Tokyo Record Style

How it could be that I didn’t already know Evil Jay the day before I met him by chance at VDS in SKWAT is a bit beyond me. We both have been living in this city and frequenting basically the same hoods for the same time with both our arrivals to Japan (from states, me from Boulder, he from Raleigh) dating back to over 20 years ago. We must be roughly the same age, both have our own posses at home, both in creative worlds, both incredibly hip, talented, and good-looking! 😜

Joking aside, Evil Jay, (aka J Holmes) is both a very talented illustrator and designer doing a lot of fun and cool designs for bands and musicians. AND he’s a very accomplished songwriter and musician with his own bands, albums …and playbills coming out his ears–another reason I’m surprised I haven’t already encountered him. I suppose it’s a testament to that fact that Jay is probably more hip than me, putting his work and himself out there on a regular basis, making records and art and just being a man of the town! Be sure to follow him @mysterycuts and check out his solo works as well as frontman duties with FVRMN–wonderful tunes, designs, and even music videos.

Oh, one more thing! Pay close attention to this tastemaker’s sublime musical scores this day and his Sunday afternoon digs. I vaguely remember him telling me he lives a stone-throw from VDS and I love the idea that he might have played a show the night before, slept in, grabbed a shower, and coffee, then mozied over for a ritualistic visit to the record store.

Thanks, Jay, for letting our little ragtag temporarily adopt you for a Tokyo Record Style afternoon. Looking forward to the next hang!

More TRS on the way!

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #Jazz #AvantgardeJazz #PostBop #Electronic #ItaloDisco #CoolJazz #Rock #PsychedelicRock

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1 week ago | [YT] | 8

Tokyo Record Style

My good homie Michael Warren and I have this musical idea we talk about: “Pickle Music.” Both of us could explain to you exactly what it is, or at least identify any music in terms of its “pickliness” but admittedly, it might be a little bit harder than I’m letting on. **I** know what pickly music is because I know Michael, and he’s the pickliest guy I know, he’s really the only pickly guy that I know, though I am sure there are others out there, and I would know them if I met them.

Pickliness can be a couple of things. First off it’s a sweet and sour kinda thing, it’s light but punchy, a happy taste, with particular zest, that kinda gives you one of those involuntary bran shivers. It ought to have some crunch, a bit of bite, a zing, and even a jolt, ya know, makes your ears tingle, center-of-the-head kinda music. But bubbly and effervescent too. But also a down-to-earth taste …but silly too. It’s a lot of things but I think you’re getting it. Kinda of a cousin to “jangly”, but with a crooked, ornery, electric smile, maybe with a mohawk. That’s pickly.

And yes, Michael is about as pickly as you can get, and you could probably even argue that the two records he’s holding here, one that I gave to him as a gift (Dry Bread’s “Yamar”) and one he gave to me (Leo Kottke’s Armadillo Record) are pickle music, full of silly-ism and zingy type melodies.

If none of this has made sense, at least I can take solace in the fact that at least one person knows what I am taking about… my pickly homie, Micheal Warren.

Stay pickly, Pickle Boy!

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #pickle #Soul #Funk #Blues #Folk #WorldandCountry #CountryBlues

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1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 8

Tokyo Record Style

Tokyo Record Style Day repeater and always super fashionable Tanno-san made a bit of a surprise appearance at Tokyo Record Style Day Volume 11.! When I saw his face walk in the door at VDS, my own face lit up with excitement, first thinking it was a coincidence, but then remembering, this is about the 5th or 6th time Tanno has rallied to the cause! Bless you, dood!

On this day, Tanno was rawking some subtle but dope duds. I really appreciate the seemingly slacker style but with so much detail all over the place, starting with a wide-brim straw sun hat by Kijima Takayuki which almost had some kankan boater hat vibes (but I know his kankan boat hat from the time he attended Top 5 Records Vol. 14, and this was slightly different best, what I would personally coin as a “Suginami Hat” if they’d let me …anyway, dope hat. Happy to see he hasn’t updated the OG Oliver Gold Smith specs since last time I saw him. Subtle but not-so-subtle red Mike Vallely (legend!) tee by Powell with matching red knit sock beneath the Appletrees’ linen trousers and inside the some standard-issue Vans slip-ons painted by a friend’s child as a gift to Tanno. A few pieces of jewelry too, but the whole ensemble was pulled together by an iconic designed-in-AUZ, made in Europe (on-the-same-looms-used-in-Okayama-to-weave-selvedge-denim) Haulier utility tote bag. If life ever got so glamorous as to necessitate a stylist, I might hit up Tanno.

Tanno’s tastes don’t end at fashion. In the three of four times I’ve photographed him, he has always had great records and this time was no different. Nice scores, Tanno! And nice digs as always. See at the meet-up. Until then …stay gold, Ponyboy.

More TRS on the way!

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #HipHop

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1 week ago | [YT] | 6

Tokyo Record Style

A fresh face! Conor moved to Tokyo just a couple months before my “Tokyo Record Style Day Vol. 11” at Nishikameari, caught wind of my channel and just showed up without knowing me or anybody who might have joined! GOOD ON YA, Conor! I remember doing the same kinda thing when I first arrived in Tokyo, finding curiously interesting happenings around the city, looking for new homies to make, and just rolling up on things and seeing what might happen. That’s the way to live an adventurous life, cuz navigating new personal encounters can be as treacherous (and fun) as sailing the seas or blazing trails. So mad respect to you, Conor

Before Tokyo, and before Thailand, Conor lived in the states where I imagine his music journey and record collecting begins, and unlike me who basically abandoned all but about 500 pieces of a once gloriously huge collection in my move to Tokyo (which I expatriated to Japan 50 records at a time over a decade or so) Conor has been lugging his entire collection around the world, from Brooklyn to Bangkok, and now Bangkok to Tokyo. Now that dedication (and some $$$!)

Conor not only brought his records around the world but he brought some nice style sense, from what I can tell, a pretty big sneakerhead collection, and a handful of really interesting tattoos. On this day he was rawking casual, but on point, jeans and tee, some sweet-as Air Jordon 1s, a sharp but sensible Seiko timepiece, a pretty boss Trojan-branded record bag, sharp fade line, and some conversation-starting tattoos (this is all not to ignore the pretty impressive and telling record haul he procure this day - see photos). When I asked about a couple of specific tattoos that I might have barely recognized as Jackson Pollack and Kazimir Malevich, the depths of Conor’s interests and personality were more revealed.

“Every tattoo on my body has a corresponding tattoo on the other side (left and right). They’re both abstract art. But the meaning that got put on them was the context out of the artists’ control … Malevich was Russian. A few years after his painting, the Bolshevik Revolution happened and his constructivist painting became a style that was emulated in the early USSR … shortly after that Pollock painting, the Cold War breaks out and the abstract art of movement gets dragged into that cultural fight. The USA (and CIA) secretly fund the spread of those art shows around the world … Two guys just making abstract art getting dragged into something (and co-opted) by something they had nothing to do with.” …wow, there is that dedication and commitment again. What other tattoos on his body could be in such deep and conceptual communication with each other? Please share more on our next hang, Conor …and enjoy the hell out of those great records! Nice haul and nice hang!

More TRS on the way

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #Electronic #Jazz #Rock #Latin #Non-Music #StageandScreen #AlternativeRock #Dialogue #ChaCha #Soundtrack #NewWave #Synthpop #IndieRock #NoiseRock #HipHop #Conscious

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 9

Tokyo Record Style

Outta nowhere I got a friendly message in my inbox from a familiar name, Michael Leoncini, mentioning that he was back in Tokyo, and that I might see him at my next, at the time, upcoming “Tokyo Record Style Day” at VDS Records in Kameari. “Wonderful!” I replied, but “Wait a sec,” I thought, “I haven’t seen this name in years. How do I know Michael Leoncini? Who is Michael again?” Then I proceeded to immediately forget about it, due to my admitted scatterbrained-ness, until the day arrived. As I rolled up on VDS at the SKWAT complex, out from the other side of the train tracks comes a face so familiar that I feel my arms open for a big brotherly hug, and approaching a still confused me is …I think… Michael Leoncini. “Wait, are you Michael?” I ask. “Yeah, man, it’s me, Michael, AKA ‘Frank Breech’!

OH SHIT! FRANK BREECH!!!! THE PHOTOGRAPHER!

Yes, yes, yes. It all comes flooding back to me now. I know Michael, yes, by his name Michael Leoncini, but more by his internetting alias, Frank Breech …THE Frank Breech, who we used to hang and shoot the streets with WAY back in the day, like MySpace days, Flickr days, Zebrio days, Japan- before-iPhone days, paper map days. “FRAAAANK!!!! Amazing to see you! Wonderful (though foggy) memories flooding back …of Leica cameras, Tri-X, street beers and smoky bars, pop-up exhibitions, photo walks, even Mike’s surprise engagement to his lovely, arranged for which Frank arranged ol’ Jim O’Connell and I to shoot from two different angles at Ueno Station WAY back when. I have no idea if we ever “got the shot” of Frank’s engagement, but he certainly got one of me and Jim that day, a print of which he presented to me this day of our re-acquaintance, and after all these years, a forgotten photo from nearly 20 years ago!

Turns out that Mike left Japan shortly after his engagement and went back to the states where he and his Lovely got life going. Then I guess they returned to Japan a few years back, and the way he tells it, he’s living the life, in a quiet east-side neighborhood, out of the spotlight of Shibuya and the like. He’s taken to the old folks and is doing the community duties and I suppose rising through the ranks as some fresh young blood to take up the torch of the next generation of neighborhood good-doers. That’s no surprise, cuz Mike’s good people. You can just see it in his face.

It was so great to re-connect. Mike, let’s do it again and thanks for popping up in my life again. Enjoy that Laurin Anderson records and thanks again for this amazing photo.

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #BossaNova #Electronic #Rock #Electro #PopRock #Avantgarde #SKWAT

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 13

Tokyo Record Style

Peter and Lee

I have to give a shout out to ‪@vinylrecordsofbrilliance‬, Peter McCartney and his son Lee who were visiting Japan from their native Scotland. Lee, a bit of a Japanophile, had visited a couple of times before on quests to tap into anime, manga, and Japan subculture (hence rendezvousing with them in Akihabara) but for this visit, Lee understanding that Japan likely had the same caliber of record collectability as it does for other subculture, convinced punk-rawking dad, Peter to come along.

We met up for a coffee and had a whirlwind chat about how Japan got the way it did, Lee often knowing better than me, and we laughed and laughed and shared. Peter, between visiting shops in Tokyo and Osaka, I believe took home one of the biggest private hauls I’ve ever heard anyone taking. He couldn’t believe how many of his highly coveted grails he came across here, and wasn’t bashful about paying up, knowing this might be the one and only chance (Thinks to self: when those precious records you’ve searched for for ages appear, snatch em up while you can!)

I really enjoyed hearing about Peter and Lee’s Japan escapades during our chat, and the fun continued when Peter returned to Scotland and proceeded to make a seemingly endless but enjoyable series of videos on his YouTube Channel, spotlighting his hauls from Japan. You oughta click through and go check Peter out. Not only will you enjoy his incredibly friendly charm, and his deep punk prowess, but you’ll also likely learn that he is the insanely charismatic frontman, King of Brilliance (www.instagram.com/kingofbrilliance), of at least one band “4 Past Midnight.” Explosive energy and a pretty counter-intuitive presence to the sweet and gentle guy I had coffee with! LOVE IT!

Hope you and Lee had a blast in Japan! Looking forward to your next visit! More Tokyo Record Style on the way!

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #Punk #KingofBrilliance

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 9

Tokyo Record Style

Meet Chris (and crew) from Bristol in the UK, specifically from a place called Turbo Island, figuratively and literally. What is Turbo Island you ask? Those from Bristol will most certainly know, but I had to look it up. Turns out it’s a couple of things.

Firstly, it's a literal little wedge of the city, the triangle-shaped plot of land that sits at the end of two converging roads in what looks like a hip part of the city, that’s perhaps too narrow, too awkward a shape of a property to do much with, besides provide a place from the local denizens of said colorful hood to gather, to assemble, to commune. Seems it’s been a place of rich urban cultural heritage, where music has been played, art has been displayed, demonstrations displayed, rules disobeyed, opinions swayed, and where (counter-) culture has been made. And apparently it’s in jeopardy of going away, and needs to be saved!

Secondly Turbo Island is the name of Chris’s long-running, highly-acclaimed, lots-of-laughter-inducing, music-centric t-shirt and design studio, that for a long spell had a bird’s eye view of the actual island itself. Which came first? The wedge? The studio? The “Turbo” drink made famous by the island? You’ll have dig a little deeper, but one thing is for sure: Chris’s brilliant work (be sure to check him out- www.instagram.com/turboisland/), full of clever innuendo and smile-inspiring designs has no doubt influenced the aesthetics of the actual Turbo Island while the happenings of the islands has no doubt influenced his designs. What delight to discover these two gems of Bristol, the famed street corner, and Chris’s studio!

Chris had arrived Tokyo just a few hours before, and wanted to enjoy with his friends, so I didn’t take too much of their time, but we chatted up some music and I gave some Blue Identity stickers, and come to think of it, “YO CHRIS! DM ME! I want to send you a Tokyo Record Style sticker and get some Turbo swag! Hope you guys enjoyed Tokyo! Look me up when you come back! Tokyo LOVE to Bristol!”

More Tokyo Record Style on the way!

On Vox Pop - Sep 22nd: youtube.com/live/Txk8d0RRB5g


#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity #TokyoStreets #VoxPop #StreetInterview #JapanTravel #TokyoLife #Bristol #TurboIsland

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3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 8

Tokyo Record Style

Every summer Shimokitazawa hosts a really lovely “Light Festival” and they bring in artists who work with light and decorate the city with cool projection mapping, whimsical illuminated rabbits, or a giant suspended illuminated moon. Mixed with the village-y vibe of Shimokita, add is some perfect weather and you have a perfect date night, which is what Tokyo Record Style pal, Yuto and his friend Yuhi were up to, a breezy stroll in the lovely illuminated neighborhood.

For the 2nd time in Vox Pop history, both by Yuto, he pinged me and something to the tune of “Yo! I just saw you went live! I’m nearby, should I stop by and say ‘Hello’?” YES, Yuto, you absolutely should, which he did, dressed pretty fly with a bold neckerchief, pulling it off smoothly and unapologetically. His lovely lovely was as equally styley and as fat would have it, they were just coming from a pitstop at Disk Union. I asked Yuto what he scored and he produced what I later found out to be an absolutely killer Chick Corea record, “Again and Again” … “The Joburg Sessions” on which Chick sublimely play Fender Rhodes (on the A-side, which is more groove-driven and “standard”(?), the B-Side however is super spacey and atmospheric, with pitch-bending, horn-emulating synths. I’ve put this one on a few times since I met up with Yuto, a testament of THE HUMAN ALGORITHM and it just gets groovier AND spacier with each listen. I’m particularly fond of the A-Side for once owning my own Fender Rhodes, a good 10 years before it found a new home with Brian Hass of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. I’d almost consider the Rhodes “my instrument” if pressed …and there are a whole bunch of other killer players on this record, drums and bass as solid as can be, a bombasticly-restrained percussionist, a delightfully meandering flutist, and no guitar.

Always a delight running into Yuto and this time was no exception. Thanks for turning me onto a cool record and looking forward to our next encounters!

On Vox Pop - Sep 22nd youtube.com/live/Txk8d0RRB5g

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #Shimokitazawa #VoxPop #JapanTravel #TokyoNights #JazzFusion #ChickCorea #FenderRhodes #DiskUnion #MusicDiscovery #TokyoVibes

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4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 5

Tokyo Record Style

It took me a long time to get back on the train.

Forgive me, but I gotta get back to some roots here. Making videos of record-loving life became a big distraction and kept me from my first love, which is meeting people with recently purchased records on the streets of Tokyo, chatting them up, and making their photos.

The last handful of posts happened so many months ago that I had to gloss over some of the details of our encounters simply for the memories of meeting becoming a bit fuzzy! Still, I did my best, and I’ll continue to do so, as there is a sizeable backlog still in front of me.

Meet David from St. Petersburg. He actually approached ME, rather than the other way around, I was “Vox-Popping” in front of Shibuya Station late last summer and, by nature of the location and the self-video-ing gear, I was drawing a lot of attention to myself. I think when David noticed I was talking to people about Records, he came and offered himself up for an interview! Thank you David. On his and his girlfriend’s 2nd trip to Tokyo, this time David brought his parents along with him. When asked if he had ANY troubled time or challenging moments and Davide replied, “Everything is good”

David pulled in a massive haul from Tower Records, scoring 11 records, mentioning that the record store scene in St. Petersburg is cool but only for select enthusiasts who can afford prices 3x’s that of Japan! Wow! “It’s all a bit mainstream” he said, but don’t worry, David, you’re in a no judgement zone! MF Doom, Playboi Carti, Lana Del Rey, Bring Me the Horizon, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Blink 182, Olivia Rodriguez, Tyler the Creator, and Kanye West, were all in his haul!

Finally, before sending David and his family off, he presenting me with an insanely kind gift–small hand-made traditional wooden egg cups called “Khokhloma” (Wow, notice the similarity to “Oklahoma”, my home state! Just exquisite! They’re beautiful! I’m so touched! THANK YOU, DAVID AND FAMILY! The world gets smaller through music.

On Vox Pop - Sep 16th youtube.com/live/Bq65baftl6M

#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 7

Tokyo Record Style

Back on the streets of Tokyo and in front of Shibuya Station for another edition of Vox Pop - meeting people on the streets of Tokyo and chatting them up about their recently scored records, essentially just Tokyo Record Style with a video element. After chatting up a colorfully hip squad from Dublin, Ireland, then a youthful teenage troupe from Lumbini, Nepal, then a national anthem-singing patriot from Dhakar, Bangladesh, then a pair of young Americans backpacking their way across Asia on a shoestring budget, next them K-Pop-loving posse from Chengdu, China and prior to meeting meeting Davide and his wife and parents from St. Petersburg, Russia, (you gotta check the Tokyo Record Style Vox Log archives from September 16th, 2025 - Link to YouTube in bio), I met Jean François and his lovely family on their first day in Tokyo from Dour, Belgium! Bonjour, and Yōkoso, Jean François! Welcome to Japan!

Dour is home of the Dour Festival, an annual award-winning music festival attended by huge crowds since 1988 growing to an attendance of about 225,000 in recent years. The festival pulls from a wide range of genres, including electro, rock, drum and bass, pop, R&B, reggae, house, punk, hardcore, metal, hip-hop, indie, and techno. Happy to put this on my radar!

Jean François had just come from Tower Records, which is how I probably spotted him and started to chat him up. I asked him to show me he scored and he produced from his iconic orange and red Tower Records bag, The Smiths “Louder Than Bombs” and a James “Come Home” 12” single, Playboi Carti’s “I am Music”, Stone Roses’ “Second Coming”. Then Jean François' son Arthur entered the frame to talk about the Clairo record that he scored, “Diary 001” (I’ve been seeing this artist EVERYWHERE, but haven’t burned her name to memory or listened to more than one of her records.) All-in-all, a killer haul! Well done, gents! And just before I sent them off, I had to ask for one Belgian artist to recommend and Jean François recommended Jacques Brel, a legend that I pathetically am not cultured enough to have already known, considered a (the?) master of the modern chanson. Thanks for leveling me up, Jean François! Hope you enjoyed your holiday!

On Vox Pop - Sep 16th youtube.com/live/Bq65baftl6M


#Tokyo #record #style #tokyorecordstyle #records #vinyl #vinylrecord #music #Japan #collector #recordcollection #recordcollector #recordshop #recordstore #VinylCommunity


#TokyoRecordStyle #Tokyo #Shibuya #VoxPop #StreetInterview #JapanTravel #VinylCommunity #RecordCollector #RecordDigging #MusicDiscovery #TowerRecords #VinylFinds #TheSmiths #Clairo #GlobalMusic

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 9