Masahiko Ueda (JP)

Owner of Torque Label/Events. Started DJ in1995. Moved to North Western America. Ex-Energon Cube, AKA Mark'n Carbon. Masa Ueda is a veteran dj, producer and Torque Records label owner from Osaka, Japan. Masa has devoted much of his life to the creation and exploration of electronic music. He became involved with technology and music in the early 90s as a teenager in Japan, working with the MPC 3000, analog synths and other classic production tools to write his first beats. He started to dj at age 22 in Tokyo, then around 1997 he moved to Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A. While located on the West Coast, Masa formed Protoculture, an independent label and artist collective that became a focal point for techno in the Northwest. He also formed a three man live/dj hybrid act called Energon Cube, and headlined events in San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. With Protoculture, Masa released his first EP "Fucked Up" under the name Mark'n Carbon. The label also organized a variety of underground techno events, which brought new, cutting edge sounds to a Pacific Northwest audience that was more accustomed to house music at the time. In 2003 Masa returned to Japan and focused his efforts on running a multi-million dollar business. He also continued to work with music, building up his studio and starting a firm called Imedia. In 2012, building on 15 years experience as a mixing engineer, composer and event organizer, Masa founded Torque. Working with Osaka newcomer Dj Shine, Masa has quickly established Torque as a highly regarded Pan Pacific Techno label and promotion outfit through its events in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and elsewhere in the Pan Pacific region. The label has rapidly gained recognition with releases featuring the likes of Truncate, Alexander Kowalski, Ben Sims, Drumcell, Mr. Jones, Angel Alanis and DJ Sodayema. Events to date have featured Ben Klock, Robert Hood, DVS1, Gary Beck, Alexander Kowalski, Alan Fitzpatrick, Raiz, Angel Alanis, JAK and more. Masa’s first single on Torque, “Sprecher Verdammteres” debuted his current, dirty jackin’ production and was paired with well-received remixes, including one by Truncate. He’s also continued to dj, and has recently gained recognition for his hard, floor popping sound and ultra-rapid mixing. Masa’s dj set was also recently featured on a podcast for Droid Recordings D-Node podcast. Look for more from Masa in Torque in the near future!