SYNESTHESIA

In the second half of our journey throughout the history of denim in music, contemporary culture living encyclopaedia Samutaro takes us from the 80's hip hop explosion in NYC to nowadays' trap and pop icons. He rates quintessential record sleeves and killer denim looks, featuring the Beastie Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Korn, Kurt Kobain, Biggie, The Strokes, Kanye, Playboy Carti and plenty of other artists who've had a long-lasting impact on fashion.   

Samutaro is an influential denim expert and consultant as well as a contemporary culture living encyclopaedia. He takes us on a journey through the history of denim in music,  giving  a lectio magistralis on the 70 year old thread that ties artists and jeans. The first half of this episode goes from the 50's to the late 70's: we begin with Elvis and end with The Clash.

Danny Miller is the founder and creative director of High Tide, a NYC creative agency that has launched “High Tide Sound System”, a series of Spotify playlists that feature great tunes but most importantly super tasty, very well curated covers by some of the freshest illustrators and designers from all over the world.    

Aaron Lowell Denton is an artist and designer whose distinctive retro-infused visual artworks have gained a significant reputation in the contemporary music industry. He has collaborated with artists like Tame Impala, Devendra Banhart, The War on Drugs and most recently Khruangbin, designing the cover of their latest EP “Texas Sun”.  We chat about the story behind this very artwork as well as his main artistic influences; the cultural relevance of the American road trip and how to make it as a small town creative.    

Stefano Libertini Protopapa is an anti-racist, queer,  creative director based in Milan. Along with producer Pierpaolo Moschino, he founded "Fluidostudio", a new creative enterprise that aims to launch and establish young artists from underrepresented backgrounds. A talent "who makes things happen", Stefano's one of the pioneers behind Italy's queer, underground scene's Renaissance.        

Ademide Udoma and Michelle Helena Janssen are the founders of UJ Studio; Crack Magazine’s art directors; and creative directors of the brand Abaga Velli.  Influential interpreters of the contamination between music, contemporary art, photography and fashion, they talk about the importance of having a holistic approach to each project. 

Kyle Ng is the co-founder of Brain Dead, international collective of creative minds and fashion brand. We discuss about Brain Dead’s deep connection with music culture: their long lasting friendship with NTS radio; their recent collaboration with Dev Hynes – aka Blood Orange – to support the BLM; and their new enterprise "Brain Dead Studios", a destination for horror movies, indie comics and alternative music lovers.   

Kelsey McClellan is a photographer based in SF, her work has been featured in several influential publications, like The New York Times and New Yorker.  She talks about her first music-related project: a collaboration with creative genius Chaz Bear,  aka Toro Y Moi, for the cover of his latest single “Ordinary Guy” and a photoshoot for his exhibition “Someone––Anyone” , currently on display at the New Image Art gallery in Los Angeles. 

Paul Nicholson is the artist behind the most famous logo in electronic music history: Aphex Twin’s. We talk about the development of  his style throughout the past 30 years;  his early passion for manga comics; his tales from the UK rave scene's golden age; his artwork for "Selected Ambient Works II"; and his latest sources of artistic inspiration.  

Felix Heyes and Josh RR King are the duo of directors behind Khruangbin’s “Time (You and I)” and "Evan Finds the Third Room" music videos. We discuss the former, which along with the song itself was one of the most cheerful things that happened in 2020.  Besides, Felix and Josh tell us about their creative paths, their love for London and China and their music idols.