Archivi tag: Japan

RAVE REPUBLIC

WHAT A SENSATIONAL DUO!

Rave Republic

Beijing. Nanchang. Changsha. Shangai. Guangzhou. Foshan. Xiaoshan. Zhenzhou… and more.

Oh, yes… so much more!

RAVE REPUBLIC is now touring China with 12 different shows covering 11 different cities, a tour that last one month.

“China is  huge; we have been to Shangai and Beijing, both amazingly futuristic and very cosmopolitan. Nanchang, instead, presented itself as a developing city but a wonderful place to play. We are also heading to small cities. All everything is very diverse and exciting in this country!”

What do you like about the Chinese audience?

It has been different from the English speaking Asian countries for instance Singapore, where English is the first language. We had to adapt to the unique situation we encountered in China. If you think about it, the rest of the world listens to the same music; Latin inspired or English music, but here there is no way you can really have access to those songs from Europe or the US because services like Spotify don’t work. If we drop an Ed Sheeran’s track somewhere else we definitely provoke a huge reaction with people screaming, but if we do it here in China the people would be a bit confused, so we needed to change our style.

Why did you decide to leave your countries?

Matt: My father was transferred when I was 16 so I followed my family to Singapore, I finished my high school and university education and from there I transitioned into DJing. I also obtained an MBA but instead of following the business, I followed my passion.

Stas: Born in Russia and grew up in Australia. I moved to Singapore 9 years ago, I was a brand manager for Procter&Gamble, working full time, almost 10 hours per day. I started DJing on the side but eventually it became quite big. So, I decided that since I was still young, it was necessary to give it a go and see what happened… and it was amazing.

Could you have the same fame in your country?

No way! One of our biggest appeal in China right now is that we are two western guys, we stand out here! In Europe we would be just normal. It’s like developing any brand in the market; you have to be different from the norm and stand out. In a market like China this is even more obvious, they look for something really different, of course talent is required.

Three words to define your life.

Flexibility: Something I did not have before as I am coming from a corporate world where I had to work 80 hours a week.  Now, I can freely manage my time, we are DJing 2 or 3 times a week, and finally we can pursue our hobbies.

Airplanes: We spend a lot of time on airplanes, every 3 days we are on a flight!

Self Motivated: It’s a key in this job. It’s very easy to get lazy and sit back, to hope that all things will come to you but it does’t work that way. We don’t have anyone telling us what to do and when, being self-motivated is fundamental. We keep growing our brand by networking and marketing, researching and creating new music, hustling basically.

Be self motivated otherwise you fail!

How did you meet? How did you know that  you were right for each other?

It was just one night. I had a pretty bad breakup with my ex-girlfriend and it was Wednesday, a day I usually don’t party on. Matt was Djing at this club which I also often Dj at but I wanted to have some fun and being noticed a bit.

“Yo Matt, let’s play back to back!”

Rave Republic Dj

That night we decided to play together. As Djs it’s difficult to find someone compatible, we started with a 10-minutes jam session and we ended up playing all night together. We developed it and eventually we came up with the concept of Rave Republic!

Déshabillé Magazine girls, are definitely waiting for Stas and Matt to party  in Europe. It was a great chat with these two rising and amazing DJ’s!

 

DJ Duo Rave Republic: Mathias Schell and Stas Madorski, Singaporean at heart!

Since they formed in 2014, the duo have had club residencies in Singapore and have performed across the region, including Japan, China, Australia, Hong Kong and Philippines, they shared the spotlights with some of the most talented and popular DJs as  Skrillex, Alesso, LMFAO, Far East Movement. 

Can you feel the energy?

PAPIRU LAB

“In Japan, it is believed that every object created by human hands with both care and attention, is provided with soul.”

Papiru Lab is entirely a woman’s project started in 2012 in Cagliari, Sardinia. The creative brain is a sparkling woman who loves to travel, experience, and create.

“My name is Eliana. I was born on an island, a land of fascinating ancient beauty which at times severe and silent. I am a wife and a mother, a few months ago a small bundle has brought a wind of freshness and energy into our lives!

I love to breathe beauty around me, the beauty of the little things that can make special a day… the sea in winter, the smell of log fires, the first smile that my baby gives me every morning to say hello, the blue color of the sea, the contact with the water that creates and gives life, the sweet smell of a freshly baked cake or of the old typewriters.”

How was PAPIRU LAB born and what is special about it?

PAPIRU LAB was born as a “laboratory experiments on paper”, followed by the discovery and love at first sight of the Washi, a special handmade paper that comes from Japan. Discovered by chance, in one of the oldest stationery shops in Amsterdam, it has been a source of inspiration to kick off this project.

How do you always find new ideas and inspirations?

Behind PAPIRU LAB there are scissors, glue, rolls and rolls of paper that come from many different countries, desire and curiosity to experiment with new techniques, different combinations and a lot of colors. Inspiration and new ideas come a bit by chance… there are days when I find myself in front of a piece of paper and the idea comes by itself. It’s not possible to not get inspired from what a piece of paper wants to tell me, from any kind whatsoever, any kind of trip it has faced to get to me. 

What is your philosophy? Where does this passion come from?

I like to think that my laboratory is an opportunity to meet and exchange, a meeting place for curious people who want to peek through ideas of paper and tell others about themselves in front of a cup of tea!

What is the relationship between your creations and nature ?

My project aims to give a new life to the paper and sensitize the younger generation to recycling and respecting the environment. In my creations I melt the recycled paper in my land, Sardinia, with other types of decorative papers that bring with themselves a wealth of rich stories, of master papermakers, and tell about different places and cultures.

What do people think about this peculiar passion?

Each creation is unique as the project that has accompanied it. I enjoy meeting people who say they have never seen such a beautiful paper. Many of us think, mistakenly, that all paper produced in Asia is made of rice. The Washi is actually produced with the fiber of various plants and shrubs, but not with the rice!

What message do you want share through the beauty and elegance of your creations?

To find the time to devote ourselves to what makes us feel good, it makes our lives more beautiful and interesting. To find refuge in colors and things we love to do lightens up everything, and it is good to be thrown into new ideas by using imagination, it is awesome to see the world in a different way!

I believe that in this time of economic and occupational difficulty, to invest in ourselves by rediscovering handmade materials is a real opportunity to make a change in our lives.


I want to leave you with a mindset saying that “In Japan, it is believed that every object created by human hands with both care and attention, is provided with soul.”

Eliana M.

Visit PAPIRU LAB here: FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Watch the beautiful photos of Eliana here: ICONOSQUARE and WEBSTA

Donatella

The adventures of Nicolas & Julia

Julia Ibarra and Nicolás Marino are a couple of fearless travelers who crossed half of the world by bike, with lightweight luggage and their shelter tent. They already crossed all of Asia through jungles, experiencing wild animals, being hosted by tribes and enjoying a lot of new cultures, food, flavours, skies, stunning beaches, and millions of new sensations that will stay in their hearts for ever.

They met each other in Chengdu, China when Nico was working as an architect and Julia was working as a model and teaching English in a university besides studying Chinese. Their lives changed when they decided to join one of the most important trips they ever experienced, leaving behind what was ordinary for them. They embarked on an adventure shedding many conveniences of the modern life, to have a long and low budget journey through years, learning from fascinating new worlds.

Why have you decided to start this journey? Was it hard to make this decision?

Nico has had this trip in mind for a few years. He started to travel by bike since 2006 when he cycled from Tehran to Shanghai in 10 months. When we met the idea of a trip like this fascinated me. At the end of 2012 I decided to stop what I was doing and joined him. Let me tell you that first, to let go of everything you know and leave for an adventure is not easy but it is indeed exciting and eventually gives you true rewards.

Where are you travelling right now? How many countries have you crossed already?

Right now we are in the north of Ethiopia. We have explored China, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, India, Egypt and Sudan.

21000 km covered until today

How did people respond when you arrived to their villages by bicycle?

The bicycle opens several doors. The people come to us chatting about how difficult the journey is or the weather, but it depends on the country. In some places the people open the doors of their houses and involve you warmly in their lives. In other countries, they are more reserved or suspicious.

Do you ask the people to allow you to sleep or camp somewhere? How do you communicate with them?

We try to camp whenever we can, always trying to be safe. In countries like Indonesia, for example, they didn’t let us camp, they always gave us a room in their houses. In India we were in rural zones where was not advisable to camp so we were hosted by the locals or in small hotels that we found on the way. In Ethiopia we tried to camp always close to people because in the area where were travelling there were recent appearances of hyenas or leopards. In a lot of countries like the Philippines, Nepal or India the communication was not a problem because a lot of them could speak English. In Mongolia the interaction was almost by signals. Indeed, a smiley or a bad face are part of an universal language recognized in all the world. If one person wants to communicate in order to ask basic things, he or she can express himself easily. We also always try to learn some words of the country we are in.

What is your source of income? Where did you find the warmest people?

We have some savings and Nico used to sell his photos often. In Japan we were selling photos of Nico on the street and that worked really well, we also made a deal in a hostel; we worked for 3 hours in exchange of accommodation. In Indonesia and Sudan we were living with locals and there were days when we didn’t spend any money. In Mongolia a lot of people invited us to lunch or dinner. The warmest people we found were in these three countries: Mongolia, Indonesia and Sudan.

What do mostly attract you while you travel?

What I am most interested in is the direct contact with different cultures, see firsthand how people live and to learn from them.

Since the moment that you got further away from the city and into the countryside, without hotels… What do you do for showers or clean clothes?

Always depends on the country, the weather, water availability, etc. In the tropics it is easy because we can always find a lot of water and take a shower with bucket is not a problem. In Mongolia, for example, in the steppe area there were a lot of rivers but the water was completely frozen! In the Gobi or Sahara we spent several days without a shower.

How long the trip is going to be?

Our plan is to end the trip in Australia in 2016 and settle down, but it is only a plan in our mind. Let’s see how things fit as we get closer to that date. At the moment we want to travel around all Africa.

When was the most complicated part of the trip? When have you met a risk for your life?

So far Ethiopia was the most problematic. It’s a safe country but in several non-urban areas the kids found fun in harassing us. We didn’t receive the hospitality and kindness from the people that we felt in other places.

Nico’s blogs are nico3d.blogspot.de (spanish) and nicolonelytraveler.blogspot.de (english). What was the reason for creating them?

He started his blog to share his adventures with family and friends. Today it has become something bigger and is followed by thousands of people around the world. Having a blog has brought him great satisfaction in knowing that many people get to enjoy the world through what he writes and his stunning photography.

What advice would you give to someone who would like to organize such a trip?

First of all do not idealize the experience; traveling by bike is a mentally and physically tough experience. It takes a longer or shorter adjustment period, but once that is overcome, the rewards are really priceless.

Tell us the best anecdotes of the trips through Asia and Africa.

There are so many, it’s hard to choose:

In West Timor, for example, I got sick with dengue and a woman called Sinema appeared from nowhere. She was an angel who welcomed us into her home with her wonderful family and she made anything possible to see me recovered and  healthy as soon as possible.

In Java we met a guy who asked us if we could show him how we ‘make babies’, harmless of course, but the humour of the proposal was not lost on us.

In Japan a stranger took us to lunch, he bought us food for dinner and gave us 50$ because he was fascinated by our trip and always wanted to have done something like this.

In Mongolia, in the middle of the steppe, we drank fermented mare’s milk in a Mongolian yurt with 15 Mongolian drunks celebrating I don’t know what, but we did laugh a lot.

In Egypt we met a really interesting cairota homosexual. He and his friends made ​​us see what it is like to be part of going against the tide as an oppressed minority within a ‘prohibited’ counterculture, but much more common than many would believe.

In Khartoum and Delhi we arrived as guests and left with two new families.

Do you think you’ve grown spiritually in this journey? Do you think your mind has widened somehow?

The understanding and experience that we are all one and that we are all equal was first and foremost. Now I judge a lot less and I do my best to understand the person I have in front of me with more empathy.

What are the three destinations that have changed your life and why?

Mongolia, Sudan and Indonesia have shown me that at some point in the West we have long distanced from each other. In these 3 countries one can stand in the door of a stranger and end up living with them as one of them. Another world is possible and exists.

What health precautions do you take before traveling or while traveling?

We have a first aid kit with some basic medicines for malaria, diarrhea or fever for when we are ill and in a very remote area. We’ve bought everything when we arrived in Africa. Before this we had nothing and luckily we did not need anything. We always try to eat and sleep well so that is why we don’t get sick.

What  would you say to those people who dream of traveling as well but do not dare?

A journey like this one is unique in life. If anyone has the ability or chance to do something like that, he or she should, change the routine or remain in your comfort zone. You can never regret doing something like this because what this brings you is so valuable that you will never be the same again.

More information:

www.nicolasmarino.com

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

FLICKR

VIMEO

Interview by Anabel Garcia Ramon. A special thanks to Katie Goldsmith.

All the pictures are property of Nicolas Marino.

ESRA

I try my best and I always go hard in everything I do. I am not sitting home waiting for something to happen.

 

Esra, German – Turkish fashion designer with a Persian name was born in Munich 23 years ago.

Her grandparents came to Europe around 1964 to change their destinies and find employment. Eventually, they decided to settle in Munich. After so many years they still feel strangers in this host land for many reasons: a language which they can’t speak properly, a so faraway culture, say nothing of the different diet. Let us be real, in exchange the new land offered much more possibilities than what Turkey could offer at that time, so that was the best choice they could take. “For us, grandchildren, Germany is home, Turkey is a destination where to spend a nice vacation but as soon as we step in a German airport the feeling which embrace us is always the same: welcome back home. It is also true that the Turkish feeling you have in Turkey is so far away from the Turkish feeling you sense in Germany, I can’t explain”. The parents and grandparents lost so many things by coming to Europe, this is why they want to make sure that Esra and her siblings preserve their culture by teaching them the language, inspire their eating habits by cooking and dining together traditional Turkish food.

Why fashion, Esra? 

“I have always been used to drawing Japanese anime and I liked to draw them with different hair looks, add clothes for them to wear and make them fashionable. At that point I realized that I wanted to create clothes, it was funny to match them together, choosing the colours. I love drawing and love clothes so I have merged the two passions in one with the aim to make this big dream real. I am thrilled about the fact that my ideas have the chance to become real things, to feel and to touch. They originate from my head and come out into reality; seeing this process of transformation is amazing. I make everything by myself and I don’t like to copy, I want only my ideas.” The first collection of Esra, inspired by Hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and a bit from Yamamoto, is from 2014, a project with the university that took 6 months of hard work.

Why this overwhelming passion for Korea and Asia?

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“Because it reminds me of my childhood, I was always watching Japanese anime. I love Asian food (and she can prepare it very well!), the culture, how they live with each other. I also tried to learn Korean on my own, starting of course from a real so difficult- to- deal- with alphabet.”

– Esra admires Karl Lagerfeld, defining him as a wonderful and special person. Her positive opinion about him came thanks to a documentary which drove her in the perception of him as intelligent, pragmatic, appreciating the unique way he communicates [1]. She was also inspired by the designs of Yohji Yamamoto [2]; pure and clear, not exaggerated and not overloaded of accessories.

The studies.

MDH is a private University in Munich. Esra told us in a calm state of mind that if in 10 years she won’t feel to be in the fashion industry anymore, she will simply switch to something different. “I try everything that I want to try, I wanted to study fashion design and I simply did it.” In the next future, she sees herself launching her own brand and bouncing it all over the world, the aim is to create a high quality product which the consumer can wear in daily life, won’t be Haute Couture. “I think that every- day- fashion is more interesting and eloquent because it can communicate the identity of a person. Sometimes it screams and sometimes it only whispers who you are, but it always communicates. Haute Couture is just elegant, someone that wears a Chanel dress, predictably I would say, wants to appear beautiful or elegant but it will actually be more difficult to decipher the personality. See the clothes, and you can perceive something about the person.”

“I am currently at my fourth year of studying. I have also applied for an internship in Turkey for a fashion company in the city where my family comes from. In the future I would like to live in Japan and Korea.”
Her background is multicultural that is why she doesn’t have any problems integrating in another social and cultural context: “When I will be in Asia, the culture I belong to won’t matter, what matters is to be open, kind and friendly.”
Going back to fashion, what she appreciates in Asia is the freedom to wear anything according to your style and liking, since in daily life during work hours, they have to limit themselves stylistically, on the contrary in Europe “We are not really open minded in terms of fashion.”

 

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What can you tell us about this school?

“Unfortunately it is very expensive, if you can’t afford it you can’t study there. My monthly fee is around 700€, I can afford it by working on the weekend, trying on my own and not asking my family for financial support. It is hard, yes, but life comes in its own way, it does not make sense to make many plans, just live it. I try my best and I always go hard in everything I do. I am not sitting home and waiting for something to happen.”

Religion

Because of her religion Esra has to cover her body and her hair. Some people say that she should feel uncomfortable in creating clothes for women who don’t need to be covered. “The reason why I make clothes is because I feel that I have to, this is what I want to do. When I create, I feel that I want to share what I am, it would make no sense to create clothes only for myself”.

Why do you choose to wear total black look (except for your red Chucks!)?

Black is always elegant, for every occasion; cocktail, dinner, everyday life, easy to combine with other things. Black is uncomplicated.

Would you compromise in order to get where you want? 

“I wouldn’t, losing myself and my own ideas is not worth it, I want to do something that represents me and my thoughts.”

If you could give an advice to other fashion designers…

“Always believe in your dreams and yourself.”

How do you believe in yourself?

“If I really want to do something, I believe that I can do it. You learn this rule especially when you grow up with siblings, you have always to fight to earn your things!”

 Your inspiration comes from…

“Everywhere; a movie, a landscape, a flower, a colour.”

If you could choose to be someone else, to change something or to move to a place where nobody knows you, where you don’t have to give explanations to anyone, what would you do?

“I think I will like to be born again as myself because I am actually happy in my life. My strength resides in the fact that I don’t worry about the things I cannot control, I put always my all in everything I do, I give 100% and if anything negative happens I try to transform it to my advantage.”

Are you like this because of you or because of your family?

“It’s my experience, and of course my religion influences my view, it’s part of my life. When I am praying my life becomes easier, those ten minutes or more of prayer appear without problems, I can be myself.”

Describe yourself in few words.

“Basically a positive girl with a good sense of humor, focused and strong. I am a tough girl, I don’t give up easily. I am always honest even though sometimes it is hard to do it because it can hurt… What do I hate? When people are not honest.”

Good luck Esra!

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 [1] About KARL LAGERFELD, the star of a new documentary. The four-hour production aired on September 7 – 2013 in Germany. The mini biopic focused on the designer’s career and the relationship between fashion and religion – drawing comparisons between fashion magazines and the bible, and likening models to angels. The film was directed by television journalist Martina Neuen. “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek,” Neuen told WWD. “It cannot offer you redemption or anything eternal.” Lagerfeld allowed the journalist access to his shows and studio over a period of 16 months – and shared details of his personal life and career. The documentary, entitled Mode Als Religion (Fashion as a Religion), also features interviews with Diane Kruger, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, Suzy Menkes and Milla Jovovich – to name but a few. “He is the most impressive person I’ve ever met,” added Neuen. “He is a true individual, and there’s a lightness of being around him.” Source: Vogue.co.uk.

 More information here: http://www.mediadesign.de/

 

Donatella