Takashi Murakami & JP THE WAVY’s MNNK Bro. debuts ‘Mononoke Kyoto’ single, launching creative partnership

MNNK Bro., the collaboration unit consisting of contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and rapper JP THE WAVY, released their debut single ‘Mononoke Kyoto’ on July 10th, marking the beginning of their activities as a unit.

Murakami formed the unit after he heard JP THE WAVY’s track ‘Pick N Choose’ at his daughter’s dance recital by chance. He was struck by the fusion of the song with the children’s dance, likening it to his “Superflat” art concept that he has been exploring for decades. This led to a creative partnership, with the two artists collaborating in the studio on the theme song for Murakami’s solo exhibition ‘Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto’. This exhibition, held at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, is Murakami’s first in a domestic museum in eight years. Murakami contributed to the music production and recording, and also designed the jacket artwork, featuring characters of himself and JP THE WAVY amidst cherry blossoms, symbolising Kyoto.

The single explores Kyoto’s rich cultural heritage and supernatural folklore, blending themes of timelessness and evolution through the lens of “Superflat” art.

Additionally, the music video for ‘Mononoke Kyoto’, directed by Spikey John, features Murakami’s works and includes rare footage from the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theatre and Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple.

The special record of the single will come out on August 3rd. This release includes trading cards which initially appeared in May for the Murakami exhibition and quickly became popular collectors items. The record comes with three random cards out of a total of 24 types, featuring 12 designs in both Japanese and English versions.

Takashi Murakami’s large-scale ‘Mononoke Kyoto’ exhibition, comprised of around 170 predominately new works, concludes on September 1st.

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