ARK/8 luxury streetwear
360 electronic music strategy
Maison Mercury Jones has partnered up with Belgium- born/ London-based luxury fashion brand ARK/8
to create a holistic marketing strategy based on electronic music and artist collaborations, rooted in club culture and with rippling deep house production at its core.
ARK/8, the dynamic gaming, music, sci-fi and pop culture infused luxury streetwear brand brings together fashion, culture and video games into premium collections, creating pieces in partnership with iconic gaming studios and renowned gaming franchises worldwide.
We designed a bespoke sonic universe and music strategy through collaborations with world-famous electronic music artists, amongst them iconic Australian DJ HAAi as well as up and coming DJs & producer the likes of Amaliah and Cherif Hashizume, whose values, style, and personality align with ARK/8’s DNA
and vision. The strategy includes the composition of an original brand track, an ongoing series of remixes by emerging and famous electronic music artists called the ARK/8 Mavericks, exclusive content including curated playlists, behind-the-scenes videos and interviews, and exclusive live events with the hottest underground DJs.
In November 2023, Maison Mercury Jones via its creative events branch MMJ Live organised ARK/8’s most sought after launch party at the infamous London club Electrowerkz, gathering the trendiest crowd in media, fashion, music and gaming. We created Club ARK/8, an ephemeral Club Night that will morph in many uber creative events across the world, featuring iconic electronic artists and the hottest underground DJs and creating the most exciting sonic brand universe.
Dimitri van Eetvelde, ARK/8 Creative Director and Founder says:
“Music has always been an integral part of my life and I always imagined that it would play an important role
at ARK/8.
Aurelia and Ilā at Maison Mercury Jones not only made this possible, they blew us away and designed
a music strategy that’s beyond what we had hoped for. We’re thrilled to work with them and their roster of incredibly talented artists to produce ARK/8’s soundscape from day one.”
“Importantly, the values they defend are very much aligned with ARK/8’s DNA – giving representation to the underrepresented and helping artists from all minorities to get the visibility they deserve.
There’s a very deep meaning to everything Maison Mercury Jones does, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead for ARK/8’s sonic universe.”
‘ARK/8’ original brand track, released on all streaming platforms and ARK/8’s YouTube channel @Ark8net, is spearheaded by producer Cherif Hashizume and co-created with Ilā and Ze’Ev. Inspired by ARK/8’s After Dark Collection – a blend of Japanese culture and rave wear – the new track melts together deep house textures with aspects of the DJ’s own Japanese-Egyptian heritage, integrating the Insen scale, Japanese BIWA and Northwestern ADUNGU.
Continually looking outwards, nearly half the track is comprised of Ilã’s vocals, transformed and illuminated using innovative AI and modular synthesis. The ultimate deep house brand track, featured in Clash Magazine, ASBO Magazine and by Mary Anne Hobbs on BBC Radio 6 Music has been playlisted on Spotify across the world and soon to be followed by incredible brand x artists collaborations, with the likes of iconic musician HAAi, rising star producer/DJ Amaliah, and many legendary names to be announced.
Ilã says: “The pillars of diversity and innovation tech are key to making great music – and that cannot be achieved without authenticity”.
Cherif explains: “Coming back to my DJ and rave head roots, I really wanted to make something modern but that also refers back to 90s/early Y2K rave culture – like a little witches brew of techno, breaks music, jungle and garage.”
Tune in now.