Styrofoam MP3 ghettoblaster＆Tokyo graphics

10 Apr 2006 Category: Features, Graphics, Japan, Typography

Tokyo is full of bleeding edge international visual creators. The kind that cool-hunters would love to get a hold of years before their work gets filtered through the visions of ad agencies and local clients. One of such is PMKFA: Michael Thorsby, a 26 year old Swede currently residing in Tokyo doing some interesting contemporary design and illustration work.

Written by Ian Lynam

Thorsby’s work is Tokyo NOW. It is anachronistic, iconoclastic, and also very much of it’s time. It is unique, yet shares a vibe that many designers working today share- a melange of retro influence, innovative form-making, and more than a bit of humor.

His work makes me think of:

• 1970s Jean Larcher OpArt display alphabets
• faux airbrush
• old Letraset display typefaces existing in three dimensions
• a bit of 80s minimalism
• graffiti, but ironic

I caught up with Micke PMKFA the other day and we did a freestyle téte a téte back and forth about his work, influences and the state of hip-hop today.

What does PMKFA stand for?

It is a shortening of a Swedish thing but since some years back I just use it as letter combination and never think of the original meaning. It’s a thing between me and a couple of friends.

How did you start out doing design?

It started around 1998. I sort of wanted to make music but I’m not very good at that so I slipped into making graphics to express my interest in it. It started through music and I’ve kept a big foot in the music industry ever since, both on major and independent levels of the industry.

Any notable recent projects that you think were particularly fun or intriguing?

Hmm, I have a recent one that I got a big bag of good energy from. I co-worked and art-directed the album for Stockholm-based band Lo-Fi-Fnk (they’re big in 2006) and worked together with a great photographer. It is probably much cleaner than I usually work but I think it turned out well and it was a first good step for me to move towards photo-based artwork, something I have planned for a long time but so far didn’t really got the right project to start that transition.

Los Angeles stylish art magazine Arkitip asked you to contribute ten (!) pages. Well done!

You do interesting product and packaging design as well - is that a natural extension of your graphic work?

Yes. Making things and products is something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. I’ve always been excited to work with paper in three dimensions. I like the idea of putting something very flat on a object and creating depth.

Do you have any more planned forays into these realms?

Yes, a lot. But as it is harder to produce it’s not the easiest thing to do spontaneously. I would like to make some more earrings, and the styrofoam ghettoblaster that you can see at my site is something that I’m planning to improve so that it actually works and can play music using a source such as a MP3-player.

Yo! I’d love to have such a boombox for sure. Talking hip-hop: Biggie or Tupac?

I dont really rate any of them to be honest. Other people that deserves to be mentioned is Wiley, the most restless producer and MC in the world, always moving, Trim & Scratch, Newham Generals, Slew Dem, Digital Mystikz and last but not least 19 year old Skream, the biggest wonder-kid coming from the London-scene the last couple of years, new dubs all the time and he never dissapoints.

What kind of stuff are you working on at the moment?

I’m doing CD-jacket and promotion-material for a LA-based band called 8bit. Working with Ubiquity is nice too. Having talks with a Swedish indie-label to do stuff as well so there is a bunch of music stuff at the moment that makes me excited.

You are also working on some huge walldrawings?

A friend wanted something on his wall, so I said yes and thought it was a lot of fun to see the graphics blown up that big. I would like to work more on how I could really affect the room and make a drawing that had a better connection to the wall.

Did you use a projector to draw or were those freehand?

So far, projector only. The graphics I have used have been very strict and precise using repetetive patterns, so I kind of had to. I’m also looking forward to stop using a projector and work a little more random.

How did you come to work with Sweatshop Union in Osaka, exhibit there and produce apparel graphics for them?

We came together through a common friend and then Matthias at Sweatshop Union asked me if I wanted to make a exhibition and I was up for it. Now we are just about to start our own little t-shirt label called It’s Our Thing. Proper images soon on my site.

Thanks a lot for the chat and good luck for future projects!

20 Comments

1. i like the wall drawing so much.music is a kind of moving emotion.Michael Thorsby depicts things coming outside from our minds and hearts.it will be amazing way arriving to the bright side.

   Posted by: Olltta on April 11th, 2006 at 10:39 am

2. amazing works!!

   Posted by: X-NoIsE on April 11th, 2006 at 2:17 pm

3. awesome stuff… really hot… very hot indeed. Do you do motion graphics work at ?

   contact info@aapglobal.com if you do.

   Posted by: Robert on April 11th, 2006 at 11:40 pm

4. Dont really do animation myself anymore, still doing motion visuals for a club in Sweden every month though. Will do music video though but then I will pass the motion bit on to a friend as I prefer to stick to the graphics at the moment. Used to do more conceptual animation before but havent really come up with any ideas of that kind the last year to bring me back into that field again.

   Best, Micke

   Posted by: PMKFA on April 20th, 2006 at 7:24 pm

5. [...] The Japanese site Ping Mag recently made a interview with me and you can view it if you follow the link here. [...]

   Posted by: PMKFA on April 22nd, 2006 at 3:52 am

6. Siiick!

   Posted by: James on April 23rd, 2006 at 6:19 am

7. Great stuff.
   His t-shirts are awesome.
   Lookout for ODB King.
   You know what I mean if you see that shirt.

   Posted by: Matthias on April 24th, 2006 at 7:13 pm

8. love it! but no dalahorses :(

   Posted by: bosse on April 25th, 2006 at 4:04 am

9. Beautiful stuff Micke!
   You make Gustav Wasa proud.

   Posted by: Anders on April 25th, 2006 at 6:25 pm

10. ohh! Wicked. it’s nice. I likt the “pure nang” text. the stone letters. The letters for wood wood. (especially the black ones with white lines) and the colourful picture for the Lo Fi FNK album are also nice, as well as the rest of the stuff. Keep up the good work!

    Posted by: petter on April 25th, 2006 at 6:27 pm

11. txzcvmie jqmszi tjzircux gmtz kxbhaf pvmkbdwfi brhkwoln

    Posted by: ypuciad digxktl on August 9th, 2006 at 7:03 am

12. I love the boxy 3D type!

    Posted by: e*rock on August 24th, 2006 at 2:08 pm

13. Very nice.
    Love that stuff.
    Good Job guys!

    Greetings from Germany!

    Posted by: Emericalady on December 28th, 2006 at 4:48 am

14. brilliant work!!
    Keep it up- great graphics

    Posted by: sam on January 11th, 2007 at 4:23 am

15. Very nice.
    Love that stuff.
    Good Job guys!

    Posted by: kurye on February 22nd, 2008 at 8:10 am

16. Typography I am dealing with for a long time,
    But never I guess I will not do so well typographic studies: (
    It seems very easy but very hard to do

    Posted by: Egzersiz on February 24th, 2011 at 8:30 am

17. The Japanese site Ping Mag recently made a interview with me and you can view it if you follow the link here

    Posted by: calmiva on March 17th, 2011 at 5:04 am

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    Posted by: goruntulu sohbet on August 6th, 2011 at 4:08 am

19. I really would like to learn more information about your business, what is it and why is it important.

    Posted by: christian louboutin on November 10th, 2011 at 1:01 pm

20. Styrofoam MP3 ghettoblaster＆Tokyo graphics good post1742

    Posted by: bladeless fan on April 21st, 2012 at 7:30 pm

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