PODCAST · arts
MAEKAN
by MAEKAN
MAEKAN is a publisher and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about creative accountability, participation, and culture within a broader global community. MAEKAN's focused on equipping creators with the tangible and intangible tools to succeed and define the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.Head over to patreon.com/maekan if you're interested in supporting us and being part of our larger community which includes regular newsletters and a vibrant Discord community.
Episodes
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Indestructible: The DSPTCH Origin Story With Richard Liu
For the MAEKAN and DSPTCH family, we’ve watched each other grow with great interest. Both of us share a similar perspective on creating and putting things out into the world. So when we first decided to explore creating product, DSPTCH was a natural first partner. Their flexible in-house...
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Building the Brand — Adam Studios
After a long hiatus, we’re back with another episode of Building The Brand. Most crucially, this episode is hosted by MAEKAN founders Eugene Kan and Alex Maeland, who talk about the inception of Adam Studios, the creative agency they founded that ties into and supports MAEKAN as a company and...
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Two Acres at a Time — Kristyn Leach of Namu Farm
Namu Farm is a quaint two-acre property located an hour and a half outside of San Francisco. In a time when the topic of food and industry generally focuses on scale and size, a visit to the farm is a timely reminder of where our food comes from. The whole operation is overseen by Kristyn Leach…
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Lars Williams — Creating Sense Memories with Empirical Spirts
In a past lifetime, Copenhagen’s Refshaleøen island was far different than today. The massive infrastructure was home to a huge boat building operation. But it has since come to represent the bedrock of some of Copenhagen’s, and Denmark’s, most respected culinary projects. Started only a few…
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MAEKAN & BYBORRE — Redefining Comfort: Céline Pham
Comfort. It’s something essential to our lives. The degree of comfort we experience can impact how we view the world around us. Comfort can take shape in a practical sense. Are we dry? Are we able to move freely? Are we confident about how we look? Comfort can also apply psychologically. Are we...
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502 Bad Gateway — An Antidote to Online Fast Fashion
502 Bad Gateway is the best life decision Seth Footring has made in recent years. By day, Seth works in the photo and eCommerce department of ASOS in London, by night—and in all other spare waking hours—he focuses his efforts on being the creator and Editor-in-Chief of a brand new men’s fashion...
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Understanding Our World Through Objects — Johanna Agerman Ross
The value of an object is different for everyone. If you’re practical above all else, an object’s function, efficiency, and affordability are probably the most important aspects. If you’re drawn to beautiful things, the way an object looks and fits within an environment are more appealing. If...
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Remembering Triple X — Hong Kong's Underground Mecca
Gone before its time, XXX (known popularly as “Triple X”) was a club not far from the MAEKAN Office that was a hotspot for underground culture and music on Hong Kong’s Kowloon side. The venue of choice for acts like OKOKOK, Yeti Out and Eric Lau, among many others, it closed in late 2018 amid a...
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MAEKAN & BYBORRE — Redefining Comfort: Rebecca Kelley
Comfort. It’s something essential to our lives. The degree of comfort we experience can impact how we view the world around us. Comfort can take shape in a practical sense. Are we dry? Are we able to move freely? Are we confident about how we look? Comfort can also apply psychologically. Are we...
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Floating in Time — Daniel Arsham Brings Us Static Mythologies
“Looking back at it, it feels like I’m jumping around a lot, but all of the different types of work, whether it’s an installation or in the architecture studio that I have, they’re all in service of the same goal—which is to take our everyday experience, things that we know, and, sort of, make…
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MAEKAN Session — The Need for Criticism
The growth of social media gives off the perception that the world’s smaller and more connected, but conversely, this doesn’t necessarily make the world easier to understand. In our MAEKAN Session titled The Need for Criticism, we focused on the concept of critique in a social-media dominated...
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To Be a Member of a Club You Never Wanted to Join — Conversing with Mike Shinoda
Studies suggest that mental illness just may be the new normal—with an overwhelming amount of the population suffering from depression, anxiety, or a deep rooted sadness at one point or another in their lives. While some may attempt to ignore symptoms, it’s important we don’t isolate ourselves…
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Building the Brand — Community Governance
In this Building the Brand, Eugene sits down with Scott to talk about the role of community governance in a brand strategy. It's never been easier to start and build a brand today, but a side effect of this is building loyalty has become that much harder. Instead of freely providing what the…
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Observations Abroad with Joan Wong — Part II
Joan Wong worked at Penguin Random House in New York for the past five years as a book cover designer. Her more well-known work includes the paperback covers of the Crazy Rich Asians series by Kevin Kwan, Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All…
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Celebrating and Evaluating — A Recap of Unexpected Connections
I have a trick for when I meet new people in order to get more quickly into a substantiative conversation. I resist, for the entire meeting if possible, asking the person that I’ve just met what they do for a living. I’m not always able to swerve clear of what’s considered small talk—I still tend...
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Good Earth for Good Herb — Summerland and the Perfect Ceramic Bong
An eternal summer on a coast of smooth white sand represented in ceramics. Liam Kaczmar set out to make what he couldn’t find elsewhere when he dreamed up Summerland. His one-man operation in San Francisco has allowed him to escape the dissatisfaction he found in: having to put in 70-hour weeks…
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From the Portfolio of Guillaume Ferrand
Guillaume Ferrand is an illustrator who approaches his work with careful research, deliberate intentions, and a willingness to experiment. He draws inspiration from literature, old movies, classical paintings, architecture, fashion collections, tiles—anything and everything he comes across can…
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An Hour with Tan Dun — Master Composer and Force of Culture
Recently, MAEKAN teamed with Hong Kong’s most renowned publication SCMP to produce a story on Tan Dun, a master composer and living Chinese national treasure. Most familiar to international audiences for his work scoring Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he amassed a great body of work…
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Shochu & Soju — Yardbird's Elliot Faber Breaks Down The World's Favorite Rice Wines
As the distilled spirit of choice in South Korea, soju has quickly gained popularity alongside the country’s cultural exports. No stranger to the different spirits of the world, especially those in Asia, Yardbird beverage director, and Sake Samurai Elliot Faber knows a thing or two about soju and...
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Authenticity and Transparency in Fashion Media — The Fashion Law with Julie Zerbo
Julie Zerbo began The Fashion Law while she was still in law school, using it as a way to ground the theory that she was learning in something concrete. Julie’s website originates around the explosion in popularity of fashion blogging. Those who were not formally part of the industry could…
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There is No Handbook — Chapter-by-Chapter with Director Decatur Dan
Rarely do creatives start their careers with a particular defined path. It requires a few bumps and bruises, and wrong turns to find the right path. Decatur Dan, otherwise known as Daniel Hall, has come up through the ranks in a way that’s almost a requisite for success… your own way. His initial...
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Product Research Through Culture — Behzod Sirjani and How Slack Humanizes Work
Researcher and photographer Behzod Sirjani has dedicated his career towards the understanding of culture. It has come through the lens of both social media, at Facebook and more recently with remote and digital work at Slack. The interactions we’ve engaged in online have changed significantly…
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MAEKAN Travel Diary — Conversing through Football in Egypt
Hey, everyone. My name is Umar Issa. I’m from Los Angeles, California and recently I took a trip to Egypt for a few weeks. Egypt is a place I’ve wanted to visit for so long. It’s known in Arabic as Umm al-Dunya which means “mother of the world”. And I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to...
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Anything Can be Fascinating — Avery Trufelman of 99% Invisible on Telling Stories Well
Avery Trufelman is a producer at 99% Invisible, an extremely popular podcast created by Roman Mars. She crafts stories about things overlooked and believes anything can be a good story when told correctly. “If you go far enough away and zoom out and look at larger pictures everything is...
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Sights & Sounds — Chris da Canha
Chris da Canha is a skateboarder and photographer who hails from Durban, South Africa, but currently calls South Korea home. A regular contributing photographer for MAEKAN, he has shot many of our stories in Seoul, where he is currently based. These include our stories on RYSE, Cody Hudson and…
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Building A True Cannabis Lifestyle Brand — Ariel Stark-Benz of Mister Green
Weed. Marijuana. Bud. Pot. Reefer. Dope. Herb. Mary Jane. Chronic. Broccoli. Every region, person, and demographic seemingly have their own preferred definition for cannabis. Mind you, the short list above only spans the English language. The universal nature of cannabis has made it a particular...
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Straight Outta Saigon — Jenni Trang Le Talks Vietnam's Film Industry
In this first story to come out of Saigon, Elphick recalls his chat with film producer Jenni Trang Le. A near 10-year veteran of the Vietnamese film industry, her work has continued to push the envelope of cinema in Vietnam overcoming obstacles that include tight budgets, fickle box offices and...
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Calming the Freelance Rollercoaster — Cushion App Built by Jonnie Hallman
Jonnie Hallman has dedicated the past four years to building an app called Cushion to help ease the minds of freelancers. A long time freelancer himself, he meets the needs of freelancers with useful, smart features and also through giving a digital tool personality and warmth. Interview by…
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Building the Brand — 28 Days with Alek Rose
In this Building the Brand, Eugene and Charis sit down with Alek Rose, MAEKAN's second full-time apprentice who we had the pleasure of working with these past 28 days. Half debriefing, half feedback session, this episode examines some of the insights the soon-to-be graduate Alek has gained, as…
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Rooted in Californian Nostalgia — 40s and Shorties Grows Up
Charis Poon interviewed Adem Niazi and Drewbyrd from 40s and Shorties during their short trip to Hong Kong. Listen as the two co-founders speak about building the brand and how it has enabled them to share their own story of being rooted deep in California's culture. Text, Interview & Narration…
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Sights & Sounds — Gideon de Kock
Gideon De Kock is a Hong Kong based street photographer originally from Cape Town, South Africa. He used to work as a full time musician while in South Africa, has a background in sound engineering, and still occasionally plays guitar and bass and mixes audio. After moving to Hong Kong, Gideon…
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The Golden Years — Detroit Techno's Warehouse Scene
“See you at the Packard” was what Detroit youth would say as they parted ways at the city’s coffee shops, before regrouping after sunset. Opened in 1903, the Packard Plant was a grand statement of the booming American car industry. Yet the mid-century recession meant the 3,500,000-square-foot…
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Depression is Like Anything Else — Neal Brennan Mic'd Up
Depression is Like Anything Else — Neal Brennan Mic'd Up Comedian and Chapelle's Show co-creator Neal Brennan opens up on how culture and society need to change perceptions of depression. Script, Narration & Audio by Kevin Chau Photos by Christopher Lim & Eugene Kan Illustrations by Jeremy Leung...
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Shedding Vanity — Establishing Purpose with Alex Valdman of Rapha
Alex Valdman has worked dilligently and embraced the bumps and bruises of innovating in fashion and design. His early path in fashion was driven by the vanity of working with the likes of Kanye West and Nike, but in time he recognized vanity's detrimental effects on a creator's ultimate path....
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War Machine
David Kenji Chang spoke with Brendon Babenzien, creator of the apparel brand Noah, about taking a stand, not pulling punches, and balancing contradictions. Continue reading for the full story or listen to a condensed version of the interview above. Text and interview by David Kenji Chang Audio...
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Made To Last — The Knives of Hinoki
The brand Hinoki may be best known for the S1 Gyuto Chefs Knife, but 24-year-old founder Hamish Grace is doing a lot more than just selling blades on the internet with this project. Behind what appears to be a sleek knife brand is actually a mission to c
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Trusting Your Senses — Eric Lau on Music Shaping Society
Eric Lau is a London based music producer focused on making music that connects people and has a positive impact on society. He looks intentionally for ways that his music and his skills can inspire and encourage others, whether it’s through mixing albums, producing original work, or teaching…
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A Playing Field for All — New Opportunities for Creatives of Color
The creative world sees itself as progressive and liberal. The beliefs that make up this mindset are easy to understand on a theoretical level, but they don’t always translate directly into practice. Each life is a collection of unique experiences: a combination of our background, our history…
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Muted Music — The Private Spaces of Karachi’s Underground
Faraz Siddiqui and Hassan Khan, Co-Founders of lifestyle brand HeF. " data-reactid=".twey87g0iy.3.$4.2.2.0.0:$17836000003.0.0.0.0" /> Imagine moving ‘home’ for the first time in your life. Having spent almost the entirety of her life abroad, Mahira returned to Karachi, Pakistan to explore the the...
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Joshua Kissi on True Diversity in Stock Photography — TONL's Take on Equality
Joshua Kissi’s initial foray into the world of creative culture started at a unique point in time. The fashion forums were a place of digital congregation and represented an era before the emergence of social media as we know it today. The in-depth conversations Joshua engaged in about the...
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Creating a Neighborhood Hotel — RYSE Makes Its Mark on Hongdae
In the face of the sharing economy, the modern idea of a hotel has largely been upended and put on the defensive. When on-demand rental places offer a plethora of choices in prime neighborhoods and with potentially more competitive prices, it pushes hoteliers to reimagine what role they should…
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The Outlier Way — Clothing Unwavering Against Compromise
The philosophy behind Outlier may not be abundantly clear but several moments spent with their product or their visuals should evoke something. A moment of intrigue. A sense of movement. It takes a bit of dedication and experience with the brand but with it comes the ability to draw out a series…
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Spinning Wheels — Ceramics and Music with Sloane Angell
It was an off chance that MAEKAN connected with fashion designer and DJ turned ceramicist Sloane Angell. It’s funny how things manage to work themselves out. At the time, MAEKAN had just moved into a new office and the lingering odor from a fresh coat of paint had various people ritualistically…
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Block Parties & Music History — Philadelphia's DJ Matthew Law
Back in Summer 2017, Elphick took a trip to North America to visit friend and fellow producer Tee (who helped to produce our Sounds of Hong Kong and Sounds of Tokyo stories). Following his stays in Toronto and New York, he decided to drop by Philadelphia to meet with DJ Matthew Law, who Elphick…
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How Long Did That Take to Paint? — The Art of Matt McCormick
Every day is a culmination of all our past experiences. Seemingly innocuous moments snowball with major life-altering events to shape how we look and perceive the world around us. For Matt McCormick, the tattoo turned fine artist wasn’t somebody who entered the world of art with everything…
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Ballers for Hire — China's Underground Basketball Scene
When you hear the term “pro athlete,” it’s understandable you’d think almost exclusively of the superstars on TV playing before sold-out audiences in the major leagues. But what if the athletes were getting paid to play for different teams by-the-match and in venues that swing between urban...
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Equidistant — Ms Banks & Fotan Laiki Contrast and Compare Their Musical Worlds
As a native of Hong Kong, I’m confronted with the duplicity of being a creative in a market full of opportunity, but with little structure to support it. Hong Kong is vexing in that it’s a globalized financial and cultural center similar to New York and London, but unlike those cities, it still...
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Imperfectly Perfect — Cody Hudson for RYSE Hotel
Cody Hudson is a mutual friend that has become in many ways, the artist who’s everybody’s friend. It’s hard not to like the soft-spoken artist based in Chicago. He carries himself with this outward calm that frankly puts you at ease. His work itself feels intimately connected with himself as an...
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Into the South — Connecting with The Mississippi Delta Chinese
In this story, Nate chats with NY-based photographers Emanuel Hahn and Andrew Kung. While both have a large body of experience with commercial work, the two left the big city behind for a few weeks in October 2017 to personally connect with a community in the South that’s been rooted there for...
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YETI — ORIGINS
Earlier this year, we paid a visit to friend, long-time collaborator and neighbor Arthur Bray, better known as Yeti. A native Hong Konger that attended university in the UK, his career as a DJ developed through weekend trips throughout the country and its diverse club scene and alongside his...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
MAEKAN is a publisher and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about creative accountability, participation, and culture within a broader global community. MAEKAN's focused on equipping creators with the tangible and intangible tools to succeed and define the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.Head over to patreon.com/maekan if you're interested in supporting us and being part of our larger community which includes regular newsletters and a vibrant Discord community.
HOSTED BY
MAEKAN
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does MAEKAN have?
MAEKAN currently has 132 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is MAEKAN about?
MAEKAN is a publisher and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about creative accountability, participation, and culture within a broader global community. MAEKAN's focused on equipping creators with the tangible and intangible tools to succeed and define the future...
How often does MAEKAN release new episodes?
MAEKAN publishes regularly with 132 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to MAEKAN?
You can listen to MAEKAN on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts MAEKAN?
MAEKAN is created and hosted by MAEKAN.
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