Jaguar Jonze on the Art of First Press Vinyl

In Partnership with Kirin Ichiban

A self-confessed hoarder, Jaguar Jonze’s love of vinyl goes far beyond the music. Each record is a design, a time capsule, and a portal to somewhere else. “I see vinyl as a piece of art. In this audible sense that you love, you can actually hold it and see it and feel it as well,” she says, flicking through stacks in Red Eye Records and JAM Listening Bar in Sydney.

In the second episode of GRAILS, presented by premium Japanese beer brand Kirin Ichiban, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist takes us inside her rituals, revealing the way sound, memory and visual storytelling influences her wider creative process. 

When it comes to digging for first-press records, Jonze is drawn to cover art, typefaces, obscure labels. “Sometimes I’ve picked up a record and gone, ‘what is this?’ purely because the artwork said something to me. What’s it going to say to me in the music form?”

The process is often spontaneous, but grounded in intuition built up from years of listening and collecting. Unsurprisingly, some of her favourite music has come from stumbling upon records that, by chance, caught her eye. “Sometimes it’s literally just from trawling through crates at the markets [and] picking up a brand new one or supporting artists that I love,” she explains. 

Jonze’s collection ranges from obscure soundtracks to personal gifts, but the first-press versions are always the ones that hold the most importance. Her own debut album Bunny Mode, which debuted in mid-2022, sits among them, pressed to wax and stored like a piece of history. 

“I have a lot of first-pressings of local Australian artists and artists from abroad that I really admire,” she says. “There’s a great underground world where people are constantly sharing or swapping vinyl. It’s amazing. There’s so much artistry around music that we forget about.”

For Jonze, collecting vinyl is about both memory and discovery. Born in Japan to Australian and Taiwanese parents, she absorbed a wide range of musical styles, from Japanese pop and Studio Ghibli soundtracks to Western cinematic scores and trip-hop bands like Portishead. 

She also points to composers like Joe Hisaishi and records from My Neighbour Totoro as formative. While digging, Jonze pulls out a vintage Japanese film soundtrack (the first movie she ever saw) and lights up. “It’s so cute. It reminds me of everything I felt watching it.” 

In fact, it was in Japan where Jonze discovered Utada Hikaru, the J-pop icon whose mix of cinematic production and anime helped shape her tastes. “She tapped into the anime side that I love. That world-building, that emotion stayed with me.”

Now, this attention to storytelling and craft can be seen in Jonze’s own approach to art. Everything is considered, from the visuals to the structure of the tracklist. It’s also why the ethos of Kirin Ichiban resonates so strongly. 

Fresh off a collaboration with Japanese artist DJ Muro and Deus Records on an exclusive run of first-press vinyl, merch and events across Sydney and Melbourne, Kirin Ichiban (which translates to ‘first’ and ‘best’ in Japanese) is doubling down on its first-press philosophy. Their Japanese beer is brewed using only the first press of the wort, a traditional technique that draws out the purest flavour from the grain. 

It’s all about respecting the artistry of the process and letting that craft come through in the final experience. Proving that in a world of instant access, the most meaningful things often take time to create. Like an epic record. Or a well-brewed beer. 

Watch Jaguar Jonze wearing the limited edition Deus x Kirin Ichiban Record Hunting Jacket in the second GRAILS episode presented by Kirin Ichiban above.

“Want to dive even deeper into vinyl culture? Watch this short film shot in Tokyo exploring vinyl and first press culture through the eyes of DJ Muro or head to the Kirin Ichiban Australian site.