Style Resume. Noriaki Onuki #13

2025.9.29

Text： Kenichi Aono

Edit： Suzuki Yusuke

Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can express in any genre. "Style is Everything." That's right, someone once said that style is everything. "Style Resume" is a series of interviews with adults who, as the name suggests, have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the 13th installment features music critic, radio DJ, and organizer of the DJ event "LONDON NITE," which will celebrate its 45th anniversary in 2025.

13 13

13. Rock music is both a hobby and a way of life.

In 1976, I was approached by NHK Radio's "Young Echo" program to become a radio DJ. I was nervous at first because it was something I'd never done before, but it was the same as writing a music review in the sense that I could introduce records I liked. So I didn't have any reservations. After that, I worked as a radio DJ on "UK Top 20" (Radio Kanto) for about 10 years from 1979, and now I host a program called "Kenrocks Nite Ver. 2" on Inter FM.

In the 1990s, record companies began to focus more on Japanese music than Western music, and the term J-POP came into existence. Amid this trend, I felt that there was less demand for my work. The number of liner notes jobs decreased, magazines disappeared, and media outlets for music criticism gradually disappeared. A younger generation also emerged. So, what remains today are DJs and radio.

Looking back, I've never been influenced by anyone as a music critic. My style is to express my own thoughts, so I didn't really care about what other people thought. It's the same for DJs. For me, rock and music are the force of life. They're my hobbies and my motivation for living. All of these things could be said to be the ultimate existence. It's a vague concept and hard to explain in words, but rock and music are something I've never disliked until now.

He has been interviewed many times over the years, not only for his writing as a music critic, but also for his various activities as a DJ and radio personality. Here is a quote from the July 1995 issue of "POPEYE" that really caught my attention: "Records have grooves engraved into them that teach us about life."
A page published in the September 1996 issue of "H."
"ASAYAN" published in October 1996. This magazine introduces a maniacal book about the Sex Pistols.
BARFOUT!, published in February 1998. An interesting interview article, including the origin of the name "LONDON NIGHT."
The August 1995 issue of SPA! features an article about Onuki's students at the time, revealing his down-to-earth personality.
BURST, published in December 1999. This is a rare interview with PANTA (deceased), the vocalist of legendary bands such as Zunou Keisatsu.

Profile

Noriaki Onuki (music critic and radio DJ)

Born in February 1951, Kenrocks began his career as a music critic while still a university student, and has been active for over half a century. He has a particularly deep knowledge of punk rock, and launched "LONDON NITE" at Tsubaki House in Shinjuku in June 1980, a DJ event that continues to this day and whose influence is immeasurable. In January 2025, he published "HISTORY OF KENSHO ONUKI: A Memoir." "Kenrocks Nite - Ver. 2" is currently broadcast every Friday from midnight on inter FM.

Instagram @kensho_onuki