Breakbeat Science, one of New York City's coolest record stores (and best-designed retail spaces) is setting up a huge outpost in the the coolest city in the Far East: Tokyo.

But when it will open and where exactly the store will be located in the Japanese capital is still a mystery despite the news of the opening being leaked two months ago.

In her weekly Village Voice "Fly Life" column in late January, Tricia Romano reported that seminal drum-and-bass music shop and record label Breakbeat Science was planning to hang out their shingle for a 1,000-square-foot space in Tokyo this spring.

The actual location and details are still a mystery, in part because of conflicting rumors. We've heard the shop is already open; it supposedly opened March 3rd, but no address is to be found either via Breakbeat Science's website nor a third-party source and no press release has been discovered.

And with no address in hand, Air Massive's man in Tokyo, Shibuya Kid, hasn't yet been able to verify the shop's existence first-hand. Another source says it will open later this spring.

So what's up with all this Department of Homeland Security-like secrecy? Or is the BBS crew just keeping the whole thing low-key, as part of their strategy and overall clever marketing ethos.

What is clear is that Breakbeat Science Tokyo will be collaboratively designed by the New York-based artist collective Surface2Air with some help from Williamsburg clothes designer Yoko Devereux and the New York-based Brit-designer tag team of Nathan Bogle and Marcus Wainwright, otherwise collectively know as cult-classic jeans maker Rag and Bone.

As one might infer from the BBS Tokyo design team, stylish clothing will feature prominently at the new store and the digs are going to be glossy-photo-mag-worthy (Wallpaper, Elle Decor and Casa Brutus should be sending phtographers over real quick-like).

One big difference between the Tokyo Breakbeat Science store and the New York flagship is that Tokyo will offer a much wider selection of music for sale and will rely less on the DJ and jungle-headz niche clientele looking for vinyl and d'n'b. According to Romano...

Unlike its New York original, the Tokyo Science store will not focus mainly on drum'n'bass, nor will it center around vinyl sales--which is probably smart since the BBS store recently sent out a letter of apology to its customers, explaining that the prices for vinyl 12-inches would be going up for the first time in five years, thanks to the poor exchange rate of the American dollar versus the British pound.

The Air Massive is confident that the BBS-Surface2Air-Yoko Devereux-Rag and Bone team will execute something amazing with the interior design of the new Tokyo shop. How the decor will differ and how it will be the same as the New York store will be interesting to see as well, especially how--if any--Japanese influences are brought to bear on the aesthetic.

The New York Breakbeat Science is like a narrow hall-like space (see photo, above) on Orhcard Street just south of Houston in the Lower East Side. Well-lit and organized with clean lines and a simple layout, the space is the quintessential graphic-and-interiors-freak's wet dream minimalism meets functional design.

With a windowed loft space built over the offices in the back of the store and looking out over the main retail area, one can't help but imagine just how cool the space would be as a residential condo atop a tenement building.

Of course, people go to Breakbeat Science for the music: a delectable highly-edited selection of the latest CDs and vinyl records. Though the specialty is drum-and-bass, one can find a lot of other stuff that might generally be filed under IDM, "electronica," or "dance music."

People also drop by BBS to check out all the flyers and free magazines piled at the front of the store and to get information.

Then there are the graphic t-shirts and hoodies with various interpretations of the Breakbeat Science logo, fresh designs and retro-themes. Whenever the Massive visits the shop, we usually spend more time browsing the tees and pullovers than we do the actual records and CDs.

We're looking forward to seeing the Tokyo shop and how it will fare among all the amazing uber-snazzy and hyper-vigilant interior design in the Japanese capital.

Welcome to Tokyo, Breakbeat Science and "Good luck!" Or as Dave Chappelle would say, "Konnichiwa, Bitches!!!"

--Shibuya Kid + Le Bob + Grand Central Playstation

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