i was already planning to go to commune last night to shoot some film for manas, but earlier this week, commune reached out and asked if i’d be interested in playing because tashi was asking about me.
rewind to last year when tashi asked if he could use my photography for his album. little did i know it would lead to us meeting, let alone us playing together.
have you ever been strangers with someone and knew they would instantly become like family? i felt that strongly last night. not only with tashi, but with thom as well as audrey. all so very kind hearted and strangely familiar like distant relatives.
there’s something really special about their free spirit, standing proud to be asian american, and creating improvisational experimental music. it made me feel that what i do as a solo artist has a place to coexist with other people that have a similar background. life affirming shit.
all of this to say, last night was ultra special and i’m grateful to have been a part of it. thank you commune for having me. thanks to everyone that was there.
johnny // hisself
@commune_atl@autonomousmanas@tashidorjiiii@thom_nguyen__@audrey.isabel.chen
7. i couldn’t be more proud to be your dad. keep being exactly who you are because you are truly one of a kind. happy birthday eden, i love you more than you’ll ever know.
when shooting film, i generally like to snap the same subject twice with different shutter speeds given that i like the subject enough. this is the same subject as the cover art of “vessel” by @irr1086 . this shot has much higher contrast giving it a more moody look. i was pushing for this one to be used but in the end the one that had more highlights and detail was used, with reason that it was more obviously a film shot. i’m happy it was used because it looks great with @farbodkokabi ’s typography. i just wanted to share because i think outtakes and behind the scene tidbits are interesting and i still love the other shot.
VESSEL by IRREVERSIBLE is streaming on all platforms today, out on @dipteridrecords . two 20 minute tracks - one of them, namely “Thoth”, in which i helped write and tracked guitars on - is a wild journey that feels like a nightmare right into a lucid dream. please take the time to sit with this album. the boys and i put a lot of our time into it.
black/white film photography throughout the physical format was provided by yours truly. i took the cover photo in tucson outside of my airbnb in 2023. inside photos were taken way back in 2015 when i first got into macrophotography. much of which i was experimenting for ENDLESS LIGHT for O’BROTHER. happy to have these photos that were unused at the time find their home here.
the gorgeous layout and typography is done by my friend and grammy nominated (2? 3? i’ve lost count) @farbodkokabi . thank you for elevating my work in such a unique and tasteful way.
i love you billy, jackob, justin, spencer and zach. thank you for having me a part of this special behemoth of an album. congrats on the release!
i made the best and easiest decision of my life 10 years ago and married anna, the woman of my dreams. thank you for loving me.
it was so special to bring eden to the field where i asked anna to marry me. also very special that heima was present, she was there as a puppy when i asked anna over 11 years ago in that very spot.
here’s to the next 10 years, loving and nurturing this beautiful family that we’ve made together. none of this is taken for granted. i love you @annadang 🖤
shout out to @sarahmacook for capturing these magical moments. i apologize for the half-assed instructions on how to shoot on all of our film cameras - you managed it well, thank you 🙏🏽
happy to have my black and white film photos included in the new @tashidorjiiii record out on @dragcityrecords today. order it here: tashidorji.bandcamp.com
thank you, tashi.
