Akira Arasawa, Nhii, Shao Dow – Mata – Sounds of Khemit
Buy link: soundsofkhemit.org
‘Mata’: Nhii, Akira Arasawa, and Shao Dow unite across continents for a boundary-blurring collaboration
Some records start with a concept. ‘Mata’ started with a friendship, a flight to Tokyo, and a modular synth left running in the right hands.
Over the past two to three years, Brooklyn-based producer Nhii and Tokyo’s Akira Arasawa have built a creative bond across continents, sharing stages in Amsterdam and Japan while discovering a shared language somewhere between house music, modular synthesis, and late-night conversations that stretch into sunrise. The instrumental foundation of ‘Mata’ was born during an open-ended modular session at Akira’s Tokyo studio, where the pair followed the signal path without agenda or expectation.
What emerged was a groove pulsing with the warmth of analog circuitry and the restless energy of a city that never fully slows down. The track called for a voice capable of matching that duality, someone comfortable moving between cultures, languages, dancefloors, and ideas.
Enter Shao Dow.
The London-born rapper, manga author, and self-described “occasional ninja” has established himself as one of the UK’s most singular independent artists. Winner of the AIM Award for Hardest Working Artist, Shao Dow has built a career rooted in fearless originality: rapping in both English and Japanese, training in Shaolin Kung Fu in China, publishing his own manga series, and performing everywhere from Reading & Leeds to stages across Asia. His music has appeared in Fortnite, God of War animations, and Amazon Prime documentaries, while his career has also included opening for artists such as Tech N9ne, Stormzy, KRS-One, and Skepta. He has even spoken at the UK Parliament on behalf of grassroots music venues.
Yet none of that fully explains what he brings to ‘Mata’.
Here, Shao Dow steps into something looser and more playful than his usual intensity. His verses drift naturally between English and Japanese, blending London slang with Japanese expressions as effortlessly as changing drinks at a bar.
“Don’t wanna hear about the blah blah / Or the drama / Just pour another glass when I ask ya / We paint the town 赤.”
At the center of the track sits the word “mata” (また), meaning “again” in Japanese, but also carrying the sentiment of “see you soon”, a farewell that assumes reunion. It becomes the perfect symbol for a collaboration between artists who continually find themselves returning to the same frequency, the same room, and the same instinct to create without pretense.
Nhii brings more than a decade of experience as a producer, DJ, and mix engineer to the project. His catalogue spans labels including Crosstown Rebels, Stil Vor Talent, A Tribe Called Kotori, and Scorpios Music, with support from artists such as Black Coffee, Damian Lazarus, Pete Tong, and RÜFÜS DU SOL. As a Brooklyn studio owner and veteran of stages from Picnic Electronic Santiago de Chile to Awake Festival in Germany, his attention to texture and space gives ‘Mata’ its breathing room.
Meanwhile, Akira Arasawa has long been a subtle but influential presence within Tokyo’s underground scene, blending organic house, nu disco, and cumbia-inspired grooves through releases on Chill Mountain Recordings, Akbal Music, and Shango Records. His 2024 open-to-close set at WOMB Tokyo marked a defining moment in a career driven by restless sonic curiosity. On ‘Mata’, his modular work forms the track’s nervous system, shifting harmonics and evolving textures that keep the groove alive from beginning to end.
Together, the three artists have created something that sounds exactly like its origins: a night out condensed into a single track. From London to Osaka, from Brooklyn to Tokyo.
Everybody 乾杯.
Release date: May 22nd, 2026.