01Profile
A Takumi Yuge Photo
Takumi Yuge
Fashion Designer / Adult Oriented Records — Tokyo
03Interview
Name, where are you from?
TAKUMI YUGE, Tokyo.
What do you do?
Fashion Designer / Adult Oriented Records.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
I was really impressed by Jamiroquai’s gig at the Shibuya Quattro, his first tour in Japan. I think it was 1993. It blew my mind. I’d heard he was the new Stevie Wonder, and he had this amazing groove, although his style was overall quite casual. At the time, Britpop was really taking off, so it was good to experience Jamiroquai while I was deep into that genre. Pushed by the trend of ‘Free Soul’, I dived deeply into rare types of groove music.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
So many. If we can divide the human race into two groups - The Beatles type and The Beach Boys type – I’ve always been the latter, for sure. But I was also influenced by Mod culture when I was a teenager: The Small Faces, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones (in their early days). What’s more, I like AOR really from elementary school, but I got into Punk when I hit adolescence. But more like The Jam rather than The Sex Pistols.
Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
The Room in Shibuya where I played DJ recently, after more than a decade hiatus. It’s a club where I used to go from my teenage years until my mid-twenties. The sound got much better and I was really quite moved by it.
If you could be on the line-up with any bands in history?
Paul Weller, definitely. If I could pick which period of his career, then I would choose him in Style Council. I’d be happy doing whatever, playing guitar, being in the chorus or anything else as long as I could be part of the band and be in those moments.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’d join one of Mick Jagger’s hedonistic parties in London, in the ‘70s.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Andy Pawlak, the last neo-acoustic. The sound feels a bit like AOR and I highly recommend it. It was a very modern thing to connect with him via SNS.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
How did you select the tracks for this playlist?
Mainly UK sounds, with a particular emphasis on the 1980s. The selection is based on the ‘adult perspective’, the same approach of Adult Oriented Records.
The first track you played on repeat?
I’m more The Beach Boys type though if I choose from the UK then I would choose The Beatles. It might have been ‘If I Fell’. I listened to it when I was in my second year of junior high school.
A song that defines the teenage you?
The Jam after all…… it would have to be one that really showcases Paul Weller’s style. Probably ‘English Rose’ rather than ‘In the City’, just because I sang the song so many times at my gigs.
One record you would keep forever?
‘Café Bleu’ by The Style Council. I’ve loved this record for years. Mod sounds in the 1960s tend to have that particular strength that I almost can’t keep listening to it. That’s why I’d pick the Style Council.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
Again, Style Council. I like how these British musicians sang about France in ‘Café Blue’. I really think it gives over more of the spirit of France than a lot of Parisian music. I like the fact the name is in French and I also like the artwork of the cover, which is always at the back of my mind when I think of my own artworks.
Best song to turn up loud?
I can’t stop singing ‘When Love Breaks Down’ by Prefab Sprout. The record doesn’t give the lyrics so I found them on the internet, printed them out, and then stuck them on my own copy (laughs). I think Paddy McAloon, the leader, is the most inspired musician in the UK at the moment.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
I tend to listen to all genres, but I really like Underworld especially those that are found in the movie 'Trainspotting'. I ended up buying the soundtrack.
Any new music you are listening to right now?
He is not a new musician, but I frequently listen to Steve Hiett’s new album, ‘Girls in the Grass’, released in 2019. He’s also known as a photographer as well as a guitarist. It consists of the unreleased tracks left off the album ‘Down On The Road By The Beach’, which was released only in Japan, in 1983. He’s probably more famous as a photographer and I’m such a fan of his.
03Interview
Name, where are you from?
TAKUMI YUGE, Tokyo.
What do you do?
Fashion Designer / Adult Oriented Records.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
I was really impressed by Jamiroquai’s gig at the Shibuya Quattro, his first tour in Japan. I think it was 1993. It blew my mind. I’d heard he was the new Stevie Wonder, and he had this amazing groove, although his style was overall quite casual. At the time, Britpop was really taking off, so it was good to experience Jamiroquai while I was deep into that genre. Pushed by the trend of ‘Free Soul’, I dived deeply into rare types of groove music.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
So many. If we can divide the human race into two groups - The Beatles type and The Beach Boys type – I’ve always been the latter, for sure. But I was also influenced by Mod culture when I was a teenager: The Small Faces, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones (in their early days). What’s more, I like AOR really from elementary school, but I got into Punk when I hit adolescence. But more like The Jam rather than The Sex Pistols.
Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
The Room in Shibuya where I played DJ recently, after more than a decade hiatus. It’s a club where I used to go from my teenage years until my mid-twenties. The sound got much better and I was really quite moved by it.
If you could be on the line-up with any bands in history?
Paul Weller, definitely. If I could pick which period of his career, then I would choose him in Style Council. I’d be happy doing whatever, playing guitar, being in the chorus or anything else as long as I could be part of the band and be in those moments.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’d join one of Mick Jagger’s hedonistic parties in London, in the ‘70s.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Andy Pawlak, the last neo-acoustic. The sound feels a bit like AOR and I highly recommend it. It was a very modern thing to connect with him via SNS.
04Playlist Notes
How did you select the tracks for this playlist?
Mainly UK sounds, with a particular emphasis on the 1980s. The selection is based on the ‘adult perspective’, the same approach of Adult Oriented Records.
The first track you played on repeat?
I’m more The Beach Boys type though if I choose from the UK then I would choose The Beatles. It might have been ‘If I Fell’. I listened to it when I was in my second year of junior high school.
A song that defines the teenage you?
The Jam after all…… it would have to be one that really showcases Paul Weller’s style. Probably ‘English Rose’ rather than ‘In the City’, just because I sang the song so many times at my gigs.
One record you would keep forever?
‘Café Bleu’ by The Style Council. I’ve loved this record for years. Mod sounds in the 1960s tend to have that particular strength that I almost can’t keep listening to it. That’s why I’d pick the Style Council.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
Again, Style Council. I like how these British musicians sang about France in ‘Café Blue’. I really think it gives over more of the spirit of France than a lot of Parisian music. I like the fact the name is in French and I also like the artwork of the cover, which is always at the back of my mind when I think of my own artworks.
Best song to turn up loud?
I can’t stop singing ‘When Love Breaks Down’ by Prefab Sprout. The record doesn’t give the lyrics so I found them on the internet, printed them out, and then stuck them on my own copy (laughs). I think Paddy McAloon, the leader, is the most inspired musician in the UK at the moment.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
I tend to listen to all genres, but I really like Underworld especially those that are found in the movie 'Trainspotting'. I ended up buying the soundtrack.
Any new music you are listening to right now?
He is not a new musician, but I frequently listen to Steve Hiett’s new album, ‘Girls in the Grass’, released in 2019. He’s also known as a photographer as well as a guitarist. It consists of the unreleased tracks left off the album ‘Down On The Road By The Beach’, which was released only in Japan, in 1983. He’s probably more famous as a photographer and I’m such a fan of his.