[Report]Alan Shirahama appears at "ULTRA BEACH BALI" as DJ ALAN SHIRAHAMA! "I've finally reached the starting point"

■ “I think the market for dance music in Japan is still small compared to pop and hip hop, so I’d like to do my best to get more people interested in it!”

On June 7th, Alan Shirahama of EXILE/GENERATIONS/PKCZ(R) made his first appearance under his solo name ALAN SHIRAHAMA at “ULTRA Beach Bali 2024” held in Bali, Indonesia.

This sixth-year event is a music festival centered on dance music, held at Cafe del Mar Bali (the “e” in Cafe is officially spelled with an acute accent) on the beautiful beach of Bali, and once again many amazing artists from all over the world took part.

With his appearance at the event just around the corner, Shirahama expressed his joy, saying, “It’s been eight years since I started DJing, and this is my first time performing on an ULTRA stage. I’m very happy that the things I’ve been building up little by little while working with the group have finally taken shape.”

When asked how he felt about taking on the big stage as a solo DJ, he said, “I feel anxious and scared,” but added, “The memories of the views and cheers I’ve seen at the group’s stages up until now inspire me.” He also spoke of his passion for ULTRA, saying, “I want to get a lot of people dancing, so that people will remember the name ALAN SHIRAHAMA a little, and I’ll do my best to help expand the circle of dance music in Japan too!” and took to the stage.

A magnificent stage with the ocean as its backdrop was set up for ULTRA Beach Bali 2024. The weather on the day was not particularly good, but under the cloudy skies, DJs from all over the country played dance music to their heart’s content.

Shirahama appeared in a black tank top in front of the already excited audience. He stood at the DJ booth, made some fine adjustments, and then started playing Japanese-style music. When the “alan shirahama” logo appeared on the round screen behind him, Shirahama raised his hands to incite the audience, played a song with an impressive heavy beat, and greeted them with “How are you guys, ULTRA! I’m Alan Shirahama, came from Tokyo!” The up-tempo beat further livened up the venue.

The audience raised their hands and swayed their bodies back and forth. They seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere that Shirahama had created. In fact, in a comment just before going on stage, Shirahama spoke about the appeal of the dance music he plays as a DJ, saying, “Even if you don’t know the songs or the lyrics, it’s great music that hits you right in the heart and gets you excited.” Seeing the excitement of the audience, the meaning of his words was directly conveyed.

About 20 minutes after the start of the performance, Shirahama was dancing to the rhythm in front of the camera, swaying his body up and down, and seemed to be enjoying the big stage very much. Then, Shirahama, whose excitement had reached its peak, jumped onto the platform where the DJ controller was placed, raised his hand with the microphone in one hand, and further excited the audience, shouting “ULTRA! Come’on!”

After a series of songs with heavy beats that numbed the core of the body and stirred up a sense of exhilaration, the sound of an electric guitar suddenly rang out. It was Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The atmosphere changed completely with this song that everyone has heard at least once, and then the song moved on to a song with a pounding beat and impressive high-pitched electronic sounds. Then, Shirahama urged the audience to raise their hands. Many of the audience members followed his voice and raised their hands, swaying their bodies up and down and left and right to the rhythm and beat.

Towards the end of the set, the number of melodic songs increased, and the audience enjoyed the change, smiling as they looked ready to enjoy Shirahama’s DJ part to the fullest until the very end.

The stage finally reaches its final sprint. In the midst of the smoke, Shirahama once again climbs onto the platform where the DJ controller was placed, yelling into the microphone with one hand as he incites the audience. With gorgeous melodies, images, and lights, Shirahama, who is operating the DJ controller while moving to the beat, exudes the determination to entertain the audience until the very end of his allotted time.

They played a series of impressive songs with beats that gripped the body and wouldn’t let go, and ended the show with an intense beat that heated up the audience, and a siren-like electronic sound. Shirahama left the stage, promising the audience that he would see them again, saying, “Thank you, bodies! I wanna see you again.”

After the event, we caught up with Shirahama, who took to the stage for the first time at “ULTRA Beach Bali 2024.” He talked about the view from the big stage, his thoughts on the future, and his message to his fans.

“While I felt like I’d finally reached the starting point, I also felt that there were many areas I needed to hone in order to take on the world stage. When I started playing, the audience was just starting to get in, and because I’m unknown, some people didn’t seem interested in my DJing, so I went in with the strong desire to make those who weren’t into the music dance and stop people walking in their tracks. It felt like I had the same feeling I had when we were performing on the streets when we first started out as a group. Our performance was just as it was getting dark in the evening, so I chose songs while keeping my own style in mind, and I felt like I was able to raise the excitement in the venue as the performance progressed, so for a first time we finished without any major mistakes. I think the market for dance music in Japan is still small compared to pop and hip hop, so I want to do my best to get more people interested in it!”

Shirahama captured the hearts of the audience from the very start of his performance, making it hard to believe that this was his first time on stage. His DJ performance was so energetic and exciting that fans wrote on social media, “Shirahama’s energy is truly stimulating,” and “He’s unstoppable.” There’s no doubt that this experience will have a big impact on Shirahama’s future solo activities. We look forward to seeing what he does next.