When ALEX hit me up to redesign the Akuma mascot for Akuma 3, I knew we were about to cook up something cool. We’ve been collaborating on album covers since 2018, and this was our chance to close out the Akuma trilogy with a bang. His brief? Transform Akuma into a rave girl. I was all in. 

This project was a journey, one that started with hours of late-night calls where ALEX and I got lost in ideation. We curated mood boards and he’d play me early cuts of the album. It was clear he’d need a character who could match the pivot he was making in his signature sound. That’s when I started dreaming up Akuma as this otherworldly rave girl.

I’ve always been obsessed with Venom—so the idea of Akuma’s outfit moving like a living thing, reacting to the soundwaves of ALEX’S music appealed to me a lot. So, I pitched ALEX on an Akuma whose outfit wasn’t just fabric but a sort of slick, gasoline-sheened material, like a symbiote fused with alien tech. I could Imagine her standing under strobe lights, her look rippling with every bass drop, glossy black with iridescent shifts. ALEX was hyped, and we kept pushing the concept, and tweaking until it felt right.

Working with ALEX always feels like we’re building a world together, and seeing her on the Akuma 3 cover—on vinyls, CDs, and Bandcamp—hit different. That’s the kind of thing that keeps me creating. Some of you may even recognize her from the cover of my first Sketchbook mini.

Shoutout to ALEX for trusting my vision, and to HVNTER for the cover art collab that tied it all together. I’m proud to have been part of this project.

You can listen to it here: 

This art is also available as a print and sticker.

What’s next? ALEX and I are cooking up some more cool stuff. Keep your eyes peeled.

You can find more from Alex on his site, whatisalex.com