Inspiration / Innovation Japan with Nick Luscombe

Nick meets Georgie Ichikawa. Georgie was born 1982 in Tokyo,  and moved to UK when he was 16. He later graduated from University of Arts London ( London College of Fashion ) MA Fashion Design Technology with scholarship. At age of 25 he became head designer for PUMA x Alexander McQueen . In 2018 he was a founding member to start MR GAY JAPAN in which he became chair person for the organization for activism for the LGBTQ community in Japan. He is currently working at PUMA JAPAN as Head of Creative and Design.

Nick Luscombe meets long-time Tokyo-based English artist Ratko Backo  about his training at Saint Martins in London, his decade working with Issey Miyake and his latest art works. https://www.instagram.com/ratko_backo/

Nick speaks to Philip Clemo, the British composer, musician, producer, sound artist, filmmaker and visual artist, described by Propermusic.com as one of contemporary music's most innovative artists. Phil is currently in Japan developing a project with the charity Shout at Cancer exploring the destructive and healing legacy of radiation. It honours the trees that survived the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombs and a choir of cancer survivors who learnt to sing after the removal of their voiceboxes. https://www.philipclemo.com

Nick chats with Chikako Fujii about her career as a company director and dancer, and the importance of international collaboration. Chikako was born in Tokyo and has a father who is known as an early pioneer in the Japanese French patisserie industry. Chikako worked in the family business for 16 years and gained various management skills during that time. She became a managing director in 2018 before leaving the business in December 2021 when the family business was sold in January 2021. Chikako also broadened her skills to provide “active listening service” and started to work as a Support Service Provider at YelI Co., Ltd. in 2020. Since then, she has been promoted to a Support Service Lead. Chikako trained as a modern and jazz dancer in her childhood. She later developed an interest in contemporary dance and moved to London in 1993 to study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (formerly known as Laban Centre), majoring in BA (Hons) in Dance Studies. Since her return to Japan, Chikako participated in project-based dance performances and assisted workshops for various choreographers and artists (e.g. Fumiyo Ikeda, IÑAKI AZPILLAGA, Kirstie Simoson, etc.) whilst managing her family business. Chikako has been involved in various projects, including contact improvisation, collaborative works with painters and literal works, dance works using sign language for deaf people, improvisation sessions with musicians and poets in Japan and abroad. In 2017, Chikako was invited to a Poetry Festival in Lahti, Finland. She was also invited to the French Japonisme Project at Reims, France in 2019. For more information about CIC please check the link below. https://jp.cic.com

Nick is joined on CIC Live with music specialist Keith Cahoon. Keith Cahoon grew up in Northern California, and became a music fanatic at a young age.  He began buying an immense number of albums, and regularly attended concerts at Winterland and other Bay Area venues. After stints in university and working as a carpenter, he joined Tower Records at age 22.  While he first thought the job would be just for a few months, he ended up working for Tower Records for 25 years, 7 in America and 18 in Japan. He served as CEO of Tower Records Japan from late 1984, and was part of the management buyout when Tower Japan split from the parent company in 2002. While at Tower, the company grew from three stores to 62, including the largest record store in the world, in Tokyo’s Shibuya district.In addition to Japan, under Keith’s management Tower also opened stores in seven other Asian countries.  Keith left Tower in 2003 and started a music publishing company, Hotwire. At Hotwire he worked with a wide range of music, introducing foreign artists to Japan, and Japanese artists to the worldwide market.   Keith later joined Apple as Director of iTunes Japan. He currently lives in the SF Bay Area, and continues to run Hotwire, where some of the better known artists he works with include Galactic, OK Go, Shonen Knife, Dan Penn and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. http://www.hotwirejapan.com/wordpress/ For more information about joining the CIC community.... https://jp.cic.com/en/