Sound Atlas #1: Sounds from the Pole

Born in 1992 in Kochi, Komatsu Kazumichi is a Kyoto-based artist whose prolific output includes releases under multiple names for various labels and publishers, such as angoisse, BUS editions, flau, Manila Institute, psalmus diuersae, and REST NOW! Treating vibrations and waves from sound and light as his primary materials, his practice and research explore the physical and psychological pathways of subtle information transmission found within society and individuals. Komatsu’s major exhibitions include Osaka Directory 7 supported by RICHARD MILLE: Komatsu Kazumichi (2024, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka).

• https://kazumichikomatsu.com/

Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1981, Araki Masamitsu pursues a music-based practice on the peripheries of the field, using humor to explore the creativity of listening, and encouraging audiences to rethink contexts and effects. His performance and theater pieces include Vacant TT at Sound Around 004: Primitive (2024, ROHM Theatre Kyoto North Hall) and Public Address – Sound of Place (2021, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels). His solo exhibitions include Have something that defines my judgment (2022, gallery αM, Tokyo) and Zombie and me (2020, The Triangle, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art). Araki is also a member of the music group NEW MANUKE and released his first album, SOUR VALLEY, on the label Leftbrain.

• https://masamitsuaraki.format.com/

GRAYCODE, jiiiiin is a sound artist duo whose practice investigates vibration as the structural principle of existence and time as a perceptual material. Their works approach data as a condition for the emergence of the real and expand listening into an embodied and spatial event. Through compositions, installations, and performances, they reconstruct the sensorial layers of reality, translating invisible processes of sound and information into perceivable forms. By situating sound as both physical and conceptual medium, GRAYCODE, jiiiiin explore the interrelation between perception, materiality, and temporality across diverse environments.

• https://graycodejiiiiin.kr/

JIBOCO DJs with the duo Jisui & oboco, and hosts the soul-saving party event Jiai / THE I at Namba BEARS on the last Wednesday of every month.

Dove weaves and expresses everyday life and past memories through vocals and synthesizers. She released the EPs Atarashi Karada and Palomino on the Berlin label Yegorka. Currently based in Osaka and Berlin, she performs live both in Japan and overseas while also working in graphic design, photography, video, and other creative fields. Dove is a host on NTS Radio, sharing music with audiences from her unique perspective.

Doi Itsuki pursues research on synchrony in social groups. His artistic practice explores means of understanding the unique experiences and feelings of others, including artificial systems, from their own standpoints. His major exhibitions include ALTERNATIVE MACHINE (2021, WHITEHOUSE, Tokyo), I Forgot How to Look at the Ocean (2022, JINNAN HOUSE, Tokyo), MONAURALS (2023, WHITEHOUSE, Tokyo), and Harsh Listening (2025, LESSAYA, Tokyo). His music releases include Peeling Blue (CD, 2017).

• https://cotofu.com/

Nishikawa Yasuhiro is a planetary seismologist. After earning a master’s degree in earth and planetary sciences from the University of Tokyo, he completed a doctorate in earth, planetary, and environmental sciences at the University of Paris. He worked as an assistant professor at Kochi University of Technology before taking up his current position at Osaka Kyoiku University. Starting with natural waves emanating from earthquakes and sounds, he investigates the dynamics of the Earth and the universe. He is engaged in geoexplorations of infrasound (an inaudible ultra-low frequency sound) and seismic waves in extreme environments, including Mars, Antarctica, and the stratosphere. Nishikawa was part of NASA’s InSight program studying seismic activity on Mars as well as Japan’s 64th Antarctic Research Expedition. He has observed infrasound emitted by Mars, the re-entry of the Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx asteroid probes, meteor shock waves, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, glacial collapses, and other phenomena, using this to analyze the Earth’s inaudible sounds.

Niwa Ryusuke’s practice occupies an interstitial realm between sociopolitically charged voices, sounds, and music. In addition to music releases, his output includes live performances in exhibition spaces using moving image and sculptural works. Niwa’s major releases are Russia China USA (2025), Kimigayo Overdose (2023), Akihabara Ginsberg (2021), and more. His major exhibitions include “We Are the World” (2025, CON_) and “Augmented Situation D: Dreaming of a Roaming City—Powered by PLATEAU” (2024, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Osaka).

• https://www.instagram.com/prius_missile/

A founding member of legendary art punk band Aunt Sally, Phew has been active as a solo artist since the band disbanded in 1979. In the 2010s, she produced a series of releases featuring vocals and electronic music, gaining acclaim worldwide as an electronic artist. In February 2026, Phew will release a collaborative album with Danielle de Picciotto, one of the founders of the Berlin Love Parade.

Born in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, in 1996, Horiike Yumea started composing music in the summer of 2020. She performs with guitars, vocals, stone, iron, and other instruments and materials. From 2025, she started performing as the band pham foo.

Mana Online is a Tokyo-based alternative culture media pursuing projects in the form of club events, internet radio, digital platforms, and media content. It aspires to archive and connect underground practices in and outside Japan, building infrastructures that translate into a tangible cultural presence. From the party series Hella Drama to the HKCR global radio show and the Root & Wings artist support platform, Mana Online bridges urban experience and emotional resonance, seeking new models for independent and sustainable cultural ecosystems.

• https://manaontheline.com/

Le Makeup is a singer-songwriter and producer. He started composing music while in college, and has since released works on various labels both in Japan and overseas. His album releases include Slight Fever (2020), Odorata (2023), and Premonition (2024).

Aoyagi Natsumi pursues a project-based practice rooted in fieldwork and research as a contemporary artist using moving image. Her recent work includes the solo exhibition Logbook of a Sea Goddess (2022, Towada Art Center satellite venue space) and the group show ICC Annual 2024: Faraway, so close (2024, NTT InterCommunication Center). Her poetry collection Done Being Nurtured (2022, thoasa) won the 28th Nakahara Chuya Prize. Aoyagi is the head of the honkbooks art practitioner collective, and also works under the name Datsuo.

Tomoya Iwata (b. 1995, Aichi) is a curator and the representative director of The 5th Floor, the curatorial space in Tokyo. He completed his MA from the Graduate School of Global Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. Through on-site research, Iwata frequents alternative spaces in various cities mainly in Asia to further understand the dynamics between institutional and alternative art scenes in their individual context. As a practitioner who operates such a space himself, he explores the potential for alternatives to existing systems through curatorial practices beyond exhibition-making.

• https://www.instagram.com/tomoya_iwta/

音楽家として、遠藤麻衣、荒木悠、百瀬文、中村葵、金川晋吾らの作品に参加してきた。 また、2025年より、横浜・Art Center NEWの企画・運営に参画。高島鈴、近藤銀河を共同キュレーターに迎えた展覧会「Under Commons」を担当。クィアゲームスタディーズやSTS以降の制作理論をベースに 「ゲーム/アートを逃走的な知識生産の技法として捉える」実践を展開している。

Miyu Hosoi (b. 1993) is a sound artist whose practice centers on sound installations and theatrical works. Through her projects, she explores both the possibilities and limitations of sound as a medium of communication. In recent years, she has also engaged in research-based projects in Japan and abroad,focusing on the memories and records of places, objects, and people. Her work has been presented at the Barbican Centre(London), IRCAM(Paris), Mori Art Museum(Tokyo), the Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Park, the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, Rohm Theatre Kyoto, the NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] and the Aichi Arts Center, among others.

• https://miyuhosoi.com/

Born in Niigata in 1990, Wakui Tomohito is a visual and music artist as well as the director and curator of WHITEHOUSE. His major exhibitions include “nonno” (2016, 8/ART GALLERY/Tomio Koyama), “Dark Independants” (2020, online and Tokyo), “JUNK’S PORTS” (2023, ANOMALY), “Electricity-Sound” (2023, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art), and “A Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection” (2024, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo).

• https://tomohitowakui.com/
• https://7768697465686f757365.com/