Back in 2022, a couple members of Footpatrol had the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands with alongside ASICS and fellow ASICS TOMO accounts such as Naked, Slam Jam & more. Whilst there and placed into teams, we all had the opportunity to work come together and work on a bespoke makeup for the new GT-2160. The joint venture resulted in the creation of the ASICS GT-2160 TOMO “Kogarashi,” which is a Japanese concept that signifies where summer meets winter, and warm connects to the cold. 

Building on that idea of people working together and inline with our frequent players franchise, we looked not only at seasonal changes but also how music traverses the globe but also the idea of connecting people no matter the climate. With that said, to celebrate we brought together three DJ’s from London (Alexander Nut), Paris (Jojo Krazzy) and Japan (vloQee) to work on three bespoke mixes and how music speaks to their respected regions.

The ASICS GT-2160 TOMO edition is now available to shop online at Footpatrol here!

Footpatrol: Hey, we hope you’re good? Huge thanks to the three of you for taking the time to talk to us. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and what it is you do?

Jojo: I’m Jojo SK, Producer/DJ from Paris, I started as a music producer and I blended this part of my skills with DJ’ing, now I run an event organisation called Sixtion, the sickest night in Paris.

Alex Nut: Hello Footpatrol, my name is Alex Nut, im a DJ, producer, label owner and radio host, born and bred in the infamous West Midlands, but have spent the last 20+ years living in East London, paying top dollar for fancy coffee and easily accessing a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. I’ve got a love for the more Soulful side of Underground Club music, from Hip Hop to House, Broken Beat to Boogie, Jungle to Jazz. My taste is pretty broad.

vloQee: I’m vloQee, an artist from Indonesia, I created character called “sebatsmen”, living in Tokyo for 6 years, where I pursue my academics and dreams while also DJing, modeling, and assisting Sabukaru online for events or content.

FP: Can you tell us about your origins in music, and your influences? 

Jojo: I’m originally from Congo but I was born in France and grew up in the UK so I’m highly influenced by Afro-Caribbean sounds, and of course hip hop, the UK House scene.

Alex Nut: It goes as far back as i can remember, from my parents’ record collection, to Wolverhampton pirate radio, where i later ended up playing (big up Sky Line).. To the influences of early hip hop culture, graffiti, sound system culture, skating, dancing and digging for vinyl. Im old enough that vinyl was still the format of choice when i was a kid. Then i became a bit of a rave soldier, i’ve been out in clubs every week since i was 15, its just a part of who i am. When i moved to London i ended up getting a show on Rinse FM, which i did for 8 years before moving over to NTS. Plastic People was was my spiritual home, and was where i resided for a good number of years till it closed. That place was a huge influence on me and my musical journey.

vloQee: My mix is influenced by my surroundings and the music my friends create, with a strong emphasis on gabber, drum and bass, and trance, but on a daily basis, I primarily listen to jazz, hc-punk, and hip-hop.

FP: Can you tell us how your music links to the cities you reside in?

Jojo: My music is diversified, just like the city of Paris. 

vloQee: My music is deeply connected to the Tokyo community, fueled by influential groups like Tokyovitamin, YAGI, and Sound Sports, who bring diverse musical styles and their unique energy to the city.

Footpatrol: Alex, how have you seen the uk music scene evolve over the years? and can you tell us about how you think sneaker culture shares similarities to musical culture?

Alex Nut: Well for better and for worse i’ve definitely seen it all grow from a grassroots, underground community of ‘heads’, to spreading far and wide, having a huge worldwide influence, to it all becoming a global business. But certainly in the early days of both the footwear and club scenes, it was very much a culture of digging. Things wern’t so easily obtainable, and it didn’t really involve having much money either,,, you didn’t have to go broke to buy kicks or records.. It was more who had the strongest passion, desire, style, and taste. In the early 90’s, much like digging for records, we would hear, word of mouth, about mom and pop sports stores with dead stock or rare gear in a neighboring town or city. There wasnt that many places to get cool kicks, it wasn’t really a mainstream phenomenon back then… much like the underground music scenes. The Jordan phenomenon definitely changed things a lot, but even then, in the UK it was still kinda limited to people with an interest in BasketBall or Hip Hop. Back then my interest was in finding Gazelle’s, Sambas, Puma States and high top Pony’s, which we would cut down and skate in. But later on the Air Max 95’s dropped and that changed everything, for a few years that was all anybody wanted.

FP: What is your favourite thing about music coming out of these cities?

Jojo: I think the rap scene because it’s people that had to learn the hard way on how to go from 0 to a 100 in this industry, with most of the time little budget.

Alex Nut: I can honestly say that some of my most favorite musical memories have been down at Plastic People, which for those who don’t know was an amazing small, basement club on Curtain Rd in East London. I would go to various different nights, on different days of the week. DBridge and Steve Spacek’s Blackpockets nights were really amazing. Co-Op was the night for Broken Beat with the likes of Dego, Seiji and IG Culture and i also got to see the early formation of Grime and Dubstep down there in the early 2000’s as a regular at FWD with very young and fresh faced DJ’s/MC’s like Skream, Skepta, Plastician, Wiley, D Double E,… luckily i eventually got to play down there myself. CDR would be on a Sunday, where producers could come and try their new, unreleased music on the incredible sound system. Which is where i met Floating Points. Theo Parrish had a monthly residency there also, which was always a really special night of music… i mean, for me, nothing has ever come close to what that club was, and what it did for the underground music scene. I feel blessed to have experienced it. But yeah there was loads of other wicked nights… i would regularly frequent Bar Rumba, Herbal, Fabric, The End etc. I never got to go to Metalheadz at Bluenote or see Soul II Soul at the Africa Centre.. Which i still have FOMO about.

vloQee: What makes Tokyo’s music scene fascinating for me is the constant influx of fresh releases across various genres, happening every week or maybe everyday.

Footpatrol: Alex, eglo Records, can you tell us a bit more about this and the origins?

Alex Nut: Same as above really, it all started as a result of crossing paths and making friends with people down at Plastic People. That’s where the label started. At this time i was on Rinse FM and working in music PR radio plugging, constantly on the look out for new music and meeting artists to bring to the radio show. And this is how i ended up crossing paths with Floating Points, Fatima and Funkienven aka Steven Julien. No one had put anything out yet, so the stars aligned and it all seemed to just make sense. Still to this day, no matter how far and wide we branch out, Plastic People still really informs the spirit of the label.

FP: Can you tell us any similarities between paris music scene and fashion scene?

Jojo: They go together, people like an artist for more than the music nowadays, they want to be able to relate to a state of mind, a lifestyle, a fashion sense, and of course the music first. 

vloQee: What makes Tokyo’s music scene fascinating for me is the constant influx of fresh releases across various genres, happening every week or maybe everyday.

FP: If YOU were a sneaker, what would you be? 

Jojo: Air Force 1

Alex Nut: Gotta go for an OG Addidas Gazelle, in green. They’re just solid, timeless kicks. No frills, but still steezy.

vloQee: Maybe Mars Yard, it’s rare but everyone knows about it

Footpatrol: Alex, you’ve played all over the world, How have you seen music that comes out of the UK connecting people?

Alex Nut: The UK is the one of best places in the world for creating club music, we’ve birthed Jungle, Broken Beat, UKG, Grime, and given our own fresh take on House and Techno. We’ve got that Sound System heritage, so the low end is important here. The scenes used to be a lot more tribal and separated but now i feel its a real mixed up melting pot. The club is a unifying force, and dance music is a positive form of creative expression, and a release for many people. It’s bridged communities and forged relationships all over the world. Created jobs and international travel. Its amazing.

FP: Do you have any shows coming up where people can come and see you? And where people can also listen to your mixes?

Jojo: Yeah Oct 20th Sixtion event in Paris, not to miss out on! 

Alex Nut: We have our next Eglo Records party at Corsica Studios on 21st October with special guest Atjazz which we’re really looking forward to. I have a monthly show on NTS, and will soon be starting a new residency on Rinse FM again. If you’d liked to check out my mixes and shows head over to my Soundcloud page, I’ve got plenty of mixes up on Youtube also, dig in!

vloQee: Upcoming show this end of October and early November. You can listen some of my raw mix at mixcloud or soundcloud.

FP: Thank you for taking the time to chat to us! Are there any words of wisdom for people looking to start DJing? Or any shoutouts?

Jojo: S/O Sixtion!

Alex Nut: Yes i’d like to shout out Soul II Soul, The Wild Bunch, 4Hero, Marc Mac, Dego, Kaidi Tatham, Bugz In The Attic, Kool DJ Red Alert, Mark Pritchard, Goldie, Fabio & Grooverider, DJ Flight, Theo Parrish, Masters At Work, Jah Shaka, Channel One, Q-Tip, Benji B, J Rocc… the list is endless…. And my words of wisdom to anyone just starting out in DJ’ing… is to check out all of those names i mentioned above.

vloQee: Dan Wieden once said “just do it” and shoutout to Mr.Bianco who gives me the chances to do my first big set in Tokyo.