Tokyo-based, New York-born artist Thirteen13 delivers one of the most progressive and interesting projects of the year with ‘MOUTH’ – the EP dives into the essence of verbal communication, with all 3 songs approaching the subject in a different way. SPEAK, CHOKE and OMERTÀ collectively and in its simplest form demonstrate the blockages we have when communicating with one another, as well as the taboo’s and cultural pressures we face daily. ‘MOUTH’ is another remarkable effort from Thirteen13; her one of a kind, abrasive and political style is sure to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Speaking on the EP Thirteen13 states: “I wanted to make an EP with 3 songs and approached the subject matter from 3 angles. Sonically, I wanted to do something fit for the clubs, and experiment with genres. It’s me speaking out loud, sometimes towards another person, sometimes to myself, sometimes to the unknown”
Growing up in Japan as half German, Thirteen13 (real name Nina) has had a unique upbringing. Being a person with a mixed background in an area where standing out and not ‘belonging’ is deeply shunned by society, she developed a ‘birds eye view’ perspective on society in Japan as an outsider. Moving from Japan to New York at the age of sixteen, her perspective on Japanese society was shaken even further by Western views and ideas. Although fluent in English, rapping in Japanese is important to Nina for this reason, as it allows her to convey a message to the people who need to hear it.
Previously working as editor for i-D Japan, Nina then moved on to create her own magazine named PETRICHOR. Speaking on the magazine, Nina explains: “My magazine PETRICHOR is a place for me to voice my message with no rules. Anything controversial is taboo in Japanese media, so I can never creative direct/write my true opinions. With each issue of PETRICHOR, we have a theme throughout the entire issue and tell stories through each editorial with drawings, poetry, from different angles. PETRICHOR’s main objective is to tell the story of actuality through our curated reality. To question the norm, to surface the hidden, and to remember the forgotten.”
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Photos exclusive to KALTBLUT by @williamarklemarsden
