Not much of a heads-up, but kawaii evangelist Sebastian Masuda’s exhibit, “Colorful Rebellion” opens tonight at Kianga Ellis Projects in NYC and runs until March 29th. According to the gallery, “From March 6 - 9, 2014, Masuda-san’s alter ego and female self will inhabit the gallery during open hours”.

Sebastian Masuda and his “kawaii anarchy”.

Masuda designed the set for my guilty pleasure. Oops, couldn’t resist a period there. By guilty pleasure I mean NHK’s Kawaii International (yay for Tokyo Photo Book!), co-hosted by extraordinary local gal, Misha Janette.

Still from Kawaii International’s intro. Set by the show’s art director, Sebastian Masuda.

And while we’re on the subject of kawaii, these Manish Arora high tops are awesome:

Manish Arora, Fall 2014.

So great to see LA Weekly shine a light on Eden Ahbez, one of the more intriguing figures in the Exotica pantheon.

Eden Ahbez: protohippie, musician, mystic, Nature Boy. At the Lake Shrine ashram in Pacific Palisades, CA.

If you come across Ahbez’s only solo LP in the wild, Eden’s Island (Del-Fi, 1960), then lucky you. Ahbez composed all the music on it. He sings and plays a wooden flute. Dreamer of “untellable dreams”, he recites his grasp of the elusive in a peaceful, hypnotic cadence. It’s a rare and beautiful record:

Eden Ahbez’s Eden’s Island, 1960.

And since it was the Retro Cocktail Hour that introduced me to Eden Ahbez, it’s only fitting to plug the most recent show, the All Exotica Special. In it you’ll hear Ahbez’s “Full Moon” as well as a zoo-full of tropical animals or people imitating them. If you’re wondering what Exotica is, this program is a great primer: