GROW THE CULTURE kicks off a candid interview series with the people behind our Tokyo-based underground dance music culture, starting with founder Hisaki (Midnight Runner) and maidable.

② Why We Do GROW THE CULTURE OPEN AIR

Hisaki: There aren’t really many DIY outdoor events in Japan that are rooted in bass music or inspired by UK sound system culture. So I want to keep doing this for as long as we can, partly because I think it’s a pretty unique thing to have here. And honestly, I’d love to see other people try doing something similar, too.

maidable: Like the name “OPEN AIR” suggests, there are still a lot of people in Japan who aren’t that familiar with this kind of event. But I think that’s exactly what makes it interesting. Compared to a club event, there are so many more possibilities. Being able to build things yourself and enjoy that DIY process is one of them.

Hisaki: At festivals like Outlook Origins, the Croatian bass music festival, you look around and think, “Everyone’s here!” (laughs). I’d love for GTC to become something like that, while still surprising people every year. I want to keep finding ways to express what makes Tokyo unique.

maidable: Exactly! Ultimately, what would make me happiest is reaching a point where all the artists are there…and, ideally, all the people in the crowd too.

Hisaki: Like going to a shrine for New Year’s you know, the kind of thing where everyone just goes, no questions asked.

maidable: New Year’s shrine visits might be a bit of an exaggeration (laughs), but yeah, that’s the kind of ambition I want us to have. I’d love for GTC to become an icon of Tokyo’s underground scene.

Hisaki: In that sense, our priority has always been the people in Japan who genuinely love this kind of underground music. We still go to events ourselves as punters, and we’ve always been consistent about putting together lineups with a real focus on authenticity. That hasn’t changed since the very beginning.

maidable: Even among parties that are focused on bass music, we try to keep things as flat and open as possible, without being too tied to any particular scene, circle, or background. I think that’s important to us. Ideally, international artists should feel like they naturally belong within the lineup, rather than standing out simply because they’re from overseas. I’d be happy if that sense of openness comes across to the audience, too.

■

The full lineup for Outlook Origins, held from July 23–27, 2026. From Japan, Stones Taro, who will also be playing at this year’s GTC OPEN AIR, and UKD, who played last year, appeared as Double Clapperz.

Hisaki: At festivals like Outlook Origins, the Croatian bass music festival, you look around and think, “Everyone’s here!” (laughs). I’d love for GTC to become something like that, while still surprising people every year. I want to keep finding ways to express what makes Tokyo unique.

maidable: Exactly! Ultimately, what would make me happiest is reaching a point where all the artists are there…and, ideally, all the people in the crowd too.

Hisaki: Like going to a shrine for New Year’s you know, the kind of thing where everyone just goes, no questions asked.

maidable: New Year’s shrine visits might be a bit of an exaggeration (laughs), but yeah, that’s the kind of ambition I want us to have. I’d love for GTC to become an icon of Tokyo’s underground scene.

Hisaki: In that sense, our priority has always been the people in Japan who genuinely love this kind of underground music. We still go to events ourselves as punters, and we’ve always been consistent about putting together lineups with a real focus on authenticity. That hasn’t changed since the very beginning.

maidable: Even among parties that are focused on bass music, we try to keep things as flat and open as possible, without being too tied to any particular scene, circle, or background. I think that’s important to us. Ideally, international artists should feel like they naturally belong within the lineup, rather than standing out simply because they’re from overseas. I’d be happy if that sense of openness comes across to the audience, too.

■

The full lineup for Outlook Origins, held from July 23–27, 2026. From Japan, Stones Taro, who will also be playing at this year’s GTC OPEN AIR, and UKD, who played last year, appeared as Double Clapperz.

Hisaki: I think our lineups are pretty unique every year. Compared to when we first started, we’ve got a much more established team and structure now, so recently we’ve been able to properly give a platform to artists who are really making moves right now, as well as younger artists.

maidable: Definitely. I feel like the lineup has become much deeper and more diverse. And I think this year’s fourth edition has the best balance so far between unexpected choices and names that just make sense.

Hisaki: There are still so many people I’d love to bring over. But we basically keep everyone’s set between one and one and a half hours. I’m not really into shortening everyone’s set just to squeeze more artists in. So it’s more about figuring out how to build the best lineup with those limited 16 slots.

maidable: We could make the venue bigger, bring in more artists, and run it over several days. That’s definitely an option. But for where we are right now, I think this scale feels right. One stage running for 20 hours, with the VOID sound system and all these DIY elements throughout the site, that feels very true to who we are.

Hisaki: Even at this scale, around 300 to 400 people—there still aren’t many events like this in Japan, as I said earlier. So it would be great if GTC could become a stage that people look up to, or even something they aspire to be part of. Although we don’t really think of ourselves as providing some kind of “big stage.”

maidable: It goes back to what we said earlier about becoming an icon of Tokyo’s underground scene. But that doesn’t mean becoming some untouchable or elevated institution. Culture is something everyone involved creates together. That’s also what’s behind the name GROW THE CULTURE. I want us to keep that in mind going forward.

Hisaki: Ray Keith once said something like, “No matter how cool a DJ is, once they step outside the club, they’re just another person.” In that sense, I want us to stay committed to creating one community without putting up unnecessary barriers between people.

maidable: That’s a good way of putting it. There were definitely times when being in a kind of alternative, almost non-everyday environment like a club made us feel like we were somehow special. Especially when we were in our early twenties and had that invincible feeling (laughs). But now I really relate to what Ray Keith said.

Hisaki: Everyone might DJ, make music, or be into this kind of music, but during the day they’re just going to work like everyone else. And our audience is making a conscious decision to spend an entire night at our event despite how busy their lives are. The Tokyo scene is obviously much smaller than what you have in Europe, so I think our immediate goal is to figure out how to connect with the people who make the effort to come out, what kind of experience we can give them, and how we can build an original community together. To move beyond all these different categories and eventually become an icon in our own right.

maidable: I feel like a truly flat community can only emerge once those social labels and categories are stripped away. I want GTC to be both a place where that can happen and a foundation for it.

Hisaki: That’s why having one stage at an outdoor event works so well. We’re running for 20 hours straight, and it’s cold in early November, so everyone there shares the same challenges. There’s this feeling that you have to stick together to get through it. And because there’s a clear finish line—the end of the event—you can push yourself to keep going.

maidable: Compared to events in the city, it’s a little more thrilling, in a way. I think that environment actually creates a stronger sense of togetherness, and makes it the kind of experience that stays with you long after the event is over.

Hisaki: Although, to be honest, we only hold it in November because I hate the heat. The first one was at the end of November, and that was way too cold. Frankie $ was wearing a short-sleeved shirt though.

maidable: (Laughs.) We moved it to early November last year, and I think it’s actually the perfect timing. There’s less chance of typhoons, and the temperature usually isn’t too extreme.

Hisaki: It’s that perfect time of year where you’re not too cold once you’re moving, but you’re freezing if you’re standing still. So I want to keep the vibe of, “Dance or die!” (laughs). Anyway, I guess I got a little off track there, but that’s basically it.