Saturday, March 31, 2012

Fashion Crisis Ljubljana!

Na kratko bi vam rad predstavil Fashion Crisis, tokijski event, ki bo naslednji teden doživel svojo prvo slovensko izvedbo. Kaj je sploh ta Fashion Crisis in kaj za vraga počne v Ljubljani?
Ko sva se z Zano pred tremi leti prvič selila na Japonsko, je bil to prvi dogodek, na katerem sva se počutila res domače. Prve tri tedne sva preživela v iskanju dobrih koncertov in klubov, kjer bi lahko morda nastopal. Koncertov je bilo seveda na pretek, a so bili vedno v nekih sterilnih okoljih in zaznamovani z resnobnostjo, da o visokih cenah sploh ne govorim, kljub vsemu trudu pa nisem uspel prepričati niti enega organizatorja, da me bukira. Sčasoma sva začela obupavati in počutila sva se povsem izgubljena v velikem mestu. Nek večer sva se iz dolgčasa odpravila na naključni event, ki je bil zastonj in čisto blizu najinega doma v Koenjiju. Znašla sva se v prazni podzemni luknji, ki se ji reče “Koenji One” in bila sva prva gosta. Organizator, prijazni anglež Ian, naju je seveda ogovoril in hitro se je razvila živahna debata, kjer smo ugotovili, da imamo povsem ista zanimanja in tudi podobne poglede na glasbo. Ko so v klub začeli kapljati njegovi prijatelji, smo ugotovili isto, vsi so bili glasbeniki, glasbeni navdušenci, glasbeni novinarji in lokalni posebneži (največkrat kar vse v eni osebi). Ian je medtem vrtel bizarno mešanico najrazličnejše muzike, kjer so se melodije Davida Bowie-ja mirno prelivale v melodije japonskih tehno pop ikon, kot bi ves čas skakal iz preteklosti v prihodnost in nazaj. Nato sta oder zavzela duo “Candles” in naju popolnoma očarala z najbolj očarljivim, sladkobnim tehno pop-om kar sem ga kdaj slišal. Začuden sem bil nad navdušenjem publike, saj nisem še nikoli videl glasbenih geekov iz hardcore in noise bendov tako uživati v popu... Ozračje je bilo res sproščeno, neobremenjeno in predvsem smešno, saj dogajanju na odru in izboru glasbe, ki so jo vrteli didžeji, ni vladala nobena logika. vseskupaj bi lahko opisal kot zabavni kaos. Odšla sva domov popolnoma prevzeta, Ian je od takrat postal najin guide po tokijskemu underground dogajanju, Fashion Crisis pa dogodek, ki ga nikoli več nisva zamudila. 
Skozi čas smo z Ianom in njegovo založbo Call and Response Records postali tesni sodelavci, saj sva z Zano postala redna gosta na Fashion Crisisu, izdal je moj album Ex Shanti/Future Shanti, jaz pa sem sodeloval pri izidu albuma in evropski turneji skupine Praha Depart. Zahvaljujoč se njemu sem spoznal svoje najljubše japonske bende in s številnimi izmed njih tudi nastopal (Hyacca, Uhnellys, Praha Depart, The Mornings, Jebiotto, Zibanchinka, (m)otocompo, Andersens, She Talks Silence...). 
Tako sva se znašla pred dilemo, kaj storiti ob obisku Iana in njegove žene Kaname v Sloveniji? S čim se lahko v Ljubljani kosamo eklektično bizarnemu dogajanju v Koenjiju. Mislim, da imamo na Metelkovi vse pogoje za pravo vzdušje, podobno mislečih ljudi pa tudi ne manjka. Okoli ljubljanskega Fashion Crisis-a se je tako nabrala pestra ekipa didžejev, ki bodo povedali svojo lastno glasbeno zgodbo. Ian nam bo zavrtel najbolj zabavne stvari, ki jih ima ponuditi Japonska, Kaname nam je napovedala “girl’s rock and pop” set, Svemir Mango (aka Kukla in Eva iz skupine Napravi Mi Dete) prvič napadata mešalko s svojim izborom vesoljske ghetto elektronike, ko smo že pri vesoljski elektroniki pa ne pozabimo na eno in edino Saturno, misteriozno starleto, ki jo poznate iz njenih Synth Odyssey dogodkov v Channel 0. Bravo Urška bo verjetno prva v K-pop didžejka v Sloveniji, Zano bo tokrat zamenjala njena Hindu dvojnica Shanti Priya in zavrtela novosti iz Bollywooda, jaz pa bom javnosti prvič predstavil Shampoo Guy-a, novi alter ego, ki se čedalje večkrat prebudi v meni in zahteva vse več pozornosti.
Da pa bo stvar še malo bolj internacionalna, bo Fashion Crisis na isti dan potekal tudi v Tokiu!
In zakaj ime Fashion Crisis? Ian pravi, da je fashion crisis tisti moment, ko bi rad izgledal kul, ampak že ful zamujaš ven in na koncu nepremišljeno oblečeš ravno najbolj neprimerne stvari. Transcendenca dobrega okusa?


I want to say a few things about the Fashion Crisis event, which is debuting in Slovenia next week...what exactly is it about and how did it find it’s way to Ljubljana?
Well, my part of the story starts in Tokyo a few years back, when me and Zana first moved there and were looking for gigs to go to and events I could possibly play. Needless to say there was no shortage of gigs, but we were disappointed at the snobbish atmosphere at many of them (not to mention shocked at the ticket prices). And despite all my best efforts I couldn’t convince a single organizer to book my show. A couple weeks into our stay we were beginning to feel lost and out of place. One day we made a random visit to a venue close to our house in Koenji, just out of sheer boredom and the fact that there was a free event going on that night. We ended up being the first guests in the dimly lit underground hole which is Koenji One, and organizer Ian Martin came to greet us and find out who these new people were... We ended up in a long conversation, finding out that we  share similar views on music and just about everything else as well. When his friends started coming in the conversations continued and we finally found ourselves in the company of like-minded people, musicians, music geeks, music journalists, and freaky people from the neighborhood (often all rolled into one person). Ian was deejaying tracks from every corner of time and space, jumping from past to future and melting David Bowie’s melodies with those of pop icons Perfume. Later on in the night, boy/girl duo “Candles” took the stage and played the most enchantingly sweet, energetic techno pop music I’d ever heard. I was taken aback by how the crowd of music geeks, many of whom play in hardcore or noise bands, enjoyed the bubblegum pop show. The atmosphere was relaxed, unpretentious and above all, fun. There seemed to be no logic behind what the deejays were playing and no need for it either. We left the event completely fulfilled. Since then, Ian became our guide to Tokyo’s underground wonders, and Fashion Crisis the event we never missed again.
In time we cooperated more and more, with me and Zana playing regularly at the Fashion Crisis events, Ian releasing my album Ex Shanti/Future Shanti through his label Call and Response Records, and me helping with the album release and Europe tour of Praha Depart. Thanks to him I met and played with many of my favorite Japanese artists (Hyacca, Uhnellys, Praha Depart, The Mornings, Jebiotto, Zibanchinka, (m)otocompo, Andersens, She Talks Silence...).
So the question arose, how can Ljubljana match up to the eclectic bizarreness of Tokyo’s Fashion Crisis? Personally I feel that Metelkova has a very appropriate atmosphere, and we also don’t lack like-minded music geeks. A team of very left-field deejays was recruited and I think that every one of them has a great musical story to tell. Our guest Ian will play everything fun that Japan has to offer, his wife Kaname has told us to expect a “girl’s rock and pop” set, Svemir Mango (aka Kukla in Eva from the awesome group Napravi Mi Dete) will bring their own blend of spaced out ghetto electronica, and speaking of spaced out, we’re really happy to have the mysterious cosmic presence of Saturna of Synth Odyssey fame on the list. Bravo Urška is possibly the first K-Pop DJ in Slovenia, Zana will be replaced by her Hindu twin sister Shanti Priya, while I myself will morph into my newest alter ego Shampoo Guy, who demands and increasing amount of attention.
Oh, and to make it more international, the event will be held in Tokyo on the same day!
Why call it Fashion Crisis? In Ian’s words, a fashion crisis is what you have when you’re really late heading out, but also want to look cool, resulting in terrible last minute judgements, picking out the most miss- matched combination of clothes possible. A transcendence of good taste?



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