Anime Central has long been the host of an annual club-style event focused on bringing Japanese DJs and producers out to the US to perform for their attendees. One of, if not the first of its kind, the party has seen its name changed a few times over the years.
Originally HARDCORE SYNERGY from 2008-2014, the focus was on Japanese hardcore and related genres of music. In 2015 the name was changed to SYNERGY, a reflection of the event's shift to welcoming all genres and the addition of major label affiliated producers and DJs.
Starting this year, we here at scrmbl are teaming up with Anime Central to organize the party, bringing out an absolutely stacked lineup of the best of Japan's electronic music landscape. To reflect this we pitched to rename the event once again to INTERSECT, inspired by our aim create an event where the best of the Japanese club scene meets the legacy of Anime Central supporting Japan's club & electronic music culture.
With all of that being said, let's talk about this year's lineup, which may just be the most stacked selection of DJs we have hosted from Japan in the past 18 years. Listed in alphabetical order:
☆Taku Takahashi (m-flo)
☆Taku Takahashi may be best known by fans as one third of the iconic Japanese hip-hop/dance trio m-flo, but his production credits and ability go much further.
On top of work with a who's who of the Japanese music industry like Hikaru Utada, BE:FIRST, Crystal Kay, and NEWS, he's also an accomplished composer in the anime world. His work on Studio TRIGGER's recent NEW PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT spawned multiple hit tracks independent of the series.
☆Taku is a returning guest at Anime Central and he's known for pulling out some surprises during his sets that make each one special. You won't want to miss what he has up his sleeves this year.
Banvox
Banvox is an artist who has seen success on all sides of the industry. His debut album Intense Electro Disco was released on iconic Japanese netlabel Maltine Records and was an instant hit and his follow-up INSTINCT DAZZLING STARLIGHT EP was a similar success, reaching #2 on the Beatport chart upon release.
Since his debut he has hit one major milestone after another and has performed globally at major events like ULTRA and ROCK IN JAPAN. His original songs have been heard in major campaigns from top global companies and have been supported by some of the electronic music world's biggest acts. His career only continues to rise, and we'll be watching to see what the next height he reaches will be.
Banvox is also a return guest at Anime Central, last appearing in 2017. We're excited to welcome him back so fans can see how he's continued to evolve.
Kenmochi Hidefumi
Best known to many in the west as a member of Wednesday Campanella, Kenmochi Hidefumi has been making waves his entire career. Discovered by Nujabes in his early days, his album Falliccia was released on Hydeout Productions in 2008. In 2012 he joined Wednesday Campanella as the primary sound producer, spawning a plethora of fan favorite and viral tracks including 2024’s “Edison”.
He's also been attached to projects like The iDOLM@STER, Den-on-Bu, and produced Mori Calliope's “Future Island” as a special theme for volume 106 of the ONE PIECE manga. Anime fans would also recognize his work from Wednesday Campanella's recent anime contributions for series like Ranma 1/2, Kowloon Generic Romance, and Ramen Akaneko.
Kenmochi's live sets are absolutely electric and we can't wait for the Anime Central crowd to experience it for themselves!
kors k
One of the most prolific producers in the world of konami's BEMANI series of music games, kors k has long been a fan favorite. His work covers genres from house to hardcore to trance and more. He has also acted as the primary sound producer for the DanceDanceRevolution, DANCERUSH STARDOM, and DANCE aROUND games for Konami as well.
Outside of music games he's also a producer for Exit Tunes sub-label EDP, and performs with pianist marasy under the unit name maras k. He also self-releases music on his own label S2TB Recording, which has also released works from other popular artists from Japan's club scene.
kors k last appeared at Anime Central in 2024, and his sets are always crowd-pleasers so we're excited to welcome him back!
Soichi Terada presents Sumo x Apes (live AV)
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 synchronized 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.
Supporting our guests from Japan are area native DJs:
W.T. Snacks
A name carrying much internet infamy, W.T. Snacks has been the host of his own weekly online radio show and downloadable podcast “Midnight Snacks” for the past 20+ years, showcasing a variety of music from around the world, often with an emphasis on the best electronic music from Japan.
Both solo and as half of the DJ duo SNACK ATTACK with DJ HYPE☆GIRL, he’s spent much of the past half-decade taking the IRL convention scene by storm, performing live sets at dozens of conventions like Anime Central, Anime Expo, MAGFest and beyond. The internet has always been his home though, and he’s performed nearly 100 online and VR events since 2020 alone.
An all-mix DJ to the extreme, Snacks enjoys showcasing the breadth of his musical knowledge in his DJing style, dropping a multitude of genres, from reckless rave, panic pop, warp house, future club, and hybrid twerk, to irregular hi-break, candy hypercore, nu-style festival sound and underground international netstyle.
Heroic.vers
Heroic.vers brings you the global bangers and rarities. Based in Chicago, heroic.vers was raised on european dance music compilations and the arcade game DanceDanceRevolution.
He started his DJ journey in Nagoya, Japan, playing tunes for his friends at an intimate hookah bar. As an internationally celebrated rhythm-gamer, his influence comes from the Chicago and Tokyo night life scenes. Since his North American debut, he has gone on deep explorations of the Chicago music scene.
In 2025 he started heroic.versRADIO as a live YouTube show where he collaborates with fellow DJ’s who inspire him. Today, he produces the party Yamanote Disco Line, a party that merges the sounds of Tokyo and Chicago. You can also catch him at his monthly party, Babylon, which celebrates classic turn of the century club culture.
INTERSECT is only one of many things we have planned for the weekend of Anime Central 2026. We'll have more announcements as we creep ever closer to convention weekend, so be sure to keep an eye out for more developments in the coming weeks!
