James Balmont

‘Do what you really want to do while you’re still alive’: Masayoshi Takanaka, the Japanese guitar hero surfing a second wave in his 70s Playing a surfboard-shaped axe, Takanaka was a stadium-level artist at home but little known in the west – until YouTube brought him a huge new audience

He's 72 years old, plays a surfboard guitar, and sold out two nights at Brixton Academy in minutes. Introducing legendary Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, who's enjoying an unexpected late-career boom in the West (@theguardian.com) theguardian.com/music/2026/m...
@lightintheattic.bsky.social

The 100 Greatest Cinemas In The World Right Now Classic kinos, cult film temples and fabulous picture palaces from across the planet

Honoured to have helped curate and write this huge new list of the world’s 100 greatest cinemas for @timeout-london-rss.bsky.social ! Read my entries on filmhouses in Dublin, Shanghai, Yokohama, Bangkok, Hong Kong, London and more… www.timeout.com/film/the-100...

‘Do what you really want to do while you’re still alive’: Masayoshi Takanaka, the Japanese guitar hero surfing a second wave in his 70s Playing a surfboard-shaped axe, Takanaka was a stadium-level artist at home but little known in the west – until YouTube brought him a huge new audience

He's 72 years old, plays a surfboard guitar, and sold out two nights at Brixton Academy in minutes. Introducing legendary Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, who's enjoying an unexpected late-career boom in the West (@theguardian.com) theguardian.com/music/2026/m...
@lightintheattic.bsky.social

One week today I’ll be introducing a double-bill of @thirdwindowfilms.com Nobuhiko Obayashi classics at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social !

Come down on March 3 for School in the Crosshairs and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ✨

TIX: thenickel.co.uk

One week today I’ll be introducing a double-bill of @thirdwindowfilms.com Nobuhiko Obayashi classics at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social !

Come down on March 3 for School in the Crosshairs and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ✨

TIX: thenickel.co.uk

Spotted in the wild at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin: the new @thirdwindowfilms.com ‘Angel Guts’ box set featuring my video essay on the series on disc 2 ✨

‘It’s a nice surprise to be treated like kings!’ Why are mid-level British indie bands massive in China? My group, Swim Deep, plays to crowds of hundreds across the UK – but in China, we play to tens of thousands. And we’re not the only ones

"When I joined Swim Deep 13 years ago, my dreams were much like those of any young musician... what I hadn’t counted on was finding a fanbase in China."

Thrilled to share my latest piece for @theguardian.com, feat. @seapowerband.bsky.social & @thekvb.bsky.social!
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

thanks!

‘It’s a nice surprise to be treated like kings!’ Why are mid-level British indie bands massive in China? My group, Swim Deep, plays to crowds of hundreds across the UK – but in China, we play to tens of thousands. And we’re not the only ones

"When I joined Swim Deep 13 years ago, my dreams were much like those of any young musician... what I hadn’t counted on was finding a fanbase in China."

Thrilled to share my latest piece for @theguardian.com, feat. @seapowerband.bsky.social & @thekvb.bsky.social!
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

Sex, ghosts and ‘The Matrix’: 130 years of Regent Street Cinema The rise and fall and rise again of Britain’s most historic cinema – 130 years on

Regent St Cinema was the first place in Britain to show the Lumiere Brothers' moving images in 1896. It celebrates 130 yrs of cinema in the UK this month, so I went down to the Westminster University archives to unpack its history for @timeout-london-rss.bsky.social : www.timeout.com/london/news/...

Nine Essential Records From Taiwan’s Ambient History Dve into Taiwan’s ambient music tradition, traced through nine rare and influential records spanning the 1980s to the present.

Inspired by Pure Person Press’ stunning new compilation ‘Sounds of Taiwan’, I went down a fascinating rabbit hope tracing Taiwan’s ambient music tradition with figures like Lim Giong and Jimi Chen for @discogsofficial.bsky.social. Check out my findings via the site! www.discogs.com/digs/music/e...

28 Years Later and the Zombie as Spent Metaphor In Nia DaCosta’s recently released 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the undead confront a world already saturated with horror

Making my debut for @artreview.bsky.social today with a piece that explores the origins of the cinematic living dead and asks: are zombies still relevant in 2026? artreview.com/28-years-lat...

Park Chan-wook on His “Bitter” Black Comedy, No Other Choice The South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook and Lee Byung-hun, the lead actor in No Other Choice, sit down with AnOther to discuss the making of a melodramatic masterpiece

It was great to catch up with Park Chan-wook again - this time with Lee Byung-hun in tow - to chat about my favourite scene in No Other Choice for @anothermag.com. Read the full article below: www.anothermag.com/design-livin...

Park Chan-wook on His “Bitter” Black Comedy, No Other Choice The South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook and Lee Byung-hun, the lead actor in No Other Choice, sit down with AnOther to discuss the making of a melodramatic masterpiece

It was great to catch up with Park Chan-wook again - this time with Lee Byung-hun in tow - to chat about my favourite scene in No Other Choice for @anothermag.com. Read the full article below: www.anothermag.com/design-livin...

28 Years Later and the Zombie as Spent Metaphor In Nia DaCosta’s recently released 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the undead confront a world already saturated with horror

Making my debut for @artreview.bsky.social today with a piece that explores the origins of the cinematic living dead and asks: are zombies still relevant in 2026? artreview.com/28-years-lat...

Nine Essential Records From Taiwan’s Ambient History Dve into Taiwan’s ambient music tradition, traced through nine rare and influential records spanning the 1980s to the present.

Inspired by Pure Person Press’ stunning new compilation ‘Sounds of Taiwan’, I went down a fascinating rabbit hope tracing Taiwan’s ambient music tradition with figures like Lim Giong and Jimi Chen for @discogsofficial.bsky.social. Check out my findings via the site! www.discogs.com/digs/music/e...

Shadow Wars: The Elusive Kinji Fukasaku Collection (1975, 1975, 1977) In COPS VS THUGS (KENKEI TAI SOSHIKI BORYOKU), CROSS THE RUBICON! (SHIKINGEN GÔDATSU), and HOKURIKU PROXY WAR (HOKURIKU DAIRI SENSÔ), director Kinji Fukasaku tears away the illusion of honor to expose...

This new box set of Kinji Fukasaku crime classics is packed with amazing content - not least my video essay on his revolutionary yakuza cinema on disc two! Out in April via @umbrellaent.bsky.social and already looking essential…! shop.umbrellaent.com.au/products/sha...

The Collectors: Inside London's Tamagotchi Club | Back Market The Collectors is a new series that celebrates the intimate communities that congregate around tech and how these alternative families help spark friendships and keep devices relevant. For Part 1, Jam...

In late 2025, I infiltrated the London Tamagotchi Club to find out why these tiny pixellated pets are making a comeback nearly 30 years after their ‘90s heyday peaked and flatlined. Read the full feature below via BackMarket!
www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/c/tech...

Takashi Ishii: The Angel Guts Collection
Limited edition set w/booklet by Midori Suiren
Order @terracottadist.bsky.social
shop.terracottadistribution.com/products/tak...
Bonus features from @jbalmont.bsky.social @jaspersharp.bsky.social @midnightmes.bsky.social @timessqkungfu.bsky.social + more!

TONIGHT AT @thenickelcinema.bsky.social - a Shinya Tsukamoto double-bill!

18:30 A SNAKE OF JUNE

TICKETS: ticketlab.app/event/36310

@thirdwindowfilms.com

TONIGHT AT @thenickelcinema.bsky.social - a Shinya Tsukamoto double-bill (pt. 2)!

20:30 TOKYO FIST

TICKETS: ticketlab.app/event/36311#/

@thirdwindowfilms.com

TONIGHT AT @thenickelcinema.bsky.social - a Shinya Tsukamoto double-bill (pt. 2)!

20:30 TOKYO FIST

TICKETS: ticketlab.app/event/36311#/

@thirdwindowfilms.com

TONIGHT AT @thenickelcinema.bsky.social - a Shinya Tsukamoto double-bill!

18:30 A SNAKE OF JUNE

TICKETS: ticketlab.app/event/36310

@thirdwindowfilms.com

The Nickel Presents - TOKYO FIST . TOKYO FIST(1995, Japan, Shinya Tsukamoto)A weary salaryman’s life begins to rupture when he crosses paths with a childhood friend who has transformed himself into a ferocious underground boxer...

TOKYO FIST! ticketlab.app/event/36311#/ @thirdwindowfilms.com @thenickelcinema.bsky.social

The Nickel Presents - A SNAKE OF JUNE . A SNAKE OF JUNE(2002, Japan, Shinya Tsukamoto)In a rain-soaked Tokyo summer, a quiet mental-health counsellor receives a series of anonymous messages containing intimate photographs of herself. The ...

I’m introducing a Shinya Tsukamoto double bill at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social this Thursday, Dec 4! Tickets for A SNAKE OF JUNE and TOKYO FIST via the links below (1/2) ticketlab.app/event/36310 @thirdwindowfilms.com

The Nickel Presents - TOKYO FIST . TOKYO FIST(1995, Japan, Shinya Tsukamoto)A weary salaryman’s life begins to rupture when he crosses paths with a childhood friend who has transformed himself into a ferocious underground boxer...

TOKYO FIST! ticketlab.app/event/36311#/ @thirdwindowfilms.com @thenickelcinema.bsky.social

The Nickel Presents - A SNAKE OF JUNE . A SNAKE OF JUNE(2002, Japan, Shinya Tsukamoto)In a rain-soaked Tokyo summer, a quiet mental-health counsellor receives a series of anonymous messages containing intimate photographs of herself. The ...

I’m introducing a Shinya Tsukamoto double bill at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social this Thursday, Dec 4! Tickets for A SNAKE OF JUNE and TOKYO FIST via the links below (1/2) ticketlab.app/event/36310 @thirdwindowfilms.com

Had such a great time at the first-ever ‘Admit Two’ speed-dating event at Anomalous Space in Angel - where movie lovers let their @letterboxd.social top fours do the matchmaking. Read how it all went over at @timeout-london-rss.bsky.social ! www.timeout.com/london/news/...

Had such a great time at the first-ever ‘Admit Two’ speed-dating event at Anomalous Space in Angel - where movie lovers let their @letterboxd.social top fours do the matchmaking. Read how it all went over at @timeout-london-rss.bsky.social ! www.timeout.com/london/news/...

Very excited to be presenting a rare @thirdwindowfilms.com double bill of Shinya Tsukamoto classics at London’s @thenickelcinema.bsky.social on Dec 4th! Hit the ticket links below for TOKYO FIST and A SNAKE OF JUNE!
ticketlab.app/event/36310
ticketlab.app/event/36311#/