I Feel Electric

So the first single for the Rubies album "Explode from the Center" is in production! It will be available as a 12" and digitally. It's coming out Jan.21. and it's for the song 'I Feel Electric.' I decided to use paper for the typography on the artwork:

We had a bunch of folks have a hand at doing a remix for the track and we ended up picking the tropical-disco version made my london's Max Essa. On the flip is the version of our tune "Room without a Key" by Sweden Duo "Studio". If you haven't heard the shimmering, reverbed, hypnotic, and fabricated (in the best possible way) postpunk / disco of Studio, I highly recommend their stuff. I met Dan Lissvik from Studio when I was in Göteborg in September. We talked for hours and hours about non-physical-matter-reality and the cosmos. Coffee and dinner and firm handshakes that felt like we were representing the 2 west coasts (San Francisco and Göteborg) and the state of the universe everywhere in between.

japanese eyelights.

First off, the trip to Japan was totally bliss filled and mega. In a lot of ways. I had never been to Asia so everything was so visually stimulating. My eyes hurt and my senses were at their limit. So rad, though to feel it all like that. Plus, the Rubies record is out there first so we got to really feel the impact of that 'new release' feeling. The people were so unbelievable gentle and good. I made some friends for life. Thank you Japan.

kyoto view...

kanazawa garden...

amy, me, terri. at an old samurai house in tea town, kanazawa. james took this one.

fumi. our man, mister tour-de-force. he runs Rallye/Klee- the label we are on in Japan.
he took such good care of us. coolest dude ever.
at the james turrell 'open sky' room at the modern art museum in kanazawa. one of the best museums i've ever been too. a exhibition by kiyoshi awazu was mind blowing. coolest graphics ever. also the installation room 'liminal air' by ohmaki shinji
liminal air...

finally! seeing the album in stores...

our first show of the tour. tokyo @ o-nest.
suprise sighting: erlend's brother.
pepe california opened. they were rad. also seeing miyauchi yuri play the first time was ecstatic. watching music this night made me feel like a child. it felt cool and new.

later in the tour, i joined yuri for a couple songs. his guitar playing is so beautiful.

ok i had to bust some design inspirational pics. these aren't the best photos but you get the idea. some cool design that climbed up my alley, if you know what i mean.

yes! oh and i noticed a bunch of cool stuff designed by 'D BROS'-
i felt like we were tight bros. we have similar typography tastes...
where are they. dag, i want to cook dinner for those bros.

have you heard of naoshima? it's this island dedicated to art. you cruise around and find sculptures and old houses filled with amazing work. highlights: james turrell's work everywhere especially 'open field', walter de maria, tatsuo miyajima at the kadoya house art house project, the architecture of tadao ando, chichu art museum and 'water lilies' by claude monet. it wasn't only the art, but it was the way in which they used the artful mind to display it. we stayed one night at the benesse art museum (we had the craziest 'foodie nightmare' meal of our lives) and then the next night at a ryokan (japanese inn). sleeping on tatami mats is awesome actually...and staying at ryokan's rule for plenty of reasons. mainly because you get to chill with the owners and they cook good food for you.

arrving at naoshima...post sunset...fog. i was real stoked to see the sea. see the sea. saw the saw.

i was so stoked everytime i saw this dude. blowing smoke rings? wha?

james (our california drummer) and amy in the hotel kimonos. james was all about the baths at the hotels.

in kyoto...

kinkauji (the golden pavilion) in kyoto. this was so beautiful that it hurt to look at. pure golden magic.

chrysanthemems. the japanese flower. they are so dense...i want to carry one like a small kitten.

terri took this one of me at chichu art museum. moments later, they were onto us. no photos allowed.

lambi. i'm in love.

terri took this.... me with chocolat & akito. the absolute coolest folks in tokyo.

chocolat & akito. how can i explain them. they were like diamonds hanging on a golden thread from a giant japanese maple tree on top of a hill at sunset. showed us around, made us the best cd mixes ever, and told us great stories of the past. check out their music.

japancakes. the official snax entry. parts 1 and 2.

candy caps. best presented by a friend sitting in front of you on a train. have them 'surprise' you with a quick hand movement from behind the head rest. get's me everytime.

chocolate covered potato chips. these are good. kinda wish they were saltier.

balls balls balls. terri liked hers. i didn't really 'get' mine.

the wrapped ones are salty sweet crackers. the big ones were savory.
dudes, so many rice crackers. roll your "R's" when you say 'rice crackers'

homemade designer tofu. it goes off. homeboy gave us some
for the train later. we scarfed. bonito flakes, fresh ginger, ponzu.
best breakfast in a square ever. enjoy with hot suntory tea from the vending machines. yeah, suntory times. ps. i was imagining running in bill murray in tokyo ala 'lost in translation'. does every girl have 'older man crush' on him?
ok, not food but they made the cut. i wanted to eat them.
again, not food...but visually edible don't you think? the one on the left has wings. the one on the right has ears. which is cuter?
c'mon! felt food! i was dying of laughter of the felt fettucine on the upper left. hangin' down.
sorry for the crappy photo.
more homemade tofu. so so so so good.
gyoza in a crepe?
typical tempura set. the pickles were the highlights....
bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms? wha? yumville.
tight buns. these were my absolute favorite. the fluffy steamed dough. the spiced veggies. some pork. yumtown.
pretty much the only brand of chocolate in japan. cool logo. a buck a block.

tokyo goes

TOKYO! in the zone. arrived yesterday and so far so great. new ideas, new smells, new strange clothing. there are really good snacks here. so exciting to see the 'rubies' record in all the shops and on the listening stations. the light is new. branches look smoother, wind seems quiet. so much more to come. yes, things are really cute. rubies tour japan. i like meeting new people. we are happy.

mexico!

back in mexico! today, in mexico city for 3 days. tagging along with whitest boyssss alive. a festival called manifest. i want to see the city! the air is clear and feels good because the last week in santa barbara was so ashy. the california fires have taken over. there is this strange orange haze every where and it was sad to not go swimming in the pool on danielle and i's birthday. been totally twinning out. fun to get back to that. i am proud of the people that make art and music in a graceful way. erl told me a great story about an indian. i wanna be that.

going going gone

gotta, wanna, musta, gonna, go away. back to stockholm tomorrow. finally getting inside of things. i had such a fantastic day yesterday. i love people more and more. i hate music sometimes. more visuals.eirik was sad the day after the elections in bergen. the bad people won so he bought a suit. brown of course.

amy gave me a tour of the place we played in Goteborg. inside of a mountain. so ruling except for the wierd dungeon sex vibes it had.

this was hanging over henrik's window in the room where we all slept. i liked it. it made me peaceful.

sunset on a boat ride out to 'steering' island. this was a good day.

third sister. sister sandwich. jenny and sara wilson. i love them.

erl doing push ups before a really small hike. i was laughing.