If you've read the past blog entries, you probably noticed an often written-about group called antennasia. Because of their particular sound, antennasia is a wonderful match for a wide range of events. They are an easy go-to group to create the atmosphere for a show that does not fall in between the walls of a concrete, dance-floor bouncing club. Indeed, with the smokey, electronic and often jazzy-layered soundscapes created by programmer Nerve, combined with the unique and beautiful voice of the singer san, antennasia perfectly suits smokey lounges, small sardine-can-like cafes and bars, and even art exhibitions.

Imet antennasia over three years ago. san's fashion - the clothes, the hats, the makeup - combined with the dubby, chilled-out grooves impressed me and my Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead, Zero DB, roots. And, to be honest, I haven't heard much of this kind of sound here in Sendai.

It was a couple of years later, when I became the foreign correspondent for spinearth.tv (an affiliate of San Francisco/New York's SPIN magazine) and did a piece on them, that I got to know the two better. Since then I have become more familiar with their musical process and, ultimately, have gained more respect for who they are and what they strive for within this northern community.

For me, as a foreigner living in Sendai and as a foreign correspondent for a grassroots music website (spinearth.tv has now ended, but the independent work I have done, called The Japan Project, lives on in a ever-growing website of online reports about Japanese local music culture) I was intrigued by antennasia and thought it would be interesting to use them to tell a story about Sendai and what is happening up here. This is when I first caught wind of an art exhibition happening at The Miyagi Museum of Art (mentioned briefly in a different entry) that was to use cutting edge visual/graphic technology to create interactive visuals - and antennasia was to perform a live show in tow. The simple fact that this was not your ordinary 'artifacts-behind-glass-case' exhibition drew my attention so I approached antennasia for an interview. They were all for it.

What ensued was two videos which focused on a brand-new song written by both san and Nerve to be sung at the exhibition. The videos I created were aimed at helping introduce these two independent artists to a wider-audience while also revealing the group in a new way to their already-dedicated fans. The videos also provide an interesting glimpse into the subtle but often inspiring city of Sendai that Nerve and san reside and create music in - a town, that I hope, is beginning to pique your interest.