Rehash is the first community-owned podcast, where community members help decide key podcast decisions, like which guests we host on the podcast. Rehash is hosted by Diana Chen and produced by Tyler Internet and Ellie Dots.
In Episode 4, we speak with Kabuki about how the ever-changing tech landscape has impacted the lives of artists, how music distribution has transformed throughout the decades, and how budding artists of today can take advantage of all web3 has to offer. Kabuki is a DJ and producer who has been in the electronic music scene since the mid 90s and has experience working with major labels, starting his own label, streaming, and most recently experimenting in web3.
Kabuki was nominated by Carsten and voted onto the pod by Christina Beltramini and Carsten.
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When Jan Hennig first stepped foot in Japan, he immediately felt drawn to the culture there. After growing up near a US military base outside of Frankfurt, he felt a sense of escapism in Japan, surrounded by an unfamiliar language and culture. That’s when he decided to adopt Kabuki as his artist name - a Japanese term that refers to a classical form of Japanese dance drama that is known for its heavily glamorized costumes and makeup. Kabuki believe he could be anyone he wanted to be as a DJ and producer in the 90s, when there really wasn’t a course charted out for people who wanted to make a career out of DJ-ing and producing.
After sharing the history of his artist name and fascination of Japanese culture, Kabuki takes us on a ride through history as he talks about what making music was like in the 90s, how expensive it was to get a vinyl produced, and what the big turning point in his career was. He talks about how music distribution has evolved over the last three decades, from web1 to web2 to now web3, and why it’s so important as an artist to be able to adapt to changes in the music industry.
Finally, Kabuki talks about his experience making music in web3. He shares candidly about whether he believes web3 actually enables more earning opportunities for artists and creators and what we as an industry need to do differently to help build the creator economy we fantasize about so often. As a creator himself, he also has some tips for other musicians and creators who are just starting to tap into web3 tools.
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Season 4 Sponsors
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