with luck, forward
we all loved each other so much
It should have got out more. Clotting all over, dust clouds in the corner. The written word unfurls the synapses, a rolling pin up top. Lights whiz by as an unruly middle-aged man sways on the train – unruly by virtue of him dual-wielding phones, emitting different garbles. Two daughters flank a mother, we’re all dressed in purple and they mirror my twin cousins in Baguio. A Galaxy Fold, unfolded, with YouTube Shorts playing before it floats away towards the exit at Buangkok. Strange.
A minute of movement for a year of stargazing
juana molina at moh guan terrace russian construction at waterloo right side few shades of red haptic voices hataraki man, a message comes in something new begins el planeta in the background of a tarot reading moving siphoning money a drifting embrace, a fine friend in need dog bank shit, peace of shit bank ee an indecision sprinting
It’s amazing just to know you’re alive
February 5 to March 6 will be a maelstrom of activity. Rachel often throws around the phrase “precipice of change”. From where I’m standing, it feels like this notion happens every single day – no in fact, every single second that passes by. Things are moving so fast, yet so slow. A Jollibee Pop Mart figure leers at me from the corner of my eye – another adjustment in a sea of adjustments. Wilson passed me his monitor and I should remember to pay him back. Break a leg for your performances this weekend (past), I have chosen to hunker down in the meantime. Maybe Jingzhi is in Vietnam already, chasing meaning (she ended up not going). My cuticles are revealing themselves, Raeann’s nail polish trailing slowly behind.
This year’s Fuji Rock Festival early bird ticket ballot is out. It incentivises me to return to a diary entry I wrote days after.
30th July 2025
1624
Wednesday
I land myself in a Family Mart in Sangenjaya, having a spicy famichicken with some iced coffee. Sitting between two old men, to my left working on his computer & hunched over and to my right similarly slouched & reading a book. it's been a week since I touched down in Japan, a week ago being at Kawagoe with Marcus where I lost around 400-500 SGD equivalent in yen. the days after consist of fuji rock, shinkansen of omiya to find abi sanj bry emily jill edgar -> rae bryan edgar in the car to our drive up. post pitching & opening activities, onsen then head to sleep. next three days look like this ->
2507
- triple fire
- summer eye
- kirinji
- khaki
- shöka
- lausbub
- shintaro sakomoto
- yuusari
2607
- mei ehara
- kicell
- ohzora kimishima
- odottebakari no kuni
- tatsuro yamashita
- leenalchi
- four tet
- TYO GQOM
- NTSKI
- jane remover
- pasocom music club
2707
- mei semones
- silica gel
- english teacher
- ayanokaneko
- koji shimotsu
- kiyomaru togo
- Glans
After noting these down, I realised the amount of convo I had with specific people. Just shot a text to Cheryl to thank her. 2807 Unpitching, goodbyes, drive up to kusatsu, otw curry at minakami, dinner at hikaru's place 2907 bfast, explore kusatsu w abi, ethan, dinner at Chinese Japanese, Sake & Sleep 3007 bfast, ethan & I share drive to shibuya, cabbed to sangenjaya.... still fresh, lots to think about -> time to withdraw cash
1703
RyanA bunch of friends this year are headed to Primavera. Initially toying with the idea, I realised that my shinnichi 親日 simply can’t be denied. With around 80% of acts caught at Fuji Rock last year being Japanese, it really is the most bang for your buck (imo) if you want to catch regional acts – from legacy names to up and coming bands (Rookie A Go-Go, like Baybeats in Singapore). My most played last year came from that stage and can be read about here.
I once lamented to my boss how the festival is when I’m most happy the whole calendar year. I wonder if this is actually true and if this is going to sustain itself forever. Below is a quick power ranking, I wonder where 2026 will slot in.
2023 2025 2024 2019
Here’s a bunch of stuff I listened to in the month of January. Some highlights include: the Ana Frango Elétrico debut, SeRiA, Omodoka, Juana Molina’s Segundo, username & Marsh crane’s OVERTIME, Hideharu Mori’s soundtrack of comfort show Hataraki Man and a revisit of ee’s Ramadan – what a sparkling record.
