about us
Studio Frog is co-run by Japanese writer & photographer Kiyomi Yui and Dutch musician Mick Ness.
Kiyomi Yui
Born in Tokyo, based in Amsterdam
Writer, Essayist & Photographer
Writes for Japanese newspapers and magazines, exploring contemporary issues through the lens of decades of living in the Netherlands.
For Dutch media, contributes stories on Japanese culture, social phenomena, and art.
From a position neither fully inside nor outside, in both the Netherlands and Japan, I remain attentive to what emerges at the threshold.
Photography ranges from portraits and events to commissioned projects, and often serves to accompany and expand my writing.
Find more about her work, columns, and photography, eventphotography
Some of my clients：
Tea Time magazine
The Asahi Shinbun Globe+
The Asahi Shinbun
Sanin Chuo Shinpo newspaper
De Groene Amsterdammer
MONO JAPAN
JAL AGORA magazine
PEN magazine, Figaro Japon
Casa Brutus magazine
MEZZANINE magazine
Magazine Precious
Design no Hikidashi
Esquire Japan
LIVING DESIGN magazine
JTB publisher
Diamond-Big Co., Ltd
Tatsumi publisher
Pie books
HOUSE OF DENIM FOUNDATION
Mick Ness
Born in Amsterdam
Musician, composer
Mick Ness began a musical journey at 18, drawing inspiration from late-’70s bands such as Joy Division, The Pop Group, and Vini Reilly. Teaming up with drummer Pieter Bannenberg, who was experimenting with a self-made metal drum kit at the time, Ness released records on independent labels including TORSO and EKSAKT. In the early ’80s, Ness played a pivotal role in the Dutch post-punk movement Ultra, contributing to a wave of energetic, experimental avant-garde music.
Later, as the frontman for the Hungarian rock band Sexepil, Ness toured extensively across Europe and America, opening for The Sugarcubes on their European tour. After leaving Sexepil in 2006, Ness joined the new-wave band MECANO as composer and guitarist, while also venturing into film music.
In 2014, Ness became a part of the
Amsterdam-based post-punk band STAKBABBER, performing regularly (music video: click here).
In 2017, Ness produced Madhouse Promenade, the first release on the self-run label studio Frog, and performed the album as support act for Gary Numan in Amsterdam. In October 2018, Ness released its successor, DISKO–an album with disco beats, conceptually inspired by the polar expeditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Ness’s music blends gloomy yet positive, melancholic ambient tones with a lyrical new-wave sensibility, weaving narratives akin to a road movie.
studio frog 