Hidden away among factories and warehouses in the industrial wilderness of Kitakagaya, some 10 minutes on foot from the metro station, is one of Osaka’s premier temples of deep beats and all-night parties. Daphnia is a labour of love built from the ground up by its duo of owners, whose attention to every detail from acoustics to lighting has made their club one of the city’s most in-demand venues for both Japanese and international artists.
Among the big names who have thrilled audiences here in the past are minimal techno pioneer Moritz von Oswald and YPY, the techno-focused alias of Osaka-based experimental multi-talent Koshiro Hino. Diagram, Daphnia’s bimonthly signature event, invites partygoers to lose themselves in techno for 30 consecutive hours from Friday night to Sunday morning. The uncompromising programming is complemented by reasonable pricing: most alcoholic drinks cost ¥500, while soft drinks and sweet treats like homemade vanilla ice cream topped with rum raisins go for ¥300.