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Kyle.A mutual friend of ours, who helped me when I first started Brain Dead, introduced me to Wism when we came to Tokyo together. Then "Wism" started to carry "Brain Dead" as well, and they bought a lot of stuff, especially from "Brain Record". They did an installation of "Brain Record" at the store using a boom box (boom box), and the way they presented the music itself was really cool. The way they presented the music was really cool, and we realized that they (Wizm) really understood what we were trying to do, so we started working together to create something. We want to support people who understand us and support us.
Kyle:I think it was a Tek, a good friend of mine who worked with us on When we were here in Tokyo he introduced us to WISM. They started buying our product very early on especially our brain records stuff. It was cool because to see such amazement presentation of the music itself and the bands. I loved that all the musicians had this amazing display in Japan. WISM really understood what we were doing and from there we worked on special stuff together. We always want to support the people who supported us.

moatKyle had made a mixtape of psychedelic music, and I had the idea to use it as the basis for a storefront with a bunch of boomboxes. Kyle saw it and liked it very much, and we had been like a business partner until then, but from that point on, we became much closer.
Horike:Kyle made this mixed tape gather all kind of psychedelic music. I build an idea based on the tape and I put lots of boom box in our store. Till then we were just more like business partners but since the display feel like we became much closer to each other.

Kyle.That was just about two years ago, right? Time goes by so fast, doesn't it?
Kyle:Over 2 years now I think. it's so fast it's crazy.

Kyle.It was great. The staff was nice, and the energy in the restaurant was very pleasant, which was very impressive. It is very important for customers to be excited about the space we create. In this day and age, when you can buy anything on the Internet, I think there needs to be a special reason to have a physical store. Of course, you can buy online, but there must be a reason why you want to go to the store and buy. Wism is a good example of this. I think customer service is even more important in Japan. I wonder if they really have a web store? （. I think the physical experience is more important in Japan than in any other country. Japan is the first country where the physical experience comes first, and I think that's very good. For the "No More Dream" collection, they did a karaoke-themed installation. It's really cool, and I'm glad he's doing his own interpretation of me. Of course, I didn't ask him to do karaoke this time either, so it was a very nice surprise.
Kyle:The team is so nice and the energy in-store is so good there, which is super important. Getting people excited about what you are trying to create is important. Retail storytelling is different nowadays. In a time when everyone can get everything through the internet, what makes something special to have a physical location. Of course, you can buy things online but there are reasons to go to shops. The Japanese mentality for physical retail in general is so important. It almost seems like there are no web shops or those web shops you do see are super difficult to find. The physical experience comes first and is the best here when compared to everywhere else in the world. No more dreams' they have done thing whole karaoke thing. It's crazy how good it is. Again, I did not tell him to do it. It was a nice surprise.

moatYes, that's right. I have the impression that Brain Dead is an art group that is particularly fond of music. I thought, "If you talk about Japanese music, isn't it J-pop? . And then I thought, "If you talk about Japanese music, why not J-pop, and finally I thought that the place to sing J-pop would be karaoke. This time, I could only think of the "Brain Dead" music part and my own music, namely J-Pop and karaoke (laughs), so I decided to give it a try. Of course, I could have made the music more like Kyle's favorite music, but I think that could have been done at other restaurants. So, I think our strength is that we are more on this side of the music, and we are doing it on our own initiative.
Horike:Yes, I do. So, I wonder what's music in Japan? The answer will be J-POP for me, and then develop the idea from it , eventually it's comes to Karaoke where everyone sing J-POP. J-POP is the only thing I can imagine lol so, I did it that way and it 's more like combine own perspective of music with Of course, I could make something more into his music taste but that can be done by any other stores. close to more my side, which I believe that is our strength.

Kyle.No more dreams" is based on the idea of being somewhere between consciousness and dreams. There's a lot of psychedelic and religious symbolism in the song, with the sheeba and the eyes, and I wanted to include that kind of vibe. . It's not so much drug-inducing as sleep-inducing. It's somewhere between a nightmare and a dream.
Kyle:No more dreams' is the idea of being in between areas of dreams and the conscious. There is a lot of psychedelic, religious symbol with the Sheba and The Eye. We wanted to mix that vibe into it. Not drug-induced but more like dream-induced.

moatThe graphics on the item itself gave me something really cool that was perfect. On top of that, I really wanted a strong word. So when I went to LA in July to meet with Kyle, we decided to name this collection. At that time, when Kyle unexpectedly said "No more dreams," it felt really right. . From there, things started to expand. So, without those words, I don't think this collection would have expanded this far.
Horike:In addition, I wanted to have some words to complete the collection, so I went to LA to decide last July. And Kyle just randomly says the words "No more dreams" and it's just hits me. So, I don't think without the title this collection couldn't come this far.

Kyle.I don't know. It just popped into my head. But it's the same kind of subconscious, and when I try to put it into words, it just feels right. . for example, graphics, and even when I don't know what I'm creating, something gets done. . and I think it's something I wanted to create deep in my subconscious mind. There is always some reason for what the subconscious created. For example, I think it is the same with poetry. . . not that we make poems, but... (laughs). (laughs) . By getting these ideas out of our heads, I think it will be easier to understand them.
Kyle:Again, it is that idea of just saying something and it feels right. When you see a graphic or you make something even if you don't think you know what you are making, it will come out, because deep down subconsciously you want to make that. Whatever you are subconsciously making has a story to it. Like poetry is like that not that we are making poetry!

moat. simply, I don't feel like they are aiming for it in the first place. Even in terms of graphics, there is no "this is how it looks now," or "this will sell," which I think makes it different from other places. Also, Kyle's personality is very happy, or maybe it's not the right way to put it, but in a good way, he is a good-natured person. I think that comes through in the clothes. I think that the graphic style of doing what he likes and not aiming for a goal, and Kyle's love of clothes and his personal side are very much linked, and I think that this is a good fit for the current era. I think they do special orders with various brands, but this time we didn't want to do just a special order, so we did 9 different types. We wanted to do it as one collection, with prints, jackets, caps, and so on. We had been talking about this with the company since the beginning of this year, and we were finally able to make it happen, so I am very attached to it.
Horike:Especially for graphic, it's not like "oh this could be trendy" or "can be sold well", so that makes quite different from any other brand I think. Especially for graphic, it's not like "oh this could be trendy" or "can be sell well", so that's makes quite different from any other brand I think. Those his personality can be seen in the cloth. They have been done so much collaborations with a lot of brands and we just didn't want to be just one of them. So that's why we made 9 items as collection which I wanted to do. There is a printed t-shirt, jacket and cap so on,,, just want to made it happed. I am quite glad to make it happen because this project has been discussed since the beginning of this year.

Kyle.. he is confident in what he does and how he does it. . it's a great thing, and I think it's bigger than numbers. If he likes it, he will do it. . we know that, and we want to work with people like that. . We've done projects with Beams and United Arrows, but they're all different. We want to create something unique for each store. To me, they are all my friends, but they all have their own stories. What about Wism? What about BEAMS?　What about "United Arrows"?　Everyone's story is different. It's similar to how we feel when we work with different artists or DJs. The graphics and designs are always different, and that's the most fun part.
Kyle:He has such confidence in what he does and the way he does things. That is great because it's bigger than the numbers. He just knows and those are the kind of people we want to be working with. We work with other shops and they are all different. For me, they are all friends but it is telling like telling different stories. It's similar when we work with different artists or do something with a DJ or produce artwork with this It's similar when we work with different artists or do something with a DJ or producing artwork with this guy - the graphics are totally different every time and so are the designs and that is really awesome.

moatI will definitely do it (laughs)!　Also, with about 9 models, absolutely. I hope this kind of collection will become a regular thing. We like "Brain Dead" and Kyle very much, so we are very happy to be able to work with them in this way.
Horike:Yeah, defintaly! Probably 9 items again for sure. even I think it would be great if this happened regulary. i love Kyle and so it makes us happy when we are able to do this kind of collaboration.

Kyle.The best! Of course. Sometimes when I make a single T-shirt for a collaboration, I feel like I'm making it for the sake of sales, but I'm glad I was able to do a big collection like this one. I'm happy to do a big collection like this one, and I think it's going to be really unique when you see it all lined up. It's like an album of songs recorded by different artists. That's who we are. Not just singles, but a complete album.
Kyle:It's cool seeing a large collection like that too because often you see one collaboration t-shirt and it feels like it has been made only to sell out and make money. But when you see a collection it is so unique. That's what is cool. That's what we like. Complete albums, not just singles.

Kyle.I like music very much, and I am sure that many people would go for the music side, but I have always been a J-pop guy (laughs). (Laughs.) I decided to play on the side that grabs people's hearts and minds instead of that side. I thought that would be more realistic.
Kyle:Kyle loves music and there are so many people approach from that side, however as I only love J-POP I just couldn't do that from the side. just tried heard to catch his heart in a different way and realistic for me.

Kyle.. I also DJ a lot, and I especially like to listen to records. Just the other day I DJ'd on NTS radio for about 2 hours. I love everything from punk to electro, dub to reggae, experimental to pop. If it's good, it's good. The funny thing about Brain Dead is that they only release what we like, but it's all different music.
Kyle:I DJ a lot and I have an all-vinyl, 2-hour show on NTS radio. Punk to electronic to dub to reggae to experimental to pop. The brand is interesting for us because we only release what we like and sounds different.

Kyle.It's good! By the way, what about J-POP?
Kyle:Nice! Any J-pop!

Kyle.You know Exile?　They wear "Brain Dead" all the time. I don't know much about them (laughs). Also, a friend of mine in L.A. is good friends with the Japanese artist "Wednesday Campanella," and whenever he is in L.A., he brings them with him, though I hardly know who they are (laughs).
Kyle:Do you know Exile? They are always wearing My friend Garrett from LA is friends with Japanese artists like Wednesday Kaponela. They always come to LA. I meet them all but don't know how any of them are!

Kyle.I'm 31, Ed's 42 , he's a big baby (laughs).
Kyle:Ed is 42. he's a big baby!

Kyle.Maybe twice a year. But we always talk on the phone.
Kyle:Twice a year. we are always on the phone non-stop!

moatBy the way, this may not be a question to ask Kyle, but I saw so many flies on this "No more dreams" collection. There were probably 3 or 4 of the 9 models in the collection . Why is that, you ask?
Horike:By the Way not sure this question is for Kyle, but there are some many flies on every piece in this collection. Problably 3 or 4 out of 9 items, and just wondering, Why?

Kyle.That's Ed's doing, isn't it? He likes flies. (Laughs.) I asked Ed the same thing recently. He just really likes flies. The next new thing that's coming out is even weirder. They are using a new and different printing method, and it's thick, like a rubber tape. We like texture. The brand we had before Brain Dead was all about texture. Technique and texture. I want to touch the real thing. I want to touch the T-shirts, and I want to touch the graphics. I think the difference between graphic and T-shirt design is not only the design, but how you can make it physical. Life is physical. . In this digital age, I want to touch everything. . it's an experience. . the brand is getting bigger and bigger, so there's a part of us that wants to challenge ourselves. So the new graphics are more handmade, and that's what we like to do.
Kyle:Ed loves flies. I asked him about that recently! He just loves flies! Our new stuff is even more weirder. My brand before was all about texture. We want to touch aesthetics. we want to feel clothing and feel graphics. the difference between graphic design and t-shirt design is how do you make it physical and not just design. Life is physical. We are so digital now and you want to feel everything. It's experience. As we get bigger we challenge ourselves and our new graphics are more hand-made and that is what we like.