hundreds of winters ago
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hundreds of winters ago
till now
everything remains beautiful and true
through cycles of decay and regeneration
Kyo Ichinose & Yumito Awano.
this morning we took a drive with Mr Kyo Ichinose,
up to the city of Kawasaki in his little red
Volkswagen Polo, to see the last hues of Autumn.
Kyo-san is a treasured collaborator/mentor who wrote
the scores for three songs in A LITTLE FABLE.
We walked from dwelling to dwelling at the 民家園、
imagining the lives of the people who once lived there.
Everything was made by hand.
Pitched roofs stacked with layers and layers of hay.
Mouse-traps at the top of pillars. Floors constructed
by bamboo poles arranged in parallel.
Some houses had tatami floors laid throughout, others
lived on the scent and the soft texture of damp earth.
Farmers, horse merchants, ferrymen.
And the elusive 縁側 verdanda corridor that connects all rooms,
and acts as a barrier between indoor and outdoor – a subject of
obsession since my days as an architecture student.
It was beyond me to imagine life a hundred years ago
but we are all indeed the same human race.
An unforgettable experience,
being placed into a whirlpool of thoughts of the past,
and even the future that would be projected from the past.
Thank you Kyo & Yumito.
→ Kyo Ichinose
→ Yumito Awano
→ 日本民家園
ASPIDISTRAFLY interview at webdacapo magazine
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A short day trip to Ginza, where we would be visiting
Magazine World, the publishing house responsible
for several well-known magazines in Tokyo, for an
interview about ASPIDISTRAFLY, KITCHEN. LABEL
and our new album A LITTLE FABLE. Some of my favourite
Magazine World publications include incude ku:nel and Casa BRUTUS.
Many thanks to editor Mika Nakasho, a splendid and a
purveyor of fine taste. The conversation was truly enjoyable.
→ Read the interview here
A favourite person – Masami Shimomura of our Japanese
distributor p*dis, who took us to Magazine World and
helped to translate the interview, and is also the heroine
partly responsible behind the success of every
KITCHEN. LABEL release. 大変お世話になりました。
janis day
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An afternoon in “Montmatre” with Janis Crunch.
The finest crepe place i have ever been to in my life.
You cut a small serving with a knife, place it in your
mouth, taste, chew slightly, close your eyes for the
next ten seconds and church bells are ringing.
What a taste.
At Shibuya Tower Records where she visits the
“12 & 1 Song” display.
The last stop.
A freezing 20 minute walk from the station, across
a beautiful park, stream and bridge to her humble
abode, arm-in-arm, peppered with laughter.
Soul sister! Thank you for the warmth
you brought to my cold cheeks.
→ Janis Crunch
Rehearsal with Junya Yanagidaira (ironomi）
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Off to Studio Noah in Ikebukuro for a rehearsal
with Junya Yanagidaira of ironomi, who would be joining
us for a few songs for our concert on Christmas.
Junya tells us he’s now set up いろのみピアノ教室 which
translates to “ironomi piano classroom”, where he teaches
students (who signed up because they’re actually fans of
ironomi!) aged from four to fortyplus.
I’m often tuned in to Junya’s tweets about his experiences
teaching small children and i’ve even seen photos of himself
in a Santa Claus getup just to humour the kids…
one can’t help but want to be a student in Junya-sensei’s
piano classroom. Apart from imparting his piano skills,
the multi-talented Junya still continues his profession
as a culinary expert on a part-time basis.
On to the rehearsal – it was a rather surreal experience to be
playing “LANDSCAPE WITH A FAIRY” with Junya in person.
I’ve listened to the song countless times but i never fail
to always be surprised and impressed by his sparkling
contribution, what more to hear and play along with it live.
Carefully arranged oden, to end the wintry night.
Talking and talking and eating we missed the last train home,
and we hadn’t finished our conversation yet!
→ ironomi
→ いろのみピアノ教室
Uzbekistan
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Patterned socks to keep legs toasty.