What's Good? Connor Bacalso x Moto-Bunka 'Crossover'
Welcome to round eleven of the latest LUXBMX journal segment, 'What's Good?'. To reiterate, we reach out to one of the homies and get a hot tip on the latest biking madness. It's called 'What's Good?' and for this instalment, I've worked with history buff, Adelaide homie and all-terrain street assassin, Connor Bacalso.
A cat (left) and Connor (bottom-right) - super cute stuff. Photo from socials
I've hung out with Connor a bunch of times over the years, most recently on a trip to Adelaide while filming for the LUX 'Aeterna' project. The kid is someone who I have time for, based on his respectful attitude, love for the scene and his approach to riding - i.e. he has them street eyes. If you didn't know, Connor is the driving force behind the 1836ADL crew and no doubt a key contributor to the reason why Adelaide still has a growing BMX scene.
Through working on this project, it's become evident that the dude also has a knack with words and a passion for writing. I hope that means you see more from Connor up on The Journal in the near future. For now, let's dive into his What's Good? selection.
Take it away boss.
Classic. This symbolises the style of riding that Connor praises below. Photo by Cooper Brownlee
"In a time where we’re so used to being smacked in the face with endless amounts of riding broadcast through our phones via Instagram, a crew out of Japan have decided to go against the grain and keep BMX how it should be. The Moto-Bunka dudes spent 5 years traveling the globe, crafting 60 minutes of VX footage for their 'Crossover' DVD project. That’s pretty well unheard of in our fast-paced modern BMX world.
'Crossover' features nearly 100 riders - if not more, from all over the world. The video is divided into 16 chapters each with a focus on either one rider, a crew of riders or even a whole country. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of work, hours and dedication that was put into this video. The incredible attention to small details such as the title cards, and voiceovers from riders for each section really shows the amount of effort that was put into this project. They even manage to sneak some humour in throughout.
With an obvious focus on the underground street riding scene of Japan, Daisuke and Pegy have given us a timeless piece of work that really shows just how special their scene really is. The style of riding is incredibly unique and gains clear influence from all eras of BMX. You can tell there is a genuine respect for the history of riding as is shown by the bike setups and the way that Japan’s unique architecture is ridden. The riding is reminiscent of the early east coast USA style as well as the filming which mimics this era/scene. The 4:3 format and the colours and audio of the VX captures all of this perfectly – the way riding should be shown.
Not only are Japanese riders featured throughout – US crews such as Chocolate Truck, AM:PM, Skapegoat, ALYK, BMXFU and more also make an appearance. Crews and riders from countries such as Korea, Belgium and the UK are also featured. Having riders from multiple countries and continents really is something that hasn’t been done to this level before and I can’t really think of any other video that captures something this massive. The mix of legends, sponsored riders and lesser-known underground dudes really culminate into something super special and this video has become something that I revisit often whenever I’m feeling a little burnt out.
I’ll admit I’m a little jaded and don’t really find much interest in many of todays videos - things just seem a little overblown, overproduced and the level of riding is almost brain numbingly insane these days that I find it hard to relate to. This video was such a breath of fresh air when it released a few years ago, and the fact that it released as something tangible on DVD - and still hasn’t been fully released online really makes it that little bit more special. It even came with a 'zine which was really cool too.
The Japanese street scene has always appealed to me in more ways than one. The tricks are generally incredibly simple, but are always carefully selected for the spot – just the way I like it, less is more. A lot of the riding takes place at night, which creates such a unique atmosphere in footage. The bike setups get me hyped too, tiny handlebars and metal pegs!
I really don’t see another video holding such a precious place in my heart, the Moto-Bunka dudes have really created a timeless classic here. It takes something really incredible and unique to hold my attention for a whole hour these days, but they’ve managed to do just that. I think I’ll be watching this one for years to come, and I’m really looking forward to their next project."
Connor (left) and his Mrs (right). Photo from socials
Another truly great selection. One that I wholeheartedly agree with, for all the reasons Connor mentions. However, for me, the most notable element is the export quality which works to give the VX footage an extra breath of life. It seriously looks like some of the best quality standard definition footage I've ever seen. One clip that always stood out to me, for whatever reason as it's not the craziest clip, is the pedal feeble to 180 to pedal feeble at 0.27 in the below video (see screenshot above). I think this exemplifies the attention to detail shown by the Moto-Bunka crew.
View the 'Crossover' promo below and cop your own from the LUXBMX online store.
