The "KOENJI" is a business that operates at its own pace in a secluded location about a five-minute walk from the south exit of Koenji Station.LOS APSON (LOS APSON?).Have you ever heard of a store called Ostensibly, it is a record shop (?). but it also sells artists' T-shirts and zines, as well as multinational sundries and other miscellaneous goods. It's a very miscellaneous (in a good way, of course!) store.
Los Upson" holds an annual T-shirt fair entitled "T-SHIRT! THAT'S FIGHTING WORDS! and holds a T-shirt fair every year. The event takes place at the multipurpose space "KATA" on the second floor of Ebisu Liquid Room. Don't be fooled into thinking it is just a T-shirt fair, the participating artists are truly gorgeous. T-shirts are sold by world-renowned artist Tomoo Gokita, Shintaro Sakamoto of the former Yurayura Teikoku, VIDEOTAPEMUSIC, Kosuke Kawamura, STRUGGLE FOR PRIDE, and many others who are probably fans among Finamu readers. and many more.
For this interview, we asked Mr. Keiji Yamabe, the owner of "Los Upson," about the store and how he came to hold the T-shirt fair. So here are some words from Mr. Yamabe in the form of an interview.
Mr. Yamabe, you originally worked at the record store WAVE, didn't you?
Yamabe：Yes. I was at the Roppongi store. The first floor was for new age and trendy dance music, the second floor was for Japanese music, and the third floor was for rock, new wave, dance music, and world music. The third floor had rock, new wave, dance music, and world music, and above that was jazz and classical music. There were not only records, but also a movie theater and a recording studio.
What kind of work were you in charge of there?
Yamabe：I was in charge of old rock albums at first. I was buying the back catalogs of famous bands like the Eagles and so on, in the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. At the time, there were still remnants of the bubble economy, so it was selling well. So I was allowed to create my own favorite section, where I recommended US indie rock. I recommended US indie rock, like Nirvana and Green Day before they sold out.
That's very fast.
Yamabe：That was quite successful, and we decided to try something new, and we were allowed to do various things under the name of "avant-garde.
At that time, there were artists like Kaoru Inoue and others who are leading Japanese club music today, weren't there?
Yamanobe：We were on the same floor. I was also with Salaam Marine, who is now holding an event serving Middle Eastern cuisine. Critics such as Atsushi Sasaki and Masaya Nakahara were also working at the movie theater. There was also a DJ named Compuma at the Shibuya branch. Anyway, all kinds of people gathered and worked there.
Did you do some events at WAVE?
Yamabe：There was a club called Sal Paradise in Aoyama, and we would go there once or twice a year. I used to get together with Kaoru Inoue and the owner of El Sur Records, Takashi Harada, and others.
When did you go out on your own and open "Ross Upson"?
Yamabe：I quit in 1994 and opened this restaurant in August of the same year. At the time, we had a store in Nishi-Shinjuku. I was not sure if I should have chosen Shibuya, but in the end I decided to go with Nishi-Shinjuku (laughs).
I have the impression that there are many record shops in Nishi-Shinjuku with a somewhat strong cultural flavor.
Yamabe：Other than that, I simply found the people in the area interesting. Shinjuku is a nightlife district, so there were a lot of people like that, and there were also a lot of people who didn't seem to be serious (laughs). (Laughs) When I first went to see the property, I heard a man from the room next door saying, "Hey, you bastard! You bastard! from the room next door when I first went to see the property. Despite that, I rented the room.
Did you always have a strong desire to be independent?
Yamabe：Yes, while I was allowed to do many things at WAVE, it was a store with a large capital, so I could not sell T-shirts or other miscellaneous goods there. I started "Los Upson" because I wanted to create a store that sold those kinds of things, or a store where I could exhibit someone's work, like a gallery. Even people who are not interested in music can come here, and couples can come here and enjoy their girlfriends' company.
I see. Do you do the purchasing yourself?
Yamabe：Many people around me go abroad, so I ask people I think would be interesting to buy sundries from them. I ask people who I think would be interesting to buy things for me.
Yamanobe：As for records, people from other countries come directly to our stores to sell them. They get information about the store from somewhere and go out of their way to come here. Of course, not all of our products are purchased in this way, but it is nice to have people from overseas come to our store to sell their products.
It's a strange way to operate.
Yamabe：Whenever I try to go abroad, I don't know why, but something happens and I can't go. So now I have resigned myself to staying in Japan for a long time. But when you run a store for a long time, you get all kinds of interesting people, and I feel like I am doing this with their help.
However, I think there is a certain amount of risk involved when you ask someone other than yourself to do the work.
Yamabe：I don't mind the risk at all. I would rather ask for more and more. It is better to have a variety of people's ideas because it broadens the range of ideas and allows us to encounter new discoveries. I think that leads to interesting things. Sometimes people ask me, "What kind of genre of restaurant are you? I don't know myself (laughs). It's hard to describe it in one word.
When you first started the store, what did you do with the general merchandise?
Yamabe：It wasn't nearly there at first. We took the name "Los Upson" from a Mexican garage band, but at the time we used a Mexican pro-wrestler's mask as the logo of the store, and we used it to advertise in "Pia" and "Crossbeat". Then, Mexicans in Japan misunderstood and came to my store to sell Mexican masks, Mexican stickers, and key chains to us. And they said, "We'll buy it! I'll buy it! I bought them (laughs).
The logo is also cute.
Yamabe: This is a design by Naohiro Ukawa. It is his early works.
What is your connection with Mr. Ukawa?
Yamabe：I went to an art school, and one of my classmates was friends with Ukawa. I had heard rumors about him. I think we met for the first time at Quattro in Shibuya. Masaya Nakahara had a unit called Boryoku Onsen Geisha, and when I performed as a member, Ukawa was also there as a VJ. Ukawa-kun was the first person to exhibit art in our store.
Is this during the Nishi-Shinjuku period?
Yamabe：That's right. At first, Ukawa-kun brought the design he was working on at the time, but that was too straightforward, so we decided to do something more interesting, and we exhibited the Carolina Gracchus and photos we found in Harajuku.
You picked up this photo in Harajuku?
Yamabe：Yes, yes, a photo I picked up in Harajuku (laughs). (Laughs.) Some lady found a whole album of commemorative photos from a trip to Egypt, and we enlarged them and exhibited them at our store. Tomoo Gokita also exhibited them at our shop in the past.
You are now one of Japan's leading artists.
Yamabe：You recently had an exhibition at Opera City in Hatsudai. Do you know the one where you drew pictures of pro-wrestlers on record jackets? We used to bump into each other on the street. We used to bump into each other on the street and often went out for drinks (laughs).
What other artists have exhibited?
Yamabe: Until recently, we exhibited the work of an illustrator named Masahide Oki. We also had 373, Joji Nakamura, a plant shop called Mizuno Koso Ikebana, Merzbau, and many others.
You moved your restaurant from Nishi-Shinjuku to Hatagaya. What is the story behind that?
Yamabe：I had been in Shinjuku for 17 years, but when the Great East Japan Earthquake hit, the inside of the store was a complete mess. I thought it was time to reset the place, so I moved to Hatagaya. A space called Forest Limit had just opened, and I had been visiting there, and I knew some people in the area, so I thought it would be good to do it here.
You are moving further and further away from the trade area (laughs).
Yamanobe：Yes, that's right (laughs). One reason was that I was into frontier music at the time and wanted a place that was different from the so-called downtown area. Also, I wanted to set up a store in a shopping district. A record store next to a grocery store or something like that. I wanted a place that was rooted in the town. It was the largest store we had ever opened. The store had an at-home atmosphere, with people taking off their shoes and children doing something on the floor while their parents shopped.
And you have come to the present Koenji.
Yamabe：I have always wanted to create a street store. Koenji is really interesting with its many mysterious stores.
You have your own music scene. There are live music clubs and quality music bars such as Grassroots and Koenji Knock in Higashi Koenji.
Yamabe：I have been here for almost three years now, and there are still many stores that I have only heard rumors about but have not yet visited. (laughs) Koenji used to have the image of being a town of bands, but I think that has changed now.
What are some of the best things about running a store for so many years while maintaining an independent attitude?
Yamabe：There are a lot of really interesting people who gather here, and also, as I mentioned earlier, people come from overseas to sell their products. I think that is because we are a private store like this. I can do many things at my own discretion, so it's nice to be able to make purchases on the spot.
I feel that "Ross-Apson" has a kind of attractiveness that draws people to it, just like you do.
Yamabe：I feel that music is at the center of the group, and that many people have gathered around it. It is as if we are building a relationship of mutual trust with music as our common language. Music has that kind of power, and I think it is a source of salvation for everyone, including myself.
Also, every year, Ross-Apson holds a T-shirt fair at Kata in Ebisu called "T-SHIRT! at KATA in Ebisu, right?
Yamabe：This is the ninth time this year. In the beginning, we had a record fair. We had artists we knew, such as Shintaro Sakamoto, COMPUMA, and MOODMAN, bring in their records and sell them. But, you know, it was really hard to manage and records were heavy! (laughs). (Laughs). So the next year, we switched to T-shirts.
long vowel mark (usually only used in katakana)Official SiteI see from the "T-shirts for sale" section of the website that a number of T-shirts by eminent artists have been sold at the event since the very first one. For example, Mr. Gokita, who exhibited at the store, participated in the event.
Yamabe：Yes, we increased the number of participating artists to about 150 for the second show, but this time there were so many that we couldn't see the merchandise at all (laughs). (Laughs.) There were so many T-shirts piled up at the venue that we couldn't find anything! (Laughs). We decided that this was a bad idea, so the next year we limited the number of participating artists to about 100.
Still, that's a lot (laughs).
Yamabe：That's right. But just like digging for records, I thought it would be fun to discover them. There are all kinds of T-shirts, and I think it is interesting to look at them as works of art rather than as fashion. I would be happy if people could get a sense of the chaotic atmosphere, in a good way. I thought about various ways to showcase them, but it would be impossible to hang them all on hangers, so I decided to hang samples on the wall and let the customers do the rest of the digging as they like.
How do you select the artists who will participate in the festival?
Yamabe：We have artists whose products are sold in our stores, painters, and also clothing stores that we know. We also have recommendations from Liquid Room, which manages the venue, KATA.
Do you have any recommendations for this year's participants?
Yamabe：Myself, COMPUMA, and Mr. Gokita used to hold an event called "Gold Damage," and I made a T-shirt printed with an illustration from the flyer of the 2015 event. It was an idea that I had wanted to do someday, so this was a long time coming. I'm not sure how much I should say about it (laughs).
Popular T-shirts sell out quickly, don't they?
Yamabe：When we sell out, we ask them to add more. But even if we add a new copy of STRUGGLE FOR PRIDE, it will be gone soon. I guess it is the same as with records.
The DJ booth was set up at the venue, and the time spent discovering T-shirts while listening to the artists' performances felt like a luxurious experience.
Yamanobe: That is because music is at the center of the event. On the last day of the event, there will be a simultaneous event called "SLOWMOTION" hosted by MOODMAN at Time Out Cafe & Diner next to KATA. Admission is free and people can come and go as they please, so we hope you will come and enjoy yourself every day until the final day.
So, that's it for this interview with Mr. Yamabe. T-SHIRT! THAT'S FIGHTING WORDS! will be held from this Friday to Sunday at the event space "KATA" on the second floor of Ebisu Liquid Room! This is a chance to get rare items by the artists that you can only get at the event. While the T-shirts of popular brands are attractive, the items created by artists and musicians are just as fascinating and shining as the T-shirts. This weekend, please come to Ebisu to enjoy the atmosphere that can only be experienced at the venue.
Text_Yuichiro Tsuji
LOS APSON?
Address: Sanko Building 1F, 4-3-2 Koenji-Minami, Suginami-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-6337-1595
Business hours: 15:00 - 20:00 / Closed on Wednesdays
losapson.shop-pro.jp/
"T-SHIRT!!! THAT'S FIGHTING WORDS!!!" 2018
Period: Friday, June 22 - Sunday, June 24, 2018
Hours: 15:00-22:00
Location: KATA
Address: 2F LIQUIDROOM, 3-16-6 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Participating artists and brands:
LOS APSON?, BOREDOMS, STRUGGLE FOR PRIDE, HAIR STYLISTICS, HE?XION! TAPES, SAMPLESS, 37A (P/HOUSE), GRASSROOTS presents Mask Daddy and Mask Baby for D.M.F. Inc., TURBO SONIC, DJ DISCHARGE (Unconscious When), kenji373goto, COMPUMA, KLEPTOMANIAC, CARRE, ECD, Hentai Works, cero, VIDEOTOTOTIME mitsume, videotapemusic, robo space, ogre you asshole, ken2d special, ur-ban volcano sounds, energish golf, kuruucrew, vovivav, celebs, bride land, mahitu the peepo Yoonkee Kim, ackky, power, Soi48, ifax!, wacky (COLORgung), Akashic, COREHEAD, GEEE print, DANCE HOLE by Hugh Hughboy, 2yang, DJ SOYBEANS, Hello it's me, BLACK SMOKER RECORDS, SHOCK CITY, WDsounds, mid night meal records, em records, SATURDAY LAB, Rid-dim Chango Records, night crawl, NEUREC, Kosuke Kawamura Kosuke Kawamura, JOJI NAKAMURA, Tetsunori Ta-waraya, Oido Shojo, noise, Masahide Oki, Mango Of The Sun, Misai Kono, kizm_channel, THEJOBLOTCLUB, Iparo, TARZANKICK!!! , SPACE, Summer's Big X, ●|●, OOSAN (MFP), FORESTLIMIT, Erection, BLACK SHEEP, day in day out (more), THINGS -Electric Dance Modular-, 2 NICHYOUME PARADAISE, OTODRISE BUGPIPE, SHOGUN TAPES, WACKWACK, BOMBAY JUICE, TRASMUNDO, *b*a*r*a*k*a*h*, Telepa-thy, Secret Doctor, Print Eastwood, indyvisual, ChillMountain, amala ChillMountain, amala, PROJECT CIV, SAN JUDAS TADEO, BOOZE DESIGN WORKS, FEEVERBUG, Slimy Mold Heavens, RWCHE, BROWNBAG, KILL vintage clothing, KILL Terrapin Station, MOBB COFFEE, Ontien Rhythm Store, Hida-chan, LIQUIDROOM, Artists / Brands AHAU, zelone records, Ai Tsuchikawa x 213
DJ Time:
Friday, June 22, 15:00-22:00
Featuring：COMPUMA, BING, KEN KEN (KEN2D SPECIAL), Yusuke Kawamura
Saturday, June 23, 15:00-22:00
Featuring：DJ HOLIDAY, DJ KUMIKO, Bow J
Sunday, June 24, 15:00-22:00
Featuring: Q a.k.a. INSIDEMAN (Grassroots), DJ DISCHARGE, Keiji Yamabe (LOS APSON?)
Special Party:
"SLOWMOTION".
June 24 (Sun.) 15:00-22:00 Admission free!
Performed by：MOODMAN, Minoda, Sports-koide
