PARANOID TEE

My design "YOU'RE PARANOID" is up for voting at DBH, I would appreciate the votes and comments from all of you cool kids! :)

CLICKY CLICKY.

PARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS?

New interview up at Bloglounge. Cool french blog. For those who cant read french, enjoy my crappy translation of the interview:

This young designer from Paris shows all his talent throught vector illustrations since a few monthes: from Death Proof girls to ED Banger's Uffie. Coloured with a preference for bright colors, Akutou remains on track for the on coming weeks...

Hello Akutou, can you introduce yourself?

Hi. I’m a french young designer working as a freelance since 6 monthes now. I’m currently leading several secret societies but I cant talk much about that. I dont want any trouble.

What’s your background?

Nothing fancy. I have made boring economic studies. The choice was not mine. I have been oriented that way cause I was not doing mucho as a student. No motivation. No graduation. Which is good cause if I had graduated I would probably be in some more boring school right now doing absolutely nothing. Instead I have been a bum for 2 years then mutated into a graphic designer. Which is pretty cool.


How come, you didnt want to be into design from the begining?

Yes I did. I tried to go into art school before but it never worked out. The subjects of the entrance exams were always awkward and not really interesting. I finally joined an art school later, after I failed graduation in economic class. I stayed there a year then it sort of became uninteresting again so I started focusing on the things I like.


Why ? What did they tell you to do?

I don’t know, I just seem not to understand what they were expecting from me all the time. And it was no fun. Then I realized I could work alone at home doing things I like much more. So I stopped school, I started practising at home, it was a bit random I didnt know what will happen… But I thought maybe if I’m active enough on the internet, something might happen. I made me a website. That’s how it started.


What was your 1st project? How did you get the 1st jobs?

First works were logos for bands. It’s still quite new to me. One of the band, The Remix Artist Collective (RAC), they saw one of their remixes I posted on my blog HEY KIDS ! The next day I got a mail from them where they were asking for a logo. We have a good feeling and I made them 2 covers. One for their 1st official EP called "NINTENDO VS SEGA" and a second one done with J3concepts for their 1st remix album which has been released today at STEREOGUM. Everything is going fine and I should work with the band again in the future. I also worked for Futurecop ! but this time i twas me who contacted them. I asked them if they were interested cause I love their music and I really wanted to do something with them. That’s a cool part of the job, you are in relation with other artist you like. It’s dope.


Talking about J3concepts, what are your favorite artists?

RA909 is on the top of my list. He’s a monster. Great guy, really inspiring. He has great music tastes too, you can feel it in his art. The list is long, J3 for his touch and the ton of work he does, love Jeremyville’s drawings, love Simon Noynay’s stuff too, these two got a lot of style, I must name SO ME because he’s a genious : ED Banger without him would not me as cool. Lately, one of the person I admire the most is Souloff, a chick who makes superb vectors. Too sexy.


The blog is very music oriented, what are you listening to at the moment?

MGMT’s album is excellent. Breakbot and The Twelves remixes, I’m a big fan. The last ED REC is not bad. I usually post on the blog all my favourite stuff. The 2 tracks on repeat right now are Ghostface – Charlie Brown (DJ Mehdi Remix feat. Mapei) and Au Revoir Simone - Sad Song (RAC Mix). HEY KIDS! is on Myspace now, come say hello and tell me I’m an awesome guy with amazing music tastes !


Do you have any other projects with music artists ? Who would you want to work with ?

Yeah, there are a few projects. With RAC of course. But also other guys from Myspace. People I would like to work with ? I’m not sure… Miami Horror, Treasure Fingers… anyone I dig. That’s a lot of people. But I also have collabs with graphic artists planned for fun : one with J3, one with RA (soon or later lol), one with Souloff… and more. I like to do something else than client stuff. It’s a good alternative to work.


I noticed a lot of your artworks are vectors, why this choice?

Not intentional. I’m not the kind of guy who makes plans. I just feel at ease with this technic. I like how it looks, and it’s the perfect tool to print tees, logos & Co. Seriously, I love to make vectors. It’s perfect for someone like me who is not a beast in traditionnal drawing. Good compromise.


A final world?

I love chinese rolls. I wanna eat chinese rolls right now.

RAC NINTENDO VS SEGA EP

Hello kids, I'm proud to present you the official first RAC EP "Nintendo VS SEGA". It's a video game revival involving some Super Mario, Zelda and Sonic classics tunes revisited by The Remix Artist Collective. I made the super artwork by the way. Download it and share it with everyone! Enjoy! :D



RAC - Super Mario Bros (RAC Mix)



RAC - Sonic: Labyrinth Zone 5 (RAC Maury Mix)



RAC - A Link To The Past (RAC Mix)



RAC - Sonic: Spring Yard Zone (RAC Maury Mix)

You can get the whole stuff in a zip HERE if you need. Oh and you can digg it too maybe.

AKUTOU FRENCH INTERVIEW

I have been interviewed HERE. It's in FRENCH.

MUXTAPE

AKUTOU MUXTAPE ONE

I likes :)

OFFICER NEEDS YOUR VOTE

I have a new design up for voting at DESIGN BY HUMANS and I need your support. If you dont have an account, you can create one here real quick. That'd be cool if you wanna help, it only takes a minute of your time. Thanks!

This is addicitive:


Late of the Pier - Bathroom Gurgle

This is lovely:


New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone Extended Mix)

AKUTUNES VOLUME 0

So, it's been a year now I'm updating this website & blog (well, a bit more but). Posting about my art, my tees, music I love and a few other random stuff. It's also been a year since I started making playlists for the website. I decided to make volume 0 available as a free download. It will be available only for a day or two or something so don't wait too long to get yours.

CLICK HERE FOR AKUTUNES VOLUME 0 FULL DOWNLOAD link removed

There are 14 tracks. Enjoy! By the way, I made the random mashup track at the end.

And more music for the hungries. Some tracks are myspace rips (low bitrate 96kb), couldnt find better versions.



Inaya Day - Nasty Girl (Full Mix)



Treasure Fingers - Come True Tonight (Dub Mix)



Poney Poney - Junior (Chateau Marmont Remix)



The Concretes - Keep Yours (Pacific! Remix)

AIR WAR MAGAZINE

I'm featured in the new design/fashion magazine AIR WAR MAGAZINE. Issue One has just been released, go check it out. Artist RA909 is also featured there. Don't worry if the loading takes a while, just grab a cookie or two.



Touch And Go - Life's A Beach

And here's the the song you can hear on the AIR WAR site. By the way, you can also check AIR WAR ON MYSPACE.



Ryuichi Sakamoto - War & Peace

POSTERS! WOO!

Yo people! I'm selling posters now. Just visit the SHOP of my website. I ordered the Taxi Driver one and it looks really great. The colors are perfect, they actually look better than in the picture above. The posters are available in A2 size (that's the one I have in my sexy hands), A1 (2 times A2) and A0 (4 times A2, perfect for tyrannosaurus living rooms). Go get one, offer it to your girlfriends & grandmas, hang it on your tshirt store walls, eat them I don't know but just get some.

I accept credit cards & Paypal. Shipping internationally. Buy one please! :)

I joined a skateboard design contest a week ago or so, the theme I picked is AIR JORDAN. I always thought it'd be cool to have something printed on a skate deck. If you wanna help me win, go HERE register (takes a few seconds) and gimme a nice score (that would be 5 lol). There is only a few hours left for the scoring so move your ass!

One more thing, I'd like to thanks all the blogs and websites that talked about me and my art lately. Really apreciate the support guys!

Oh boy! Let's add to that a new remix by The Twelves...



Thieves Like Us - Drugs in My Body (The Twelves Remix)

Woah, life is awesome! Now excuse me, I'll have my breakfast. :D

FEATURES COMBO

Cool, I got a new feature at Behance a few days ago and now I have a new one at ETCETERING. Thank you guys!

"He's one of my favourite artists, and his recent update certainly didnt dissapoint me. Check out french freelance designer and illustrator Akutou."
ETCETERING



My Favorite - The Happiest Days Of My Life

Mini mp3 post to enjoy the day :D

NEW THREADLESS SUB

I have a new design on vote at Threadless. I need your support, so please go there and gimme some nice 5 & "I'd buy it" :D

Thank you!

DISKOFAUVE

Quick mp3 post. Me busy designing lots of stuff :D woohoo ! Have some Neon Coyote Remixes (right click, save as):


Chromatics - In The City (Neon Coyote Remix)


Clipse - Mr. Me Too (Neon Coyote Remix)

Damn, it's getting cold outside.

DEATH PROOF DIGITAL POSTERS

Artwork update, I have released a serie of vector posters with the characters of the movie Death Proof. Check the artwork section or one of my online galleries for close-ups. I have more stuff on the grill. Awesome tunes attack (right click, save as):

Soft Tigers - Mr. Ice Cream (Miami Horror Remix)

Jackson Sisters - I Believe In Miracles

ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness (Justice Remix)

Glass Candy - Rolling Down the Hills

That is all Folks !

CUSTOM SHOES + BEHANCE

I drew on these shoes for a friend a few days ago. For her girlfriend who likes penguins. Doodles on shoes is a 1st try, kinda like it. By the way, you blog readers can help me. If you like my works, go to my Behance profile and hit the "click to appreciate" button on the bottom of those pages: one, two & three. No need to register, just follow the links and click, thanks!

Electric Light Orchestra - Twilight

Adventure Kid - De Lorean Motor Company

Right click, "save as" to download the music. More collabs to come soon, and new artworks as well!

NEW TEE

My last artwork/collab with JU5 joined the shop! Is anyone still reading this blog? Since I'm back from Japan It feels like it's desert.. Not cool.

MY DEEREST

My latest artwork OH DEER INDEED is now available as a tee in the shop. And just because I'm great, here's a nice song from one of my fav band The Radio Dept.


The Radio Dept. - This Past Week DOWNLOAD

JAPAN MEGA REPORT

Well it's been 2 weeks now that I'm back from my one month trip to Japan. My room is full of stuff, I mean more than usual. I had a great time there and I hope I will go again next year. The time zone has no effect on me by the way, I'm not using time zone lol.

OK so where can I start? Japan is SUPERNEATO. I now more than ever realize how much my city fucking sucks.


TO SEE THE PICS OF MY TRIP: Select AKUTOU LOVES JAPAN! in the menu of my website. Don't miss the "ASS CLEANER" button.


THE JAPANESE PEOPLE

They seem way happier than French people. They smile at you and welcome you anytime you enter a shop or a restaurant. But they dont do it because it's their job but because they have been educated like this. It's sincere. They apologize a lot too. One time I entered a shoes shop, all the staff in the shop welcomed me and my friend so much, screaming "WELCOME TO OUR SHOP" "THANKS FOR ENTERING THIS SHOP" stuff like that i suppose, I thought something was wrong. They have respect for things and each others. That must be why their streets are so clean. You dont see a single piece of paper or a cigarette on the ground in Kyoto. It's almost the same for Tokyo, where I saw a few cigs but it's still ridiculously clean.

They dont complain. I havent seen anyone complaining in a month. A Japanese will never complain, especially for bullshits. Europeans are always complaining, especially for bullshits. Japs are freakin efficient. Before I arrived I thought a good part of the population was shy but it's not true. The average dude in Japan can go sing some Elton John love songs with all his heart and soul in front of everyone at the karaoke and it's completely normal. I saw some 40 years old salary man buying some inflatable doll in a sex shop and he was not shameful at all. There also was a girl buying dildos, she was cute and didnt need these stuff imo but never mind lol. So they're warm people and all but they dont show it when it comes to serious/deep feelings tho. Kinda weird. Lovers don't kiss or hold hands in public. At least not everywhere. Friends don't touch each others when they meet, no handshake, no kisses, no hugs. It must be weird for them when us frenchies arrive and naturally kiss on the cheeks lol.

Japs are drunk in a sec. 2 beers and it's a Technical Knock Out. You can sometimes see salary men sleeping, yes SLEEPING, in the streets at 3am cause they are too drunk to go back home. Both men and women drink. They go hang out in bars and restaurants almost every nights, not just the week end but also during the week. Sometimes after work, salary men go to bars where cute girls are waiting for them to make them relax a bit. It's a bit weird, prostitution without the sex part if you ask me. About prostitution, there's no prostitute in Japan. At least not in the streets. There are gigolos tho lol. The have perfect haircuts and wear smokings with croco shoes. There was a lot of them near my hotel in Tokyo, easely 4 or 5 every street corners, always chating and trying to get the lonely girls passing by. Pretty funny.


THE JAPANESE FOOD

The food is excellent (tasty and healthy). Sushi bars are awesome, you sit down and pick what you want. The sushis are in front of you. Then when you're done they count the number of plates you took and you go check out. There are 2 sushis on each plate and each plate costs 140 Yen (that's the most costy I went to). My favs were Salmon sushis and Tuna sushis. Sometimes we took the sushis and ate them in the hotel. A box of 16 sushis is 1000 Yen. In France, 16 sushis would be 4 or 5 times this price and I'm not sure it would be nearly as good.

I also discovered Gyozas, it's delicious too. It's lil fried stuff, you got 6 for 210 Yen. It's nothing. Tonkatsu and ChickenKatsu is excellent too. It's fried porc or fried chicken with a sauce and rice. You can get it for 500 or 600 Yen, depends. You can easily eat in any restaurant for 1000 Yen. 2000 Yen for fancy ones lol. It's safe to say that food is way cheaper than Europe. Even fastfoods are cheaper. A Mc Donald's menu was like 600 Yen, in France it's twice this price for the exact same menu.

To get a more precise idea of how cheap were the prices, do the maths:
1000 Yen = 6€ Euros = 8.50$ US Dollars
100 Yen = 0.60€ Euros = 0.85$ Cents

And yeah I call that cheap compared to French prices. I don't know how it is like where you live.


PLACES I WENT

while in Kyoto:

Temples. The Gold Temple and other ones, Zen gardens too.. Kyoto is beautiful. It was super cool to go there by bicycle. I went to a few cities nearby like Osaka, Hiroshima and Nagoya. My hotel was located in a quiet place with small streets. A few subway stations from the hotel there was the Shijo district which is where you find all the modern stuff like amusement building (arcade games, pachinko, casino games, bowling, snooker..). I went to a maid bar where cute girls call you "master" and kneel down when you're ordering, it was pretty weird. The amusement park Nagashima Spaland was freakin great and the price was really reasonnable.


while in Tokyo:

My hotel was in Ikebukuro. I went to Akihabara, the Otaku district. Lots of electronics and Manga stuff there. Shibuya, Harajuku & Shinjuku, super crowded places excellent for shopping, restaurants and bars. I went to this bar where they put you in a cell and serve you weird lookin drinks. The Tokyo Game Show was cool too. I played Metal Gear 4 and Metal Gear Online, both on PS3, pretty awesome. The girls were super cute there, it's almost traumatizing.


No matter where you go in Japan, the streets are totally clean and totally safe. I guess this has something to do with their (strict?) education.


It's super bullshits that everybody says Japan is very expensive. My plane ticket was 860 euros. I live in France, Japan is on the other side of the globe, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? There is something called fuel you gotta put on the planes so they can fly. The food is super cheap like I said before, 2, 3 and sometimes 4 times cheaper than France. My hotel in Kyoto did cost me 13 Euros a night and it was a very cool traditional one. The boss of the hotel invited us to the restaurant. The cheapest hotel in France is 20 Euros and it's nothing close to what you could call charming (that's my polite sentence for it sucks balls).



That's it guys, I really encourage everyone to go to Japan. It's an amazing country. I'd be back there as soon as I can. Probably next year.



Geez readers your eyes must hurt right now. A lil mp3 post will make you forget that. By the way, this track was ON REPEAT in my mp3 player when I was in Japan. It was also on the site's last playlist (a new one starts playin today!). For more awesome tunes, check out The Twelves at myasspace.


Asobi Seksu - Thursday (The Twelves Remix) DOWNLOAD

BACK SOON

I'll be back from my Japan trip the 30th of September. It's been awesome. The food, the people, the weather, the shops, the everything. I'm gonna vectorize some new stuff when I'm back and finish other things. Maybe some new tees will join the shop. And also maybe a new blog for mp3 posts but.. this is still under plotting lol.

Thanks for people buying tees this month, and for the nice words too.

SUNTORY TIME

Alrights! I'm going to Japan tomorrow! I will stay there for a month. 2 weeks in Kyoto, then 2 weeks in Tokyo. What will I do there? Hmm.. let's see =D I'm gonna visit the Lost in Translation hotel, try all kind of food, get me some SHIATSU MASSAGE :drool: I will also go to the Tokyo Game Show as a VIP, I've heard it's super easy to trick them, you just gotta show whatever ID card and speak whatever language but not japanese and they let you pass lol

I'm gonna buy stuff too, a DS and a mp3 player for my bro cause it's cheaper there, maybe stuff for my computer, headphones, maybe some tees and clothes.. Anyone knows some good places to go? I have a JR Pass, it allows me to travel all over the country, subway, bus, train.. so I pretty much can go everywhere. I know I'm gonna go to an amusement park too. I'm gonna make tons of photos. It's the 1st time I will be that far of my home, this is exciting woohoo.

I fear a bit the fact that I won't be able to talk much with people. My english is good, but dunno about Japanese' english lol I guess the other solution will be primitive hands language. Seems fun lol. I will probably be online sometimes cause there's like cybercafes everywhere there. Oh and yeah, I'm gonna try the electronic toilets, the ones that wash your ass for you when you're done craping. Fantastico.




My super recent design ELECTIGRE is available as a shirt in the shop of my site. As well as the text tee for uninteresting persons who want to be at least cool. New music playlist on my site soon and I updated the akutouspace cause it was a bit too empty. Feel free to visit and compliment me lol

I have to sell like 600 tees to pay the whole trip. Go for it! :nod: I'm gonna be so broke when I'm back in France. Ahoy! hooray poorness :ahoy:

WHO WANTS A SHIRT?

Hello Hello Folks, my shop is now open and fully working! I already had my 1st customer YAY! Click T-SHIRTS on the menu of my site to see the shop. All the Paypal links work but if you prefer, you can also contact me directly, just send a mail. I'd be glad to hear directly from you!

Oh and if you have a blog, It'd be fantastico if you'd talk about my shirts on it! :) This shirt thing is kinda new to me and I really could use some exposure. Thank you!