Anime Central announce this year that the annual music event SYNERGY will now become INTERSECT. Featuring an all star lineup of DJs from Japan.
Featured artists are Taku Takahashi, Soichi Terada, BANVOX, Kenmochi Hidefumi and kors k.
☆Taku Takahashi served as the sound producer for the globally acclaimed anime series “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” as well as its latest installment “New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt,” and also produced their soundtracks. His work on the series—known for its bold fusion of electronic music and pop culture—has earned cult status and international recognition worldwide.
As a solo artist, he has produced and remixed tracks for a wide range of domestic and international artists, including Hikaru Utada (UTADA), Calvin Harris, BE:FIRST, NEWS, Crystal Kay, Miliyah Kato, MINMI, EXID, eill, and so many more artists. In August 2023, he released the official remix “Gold Mata Au Hi Made (☆Taku Takahashi’s Twice Upon A Time Remix)” for Hikaru Utada (UTADA), which achieved international success and drew attention worldwide.
(KKS interviewed Taku in the past which you can check out here!)
Producer of Wednesday Campanella and composer behind multiple anime theme songs, including ONE PIECE, with award-winning works recognized at Cannes Lions 2024 and MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025.
Kenmochi Hidefumi is a Tokyo-based music producer, composer, and DJ, best known as the sound producer of Wednesday Campanella. His work blends electronic, hip-hop, and experimental music, and he has recently expanded his presence in anime and global pop projects.
His debut album “Intense Electro Disco”, released on the online label Maltine Records in 2011, and was downloaded 4,000 times in 2 days.
In 2012, his digital EP “INSTINCT DAZZLING STARLIGHT EP” released on Surfer Rosa Records in the U.K. and debuted at #2 on the Beatport chart, the largest dance music distributor in the U.S.. The EP has been praised by David Guetta, Avicii, Dirtyloud, BBC Asian Network, and others, and has since been remixed by a number of international artists.
He has since been remixing for a number of international artists.
In 2014, BANVOX was selected as one of the “iTunes NEW ARTISTS 2014,” and each single he has released since then has reached #1 on the iTunes Japan Dance / Electronic Chart. He has also released his first CD, “Watch Me”.
His first CD, “Watch Me Dance”, was released exclusively at Tower Records, and was selected as a featured title in “Tower Records Men”. In the same month, he performed with SKRILLEX at his Club Gig in Japan.
His first full-length album “Donʼt Wanna Be” was released in December 2014 and reached No. 1 on the iTunes Japan Dance Chart and No. 4 on the iTunes Japan Chart.
kors k is a popular producer and DJ who provides numerous tracks for various rhythm games under KONAMI’s BEMANI brand. His skills extend beyond composing; in recent years, he has also taken charge of music production for titles such as DanceDanceRevolution, DANCERUSH STARDOM, and DANCE aROUND.
Japanese electronic music pioneer Soichi Terada unveils a brand-new live set, Sumo x Apes, a unique performance that bridges his iconic work across jungle, house and video game soundtracks.
Terada first captured international attention with his 1996 album Sumo Jungle, a playful yet technically masterful excursion into breakbeats and basslines, blending the raw energy of jungle with his distinct melodic sensibility. Alongside this, he is celebrated for composing over 500 hours of original music for the groundbreaking Japanese video game series Ape Escape in the late 1990s. These soundtracks became cult favourites, first reissued by Amsterdam’s Rush Hour label as the six-track compilation Apes in the Net, and more recently revisited as a quadruple vinyl boxset through Terada’s own Far East Recordings in collaboration with Cartridge Thunder Recordings.
With Sumo x Apes, Terada brings these worlds together for the first time in an immersive live performance – touring very exclusively alongside his usual house outings. The set reimagines highlights from Sumo Jungle alongside material inspired by his Ape Escape compositions, weaving breakbeats, melodies and rhythms into a journey both nostalgic and futuristic. Central to the show is a new visual concept designed by Terada himself. Merging traditional Japanese imagery with the surreal aesthetics of computer games, the visuals are fully synchronised to the music, transforming the performance into a dynamic, game-like environment where sound and image interact in real time.
Sumo x Apes is both a celebration of Terada’s legacy and a fresh leap into the future – an invitation to step inside his playful universe, where jungle meets joystick, and simulation goes sumo.
Catch them this year at Anime Central, May 15-17 2026!
About Anime Central
Anime Central (ACen) is the largest anime, manga and Japanese popular culture convention in Chicago and the Midwest. ACen happens once a year in the Spring (around April or May) less than 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, in Rosemont, IL. The convention is held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL.
As part of its mission, ACen brings fans together with guests from the Japanese and US sectors of the anime and manga industry, as well as gaming, cinema, and Asian culture personalities. The event includes a huge exhibit hall, a massive video game room, concerts, dances, educational panels and workshops, premiere screenings, autograph sessions, 24-hour video rooms, tabletop gaming and much, much more!
Official Website: https://www.acen.org/
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