Tokyo, 26 December 2026
Snippets of my live session with Ryotaro Aoki at Kōenji SUB store.
Tokyo, 21 December 2026
Recording under way with Ryotaro Aoki from Looprider under the expert supervision of studio Chaosk sound engineer Taka-san.
Ryotaro’s band’s website: looprider.com
Auckland, 7 November 2025
Abstract dub taking concrete shape with Misako at Il Brutto in Auckland.
The opening ambient set by Thomas Carroll and Waiwhai, blending the sounds of traditional Māori instruments with that of effect boxes and modular synths, was simply mind-blowing.
Thomas’s website: thomascarrollstudios.com
Whanganui, 1 November 2025
It was a long drive across Aotearoa’s North Island, called more evocatively Te Ika-a-Māui (‘the fish of Māui’) in Te Reo Māori. As we got deeper inland, we entered long tracts of land claimed by the ‘pine predicament’, an endless monocropping abomination gouged with huge greyish trenches where the trees had been cut down by the thousands.
And suddenly, we emerged in untouched highlands overlooked by brooding snow-capped volcanoes, before making our long way down the pristine valley of the Whanganui river.
The Whanganui with its surrounding lands is the second ecosystem in the world to be given its own legal identity, mostly through the agency of Māori people who do not see nature as something to be commodified and used up.
The first of its kind is also on Te Ika-a-Māui, a rugged region of high hills and deep woodlands that was never taken by the British from its native inhabitants: Te Urewera, the Burnt Penis…
The seeker of knowledge might wonder as to the origin of its intriguing name: it does not come, as one may surmise, from a topographical curiosity, but from a terrible mishap that befell the tribal chief Murakareke.
That night, we played at Ministry of Works, an early 20th century building turned into a collective of artist studios.
The bass-heavy sound system was punishing and the exposed wooden bones of the vaulted ceiling made me feel trapped out of time in the belly of a whale.
Special kudos to the eccentric German PA guy for playing us some Bohren & der Club of Gore in the early hours.
And my eternal gratitude to Peter for having us along!
Whakatāne, 31 October 2025
Thanks to modular synth maverick and friend Peter Hobbs, Misako and I were able to tour Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island as his supporting act. Our first gig was in Whakatāne on the Pacific coast, at a brand new venue called Ātea run by Toi and Wairere, sons to the legendary Māori activist Tāme Iti.
I will never forget their warm welcome, nor the dizzying starlit sky over Whakatāne.
Whakawhetai ki a koe!
Peter’s website: harmonicstudio.com
And Misako’s: misakokikuchi.com
Tokyo, 6 January 2025
This is a GIF I made for the release party of Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?
It stars a mini-kaiju plastic model found in a quaint second-hand shop in Nakano Mandarake at that time.
The event itself was essentially a reunion of old friends from Tokyo.
It was good to see Ian Martin from Call And Response Records, James Hadfield and Shingo (DJ Rally), who had kindly accepted to spin some records for the occasion.
Sonic experimentalists and noise musicians Yvko Under, Cal Lyall and Stéphane a.k.a Potar also came round to party, which was a great surprise!
Ian’s record label, honestly the best in Japan: callandresponserecords.com
James Hadfield’s blog Tokyo Dross, a treasure trove for the experimental music lover: tokyodross.blogspot.com
Gotal Bournier 