Pad Pad Battle

Souped-up sampler duo Hifana preside over a night of on-the-fly beat mashing in Kichijoji tonight, and it sounds like the closest thing to pugilism for music producers. The Pad Pad Battle is divided into two sections: first, a trio of beat freaks armed with MPC samplers will spin live 20-minute improvisations from the music that a DJ is playing; next up, a separate batch of sampler savants face off in a series of three-minute bouts, judged by the audience and Hifana themselves. There'll also be a live set by underground rapper A.Z Session, but he's going to have a hard time keeping up with this lot.