MUTANT PUNK: INTERVIEW WITH
TETSUNORI TAWARAYA
TETSUNORI TAWARAYA
Tetsunori Tawaraya is an artist and musician, either playing in several punk bands or drawing strange art all day. He welds t-shirts and applies his work to them with silk-screen printing, produces zines and books in a variety of printing methods, and tries out new musical instruments. Be sure — any of his works can turn a person into a mutant monster. This is a feature that appreciated all over the world: Mr. Tawaraya has created works for NTS Radio, Element, Edwin Europe and Brain Dead.
In our interview, we asked the artist to talk about his immersion in punk culture and his musical groups, recall an epic trip across the States, and share his current approach in creating his works.
In our interview, we asked the artist to talk about his immersion in punk culture and his musical groups, recall an epic trip across the States, and share his current approach in creating his works.
MUTANT PUNK: INTERVIEW WITH
TETSUNORI TAWARAYA
TETSUNORI TAWARAYA
Tetsunori Tawaraya is an artist and musician, either playing in several punk bands or drawing strange art all day. He welds t-shirts and applies his work to them with silk-screen printing, produces zines and books in a variety of printing methods, and tries out new musical instruments. Be sure — any of his works can turn a person into a mutant monster. This is a feature that appreciated all over the world: Mr. Tawaraya has created works for NTS Radio, Element, Edwin Europe and Brain Dead.
In our interview, we asked the artist to talk about his immersion in punk culture and his musical groups, recall an epic trip across the States, and share his current approach in creating his works.
In our interview, we asked the artist to talk about his immersion in punk culture and his musical groups, recall an epic trip across the States, and share his current approach in creating his works.
You are known not only as an artist, but also as a musician. Remember the first time you discovered the world of music?
It was mind-blowing when I discovered it. Here is a list of records that impressed me:
Feederz «Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?»;
Screamers «Demos 1977-1978»;
Clikatat Ikatowi «Orchestrated And Conducted By».
Feederz «Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?»;
Screamers «Demos 1977-1978»;
Clikatat Ikatowi «Orchestrated And Conducted By».
How did you discover the world of punk? And why did you like this genre? How this culture influenced you in those years?
I was always looking for something to shock my brain, and Punk/Hardcore was just perfect for my youth. Perticularly album artwork, flyers were fascinating. It looked like anyone could make it but require interesting sense as Dadaism. Search and Destroy books on RE/Search Publications were one of my youth bibles.
I started playing guitar shortly after finding out punk, and slowly discovered artwork by Gee Vaucher, Nick Blinko, Gary Panter and Mark Beyer.
I started playing guitar shortly after finding out punk, and slowly discovered artwork by Gee Vaucher, Nick Blinko, Gary Panter and Mark Beyer.
Can you tell about the Japanese punk scene at that time (when you started into it)? What was something special? Any memorable cases and so on?
There were many bands that were influenced by DC, SD Hardcore when I was teenager. They tried to introduce how to set up DIY shows at a park and non-venue type of places which was pretty cool because we don't do house shows due to housing situation in Tokyo. Not so many people were trying to do free shows or donation shows due to none-ID check at the entrance of the venues. Therefore underage people are not looking for all-age shows because they can go to any venues with no problem. The situation was very different than the US.
You are currently playing in several bands. Your Instagram's bio says if you are not playing music, you are drawing. We saw a couple of your live shows at 2up — it's kind of noise-punk, but we don't know anything about other bands. Can you tell us a little about each one?
Currently 2up is the only active project since 2002. I have another band called Hangaku which I play drums and bass synth but it's been on hiatus. It's got 80's mutant synth punk influence and challenging project for me because drums were new instruments for me at the time. Vastieu Ramen is a solo project and I haven't played since I played a house show with Costes from France. He's known as same scum level as GG Allin in US, but It's not true, he is more sensitive and charming. He goes nuts on stage, however in more theatrical and interesting ways. It was great experience to see him live in Tokyo.
Why is it important for you to also try yourself in different musical genres?
It's just very natural to make different type of music if you listen to many kinds of music. I'm not interested in playing instruments skillfully so it often ends up some sort of punk approach and I enjoy that.
You said when you were circa 9 years old, your cousin taught you how to make your own fantastic books like Dungeon And Dragons. What were the very first ones? How do you remember this experience.
Yes, he was pretty awesome guy who built own computer from scratch, and programmed games. His DIY book was more like a page flip game book made in a cut-off notebook which was already invention to me because I never thought of using a cutter to chop off an intact notebook. So basically he introduced me to break something for creativity which was awesome. But i wasn't so good on making inside due to the lack of knowing game tricks and immatured skills to draw like a videogame scene.
You became more serious about drawing in the late 90's. What was the trigger for this? Was this related to your trip to San Diego?
When I first visited San Diego, I couldn't speak English well but I wanted to communicate with local punks or people on the street. So I decided to make portraits of people for free, basically anywhere pretty much, like, on the street, coffee shops, bus stops, music venues. People loved it because they got free weird art without making a pose.
By the way, how else do you remember that trip in the USA?
I remember Justin Pearson from The Locust took me to his mom's house on Christmas in 1999, and I drew his mom's portrait. She saw the result and asked me if I was on acid. That was pretty funny because I was sober. Also the police pulled us over on the way back home because both of us had exploded type of huge hair and our silhouette in the car looked like 2 burglers wearing wigs and masks. We kept laughing in the car after they let us go, it was just hilarious. That trip was just epic.
You've compared your characters to Carpenter's «They Live». You said that (by looking through special glasses) people inside look like mutants with beetle legs, shrimp faces etc. Can you tell us more about this?
I grew up in the suburb, rural area in north east of Japan. They got full of folklore and Yokai/monster stories, and made me believe in that there are many monsters hidden everywhere. Commute to elementry school was so boring, I had to make up some charactors or stories when I see dead animals or cut off chicken feet on the street. How did it happen? Who left it there?
Can you show by the example of your artworks how you transform the person into a mutant?
Maybe you might want to take a look at Tortoise short comic?
Do you have any rituals or something that accompanies your creative process?
Not really. Anger makes me draw better and faster, though.
How did you feel when big brands started to offer you a collaboration?
Probably very first company who approached me was Volcom. It was so random, they found my work at vintage clothes shop called «Birthdeath» in Shibuya, and contacted me.
I thought all well known brands are run by jerks, but it turned out that they are truly amazing people. US design team visited me in Tokyo and talked about collab and everything.
We became friends and still hang out with them in east coast and Tokyo. Since then, my perspective for brands was tamed, and don't have negative feeling about it. NTS is cool, i think they found my work through Brain Dead. Element team is amazing as well. I believe they found my work at shops in Tokyo too. Fortunately in a lot of occasions, they find my physical stuff in person and contact me which i think the best-case scenario.
We became friends and still hang out with them in east coast and Tokyo. Since then, my perspective for brands was tamed, and don't have negative feeling about it. NTS is cool, i think they found my work through Brain Dead. Element team is amazing as well. I believe they found my work at shops in Tokyo too. Fortunately in a lot of occasions, they find my physical stuff in person and contact me which i think the best-case scenario.
This summer you presented a collaboration with Brain Dead. You also worked together before. So, what impressions and experiences did this collaboration bring you?
Their approach to clothes always surprise me in a good way. Kyle and I share similar fascination to monsters and weird music. Ed and I love weird art and movies. They're just wonderful persons and I feel like they treat me as family which is fundamental but rare in this tech world.
What kind of work / collaboration will you never do?
People who can't trust artist will never get anything from me. I just want to create something rad and weird, and collaboration is all about the bond between 2 human. If there is no respect, there is no collab.
You produce your own tees. And you're deeply focused on acid wash / bleached tees. Why?
When I was teenager, I wanted have all my clothes shitty and weird. So I started breaking things on purpose and stitched it back. I remember having a fake barb wire made out of guitar strings on my school bag, and it annoyed many business man in the crowded trains. It was bad idea. Probably nobody saw me wearing a regular t-shirt without damaged, cut, or stitched. Cut off sleeves and necks, adding paint, drawing, tapes, you know, so typical punk approach.
In San Diego or anywhere with strong sun, people let the shirts outside for months to get sun burnt and have natural faded color effect, but it takes really long time.
Then, I thought of using bleach circa 2003 or 2004. I started making for myself, then my friends saw it and started asking me to make some. I'm not so focused on bleach, but i like how it gets different each other just like Tie-Dye.
In San Diego or anywhere with strong sun, people let the shirts outside for months to get sun burnt and have natural faded color effect, but it takes really long time.
Then, I thought of using bleach circa 2003 or 2004. I started making for myself, then my friends saw it and started asking me to make some. I'm not so focused on bleach, but i like how it gets different each other just like Tie-Dye.
Years ago you produced some toys. Tell us about this experience. How do you feel when your art becomes a toy?
First soft vinyl figures were Mr. Rotten Donuts, made and released by Unbox Industries in 2017, and everything went well smoothly.
I like how it came out and satisfied with paint job too. I've made stuffed animals before, but I was impressed how detail you can get through 3D printer which they use for a master copy instead of hand sculpting. Traditional Japanese people often insist that it has to be done by human hand, but I liked the result of 3D printer a lot.
For a long time you have been printing comics by the xerox. Now you are actively working with silk-screen printing. What's another printing method you would like to try? And why?
I started making comic with xerox machine because it was the only way for me at the time. I didn't know anyone who runs publisher or felt i wasn't good enough to approach them. Making zine is very common thing in youth punk culture, and you would see them on the shelves at any local record shops at the time, so I thought why don't I make one of them but weird comic inside.
During my band Dmonstrations was active in San Diego, I made lots of gig posters and met many silkscreen artists. One of them was Jesjit Gill who ended up running risograph publisher Colour Code in Tronto, Canada and offered me to publish illustration book. We probably made 5 books together previously and new one supposed to come out in late 2020. Currently I put out books on Hollow Press who does very high quality offset printing with silver ink in Italy. We made 4 books with this printing method and I'm working on 5th book. Silkscreen books were only made by Le Dernier Cri in Marseille, France. I love all the publishers I work with. Each of them has unique printing methods, and fits in my drawings perfectly.
During my band Dmonstrations was active in San Diego, I made lots of gig posters and met many silkscreen artists. One of them was Jesjit Gill who ended up running risograph publisher Colour Code in Tronto, Canada and offered me to publish illustration book. We probably made 5 books together previously and new one supposed to come out in late 2020. Currently I put out books on Hollow Press who does very high quality offset printing with silver ink in Italy. We made 4 books with this printing method and I'm working on 5th book. Silkscreen books were only made by Le Dernier Cri in Marseille, France. I love all the publishers I work with. Each of them has unique printing methods, and fits in my drawings perfectly.
What things would you like to experiment with?
I drew on a chair before and it was pretty amazing. Wanna do more furnitures in future.
What is important to you in art now?
I never paid attention to what's going on in art world at all, but when I visited Venezia Biennale in 2019, i thought it was worth going, and wanted to see big installations like this again.
Christian Marclay's wooden block prints with collaged manga face were pretty fucking big and impressive. I think the scale of artwork matters, so maybe it's important for me to challenge bigger art pieces.
Christian Marclay's wooden block prints with collaged manga face were pretty fucking big and impressive. I think the scale of artwork matters, so maybe it's important for me to challenge bigger art pieces.
Based on your own experience, what advice can you say to other illustrators / artists? Especially for beginners.
Show your art to many people and hear what they say. I know most of them will give you crap, but crappy experiences will build your guts and make you stronger.
MUTANT PUNK: INTERVIEW WITH TETSUNORI TAWARAYA
Instagram: @tetsunoritawaraya
https://tetsunoritawaraya.com/
Instagram: @tetsunoritawaraya
https://tetsunoritawaraya.com/
Grade Moscow
14 Oct, 2020