An Interview with Selector
Hemo; Bringing Soca andCarnival to Japan!
CARNIVALS, INTERVIEWS, WORLD WIDE AUGUST 22, 2017
AC CHRISTIE

Without Selector Hemo (born Tomoke Inoue), there would be no soca
and Caribbean style carnival in Japan. That is the truth of things. Yes,
there is a popular and stable dancehall culture but the initial andcontinued rise of Soca in Japan can primarily be attributed to Selector
Hemo. There has been a Caribbean carnival style band in Japan for thepast 10 years because of Selector Hemo. She introduced it to herhometown festival in Kochi. Machel Montano came to Japan for the firsttime this year because of Selector Hemo. And being part of her carnival
band in Japan this year highlighted just what a force of nature thiswoman is.

Selector Hemo is a music and events producer as well as a DJ. She hascreated her own record Label, LIME Records. She regularly appears on
popular radio stations. She DJs at Trinidad carnival regularly and has
worked in Jamaica as a DJ. She has been to Ghana in Africa to find out
more about the roots of our music. The list of her collaborations isexhaustive; Kevin Little, Rupee, KES THE BAND, Sean Paul, WayneWonder, Buju Banton, Tony Curtis, TOK, Wycriff, Machel Montano,Destra, Bunji Garlin, KMC, Mr. Slaughter and more. She has producedfor Elephant man, Vybez Kartel, Wayne Wonder, Sizzla, Ninja Man,Ghost, Spragga Benz Mr Vegas, Capleton, Daville, Lukie D, LUST,
Machel Montano, Bunji garlin, TOK, Lady saw, Tanya Stephens
MR.LEXX, Fay an Lyons, Isasha, Benjai, Nicky B, RDX and more. As arum connoisseur, she achieved Japanese Rum Association’s Rum
Concierge qualification in 2014 and is a regular guest DJ for “RUMCONNECTION”, the biggest rum event in Asia. I had the honour offinding out more about this lady (despite the difficulties of a language

barrier) and finding out how soca found roots in the land of the risingsun.

When did you become a DJ? When I was 23-years-old.
How did you come to like Soca, carnival and Caribbean culture? I
met Reggae music at the place I worked for when I became a highschool student and started a part-time job. I started to study Reggae

music and became a Reggae selector. I happened to know soca atLabor Day in New York but didn’t think it was a cool music at that time.
Later, when I visited a carnival in Jamaica, I happened to listen to greatsoca music there so started to DJ Soca music in my performance as wellin 1999.
Why did you start a carnival band in Japan? I visited Trinidad &Tobago for the first time in 2000, and found out that the carnival in T&T
is very similar to the Yosakoi festival in Kochi where I was born andraised. And I got an idea to collaborate Trinbago carnival and Yosakoifestival.

Why do you think Japanese people like Caribbean music andculture so much? The Caribbean culture and Japanese culture looks
like opposite in a way but I think there is also a similarity.
How many people are involved in the band? As a regulation of
Yosakoi festival, one team should be less than 150 ppl.
What were the hard parts of starting the carnival band inJapan? The Yosakoi festival became bigger but also many regulations
were made. The most difficult thing is that to obey every regulation buttry to merge and express a freedom of Caribbean culture into my
Yosakoi band. I had to keep and respect the traditional style of Yosakoi

but also want to add spices of Caribbean culture.
Do you DJ with a band during Trinidad carnival? Yes, with so manybands.

Have you been to other carnivals other than Trinidad? Jamaica,
Labor Day, Notting Hill Carnival, Dominican Republic.
What do you like about carnival and Soca music? Positive andHappy. And it gives people courage and strength.
Is it hard for foreigners to enjoy carnival in Japan? As you may haveunderstand this time, Yosakoi is not a carnival exactly. It’s a festival. Inthe festival, the tradition which doesn’t really exist in the other carnival(Carnival these days is about parties) is kept. So It’s difficult to getforeigners to understand it but I want foreigners to enjoy it as well.
What do you want to do in the future? I want to convey Japaneseculture to the world and convey Caribbean culture and music which I
love to Japan. ONE LOVE!!!

It is not easy. Just starting and having a carnival band on any carnival
route in any country is not easy at all. But attempting to amalgamate twoseeming different cultures under one broad concept, that of carnival is avery difficult task and brings unique challenges. But this is a task
Selector Hemo had set herself and continues to do without trying to losethe essence of either culture. And she did this amazingly well this year.
She ensured the tenth anniversary of the canaval band in Japan wasmade that extra special with the inclusion of none other than Machel
Montano. And believed me he seemed thoroughly impressed withJapan and its response to soca and the Caribbean culture. A humblelady with an indomitable spirit and who knows what she wishes to do.
And made the seemingly impossible an undeniable reality. Soca andcarnival in Japan. A true honour Selector Hemo.
For more information on Selctor Hemo, please visit
www.selectorhemo.com and selector hemo on facebook and instagram.