Find the right music for working It's a small undertaking in itself: the algorithms' "focus" playlists all look the same, and after half an hour you're already changing tracks. The remedy comes from where you least expect it: one of the most well-known fashion designer living. It's called Kosmik Musik and it's the series of playlists that Jun Takahashi, founder of Undercover, personally curates on Spotify. A hidden treasure in plain sight.
Index
- Who is Jun Takahashi?
- What is Kosmik Musik?
- Because they are perfect for working
- Where to start
Who is Jun Takahashi?
Jun Takahashi is the founder of Undercover, the brand that since 1990 has redefined Japanese streetwear by bringing punk to the Paris catwalks. Before designing clothes, she sang in the Tokyo Sex Pistols, a Sex Pistols cover band, and music has never left her: Undercover's motto is “We make noise, not clothes” —we make noise, not clothes.
His collections cite Kubrick, German Krautrock, The Specials. For Takahashi, music is not just background music: it is the subject of the project.. And it's exactly this sensitivity that makes his playlists special.
What is Kosmik Musik?
Kosmik Musik It is the series of numbered playlists that Takahashi publishes on his Spotify profile: as of today over 130 episodes, each of about 80 minutes — the perfect length for a deep work session.
The name is a tribute to kosmische Musik, the German electronic-psychedelic scene of the 70s that Takahashi also celebrated in an Undercover collection.
Inside you can find everything, but never random: punk, psych rock, Japanese pop, electronic, soul, ambient, jazz. Very few hits, very many deep cut and cult classics. Each episode is a little listening lesson: it feels like you're rummaging through the record collection of a friend whose taste is infinitely better than yours.
Because they are perfect for working
Algorithmic playlists optimize for similarity: they give you a hundred variations of the same song. Kosmik Musik does the opposite. Takahashi mixes genres with a logic all its own, yet every transition works: an ambient track slides into a soul piece, which opens up to an electronic track you would never have sought on your own.
The result is a rare balance: coherent enough not to distract you, surprising enough to keep you awake. It's the difference between a background and a soundtrack: you ignore the first one, the second one takes you into the flow and keeps you there for 80 minutes. And with over 130 episodes, the discoveries never end: you can listen to one a day for months without repeating a track.
Where to start
The simplest advice: open the Jun Takahashi's Spotify profile, follow the account and start from Kosmik Musik#1 or from a random number: there is no right order, and that's part of the beauty of it.
An idea for your routine: one episode = one work session. When the playlist ends, take a break. Eighty minutes of focus, curated by one of the world's best creative directors, for free.
Care makes the difference, in music as in any content: the algorithm fills, the curator chooses.
You have the soundtrack. What about the content?
While you're in the flow, we'll take care of the videos: creative, quality content created with AI, even on a limited budget.
