Ex Shanti Future Shanti: August 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

Last days in Japan

Hey hey people, I'm sad to say that my last week in Japan has arrived and I will be going back to Slovenia soon... It has been an amazing 3 months and like every year so far I am leaving with the firm determination to come back as soon as possible. I am incredibly lucky to be able to hang out with such amazing people in this beautiful city!

This weekend I finally got to experience the amazing Awa-odori festival in Koenji! It was so exciting to see the hundreds of thousands of people rolling into Koenji to partake in the dancing madness. The atmosphere was amazing and the dancers were too beautiful to be true.

This last week I will try to make the most of my time and I will be playing a show almost every day. Here's where I'll be gigging:

8/30,Thursday

My friends Jebiotto are putting together an amazing event in one of my favorite venues, Higashi Koenji 20000 Den-atsu. I'll be playing with Praha Depart, Jebiotto, Exoskeletone, and Abikyokan! Do.Not.Miss.!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/132468363562617/

8/31, Friday

Friday night in Shibuya! Catch me at the event 絶対 Blend vol.2 in Ruby Room with ManYuh, Swanky Dank and Icon Girl Pistols. Zana will be deejaying!

https://www.facebook.com/events/412725758763423/

8/2, Sunday

Me and Zana will have our little goodbye party in Koenji One. We'll be DJ-ing along with several other Fashion Crisis regulars and our good friends Kanterbury and Praha Depart will play live sets!

8/4, Tuesday

The very last night before boarding the plane I will be making a final stop in Roppongi Super Deluxe at the event This&That Cafe!

https://www.facebook.com/events/347282842013930/

Hope to see you guys sometime this week!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Koenji staycation

Haven't been playing too many shows since my Kyushu tour, but luckily that's left me with enough time to finally see some more gigs from other bands and djs, as well as spend some quality time in good old Koenji! Me and Zana joined our friend Matt on his "Koenji staycation" project, the object of which is him spending his summer vacation at home to explore Koenji's endless labyrinth of amazing bars, shops, cafes, restaurants and live venues. We went from visiting shops that we've passed by numerous times and never walked into, to finding hidden treasures in places we've never bothered to look at or even knew existed. It was fascinating to see Meluken, supposedly the oldest cafe in Koenji, which feels like a fairytale cavern lost in time, shrubs overgrowing the entrance, classical music playing with the hiss of old vinyl, ancient decor and an incredibly charming madame running the place as if the outside world hadn't changed for decades. On the other hand you have post-apocalyptic clothes shops such as Kitakore or Nincampoop Capacity, retro-futuristic sci-fi bars like Godzilla 2, 1930s era Japanese film themed izakayas in basements, European styled cafes in the street, bizzarro music venues Muryoku Muzenji and Enban, bleach white sparsely decorated minimalist coffee shops, and places like the mysterious Cafe Rui which seem as if the only people who ever visit them must be ghosts. The more time I spend here, the more exciting I find Koenji. One can observe beautiful sights from early morning when the first people head to work and the monks see to their rituals in the temples, to late night when the last incredibly shitty yet in some way amazing street bands play their songs outside Koenji station.

But just in case you were wondering, no, we're not just sitting around eating and drinking and partying (although that does seem to take up a large percentage of our time), there is also an N'toko video being shot and a new Trinitron album being recorded and a bunch of gigs coming up....More on that soon!