Yawaraka Jazz

Yawaraka JazzJazz DJ sets · 100% vinyl · Tokyo

Jazz played only from records, mixed by hand in a small room in Tokyo — soft enough to live with.

レコードだけで、手でつなぐジャズ。東京の小さな部屋から。

Liner notes

I've loved jazz since I was a teenager. Records came later, almost by accident. Once they were playing at home, I wanted to take that sound with me — on the train, on the way to work.

I was still learning to DJ, so I started filming the sets and putting them on YouTube: a way to check my hands, and whether the mixes were clean. It was a personal log, nothing more.

Then people started listening. The comments told me where the sets were going — morning routines, long workdays, Sunday afternoons with a book. Now I build each set for a moment like that, and the sets grow as the record shelf does.

— Jona

10 代のころからジャズを聴くのが好きで、ひょんなことからレコードを集め始めました。最初は、家の音を通勤中や移動中にも持ち出して聴けたらいいな、という思いで録り始めたのがきっかけです。

DJ はまだ初心者だったので、自分の手さばきや、きれいにつなげているかのチェックも兼ねて、動画と一緒に YouTube に上げていました。あくまで個人的なものとして。

それが意外にも見ていただけるようになり、いろんな場面で流してもらっていることをコメント欄で知りました。それからは、シチュエーションごとに聴きやすいセットを、手持ちのレコードを入れ替えながら作っています。

Side A — Day

  1. Morning routinePart of my morning routine.
  2. Start of the workdayAlways a vibe, good start to my workday
  3. At the deskI play jazz at work…

Side B — Evening

  1. Sunday readingthe perfect vintage jazz sets for my Sunday afternoon reading
  2. End of the dayEvery evening I listen to one of your music sets.
  3. Because it's realFinally, some non AI human jazz mix…

From YouTube comments and Bluesky posts. Names left out.

Selected & played by
Jona — designer and dancer in Tokyo; DJs for the love of it
Turntables
Garrard 401 ×2, SME 3012
Cartridges
Ortofon SPU GTE, plus a mono
Mixer
Varia Instruments RDM 20
Amplifier
Luxkit A3000 (KT88)
Speakers
Tannoy SRM 12B
Tee artwork
Erika Kitagawa (@erika_kunn)
“Each mix is 100% vinyl … Just vibes.”RTÉ Culture, 2026
“40-60 minute DJ mixes of jazz vinyl.”kottke.org, 2025

Notes

Is it AI?

No. Every set is played from vinyl, by hand. “No AI” in the titles means exactly that.

Track names?

Full tracklist with timestamps in every video description.

Better sound?

The same sets are on Mixcloud. No official Spotify.

Requests?

Leave them in the comments. No promises, but I read them.

Booking?

DJ, selection and sound styling, in Japan and abroad: yawarakajazzvinyl@gmail.com

The plant?

A staghorn fern. The watch is a vintage Enicar.

Listen on YouTube ↗