Feature: Music, Books, and Films to Brighten Your Year-End and New Year Holidays, Vol. 1
Feature: Ask the Culture Connoisseurs! Vol. 1
What music, books, and films do these cultural experts recommend?
Peter Barakan
Broadcaster
—What are your resolutions for 2015?
To achieve the liberalization of internet radio.
MUSIC
Landini
Aurelio Martinez
Rice Records
A singer from the Garifuna people of Honduras. The music beautifully blends Caribbean and African sounds, with melodies that carry a poignant melancholy, resonating deeply.
BOOK
Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin
David Ritz
Little, Brown and Company
A biography of one of the most brilliant singers of the late 20th century. It's a masterpiece that portrays her with extreme realism, a woman who never tried to reveal her inner self. I wonder if a Japanese translation will be released?
MOVIE
Jimi: All Is by My Side
Director: John Ridley
Tokyo Theatres
Nationwide release starting April 2015
This film, depicting Jimi Hendrix and Swinging London in the year leading up to the Monterey Pop Festival where he famously set his guitar ablaze, is surprisingly profound.
© MMXIII AIBMS, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Peter Barakan
Born in London in 1951. Currently active as a freelance broadcaster. Hosts programs such as "Barakan Beat" (InterFM), "Weekend Sunshine" (NHK-FM), and "Japanology Plus" (NHK BS1). His books include "My Youthful Soundtrack" (Kobunsha Bunko), "Reading English Lyrics of Rock" (Shueisha International), and "240 Rock Masterpieces I Love" (Kodansha +α Bunko).
http://peterbarakan.cocolog-nifty.com/
Ayako Suwa
Food Artist
—What are your resolutions for 2015?
Light, soft, and strong.
Photo by Rowland Kirishima
MUSIC
Boléro / Pictures at an Exhibition
Yosuke Yamashita Special Big Band
Jam Rice
Contemplating the sensation of brain parts coming apart.
BOOK
Natural Fashion: African Ethnic Photography Wearing Nature
Hans Sylvester
DU BOOKS
Contemplating the aesthetic sense of the human animal.
MOVIE
The Bolero
Director: Claude Lelouch
Kinokuniya Shoten
Contemplating the emotional ups and downs of someone.
SUWA Ayako
Born in Ishikawa Prefecture. Started her "Food Creation" activities in 2006. Held her first solo exhibition in 2008. She has since presented her performance "Guerrilla Restaurant" in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and other locations internationally. In 2014, she published her first collection of works, "Food Creation: Tasting Sensations, Emotional Tastes" (Seigensha). She is currently holding an interactive solo exhibition, "The Taste of Curiosity: A Museum of Curiosity," at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.
http://www.foodcreation.jp
http://www.ayakosuwa.com
Shun Kawakami
Art Director / Artist
—What are your resolutions for 2015?
To be more global,
and to explore new possibilities in essential art and design.
MUSIC
You And The Music Compiled by DJ KAWASAKI
DJ Kawasaki
Selective Records
This is a compilation album selected by DJ Kawasaki, for which our group, artless, designed the jacket. DJ Kawasaki, who rapidly rose to the top of the scene as a pioneer of Japanese house music, offers a new selection that focuses on modern boogie rather than a typical four-on-the-floor beat.
BOOK
Tohaku (Vol. 1 & 2)
Ryotaro Abe
Nikkei Publishing Inc.
Hasegawa Tohaku, a representative painter of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, which I admire, was active during the same era. His "Pine Trees" screen, a masterpiece of ink wash painting, depicts a moist, atmospheric pine forest brimming with poetic sensibility. That sense of space, the emptiness, the subtlety that sparks the imagination... it's a realm I aspire to reach someday. This book is a wonderful work that draws you into Tohaku's journey, which was marked by continuous hardship rather than smooth sailing. Knowing his works, the scenery came vividly to life through the text.
MOVIE
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Gaga
Now Showing
From the visionary director of "Amelie," Jean-Pierre Jeunet, comes this film about a 10-year-old genius scientist, T.S. Spivet, and his "grand runaway" across the American continent. The balance between the beautiful visuals and the deeply moving story is superb. It's truly excellent.
© ÉPITHÈTE FILMS – TAPIOCA FILMS – FILMARTO - GAUMONT - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA
KAWAKAMI Shun
Born in Fukagawa, Tokyo, in 1977. Working as an art director and artist, he is active globally from his base in Tokyo. His company, "artless Inc.," operates as a design consultancy with a wide range of activities, approaching branding and other fields from both art and design perspectives. He has received numerous domestic and international awards, including NY ADC (Young Gun 6), D&AD, and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (Gold).
http://www.artless.co.jp
http://www.shunkawakami.jp
Yuriko Komatsu
Personal Therapist
—What are your resolutions for 2015?
To discern what I truly need and become lighter.
To refine the quality of my focus.
To connect the world of therapy with other fields.
MUSIC
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
Keith Jarrett
Universal Music
The Well-Tempered Clavier, starting with Prelude No. 1 in C major, which I practiced as a child. Listening to the simple, refreshing melody, like the gradual stacking of each note, strips away the superfluous. Bach always helps me regain a sense of tranquility.
BOOK
The Setting Sun
Osamu Dazai
Kadokawa Bunko
A book I turn to when I want to immerse myself in beautiful Japanese prose, no matter how many times I've read it. As I turn the pages, I feel as though my eyes are being cleansed. The sparkling words pouring from the protagonist Kazuko's final letter give me the courage to move forward into a new life.
MOVIE
Love Actually
Director: Richard Curtis
NBCUniversal Entertainment
In Richard Curtis's films, even the supporting characters are charming. Each episode in the interwoven ensemble cast allows me to feel the nuances of human emotion and see my own life from a broader perspective. It's a film that guarantees a happy feeling upon completion, refreshing the brain with joy.
KOMATSU Yuriko
Born in Tokyo. After graduating from university, she worked for eight years as a promoter at a music label. Feeling the importance of stress care in her busy life, she became interested in aromatherapy. At the age of 30, she fully entered the world of natural therapies. Currently, she provides highly personalized, tailor-made therapy sessions from her private atelier "corpo e alma" in Minami-Aoyama. She is also engaged in activities that fuse therapy with other fields and culture.
http://yurikokomatsu.com
Shigeki Hattori
Creative Director / Designer
—What are your resolutions for 2015?
It's time for a new path. Recalling the feelings of my initial resolve from 17 years ago.
I want to aim for the future by collaborating with rivals who share this era.
Photo by Kazue Kawase
MUSIC
Little Girl Blue +4
Nina Simone
SOLID / BETHLEHEM
Lately, I've been listening to music I used to enjoy over 20 years ago, both new and old. I first encountered this album around the age of 18. I've listened to it for years and years, and yet it sounds different at times. I discover parts I hadn't noticed before. I suppose it has become a standard for me too.
BOOK
Food Tables of the World: Family Meals from 24 Countries
Peter Menzel
TOTO Publishing
A sequel to "Material World: A Global Family Portrait." As the title suggests, it portrays life through the dining tables of the world. It explores the lifestyles of various ethnic groups through their food. This is truly what it means to live in harmony with the land. The tableware also originates from the land. And the title "Food Tables of the World" is wonderful, isn't it?
MOVIE
Contact
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Jodie Foster achieves communication with space, something I've dreamed of since childhood. The culmination of years of painstaking research... finally bears fruit. The desire to dream of worlds beyond our own is something we can never give up, no matter how old we get. It's truly wonderful.
HATTORI Shigeki
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1970. After studying sculpture at an art university, he worked at an interior shop and a design company before co-founding the creative collective "graf" with friends he met at an interior shop in 1998. He has been involved in design for architecture and interiors, branding direction, and in recent years, has applied his skills to social activities such as regional revitalization.
http://www.graf-d3.com