Just finished a video for Strategy’s song “Lower Macleay” off of his brand spanking new Audio Dregs album, “Music for Lamping”.

I am DJing on Friday, around 11 or so. Nothing fancy, but come down if you can.

(I am not responsible for the event name.)

COCK & BALLS Vol. III
　　
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2008.8.1 (fri.)
at TREASURE CHEST (1F, 10-13 Maruyamacho, SHIBUYA)
start 22:00 – all night
Admission FREE
DJs….
Our Man Hickey
Marxy
Ian Martin (Call & Response Records)
DJ Delkumo

While I was in Berlin and Paris, PingMag published a version of an article that I wrote about Kinya and Kao Hanada, a.k.a. Mumbreeze. If you have a chance, hit up Nagi Shokudo in Shibuya to see their current show.

If you have vegan homies visiting Tokyo, Nagi is my pick for the absolute best vegan food in Tokyo. It is also the cheapest and made by the raddest people.

While I am no longer a vegetarian, I tend to eat veggie around half of the time. I watched my previous fave veg restaurant, Ecru in Tama-Plaza, go under due to lack of patronage. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t happen with Nagi. They are in Shibuya, so it’s doubtful that rent is that cheap. Go there. Eat something. They do massive lunch and dinner specials where you will be stuffed to the gills for under ¥1000. And it’s DELICIOUS! They have an awesome drink menu and an English/Japanese zine library, to boot.

They also have an amazing shop section where you can buy books on off-kilter cultural topics like the history of elevators in Japan, zines from all over the world, and some of the best music coming out of the Japanese indie pop scene today.

A short video I made for GOOD Magazine is part of the Media That Matters Film Festival, playing globally at present through web streaming, events at museums, and at dedicated theater events. It’s the only animated Festival film, which seems surprising. (It’s not a fully animated video, as there is some footage in there, as well.)

Mumbreeze are Mumbleboy (Kinya Hanada), a Japanese contemporary artist living and working in Portland, Oregon, and his wife Kao Hanada, a jill-of-many-trades. They have crafted a new exhibition that will debut at Nagi Shokudo, Shibuya’s foremost vegan restaurant and exhibition space for an exhibition that opened on the 30th of June. (Note that Nagi Shokudo is a restaurant and not a gallery, so there will be no official opening, but the artists will be there often during the duration of the show.)

Please do come check it out and also enjoy the delicious food while you’re there! Nagi is a wonderful, sunny place full of ‘zines, great art, and awesome folks! Nagi’s proprietor, Oda-san, will be the subject of an upcoming profile on Néojaponisme. Oda-san has been involved in the Tokyo music scene for a number of years, publishing his zine, Map, and running a really interesting record label, Compare Notes. Compare Notes has put out a ton of great albums, including releases by Gellers, Popo, and Lake. Oda-san also organizes the occasional music festival and solo live event for foreign musicians (Tara Jane O’Neil, Howe Gelb, M. Ward, and others).

Oh, and he cooks the best vegan food in Shibuya, shutting out a handful of competitors in both flavor and price.

Kao Mumbreeze also has a small exhibition at HP France and HaNNa’s WALL space in LaForet in Harajuku that is well worth stopping by to check out.

Just had a new mini-notebook design released from the Tenth & Grant line of paper goods. It’s a 32-page lined notebook with rounded corners and a fluorescent pattern inspired by Japanese Modern 50s graphics on the cover. See/order here. 100% recycled paper and printed with soy inks.

TOKYO.TEN : EXHIBITION
2008 06.27 / FRI – 07.27 / SUN
GALLERY & SHOP “DO”
OPENING 06.27 / FRI / 7pm – 11pm
CLOSING + LIVE AFTER PARTY 07.24 / THU / 12am – 4am
URL : claska.com

Ian and David have work featured in the new Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo book and exhibition: Tokyo.Ten.

This event is the W+K team’s first exhibition in Tokyo. It will showcase a visual remix of the 9 WKTLAB hybrid CD/DVD releases and feature the 42 artists who participated in the TEN project. It will also world premiere the latest WKTokyoLab music video for Jemapur’s Maledict Car, directed by Kosai Sekine.

The show is a pretty star-studded lineup of visual creators who work in Tokyo. The participating artists are:
01 ERICA DORN : JAPAN / UK
02 TAKAGI MASAKATSU : JAPAN
03 CHRISTOPHER HUTCHINSON : USA / JAPAN
04 KUSTAA SAKSI : FINLAND / NETHERLANDS
05 KENTARO KOBUKE : JAPAN / UK
06 ELECROTNIK : JAPAN
07 FIEL VALDEZ + Peter Vattanatham : UNITED STATES
08 EDWIN USHIRO : JAPAN / USA
09 SHANE LESTER : USA / JAPAN
10 FREK / OUTSIGN LAB : HONG KONG
11 IAN LYNAM : USA / JAPAN
12 PHUNK STUDIO : SINGAPORE
13 KAZUFUMI KIMURA / VJ GEC : JAPAN
14 EARL BURNLEY JR. a.k.a. JUS REP : UNITED STATES
15 FIEL VALDEZ + Peter Vattanatham : UNITED STATES
16 ZONGY : BELGIUM / USA / JAPAN
17 FURI FURI COMPANY : JAPAN
18 PAUL HWANG / NANOSPORE : UNITED STATES
19 DRISCOLL REID : USA / JAPAN
20 AGENCY COLLECTIVE : UNITED STATES
21 LUIS SANCHIS : SPAIN / USA
22 TOSHIKO KIMURA : JAPAN
23 WOOG : HONG KONG / USA / JAPAN
24 KAMIKAZEDOUGA : JAPAN
25 MOTOKO : JAPAN
26 BURACO DE BALA : BRAZIL　
27 TORU NAGAHAMA : JAPAN / UK
28 GENKI ITO JAPAN
29 ALEKSANDRA DOMANOVIć : SLOVENIJA / GERMANY
30 MAREK OKON : CANADA / JAPAN
31 TADAOMI SHIBUYA : JAPAN
32 MAHARO : JAPAN
33 KAMI : JAPAN
34 SASU: JAPAN
35 TATSUYA YAMADA : JAPAN
36 SUN AN : USA / KOREA
37 TADAHIRO GUNJI : JAPAN
38 SEONGHYUN KIM : SOUTH KOREA
39 THE_GROOP : UNITED STATES
40 SOLOBONGNU-SENSEI : JAPAN
41 KOSAI SEKINE : JAPAN
42 +CRUZ : PHILIPPINES / USA / JAPAN

The exhibition is in celebration of W+K’s new book and dvd release. This is a project set up so that W+K Tokyo LAB, in collaboration with all the artists with can express a range of “POINTS” (“点（TEN）” in Japanese) relating to Tokyo. A point is a moment in time, a dot, a location, and a reason for doing something. What’s the “point” or mark that makes Tokyo different? A point of view, a physical location, a point or moment in time. What do you think of when you think of “Tokyo”? What makes Tokyo special?

DVD　(total recording time 70 minutes）
The greatest hits of W+K Tokyo Lab’s artists, including Hifana, Afra, Jemapur, and Takagi Masakatsu.

Come party it up and check out the work!

An Insight into Tokyo’s Art Milieu

Review of Chin Music Press’ Art Space Tokyo in the Daily Yomiuri where my essay is referred to as “particularly insightful.” Take that, nonbelievers!

hpgrp gallery New York presents “Sticky, Messy, and Sweet”
May 23rd, 2008 – June 21st, 2008

It seems these days that Japanese art is hot or new or one of the next great things. Murakami’s enormous retrospective exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum is an obvious milestone but the range of group shows and smaller exhibitions in galleries through out the city in the past year or two featuring art by Japanese artists have grown exponentially. Curator and Little Cakes gallerist Hanna Fushihara Aron presents her perspective on an under recognized faction of Japanese artists.

“Sticky, Messy, and Sweet” focuses on a particularity found not only in contemporary Japanese art but also in its culture where at first glance things may look candy colored sweet but there are other layers and depths which are opposite to the stereotypically orderly and clean image that outsiders have of Japan. The country being both historically xenophobic and self-conscious has the tendency to hide the unkempt, obsessive, or perverted underbelly. As one example, many have not heard about the growing number of young homeless in Japan. As seen in a recent NHK (Japan’s PBS) documentary, teenage runaways use “Manga Kissa” or “Manga Cafes” as cheap places to sleep overnight. The tiny rooms normally used to surf the net or sit and read comics offer only a lounge chair to sleep sitting upright in. During the day these kids might wear Hello Kitty bottled perfume to hide their unwashed body odor and sport their one and only in style outfit but at night they go back into the world of shadows. Another example can be seen in Mike Mills’ documentary “Does your soul have a cold?” which follows five people living with depression in Japan, a nation where the word for depression has only started to be known widely for less than ten years. Anyone “sick” should not be seen. Anyone with a hint of the sniffles should wear a face mask to protect others from getting sick.

This is not to say that this show is about depressing subject matter. On the contrary, the show is brightly colored and swirls with emotions and spontaneity. The references made were to give an idea of “What is shown widely” and “What is not shown as widely” especially when it comes to what is representative of Japan. “Sticky, Messy, and Sweet” shows other existences and experiences contrary to the slick and commodified or cutesy beyond belief. Although some the participants have graduated from prestigious art schools both in Japan and the United States, the others are more self-taught and could be referred to as being somewhat “Otaku”, fixated on anime or manga or on any other hobby, which in and of itself labels them to be outside the masses.

Some of the artwork in this show physically represents all three adjectives in the title; some a combination of two. Ai Tsuchikawa’s obsessive drawings filled with miniature fishy shmoo characters, rainbow flares and wirls are drawn on taped together pieces of paper, her installations of found objects covered in plastic “slime” epitomizes the idea of “Sticky, Messy, and Sweet”. Yui Kugimiya’s thick and goopy oil paintings cut and sectioned by colorful strands of yarn are gross and cute at the same time. Mumbleboy (pictured above) and Reiko Tada use craft to get sticky and messy. Gunji Yusuke uses scotch tape to put together little plastic bubbles holding drawings as if they were idea bubbles. Chie Fukao uses what is immediately around her like her own bed sheets to make an imaginary rabbit character’s resting area. Akinori Shimodaira uses simple, translucent brush strokes to create his dreamy, blurry, paintings.

With this show, the curator hopes to give a glimpse of another side of the Japanese psyche; one that goes beyond the polite exterior. She hopes to delve deeper and explore the more untamed.

hpgrp gallery New York
32-36 Little West 12th Street, 2nd Floor
(Between 9th Avenue & Washington Street)
New York, NY 10014
212-727-2491

http://www.hpgrpgallery.com

Gallery Hours – Tue-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 12pm-6pm

MyFonts is now an official distributor of my type foundry, Wordshape’s typefaces. Stroll on by to pick up the now heavily discounted Cooper Black Swash Italic and/or Rubber Vloeren.

Cooper Black Swash Italic is a true digitization of Cooper Black’s swash characters which never made the jump from phototype to digital form. Most designers have settled for using the (IMHO) far inferior Goudy Heavyface swash characters in lieu of the more friendly Cooper O.G. action.

Rubber Vloeren is a digital adaption of Piet Zwart‘s lettering for old pre-linoleum rubber flooring advertisements. The same Rubber Vloeren alphabet was used by Zwart on several other occasions. There’s a showing in Dutch Type by Jan Middendorp of the most spectacular version: a gold-on-blue version on ceramic tiles made for the First Church of Christ Scientist in The Hague when working for the architect Berlage.

I am amped to announce a number of new eco-friendly paper goods I designed for the Tenth & Grant line of paper goods. A few new greeting cards are out, as well as a Moleskine-esque gridded sketchbook with a pattern inspired by Japanese Modern 50s graphics.

Details on the sketchbook:
A handsome dark green on light green web pattern spans the entire front and back cover of this chipboard notebook. Perfect bound with a handy hinge-score, and 144 interior white pages. 100% recycled paper! Printed with soy inks! Perfect bound with a handy hinge-score, and 144 interior white pages. Forest and Avocado – 5″x6.75″ – gridded interior.

See it here.

The fine folks at QOOB have commissioned myself and 9 others to create original new short films promoting Alfa Romeo’s new car, the Mi.To. These films are the kickoff to a large film-making contest and a larger ad campaign.

Audio Dregs head honcho and all-time homie numero uno E*Rock kicked down a smoking original track for the video.

Thanks, QOOB!

My new album Forty Years from Now is finally out! The first quote-unquote single “Cat vs. Mouse” is available for free download and features vocals from UT of the band Kiiiiiii and production from Pandatone. The twelve-song album was recorded, mixed, and mastered in various recording studios and bedrooms across Tokyo and New York City.

For those interested in purchasing a physical copy, either order from my label Music Related or retailers like Other Music, Darla, DotShop (Sweden), Parasol, Warszawa (Japan), and HMV Japan. (Those U.S.-residents ordering from Music Related get a free orange-vinyl 7″ from Japanese picopop bands MacDonald Duck Eclair and Micro Mach Machine.) Digital downloads are available from Other Music, Amazon, Boomkat (UK), Rhapsody, and iTunes. (Those links go directly to my album page where you can hear samples of the tracks.)

Thanks to Néojaponisme Art Director Ian Lynam for the cover design.

Tonight in Los Angeles: A celebration of ten years of LOST, L.A.’s primero graffiti magazine, celebrating the anniversary and the release of the new LOST book.

The book contains highlights of the past decade editor/designer EyeOne has spent documenting LA writing. Includes imagery by Atlas (if you haven’t caught the documentary on his work, watch it now!), Pale, Cab, Haeler, and more. Screenprinted board covers, numbered limited edition of 2000.

Even if you are not a graffiti fan per se, the LOST book is a must-have for folks interested in Angeleno culture. More about LOST here.

LOST is a picture-perfect example of designer as author. I’m proud to have written the foreword for it.

I normally am not a big toy fan, but I do approve of old school-style kaiju. And as far as kaiju go, these Portland/Tokyo guys make some of the most tripped-out, interesting kaiju out there today. I will fully be attending this opening and insist that you do the same!

Tentacles, Horns, and Scales
April 19th Thrash Out in Koenji, Tokyo.
Artshow, toy release, sneak attack.
Featuring all new works by Koji Harmon, Bwana Spoons, and Martin Ontiveros.
Sponsored by Dekline footwear.

Come join us for good times, art, toys, prizes, and a few big suprises.
Thrash Out is the Flagship store and gallery of mind bending vinyl pioneers Gargamel.

Gargamel makes toys that look like Jolly Rancher coated diamonds.
Koji, Bwana, and Martin make art and toys that explode with color, depth, and endless imagination.
Collector and fan Takaomi Fujiki put it best when he said “Happy Beam Discharge!”
For more info as it becomes available, interviews and photos please contact Grass Hut in the U.S. at 503 445 9924 or grasshut.corp@gmail.com

Martin Ontiveros
Martin Ontiveros grew up in San Diego, California. Graduated CalArts in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Experimental Animation. Then he moved here to Portland. He isn’t rich… yet. But he is getting paid to do what he enjoys, and he’s been doing it for years now. He lives in an awesome basement apartment that he shares with his cool son named Felix and two cats not named Felix. His many many years of pop culture emersion and empirical knowledge of useless trivial information have somehow paid off in spades. Call it luck. His work has appeared in publications like Craphound, Juxtapoz, Pencil Fight, The Stranger, Portland Mercury, and Nickolodeon Magazine, as well as awesome books like BEASTS!, The Darkening Garden, Neither Here Nor There (Melvins), Qeedrophonic, Dot Dot Dash and others.

Koji Harmon
Koji Harmon is a zine maker, photographer, and collector. Koji has worked on several projects with Gargamel, and is fast on his way to master sofubi painter. This is koji’s first venture in to toy design.

Bwana Spoons
Bwana Spoons was raised in the woods. He likes moss and Lego and monsters. When he was a little one he would draw detailed crayon renderings of all his favorite Star Wars figures. When he was older he lost them all in a battle with a mildew giant. He likes making zines and comics and paintings and silk-screened prints and designing toys and making things with rainbows and animals. Recently Bwana was bitten by the textile bug. He has designed shoes for Converse, and Dekline, tees for Giant Robot, and MonsieurT., and baby strollers for Bumbleride. Over the years he has worked on and/or created several zines and comics. “Ain’t Nothin’ Like Fuckin’ Moonshine” was the first and longest running; his most recent projects include Pencil Fight, and Soft Smooth Brain, and the upcoming Welcome to Forest Island book designed by Ian Lynam on Top Shelf Books.

Info and directions to Gargamel here.

Tentacles,Horns,and Scales
開催期間：4/19〜4/28(13:00〜20:00)入場無料
＊19日は14:00オープンとなります。
会場：Gargamel Flag Store THRASH OUT

See you there!