll admit that he does not produce terribly revolutionary or inventive music; however, his material does make for quite a fun listen. If you’re a fan of Azumanga Daioh then you should enjoy his amusing take on the theme song: “Soramimi Cake Remix.” If you enjoyed Chobits, then hearing Dj Jinnai’s remix of “Ningyo Hime” should provide listeners with an interesting experience. It mixes vocals from Dido’s song “Thank You” along with the original vocals by Rie Tanaka so well that it seems like the two singers actually collaborated. “rEvangelion” mixes together original music from the Evangelion soundtrack. Sorry fan boys, “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” isn’t in the mix (thank god, I’ve heard that song way too many times).
Much to my surprise, Dj Jinnai is signed up with a record label called Nemesis Records, which features other Asian artists like Kristine Sa and J. Cabrera. The only album I can find that features Dj Jinnai is a remix album called Anime Toonz Volume 3: Lemon Edition that he created with labelmate Kristine Sa, so that’s the album I’ll link to for purchasing. Kristine Sa’s site is a little a funky, so the link may not work.
Buy Anime Toonz Volume 3: Lemon Edition by Kristine Sa and Dj Jinnai
Dj Jinnai / Oranges & Lemons – Soramimi Cake Remix
Dj Jinnai / Dido / Rie Tanaka – Ningyo Hime
Dj Jinnai – rEvangelion
The songs that I link to above are not from Anime Toonz Volume 3: Lemon Edition. In fact, I don’t think they are for sale on any album. But they, and many other songs by Dj Jinnai, are freely available at Soundclick and at his website.