To everyone who joined usโour members, staff, and our loving, deeply perceptive audienceโthank you so much.
This time, we centered the event on the idea of pursuing โserious play.โ
For me, thatโs one answer to the question of how human beings can keep living in a truly human way from here on out. Total rationalism and efficiency-first thinkingโthings like time efficiency and cost efficiencyโmatter, of course. Iโm sure everyone has their own priorities, too.
But when that becomes everything, people start living like machines. And once humans live like machines, thereโs nothing we can beat AI atโand we end up losing the very meaning of being human.
In that sense, right nowโwith the snap general election following the dissolution of Japanโs House of Representatives, and all the โright vs. leftโ rhetoricโdivisions are everywhere. And even when we donโt realize it, itโs a story that spreads into the everyday lives of each of us.
In my own head, I always have two versions of myself: a hardcore realist and a hardcore idealist. But it canโt be that only one of them is โright.โ So Iโve been wondering whether thereโs a way to integrate them better.
By embracing โserious playโโby allowing some breadthโI want to keep moving forward with activities that donโt put โrightnessโ at the center, but instead place โbeautyโ as a major guiding axis.
On January 22, Iโm launching and carrying out a project that Iโm staking my life on. Itโs an event, a documentary film production, and also a club activity. The theme is โpursuing play with absolute seriousness.โ
There are still many parts I wonโt know until I actually do it, so I canโt explain it in a perfectly clear, straightforward way. In other words, by intentionally not deciding everything in advance, I want everyone to enjoy the โplayโ that emerges from that opennessโtogether.
I believe this is what โideal freedom,โ grounded in the belief in peopleโs inherent goodness, is meant to look like. Iโm really looking forward to the voluntary participation of all you wonderful people, and Iโm excited to share the experience with you. Letโs entrust the outcome to the universe, at least once.
“Expected Time Table” 18:30~19:00 DJรBAND SESSION 19:00~19:30 Dan Mitchel Band Set 1st Stage 19:30~19:45 Opening Talk 19:45~20:25 ActingรBand(Love Story with Romantic Band Music ) 20:25~20:45 PantomimeรBand 20:45~21:00 Break Time 21:00~21:05 Ukulele Live 21:05~21:20 Improvised New SongรPantomimeรDance 21:20~21:40 InteviewรBandรActing(Voice of the youth) 21:40~21:45 Ending Talk 21:45~22:15 Dan Mitchel Band Set 2nd Stage 22:15~22:45 Ending DJ
The lineup will continue to be updated as new performers are confirmed. If you believe in your talent and would like to appear in the program, please feel free to send your materials via DM or email at any time. I may not be able to reply to everyone, but I will review every submission.
A genre-crossing art event held 29 times in 2023 in collaboration with FRIENDSHIP. โ โFreestyle Session Party (FSP)โ โ is being refined and rebooted, relaunching as an event, program, and community under the name โDandy Asobi Club (DAC)โ!!
We will hold the pilot edition on Thursday, January 22, at Shibuya 7th Floor.
Theme
โMaster Serious Play!โ
โBefore you know it, it becomes a social phenomenon!โ
โBring Japanโs unique spirit of play to the world!โ
Turning serious play beyond genres and generations into a โclub activityโ
Across music, film/video, dance, theater, philosophy, and moreโbeyond genre and generationโwe aim to pursue โserious playโ as a club-like activity, developing it into a 12-episode series.
Building on popular FSP projects such as:
Adding live improvised accompaniment to theater performances
Sessions between DJs and live instrumentalists
Collaborations between reading theater and dancers / pantomime performers
โฆwe also plan to create highly original new formats, including:
A project where I draw out the thoughts of young people, and actors perform them as monologues
A project where we compose a song on the spot with participants present
We aim to deliver an array of creativity-rich projects that are rarely seen elsewhere.
Re-edit the event into a program and share it globally
This time, while keeping it a participatory event with an audience (as before), we want to leverage my track recordโincluding selection at a Hollywood film festival and an award at an Italian film festivalโto record, edit, and distribute it as a single program.
YouTube would be an option, but we also plan to explore whether distribution might be possible via Prime Video, Netflix, AbemaTV, and other platforms.
We also aim to add English subtitles throughout the entire program and export it overseas. I believe we must bring the talents hidden in Japan to the world. If we only consider the market within Japanโor only inbound touristsโthe long-term potential seems limited, especially when we have the internet.
For the video production team, I hope to collaborate again with the people who supported me during my previous film production. I intend to take responsibility and lead the team, and I believe my countless past failures will support me this time.
Encouraging proactive independence while maintaining authority
Although this is a participatory event, I will carefully review portfolios and submitted materials in advance and give the go-ahead based on the best match for each project.
Therefore, the overall stage quality will not drop due to casual amateur participation. That said, I donโt want anyone to feel intimidatedโrather, I want people with fewer achievements to actively challenge themselves. For the sake of discovering bold new concepts, I plan to review everything that is submitted, and within that, I want to design projects where many people can participate in the right roles at the right time.
Any club member can bring in a project idea
Under the banner โPerestroika = Democratization,โ we will establish a committee via a LINE Open Chat and invite committee members to propose new projects.
A project will be implemented with the approval of โat least five committee members + me.โ Those who vote in favor will also be expected to take responsibility and help operate the project.
LINE Open Chat: โDandy Asobi Club Planning Committeeโ is here! (You can join anonymously without adding anyone as a LINE friend.)
Expanding serious play across Japan and aiming for global reach
By linking with the nationwide tour โFreeโ that I announced previously, we can invite new talents I meet across Japan to performโenergizing both the event and the programโwhile also making it a place where people from many industries can gather.
Ultimatelyโโbirds of a feather flock togetherโโI hope to create a club-like space where, across all of Japan, diverse people beyond generations and genres who share my core philosophy can connect, thrive, and prosper.
You can also learn more about my guiding philosophy via my blog and the videos linked at the end.
Serious play can heal division in society
To resolve the countless binaries and divisions in society, I arrivedโjust yesterday (the memorable date of December 5, 2025) after years of thought experimentsโat the conclusion that we need a strong leader with aesthetics and an essential spirit of playfulness.
More details will be shared here. (I will add additional notes later.)
Crowdfunding to raise production costs!!
For the production budget of this project, I would like to raise 1,000,000 yen through crowdfunding!
Primarily, we would be truly happy if you purchase advance tickets, and as an added bonus, youโll also be able to try our existing servicesโor, if the project becomes a program, we may run commercial spots as well. (Of course, for corporate supporters, payment by invoice is also possible.)
Last time, we received support from 27 people and raised 1,280,000 yen.
Budget breakdown
Venue: ยฅ150,000
Performers: ยฅ150,000
Video: ยฅ200,000
Sound: ยฅ100,000
Rehearsals: ยฅ70,000
Editing: ยฅ150,000
Operations: ยฅ30,000
Advertising: ยฅ150,000
Please click the button below to visit the crowdfunding page, and check the support menus and return rewards there.
Pilot Edition โDandy Asobi Clubโ Production Support Fund
Iโve been seriously considering bringing back the Freestyle Session Party. I realized that it was something really necessary. But I canโt do it the same way as beforeโso this time Iโm thinking of democratizing it.
Kind of like a perestroika, you know? Weโd set up a planning committee, discuss ideas there, and make decisions together. Responsibility would also be shared among the members. I think thatโs the only way it can really be sustainable.
And I can already see how it might work: Weโd open a group chat to form the committee, throw out ideas, and whenever more than five members approve, that idea gets carried out. But those who approved it also have to take responsibility for the project. The other members have no obligation to participate, and if they do show up on the day, theyโd still have to pay for a ticket. Committee membersโ pay would just come from the ticket sales of the guests they bring in.
The key would be to secure a venue that doesnโt charge us a fixed rental feeโsomeplace cooperative. If profits come in, we pool them in the committee fund. Eventually, maybe sponsors will get involved.
As a guiding principle, above all else, itโs got to be play. It has to be participatory. We want to pursue the kind of play that leads to the future. That means letting go of pride and all that, while still doing it with a sense of disciplineโnot just cozying up for the sake of it. Weโre not after some prearranged harmony. I donโt even know if itโs a โperformanceโ per se. Itโs less about an audience and more about participants.
The genre doesnโt matterโit doesnโt have to be just music or theater. It could even be philosophy.
And why not stream it, too? Do you get what I mean?
Thanks to all of you, my latest release โFREEโhas been receiving an incredible response.
APPLE MUSIC: 24,000 streams YOUTUBE: 10,000 views and counting
To express my gratitudeโthough only three months remain in 2025โ Iโd like to announce a special Thank-You Campaign: a Nationwide Tour!
My company, Dramatic Frontier Co., Ltd., normally offers a custom โYour Only Live Showโ on-site performance service. The standard rate is ยฅ30,000 per solo performance + travel expenses, but for this campaign, Iโm opening one slot per prefecture in Japan at:
ยฅ10,000 + travel expenses
(first come, first served)
You can host the show anywhere. Iโll bring my amp and travel to any locationโ your home, outdoors, a small gathering, a large venueโno problem at all. Of course, if the space has a stage or proper sound equipment, I can perform at my full potential.
Requests for the setlist are welcome!
The only conditions are:
โ I perform one songโโFreeโโduring the show. โก You allow me to film (as much as possible) for the nationwide tour documentary.
For those who donโt know: Iโm not only a singer-songwriter but also a film director, and my short film has won awards at international film festivals. This project will have a Lo-Fi aesthetic by designโbut I hope youโll still look forward to it.
This is a type of challenge Iโve never taken on before, but if we can all enjoy it togetherโand if it leads to new and wonderful encountersโ that would make me truly happy.
Dan Mitchel 