Tokyo’s street scene has the attention of the whole world: like the undying light of a beacon, creators have all hands on deck and tirelessly push out unseen trends and designs.

Just by looking at the centerpieces of the youth art and fashion community, it’s obvious how impactful Tokyo is.

From the outside looking in, big creators, like the illustrator Verdy and the art-music collective Tokyo Vitamin, are the absolute contemporary pillars of the bustling city, and understandably so, as they are the most visible faces in the street fashion scene and underground music.

But the people who aren’t on the frontline of this effortlessly cool movement are just as influential: meet Kei Saito [@theeternalteenager], the graphic designer silently revolutionizing this subculture of Tokyo.

From Yokosuka to Tokyo to New York, graphic designer Kei Saito has been vividly changing up the art scene of the local youth - and, most particularly, the music scene. It’s through his extensive knowledge of genres, bands, artists, and so on, without actually being a musician or anything of that kind, that he fuels his infinite well of creativity.

Saito welcomed sabukaru with warmth, and we were quickly charmed by his mellow, down-to-earth character. Being humble is second nature to him, but don’t forget the fact that he’s the genius behind some of the best-selling t-shirts of the new young scene: having worked with the Stray Rats, Verdy, Tokyo Vitamin, Heavn, Miyachi, BLANKMAG, Ollie Magazine, and more, you can instantly recognize his work.

Like a scrapbook diary, Kei Saito’s graphic designs resemble collages full of angst, cynicism, and teenage essence, which are tightly curled around his love for alternative music, specifically shoegaze, hardcore, and all those loose threads of rock and emo music. It’s his vulnerable, cleverly colorful designs that make their way into our hearts - and don’t forget his memes, which revolve around Redditor-level nihilism and the indecipherably dry Gen-Z humor.

Jumping between catatonic sadness to spiteful, ironic happiness, Kei Saito translates the wide spectrum of shameful feelings into something timeless, at times whimsical, but mostly relatable.

sabukaru had the opportunity to jump into his world and talk about everything nostalgia, his passion for My Bloody Valentine, the existential dread of Mondays, and achievable dreams.

Please introduce yourself to the sabukaru network. How did your career as a graphic designer start?

I’m from this town called Yokosuka, in the south of Tokyo. I grew up around American people because there’s an American naval base over there, and then that’s why I speak English. I started making graphics around 2018-2019. The first one was a graphic for either Stray Rats or Tokyo Vitamin, and since then I’ve kept on making graphics.

Before I started making graphics, I was making collages. My friend told me that I should start making graphics because my collages were similar to graphics, so that’s how I got into it.

What’s the meaning behind your Instagram handle “the eternal teenager”?

I think I saw a post by Mike Giant. He’s a great artist. One time, he posted something, a graphic that said “the eternal teenager” and I don’t know, I really liked it, and I’m using it as a handle. I have been using it since 2016 and I do feel like an eternal teenager too.

Music is tightly incorporated into your designs. How did that come about?

I had a senpai in high school, and he put me onto Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Beastie Boys, and old-school hip-hop. Before that, I was so into metal, I would just listen to metal strictly - then he told me to start listening to something else, and I got into hardcore, hip-hop, reggae, and shit. I really liked all the album covers, and I started using them as references. I still use album covers as references a lot, I just love album covers for some reason, especially album covers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

I noticed you also have a meme account [@shoegaze.mp3] that focuses on a particular genre.

Yea, [the meme account] is called shoegaze because I love shoegaze. I love My Bloody Valentine! To me, shoegaze is like a mixture of a lot of music, it’s hard to explain, but I really like it. Then, shoegaze, the word itself, is kind of funny. It’s my meme account but it’s also my label: I make t-shirts under that label because I love shoegaze so much.

I just make t-shirts whenever I want. I give them to friends or I wear them. I made this Sonic Youth t-shirt. It’s my favorite ever. I was wearing this at a bar in Soho, in New York, and this tall guy comes in, and he was the guitarist from Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore. I was like “Is this real?”, and he was like, “Oh, nice shirt!”. Isn’t that crazy?

But you’re so tied in with music - do you do any music?

No, not at all [laughs]. I tried playing guitar, it was just hard. I still play sometimes, but eh, I try, but it doesn’t work out.

What are 3 of your top favorite songs?

1. Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine: I just love that song so much. It was used in [the movie] Lost in Translation and that makes me like it more.

3. Cowpers - Eight by one: it’s a Japanese band. They’re from Hokkaido and apparently, there’s like a really cool scene. I like 90s Hokkaido emo or rock bands. It sounds kind of like midwest emo, but the lyrics are in Japanese.

The genres I listen to [hardcore, shoegaze, etc] aren’t so popular here in Japan, versus in New York where people listen to everything. It was one of my friends who introduced me to Bloody Valentine and Teenage Fanclub, and that’s how I got into alternative, shoegaze music. I got into, once I got into I started listening to shoegaze, it allowed me to [transition to] Aphex Twin - they’re not the same but they have a similar aesthetic, you know, the vibe is similar. So that’s how I got into techno and, after that, ambient, like Boys of Canada, then I got into older ambient stuff, like Brian Eno. They’re kind of all connected.

There is a stereotype in the West about people who listen to Deftones, Aphex Twin, My Bloody Valentine, etc. Do you relate to that?

[Laughs] Yea, yea, yea! It’s kind of real. I guess someone who would listen to Deftones would listen to Korn. I mean, me, personally, I do [laughs].

Visual elements are what’s strongest, but everything seems to have a story of its own, like an inside joke. What’s the philosophy behind this?

I like graphics that make me laugh. Peter Saville is one of my biggest influences, I mean, he’s one of my favorite graphic designers - he’s the guy who did the Joy Division cover. Also, I’m a sad person, so I always make something funny and sad. If you follow my meme side, you know what I’m talking about. [I would describe my graphics as] just sad and funny.

I like mixing my favorite things in my graphics. I was listening to Morrissey’s “Every Day Is Like Sunday” while doing yoga, and [thought that] actually, my life is like Monday, every day. It just reminded me of one song by New Order, “Blue Monday”, and I went crazy - it’s the title of my last exhibition because I do feel like every day is like Monday. Well, Monday is definitely not a happy day, but it’s not the worst - it’s a difficult day, but not terrible. I just don’t want to make something sad, I want to mix it with something lighthearted.

Regarding graphic design, your stuff is like collages, similar to scrapbooks and album covers. Where do you find your inspiration?

Old magazines, for sure, especially old magazines from the 90s and early 2000s like Studio Voice, Relax, and IDEA. I get [compared to Hysteric Glamour’s design] a lot. It was huge growing up, I was always a fan of Hysteric Glamour. What else, things from the early 2000s in particular, not just magazines? It’s always been that way, I mean, now I know that Y2K is this huge thing, but since way before, I was really inspired by 2000s stuff. It just reminds me of being a little kid, the carelessness, and I was actually there in the 2000s. I was around 9 or something - it’s the nostalgia. Plus, I also listen to early 2000s music. I just like it.

I went to Hawaii in 2000 or 2001, I was like 4 or 5. Every time I see a place from the early 2000s, I’m reminded of that trip. That trip changed my life. My dad is also a very Americanized person and he also speaks English. Early 2000s Japanese culture is also so nostalgic, I mean, I grew up here! I grew up in Yokosuka, not Tokyo, but when I read FRUiTS, it reminds me of the good old days. Kyoro chan was my favorite cartoon. I was also into the anime Eureka Seven, it’s awesome.

What’s your creative process?

I make a playlist or listen to a particular song, and I come up with ideas. It totally depends, but let’s say my client tells me to create something 90s-ish, I’ll just listen to the music for three hours before I start. I mostly use photoshop, but I also use Illustrator.

What were you doing during the beginning of the pandemic? How was Tokyo at that time?

I don’t know because I was in Yokosuka [laughs]. I was inside. I was always playing that game on the Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing. I wasn’t in the Tokyo scene at all when the pandemic started. Then, I moved to New York, because I kind of just wanted to. I didn’t want to move to Tokyo, so I went to New York and I thought I’ll figure it out. I moved there in September 2021. I’d love to go back, I love it there.

And when you’re not creating, how do you feel? What are you doing?

I ride my bike. I’m outdoors a lot because when I’m in nature, I don’t think about my graphics or anything, and I really like it. I think a lot, and it’s tiring. When I’m biking or hiking, I don’t have to think. I actually got into biking during Covid-19 because I had nothing to do. I like riding bikes, but I like the culture around biking too. It’s kind of like fashion: it’s similar in terms of customizing it. Sometimes, I get ideas from old graphics on bike magazines, but it’s a separate thing. I do yoga sometimes. I mean, yea, I like [calming activities]. I meditate - well, I try to.

Can you tell me about your favorite fashion and music movement?

For music, definitely the 90s. Even 80s hardcore or new wave, goth wave, but I’m into late 90s more now, like midwest emo, like Texas Is the Reason, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Portraits of the Past. Duster was before the midwest emo wave but similar, so basically sad music. Late 90s sad stuff is my favorite right now, and also shoegaze. Also, early 2000s Japanese rock.

For fashion, I like old Helmut Lang, Raf Simons, Junya [Watanabe], and early 2000s Harajuku fashion too.

How is New York different or similar to the Tokyo you knew, in terms of the underground/street community? What do you like about those cities, and where do you feel at home?

I like how people in New York listen to everything. Like hardcore to like techno, emo, etc.

Why is My Bloody Valentine so pivotal for you?

It’s just so perfect! It’s so cute and so sad. Their lyrics are so good, like I Can See It (But I Can’t Feel It). They are one of the pioneers of shoegaze. Deftones isn’t as “cute”, but it’s sad - like rough sad. It’s something about how they dress: they look just like skaters of that time, but with something sensitive and [they make] introvert-type music. Their album covers are so good too. I just like most things sad - I fuck with it!

Who is your hero? Who do you look up to?

Julian [@k00pz] from Stray Rats, I think. He’s one of my biggest influences. I look up to him a lot. He’s the best! Also SKATE THING, the graphic designer. He runs a brand called CE (Caveat Emptor). He’s the best, Julian is the best, and, of course, My Bloody Valentine.

Is there anything new you’d like to do, and what’s next for Kei Saito?

I want to have a car [laughs]. A Volvo would be cool. I can dream, right? [Laughs]. I don’t really have a vision or a dream, but I want to go on fun trails in Canada. I want to visit Vancouver and Montreal and ride my bike there. I’m just trying to live in the moment. It’s really important for me to take one step at a time, yea. I also want to have a dog in the future, of any kind, maybe a miniature poodle.

I want to try to make something new with my designs. Like a new style, something simple, because you know, all my graphics are kind of complicated, with so much going on. I try to make something simple, I want to learn to make something simple.

Underrated bands?

Mitsubishi Suicide, from New York. They’re super cool.
Pretty Sick from New York, but they’re very popular. They’re awesome. They’re pretty sick [laughs]!
Cowpers, they’re pretty underrated and very niche.
Dignity For All

What’s your proudest accomplishment?

I never thought about it before. It’s just like right now, I’m just doing shit I got to do. It’s a hard question. I don’t even know what I’m trying to reach. Even now, I just want to be better at this, because I didn’t even go to school for this - I didn’t go to design school - so I just want to get better at it. Well, I got to work with one of my favorite graphic designers, Julian from Stray Rats, and that was amazing, so maybe that’s my biggest achievement in this graphic stuff.

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About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.