DJ Gonno on touring Europe & what makes a good set

The sheet said the club closed at 3 am. So at 3 am, Gonno stopped the music. "But it turned out the venue actually closed at 4 am," he told us, "so the crowd looked a bit confused, like, 'Wait, what?'"

Nobody did anything dramatically wrong. One line of information was off by an hour, and the person who found out was the artist, in front of a full room.

We think about moments like that a lot. Gonno is a Tokyo-based DJ and producer, and one of the key names in Japan's house and techno scene. His 2011 EP "Acdise #2" on International Feel was played by DJs like Laurent Garnier and James Holden before it was even released. Since then, he's released on Beats In Space and Ostgut Ton and played clubs and festivals across the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia.

This October, Kevin, one of our dealmakers who's been his agent for more than ten years, booked him a run of European club shows. Gonno used the SystemOne mobile app along the way. We're building an artist version of SystemOne, so we asked him what life on the road actually needs.

The run opened in Brussels on 2 Oct with a set for Kiosk Radio, the same day as his Fuse show. Check it out below:

In no rush, after 15 years on the road

Electronic music can feel like it runs on hype and youth. Gonno has always moved at his own pace, and his sets tell long stories. We asked him about that.

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Seven clubs in October

The run took him to Fuse in Brussels, Tokonoma in Frankfurt, Love Inn in Bristol, Fold in London, Panorama Bar in Berlin, Bassiani in Tbilisi, and Club Guesthouse in Bucharest. He also played two broadcast sets along the way, for Kiosk Radio in Brussels and The Mudd Show in Berlin. It was his first extended European tour since the pandemic.

We asked for the one moment he'll remember. His answer was short: "The moment after I finished my set at Panorama Bar." He said a little more on Instagram a few days later: "I’m not sure if there’s really any point in taking a commemorative photo here, but last Sunday at Panorama Bar was one of those moments that genuinely made me want to capture the memory. Since I first had the chance to DJ there in 2015, every single time has left me with special memories, but I honestly feel that this one was my best experience there so far."

What Gonno needs to know before a set

Ask Gonno about a show day, and he doesn't start with logistics. He starts with headspace. "Ideally, I'd get enough sleep and eat properly before a set, but that's often difficult on tour," he says. "So at the very least, I try to stay as relaxed as possible before I play and picture myself playing a good set."

That picture is built from a few plain facts. "It helps to know my set time and the venue's capacity in advance," he says, "as well as when it gets light or dark if I'm playing outdoors or somewhere affected by daylight."

None of that is complicated, and that's the point. Set time, capacity, closing time, and sunrise are small lines on an itinerary. To the artist, they're the shape of the night. When one of them is wrong, the artist is the one standing behind the decks when it shows.

If you're the agent sending that itinerary, the details you double-check are the ones your artist uses to get ready. The 3 am story is what happens when one slips through.

The hardest part of touring Europe

After more than 15 years of flying in from Tokyo, you might expect jet lag or connections. Gonno's answer was the food. "Of course, there's plenty of great food in Europe too," he says, "but back home in Japan, my everyday meals are usually things like fish, vegetables, and miso soup. As I get older, changes in my diet can sometimes really take a toll on how I feel physically."

It's a good reminder that touring is physical work. Sleep, food, and a calm hour before the set all feed into how the artist plays.

A flight time and a quick reply

So what does Gonno actually open the SystemOne mobile app for? "Definitely my flight's departure time."

We'll take it. That's the detail that runs the whole day on tour. Agencies on SystemOne keep flights, trains, and ground transport in one place, and artists and crew can check their shows and travel on the SystemOne mobile app, with offline access for when the signal drops.

The other half of a smooth tour is a person. We asked what makes a booking agent great to work with, from the artist's side. "Kevin and I have been working together for years, so everything runs really smoothly," Gonno says. "I'd say the most important thing is being quick to respond whenever I have a question."

Software keeps the details straight. A fast answer from someone who knows you covers everything else.

If Gonno designed SystemOne for artists

Since we're building an artist version, we asked Gonno what he'd want it to do. He didn't say itineraries. "Honestly, choosing photos and writing captions for Instagram takes a lot of time and effort," he says, "so I'd love a feature that makes it easy to put together drafts for social media posts and mix and match photos and text."

Fair point. Plenty of the work of touring happens after the show, on a phone, at the airport. That's Gonno's wish, not a promise from us, but we're listening.

If you’re an artist frustrated with the current platforms available to you for booking and managing your tours, reach out to us and tell us about it.

For your first international tour

Our last question was for the DJs just starting out. What would Gonno tell someone before their first international tour?

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To hear what that sounds like, here's his set for The Mudd Show, recorded in Berlin during the run:

Get the details right, and the artist can rock the crowd

Artists like Gonno need to focus on the big stuff: the room, the music, and the memories that get taken home. Someone else has the small stuff covered: hospitality and logistics. When the set time, the closing time, and the flight are right, the artist can get on with the part only they can do.

SystemOne helps you manage the small (but really important) stuff. If you’re booking artists and want every itinerary right before it reaches them, book a demo or request a free trial to see SystemOne for yourself.