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YAMAN NKYMN
YAMAN NKYMN is a maestro strategist and contemporary artist based in Los Angeles and Kyoto, Japan. He studied at Kobe University, Japan, graduating in chemistry in 1999. He began his career as a marketing strategist, working globally for leading fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci.
In 2019, he worked on the animation movie “Shin Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time” as the strategic director, establishing the company “YamAnno” with the film director Hideaki Anno for the movie. The film surpassed 10 billion yen in box office revenue, approximately double that of the previous film in the series.
He began his career as a contemporary artist in 2021 with the exhibition “陸奥の 安達原の黒塚に 鬼籠もれりと言うはまことか (UN)KEEPALL” at the Japanese National Treasure, Hiunkaku in Nishi Hongwanji Temple. The following year,
the work was invited to the art fair, Frieze Week Los Angeles and premiered at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, his global debut, just one year after his first exhibition.
Back in 2012 his work evolved, adapting to fast-changing social behaviors into the creation of original content – entertaining, interactive, gamified, using algorithms to observe a communicative world and data collection, accelerating the process.
Following the principles of chemistry, YAMAN’s practice is a recodification characterized by a juxtaposed observation of the laws at play in both matter and society – invisible states, relationships, interactions, conditions before reaction and under equilibrium.
From this dual, coupled perspective, YAMAN notices imbalanced states in society and turns his focus to the source of distorted definition, information transmission which defines the minority or ‘other’.

Artist YAMAN NKYMN, who was invited to be part of the official program of “Frieze Los Angeles 2022” and whose documentary “THE ULTIMATE OTHER” (2022) was produced by Frieze Studio only one year after his debut as a contemporary artist, presented his new artwork in Kyoto.

This newest piece, which was shown in an area not usually open to the public at  Hoshunin Temple, Daitokuji, was titled “年ごとに 人はやらへど目に見えぬ 心の鬼はゆく方もなしWHITE2BLACK 11072023”. The invitations we received at our editorial office only stated “(跡見:)追儺 黒節分/(ATOMI:)WHITE2BLACK”. What is the significance of Oni that consistently appears in his work? Why was the poem by a female poet used as a title of it in the first place? We were honored to sit down and talk to YAMAN NKYMN about the creative background of this work and the sources of its inspiration.

The sediment that has accumulated over time brings out the artist’s personality

–How does your expertise and experience as a maestro-strategist influence this specific work or your practices as a contemporary artist?

YAMAN NKYMN (YAMAN): The influences from those are significant. In the first place, working as an artist makes me realize how ordinary I am. Basically, I don’t have anything like an “overflowing creative urge.”

Instead, what I have as an artist is a kind of sediment that has accumulated through my sincere commitment to the roles of marketer and strategist. The conflict between ideals and reality. The distortion between creative and commercial activities. The essential quality being spoiled day by day, by being forced to deal with superficial things.

Personally, I despair that there is a gap between the “ideal state” and the “actual state,” especially in industries like fashion and animation. I feel that because, even if the industry is made up of people who like working in that area, the ideal cannot be realized.

Being involved in those industries as someone in charge of the figures would accumulate a special kind of sediment because of the objective viewpoint one is forced to take. Conversely, the sediment that has accumulated little by little has constructed a message that can be disseminated because I am ordinary.

Therefore, all the elements in my work are simply what I have experienced, researched, and repeatedly thought about.

Only the fact I was forced to “communicate” in the position of the ordinary person’s job in a creative society formed a distinctive characteristic within myself. The sediments I have accumulated over time are not so easily understandable to others. On the other hand, just because it does not make sense to others does not necessarily mean it is incorrect. That is why I explore how I should communicate, contemplating whether to use metaphors or paraphrases. This “Chanoyu” style of expression is one such example.

–Is your career related to your references to subcultural icons and elements?

YAMAN: Some aspects are related, and others are not. In terms of unrelated aspects, I am the type of person who plans projects in a “3+1 dimensional” manner. It’s kind of like meditating on the world (3 dimensions) with a free time axis (+1 dimension). In other words, it is a Kurt Vonnegut-like thinking, or the mode of thinking often seen in science fiction. In other words, I treat these last 100 years “Showa/Heisei/Reiwa” eras as equivalent to the “Heian and Azuchi-Momoyama” eras, 1200-500 years ago. For me, Astro Boy is as valuable as Sen-no-Rikyu. That means I am the kind of person who thinks modern culture is temporally connected to the classics in a seamless manner.

Paradoxically, in terms of related aspects, the more classical, the heavier and slower, and the newer the content is, the lighter and faster. “Messages” are heavy and slow, but entertainment is light and fast. This is a critical perspective for contemporary marketing. It is not a dichotomy, but what matters is a balance, a middle ground between the two. Regardless of whether it is legitimate as an artistic expression, this sense of balance seems to be, at least at this point, a way in which I can continue to face the world without despairing.

In addition, my involvement in social media marketing for more than a decade since 2007 was a direct impetus for choosing “relational art” for this specific work. In other words, communication itself has been at the center of my career, and the key to this has been the balance between online and offline. If you read the literature of several critics since Nicolas Bourriaud’s seminal work published in 1998 from this perspective, you will notice that the relational infrastructure on which these works are based is different from that of today with the  existence of, for instance, social media. Therefore, I thought of composing a new work as “relational art in 2023” while incorporating the previous work “陸奥の 安達原の黒塚に 鬼籠もれりと言うはまことか (UN)KEEPALL” which focused on the same concept.

–”年ごとに 人はやらへど目に見えぬ 心の鬼はゆく方もなし WHITE2BLACK 11072023” and ”(跡見:)追儺 黒節分/(ATOMI:)WHITE2BLACK”, what are the meanings of the two names of your works?

YAMAN: The former is the title of my work of contemporary art. It is taken from a waka poem by Kamo-no-Yasunori-no-Musume, a woman of the mid-Heian period (end of C9th to mid C11th). This waka poem by a minority woman poet, who was physically scarred by a plague epidemic and living outside mainstream society, and who left us free, vigorous, and sharp creations, expresses all that this work means.

The latter is a title of Chaji, an authentic Japanese tea ceremony, which was named from the majority viewpoint. To give you an explanation, the name is linked to the date of the event. Today, in Japan, the term Setsubun makes us think of the Setsubun in February, but originally, Setsubun is the day before Risshun, Rikka, Risshu, and Ritto, the starting point of each season. 黒節分/WHITE2BLACK is the term coined to indicate the day before Risshu, the turning point from autumn to winter, referring to the theory of Yin-Yang and the five elements.

In this exhibition, the number “3” and multiples of 3 are spotted everywhere in this work. Since my previous work, I have dealt with the idea of de-dualism as one of the themes, such as “Oni,” which ranges between good and evil. The number “3” indicates “oneness,” the integration of duality. In Buddhism, it is said to represent “moderation.” Having two aspects, my work of contemporary art and Chaji, an authentic Japanese tea ceremony, reveal an infinite number of possibilities through this “oneness”.

–Please give us an overview of the exhibition once again.

YAMAN: “(跡見:)追儺 黒節分/(ATOMI:)WHITE2BLACK” consists of two different events spanning two days as one set, which are “追儺 黒節分/WHITE2BLACK” and “跡見: 追儺 黒節分/ATOMI:WHITE2BLACK”.

On the first day, the former invited three people for a 3-hour tea ceremony. Theaster Gates, Hirohiko Araki, and Raku Kichizaemon XVI were the guests of honor on each day. The relationship between the host and guests begins with welcoming them at Kinmokaku, the main gate of Daitokuji Temple. After that, we moved to Hoshunin Temple to proceed with Chaji, the authentic Japanese tea ceremony, two types of matcha tea and Kaiseki cuisine after the reception experience .

On the second day, the latter was conducted for 27 people per day in the form of “ATOMI(-no-Chaji)” in tea ceremony culture, and the exhibition was organized in a way that the vestiges of the Chaji held on the first day were visible. A sheet of paper, called “Chakai-Ki” was prepared and placed in the room, describing the participants, utensils used, and menu for the Kaiseki cuisine. The intention behind it was to make guests read what was going on in the Chaji on the first day and the relationship between host and guests from the vestiges. Visitors became participants in the relationships that already existed through the act of reading the vestiges.

This two-day set was conducted three times for a total of six days. The whole event is collectively referred to as “年ごとに 人はやらへど目に見えぬ 心の鬼はゆく方もなし WHITE2BLACK 11072023” (The waka poem means; Year after year, people perform the ritual to drive Oni away but they never notice that an invisible Oni also exists in their hearts) produced under the concept: Information Transmission and its (Ingrained) Distortion.

–I visited on the day of “ATOMI” and it was characterized by many references to elements from subculture in addition to those icons of Japanese history such as Oni, Sugawara-no-Michizane, and Sen-no-Rikyu.

YAMAN: In the early stage of the planning, the work was meant to be composed of only three contrasts: Oni, Sugawara-no-Michizane, and Sen-no-Rikyu. Even now, the main components of the work are these three as representatives of “distorted and ingrained information.” While this became worthy of admiration as a conceptual work, I had a problem with how it lacked lightness and how narrow the spectrum of its beauty was. It seemed to be weak as a protocol that could be appreciated both in Asia and globally.

So I referred to “American Beauty,” a beautiful comedy film about de-stereotyping. However, since its theatrical release, I have interpreted it as a story about finding the American form of wabi-sabi, in which the protagonist dies just after achieving enlightenment.

I projected it as an alternative way of life (death) that goes against the “unfortunate destiny of Oni/Sugawara-no-Michizane/Sen-no-Rikyu” onto the work. Since the exhibition was initially composed from the viewpoints of the three “dissidents,” the work was too resentful and bitter. The reference to that film balanced that out. Another essential element of this film is the fact that it was released in 1999 when the relational art movement and SABIÉ, a group reinstated to continue to evolve Chanoyu established in 1988, were active.

The same goes for Astro Boy. An animation cell of the black-and-white animated film “Astro Boy,” which began in 1963, and a tea bowl from my collection were included in the work. Displaying the animation cell as a hanging scroll completely changed the atmosphere of the entire exhibition. The use of the tea bowls with the image of Astro boy in the tea ceremony also added a sense of relaxation amidst the tension. In addition, as an idea I had been working on, I tried to juxtapose “Oni” with “Astro Boy.”

Astro Boy in the 1960s is not just a story of rewarding good and punishing evil. Racism and minority issues are well depicted. While robots are set up to have emotions equal to humans, they are not allowed to compete or fight equally with humans under the law of the “Three Laws of Robotics”. In a sense, we can overlap the structures of respective episodes of Astro Boy with actual cases of racial discrimination. There are many stories in which Astro boy is discriminated against as a robot or plays the role of the dissident. 

In addition, the Astro Boy animated series, released in 1963, began to be broadcast in Korea in 1970. As was often the case at the time, I learned that some Koreans thought it was an animation produced in their own country. Also, many look-alike works were subsequently made in Korea. I was interested in pointing out this fact in a pan-Asian context and in relation to the concept of my work: Information Transmission and its (Ingrained) Distortion. Rather than judging whether it was good or bad, I thought it was a fascinating story that could be contrasted with the black-and-white animated “Astro Boy” being the first example of animation character copyright protection in Japan. I thought that the question of who the rules and schemes are for would be a question that could be linked to the “Japanese tea ceremony.”

–A pair of sneakers were included as one of the exhibits in this exhibition, as in the previous one.

YAMAN: I feel attached to Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, partly because I was involved of 2016 Cruise Collection. I like his philosophy and creations. One of the collections that manifested his philosophy was the “Fake Not” collection, and I sympathized with the concept. I have been embedding these sneakers in my work at every exhibition so far, as they overlap with the message I want to convey.

Another thing is that I always place these sneakers in places where visitors take off their shoes, such as shoe racks. When people see these shoes, they imagine an invisible guest, saying, “Oh, there is a visitor ahead of me.” “Oni,” which is used as a motif in every exhibition, has been defined in mythology as “something invisible” in relation to chinese character “隠/onu,” a word literally meaning “invisible.” I feel that Alessandro’s 2020 item evokes the “invisible guest” at the beginning of the exhibition, inviting guests on a journey into the more than 2,000 years of “Oni” history.

–Please tell us about “Oni,” the symbol that has consistently appeared in your works from your previous works.

YAMAN: The previous work was released in 2021. Unexpectedly, the exhibition was held under the declared state of emergency caused by COVID-19. The pandemic started when I was working on production. I reviewed the project in light of the changed environment, which ended up referring to “Oni.”

When you unravel history and mythology, you realize that the definition “Oni” has been used conveniently by human beings. At the time, I paid particular attention to the fact that one thousand years ago, epidemics were referred to as “鬼魅 (Oni and demons)”. Japanese people believed that Oni and demons brought disasters from the outer into our world. But at the same time Japanese people would enshrine and pray to them to avoid disaster. In short, with regard to the epidemics that occurred at that time, the Japanese people put both the cause and the solution on someone other than themselves, that is, “Oni”, “the outer”.

On the contrary, in the waka poem quoted in the title of this work, “年ごとに 人はやらへど目に見えぬ 心の鬼はゆく方もなし WHITE2BLACK 11072023“, it is pointed out that Oni exist “inside” of us as well. This must have been a groundbreaking perspective at the time in the Heian era.

In addition, as many of us know, “Oni,” which is supposed to be an old classical motif, frequently appears in modern works, such as “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.” And that makes me feel that this motif is compatible with my style, in which I refer to manga, anime, tokusatsu, movies, science fiction, and the Classics.

The explosive power of entertainment necessary to deal with serious messages

–On your Instagram, participants posted their critiques/impressions, and the author of the manga “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”, Hirohiko Araki commented, “At the end of the exhibition, there was more calligraphy on display. The characters said “咄々々” (totsu-totsu-totsu). The meaning is an old onomatopoeia like “ゴゴゴ (go-go-go, featured in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure). Something is going to happen.” and scriptwriter Mitsuyoshi Takasu uses the keywords “puzzle solving”.

YAMAN: I feel that the motifs, including “Oni,” contribute to the formation of various links by themselves. On the other hand, my style also deconstructs and embeds classical motifs from a contemporary entertainment point of view.

I compose works in a multi-layered structure with many links and the “puzzle solving” element that accompanies it, inspired by the film director, Hideaki Anno’s way of thinking which I learned directly from him when I was involved in the movie “Shin Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time”. I am also influenced by reference culture, which is different from that of contemporary art, and by the “ambiguous statement” approach, which is also unlike art.

Since my debut, I have consistently dealt with the concept of “Information Transmission and its (Ingrained) Distortion” and minority issues. They are not something for which I can quickly come up with the “right answer”, so I hope to create a situation where people feel something from my artwork. 

Perhaps my career as a marketing strategist spanning more than 20 years has led me to believe this, but I feel that the world has become a place where it is impossible to enjoy a serious message without it having quick and entertaining elements. The more serious messages we have, the more entertaining elements we need. In that sense, I am relieved to hear and appreciate these words from two people I respect.

–I learnt that you have created your work in the form of relational art. Can you say more about it?

YAMAN: The work is based on the idea of relational aesthetics or relational art, a concept defined in Nicolas Bourriaud’s 1998 book “Esthétique Relationnelle.” The emphasis is on the interactions with the surroundings that occur in the process of the creation of the work.

What is called interactive art emphasizes the interaction between the work and the audience, but relational art emphasizes the interaction between the artist and the audience. The interaction itself is defined as the work of art, and the process of its creation and the audience’s participation are its essence.

One of the points of debate among critics since 1998 has been whether relational art can mirror “social relationships” and I believe the solution lies in the fact that the infrastructure of relation itself has changed, as I mentioned earlier.

–I found your exhibition rich and profound as it included so-called entertainment elements such as subculture and “puzzle solving,” but also used masterpieces valued at hundreds of thousands, or over a million USD, such as Chôjirô’s, and Nonko’s Black Raku tea bowl. Could you tell us why you focused on Chanoyu, the authentic Japanese tea ceremony culture for this exhibition?

YAMAN: My initial interest in Sen-no-Rikyu started in the era of Tom Ford’s “Gucci,” so 1990s, I guess. However, the more I researched, the more I wondered to what extent “Sen-no-Rikyu’s Chanoyu” as a way to seek “essence” has been handed down to the present day. In the first place, even information about Sen-no-Rikyu is often distorted.

In February of this year, I was inaugurated as the creative director of the SABIÉ, and I had a lot of discussions with Reijiro Izumi, the head of  SABIÉ. And we came up with an approach that deals with “Chanoyu”, the authentic Japanese tea ceremony culture from an artistic aspect.

In “Chanoyu” there is a concept that is similar to relational art, in which the interaction between the host and the guests constitutes the work of art, as manifested in such phrases as “一座建立(Ichiza-konryu, meaning “perfect interaction” created by the perfect action of the host and the perfect reaction from the guests) and “主客一体(Shukaku-ittai, meaning “perfect ambience” which host and guests create together.)  This led to the integrated project of a Chaji, an authentic Japanese tea ceremony, that is simultaneously a work of relational art that I mentioned earlier. Needless to say, it is meaningless unless it is the best tea ceremony from the perspective of “Chanoyu” as well. And good utensils are essential to reaching perfection.

On the other hand, Chôjirô’s Black Raku tea bowls were not classics when Sen-no-Rikyu chose them. As you say, it has now become an expensive work of art, but it is very doubtful whether Sen-no-Rikyu intended this current situation. I and Reijiro Izumi, the head of SABIÉ, decided to put aside the market theory and try to arrange good utensils that fit the concept; those were what we chose for this project.

–What led you to the concept of “Information Transmission and its (Ingrained) Distortion“?

YAMAN: First of all, although I describe it as “distortion,” I treat it as both a good and bad meaning. Sometimes good results can be formed through distortion. The point is that all information may be distorted in transmission and moreover, after 500 years, it is ingrained, and it becomes difficult to tell what is fact and what is distortion.

In addition, we need to develop a critical eye to speculate on what it means to have information from 500, 1,000, or even 2,000 years ago still available. In many cases, the will of the winners, the people with authority, and the establishment of the time, in other words, the majority, may have intervened in the process. There is certainly a difference between “historical fact” and “official history.”

This was true even for the interpretation of information before the age of information technology, so it is even more essential to examine the information from this perspective today when technology has quadratically increased the amount of information generated. On the other hand, just as memes sometimes add new points of view to the original information, it is meaningful to observe information and distorted information in juxtaposition.

–Conversely, is there any risk in using the Japanese tea ceremony, which has a 500-year history, as an example to express the concept of “Information Transmission and its (Ingrained) Distortion” which could be seen as a negative? What do you think about this as a creative director of the second-generation SABIÉ, appointed in 2023?

YAMAN: It carries a considerable risk (laughs). But I also think it is necessary to point that out. Above all, that was the honest feeling I had about “Chanoyu” regarding my own interest.

When planning this project, I had a series of discussions with Reijiro Izumi, the head of SABIÉ, about how bold our expression should be. He said, “You can make it unashamedly the solo exhibition of the contemporary artist, YAMAN NKYMN.” I was impressed by his comprehensive mind as a producer, and it reminded me that “Chanoyu” is weighted with 500 years of history.

We had 9 participants in the Chaji and 81 in the ATOMI, and I felt that they were all interested in both contemporary art and Chanoyu. The points of interest were different for each of the participants, but they all responded that they were difficult to enjoy, but at the same time interesting. 

–Finally, please tell us about your future plans as a contemporary artist.

YAMAN: I felt that the expression as relational art, which I tried this time, has great potential. As I mentioned at the beginning, I am not a genuine artist. If anything, I am more like a bug, an irregular factor born within the social structure.

Since what I want to express is based on my career, high compatibility with the means of expression is the key. In this sense, I am happy to have found a language that suits me well. This time, we were joined on the first day of the tea ceremony by Theaster Gates, who will exhibit at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo next spring. We have formed an unexpected relationship with him and are hoping to collaborate.

I am making “(跡見:)追儺 黒節分/(ATOMI:)WHITE2BLACK” an annual event. I have already finished a filming with Perimetron for this year, as part of a project with “the outer” party that will take three years from 2023 to 2025.

–It sounds interesting.

YAMAN: The launch date of the film in 2023 has not yet been set. And I have not yet decided where and how I will hold “(跡見:)追儺 黒節分/(ATOMI:)WHITE2BLACK” in 2024 and beyond, but I plan to invite participants via my Instagram, as I did this year. I feel that the image of the artist that will be formed by the relationships, including these prospects I mentioned, is what I’m envisioning.

Continue to Vol. 2

Photography Kisshomaru Shimamura

The post Interview with YAMAN NKYMN Vol.1: Pandemic Art Project Evolves into A  Work of Relational Aesthetics in Post-COVID Era appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Shinichi Ishizuka’s popular jazz manga BLUE GIANT, which was serialized in Shogakukan’s semi-monthly manga magazine Big Comic from 2013 to 2016, has been adapted into an anime film and became an exceptionally long hit. NUMBER 8 (he wrote the novel under the name Eito Namba) has been working as an editor and story director with manga artist Ishizuka to create the manga story. In addition, he wrote the script for the movie and published the novel Piano Man, which depicts the life of the character Yukinori, in conjunction with the movie adaptation. We interviewed the key person behind BLUE GIANT, who creates not only the manga and the movie but also the novel, about his thoughts on the movie, the reason for writing his first novel, and the charms of the character, Yukinori.

I wanted to write the script because I was confident in my level of understanding of the work.

── You served as editor and story director for “BLUE GIANT” and wrote the screenplay for this film adaptation. I saw the movie too, and I couldn’t stop crying towards the end.

Eito Namba (Namba): Thank you very much. I am delighted to hear from those who have never heard of jazz music that they were so moved by it that they went to the theater many times.

── As in this film, you and Ishizuka-san have worked together in the past. How did you come to be in charge of the screenplay for this film?

Namba: It was a kind of due to pure motivation. As I worked with Ishizuka-san on the story, I had a relatively high level of understanding of this work, so I had always wanted to be in charge of the script if it were to be made into a movie. It was also decided that Hiromi Uehara would be in charge of all the music, and since I had been in contact with both Ishizuka-san and Hiromi-san, I asked the director if he would allow me to write the script. Fortunately, I was put in charge thanks partly to Ishizuka-san’s support.

── I suppose there were some differences in your experience between making a manga and the script for a movie. What was it like to actually be involved in script writing?

Namba: I usually write original stories for manga works, but the way the story was put together for this movie was unique and fun. In the movie, some live scenes constitute essential factors, and the film’s storyline is different from that of the manga in that characters are heightening their sentiments in a process towards the shows. Of course, it wasn’t easy, as we had to make many adjustments to the script by incorporating the opinions of the director and producers. Still, in the end, the film became a pretty emotional work even for me.

“We all project our teenage selves onto Yukinori”; Depicting the depth of the characters that was not visible in the manga or the movie.

──Along with the film adaptation, you also wrote the novel Piano Man, which describes the life of the character Yukinori. What prompted you to write a novel in addition to the screenplay?

Namba: When the movie BLUE GIANT‘s release date was decided, the publisher asked me if I would like to publish a novel version of the work. Generally, a novelized version is released in a paperback edition in conjunction with the release of a movie. However, in the case of BLUE GIANT, a novelization of the film as it is would not be a good fit. I had seen the spectacular recording sessions by Hiromi and the rest of the music team, and I knew how hard the anime production team worked, so I thought that if I were going to write a novel, I wanted to write something as “sturdy” as theirs.

──Did you feel anxious about writing a novel for the first time?

Namba: Of course, I was anxious about whether I could write something as “sturdy” as a novel because a novel is entirely different from an original story for a manga or a screenplay. Therefore, I then wrote about 50 pages of the first part of the story and asked a novel editor, who seemed most unlikely to have a flattering word for it, to read it. Then, I got beaten up to a pulp (laughs). But that editor told me that there were some good points, so I asked him to bear with me just a little longer. Anyway, after that, I put all my effort into every single sentence. Finally, when I had written more than half of the book, he said it would be possible to publish it.

── The main character in Piano Man is not Dai, the main character in the manga and the movie, but the pianist Yukinori. Why did you focus on him in this work?

Namba: Initially, I intended to write a story about a trio. However, my editor advised me to deepen the perspective of one of them because if I switched the perspectives of the three, the reader would have difficulty in following the story. If I were to write the story from the point of view of Yukinori, I would have to dive deeper into his personality, which I think would make this story “sturdy.” So I decided to give it a try.

── It is true that in both the manga and the movie, we see Yukinori overcoming his suffering, and I had the impression that he was like a second main character, constituting an essential part of the story. How do you position Yukinori?

Namba: The main character, Dai, is always strong and straightforward. On the other hand, Yukinori, a pianist, appears to be strong, but inside, he has a lot of pain that he does not show to others. But we all have such problems and distress, don’t we? Yukinori has a kind of instabilities of body and mind that young people his age face. He wants to be kind but can’t, tries to make himself look cool, and sometimes acts dryly, which are all part of the charm of Yukie. We all go through that phase, right? As for me, there are many experiences I don’t even want to remember. When I first moved to Tokyo, I tried to overextend myself, thinking, “I mustn’t lose to the people from Tokyo” (laughs).

── Ah, I see. I certainly had that phase myself (laughs).

Namba: The character of Yukinori has that kind of imbalance. Maybe I wanted to write about the feelings of myself and the people around me in my teenage years, when I was desperate not to lose, in this novel.

Three lonely months devoted to novel writing. I turned my gut upside down and let my pen do the writing.

──This novel is said to have “sounds that can be heard.” What did you do to convey the real feeling of jazz to the reader through the novel, which has its own limitations in expression as a medium?

Namba: Having seen many jazz performances over the past ten years, what particularly attracted me to jazz was improvisation. It is a place where sounds are piled up to create melodies improvisationally at a tremendous speed. It is as if players are turning over their internal organs. There were no lies or calculations, only courage, which is moving. So I tried to write it with the same feeling as if I was turning over my internal organs. I tried not to think about anything else and wrote it only with my thoughts, concentrating intensely. The scenes depicting music in this novel have a very particular way of expression, but if that didn’t work, I thought I would think about it later. The book has many live scenes, but that strict editor said to me, “Let’s just go with it” for all the scenes. I was happy that my improvisational style may have worked.

──So you really wrote as if you were playing jazz music, did you?

Namba: Yes, I did. So I don’t really have any particular things with which I struggled, but I struggled with everything. The three months until I finished writing the book were genuinely lonely. I was going back and forth between the feeling of being extraordinarily lonely and the joy of having successfully registered some part of it. I used to let it all out in front of Ishizuka-san, whom I occasionally met during that time (laughs).

──So you put your heart and soul into this novel and gave it everything you had, right?

Namba: Yes, indeed. So I feel that I could write something more than I was capable of. I aimed to create a work that was as good as the manga and the movie, and I think I was able to come close to that. Both the manga and the movie have received excellent reviews, so I hope this novel will reach many people and follow suit. Ultimately, I would be happy if the manga, the movie, and the book could help to boost jazz music, which has given me such wonderful inspiration, even if only a little.

Text & Interview Ryo Takayama

The post Depicting The Spirit of Jazz; Interview with “BLUE GIANT” Story Director NUMBER 8 on His First Novel “Piano Man” and The Background of Its Creation appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Raised in the U.S. as a child, Oka was exposed to hip-hop culture and learned the essence of partying at New York’s legendary party “The Loft,” and on March 21, he hosted the music event “UNIVERSAL CHAOS” at ENTER in Shibuya. “The record store is a platform that connects everything derived from music,” he says.

Yuki Oka
He was born in 1981 and is the representative director of Digireha Inc., the non-profit organization Ubdobe, and ONE ON ONE LLC. He spent eight years of his childhood in San Francisco, and returned to Japan immersed in music. The illness and death of his mother and grandfather led him to work as a caregiver for the elderly and a supporter of children with disabilities. Currently, he is developing club events and mystery-solving events with themes of human science and art, welfare businesses such as in-home care, visiting care for persons with severe disabilities and mobility support, rehabilitation contents in the form of digital art, and traveling internship programs in the medical and welfare fields, as well as running a record shop.
https://linktr.ee/UQLINK
「ONE RECORD STORE」
Instagram: @one_record_store

Seeking activities related to local revitalization through encounters with the owner of ReBuilding Center, who also moved to Suwa

–What made you decide to move to Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture?

Yuki Oka (Oka): When my child was born, I was looking for an area outside of Tokyo and found Suwa City.

–How do you feel now after settling in this place? What do you find attractive about Suwa City?

Oka: I am only in Suwa about half the week because of my work, but I no longer have a home of my own in Tokyo, where I used to be based, so this place is my home base. Anyway, I feel at home here, and it is my favorite place I have ever lived. I even think it is the best in the world. There is Lake Suwa nearby, and when I drive around the lake, I sometimes come across incredibly beautiful moments. There is not only such natural beauty that I can be impressed by but also a town with many young and interesting people. I like how they are well-balanced. I don’t think there are many other places like this here.

–You have wanted to open a record store for a long time, but why?

Oka: Because my life has been centered around music. That has never changed and never will. Although I run a non-profit organization specializing in social welfare and a company that provides rehabilitation contents using digital art, all of them are run as legal entities. So I wanted a space where I could immerse myself in my own world. You may say it’s my hobby if you like.

— Why did you open it in Suwa rather than in Tokyo?

Oka: I always wanted to open a record store but have never thought of doing it in Tokyo. I may not look it, but I am actually very cautious (laughs). So I also thought operating it with someone else would be difficult. When I first moved to Suwa, I knew no one and had no friends. But when I met people who also moved to Suwa, such as Mr. and Mrs. Higashino of ReBuilding Center JAPAN, which deals with old materials and tools, and Mr. Miyasaka of Miyasaka Brewing Company, known for its sake brand Masumi, I learned that people in their 30s and 40s were taking the lead in revitalizing the community through interesting activities. Then I started looking for a place to open a record store myself, and ReBuilding Center showed me a number of places, but none of them seemed to fit the bill. However, As for this place, a florist “Olde” had already decided to open its shop here, but they suggested that I share this space and open a record store in the back of the florist. I met with Misato, the owner of Olde, and my intuition whispered to me this was the place! After four years of searching for a place to start my business, I found what I thought was my destiny.

A place not only to sell records but also to meet people.

–Running a record store in a non-urban area with no nightclubs nearby would be difficult How do you find it?

Oka: There are record stores not only in Suwa but also in the neighboring towns like Okaya and Fujimi, and even though there are no nightclubs, DJs from different areas hear about us and come to buy our records. Also, we have an online store. Matsumoto, the home of “Ringo Music Festival”, already has its own music culture. It is not far from here, and I hope that people from Ina and neighboring areas will join us in promoting Nagano’s music culture.

As stated on the store card, I am not a musician, critic, or collector. Instead, I value the simplest feeling of “Oh, I like this” or “This is cool” when I hear music.

— That is the natural feeling that comes up when we listen to music, and since it is an instinct that people have, it allows us to enjoy music in its purest form.

Oka: Yes, it is. However, the store is not yet in my ideal shape, so much work is needed in the future. I do all the purchasing myself and am about to start stocking the genres I love. For the first year after I opened, I stocked a wide range of records from various sources, hoping to create a steady stream of customers while keeping an eye on how things were going. Recently, I have been in communication with my favorite labels, such as “WARP,” “Ninja Tune,” and “KOMPAKT,” and I am almost ready to start dealing with them.

The point of running a record store is that you can meet people there, right? I think that is important. But for that to happen, it has to be physical, not digital or remote. I can ask DJs I meet at the store to perform at events in Tokyo, and vice versa. So I want the store to be more than just a place to sell records; I want it to be where people can get together and derive something from.

–With the COVID pandemic, digitalization has progressed even further. Still, just as can be seen from the fact that analog records are selling well, we are reminded of the value of physical objects and real human connections, aren’t we?

Oka: Besides selling records, I would like to invite artists to hold events. Actually, after the record store, I want to create a nightclub. Suwa is overwhelmingly lacking in music culture. There are music venues, but they feature rock and pop live music, so I need to familiarize myself with those. That’s part of why I created “ONE RECORD STORE.”

–You often go abroad. What were the most interesting places you visited and why?

Oka: There are many! From the major ones, I would say “Amoeba music (https://www.amoeba.com/)” in LA, San Francisco, and Berkeley. I was shocked when I went to the LA store for the first time when I was about 18 years old, and I was even stopped by customs on the way home after buying many records (laughs). I once went to a record store in Hollywood that specialized in black music, and a Japanese female staff was working there. I told her that I liked hip-hop, and she invited me to a party where her boyfriend was DJing. I hit it off with her boyfriend, who also likes hip-hop, and he agreed to let me in as a roadie at the party, so I followed him to a venue. The area where the party was held turned out not to be a safe place where there were murders every week, and I, as a Japanese, stood out quite a bit. However, I didn’t get scared because I was with that D.J. guy and was shocked to discover the authentic underground culture there. From that time on, I started buying records.

–It’s very unusual to have such an experience at the age of 18. Was it hip-hop that you were into at the time?

Oka: Yeah, I lived in the U.S. from the age of 3 to 11, so hip-hop culture was a natural part of my surrounding environment. But after returning to Japan, I was also into hardcore, so I used to go to both nightclubs and music venues dressed as a B-Boy but with a Mohawk on my head (laughs).

— Are there any other places that left a lasting impression on you?

Oka: Berlin was impressive. I have been to Berlin once, but I went there just when I was thinking of opening a record shop, so I visited there to look for some references. First and foremost, I like the forest-like interior of “Spacehall,” which allowed me to concentrate on digging. Then I went to “Hardwax,” which has the Aphex Twin’s logos all over it, whom I adore.

I was also influenced by “other music” in New York, which is closed now. I liked that they had a niche lineup that outside mainstream techno. My favorite place when I was in college was Nujabes’ “Tribe,” which was located in Utagawa-cho, Shibuya, although it is also closed now. I told the staff what kind of music I liked, and they suggested The Album Leaf. I was told that the mindset of the main person in the project, who originally played in a hardcore band and then transitioned to electronica, would match the transition in my life. I fell in love with that music, and from there, I started going to that record store. I loved the atmosphere of it more than any other record store in the world, and I loved being able to sit on a club chair and listen to the music. I also used to go to WARSZAWA near Tribe and buy all the records from my favorite labels.

–When the record stores in Shibuya were at their most prosperous, there was a unique atmosphere and culture. What about festivals and parties?

Oka: Of course, there were also memorable parties! When I was in my 20s, my brother lived in New York and I visited him often. A friend of mine who had become good friends there told me that “The Loft*” would be held the following month. “The Loft” was completely invitation-only, and since my friend had been invited, I got in with him. As far as parties go, it was the greatest experience. They bring in a sound system and deco [佐藤1] to a place like a community center, and the acoustics are just amazing. Also, the DJs are supposed to play one song in its entirety without connecting songs, which is the style of the founder, David Mancuso. It’s hard to explain in words, but it was an unprecedented experience for me, both cerebrally and physically. It was like being surrounded by a sense of security and happiness, even though I was among people I didn’t know at all.

The other place I would have to say is “Berghain” in Berlin. I wasn’t allowed in as a guest, so I had to wait in line with other guests to be let in. The sound of the bass, the people dancing on the dais, the chaos of the toilets, the space filled with the sound of pounding techno, and the heavenly feeling I got when I went to “Panoramabar” on the upper floor, all of it was amazing.

Yuki founded a non-profit organization to practice music therapy

–Those experiences are quite precious and enviable for party lovers. What prompted you to go from such a life where life itself is like music to starting a welfare business?

Oka: When I was in college, I was a party guy who didn’t go to school much and only did music events. However, while I was doing that, my mother became ill and passed away. I was very depressed and reconsidered my life, so I got a proper job and started working seriously. Then, my grandfather developed dementia. That is when I learned about music therapy. I thought that by having my grandfather listen to music that I loved, I might be able to revive his memory! So I quit my job then and started attending a college to study music therapy. While studying music therapy, I had the opportunity to perform at facilities for physically challenged people and nursing homes, and I would play punk music for them (laughs). Through these experiences, I ended up starting a non-profit organization dedicated to medical welfare, which is one of the projects I am currently managing.

–Is the event “UNIVERSAL CHAOS” to be held on March 21 at ENTER in Shibuya part of your welfare project?

Oka: It started back in 2010, but it was first called “SOCiAL FUNK!” and was held once every year or two at “Asia” in Shibuya, and then we moved the location to “VISION” and invited BUDDHA BRAND and others as guests for the event held in November 2019, which turned out to be the biggest-ever event. After that, unfortunately, we can no longer hold the event due to the pandemic, but to revive it, we are starting this year with a smaller party called “UNIVERSAL CHAOS.” In the welfare world, there is a mindset of “let’s all get along,” mixed with a discriminatory viewpoint. I think that is unnatural. Because there are genres of music, and each has its own history, so we should not mix them up easily. Therefore, I think it is good for things to be in a state of coexistence, not fused with other things. For example, I believe blindness and deafness are genres of human beings. So I want to create a situation where we can exchange the highest respect by making the most of each personality rather than just lumping them all together as disabled people. That is why I decided to hold a music event where both non-disabled and disabled people exist in the same space.

–I often see people in wheelchairs performing at clubs and festivals in Berlin, but they seem to be properly dressed up and dancing happily. I have never seen such a scene in Japanese nightclubs, so I think they feel it is difficult to enter and stay away.

Oka: The situation in the US is the same as in Berlin. Or rather, I feel that they treat them normally without treating them as physically challenged people in the first place. People in the U.S. seem to think it is important not to treat them differently because of their disabilities, and they are rough in a good way. In Japan, we don’t have that mindset. There is a stereotypical idea that you have to give them special treatment.

Some of the planning members of “UNIVERSAL CHAOS” are deaf or blind, but we are working together to create a project. We plan to have the blind staff listen to the performers’ records and verbalize them in their own way, and then use AI to create and exhibit the images based on their words. For those who are deaf, in addition to having them feel the sound through the vibration of the speakers, we are also preparing to express melodies with light and have them feel the music through images. Although the contents are all experimental, we hope to overturn the concept of people with disabilities through such practices.

(*This legendary party traces its origins back to a Valentine’s Day party held by David Mancuso in February 1970 in the loft of his home in New York City. From there, the party became a weekly event later dubbed “Loft.” The stories associated with the party were later made into a movie.)

Photography Shiho Furumaya
Translation Shinichiro Sato

The post It All Started With American hip-hop; Yuki Oka, Owner of ONE RECORD STORE, On the Future Derived from Music appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

The work traces the history of Britpop, through depicting impressive moments such as Alan’s encounter with Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes of Primal Scream, who recently visited Japan for Summer Sonic, when he stumbled across “Creation Records,” the recording sessions for My Bloody Valentine’s masterpiece “Loveless,” which is said to have triggered the label’s bankruptcy, and the fateful encounter with Oasis.

What did a man from the countryside who, despite being treated as a failure, pushed his business to a world-famous indie label with influence rivaling that of the majors see beyond his success and downfall in the course of living purely by instinct?

Between fiction and documentary

−−The film, obviously, is not a documentary, but fiction based on a true story― but many people who’ve seen the film might believe everything in the film actually happened. Before the project was realized, did you make any requests [of the filmmakers]?

Alan McGee(Alan): No. When you get Irvine Welsh, who’s a genius, to write a script for you, it would be foolish to try and edit Irving Welsh, so I just went along with it, to be honest.

–How did it feel to see somebody like Ewan Bremner, of course famous for his performance in Trainspotting, portray you in the movie?

Alan: I loved it, I love Ewan.

−−In the film, your character wears t-shirts from the acts you managed, like The Jesus and Mary Chain. Did you ever actually wear your own band’s t-shirts?

Alan: I think that’s just Irving Welsh.

−−What’s your dynamic with Danny and Irvine? What kind of values do you feel you share with them?

Alan: Well, Irvine brought Danny Boyle, and I’ve never met Danny Boyle, so I don’t know. But when he decided to produce it, the film got made, so that’s fantastic. I’ve never actually met Danny Boyle. But I’m best friends with Irvine Welsh, and I love him.

−−What do you think you have in common with Irvine? Or in what ways do you differ completely?

Alan: He’s a communist. I’m not, I’m a capitalist. It’s pretty fundamental. (Laughs). But he’s my friend, one of my best friends. He’s a genius, you know what I mean.

−−Another friend, of course, is Bobby [Gillespie]— do you know if he’s seen the film?

Alan: Yeah, he thought it was funny.

−−What about your other friends― or even enemies― that are in the film? Did they share with you what they thought about the film?

Alan: Everybody thinks it was funny, you know what I mean.

−−Yes. I was amazed at how much the actor who played Liam Gallagher resembled him back then.

Alan: Yeah, Liam chose that guy. He was good.

−−I see.

Alan: He chose that guy to play him.

−−The guy who plays Noel doesn’t look like Noel at all.

Alan: There was a funny moment with that, because the producer, Shelly Hammond, was sending me all these Liam lookalike actors, and then she sent me at the last minute this guy, and I went “Who’s he supposed to be playing?” And she’s from North England, and she went “Noel.” And I was like “It doesn’t fuckin’ look like Noel!” And she was like “But we’re gonna get his nose right.” A prosthetic nose, I think he got. He plays the part well. But I’m not sure he looks like Noel Gallagher.

What happened after Creation Records became the world’s largest indie label

−−Anybody who knows Creation knows, especially after the debut of Oasis, how you had struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. Many of the members from other acts you worked with also had similar experiences— do you feel those experiences are more easily overcome for a rockstar than a businessman?

Alan: No, I don’t think it’s got anything to do with being a rockstar or a businessman. I think it’s just, you’ve got to get sober, to find it within yourself to do that. Some people can do that, some people can’t. It’s difficult.

−−Obviously when you’re running a business, there are moments when you’re required to make huge decisions, and if you’re not sober, of course, that would certainly affect it…

Alan: Yeah, it’s just, sobriety’s not about what you do, it’s about who you are.  Nobody knows what’s going on at every end of everyone’s life.

−−Do you ever think that if you had been sober at certain times when you were running Creation you could have been more successful, say, become a Billionaire?

Alan: I don’t really care, anyway. I mean, I never did it for the money, I just happened to make a lot of money at one point. I was just doing it cause I didn’t want a real job. It’s true.

−−As you probably know well, the acts that debuted under Creation have always been very popular in Japan, both then and now― what do you think is the biggest reason why?

Alan: Maybe Japanese people have good taste. We love Japan, all of us, we’ve always loved Japan. Primal [Scream] was really bigger in Japan than they ever were anywhere else, really, weren’t they?

−−But don’t you find it a little strange? As you probably know, Japanese are kind of divorced from drugs…they’re not as widely available as they are in the West, as you’ve probably experienced yourself. Even weed, it’s not something we could ever fathom would be legalized in Japan— in a country like that, you have a label with these artists who are, well, druggies, and people here somehow connect with their music.

Alan: I think they were all doing it behind their backs. I’ve been to Tokyo more times than I can count. So maybe the Japanese don’t need drugs.

−−Oasis, of course, is the biggest act you’ve worked with— what do you think is the biggest difference between Oasis and the other acts you’ve worked with?

Alan: Hits, they had the hits.

−−They had luck as well as talent.

Alan: Maybe it’s luck, but I don’t think Oasis were lucky. I think Oasis were just good.

−−You, yourself, had a band for a time too― which acts that you worked with made you most jealous as a musician?

Alan: TV personalities.

−−This film is a very accurate portrayal of that part of the band. Not only does it feature the leader, Dan Tracy, but also Edward Ball, who in later years was also a business partner in the label’s operation.

Alan: I really like Dan and Edward. But I never thought I was less talented than them. If you feel that way after watching the film, that’s part of Irving’s creation. I had talent too. Well, I suppose you can become famous without any talent. I mean, there’s loads of people who are famous in Britain, don’t really do anything, they’re just celebrities cause they were on a TV show or something. But in music, to be respected, you have to have talent.

−−In the climax of the film, there is of course the bitter moment were you support Tony Blair and the labor party, and we see the Indies taken over by this huge capital corporate. It’s been 25 years since then— when you look at Britain now, from the music scene, at least, it doesn’t seem like much has changed. How do you think the situation has changed?

Alan: Well politically, Brexit’s happened, and that’s terrible. But you’ve got to understand, that last bit of the film, that’s just Irving. I would never go and be a rebel always.

−−If you could use a time machine and return to a specific day in your life, when would that be, and what would you re-do?

Alan: In my own life? I don’t really know.I think everyone’s got regrets. But I don’t live my life thinking I should’ve done this, should’ve done that. I try to just live for now. Just be happy. To just enjoy life. I mean, I’ve only got, at best, 20 more years, I’m 61. So, to enjoy it. I’ve become a hippy. [Laughs]

Alan McGee
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Alan McGee founded Creation Records in 1983. He played central role in the indie rock scene in the 1980s and 1990s, signing with Jesus & The Merry Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub, Oasis and his classmate Bobby Gillespie’s Primal Scream. His label had been called “the world’s most successful indie label,” with an influence rivaling that of the majors. Even after the closure of Creation, he maintained his energetic activities, including the launch of a new label, Poptones.

Edit Jun Ashizawa(TOKION)

The post Alan McGee of Creation Records, The World’s Most Successful Independent Label, Looks Beyond Success and Ruin appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

In the midst of the pandemic, “Landscape With A Fairy,” a song from their 2012 album A Little Fable, was re-appreciated on social networking sites such as Tiktok and Instagram in the context of “cottagecore.” They are also hard diggers of new age music, and have contributed an interesting DJ mix focusing on Asian ambient pop to “FOND/SOUND,” a renowned blog that has played an important role in the development and deepening of the recent new age revival (rethinking and revival of new age music from a new age perspective). Many people would also remember vividly that “KITCHEN. LABEL” sent out Meitei, a Japanese ambient artist who has recently gained great popularity. In this interview, we asked them about the production process of the new album and the aesthetics of the label’s management.

Launching KITCHEN. LABEL

––Firstly, I would like to ask you about the duo itself. Can you give us a brief history of ASPIDISTRAFLY from the beginning to today? 

Ricks Ang (Ricks):April and I started making music together as ASPIDISTRAFLY back in December 2001. It was also started as a creative output for both music and artwork that we created. During that time, we made two self-released EPs and mostly played within the independent music scene in Singapore.

In 2007, we did a collaborative multi-media show in Singapore with Daito Manabe and Takayuki Fujimoto of Dumb Type. It was also the year when MySpace had its peak, and the mainstream music industry broke; our name spread to Tokyo via the internet, and eventually, we embarked on our first Japan tour. Our first show in Japan was in a small cafe called Loop-line in Tokyo, and we played with Chihei Hatakeyama and Tomoyoshi Date. Both are Japanese ambient musicians we hugely admire. Performing in Japan was a turning point in our lives because we could reach a much wider audience, and we got in touch with many like-minded artists. Since then, the only way was up. With each new contact we made, our music would be spread to more people.

This was how we met our artist friends, the organizers who booked our shows and our amazing Japanese distributor, Inpartmaint Inc. They are the very people who have believed in us since the beginning. I was also very keen to find a place for our sound and develop a distinctive label and visual identity under KITCHEN. LABEL. I saw an opportunity, so I decided to start the label in 2008.

With this, we spent much time during our formative years shuttling between Singapore and Tokyo. From then on, we continued to remain active in Japan, where we released our first two full-length albums, i hold a wish for you in 2008 and A Little Fable in 2011.

––You released your latest album, Altar of Dreams, a decade after your sophomore album, A Little Fable. It’s been close to three months since this monumental release. You’ve said how you made something you’re proud of and that you were shaking with excitement even on the release date. How have people reacted and responded to Altar of Dreams?

Ricks:We have always played ourselves under the radar, so I’m touched that our past albums like A Little Fable are still gaining new listeners after all these ten years. We received messages from our listeners who have been waiting for this new album and how it was worth the wait eventually. This far outweighs anything to us; we’re incredibly thankful as our audience is one of the most loyal. We were also quite surprised to have received an Instagram DM from Devendra Banhart giving his thumbs-up for the album!

––Are there any specific steps you have upon producing music and envisioning how it’s going to sound?

April Lee (April): Each album starts off with a vision or an imagery, and usually it serves as the starting point so that the entire story can unfold. Songcraft probably takes up the most attention from us as we tend to be perfectionists, while the instrumental collages are a creative space where we work freely. Here’s a trivia, we’ve never actually written a song while physically together, although we’re always physically in close proximity.

We enjoy the creation process alone, so we like to pass unfinished work to each other and that usually yields interesting results. One example was Quintessence where it was originally a guitar loop by Ricks, which inspired me to re-arrange and build added textures, synths, lyrics and melody.

––In an interview with FOND/SOUND, you said “It is important to look back to our roots and renew, rediscover, and rejuvenate them.” I feel like this album, and your music in general, conjures up a strange landscape, vision, and magical motif woven from dissolved, old (lost/empty) fragments of memory.

You named artists like Serge Lutens and Dora Maar and selected 80s Japanese and Asian ambient pop and Béla Bartók for your FOND/SOUND mix. What role did music and the arts from the past have in producing the album?

April: It is said that people are usually inclined towards either the “past” or the “future”. While both are equally important – as the “past” provides context for the present, and anticipating the “future” helps us to prepare for it – I think I might be especially inclined to the former. The past is sort of like a rabbit hole for me. When the present becomes mundane I tend to dig deep into it and I even feel a sense of satisfaction when unearthing new inspiration from the past. It is my favourite activity to spend hours digging through archives at the library, at record stores or antique stores. This is probably how I discovered artists like Serge Lutens and Dora Maar. Apart from that, the nostalgia factor plays a part.

Especially, Singapore is a city of constant renewal, where places of which people have fond memories no longer exist. For example, my grandparents’ home where I grew up does not exist anymore. I still have recurring dreams about being there.

––Do you have any noteworthy recent musical and artistic influences? 

April:Recently I’ve been rediscovering old Japanese stories – there is one called Iguana Girl(イグアナの娘), which led me to procuring both the original manga (book) and a VHS tape of the drama adaptation. There is also a film called REX Kyōryū Monogatari (REX 恐竜物語), and both have common themes of the emotional interactions, the perception and the transformation between humans and creatures, which I found greatly fascinating and intriguing.

The intention and background of the shift in style as seen in Altar of Dreams

––Your past works have an idyllic British folk vibe, strongly reminiscent of the likes of Vashti Bunyan, and a lo-fi, DIY sound in the vein of electronica and folktronica, but there’s a slight decrease of these qualities on your latest album. Your sound is more spectacular than ever before, and it’s changed into a futuristic, hi-fi soundscape in which the songs have a defined skeleton and contour, so to speak. I can see you’re also tackling cutting-edge R&B and pop music. Rather than giving off a singer-songwriter vibe, I strongly feel you have a diva vibe now. It’s as if you went from making music by incorporating fantastical images into your life to suddenly crossing over to the other side. What’s the intention behind this significant change in style? 

April:I think I perceive myself as an unpredictable and multi-faceted creature who does not want to be in a box. While ASPIDISTRAFLY has a consistent, iconic sound that listeners can recognize, we have no interest in replicating what we’ve already done. As an artist my personal goal is to keep evolving, and I want to surprise and delight listeners with something new in my next work. The possibilities in music are limitless, and this motivates me to discover beyond my present knowledge. ASPIDISTRAFLY is a musical extension of my identity, so it is always up to date with my current influences and experiences.

––April, in an interview with NME, you said, “My role as a songwriter is purely that of a dreamer imagining.” What lingering impression did lucid dreaming, one of the album’s inspirations, have on you? Out of the songs you sang on the album, the lyrics of “Altar of Dreams,” which you made from your experiences with lucid dreaming, show the surge of emotions the most intricately.

 It makes the listener feel a deep sense of sorrow. What’s behind the title, Altar of Dreams?  

April: When I was making the album, I was going through a difficult time in my life, where I sought respite from being unconscious to ease the pain. My room was like a cave and my bed was like a cocoon, where I did a lot of lucid dreaming. The safeness and security of this cocoon felt like an altar, where if I laid there, I could enter a portal of dreams to escape reality.

As a child I always had the ability to lucid dream, and for better or worse, I could always remember what I had seen or experienced in the dream. The track Altar Of Dreams was written, waking up suddenly from an intense dream where I was at peace and in darkness at first, but eventually swallowed in a black, murky whirlpool, losing control of myself.

In the dream, the environment was quiet but my emotions were heightened, thus the musical arrangement of this song was kept deliberately quiet apart from unpredictable tempo shifts between verses and choruses.

––Much like how lucid dreaming inspires you, what influence did Sayoko Yamaguchi have on you?

April: Sayoko Yamaguchi’s modelling work in early Shiseido CMs had struck me deeply, from the first time I saw them. They were more surrealist films than product advertising, and they ended up as inspiration when I was producing the music video for Companion To Owls.

Beauty and fashion, in general, have a strong influence on me, and I enjoy tracking down advertorials and advertising campaigns from the past to present. I can say that I’ve never seen anything quite like the Shiseido REVITAL or INOUI commercials from the 70s-80s, many of which star Sayoko Yamaguchi and were directed by Serge Lutens.

These product lines were eventually discontinued by Shiseido, but I have hazy memories of my childhood where I accompanied my mother to the ISETAN department store in Singapore to buy them. The design of the packaging for the creams and powders were also exquisite, and I have collected some of these antiques from an online Japanese auction website.

To elaborate further on Sayoko Yamaguchi – I’m often drawn to female muses who have a strong and persistent conviction in conveying the artistic message or aesthetic that they believe in.

––Each of the four songs on the album that you sing on could be seen as distinct, short poems or a succession of lyrical universes. I feel like the words that appear (for infinity) in these songs, such as “repetition,” “time,” “forever,” “wind,” “silent,” “night,” and “darkness,” are keywords for this album as well as your artistry in general. What’s the meaning behind these words? Further, is there a reason why the four songs are between instrumentals or interludes without discernible lyrics? 

April: We often create an album as a listening journey, alternating between “poetry” and “prose”. If you watch a film with just sound and no visuals, you’d hear scenes with dialogue, and then scenes that are environmental or silent. I think that was what we were trying to create, and this has been a ASPIDISTRAFLY tradition right from the beginning with our first demo EP, and that has never changed. Apart from songcraft, making instrumental sound collages is actually a great enjoyment for me. This creative space comes with total liberation. I like collecting all sorts of found sounds, which I have been accumulating since having access to a PC in the 90s.

Being a very curious person, I remember exploring early visual tools like MS Paint or Paint Shop Pro, and subsequently I realised I could also create sound assemblages by applying the same visual techniques and principles to audio, by treating each layer to form a complete picture.

Gaussian blurring was just like reverb, while colour inverting was reversing a track, and so on. Early VST plugins like Super Destroy FX and Expert Sleepers piqued my interest even further and became my toolbox for creativity and experimentation.

––Both of you capture your background and identity in the eighth song, “Silk and Satins.” It’s an experimental sound collage featuring Sugai Ken in which you sample horror dramas broadcasted by Mediacorp, a local Singaporean broadcasting station you were drawn to as children. At the beginning of the song, it sounds like someone is running up the stairs in the dark, which then fades into the background. Right after, a phone rings repeatedly, and the soundscape shifts to a melancholic yet unsettling one. What’s the intention behind making this song lead into the heavenly closing song “Quintessence,” which has lyrics reminiscent of a trance-like state.

April:Silk and Satins conveys a mysterious theme of “deterioration caused by the unknown”, while Quintessence is about “restoration and the atmosphere’s elements”. These themes are the complete opposite of each other. When crafting the flow of an album, we are always intentional about creating elements of surprise and contrast between tracks, for listeners to curiously wonder.

す。

ASPIDISTRAFLY
A Singapore-based male-female unit consisting of April Lee and Rick Ang, the two run “KITCHEN. LABEL”, a popular music label known for its releases of high-quality sound by Japanese artists such as haruka nakamura, ironomi, and FJORDNE, and its special packages with sophisticated and beautiful artwork.

Edit Ryo Todoriki

The post ASPIDISTRAFLY and Their KITCHEN. LABEL: The Aesthetics of Label Management and Thoughts on New Releases appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

At the film’s end, the skaters skate on the midnight roads with “Lone Wolf” by Zacari playing in the background. The hem of a black coat flies in the wind. The shot of their backs struck me as beautiful in an ephemeral way. 

This streetwear-centric fashion film was shown at Milan Fashion Week—where sexy, tailored clothing reigns—making designer Hideaki Shikama a heretical figure. How did he get here? What’s his story? We spoke to Shikama about his Spring/Summer 2023 collection to learn about what goes into his creations.

Hideaki Shikama 
Born in 1980, Hideaki Shikama founded Children of the discordance in 2011. In 2018, he won the Tokyo Fashion Award. Born and raised in Yokohama, Kanagawa, he came into contact with various cultures as a child. This experience plays a central part in his collections. He presents a fashion film every season, each full of his love for music. The intersection between dynamic graffiti and loose silhouettes that don’t restrain the body produces an impact akin to avant-garde streetwear. 
https://www.childrenofthediscordance.com/
Instagram：@children_of_the_discordance

Growing up in Yokohama and the real streets of New York

——I’d like to know about your formative years. What was Yokohama like growing up?

Hideaki Shikama (Shikama): Back then, you had to be resilient to survive Yokohama. You had to be prepared and understand the risks if you wanted to do something different from the rest. It was pretty serious

——Do you have any anecdotes to share?

Shikama: One day, my friend and I got out of the ticket gate of Yokohama station and saw students from another school waiting for us. There were about 30 of them. They started taunting us, then ran over and almost beat us up. I had hit someone with my skateboard to run away before, so this was nothing new. It happened all the time. It was like the Heisei era version of the manga Rokudenashi Blues because it was like, “I heard that guy got beat up yesterday” (laughs). 

——Wow! I can discern different cultures in your collections. Does your experience in Yokohama play a part? 

Shikama: I fell in love with clothes when I discovered Stüssy when I was 11. I felt inspired when I saw a friend of mine wear the brand. That made me interested in every culture related to clothes. 

——Your initial introduction to street culture was clothes, not hip-hop or skating. 

Shikama: It was Stüssy for sure. I got into the brand, then experienced a crossover of different cultures in middle school. There were delinquents and kids who did street dance. I discovered skate culture in seventh grade, where people did flips and ollies. That was the start of my learning about other cultures.

——Which culture did you become interested in after skating?

Shikama: Skate culture wasn’t only related to hip-hop; R&B, rock, soul, and hardcore were integral too. I learned about these genres from skate videos. I would buy skate videos at Murasaki Sports in Shibuya and check out all the songs used in the videos. I eventually got hooked on various types of music that way. 

——Which genre were you especially hooked on?

Shikama: Yokohama has deep ties with dance music, so I became increasingly obsessed with hip-hop. My parents always had MTV on, and music videos would play on the TV after I came home from school. I found out about Japanese rap through that. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I discovered Shakkazombie and was shocked by their early music videos. I got into this group called Lamp Eye and started DJing and rapping. That was around 10th grade. 

——I didn’t know that! I heard you spent some time in New York. 

Shikama: I was in middle school. My friend moved there because of their father’s job and invited me to visit them. I stayed in New York for two months a couple of times.

——What do you remember from your time in New York?

Shikama: It was around when Supreme and RRL stores opened, and I felt the momentum of street culture in New York. I encountered graffiti art and got influenced by and absorbed different cultures in a short period. I was around 14 or 15 then, but that passion didn’t die when I returned to Japan. It still lives on within me to this day. 

The origins that nurtured Shikama 

——You were previously in charge of Acycle Ships Jet Blue, which you founded through Ships. Did you have experience in design planning before that?

Shikama: I went to a fashion school, but I didn’t study at all. I always hung out in Harajuku, so I had no experience working in the field. I didn’t understand how to make patterns or specification sheets. 

——How did you earn those skills?

Shikama: An older co-worker told me, “You can look at my specification sheet after I go home.” They would leave at 11 PM. After they went home, I’d make a copy of their specification sheet so I could study it until the morning. For a year and a half, I would go home on the first train, sleep for an hour, and go back to work. I understood how to make clothes thanks to that experience and started design planning for Ships. 

——What sort of projects did you work on? 

Shikama: I had a project where we made 150 different shirt designs in a year. Some designs were hits; we would sell 200 to 300 shirts per week. Thanks to such results, I could tell that people in the company started trusting me. If I did a not-so-great job, Acycle would’ve failed. I gave it my all regarding the jobs I was given. 

——I feel like not only did you learn the foundation of making clothes at Ships, but you also were influenced by it in a big way. 

Shikama: Yes, I learned a lot. I visited the place that produced fabrics and made an original one. I learned how to create graphics using Illustrator, too. I owe everything to Ships because I experienced so much during my time there. 

An exciting style born from returning to one’s roots 

——I heard Yokohama was the theme of Children of the discordance’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection, which you showed in June. 

Shikama: The title is “Area Area.” The Yokohama I grew up in during my teenage years was a diverse city. Let’s say I went to the park with a friend. I would run into a rapper friend and a DJ there. I would also see skaters, street dancers, and bikers.

Children of the discordance, Spring/Summer 2023

——How did you get that sort of information back then?

Shikama: When making hip-hop music for fun, I would get other information naturally. I’ve never been on a bike before, but I know so much about different bike types. I also knew about bike customization because my friend told me about it. I learned a lot from the streets. 

——Is the collection’s theme based on your past self? 

Shikama: I thought it would be fun to do that. The collection has a hip-hop mood, but it also has ravey tracksuit jackets. The vibe is Yokohama in the late 90s.

——–The distressed sweater caught my eye. The hem is frayed, and the graffiti looks like it was drawn on a real wall. Where did the inspiration for graffiti come from?

Children of the discordance, Spring/Summer 2023 

Shikama: It’s from a one-kilometer-long street under an overpass in Sakuragicho. From middle school until my twenties, I would go there to skate and hang out with friends at night. It’s close to my heart, so I knew I had to recreate it. Sui, a graffiti artist and friend who lives in Kagoshima, did the graffiti.

——I would’ve never guessed you got inspired by a wall in Sakuragicho! 

Shikama: The hem is distressed because I had a skater in mind.

——The details reflect Yokohama. It’s fascinating. How did the clothes with illustrations by Jun Inagawa come about?

Children of the discordance, Spring/Summer 2023

Shikama: Reiji Okamoto-san comes to every show, and I spoke to stylist Teppei-san about wanting to work on something with Reiji-san. We then had a meeting that led to the brand’s collaboration with Yagi, curated by Reiji-san, of which Jun Inagawa-san is a part. 

——Usually, brands put illustrations to the front and center of their designs, but you mixed his illustrations with bandanas. It feels fresh. 

Shikama: When I first shared that idea, they were like, “What’s he talking about?” (laughs). But I thought it’d be cool to make original bandanna fabrics, add his artwork on top of them, digitally print them, and then mix that with other bandanna fabrics.

——What was everyone’s reaction when the prototype was finished?

Shikama: They were like, “Damn!” It’s challenging to harmonize vintage aesthetics with art. I feel like it’s something only we could’ve done. 

Thoughts and feelings behind the collections 

——You use an impressive amount of vintage shirts in your collections. How did you start collecting them?

Shikama: Let’s say a vintage shirt in extra large costs 60,000 yen. If that shirt’s in size small, it’d only cost 10,000 yen, even with the same graphic. Especially abroad, small shirts are treated like garbage because people are like, “Who would wear a small-sized shirt?” It’s such a waste, no? The print is the same! No one saves shirts like that; they get buried in other clothes. That’s why I started collecting shirts with rare prints in size small.  

——Would you say you collect things of low value and remake them into valuable items?

Shikama: You can break small-sized shirts apart and reconstruct them into an extra large top. You can make a super rare print for cheap. We can sell print shirts at a lower price than the market price. I started doing this because I felt like it was such a waste not to. 

A reconstructed shirt from Children of the discordance 

——Sustainability is an imperative topic in the fashion industry. Your clothes have a sustainable feel to them. What are your thoughts on that? 

Shikama: To be truthful, I don’t think about that concept. As my brand name suggests, I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to dress like everyone else as much as possible. It took time, but I realized I could make original clothes by incorporating a vintage element. That was around 2014. That’s when I started reconstructing vintage clothes. 

——You mentioned how you started collecting vintage shirts because you felt like it was a waste not to, but hearing you speak, I think you had a strong desire to pursue originality through making unique clothes. 

Shikama: For some reason, once people started using the word sustainability, my brand started being regarded as a sustainable brand. Some stores abroad buy our clothes as part of their sustainable category. They tell us, “Where are your reconstructed clothes? We can’t buy anything else.” 

——You don’t make clothes based on that perspective, right?

Shikama: Right. How can I say this? The things I’m concerned with differ from theirs. I never want to force myself to make clothes in a certain way. 

——The music you use in every fashion film you present is memorable. Your Spring/Summer 2023 collection used Hideyoshi-san’s “Live Forever” and “Shinpainai featuring Aklo.” Why did you select these two songs?

Area Area, Children of the discordance’s Spring/Summer 2023 fashion film 

Shikama: People might have the impression that Hideyoshi-san writes negative lyrics, but when I listened to his latest album, I thought it was so cool. A lot of the songs are positive and empowering. I wanted to use those songs because of the positive lyrics. 

——You show your collections at Milan Fashion Week. Why is that? Your vibe seems a little different from the rest. 

Shikama: I’m assuming brands that show at Milan Fashion Week don’t have a background in street culture as I do, so my brand stands out a lot. No other brands have clothes like ours. 

——Not at Milan Fashion Week, no.

Shikama: I felt like it’d be amazing if we could be among brands like Zegna and Prada. We’ve been showing at Milan Fashion Week ever since we got the offer to do it. 

——What’s next for the brand? Could you talk about whether you’re showing your collections and opening stores in other countries? 

Shikama: I’m considering showing our collections in other countries. We’re working on when and where to show our clothes. We’ve been working on it for a few years but stopped because of covid. But things are back in gear now, so I think we’d be able to show our collections in other European countries in a few years.

——Which moment has made you the happiest regarding the brand?

Shikama: Seeing people smile after handing them the clothes I designed or receiving good feedback from the media makes me happy. It also makes me happy when something I made gets rewarded somehow. 

The most memorable part of this interview was Shikama’s anecdotes from middle school. As I listened to how he absorbed many cultures in a short period, his collections started replaying in my mind. I got internally excited when I realized his beautifully chaotic clothes were born out of his turbulent teenage years.

Children of the discordance has an explosive style born from the melting pot of skate, hip-hop, reggae, and other cultures. There’s no way Shikama can stop moving forward with the driving force of taking on a challenge set in front of him. Designer Hideaki Shikama will never recoil, even if the world turns against him. 

Photography Teppei Hoshida
Edit Shuichi Aizawa(TOKION)

The post Hideaki Shikama, the designer of Children of the discordance, is Building a World from a Melting Pot  appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

With cardboard, Gima has re-envisioned sneakers newly released by Gucci, a fashion label actively contributing to the development of sustainability in the fashion industry. The sneakers, made of the sustainable material Demetra, are part of the “Gucci Basket” collection.

Through this collaborative work, we aim to take a closer look at the intersection of the worlds of Tomomatsu Gima, an artist working with the themes of “distribution” and “consumption,” and Gucci, a brand which believes in the merit of sustainability.

Different people experience the same sneakers and records differently

——What led you to to become an artist who creates artwork out of cardboard?

Tomotatsu Gima (Gima): I had been going to art school since I was a high school student, and I chose an art college as my university, so I had always been in an environment where art surrounded me. So I was naturally thinking that it would be nice if I could make a living by creating something as an artist. I’m doing collage now, but there were various courses in art school, like painting and sculpture. Since I was in the painting course, I had confidence in my painting skills and initially wanted to become a painter.

But I eventually came to feel that I had done everything I could do with painting, and was no longer able to create new work. I felt like I was at rock bottom. At that time, I found a lot of discarded cardboard scraps near where I lived, so I started making stationery and notepads out of them. [Gima  currently continues to work with the project rubodan, creating employment opportunities producing stationery out of cardboard.]

One day, I tried making a collage using cardboard as if I was painting. When I applied pieces of cardboard paper to a picture I had painted with leftover paint, I thought, “This is it!” Then I immediately set about making a picture of Campbell’s Soup, which was the prototype of my current work. The moment I finished it, I felt that something new had been born.

——You started with a picture of a Campbell’s Soup can, and now you’ve created many pictures of sneakers and record jackets. Are these motifs an important part of your style?

Gima：I think that it’s consequently become a strong point of my work, but basically most of my art is based on things found in my home. So they tend to come from my hobbies. Among those, I just love sneakers so much, and now I’m glad that I love them so.

What I felt when I started making my works was that although both sneakers and records are mass-produced, different people experience the same sneakers and records differently. This song, for example. could be something somebody listened to in junior high school, or these sneakers might be the first thing someone bought with their own money. Even with the same products, each person has a totally different emotional attachment to them. So even though I’m only exhibiting works created from my personal memories, each viewer looks at them and talks about their own memories too. That makes me feel so delighted. Also, even though I only use things I have at home as subject matter, I think it’s interesting that my tastes and preferences become visible through my body of work.

Original works made by Gima

I hope my work will inspire viewers to think about how things at home were brought in cardboard boxes from somewhere else

——I think the notion of “distribution” and “consumption,” key themes under which you’re developing your artistic practice, have a close link to this collaboration with Gucci. In terms of your creation, do you focus on sustainability?

Gima：When I started working as an artist in my current style, I didn’t often hear about things like SDGs and sustainability. So, if I were asked whether I’ve been working as an artist with sustainability as my objective, I would say no. I  feel that my way of expression became relevant and happened to fit with the times.

The themes of “distribution” and “consumption” came from my imagining how the items in my house were brought in from somewhere in cardboard boxes. At the same time, I have also seen a lot of those [cardboard boxes] become garbage. But I’m not trying to say that we should be looking at things more factually. What I value most is the coolness of the work as a piece of art.

It would make me happy, though, if people who see the work start a conversation with the question, “What is this made of?” and get inspired to look around home and wonder where this and that came from.

——So you hope your work will make people think about sustainability, rather than advocating it squarely, is that right?

Gima: Yeah, that’s right. My style stems largely from the fact that I live near a market in Naha, where cardboard boxes are readily available. I’ve been collecting cardboard for almost 10 years, so I’m able to express my works with all sorts of colors, but I think it would be difficult for someone else to start collaging with cardboard tomorrow.

——In reimagining the new Gucci sneakers as a work of art, was there anything different from your previous sneaker work?

Gima: The sneakers themselves had a taste of basketball shoes from the 1980s and 1990s, which I like, so I felt that Alessandro Michele must be a big sneaker fan. That’s probably why the design is loved by sneakerheads. I also like making sneakers from those eras, because they’re neither too difficult nor too simple. I also like that sustainable materials are utilized in many parts of the shoe. It was fun to recreate the sneakers because of those details.

I attach a different number of pieces of cardboard on each part of the piece to create different thicknesses and make the whole thing three-dimensional. It takes time to cut out the cardboard for each part, but I get it done well, the work turns out wonderful.

What I did differently this time from my usual work was to put similarly-colored pieces of cardboard on the areas of the shoe that have same color. What I usually do is to apply letters or small fragments of contrasting colors to add an accent. But this time, I dared to use similar colors to unify the tones of respective parts. I was intentionally creating a calm but gorgeous look. I also created shaded parts of the heels in a way that lets you see the cardboard as a material, which is slightly different from my previous works.

——Nowadays, sustainability has become a keyword in the fashion world as well. What are your thoughts on the trend?

Gima: I have a limited knowledge of sneakers from the 1970s to the present, and I know the designs, production methods, and materials have changed with the times. So I think it’s natural that the keyword “sustainable” is coming up as a change. It’s important, of course, to be environmentally conscious and to reduce wasted materials and energy consumption. However, it’s also important to consider how people can work more efficiently, or how we can reduce  working hours from, say, 10 hours to 6 hours. I believe that improving efficiency is also linked to sustainability.

I think it’s significant not only for the fashion world but for the entire planet to have a leading brand like Gucci communicate that it uses sustainable materials in the creation of its products. I hope the brand will continue to lead this trend with such a movement. Its impact will surely reach the general public as well.

“Among all sneakers, I particularly like basketball shoes, and I often recreate them in my work. The plastic parts commonly used in the 1980s and 1990s were reborn through the sustainable material Demetra, and it was fun to think about how to replicate this with cardboard as a material. This time, I focused on ming gradation with similar colors to express the color of the shoes.” (Gima)

Tomotatsu Gima
Tomotatsu Gima is an artist who creates collages from cardboard boxes under themes of “distribution” and “consumption.” He has primarily been presenting his artworks at exhibitions, but has also been involved in the creation of magazine co-vers and advertisements both in Japan and abroad.

The Gucci Basket sneakers are made of an innovative and sustainable new material to reduces the burden on the environment

Gima’s cardboard sneakers are based on the new “Gucci Basket” models, designed by Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele and inspired by basketball shoes. The three models, with different color hues and fabrics, make use of the original material “Demetra,” primarily composed of bio-based materials that are non-animal derived and renewable. An ID tag is attached to each respective item.
Gucci has been carbon neutral throughout its supply chain since 2018, and continues to make efforts to create positive change in the natural environment by protecting and restoring forests and mangroves, and investing in regenerative agriculture. In July of this year, the company announced that it has become a strategic partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate its efforts in the circular economy.

Gucci sneakers  ¥134,200

Gucci Japan Client Service
0120-88-1921

Photography Shinpo Kimura[STILL]
Edit Wataru Matsumoto (PineBooks inc.)
Motion & Sound Shigeru Suzuki (THE ME)
Translation Shinichiro Sato(TOKION)
Produced by TOKION for GUCCI

The post Cardboard Artist Tomotatsu Gima Reimagines Gucci Sneakers with Sustainable Materials appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Coinciding with the launch, Gucci collaborated with the photographer So Mitsuya on a special project. This interview explores how Mitsuya, a photographer who creates a unique sense of “discomfort” by combining fiction and reality in his photographic images, perceives and expresses himself through “Gucci Off the Grid”.

Collage is interesting because I can create any image I want— it’s like painting with photographs

——What made you start working as a photographer?

So Mitsuya (Mitsuya): I started out as a musician. My girlfriend at the time was working at a museum of photography, and when she saw the photos I took, she told me that I should do photography. Then I came to know the culture of photobooks and photo exhibitions within the world of photography, and  decided to give it a try. When I told her, she said, “Sell the music equipment you have at home right away and buy a camera!” [Laughs]. So I actually sold my instruments and bought a camera. At that moment, I reached a point of no return.

——So then when did you first come to think of yourself as a photographer?

Mitsuya: I became aware of myself as an artist when London-based media found my work and featured it. That gave me confidence that my work would be seen as art. After that, I started sending my work to international art magazines and taking pictures to show to people.

Just when I began to think that I wouldn’t be able to continue work as a photographer unless I won an award or something, I won a prize in a competition called the JAPAN PHOTO AWARD. This led to people in Japan seeing my work, and I began to get client work. Looking back, I guess I wanted to escape from music, which wasn’t going well for me, and I was eager to try anything new.

——Was your first work recognized abroad a collage like the one you’re working on now?

Mitsuya: No. Back then, my works were straight photos of critical moments on  the street. But as I went along with it, there were times when I felt that my work could have been improved through editing and manipulation, so I digitized the photos I’d taken on film and edited them. Originally, retouching is a process of removing what you don’t need, but I tried adding something else to the images. For example, I placed a person in an empty mirror. By doing so, it became what I wanted it to be, and it was interesting because it felt like I was drawing a picture. I shifted focus from film to digital because my photography became more about the manipulation after the shoot than the shoot itself.

——Do you think the technique of retouching is a part of your own style?

Mitsuya: Yes, I do. I consider my style as one long process of releasing the shutter. I take a quick shot, bring it back to my workshop, and edit it on the monitor. In the editing process, a slight noise appears in the picture. I make a large print of the photo so that the noise can be seen, check it, then erase it. I feel as if the camera shutter stays open until the end of this editing process.

However, collage photography is already common around the world. Overseas, fashion photography and art photography are at the same high level and are fused together, but in Japan, there is a big cultural divide between the two. So I think what I’m doing stands out more in Japan. From a global perspective, collage photography needs more advanced elements in addition to the technique itself, and I’m constantly experimenting in order to reach a higher level.

——I feel like the collage technique can be used to realize anything through editing, like there are no limits to the images that can be made. In the case of fashion photography, where you already know what you’re going to shoot, how to you come up with the ideas and materials for what you’ll combine?

Mitsuya: I don’t come up with ideas from scratch. For example, a telephone pole with an interesting curve in a photo I’ve already taken can be a source of inspiration. I develop my ideas from that kind of starting point. For fashion shoots, though, I draw from elements like the model’s pose, styling, hair and makeup, and then work to find things to combine from my personal archives. So I don’t think about anything while I’m shooting. When I bring home the photos I shot and refer back to my archives, they often miraculously come together. This way, I’m able to maintain a feeling of life in the images without stopping to think.

Original works made by Mitsuya

Digitally transforming the indestructible natural world can result in a humorous image

——When you were working on the “Gucci Off the Grid” pieces, did you have any particular theme in mind?

Mitsuya: First, I chose ”nature” and “sustainability” as my themes from the existing keywords associated with the items. In the mountains behind my parents’ house in Kyoto, there’s a forest I love that hasn’t changed a bit since I was a child. I created all the images on the theme of sustainability by repeatedly using one tree from a photo I took there. The same tree is repeated in the four images, the look of the tree is changed little by little through manipulation on the PC. So I’d like the viewer to see the process of gradually building a relationship between the product and the tree.

——It’s really the kind of world that only you can create. The products in the “Gucci Off the Grid” collection, which was the focus of this collaboration, are made from sustainable materials. Are you involved in any sustainability-conscious activities yourself?

Mitsuya: I don’t think there is anything in particular that I’m doing on purpose with an awareness of sustainability. However, as I mentioned earlier, when I go to the forest near my parents’ house I pick up trash the trash that I find, and I ride my bike most of the time in Tokyo. So, I haven’t yet ventured to take “sustainable” action, but I sometimes think afterwards that what I have been doing in my daily life might be connected to such practices. The important thing is to protect the environment that surrounds us all.

——Is there any difference between working with brands and manufacturers and creating your own works?

Mitsuya: I basically take the same stance. But the process of creating a work of art is different from that of creating work for a client. In the case of my own artwork, the subject may or may not be in the picture, but in the case of commercial work, motifs such as models and clothing have to be in the picture. This difference is massive. When there are things that must be in the picture, the work has less freedom, but there are also ideas that can only be born from such limits. By being forced to look at something with a certain gaze, I feel like I’m in a training session. I also make use of these experiences in my own work where I have a higher degree of freedom. I’m now able to come and go between my own work and client work, enough so that I’m able to balance my mind as an artist.

Ever since I was a child, I felt weirded out with the fact that everyone was doing the same thing without question. Like, I felt uncomfortable with only being able to paint a certain color in arts and crafts class, and the same goes for chorus. With photography, I can express a sense of “discomfort.” Also, I think collage might suit my personality because it expresses something that doesn’t look the same to everyone. I feel that my work is like a picture of something that comes from within me.

——Finally, can you tell us about anything you’d like to do as an artist or photographer in the future?

Mitsuya: Photography is basically something that is shown on a flat surface. But to show a flat surface, you need space. So recently, I have been thinking about three-dimensional modeling and how to show photography. I’m thinking about how to make a two-dimensional object look three-dimensional. In other words, I’m thinking about how to combine three-dimensional objects and collage within a certain space.

And I would like to continue to explore as an eternal theme whether I can make use of ideas that I have never thought, to open up my thinking and create works of art.

“Nature and greenery have always been my favorite motifs— I grew up in a place with lots of greenery nearby, so I want my favorite place to exist forever, never fading away. So I connected this work with the nature preservation that “Gucci Off the Grid” aims for. It was interesting to process an image of single tree over and over again while trying to create harmony between it and the green items in the collection.” (Mitsuya)

So Mitsuya　
So Mitsuya is a photographer, born in 1990 in Kyoto. He switched from a career in music to photography and has attracted attention from around the world. In addition to doing work in media and advertising, he has also held solo exhibitions. In 2018, he received the Charlotte Cotton (Editor) Award and David Toro (DIS) Award from JAPAN PHOTO AWARD.

Gucci’s sustainable collection using sustainably sourced materials

The items Mitsuya has played with in his work this time are from the new “Gucci OFF THE GRID” collection, which makes use of special sustainable materials. Each product uses the recycled nylon yarn “ECONYL,” made from scraps, waste, organic and bio-based materials, and is characterized by environmentally friendly designs. The new Khaki collection will be released first in Japan, ahead of other countries.
Gucci has been carbon neutral throughout its supply chain since 2018, and continues to make efforts to create positive change in the natural environment by protecting and restoring forests and mangroves, and investing in regenerative agriculture. In July of this year, the company announced that it has become a strategic partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate its efforts in the circular economy.

Clockwise from left: Gucci tote bag ¥217,800, belt bag ¥129,800, card case ¥47,300, sneakers ¥99,000

Gucci Japan Client Service
0120-99-2177

Photography Shinpo Kimura[STILL]
Edit Wataru Matsumoto (PineBooks inc.)
Motion & Sound Shigeru Suzuki (THE ME)
Translation Shinichiro Sato(TOKION)
Produced by TOKION for GUCCI

The post Photographer So Mitsuya Layers his own “Greenery” over the New “Gucci Off the Grid” Collection appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Ambient music was initially a concept proposed by Brian Eno in 1978 as an ambience that highlights the uniqueness of the environment in a particular space. Now, the term is used ambiguously to refer to music with a minimalist and peaceful sound, and can include everything from electronica and background music to environmental music. While Eno’s music communicates an image without invoking a clear concept in the music itself, an innocuous effect of the resurgence of ambient music in the 2010s is that by reinterpreting sounds designed solely for environmental music as a part of ambient music, it can now be enjoyed as a musical piece rather than as a purely practical piece. I believe the value of Japanese environmental music is being rediscovered in the same way.

It could also be said that the significance of sound designer Yutaka Hirose’s second album Nostalghia, his first in 36 years, has been newly discovered through this trend.The recordings used in this album were originally recorded from 1987~’91 to be used to play in public facilities. Since Hirose himself repurposed and “musicalized” those recordings to create this record, Nostalghia has been redesigned as contemporary music. In addition, although the album itself is not intended to be played solely in a specific space, each song on the record is presented for a separate space. – It feels unnatural to call this ambient music.

Originally, there were seven CD’s worth of previously unreleased recordings. With the help of music supervisor Tatsuto Inoue of Fushigi Ongakukan and artist Toshiya Tsunoda to select the songs and with musician Taku Unami mastering the record, Nostalghia finally saw the light of day. The finished product not only sounds unlike ambient music, but also sounds alien to Japanese environmental music. In the second half of this two-part interview, Yutaka Hirose speaks about Brian Eno, Sound Process Design, Nostalghia’s “fear,” and coming up with the term “Japambient.”

Part One here

The changing image of Brian Eno

– When did you first come across Brian Eno’s music?

Hirose: I first learned about Eno when I had just started middle school. At the time, I was listening to his Roxy Music era and his early vocal albums, which is why he gave me a strong glam rock or prog rock impression. That was my default image of him, which is why I was confused when I first heard Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978). The Japanese version of Discreet Music (1975) wasn’t released until the 80s, so my first encounter with Eno’s ambient works was Music For Airports.

It was Ambient 4: On Land (1982) that changed my image of Eno. I was wildly impressed. Unlike Music for Airports, there’s life in On Land’s sound. Featuring several musicians like John Hassell, the sounds on that album are as colossal as the Earth’s foundation. I was in complete awe.

– How did you perceive that type of tranquil music before Eno popularized the term “ambient music”?

Hirose: Although the term “ambient music” wasn’t used, music that sounded similar existed. Terry Riley’s In C (1968), Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (1973), Steve Laihe’s Drumming/Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices And Organ/Six Pianos (1974) were some examples of minimalist music. Riley had been using tape loops since the 60s, so the technique used in Eno’s Discreet Music wasn’t all that new. The key was that Eno introduced “ambient music,” a different, new, unique style of music.

I was more interested in the Obscure record series over the ambient series. I was heavily influenced by Gavin Briars’ use of strings and acoustics in The Sinking of the Titanic (1975). The concept of the Obscure series was to promote experimental music. Eno was bringing contemporary and experimental composers to the forefront as a producer. I think his experience doing that morphed into the ambient series.

Working at Sound Process Design

– You got to know Satoshi Ashikawa right before his death in a tragic car accident in 1983. You even brought your own tapes to Sound Process Design, the company which Mr. Ashikawa built.

Hirose: I met Mr. Ashikawa when I went to the Harold Budd concert in Japan (1983), which he organized. I listened to Harold Budd’s music on records before, but this was the first time hearing him live. I was intrigued by his unique sound, and that led to listen my listening to Mr. Ashikawa’s records. Afterwards, I thought it would be nice to give Mr. Ashikawa a gift when I met him again, so I brought my own tapes.

– What was most appealing about Mr. Ashikawa’s music?

Hirose: Probably how he forms his music around singular notes and silences. Mr. Ashikawa’s Still Way (1982) uses harps, pianos, vibraphones, and other instrumental components to create singular notes, or points, in his music. I think that’s how it differs from Eno’s ambient music.

– After the release of Nova in 1986, you made music to be played in different science and history museum spaces and other facilities as a part of Sound Process Design. What was the reaction to that type of music back then?

Hirose: It was only meant to be used for the museums, so I didn’t get any direct feedback. I just kept doing my job.

– Since the 1990s, the term “sound art” has been used to refer to the presentation of sound in spaces. How did you feel about such trends?

Hirose: I had stopped making sounds after the 90s. I was no longer listening to trends, let alone hopping on them. Maybe it’s because I moved out of Tokyo, but I had cut off all information.

 Echoes of “nature = fear” in Nostalghia

– You could’ve exhibited these works as sound installations, but instead, you created an album. Why did you choose to release Nostalghia in CD and LP formats?

Hirose: In 2019, I reissued Nova with We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want. After that release, I was approached by a lot of people asking me if I would want to release an album of my unreleased tapes. Considering my age and the possibility of death, I decided to put out an album of things I worked on from my late 20s. I obviously didn’t want to release anything as is, so I processed and edited it a bit, and added my present self into it. I was especially particular during the mastering process, which resulted in the final product.

– The mastering was done by Taku Unami, correct?

Hirose: Yes. We actually changed the mastering a couple times. We had a more aggressive master and a more quiet master. The aggressive master sounded too metallic and harsh, so upon discussing it with Mr. Unami and Toshiya Tsunoda, we decided on what you hear today.

– In recent years, we’ve seen a new age revival and a resurgence of ambient music. Through that trend, Japanese environmental music has been getting rediscovered abroad, and has been getting reimported into Japan. You could say that environmental music that was meant for soundscapes is now being redefined as ambient music. How do you feel about your music, that was initially created to be heard in specific spaces, being listened to as ambient music?

Hirose: I released it intending for it to be a spatial music album. In the LP, all nine songs are meant for nine different spaces. Nostalghia isn’t only made up of serene sounds that symbolize ambient music. It also includes rather harsh, grating metallic noises and muddy soundsl. Spaces and nature don’t just possess nice, gentle elements. It also has a scariness to it. I actually think there are more scary factors than not. I want listeners to understand that aspect of it while listening, too.

– You’re saying that sounds of nature aren’t the superficial sounds you imagine them to be, like bird calls or flowing water. You think the disturbing sounds of the drone from Nostalghia is a more accurate depiction of nature?

Hirose: Precisely. That was intentional. The producer had asked me to include natural sounds. Since I was still in the trial-and-error stage while making Nova, I obliged. But Nostalghia is different. The first song, “Seasons,” puts an end to the Nova era, and takes the music to the next level. Looking back, it was a fear I had towards nature. For example, people often pray at shrines to make sense of natural disasters, to calm mother nature down. Perhaps I was trying to express that sentiment through sound.

On the category “Japambient”

– In the liner notes, Tastuhito Ito uses the term “Japambient.” How do you feel about terms like these?

Hirose: I think they’re interesting words. If there’s “Japanoise”, why not “Japambient”? It makes it easier to explain to a foreign crowd. No matter how much we try to explain that it’s spatial music, they might interpret it as ambient. People are quick to categorize things.

– I think there are a lot of foreign listeners who want Japanese elements in Japambient music. Do you think there are any commonalities between music of different Japambient and Japanese environmental musicians? For instance between your, Mr. Ashikawa’s, and Mr. Yoshimura’s music?

Hirose: There are similarities, like how we think about Japanese seasons. We’re heavily impacted by  the changing humidity and atmosphere we experience here. When foreigners listen to that, they may interpret those elements as Japanese sensibilities. Even if we use Western instruments or Western music theory, the subtleties in the notes might have a Japaneseness to them. That being said, I didn’t make Nova or Nostalghia with the intention of incorporating Japanese components. But it’s possible that some Japanese elements were put there subconsciously.

Yutaka Hirose
Sound designer. Born in 1961 in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. Released album Nova as part of Misawa Home’s Sound Design Research Lab series “Soundscape” in 1986. In the same year, Hirose joined Sound Process Design, a company started by Satoshi Ashikawa, and worked on the sound design for projects in several cultural and commercial facilities. In 2019, Hirose re-issued Nova. Released by Swiss label We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want, the record included a bonus track with unreleased recordings and gained worldwide attention. In May of 2022, Hirose released Nostalghia, his first album in 36 years. Hirose plans to release Trace Sound Design Works 1986-1989 with the same label on July 1st.

Translation Mimiko Goldstein

The post How the “Japambient” Works were Born – Yutaka Hirose Interview – Part Two –<br>How the Sounds of “Nature = Fear” Differ From Both Ambient and Environmental Music appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.