Bento in Berlin: Okawari by Tomoko Yamane
Tomoko Yamane thoughtfully recalls growing up cooking with her grandmother in Nagoya. Since then, Tomoko has lived with her acquired techniques of cuisine and relocated to Berlin where she has set up her own catering company. Since May of 2009, Tomoko has been supplying Berlin’s artistic and creative community with a style of contemporary Japanese cuisine that is as traditional as her grandmother’s and evolving as it hybridizes in its new European surroundings. A few weeks ago, as Tomoko prepared samples from her 2010 Spring and Summer menu, Paper Sky listened to find out how Berlin came to feel as the logical choice for her next culinary venture. …»
Traveling a planet of sound: Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono’s early discography contains the band Happy End (1970-73). Digesting the influences of America’s West Coast rock, they established an idiom for Japanese language rock. Solo releases like “Bon Voyage Co.” (1976), which rediscovered Asia via the perspective of Hollywood, saw him enter a period of exotic sound exploration. Blending in Kraftwerk-style electronica, Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978-83, 1993) took this sound in a disco direction. “Omni Sightseeing” (1989) then delved into the roots of pop worldwide. Throughout, Hosono’s music leads listeners on journeys that transcend both borders and generations. As a record label producer, Hosono ran the YEN label from 1982, the Non Standard label (which released pre-break Pizzicato Five) from 1984, and the Daisyworld label from 1996. The current label’s motto is “Keep Listening, Keep Searching!” …»
Writer, Traveler, Global Soul: Pico Iyer
Diplomats travel the globe representing their countries to the world. Pico Iyer travels to represent the world to his many readers. Whether from North Korea or Katmandu, Iyer’s writing describes the collision of cultures occurring in a world set into perpetual motion. Iyer too is in perpetual motion, so much that he “only has an official home where he never actually spends any time.” For the past nine years, however, Iyer’s return tickets have led him to his Japanese partner and a two-room apartment in Nara. Paper Sky stole a moment with Iyer to ask what the rest for the world looks like- and how to get there. …»
