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 

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。

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

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

Patterned socks to keep legs toasty.

I’m a regular to the neighbourhood vintage store.
And well, so is she.
On the coldest nights she barges in uninvited
and stakes her claim on the warmest seat in the house.

Will Long (celer) x Miko!

These two lovely people took us to the cosiest
curry place in Kichijoji. Not that spicy for my
Singaporean tastebuds but definitely comforting
enough for my tummy to have braved the
cold winds after that.

I can’t explain this but we felt really at home
talking to Will for some reason.
(A case of gaikokujin and gaikokujin?)
We confirmed our daily struggles with the Japanese
language at convenience stores, and gentle Miko who
was equally fluent in English nodded and smiled.

Thank you for the curry and
see you both on Christmas! *

→ Celer
→ Miko

Haven’t had a dinner this crazy since a long time,
with the two mad geniuses that comprise Opitope -
Chihei Hatakeyama and Date Tomoyoshi.

It’s funny how they were the first musicians
whom we performed with at our live debut in Japan
because it seemed like it was only yesterday.
Hmm. That was a whole five years ago!

We took a train to Shinjuku, and where else
but to Chihei’s favourite haunt which literally
translates to “memory lane” where rows
of tightly-squeezed two-storey buildings
house izakaya and restaurants with staircases
steep and rickety.

Of course we laughed alot, and we also cried
a fair share of tears over a heavy cloud of smoke
caused by an enormous barbequed fish that got burnt to
a fine shade of ebony. And then there were also rare
Sazai clams, other exotic fish, sea urchin sushi
and ochazuke, in short, seafood paradise.

Tomo, who’s an ER doctor by profession and an avid
researcher in Chinese medicine, dishing out
satchets of his magic elixirs and powders.

“This can help you sleep well”, he said.

I’ll keeping this one for the nights when my body feels
dead but the mind is stubbornly alive and flickering.
Thanks, Dr. Super Junkie!

→　Tomoyoshi Date / ILLUHA
→　Chihei Hatakeyama

So the album has finally been released. I was pleasantly surprised to
find our very own listening station at Tower Records Shibuya in Tokyo!

In addition, the album has been featured and recommended
by several stores in Japan including Tower Records, 雨と休日,
Pastel Records, Linus Records etc. Many thanks to these
store buyers for putting in wonderful words about the album.

→　More photos