Under the Lazer in the Hazer: Yes Chef!

10 Minute Read

Art & Culture

Yes Chef! is the DJ duo and regular house music party run by Joe O and Good Company Broadcast Group.

Hailing from London and New Zealand, but now based in Tokyo, Joe O and G.C.B.G. first crossed paths at a remote beach rave, bonding over a deep love of house music in all its forms.

After playing back-to-back sets at venues across the Japanese capital, they joined forces and launched a monthly residency at Shibuya’s iconic Oath. Dubbed Yes Chef!, the party quickly gained traction, inviting some of Tokyo’s best underground

DJ talent and leading to sets alongside heavyweights like Ian Pooley, Antal, Mathew Jonson, and Soichi Terada. A weekly radio show followed, spotlighting their latest vinyl finds from the city’s top record shops.

In the past few years, Yes Chef! has brought rising stars Eden Burns and Jennifer Loveless to Tokyo for raucous parties at the infamous Vent, with more big nights on the horizon.

Now approaching five years of Yes Chef! as a collective, Joe O and G.C.B.G. are focused on growing the scene, not just by championing house music in Tokyo, but by connecting with dance floors across Asia and beyond.

We caught up with the founders Joe O and Good Company Broadcast Group about the journey so far, here’s what they had to say:

“In a nutshell, we’d played together a few times and had some great nights, so we decided to join forces and start our own thing. Beginning in 2020 as a monthly party at Oath, right in the heart of Shibuya, just over from the famous scramble crossing. Oath is a long-running staple of Tokyo house music culture. Alongside our monthly residency at Oath, we started to invite international guests to Tokyo once the borders opened up again after the pandemic, with semi-regular parties at Vent. Our first was an incredible packed house with Eden Burns in 2022. Followed by Jennifer Loveless, Mele, and we ran it back for another great night with Eden in 2024. Over the last 5 years we’ve been able to play nationally, in places like Hokkaido and Nagano, internationally in Australia, Bangkok, Bali, and alongside some of our house music heroes in Tokyo, like Ian Pooley, Antal and Soichi Terada. We decided long ago to put 100% of any money we make back into the party, and to pay local DJs as much as we can afford. The goal is and always has been to showcase the amazing DJs from Tokyo and around Japan, and to do our best to bring international DJs to the city, to contribute even a little to the amazing dance music culture here”

Our first night was…:
…a sweaty blur at the infamous Tengu Shokudo. We had a road worker turn up at 7am in full high-vis after his nightshift, and finished up with a random bloke playing a proper flute over the top of a Kerri Chandler record while the road worker worked his lightstick like Obi Wan Kenobi.

Our worst complaint was..

It’s been nothing but love from the very start, luckily.

Our system is designed by…

Oath soundsystem? God I have no idea…Need to check. But it sounds so good, you never need to worry about system quality in Tokyo.

If we had all the money in the world our dream lineup would be…

Mr G, Terry Francis, Roy Davis Jr

And our soundsystem would be…

Whatever Ron Trent did to the VENT soundsystem when he played there. Completely enveloped by the sound. Like a cocoon. The claps on Black Magic Woman sent chills down my spine.

The most misbehaved artists was…

We added this one guy to one of our bigger shows. He turned out to be a massive pain in the ass. We did it as a favor for a mutual friend and all he did was complain about everything from not enough drink tokens, to his friends not getting free entry (free entry isn’t really a thing in Tokyo). Fast forward a year later when I was visiting Amsterdam, his home city, and he didn’t even reply to my message. Dickhead. Great DJ though.

The most unexpected artist who absolutely killed it was…

I saw DJ Jinwook at Nyapi when I was in Seoul and he smashed it, so I asked him to come play our birthday party a few months later。It wasn’t a surprise when he destroyed because he’s such a fucking good DJ, but everyone in the room was in total awe of the way he held command of the booth and the space. One of the true OGs.

If we had unlimited resources, our dream sound system would include…

Everything sounds so good in Tokyo you just empower the sound crew to do their thing and you won’t be disappointed.

The most complex technical rider we’ve ever accommodated was… you don’t have to say who!

None, thankfully.

And the strangest rider request we’ve ever received from an artist was…

None really.

Our worst equipment failure happened during a set by… and here’s how we survived it…

We had the AC unit suddenly pack up at Oath, in the middle of a ridiculously hot Japanese summer night. Tops started to come off so we had to ‘adapt’ the selection…

USB Failure 45 seconds into our first track at Oath’s birthday festival on the main stage at Ooba Camp was pretty fun too.

How important are residents in the age of overpaid guests….

…they’re the heartbeat. Guests make moments, but residents make the identity. Without them, you’re just another booking calendar.

Our secret weapon for maintaining an incredible sound quality is…

Working with ridiculously talented engineers. Anyone who’s been to Vent in particular will know that the sound quality there is no joke.

The music scene in our city has changed dramatically since we opened because…

The Tokyo scene is in a constant state of change, but even more so over the last few years with clubs like Contact and Vision closing. The amount of incredible local DJs springing out of absolutely nowhere hasn’t changed, though.

Our biggest lesson learned about club culture and community happened when…

…we had a couple get married and have a baby after first meeting at Yes Chef!

Moments from Past Guests & Residents

Sana Fujimura (US)

“Yes Chef is a party that was a dream come true for me. I was given the opportunity to play in my home country for the first time and play for friends from all walks of life (even including my family!) it is a hidden haven in Tokyo, curated by the most talented duo, where the essence of house and techno can be discovered. Never a bad time”

Eden Burns

“I always have the best time at the Yes Chef parties! I’ve been lucky enough to play at their shows at Vent, the crowd is diverse and the crew is super friendly, welcoming and hospitable! Both times playing I and the Yes Chef crew have ended up partying on at Red Bar! They’ve showed me parts of Tokyo I wouldn’t have found other wise and I have made some friends for life”

Dj Jinwook from Korea

“Yes Chef Party is an energetic party that brings the Tokyo underground club scene to life and it seems that Joe and Tim’s sophisticated selections and uniqueness have made it so…”

Joe O (Yes Chef!)

“Organising Yes Chef! every month for five years has been incredible and exhausting in equal measure. Word of mouth has brought in more of a tourist crowd, and we’ve used that energy to spotlight the amazing local DJs we’ve come to know. Japanese dance music culture is unlike anywhere else in the world – deeper and more multi-layered – and being part of it has taught me more than I ever expected.”