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Interview: Ta-ku Makes "Soul Music," Loves Dilla, and Is Founding a Barbershop Empire
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A Closer Look at the Palace x adidas Originals 2016 Spring/Summer Collection
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TABLE OF CONTENT
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Team Cozy Debuts Its First Apparel Collection
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Indonesian Graffiti Artist Moves Beyond City Walls
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Talking Sneakers and Streetwear with Silas a.k.a @bludshot from TEAMCOZY Newsletter Issue
Team Cozy Debuts Its First Apparel Collection
Team Cozy, an online community fronted by Ta-ku and Bludshot which is best known for aggregating sneaker content, has released its first apparel collection. Founded on the same principles that have made #TeamCozy such an invaluable resource for sneakerheads, the collection consists of a range of lounge- and streetwear items. Sandy and neutral hues – the shades of the season – envelop everything from tapered jogger pants and jersey T-shirts to raglan hoodies and oversized zip parkas.
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Indonesian Graffiti Artist Moves Beyond City Walls
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Visitors to Art Basel in Hong Kong will have the opportunity to discover sculpture art by Darbotz, a 33-year-old Indonesian graffiti artist. Visitors from Jakarta, however, will already be familiar with his work through the spray-paint designs and his signature “squid” figure, which dot the public buses and crumbling walls of the city that provides both his inspiration and his canvas. Darbotz started tagging in 1997 during the downfall of the authoritarian leader Suharto. Like his fellow graffiti artist Banksy, Darbotz will not reveal his name or face for fear of legal repercussions. While studying graphic design at university in 2001, Darbotz learned about semiotics theory and developed a desire for a symbol that would represent him. He chose the cumi, or squid in Indonesian — a round ball with bulging, creased eyes and teethlike tentacles. In global folklore the squid is a feared and legendary monster, much like what Darbotz says he feels about metropolitan Jakarta, with its population of 28 million, its clutter and constriction, its gridlocked traffic and garbage eyesores.
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"King of Jakarta," by Darbotz, is a resin sculpture of a city bus with King Kong appendages, Nike sneakers and the artist's signature "squid" teeth. It will be shown at Art Basel in Hong Kong.
“I try to visualize the city of Jakarta in its own chaos,” he said during a recent interview. “It’s a messed-up thing in a beautiful way, aesthetically and literally. He added, “Jakarta is not a nice place, but in my own interpretation, of what I feel about Jakarta, it is.” Gallery owners began noticing his work and inviting him to show with them; international commissions followed. A breakthrough solo exhibition in 2010, “Monster Goes Out At Night,” at Jakarta’s d gallerie, included works using canvas, wood and resin — an unusual jump for most graffiti artists. Sueo Mizuma, founder of the Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo, discovered Darbotz’s work while in Yogyakarta, southeast of Jakarta, for the annual Art Jog festival in 2013. A sculpture caught his eye: “Island of the Walls,” which used resin to evoke the artist’s traditional canvas of crumbling urban walls. “The power of Darbotz’s piece was evident,” Mr. Mizuma wrote in an email. “Ironically, his artwork was displayed and confined within walls, but the allocation to an alien environment didn’t shut up the cosmopolitan edge from the work.”
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Mizuma Gallery of Singapore, an offshoot of the Tokyo gallery, began representing Darbotz in late 2013, adding him to its roster of Japanese contemporary artists such as Akira Yamaguchi and Makoto Aida. As part of the gallery’s Art Basel in Hong Kong exhibition, Darbotz will show “King of Jakarta,” a resin sculpture of one of the city’s iconic orange public buses bedecked with his graffiti. The bus stands on four legs sporting Nike sneakers and King Kong appendages. “What’s great about him is he’s still under the radar,” Galuh Sukardi, a junior specialist for Sotheby’s Southeast Asian paintings, said of Darbotz. “His work can be commercial and at the same time anonymous, because people don’t know him unless you are in the arts world or are someone familiar with the urban scene in Indonesia.” As Jakarta embarks on an effort to clean up its buildings, some of Darbotz’s original graffiti work is starting to disappear. One site will probably remain untouched for now: the ArtOtel Jakarta Thamrin, an eight-story boutique hotel in the city center. Darbotz spent three weeks hoisted perilously above the city on a hanging gondola with seven assistants to decorate three walls of the hotel, which "Island of Walls," an acrylic paint and resin sculpture that Darbotz created for ArtJog 2013, an art festival in Yogjakarta, Indonesia.
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displays and promotes the work of young artists. This and other commercial collaborations over the years, with Google Chrome, Gap, JanSport and Nike, among others, have burnished Darbotz’s global reputation, though the artist maintains he has not forsaken his ties to the Jakarta graffiti community. “I do shows in the gallery and do commercial things, but I still know where I come from and I still paint in the street,” he said. “If a security guard ever stops me, I just say I am making something beautiful,” he added
The exterior of a new boutique hotel, ArtOtel, in central Jakarta features an eight-story spray paint project by Darbotz, executed in 2013.
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Talking Sneakers and Streetwear with Silas a.k.a @bludshot from TEAMCOZY HYPEBEAST
London born and raised, Bludshot began shooting sneakers, mens fashion and cityscapes in Hong Kong for Hypebeast and then Highsnobiety. Now based in Los Angeles, he is focused on building a community amongst this “instagram photographer� generation, to break away from chasing likes and actually grow as photographers/videographers to create compelling and powerful imagery and videos.
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Just 29 years old, UK-born, Hong Kong-based photographer @bludshot has already found himself fully immersed in the menswear game, traveling the world and shooting for culture/fashion arbiters like High Snobiety and TEAM COZY. It’s been a fast climb in a short spurt, one that followed an eight-year break from photography that ended two years ago when he was recruited by HYPEBEAST. Since then, @bludshot has been holding it down in Asia when he isn’t traveling the world, capturing everything from the city skylines to sneakers with his signature urban energy. We got to grilling the man about how TEAM COZY came about, his $15 bodega buys, and whether New York City or Hong Kong would win in a match.
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First paid gig:
the Fragment Design x Nike Tennis Classic.
I really can't remember. I think it was some album cover for a Hong Kong sing- Running away from wolves, you’d ing person called Phil. They call it Canto- wear… pop over here. Nike Air Max TNs. These shoes helped What’s TEAM COZY all about? guide me through my childhood in North London. I have ran away from Started by me and Ta-ku. We were just pigs and dogs of every physique in TNs, messing about with hashtags, and some- so they should perform well against how it became a thing. We created lanwolves. guage for people who wear sweatpants and sneakers, which is, like, everybody. Running away from an ex, you’d wear… Basically now anything comfortable and snug is #teamcozy. We have big plans for Crocs (not sure if they are sneakers?), TC, so stay tuned. because they are ugly, and I can throw them at her. Favorite pair of sneakers (currently or retired): If you’re going to a black and white dinner party but don’t feel like wearing Right now, I’m in a phase of wearing one dress shoes, you’d wear… pair to death before I go to the next one. These past few weeks, I’ve been wearing All black Common Projects Achilles.
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You have $15 to spend in a bodega. You buy… Malboros and a hot coffee. Preferred mode of NYC transport:
Where was your favorite place to travel in 2014 and why?
Subway during the day, taxis late at night.
Vancouver. Place is mad cozy.
Favorite album of 2014:
If Hong Kong and New York were in a fight, who would win and why?
Killer Mike & El-P’s Run The Jewels 2 or Freddie Gibbs & Madlib’s Piñata. What’s the significance of streetwear to you as someone who lives in a big city? I’m in a city where streetwear is weird. People here wear head-to-toe Givenchy and HBA, or you’ll get old people rocking Obey tees and Jordans. I just wear my old/free stuff, and shoot the new stuff.
Jackie Chan does shampoo adverts nowadays, so New York. I don’t know if you are aware, but Hong Kong has been in protest mode for the past four months, but it has been ultra peaceful. If it was in New York, I can’t imagine how much more extreme it would be.
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A Closer Look at the Palace x adidas Originals 2016 Spring/Summer Collection The London skate rats take over terrace wear.
After an initial look at the collection, we are now afforded a better look at the entire apparel range for the Palace x adidas Originals collaboration. Taking cues from British terrace fashion, the collection includes items like hydrophilic tracksuits, reconfigured track tops and sweatshirts, as well as a standout dark velour jacket embroidered with an oversized tonal Palace logo on the back. A similarly designed embroidered beach towel also makes the collection, doubling as a flag of sorts for the skate brand. Featuring a ’90s-appropriate palette of teal and ultramarine, the collection is both skate- and match-ready this summer. Look for these pieces to hit select adidas retailers both online and in-store from May 21 onwards.
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But wait, there’s more.
Following the unveil of two new PALACE Pro coloways due out this weekend, we now have an exclusive look at the accompanying apparel collection. Part two of the Palace x adidas Originals 2016 spring/summer collection features classic tracksuits, lightweight shorts, engineered tees and more with nostalgic football design sensibilities. The followup to May’s Part 1 is slated to drop this Saturday, June 4 online and select retailers globally.
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Interview: Ta-ku Makes "Soul Music," Loves Dilla, and Is Founding a Barbershop Empire A couple Sundays ago, Ta-ku played his first-ever U.S. show at MoMA PS1 in New York. The venue was, effectively, an open house for much of the afternoon, with hundreds of attendees strolling back and forth between the galleries and the white pop-up concert dome in the courtyard. At nightfall, after an artists' panel discussion of community-building and passion-life balance, Ta-ku and his drummer and bassist played Songs To Make Up To, the album Ta-ku released in June. Alina Baraz and Flume joined Ta-ku on stage. And, for the very first time in his career, Ta-ku sang to a crowd. He was clearly nervous. As Ta-ku was running around Manhattan a week after his PS1 set, now fresh from a Thursday morning recording session, Complex met up with him downtown by the High Line. We discussed both Songs To Make Up To and his earlier Songs To Break Up To, "soul music" vs. trap music, Dilla, barbershops, and the odd elusiveness of CyHi the Prynce.
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I think of your music as a terminal synthesis of hip-hop and R&B. Is that about right? That’s awesome. Those are definitely my influences. I made sample-based hip-hop very early on. I’m very much influenced by the golden era of hip-hop, ’94-’98, and then going into more electronic music as I evolved.
I was on Soulection. My labelmates and peers are Kaytranada, Sango, Esta. I’ve worked with Brownswood for Giles Peterson. You were working with CyHi the Prynce at one point. Yeah—where is he now?
He's put out a bunch of music in the I read an interview where you simply past year or so. said, “I make soul music.” What do you I think he’s dope. mean by that term? Rock music can feel like soul music. Folk He's in a weird place with G.O.O.D. music, to me, sometimes, can feel like Music right now, I think. soul music. I think anything that evokes The same thing happened with that dude a lot of emotion or feeling, to me, is soul Rockie Fresh. Same thing: They got put music. Of course you’ve got the more on, they got signed to this, and they kind conventional, Marvin Gaye, Motown, of dissipated. even neo-soul, and all those guys. But because I kind of delve into so many dif- But the CyHi thing happened literally ferent genres, I just kind of encapsulate it out of the blue. When he hit me up, it into one soul music kind of thing. wasn’t even his manager; he emailed me. He said, “Hey, I’m signed to G.O.O.D. When you started making music full Music.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard of time, who was in your community? him before that. He was like, “We made a
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video about my mixtape, and we’re gonna use your beat.” I was like, “Oh cool, is it in the background?” He’s like, “No, it’s one of the songs!” I was like, “Can you send it to me?” And then he sent it to me, and I was like, “Man, this is dope!” I wasn’t gonna be like, “I need money,” I was like, “Yeah, use it!” I wanted to work with him more, but after that he was working with some really big artists.
the new album just something different altogether? Songs To Break Up To happened when I broke up with my love interest back in 2013, and I delved into this pretty sad place. I just wanted to write my way out of it. I felt like writing about the experience really helped. I was actually surprised that I could put my feelings on the record like that. When I put it out, I felt a bit vulnerable. A lot of people seemed to How long ago was this? relate with it. Everybody gets their heart That was back in 2009. No, maybe 2010. I broken. need to pick up that mixtape. When I put Songs To Break Up To out, I You haven’t heard from him since? had already started feeling better again. No. We swapped a couple emails about I didn’t necessarily fall in love again or wanting to work on some stuff. I love meet anyone, but I was just happy being rappers, [even though] I’m not a big fan myself and not having to rely on having of rap, but rappers can be quite selfish someone. That’s what Songs To Make when it comes to collaborations. That’s Up To is about. It’s more or less making understandable. They hustle for beats. up for the lost time that we waste when we’re down in the dumps. A lot of people Let's talk about the album. Why do think it’s about making up with the perSongs To Break Up To and Songs To son you broke up with or about finding Make Up To exist in duality? Why isn't someone new—and it can be that. But for
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me it was just about learning to be OK For the first time! again. They were both really fun to make. How did you feel about it? One thing I’m always envious about Great! I was just saying to my friends that when I’m at a live show is that, unlike the venue is amazing. Whether I sucked you, the artist, I can’t see how the whole or not, I think I was just happy that evcrowd is reacting to the music. As you erything was almost perfect, and that the were on stage playing the album and crowd was quite discerning, and nobody singing, what did you notice? was there to turn up. I’m a low-key kind At shows, a lot of people are on their of person. I don’t like going to the clubs phones. When you’re DJing, a lot of very much. It felt just right. people aren’t necessarily tentative, but they’re just grooving to it. It’s not your You talked about being vulnerable conventional show where you can kind when you made Songs To Break Up To of get busy with it and have a dance; but then feeling better about it by the you’re kind of standing and watching. I time it came out. How do you feel about was a bit nervous about that. Normally Songs To Make Up To now? I’m nervous on stage. Just on a musical level, or label level, it’s been my most successful record of all I’ve Well, yeah: You sang! released, which is really, really cool.
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Trap gives you this demeanor that you Before Songs To Break Up To and Songs don’t get from other music. Don’t even To Make Up To, I was delving into a lot compare it to screamo or hard rock or of different stuff. I made trap for a bit. I heavy metal, because even though there’s made dance music for a bit. But I’m hap- quite aggressive music, it’s not the same py people have embraced the sound, be- as the trap. You’re writing the in-because I think this is the sound that I want tweens and you’re still grooving, but it’s to define me if I ever stop making music. aggressive. It's commanding. Why were you making trap? Why that sound, in particular? The energy is so infectious, and the production in trap is very high. It takes a certain kind of frame of mind to make music that’s so stripped back but has so much energy. It just commands a certain type of attitude from anybody listening to it or rapping on it. It just makes you feel like a badass.
But then, on the other end of that spectrum, you love Dilla. What about Dilla speaks to you? When I first heard Dilla, I was surprised at how much soul his music had but how simple it was. Normally you relate soul to this big orchestra or a big D’Angelo band: You’ve got the strings, you’ve got the drums, you’ve got backup singers. But with Dilla, he could just have a bass line, light keys, and some really open
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drums, and it sounds just as soulful. It takes a really special ear to create that. When I first heard “Fall in Love,” which is just a sample and really sparse drums, I don’t even think there’s much bass in that song. I thought, “This is just incredible.” When I’m traveling, I don’t listen to hip-hop. I don’t even know when I listen to hiphop anymore, but I love it still. I listen to a lot of neo-soul, Dwele, and stuff like that. I guess “soul music” is a good compromise term, then. It’s a category but, as you describe it, a free-form category. You’re describing the music instead of saying that’s what it is. Whereas house music is house music: You can’t feel “house-y.” You can feel soulful, but you can’t feel “hip-hop-y.” Fair enough. OK. So what’s up with this barbershop that you apparently own? I co-own a barbershop back home. It’s myself and my partner, who is a barber himself. He’s the head barber there. I want to learn how to cut hair, and I started, but I just ran out of time. I do all the social and visual directing for the barbershop. How many other barbers do you have? We have eight at the moment. We’d like to open one in the states. Plus you’re involved with a streetwear brand, right? I started this hashtag #TeamCozy that was more or less telling people to use a hashtag to show what shoes they wear when they fly. You don’t want shoes that are like too tight; you want to feel comfortable while you’re on a plane. That’s where it started from, just me taking photos of my shoes, but then the hashtag started getting really popular. Now it’s at 120,000 followers on Instagram. We had such a strong following of photographers and people that were into shoes and sweatpants and stuff like that, and we turned it into apparel. That’s such a 21st century story. A business that started from a hashtag. It sounds ridiculous saying it, but it happened. In the past year, I’ve met several musicians who, apart from their music, are frantically passionate about other stuff. Is that just the new reality of what it means to be a full-time musician in the 21st century? I think so. As a musician, you see how the Internet works. I think a lot of musicians are just creative people in general, and they wanna try and see how much they can do before they get old.
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