all streets shibuya
A local guide made by walking
Little things uncovered amid
the Shibuya metropolis
Vol.14 xiangyu
(Artist)
2024.07.03
"Dentures," "odd shoes," "MANHOLE," "Milano Sandwich A," .....Xiangyu is an artist who, as the titles of her songs suggest, sublimates lyrics about the small things she finds when out and about, sung over powerful tracks. In addition to her unique musical activities, she's known for her approach to society through various modalities, including art and welfare. She teels part of the woodwork in Shibuya-ku, having spent her college days here and still commuting there to work. Her top haunts are all spaces in the belly of the beast. You might even chance upon the seeds for a new song, somewhere along the route.
Creative spicy fare and
shrines for daily worship
"There are many places I love in Shibuya Ward, and right now I am really into TYON. It is in a residential area in Minami-Shinjuku, and looks like an ordinary house. It has a great ambience that you would never guess from the outside, and the spicy food is fantastic" explains xiangyu with a grin.
xiangyu is a graduate of Bunka Fashion College, just a stone's throw away from TYON. While she has always loved making clothes, she hated singing in front of people, even at Karaoke. Today, her days are spent performing and recording live, which always involves a visit to "Yoyogi Hachimangu Shrine".
"My grandmother would take me by the hand and we would visit shrines since I was a little girl. When I clasp my hands together, it is not something special, just a part of my life that gives me a feeling of cleanliness and purity."
The good old public bath,
fashion, the origin of expression
Somewhere that xiangyu visits as religiously as Yoyogi Hachimangu Shrine is "Daikokuyu", Yoyogi Uehara's only traditional Japanese bath house. Passing through the coin laundry and the noren curtain on the first floor of a five-story apartment building, we found ourseives in a retro Showa-era sento (public bathhouse) space. "I go for a soak nearly every other day. I am not usually a sauna person, but I like saunas in public bathhouses. Thanks to the pumping up of underground water, both the cold and hot water baths feel great on the skin. I appreciate that they are open after hours, which comes in handy at the end of a live performance or recording session."
And no less inseparable from her life than the public bathhouse is
fashion. She says that she has been incorporating fashion into her creative activities since high school, making clothes out of cotton gloves and blue tarps she bought at a hardware store
"That's why I like going to thrift stores. Mail order is easy nowadays, but for me, trying on clothes is a must. I always check at the store, and l like the selections at TOGA XTC in Harajuku, so I often go there to buy."
South African music and
a Tropical Music Diner
in Udagawacho
She's not comfortable performing in front of people and prefers fashion to music. xiangyu's first foray into music was being scouted by Yasutomo Fukunaga, known as Dir.F of (music group) Wednesday Campanella, Accepting an offer after six years, the music is grounded in the sounds of GQOM, a new generation of South African house music. Speaking of Africa in Shibuya, one must not fall to mention Los Barbados, run by an ex-musician owner.
"I come here for lunch, drinks in the evening, or take out to a friend's house. I recommend the hearty "Vegetarian Matzah" as the falafel is superb."
Small things spawned
in a transient city
I never usually walk from Shibuya station, so this feels fresh. Gazing up at all these high rise buildings and rubbing shoulders with desk jockeys makes me want to push myself a bit. Shibuya really is pulsating with energy isn't it. I do think about the countryside, but right now it's out of the question. Another decade in Tokyo for sure... and who knows after that. I mean I would never have imagined 5 years ago what I'm doing today." On the way to Ebisu's "KATA," where she has organized a number of independent events, xiangyu shared these thoughts. Below us runs the Shibuya river. Together with PERMINUTE designer Yoshiki Hanzawa, a former classmate from Bunka Fashion College, she once held a project here to document people's lives and the genesis of the city through the garbage along the river * Shibuya is teeming with people and things, and while trends are set, they also fade away quickly. It's a city in a hurry to survive, so it's the perfect environment for me to hone in on small things and small places to linger. IFI had been working in a different city, my creative output would have been completely different!*
List
Profile
xiangyu
Her versatile activities include starring in and singing the theme song for the movie "Hottobori Melt Sounds" and penning the essay "Tokidoki Kotobuki" (Shogakukan).