DJ Kentaro

DJ Kentaro
DJ Kentaro
Birth name	Kentaro Okamoto
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Hip hop, electro, drum and bass
Occupation(s)	Musician, DJ
Years active	2000-present
Labels	Ninja Tune, Pressure Sounds
Website	www.djkentaro.com

Kentaro Okamoto (born c.1982), better known as DJ Kentaro, is a Japanese musician and DJ.^[1] 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.^[2]^[3]^[4] 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.^[3]

He was signed to independent record label Ninja Tune and released a Solid Steel DJ mix album in September 2005, entitled On The Wheels of Solid Steel. 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.^[5]

Kentaro recently supported hip-hop artists The Roots and The Pharcyde. Kentaro is well known for having remixed various songs of Japanese megastar Ayumi Hamasaki. Kentaro was featured by Soil & "Pimp" Sessions 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, Ninja Tune)
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 (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

^ Tuff Kuts review, The Wire, 2008, vol. 293-298, p. 70
^ "DJ Kentaro", Ninja Tune. Retrieved 20 January 2013
^ ^a ^b Gritt, Emma (2012) "DJ Kentaro: I threw my first party aged 14 at a club called Ghetto Archived 2012-09-22 at the Wayback Machine", The Independent, 20 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013
^ Jarnes, Mark (2012) "DJ Kentaro set to scratch a new itch", The Japan Times, 28 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013
^ Marinaccio, Elena (2007) "DJ Kentaro Enter", CMJ New Music Monthly, July 2007, p. 44. Retrieved 20 January 2013