Last year I took a 4-day trip to London that resulted in my reconsidering of my entire life. My father and I explored Kensington, our home base, after landing.
Confident with the tube system, day two saw us in the British countryside of Tottenham. My reasoning for these 4 days lied here: Margins united, an Asian cultural festival lasting from 3PM to 11PM. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was the headliner and I really wanted to see her live. This opportunity was once in a lifetime, no wasn’t a word in my dictionary. Introduced to her discography through Vocaloid, one car ride during August 2024 hooked me; I was a fan.
While Kyary was the highlight of that night, simultaneously the best 30 minutes of my life. None of that would have been possible had the ten other musicians not created an immaculate vibe of techno-pop, techno-rap, EDM, and house.
THE CONCERT:
Opening with Deejay Nye & Tingrunrun‘s EDM mixes, followed by PETERPARKER69 as the third set. He engaged the audience unlike I’ve ever seen before with his techno-pop/rap. Going as far as stepping OVER the photo pit resting his foot on the rail, gesturing in order to excite the audience.
Jianbo, Effie, Sebii, and Toohji X Loota continued this pace until Emei walked on stage, transitioning to strictly technopop. Like PETERPARKER69, she engages the audience to an unbelievable degree with sing-a-longs and performing unreleased songs to rile up an audience she knew well. The fans in question knew the lyrics to her songs by heart, quickly picking up on the verses to her new tunes. Emei‘s final minutes culminated with launching a T-Shirt into the audience with a slingshot.
THE WAIT FOR KYARY
Another shift happened with the next performer, Jax Jones. Fifty minutes of incredible house mixes, the final appetizer before the Queen of Harajuku came on stage to grace us with her presence. Truth be told I was VERY nervous, holding in the anxious urge to use the bathroom (I would have lost my spot at the rail). Post Jax Jones, the audience waited approximately 30 minutes to an hour preparation period; venue staff were unsure of how many water bottles to set out for Kyary and her iconic backup dancers. Doubt began to creep into my head on how she would follow up the pre-existing vibe, until she opened with Candy Racer.
WAIT A MINUTE!! SHE HAS A BUNCH OF TECHNO-POP SONGS!
Those 30 minutes must’ve been what Heaven feels like, because that was paradise.
POST MARGINS
is something I’m still recovering from, it changed my entire world view. I want to discuss the photographers for the event, a major player in my drastic change of career choice (marine biologist to photographer). For our 4 days in London, I had brought my Chika Fujiwara nendoroid doll with me since nendoroid photography is a hobby of mine. Unaware the photographers at Margins would make me realize I truly loved the medium, they demonstrated how incredible being a photographer can be; the people you can meet, and the joys of the field.
I urge you dear reader to be passionately crazy over something. To find something that love, to do something new that reshapes your worldview to be grander; beyond you. Let yourself go crazy, find what makes you tick!
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