Shibuya clubs Sound Museum Vision & Contact link up with Tokyo's top talents on a line of graphic tees

It's been over a year since many of us in Asia hit any dance floors. Some will still be there when this is all over, but many will not, leaving in their wake nothing but memories of good times gone by. With much determination, two clubs in Tokyo — Sound Museum Vision and Contact — propelled forward and persevered by collaborating with various creatives in Japan by producing limited edition graphic T-shirts.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo has declared multiple states of emergency which put clubs at an indefinite limbo with limited operations. Through crowdfunding, both clubs were able to survive last year — however, this step came with hesitancy. Contact club owners questioned whether it was the right step to keep the club alive when there were many others in need during this grim time, explained on their crowdfunding page.

An integral part of Tokyo's nightlife scene, both clubs have opened their dance floors to an array of club-goers with flavours of techno, electronica, house and even hip-hop. Sound Museum Vision, situated in Shibuya is separated into four rooms with Gaia being their biggest dance floor. Known for its state of the art sound system, earplugs might just be your best friend for the night. Their nightly genres have covered a wide spectrum of electronic dance music, welcoming artists such as Charlotte de Witte, Diplo, Pan-Pot, Amelie Lens, Seven Lions, A$AP Rocky and more prior to the pandemic.

Three minutes away, through the basement at the back of a parking lot is where Contact sits with historical deep roots to dance music in the land of the rising sun. As underground as it gets, this members-only club promotes a space to let loose with their anti-camera and drinks policy — yes you read that right, no drinks. Pro tip: one can be a member by signing up on their website. It’s not all super secret squirrel stuff as Contact has opened their stages to a roster of past artists such as Black Coffee, Honey Dijon, Goldie, Peggy Gou, John Digweed and Ben UFO to name a few. However, both clubs have been home to many resident DJs all around Japan and have featured many Asian talents that have been growing their brand over the years.

When there's rain, there's always a rainbow. What followed suit with the birth of a collaboration between these two clubs and Tokyo's leading creators. These exclusive graphic T-shirts are an ode to rave fashion, typography and references to music that we have learned to love over the years. The collection features creatives such as YAGI, VERDY, CreativeDrugStore, BlackEyePatch, WACKO MARIA, UNDERCOVER, Kunichi Nomura and Bal. Contact includes their own personal touch with an original piece with their insignia they have been sharing since the start of the pandemic — 'Let's Start The Dance Again’.

The popularity of the idea has sold the hearts (or T-shirts in this case) of many fans so far, with more than half of the design already sold out. Each piece ranges from ¥4000 - ¥5000 JPY excluding shipping and all profits will go directly to keeping the club's lifeline, which in turn keeps us alive when the world regains its health.

For more designs, peep into their online store here.

[Via Hypebeast]