COSMOS Embassy Films + Q&A
COSMOS
Each year, COSMOS partners up with a number of new Embassies to showcase their respective scenes. This time, we commissioned local filmmakers to portray the main music spaces, actors and activities in and around Osaka's OTO Building, the Cabo Verdean diaspora, and one of Amsterdam’s most beloved DIY-venues. The films have been produced and will be presented in collaboration with this year’s COSMOS Embassies: NAKID, OCCII, and Tabanka Records.
NAKID (Osaka, JP)
NAKID is a record label founded by Koshiro Hino in Osaka City, with its headquarter located inside the OTO Building. OTO also houses many other creative studios and ateliers, as well as one of Japan’s leading underground clubs, Daphnia. Just across the street from the building is Creative Center Osaka, a former shipyard turned into a multi-functional art and event space. In such a unique environment, inspired by the industrial heritage and creative energy, NAKID was launched in 2020. It operates at the intersection of internationally active innovators of contemporary electronic music and the local scene deeply rooted in the rich history of avant-garde arts. Hino, an artist and composer also known as YPY, is the leader of bands such as goat (JP) and Bonanzas, one half of the duo KAKUHAN, and has been involved in many other projects, all while running the cassette tape label birdfriend.
In his atmospheric film, director Yusuke Nakano and his team bridge the gap between Osaka's adventurous musical heritage – the Boredoms et al. – and today's torchbearers of experimentation, among them goat’s Rei Tateishi and Koshiro Hino (aka YPY), and Koki Emura (EM Records).
OCCII (Amsterdam, NL)
The iconic independent venue OCCII is the eccentric-looking wooden building facing the southern entrance of Vondelpark in Amsterdam. Since 1984—when it was squatted, then legalized in 1992—it has been a venue for subversive sounds, underground music, film screenings and workshops, all rooted in DIY ethics. A home to all kinds of subcultures and DIY collectives, OCCII provides a cultural program that is hand-picked for those drawn to a wonderful and wide range of subversive sounds and music genres: global beats, noise, punk, folk, improv, rave, avant-garde and electronix.
In their documentary – or rather, DOCCII – director Shifra Osorio Whewell and the team behind Amsterdam's iconic DIY venue captures the spirit of the space in true OCCII fashion: a communal effort that's equal parts chaotic, creative and deeply ambitious.
Tabanka Records (Cabo Verde, CV)
Tabanka Records is a project founded in Amadora, Portugal, in mid-2019 by Mama Demba (River Ramos) and Henrique Silva. Originally conceived as a vinyl record shop, it quickly evolved into a platform for music production, creation and artist promotion, acting as a bridge between the past and present of African music, with a strong focus on Lusophone cultures—the communities connected by the Portuguese language and shared historical ties—particularly the Cabo Verdean one. Its portfolio includes projects such as Acácia Maior, Mama Demba, Landa, Rally Fantasia, and ArapucaGongon, alongside an extensive collection of records from the 1970s to the 1990s, which serve as constant sources of inspiration for new creations and collaborations. Tabanka Records’ parties are known for blending vinyl and digital, the old and the new, electronic and organic sounds—always driven by a free, danceable, and inclusive spirit.
For his film, renowned Cabo Verdean director Nuno Boaventura Miranda assembles archival footage, interviews, band rehearsals and impromptu musical moments, all set against the stunning Cabo Verdean landscapes that continue to shape the work of the country's artistic diaspora.
All screenings will be in attendance of each Embassy to provide context and answer questions from the audience.
