TW’s August 6 party to celebrate the new issue with the legendary Yoshiki on the cover brought together heaps of talent to match the occasion. As always, our partner MTM (More Than Music) brought the music and TW brought the ‘more.’ Held all day at the stylish Stump Base Annex venue, the TW July-August 2022 issue party had three different floors of entertainment plus a rooftop lounge space to relax, chat, make new friends and overlook Omotesando and Aoyama buildings. It was like a mini-festival of art and music, with great and unique drinks to bring everything together.
Photo by Yuji Oyama
The five exhibitors at the event, from left to right: KenFrog Tanaka, Lisa Knight, Simon Kalajdjiev, Allan Abani and Solène Ballesta.
The Art
Five amazing artists and photographers exhibited their work throughout the venue. Allan Abani, who often shoots the TW cover, exhibited unseen photographs of stars such as Miyavi and Nana Komatsu. Another TW photographer, Lisa Knight, had her dreamy travel photos from several countries on the wall of the first-floor gallery.
Adding to the list of TW photographers was Solène Ballesta, who put up an art installation called “Tokyo Cube” with calligraphy by Lin Zhenqi and fashion photography projections from the TW July-August issue.
Simon Kalajdjiev‘s glitch art of Tokyo cityscapes carrying Japanese city pop song names as titles filled half of the gallery on the first floor. He also exhibited hand-painted collages showing urban scenes from Shinjuku.
Popping with color, KenFrog‘s paintings adorned two walls next to the music stage. Full of detail and life, they are best observed up close.
J’nique. Photo by Anna Petek. Music acts gallery below by Yuji Oyama.
The Music
There was never a dull moment with the six fantastic performers at the TW event. DJ Natsuki and DJ Niche are well-known in the Tokyo music scene and they played great beats in between the live music sets.
Tama Tsuboi, the charming singer and songwriter of the Shamanz, opened the event with an acoustic guitar set of laid-back music and gorgeous vocals. From flamenco vibes to lovely covers of pop hits, he kept everyone transfixed. Tsuboi was followed by the dark jazz duo Ar Syura, who gave a spellbinding music performance.
Elliot Cormack opened the second part of the event with his solo act, followed by J’nique, a phenomenal singer whose voice appears in video games and Netflix shows.
Photo by Yuji Oyama
The Drinks
It wouldn’t be a great party without having some special drinks.
Guests were welcomed with a complimentary glass of Hungarian white wine from ProductX. The imported wine from the Tokaj region has been praised around Europe and is a rare find in Japan. On the music floor, one of our favorite craft beers, Baird Beer, was available.
The second floor was a lounge space where visitors could try out the creative cocktails of mixologist Guy Miron from Homebase bar in Azabujuban. Using fresh fruits and his top-notch skills, he wowed guests with his cocktails.
Having soaked in the music, the art and the vibes, we ended the day on the rooftop as the sun was setting. A visitor then brought out his Okinawan sanshin for an impromptu performance. What can we say, we love to create, showcase creators and inspire people to create on the spot.
See you at the next event for the TW September-October issue.
More photos from the event:
Photos by Yuji Oyama, Anna Petek, Lisa Knight, Solène Ballesta. Featured image by Anna Petek.
