City Pop Grooves: A Mr. Goodboy Listening Pop-up at the WAVE Exhibition

Many of the Japanese artists featured in JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles’ exhibition WAVE: New Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts work as illustrators, applying their creativity to the illustration of children’s books and comics, while others design the covers of record albums, creating images that convey in pictures the mood and spirit of the music inside. For example, Hiroshi Nagai, whose work is featured in the WAVE exhibition, is renowned for his dazzling scenes of beaches and swimming pools that graced many albums in the 1980s, most famously the cover of A Long Vacation by Eiichi Ohtaki in 1981.

To celebrate the connection between Japanese graphic art and music, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles will host Mr. Goodboy and their record cart in the gallery. Ryan Wilson co-founder of Mr. Goodboy will curate and DJ a selection of Japanese City Pop, Adult Oriented Rock, and fusion music from the 1980s in the Sub-Gallery and answer questions from visitors. Featured music will include tracks from Eiichi Ohtaki, Tatsuro Yamashita, Haruomi Hosono, Taeko Ohnuki, and Hiroshi Sato, among others.

Additional Offering | WAVE Exhibition Tour

At 1pm and 2pm, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles Art & Cultural Director Meher McArthur will lead walkthroughs of the WAVE exhibition, with particular attention to the artists in the exhibition who have worked in album cover design and other areas of the music world. The Inspiration Station will also be open for visitors to browse books illustrated by the WAVE artists and create their own drawings.

About the Musician

Ryan Wilson
Co-Founder / Music and Partnerships Mr. Goodboy

Lifelong record collector and musician, Ryan has established a reputation as a go-to producer and tastemaker, having contributed to numerous GRAMMY-nominated projects, from Frank Sinatra to the Grateful Dead.

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He is a contributing member of the mixtape kings Mondo Boys, co-conspirator at Aquarium Drunkard, an NTS Radio DJ, and currently serves as GM of leading reissue label and distribution company, Light In The Attic.

Mr. Goodboy
Mr. GOODBOY is a global RaaS (Retail as a Service) company that specializes in bringing brands and people together through music. Promoting physical connection in the digital age, Mr. GOODBOY curates unique and tangible experiences with vinyl records, delivering a memorable opportunity for everyone involved.

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Their Little Junior Series Record Cart has a light and compact design that allows it to function as a mobile DJ booth to ‘slow-play’ records inside intimate settings such as small retail spaces, restaurants, and bars.