Amelia’s Magazine | Music Listings: 12th – 18th October

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Monday 12 October, capsule Pamelia Kurstin/Pete Drungle, Café Oto

Theremin viruoso, Pamelia Kurstin teams up with award-winning composer, pianist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pete Drungle in this premier live performance in a lovely Dalston setting. Kurstin creates layer-upon-layer of exotic otherworldly noises and haunting improvised melodies, with an almost operatic, voice-like quality. A sound to behold!

Tuesday 13th October, Alan Pownall, Pure Groove

This guy looks set to be the next young Londoner to make it big. All the credentials are there; signed to Young & Lost, backed by Adele, DJ support provided by Laura Marling, has opened for Florence & the Machine and he does a blinding cover of Beyonce’s Singles Ladies, above. Not to name drop or anything.

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Wednesday 14th October, David Gest, Hammersmith Apollo

This is so bizarre, that it’s got Amelia’s Magazine’s backing. Weirdo Gest hosts an evening of music including classic soul and R&B singer, Ben E ‘Stand By Me’ King, free newspaper pin-up Peter Doherty and indie boys, The Rumble Strips, above. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

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Thursday 15th October, Micachu and the Shapes, Scala

Guildhall-trained Micachu triumphantly brings her alt.pop grime-y electro self along with The London Sinfonietta on the tour of her dazzlingly inventive debut album, ‘Jewellery.’ Support comes from fellow sonic pioneers and Mercury music prize nominated, The Invisible.

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Friday 16th October, The Slits, ULU

Amelia’s Magazine are overjoyed to have the original female punk band back on our stereos – read the album review here – and think this gig will be unmissable. Support is in the form of chaotic, darkwave pop from former Test Icicles man Rory Brattwell’s new band Kasms and instrument-swapping, all-gal group Pens.

Peta Webb & Ken Hall

Saturday 17th October, Kit & Cutter, The Deptford Arms

Venture to this South East and you will experience the most unique night out of your life. Playing at this ramshackle folk night are north London husband-and-wife duo Peta Webb and Ken Hall singing unaccompanied traditional Irish and American songs presented in a warm and beguiling way, ably assisted by folk activist and banjo player Ed Hicks.

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Sunday 18th October, Oxjam, New Cross Inn

Staying South East, why not pay your dues to Oxjam and check out Rubella, punky girl rockers fond of dressing in school uniform, along with riffy alt.rockers We The Faceless and pop-punkers Stick Man Army. That’ll round your gigging week off nicely.

Categories ,alan pownall, ,beyonce, ,Florence and The Machine, ,kit and cutter, ,Laura Marling, ,listings, ,micachu, ,pamelia kurstin, ,peter doherty, ,the invisible, ,The Rumble Strips, ,the slits

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Amelia’s Magazine | Music Listings

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“It’s nice everyone getting dressed up and making an effort, hospital stomach round Christmas time ‘n that”, generic slurred an old man at the bar after telling me this was his local. Halloween did he mean? A gaze and a nod.

Peggy Sue (there were some pirates but they’ve long since fled to the Caribbean to find themselves) have a knack of adding a distinct flavour to everything they do. Brewed in soulfulness and peppered with giggles, they are an intoxicating concoction of many lovely things; compared to the likes of Lauryn Hill and Regina Spektor in a single breath, all manner of genres tossed in their direction.

But references aside, that tend to reduce everybody to something regurgitated, there’s lots of other good stuff – like a compilation CD released for every month (100 copies only, complete with artwork), like how their voices emulate astonishing power and soft effortlessness all at once; or that their low-fi sound is brought together with honeyed harmonies, punctuated Spektor-like noises and an unending supply of bizarre percussion instruments. It is finally exquisitely tied together with lyrics that detach our body-parts as things to be stolen, tell stories of the woes of superheroes, and give life to ‘those fragile little things’ that live inside. It all feels very refreshing, and nicely homemade – ‘Peggy Who?’ asks the drum-face.

The Horror Movie Marathon had the Peggy stamp all over it, made apparent in its details. A projection screen hung behind them playing classic horror gems; a new horror song, complete with screams had been written for the occasion; and the widely acclaimed ‘superman’ was illustrated by a live puppet-show on stage. The wide-eyed Alessi’s Ark and feet-shuffling Derek Meins were there to support, marking the beginning of the Triptych Tour – one bus, two weeks, three acts. Catch them if you can in a venue near you! But what oh what does Triptych mean?

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Be Prepared, sildenafil long the motto of the Scouts, is now being added to by The London Climate Camp Social Group with Be Inspired and Be Involved. A series of nights around town broadly divided into these three headings encouraging all to socialise and fund-raise for Climate Camp.

Be Prepared nights fund-raise with bands, djs and comedy. It’s one to bring your friends who may not be into all the “eco stuff” but would be interested in finding out more about Climate Camp.
Be Inspired focuses on what’s going on at the moment. Film screenings, speakers and debates wil inform people what is happening and why Climate Camp is doing what its doing.
Be Involved is the actions based adventures, such as Climate Rush, the forthcoming Day of Action and what ever else happens in the future.

The first one is tomorrow and is a Be Inspired night held at The Old Crown, 33 New Oxford St starting at 19:00. The line up consists of Alistair James playing music, Leo Murray introducing his excellent animation Wake Up, Freak out and Get A Grip, a short presentation from Climate Camp about what is being done right now and where it’s going and why, including two ladies instrumental in organising Climate Rush. Plus plenty of music to dance the night away.

The Old Crown
33 New Oxford St (corner of Museum street),
London WC1A 1BH.
Between Holborn and Tottenham Court road tube station.

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Hotel International 1993

Dear Tracey, discount

It wasn’t so long ago that I really thought I’d had it up to my neck with you. I think it was one of your columns in the Independent that did it. You’d had a bad day, page you know, one of those ones when you don’t particularly feel like getting out of bed in the morning and then when you do, you burn your toast, or scald yourself in the shower or something. And instead of having a quick cry, or swearing, or generally getting on with things as most people might do, your especially bad day led you toward one overarching question: ‘did my dad ever really love me?’ I thought it was a tad dramatic. So upon hearing about your retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art I was expecting 20 years of torment in the space of a few rooms. And you didn’t disappoint. But what I wasn’t expecting was that I was going to leave the exhibition liking you. Feeling for you, maybe. Being critical of you, definitely. But actually liking you? No, I wasn’t expecting that. But there is a reason that we hear so much about you Tracey, because you know what, you’re actually a pretty good artist.

Emin’s exhibition opens much like one would expect it to, throwing the viewer head-first into the deep-end. The first work we encounter is a tribute to her deceased grandmother; the second, a graphic description of a traumatic abortion. All the staple Emin classics are here: the neon signs, the tapestries, expressionist etchings, and of course, the infamous bed. And yet after the piss-stains, the used condoms, the confessional video diaries, the purging of torment and the sheer tragedy of it all, something beautiful remains. Emin’s letter to her uncle Colin is a striking example of this. Lucid and incredibly moving, Emin succinctly describes her emotions as she learns of the horrific accident that caused her beloved uncle’s death. Exploration of the Soul, a work comprised of 32 sheets of handwritten text, is similar in its expressive eloquence. You may baulk at the several spelling mistakes, shudder at the sadness of other people’s lives or smile at the moments of humanity within it; Emin will fail to leave you unmoved.

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My Bed 1998

The further we continue through the exhibition the more we feel as though we are Emin’s confidante; her scars are ours now and they are weighing us down. To enter, toward the end, a room removed of much of the abject excess of the others, comes as welcome relief. Two sculptures in particular reveal the diversity of Emin’s talent as an artist. Self Portrait (Bath) comprises a rusty bath filled with bamboo, barbed wire, chicken wire and a contorted neon streak entwined to create a work of great textual interest. In the same room a rollercoaster of reclaimed wood, It’s Not The Way I Want to Die from 2005, dominates the space. Constructed entirely from old crates, the past life of the wood seems to echo Emin’s own (one plank retaining it’s FRAGILE label), but is here reworked into a somewhat rickety yet undeniably beautiful piece.

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It’s Not The Way I Want to Die 2005

Emin is a chameleon, expressing herself in several mediums and seemingly mastering them all. Love or loathe her – you won’t easily forget her, and to my mind, that’s what makes her continue to be worth talking about.

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The Perfect Place to Grow 2001

Images courtesy of Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

September marked the official UK launch of the new shopping/networking website, ampoule ShopStyle. Already popular amongst fashion followers in the US, viagra the best way to describe this new digital phenomenon would be a ‘Google for fashion with a MySpace twist‘. Shopstyle offers a unique online shopping experience, which enables users to browse the rails of thousands of brands through a simple search box option. Just like Google, ShopStyle carries out all the hard work trawling through shopping sites in order to bring you any matching items to your keywords. Users can also narrow down their searches by price, brand, store and size so only the most relevant results are displayed.

The site proved to be heaven sent in my own hunt to unearth a descent pair of gladiator heels, presenting me with options from new and smaller brands that I wouldn’t usually consider in my shopping choices.

ShopStyle’s nifty social networking twist means even those of us a little strapped for cash can still muzzle in on the spirit of fashion. The StyleBook tool allows users to play around and create their own fashion look books based on their own personal tastes and styles. These can be viewed by fellow users who are free to comment and discuss ideas. Unlike other virtual stores, ShopStyle embraces a love for fashion and creativity, moving beyond the simple idea of consumption.

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Keep an eye out next month as three emerging designers, selected by stylist to the stars, Bay Garnett, get the opportunity to display their collection on the site.

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Creaturemag sets out to bring together artists from all around the world, adiposity and produce an online publication, which works as one big collaboration. Being the arty literate types that they are, they’ve also created a sort of character out of the Creaturemag concept. This has led to an entertaining, if not ever so slightly confusing, interview with themselves, or Creaturemag – you kind of have to read it to understand.

They have just released Creaturemag festival edition – a diary of their activities over the summer. Its content though is a little more in depth than trudging through mud and drinking cider though. The wonderful cover has been done by long time Amelia’s contributor Nikki Pinder! It also features interviews with up and coming musical geniuses Alessi and Zombie Zombie.

Being the creative types that they are though, no pages go without a little artistic decoration. A group of top notch illustrators have contributed – bringing the entire thing to life.

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Crafty pirate

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Floating from festival to festival over the summer, the creatives behind Creaturemag have compiled pieces on the more out there festivals like Secret Garden Party and End Of The Road. The festival edition acts as a sort of guide to how they have often created their own arty fun at festivals this year. Perhaps the most intriguing of which is the feature on concrete mushrooms that were taken to festival all over the country. It is also a testament to how devoted they are to their art. The idea of dragging massive concrete mushrooms on top of the mounds of bags and tents I always end up hauling to campsite doesn’t appeal to me.

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Concrete mushrooms

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The whole thing just makes it look like the guys behind it have had the best summer ever, and it really makes me want to go back to a festival.

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As an entity we usually take in music that is self-consciously/appointed art-rock. It is often forgotten that this art-rock did not just pop out of Andy Warhol’s arse as he stood watching the Velvet Underground, more about he just brought an audience to Reed, buy Cale, see Morrison and Tucker’s genius. Although visual art did have an influence, it is the avant-garde classical that clashed with rhythm and blues to start this musical mongrel. LaMonte Young and the Fluxus movement popularised drones; Cage, Reich and Glass atonality and chance. Karlheinz Stockhausen is another visionary whose contribution cannot be forgotten. The great German- who sadly passed away last year- was a key contributor to the zygote cell stage of electronic music and developed his own musical language of complexity and rapturous transcendental irregular noise. Without him the work of- to mention a few acolytes- Kraftwerk, Zappa, Bjork, Can, Aphex Twin, Faust and Sonic Youth would be very different and have a few less words to rely upon in their collective musical lexicon.

The Royal Festival Hall and Purcell Rooms hosted Klang which was intended as a tribute for Stockhausen’s eightieth birthday. I was privy to two nights of the retrospective which proved to be one of the most amazing musical experiences I have ever had. The Friday night in the smaller Purcell Rooms began with Joy the second hour of Stockhausen’s incomplete twenty-four hour cycle. This was a piece composed for two harpists. The two former students of Stockhausen sat illuminated by a single spotlight dressed in white. They completely subverted my expectations of what a harp could do as the cut up fragments of a medieval German hymn mixed plucked or bashed arrythmic textures with youthful voices making strange phonetic noises. Subsequently, Cosmic Pulses (the thirteenth hour) was archetypal Stockhausen electronic music on 24 different tape loops played at differing speeds through eight surrounding speakers in the dark with a single moon like spotlight on stage. Bjork says Stockhausen mixed modernity with the primordial and natural ferocity of a thunderstorm. This displayed that contradictory dialectic as it buzzed brilliantly with unpredictable electric whip crack on rumbling menace.

I feel privileged to have seen the final night at the Royal Festival Hall. First as short electronic work was played, a token gesture for what was to follow. Lucifer’s Dance was utterly batshit. Performed by the Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra, a solo drummer, flautist and opera singer dressed up as Lucifer himself. It was a comment on the spirit of contradiction and independence via the conduit of an orchestra pretending to be a grimacing demonic face. However, Stockhausen made people use their instruments idiosyncratically and it wasn’t a conventional (not that I have been to many) classical concert. The musicians had to dance, uncomfortably, in their chairs as they blew discordant squalling devil’s frown lines. The cameo from the amazing jazz drummer was particularly good, he represented nostrils. Weirdness. As we left the hall from the rooftops Michael’s Farewell was trumpeted over the Thames, a stunning experience, older fans were getting visibly emotional it may as well have been Karlheinz’s farewell for them. Many of his students, collaborators and friends were in attendance. People left with sad smiles and general wonder from what they had just experienced.
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I realised the other day that it had been quite some time since I had rocked out – it kind of just fell out of favour. Mainly because rocking out became so cringeworthy all of a sudden. The connotations appeared to have fallen into something deeply uncool, capsule instead of being the epitomy of it.

The answer to this life problem comes in the form of two bands. Rolo Tomassi; a band that are undeniably too fun for metal and too out there for indie, more about and Fucked Up!; a relentless hardcore band whose live show is almost more about what the lead singer is doing physically, rather than their ear punishing music.

Rolo Tomassi took to the stage and instantly impressed with their musicianship. The music skips from segment to segment with time signatures that befuddle the mind. They’re like some experimental jazz band, in the way that they take an anything goes approach, only more like a jazz band that has been raised by wolves – or something equally ridiculous.

Their set was simply fantastic, though with the catalog of songs they have on their album that came as no surprise. Their keyboard player came into his own during Abraxas, his assault on the keys reproducing something of an assault on my ears. They leave the audience thoroughly shaken, and all I could think about was how I couldn’t wait to see them again some time.

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With a name like Fucked Up! there is a certain amount of characteristics expected. They live up to, if not exceed, any kind of expectations imaginable. As soon as the lead singer hoists himself on stage he is something of a dominating presence, like some jurassic being – I was genuinely scared of this guy. On first hear they sound like a pretty standard American hardcore band, and it’s not until you see them live that you get a full understanding. The lead singer’s nonsensical ventures into the crowd, his hilarious jibes between songs and the general raucous in the crowd caused by their show somehow allows it to make sense.

I left the gig with a level of adrenaline that I haven’t felt whilst walking away from a gig in years. I’d recommend some time at a metal gig of this calibre to anyone, it is still a case of being careful though. As a genre it deals with both end of a spectrum. Prepare to listen to an awful lot of guff before you find the genre’s best bits.

Here at Amelia’s Magazine we’re all about nurturing design newbies, advice particularly if they’re as innovative and inspiring as Karen Karem. We first encountered Karen way back in the days of issue 6. Fresh out of Central St Martins and brimming with ideas, for sale she caught our eye with her funky range of horse shaped bags inspired by childhood dreams of magical fantasy lands. After two long years of hard work and some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease, information pills she’s now back to launch her debut Spring/Summer 09 clothing collection, Hard Cover Candy.

A peak into Karen’s treasure trove of inspirations reveals a concoction of nostalgic teenage memorabilia combined with a haphazard assortment of British items from eras past. Kitch accessories and pastel coloured cupcakes bump shoulders with jars of jellybeans, fluffy cotton candy, 60′s platforms, teenage heartthrobs and images of elegant ladies at brunch.

The collection itself consists of a range of dresses. Each contain a childlike quality but still manage to maintain a sense of femininity and elegance. Like her playful horse bags, Hard Cover Candy is for women who remember raiding their mothers wardrobes and dressing up in pretty frocks for birthday parties at the age of 9. They’re for women who like to daydream and still feel like little girls at heart.

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With a mixed colour palette of soft pastels and vibrant electrifying tones, Karen’s selection of baby doll dresses and floor length evening gowns use chiffon and ruffles to ensure a high level of grace and movement.

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With Vogue and Vanity Fair already showing an interest in the collection, it’s likely that Karen Karem will soon be sweeping us all along into her magical daydream world.

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To make music relaxing without descending into something boring requires great amounts of skill in arrangement and more often than not melody. These are two things that Finn has in milk tanker sized loads.

The music on this album rises and falls like a souffle. Beginning with the settling whispers of Half-Moon Stunned. Perhaps not the most exciting song on the album it introduces you to the subtle yet brooding voice of Finn. The restrained yet beautiful melodies of this song have an air of Sigur Ros, illness though on a much smaller scale.

Midway though the album things become a little more unsettled, with the romper that is Julius Caesar. All semi off key, there is a sense of panic in his voice – a device that reminds me of Thom Yorke‘s solo efforts. It pulls at the heartstrings purely through it’s melody, even without the hard hitting, blood spill heavy lyrics.

One of my favourite selections from the album is The Truth Is A Lie, again opting for those obtuse melodies, only this time with some very 60s percussion. This sets it off magnificently, making it far less dreary even though it’s steeped in melancholy. Only problem is, about halfway you remember what it really reminds me of. It does sound kind of like Duffy, if she was in a fowl mood and had a record label who had a conscience and would stop forcing that drivel upon us all.
Here’s one for the fashionettes, pharm the glam goddesses, purchase the couture collectors and anyone who dreams in fairytale fashion time. Make way for a new fashion address. Wembley is now the place to head for a truly avant-garde adventure.

Come December, a distinctly unfashionable warehouse on the outskirts of the city, in Wembley, should expect a style onslaught in the form of savvy shoppers and gracious costumiers, each of them on the hunt for a piece of design history. Think hand-sewn sequins and starry silhouettes. Or you might spy a vintage muse in second hand leather and spiky heels falling over flapper dresses and wartime headwear.

For the first time ever, Angels, Europe’s biggest, brightest and most iconic film and theatrical costumier, stages a mammoth clothing sale. More than 30, 000 items of vintage clothing, accessories and jewellery, including pieces featured in films, TV dramas and pop promos, are set for a starring role as a bargain addition to your wardrobe.

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The timing couldn’t be better. Bang in the middle of the credit crunch party season Angels have dropped the frou-frou price tag in favour of a far more festive payment system. You purchase an empty shopping bag on arrival, costing between £10 and £20, and fill it up with lush, lavish or downright ornamental day and eveningwear.

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Tucked away in the fashioned up folds of this supersize event are gowns by Christian Dior and Jean Muir. Perhaps you’ll even come across a corset fresh from its debut on the silver screen. More exciting still for anyone inspired by street style looks are the High Street labels of yesteryear, including Chelsea Girl, Bus Stop and Artwork Blue. The sale acts as an archive of fashion’s forgotten favourites and is a snapshot of retro design pioneers.

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Whatever you find, the event has widespread appeal, from members of the bargain hunter public to history of design scholars. The shopping elite can snatch at consumptive fulfillment in these credit crunch climes without having to settle for the mindless monotony of minimalism, a look traditionally touted by fashion forerunners in times of economic hardship. As the trend for re-wearing, recycling and reworking style statements from the past continues, fashion, at least, can still be fanciful and frivolous. This authentic collection of costumes stalks a precious historical timeline and offers the chance for you to put a new slant on generations of style. So steal yourself away from the urban high street shopping throng and spin North in your second hand heels. This is could be one of the shopping highlights of the season.

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MONDAY 17th November

Amazing Baby, sick Stricken City – The Lexington, viagra sale London
Yo Majesty! – Barfly, London
The Black Keys – The Academy, BRISTOL
White Denim – The Plug, Sheffield

TUESDAY 18th November

Baddies, Dan Black – Hoxton Bar & Grill, London
Metronomy – Rough Trade East, London
Little Noise Session feat. Ladyhawke, Noah and the Whale
The Notwist – Club Academy, Manchester

WEDNESDAY 19th November

TV on the Radio – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Tony Christie – Cadogan Hall, London
Jay Jay Pistolet – The Enterprise, London
Fucked Up – Roadhouse, Manchester

THURSDAY 20th November

Micachu – Corsica Studios, London
Jay Reatard – The Faversham, Leeds
Sway – The Syndicate, Bristol
White Lies – Guildhall, Gloucester

FRIDAY 21st November

Andrew Bird, St Giles Church, London
RAR! All Ages Event feat. Street Riots, Poppy and the Jezabels, Partyshank
The Faint – Brighton Digital, Brighton
Golden Silvers – The Macbeth, London

SATURDAY 22nd November

Buraka Som Sistema – Shoreditch Studios, London
Screaming Tea Party – The Macbeth, London
The Sugars – Bardens Boudoir, London

SUNDAY 23rd November

Those Dancing Days – Thekla, Bristol
Clinic – Scala, London
Koko Von Napoo – Rough Trade East, London
Greg Weeks – Luminaire, London

Categories ,Amazing Baby, ,Andrew Bird, ,Baddies, ,Buraka Som Sisterma, ,Clinic, ,Fucked Up, ,Golden Silvers, ,Greg Weeks, ,Jay Jay Pistolet, ,Jay Reatard, ,Koko Von Napoo, ,Ladyhawk, ,Listings, ,Little Noise Session, ,Metronomy, ,Micachu, ,Music, ,Noah and the Whale, ,Poppy and the Jezabels, ,Screaming Tea Party, ,Stricken City, ,Sway, ,The Black Keys, ,The Faint, ,The Sugars, ,Those Dancing Days, ,Tony Christie, ,TV on the Radio, ,White Denim, ,White Lies, ,Yo Majesty!

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Joan As Police Woman


Illustration by Matilde Sazio

“This song is about fucking up against the wall, illness ” announced Joan Wasser as an introduction to “Hard white wall”, a track from her second album To Survive at her Barbican gig on Sunday. Never the shrinking violet, Joan stood centre-stage in an all-in-one fitted black leather number, slashed at the back, as the spotlights converged on her small frame. It was the seventh time I had seen Joan As Police Woman play in London.

The first time I saw Joan was on a balmy summer’s evening in 2006 at the now defunct Spitz in Spitalfields, which in my opinion, used to put on some of the best gigs in London. The venue was at capacity that night and the air inside was clammy to the point where every surface I touched, whether it was a table or wall, seemed to be coated with a film of sweat. Fresh from a tour supporting Guillemots, Joan took to the stage in a silver metallic floor length gown and wowed the audience with her electric solo set. No big stage productions, no fancy costume changes, not even a band; just Joan with her powerful, soulful vocals, Korg keyboard and guitar. I am certain that she gained some lifelong fans that night, of which I am one.


Illustration by Darren Fletcher

The truth is that my enthusiasm for Joan extends beyond just liking her records and appreciating her live performances. There’s something about her music – perhaps classified in the same category as Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Cat Power and Regina Spektor – that deeply resonates with me. Her sound is raw, honest, pure and sung from the heart in a way which isn’t bland, overdone or contrived. The combination of her emotive vocals, attention to detail in the form of a subtle stroke of cymbal here and an echo of string instruments there, has had the power to reduce me to tears in the past (although I have been known to cry at most things!).

Over the years, Joan has seen me through the best and worst of times: she’s been the soundtrack to exciting train and coach journeys across South East Asia and South America as I have admired the ever-changing landscapes, accompanied me as I have trudged miserably into work on an overheated tube wedged up against some hairy obese man’s armpit, and comforted me through the pain of a relationship break-up where I often found myself lying kidney-bean shaped, feeling ridiculously self-pitiful. Yes, my one-sided relationship with Joan has roots man, she’s a sista.


Illustration by Darren Fletcher

A multi-instrumentalist who flits effortlessly between piano to guitar to violin, Joan has worked and performed with the likes of Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Elton John to name but a few. Much is made of the fact that she was the girlfriend of the luminous late-Jeff Buckley when he died, whose “Everybody Here Wants You” track is rumoured to be inspired by her, but for Joan to be defined by this alone is grossly unfair. The recognition that she deserves should be based purely on her own talent of epic proportions.

In the same vein as Antony and Rufus, much of Joan’s charm lies in her musical arrangements and unique vocals which can be spine-tingling, served tender or gruff. Her new album, The Deep Field unfurls her lust for life and presents to us a more positive and upbeat individual compared to her earlier offerings, Real Life (2006) and To Survive (2008). In her own words, it is her “most open, joyous record” to date.

Although the record is a departure from her more typical sombre sound, its essence is consistent with her previous material where she continues to demonstrate mood, depth, authenticity and sophisticated musical arrangements; a rare gem amongst some of the generic, non-memorable cack out there today.


Illustration by Matilde Sazio

When I meet Joan for tea at the K-West Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush for our interview, she is friendly and sprightly, but appears visibly tired after having spent two days trekking across the UK to do promo work. I try to act cool and calm, but I am sweating like hell and on my way to the hotel, I slip over and land on my bottom to the amusement of two young teenage boys who break out into hysterics, which makes for a nice ice-breaker as I re-tell my story.

Wearing a brown leather jacket, a matching pair of trousers and a bright yellow t-shirt with “Strut ‘n’ Stuff” emblazoned across the front that she picked up from a thrift store, with her thick unkempt dark brown hair and flawless skin, Joan looks much younger than her years – closer to 30 than 40.

As we sit on a comfy sofa in the so-called ‘library’ of the hotel, Joan is oblivious to the two middle-aged men in suits sitting behind us having a business meeting, who shoot a few disapproving glances in our direction as her voice gets progressively louder during the course of the interview. Speaking animatedly with a cup of herbal tea (she is trying to cut back on the coffee) in one hand and some neatly cut slices of apple in the other, Joan talks to Amelia’s Magazine about life before Joan As Police Woman, the inspiration behind her new record, embracing life and whose house she’d most like to be a fly on the wall at, all in the good company of some soft-porn inspired saxophone music playing in the background…


Illustration by Darren Fletcher

You trained as a classical musician and spent some time performing as one. What was the catalyst for you to explore being an alternative musician?
I always listened to different kinds of music as I was growing up and throughout my classical training. Classical music and non-classical music is all music so for me it wasn’t all that big of a stretch making other music. I loved studying classical music, but I wasn’t really interested in making it my life’s work because I wanted to make new music. There were also plenty of people who were better equipped at bringing new insight to the Beethoven violin concerto and I was not one of them. I loved learning the discipline behind that, but pursuing a career in it didn’t interest me so when I moved to Boston to go to school I started playing in bands then because all my friends were in bands. The rest, I guess as they say, is history.

You’ve been in several bands since you started out as a musician, including playing violin with Rufus Wainwright and Antony and the Johnsons, yet it as only in 2004 that you decided to front your own band. Why was there this delay?
Well I played violin exclusively for some time so I was mostly contributing to other peoples’ bands, which I loved doing. I was playing an instrument that is like a voice in itself. You don’t write songs on the violin so I had no way of writing. I picked up a guitar in 1997 to see what it was like; I wanted to figure out if I could write songs and started writing. I put a band together called Black Beetle and wrote a few songs with them and I joined Antony’s band. At this stage, I was still playing with lots of people doing string arrangements, but I also wanted to try out my voice which sounded horrible to me at the time. In the beginning you’re not used to what it sounds like and it doesn’t feel natural.

But surely you must have had reassurance from your friends that your voice is anything but horrible…
Well no one heard it. I started playing but I didn’t tell many people. I did get a lot of support from my friends which helped a lot, even if you think they’re lying because they love you.

So it was all very much about stepping slowly out of your comfort zone?
Yes, very much so. Antony had me open with one of his songs solo sometimes. It was a very nerve-wracking experience, especially as I was around a lot of astounding vocal performers. It was really scary, but I’m that kind of person where I like to jump into the deep end. It’s the only way to do things. I was making a record with Black Beetle that never got released, which was part of the learning process and then that band broke up in 2002 but I kept going; playing on my own and then I got a drummer to play with me and then Rufus asked me to go on tour and open for him and it just all went from there.


Illustration by Aysim Genc

The first time I saw you perform was at The Spitz in 2006, and even back then you seemed to be a very natural performer. Has performing always been second nature to you?
At that point I felt a lot better. Opening for Rufus was a good experience – you can’t really be opening for a crowd of total music lovers without getting your act together. Also, the fact that I come to a city that isn’t mine and tonnes of people show up. It makes you feel great; it makes you think: “OK – well at least I’m doing something right”.

When did you start recording the new album and what were your inspirations for the record?
I started by making a covers record which was fun for me to do. I wanted to get out of my head, my own songwriting. I think that really helped me to direct my songwriting on this record. I’m in a great place these days so I feel really open and joyful and I really wanted to get this across in the record. I first recorded seven songs that I had been writing since my last record, some of which I had been playing live. I did that in March and completed those songs and surveyed the scene and decided what the record needed. I then spent a few months writing five more songs to fill out the record the way I saw it in June and then mixed the whole thing at the end of last summer. It was really fun because I had never recorded an album that way before. Before I would record what I had, decide what the record needed and then wrote the kind of song to fit the record. This time, the new approach was a great exercise for me. I recorded at the same studio with the same producer where I feel very comfortable; it makes me feel like I’m coming home. Then I just got all of my favourite musicians to contribute to the record. It was just an absolutely glorious experience.

How do you think your sound has evolved since Real Life and To Survive?
It’s interesting because when I listen to my songs, I always think: “Where did that come from?” It’s beyond me. But I feel like I’m in a different place now…much more relaxed with myself in general. This is one of the treasures of spending more time alive because you get more comfortable with yourself and your surroundings.


Illustration by Matilde Sazio

You reached a milestone age last summer (Joan turned 40) – were there any anxieties?
I was really excited about it because I felt like it was a demarcation point of where I really didn’t have to give a shit about anything anymore. I never had to before, but I could just actually free myself of all the youth stuff. I have experienced a lot of things and it’s all been worth it, even though it was very difficult at times. I feel really lucky that everyday feels a bit better than the last because I’m determined to live a full life.

How did you celebrate?
I had a big party on my roof at home just outside of New York. It was really nice because I was there for the first time on my birthday and I really embraced it.

What advice would you give a 20-year-old Joan and 30-year-old Joan?
I would just reassure the 20-year-old Joan that things are definitely going to get better – I did not think that then. At 30…I don’t know…the thing is I wouldn’t ever do anything differently. You have to learn everything the way you learn them, unfortunately sometimes.

What do you do to switch off?
I definitely have to exercise or I go crazy. I need that in my life so I do that a lot. I spend a certain amount of time with my friends being ridiculous and making jokes as terrible as possible. Oh and drinking way too much coffee.

Whose house would you most like to be a fly on the wall at?
Prince, definitely! He’s the only person who I think: “What is he doing right now?” Because you know it’s something weird…or fascinating. He’s just incredible; amazing.

Joan’s new album The Deep Field is out now on PIAS records and she is playing across the UK until 13 February.

For a free three track download from the new record, click here.

Joan As Police Woman – The Magic YouTube Preview Image

Categories ,Antony and The Johnsons, ,Aysim Genc, ,Beethoven, ,Black Beetle, ,Darren Fletcher, ,Elton John, ,Joan As Police Woman, ,Joan Wasser, ,Kat Phan, ,Lou Reed, ,Matilde Sazio, ,prince, ,Real Life, ,Rufus Wainwright, ,The Barbican, ,The Deep Field, ,The Spitz, ,To Survive

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Lavender Diamond and review of new album Incorruptible Heart

Lavender Diamond by Suky Goodfellow
Lavender Diamond by Suky Goodfellow.

Their debut album Imagine Our Love was released in 2007 through Rough Trade to rave reviews, and at last there is a follow up. Hailing all the way from Los Angeles, Lavender Diamond‘s new album Incorruptible Heart is a slice of musical sunshine. With a haunting refrain of ‘I love you I love you I love you‘ recent single Oh My Beautiful World makes me well up with adoration for my darling Snarfle every time I hear it, whilst Everyone’s Hearts Breaking Now conjures up a darkly beautiful world where heartbreak seems somehow manageable. She’s a whirlwind of creativity: I caught up with vocalist Becky Stark to find out more.

Incorruptible Heart - Album Cover
How did Lavender Diamond come together? 
Well I had an idea about the lavender diamond, which was a myth about the original crystal caves deep in the earth and the beautiful sound they made! There is a belief that when one diamond was taken from the cave it silenced the sound, but the soul of the stone lived through the centuries and became the voice of a songbird named Lavender Diamond. I would be that character whenever I would sing or write as Lavender Diamond.  But then I wanted to be a band so I found Ron & Steve & Jeff – well kind of by magic: we just found each other and as soon as we played together it felt very powerful. 

Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond photo Autumn de Wilde
Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond by Autumn de Wilde.

Who has been the biggest influence in your vocal style?
I’m not sure… but I really love Ella Fitzgerald. I think she was the most amazing singer.. but there are many other great singers who have influenced me… Maria Callas, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Linda Rondstadt. I guess that’s a strange list!

LAVENDER DIAMOND by Clare Corfield Carr
LAVENDER DIAMOND by Clare Corfield Carr.

What have you been doing since the release of your first album Imagine Our Love? I hear you have been particularly busy Becky…
Oh, well, I have mostly been singing and writing music! I joined the Decemberists for a year and sang the role of Margaret in their rock opera, The Hazards of Love. I also made a record with my other band The Living Sisters, and we made an amazing music video with Michel Gondry: The Living Sisters have a new record coming out in January. I also went on the road with She & Him, singing harmonies with Zooey Deschanel and opening their shows. Then I’ve been singing country songs with John C. Reilly & we made a little record that Jack White produced. What else? Oh!  I made a little animation series of uplifting slogans for MTV called Worldword! and also a web series called We Can Do It!

YouTube Preview Image
And I’ve been writing an opera. It sounds like a lot, but there’s always so much to do… 

Your songs are quite epic… what kind of mood are you in when you write them?
Well – different moods. Usually I will write a song to express a feeling, because I need to understand and allow the meaning to change through the expression of the song.

Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond photo by Autumn de Wilde
Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond by Autumn de Wilde.

You speak of the intimate and the global. Are there any things that are especially pressing on your mind and present on this album?
Yes! I think it is so important that everyone realizes that their relationship to everything in the world is direct. 

It’s been a few weeks since your second album came out, who has been raving about it most?
Well – my friends really love it and that means so much to me! 

YouTube Preview Image
There is some stunning cinematography in the Everyone’s Hearts Breaking Now music video: what was the idea behind this?
Oh, well, we had the idea years ago to make a video where I was dancing through the cosmos and falling and galloping through the stars, but we didn’t really know how to pull it off. By chance I ended up in a Doug Aitken video where I had to be in an aerial rig and it was just amazing so it was like I was born to do it! Dancing in the aerial rig was my fantasy come true and I knew we had to find a way to do it. Just a few days after that happened I ran into Maximilla and she had just filmed a test of an aerialist shot in slow motion through a prism, so then we knew we had to make the video like that together. 

Lavender diamond
How was it shot and executed?
Well it was really miraculous: I can’t believe we actually pulled it off. We just asked for help! Our community in LA is really beautiful and supportive. We found the amazing amazing June Zandona, who shot it – and really it was just incredible how it all came together. Our friend Laurel Stearns introduced us to George Augusto who has an artspace called Dilletante and he let us shoot there. Then he introduced us to Elizabeth Newton who is the head of the Circus School in LA. And she agreed to help us because she wanted to help support the expression of the feeling in the dance, which felt so beautiful and heart opening. It was crazy though because I had only ever been in the aerial rig once: but I knew I could do it and Elizabeth believed in me… then it turned out that Elizabeth and I had worked together before because years ago she had been in the Lavender Diamond video for The Garden Rose that Maximilla directed, and she & I had been in a performance of The Citizens Band together in New York when I was a guest together with Amanda Palmer several years ago. So, Elizabeth introduced us to Chobi Gyorgy – who is a flying trapeze artist from Hungary and he builds trapeze schools across the U.S. – and he agreed to build a rig for us and to be my catcher: it was really like a miracle! 

Lavender Dimond By Alia Penner
Lavender Diamond by Alia Penner via instagram.

Our amazing friend Miss KK made a beautiful costume in just one day and everything came together so fast, in about a week, because there was only one day where Elizabeth and Chobi could come and we really weren’t sure we were going to be able to pull it off. We had to figure out how to blow up a crystal, and it was like an action adventure movie. Then editing it was another adventure – but oh I love it so so so much, it was a dream come true. 

Any plans for any new videos and any plans to play in the UK?
Yes, we’re making new videos: I am hoping we will be able to make one for every song because I love making videos. And I hope we will be able to play in the UK but I don’t know when that will be…

Incorruptible Heart by Lavender Diamond is out now on Paracadute. Stream and buy the album here.

Categories ,Alia Penner, ,Amanda Palmer, ,Autumn de Wilde, ,Becky Stark, ,Chobi Gyorgy, ,Circus School, ,Clare Corfield Carr, ,Cyndi Lauper, ,Decemberists, ,Dilletante, ,Dolly Parton, ,Doug Aitken, ,Elizabeth Newton, ,Ella Fitzgerald, ,Everyone’s Hearts Breaking Now, ,George Augusto, ,Imagine Our Love, ,Incorruptible Heart, ,Jack White, ,John C. Reilly, ,June Zandona, ,Laurel Stearns, ,Lavender Diamond, ,Linda Rondstadt, ,Los Angeles, ,Maria Callas, ,Maximilla, ,Michel Gondry, ,Miss KK, ,MTV, ,Oh My Beautiful World, ,Paracadute, ,Rock Opera, ,Rough Trade, ,She & Him, ,Suky Goodfellow, ,The Citizens Band, ,The Garden Rose, ,The Hazards of Love, ,The Living Sisters, ,We Can Do It!, ,Whitney Houston, ,Worldword!, ,Zooey Deschanel

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Amelia’s Magazine | Alela Diane

Emerging from the deep woods into Portland, web see Oregon and subsequently into The Pigeon Hole in London, cialis 40mg is one Alela Diane. Armed with her simple yet meticulously picked guitar and bluesy, plaintive vocals, she quietly charmed the audience with her soft presence.

Alela Diane’s deceptively sweet melodies often belie the darker, more shadowy subject matters of her songs; telling of rural family existences and the cycles of nature and life. If you’re a cynic you’ll be skeptical of her authenticity; her earnest performance may be too sweet for some, but if you suspend disbelief you find that her somewhat selfconscious presence and performance convey exactly what she sings about: hard working pioneers, silt, water and tatted lace.

A contented kind of yearning accompanies her campfire-style, gospel tinged vocals. An encore presented a new song that showed a more complex development of her music. It looks like this young nouveau-folk-singer/songwriter will be conquering the miles of prarie-land ahead in what could be a long career in the biz.

Lovely.

Categories ,Alela Diane, ,Folk, ,Gig, ,Songwriter, ,The Pigeon Hole

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Amelia’s Magazine | Gorillaz – Plastic Beach – Album Review

Yes yes, we get it. We all know that Gorillaz is an ‘imaginary’ band made up of four Jamie Hewlett-created cartoon characters who ‘play’ the instruments and ‘give’ interviews (read: the label offers out pre written interview answers for journalists to do with them what they will, or occasionally, in some hideous PR-created postmodern nightmare scenario, well-known character actors pretend to be the band members and give phone interviews. Seriously). Oh, and they all live together on a big floating island made up of the planet’s rubbish. Very clever, boys, but can we drop it now please?  Three albums in, this schtick is getting rather tiresome – the joke has been dragged out waaay too long. What are you hiding from, Damon Albarn?  Come forward, don’t be shy and stop playing silly buggers with your hairy mate with the felt tips, because ‘Plastic Beach’ is yet another work of brilliance from the prolifically creative brain of Colchester’s prodigal son.

What is instantly clear, in comparison to previous Gorillaz output, is the lack of any chart-smashing singles a la “Clint Eastwood” or “DARE” on this, their third album.  Contrary to Albarn’s recent claims, this is probably the least commercial output the ‘band’ has produced, yet in my opinion this works in the album’s favour. Instead of pop hooks and catchy beats, we get Indian bhangra, classical strings, grimey electro hip-hop, marching bands and Bobby Womack. BOBBY WOMACK, people! Awesome. It is a far from faultless, but this lack of commerciality makes it a more interesting, challenging and an ultimately more intelligent album.

Albarn seems to have been very busy making friends and influencing people of late. With a role call of collaborators so impressively credible you can only imagine the howls of jealousy emanating from Mark ‘bloody’ Ronson’s house, we have the improbable joy of hearing the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def and half of The Clash on the same album.

“White Flag”, featuring the unlikely collaboration of BashyKano, and the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental and Arabic Music, opens with sub-continental bhangra beats and classical strings which then transform into a backing track from Super Mario Land with Kano and Bashy MC’ing away over the top.  Next comes a flute solo (of course!), some more Indian strings and then it’s over.  It’s weird but it works.

After the two distinctly average singles, “Stylo” (feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack), and “Super Fast Jelly Fish”, comes the good stuff.  ‘Empire Ants’ opens as a spacious and trippy ballad with Albarn’s familiarly languid vocals floating sleepily over a charmingly basic Casio beat track, but which then transforms into a huge dazzling disco epic with the help of Swedish electro darlings Little Dragon.

Next up is the snarling glamrock electronic stomp of “Glitter Freeze” and it is effing brilliant.  Predominantly instrumental with the odd spoken word and demonic laugh emanating from the eternally downturned mouth of Mark E Smith, this is where you realise just how damn good Albarn is. He is adept at creating these huge musical soundscapes which build and build to almost orgasmic levels with seemingly effortless abandon. Kasabian, take note.

Delightful ditty and title track “Plastic Beach” is proof again that Albarn produces some of his best work when paired up with ex-Clash bassist and habitual Albarn collaborator, Paul Simonon – on this occasion being joined by old chum, fellow Clash guitarist Mick Jones. This track is an irresistibly bouncy pop record with enough quirk and edge to keep you tapping your feet and bobbing your head without getting irritated by its obviousness or its saccharine aftertaste.

Womack’s second appearance comes on “Cloud of Unknowing”, a simply extraordinary and stunning piece of vocal-led classical music.  With the help of Sinfonia ViVA, Womack’s vocal is epic, touching and goose-bumps good. We mustn’t forget that Albarn is a bone fide opera composer and is as adept at classical composition as he is at pop, hip hop, disco, rock and pretty much any other genre you can think of.

Not all tracks hit the mark, however. Snoop’s track, “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach”, is disappointingly average, and second single “Super Fast Jelly Fish”, featuring Gruff Rhys and De La Soul, is thin, soulless and intrinsically irritating.  However, on listening to ‘Plastic Beach’, you are left with a resounding sense of satisfaction and joy that you have just witnessed Bobby Womack singing with a full orchestra; The Clash featuring on a track about Casio keyboards and stylophones; Mos Def singing over a marching band; Lou Reed’s vocals spread comfortably over an unapologetically jaunty pop record.

Albarn constantly nudges the boundaries of genre and somehow persuades legendary artists to step out of their comfort zones for just a moment in order to create something unexpected and wonderful. Due to this, I am prepared to forgive the tedious cartoon smoke screen for now, but I think next time do away with the false modesty and claim the glory for your creation, Mr Albarn, since you truly deserve it.

Categories ,album, ,damon albarn, ,de la soul, ,Gorillaz, ,Gruff Rhys, ,Mark E Smith, ,Mos Def, ,paul simonon, ,plastic beach, ,review, ,snoop dogg, ,third

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Amelia’s Magazine | Offset Festival 2010: Review


Egyptian Hip Hop were one of the highlights, <a href=sickness despite the crowd being a little thin on the ground” width=”477″ height=”331″ /> Egyptian hip hop, check illustration by Jaymie O’Callaghan. Egyptian Hip Hop played one of the best sets of the festival, despite the crowd being a little thin on the ground.

Offset Festival, located just off the central line in the lovely Hainault Forest, is set to become my end-of-summer tradition. It’s the second year I’ve been and there really is no better way to round off the festival season than by spending a weekend at the ultimate small festival.

Offset is building its reputation off the back of booking next year’s big bands sooner than anyone else. You’d be hard pressed to find more than a handful of acts who the kids in the street have heard of. Last year I literally hassled my friend til she gave in to watch ‘some band called the xx’ play in a tiny tent. And as everyone knows, they just won the Mercury. Offset is known for more than its lineup though and, like all the best festivals, has really grown itself a culture. It’s perhaps the most exciting because it really is very different to every other festival in terms of the people who go. It’s like a fashion parade, except the fashionistas are friendly.

In fact, I’ve not seen one bit of trouble at Offset on either years I’ve been. Yes, people might be sneaking in the odd beer or two, and there’s certainly a higher concentration of dilated pupils than I’ve noticed at the other fests I’ve been to this summer, but there’s no real naughtiness. The kids won’t set fire to your tents like at Reading; students won’t be allegedly touching up security guards against fences like at Beach Break (if you believe the rumours); and there won’t be aggressive people invading your personal space and fighting like at Evolution. It’s the most relaxed I’ve been at any festival, which is saying something, even though it’s grown since last year; now there’s a proper backstage area, whereas last year was just a few square metres, a couple of tables and a tiny bar. I caught my first ever gig from backstage too, which was fun. I sat and watched Good Shoes right behind the stage – they delivered a better gig than I’ve seen from them in a long time, and singer Rhys was the most passionate I’ve seen in a while.

Megan Thomas Tantrum
Megan from Thomas Tantrum blew me away with her stunning vocals.

What I love about Offset is its diversity. The music ranged from hardcore (which I gave a wide berth), to dance, art rock, acoustic, instrumental, indie, rock, pop and so on. Many small festivals can feel very ‘samey’ in the types of bands they book, but that’s never been Offset’s problem. It feels like the organisers will book a band that’s great, regardless of genre, and I wish more festivals would do that. I had never heard of the majority of bands on the bill, which is always pretty exciting. Floating in and out of tents is a great way to discover new favourites or even bands you detest, and that’s something I adore about Offset.

The Saturday line-up was fun – especially the main stage which was an indie kid’s heaven. Good Shoes, Art Brut and the Mystery Jets (all Amelia’s Magazine favourites down the years) were all fantastic, and better than I’ve ever seen them. I don’t know what it is about the Offset crowd, but it seems to draw out killer performances from bands.

I also caught Egyptian Hip Hop, but the audience was pretty low. Perhaps that’s because everyone’s seen them before, or perhaps it’s because they clashed with a couple of bands. Regardless, it was a fantastic set and much better than the one the band delivered at Field Day.

A new band I stumbled across – who aren’t exactly new to the scene but I’d never managed to see live – is Thomas Tantrum. With that name I was not expecting to hear such delicate female vocals; I thought it’d be a rock n roll band, but shame on me for making such assumptions. They were one of my favourite new discoveries.

Sunday was all about La Shark for me (read our interview with frontman Samuel Geronimo Deschamps here); the band Good Shoes told people to check out, and the band I was most excited for. They were, hands down, the single best band of the weekend for me. Like a few others on the bill, they put on a mesmerising performance. The singer walked out in a silk dressing gown, hopped on to the barrier and spent the entire set, clutching to the pole holding up the tent or down in the audience, singing away and jibbering in French. The band wore boiler suits and went for it, rivalling the singer for the crowd’s attention. Then they brought two randoms up to bang some drums for closing song – my favourite – A Weapon and it was pretty funny watching a couple of the most normal kids of the weekend strutting their stuff on stage.


La Shark, after being championed by Good Shoes, didn’t disappoint.

Whilst I also saw an interesting set from Cluster, a comical few songs from the Xcerts, an average set from Not Cool, a winning performance by Horse and Condor, as well as the majority of Anna Calvi’s set, Sunday’s lean towards the heavier, rock bands wasn’t my kind of thing.

The bands I missed, due to a hangover/eating/being distracted/lineup clashes, which makes me sad, included (just to show how amazing the line up is): Male Bonding; Bo Ningen; Invasion; Cold in Berlin; Lovvers; O.Children; Stopmakingme; Caribou; These New Puritans; Mount Kimbie; Visions of Trees and Ali Love.

The funniest moment of the weekend had to be when I realised we had pitched our tent behind Iain Lee’s. If you don’t know, he’s a radio presenter and not really that famous, but it made me chuckle. He was literally the oldest person I saw all weekend and, waking up to hear him threaten to shit in someone’s tent, is one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard in a campsite.

This was only the third Offset and, judging by how much it’s grown compared to last year, I think next year could be even more exciting. Now all that remains left to do is sit back and watch which bands from the bill explode over the next year, get nominated for a Mercury or have a commercially selling record. It might sound far fetched, but this is the festival that booked the xx, had to move Metronomy to the main stage because everyone was cramming into the tiny tent, and booked the Maccabees, Biffy Clyro, the Slits and Gang of Four in the past, so I know it’s going to happen.

Categories ,Anna Calvi, ,Art Brut, ,Cluster, ,Egyptian Hip Hop, ,Good Shoes, ,Hainault Forest, ,Horse and Condor, ,Jaymie O’Callaghan, ,La Shark, ,Mystery Jets, ,Not Cool, ,Offset, ,The XX, ,Thomas Tantrum

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Amelia’s Magazine | Two Thousand Trees festival

Noah%20And%20The%20Whale.jpg

Noah & The Whale may be the most obvious example of ‘morning music’ I could ever hope to find. Folk with the lyrical style of The Postal Service is a combination that seriously rivals corn flakes and ice cold milk in my opinion.

Tracks like ‘Rocks and Daggers’ and ‘Shape of My Heart’ are so damn catchy I reckon I could actually sing along to them in my sleep. I’ve been a fan of these tracks since the demos I heard them in their demo forms, site no rx but these new recordings seem to have a lot more life to them. With added vocals and different instruments used they take on a whole new, this more exciting, character.

The high point of the album has to be ‘5 Years Time’ though. It’s the recollection of a joyous daydream considering what a relationship could be like 5 years in the future. It springs along at the tempo of giddiness, with horns that are reminiscent of Beirut, making it sound like a declaration.

The album definitely isn’t all quite so memorable however, as many of the songs seem to merge into one. Towards the end of the album the pace slows and the songs seem to have less about them. They can pull off this style of songwriting as they show on tracks like ‘Give A Little Love’, but the last two tracks do come across being as being tucked away as if they were filler.

The Government, ailment along with the G8, has waged war on food wastage, and we’ve got to all confess to a bit of complicity here. Alright, so as a political task force the G8 is as effective as the East Dulwich Women’s Institute, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our bit, if for no other reason than we could save £420 a year (enough to save eight acres of rainforest).

Make a shopping list – okay, it sounds a bit anal and motherly, but it’ll help to stop those nasty impulse buys cluttering up your cupboards.

Use your freezer – effective rotating of your freezer will allow you to store food for a few extra days, helping to use everything before it goes brown/grey/green/other bad food colours…

Long-life foods – where possible buy things that won’t go off in a couple of days, then you’re more likely to get round to cooking with it before it makes a break for the bin.

Share and share alike – if you have leftovers you know you can’t possibly use, ask if a friend, relative or neighbour might like them – better yet, invite them over!

Oh, and though I’m never one to promote big business, M&S has pledged to power six of their Simply Food shops with renewable energy from a machine that turns food waste into electricity. Wouldn’t necessarily suggest you try this one at home…

For more info click on lovefoodhatewaste.

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TelevisedCrimewave.jpg

When half a band becomes half of a new band a comparison will be inevitable made. So who am I to buck the trend? In the interest of research I decided to play a track by Televised Crimewave formed with two alumni of Black Wire (Daniel Wilson and Tom Greatorex) and two fresh faces (Rob Bootle and Bat Neck, seek who I was informed by a ‘source’ is so called because he has a tattoo of a bat on his neck) at the same time as a Black Wire track. One thing is obvious immediately; Televised Crimewave are pretty much Black Wire but they lack in the guitar department.

Not only do Televised Crimewave owe a debt to Black Wire, health but with a mission to pursue old (but not forgotten) passions, they also owe a bit of pocket change to punk. Most notably on Fire and Flowers, with a hey ho-esque chorus that sounds very distinctly familiar. Hmm, I wonder where they got that from.

But tributes and similarities aside, televised Crimewave’s songs have a rousing sense of urgency. It’s a bit like music to have electric shock therapy to, if that was ever necessary. I like to say it’s psychedelic garage pop at its best, but it’s not. Televised Crimewave are pushing a sound that is rather tired and they seem to be holding back, they never quite reach the crescendo their music deserves.

When Dolly the Sheep was cloned it was hailed as a medical marvel. When Black Wire were cloned the results aren’t so marvellous. Perhaps Televised Crimewave could change their name to Dolly. Although, then they may get parallels drawn to that lovely lady who sings about working crap jobs. Televised Crimewave are worth a listen, but for those not sobbing into our pillows about Black Wire demise, a listen is all you need.

The ‘Future of Fashion’ exhibition located on the beautiful premises of the Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham is a showcase of the work from British students and recent graduates across the pathways of fashion design, ampoule illustration, illness photography, diagnosis textiles and accessories. The pieces – most of them on sale – selected by co-curators Mark de Novellis and Caroline Alexander, come from courses of various levels within colleges and universities all around the country, including the University of the Arts London, Edinburgh College of Art, Kingston and Southampton Solent University.

The display is divided into three parts, starting off with ‘Tradition’ and ‘Innovation & Creativity’ on the ground floor, leading to the open gallery upstairs showcasing ‘Diversity’. Whereas ‘Tradition’ focuses on the British (fashion) heritage – such as Savile Row tailoring and textile craft – being subverted and therefore reinvigorated, ‘Innovation & Creativity’ explores the more conceptual and experimental approaches which British fashion has become internationally recognised for. ‘Diversity’ finally investigates the global influences impacting upon the industry – whether these come from inside Britain itself because of its rich cultural mix or from outside, through the many European and international students who come to train here, each bringing their unique identity to the country.

One highlight of the display is Kimberly Patterson’s piece ‘Identity Theft – A Corporate Assault’ from BA Fashion, Kingston: An all-white ruffle minidress made of energy-efficient Tyvek® fabric by DuPontTM inspired by Douglas Coupland’s novel Generation X and the idea of the ‘McJob‘. With each pattern piece being a scaled-up company logo, her work examines questions of globalisation, consumer and corporate culture as well as sustainability.

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Faye Bamber from Fashion Design & Technology at the London College of Fashion produced interesting work for her 2nd-year project ‘Industrial Engineering & Sculptural Fashion’. Her architectural, Hussein Chalayan type pieces were inspired by research from the Museum of Science & Industry, the Royal Armouries and the National Railway Museum. Although her two showcased dresses made of aluminium sheeting and wire make great exhibits, the real treasure troves are her accompanying design development books in which she experimented with cog mechanisms, paper and wire maquettes, Grecian-style pleating, asymmetrical shapes and weaving techniques.

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Despite the ‘Tradition’ section showcasing a couple of pieces that were too – you guessed it – Vivienne Westwood and ‘Diversity’ featuring a few less strong works, some of them a bit out-of-place and/or lacking additional info and accompanying material, ‘Future of Fashion’ makes for a worthwhile trip down to Twickenham and proves that real artefacts which can be examined three-dimensionally, touched, yes even smelled are a much more valuable experience than the digital proposition used by other fashion colleges in Central London.
The supershorts film festival has been running for five years, buy more about and celebrates both the art of short films and those who make them. I’ve always been a bit of a geek about shorts, mainly because I’ve been making them for three years. Although I studied journalism, I have the secret desire to work in film and was a bit of a ‘groupie’ at uni, volunteering to be on almost every shoot, ever. So it’s always a treat to watch new shorts and spot the upcoming talent. I only managed to catch one night of the festival, but it was a brilliant and inspiring night of screenings at the Odeon in Shaftsbury Avenue, Covent Garden. Here are a few highlights:

A Difference in Shadow by Michael Mier was a beautifully shot and emotional piece with a nice little twist in the tale. Great performances from both Sakib Salama and Georgia Baines, which brought a shiver to the spine and brought to the surface how easy it is to assume.

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Broken by Vicky Psarias – a great little narrative piece which began more like a feature than a short, and felt as if it could, and perhaps should, go on. The story shows a Cypriot family immigrating to London to join their father who has already been preparing for a better life for them. But it turns out he doesn’t seem to have their best interests at heart. It had potential, but lacked punch in the final blow.

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Eric’s Secrets by Lucia Ashmore is a poignant documentary based solely on character on not much else -and that’s why it works. Eric, in his nineties, talks about his life with beautiful humour and wisdom, and this film went on to win the Lightning Media Best Documentary Award.

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For the Love of God by Joe Tucker provided some light relief – and also a change in format, as it’s a stop-motion animation. Main character Graham lives in a Christian bookshop with his overbearing mother and pet jackdaw. We follow him as his quest for faith takes on a macabre spin. Featuring the voices of Steve Coogan and Sir Ian McKellan, it’s a fantastic piece with just the right dose of humour and shock tactics.

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Joystick by Kevin Richards, another animation, is a thoughtful and beautifully drawn piece showing two joined beings ‘The Joystick’ whirl and twist through life, eventually split apart by conflict. Without each other, they perish in a tragic ending.

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‘Flushed‘ by Martin Stirling is a brilliantly funny piece about a boy caught short in the loos. Great characters and great production values, it’s the Director’s first funded short and he’s one to watch.

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The final, and most captivating of all, was Smafulgar (Two Birds) by Runar Runarrson. A short that made waves at Cannes was awarded both the Anthony Mingella Best Director Award and Sasusfaction Best Drama Award at Super Shorts. Shot on 35mm, it’s a gripping story of a shy teenager who loses his innocence overnight. Stunning cinematography, and with the perfect mix of narrative and intimacy on camera, it has also that all-important feature of a short – the catching of breath as the credits begin to roll.

Here’s to next year’s supershorts!
Take a trip around Chongquing with the lovely Miss M as your tour guide in this second issue of Scarlet Cheek’s bookzine. Inspired by a patchwork of childhood memories from editor’s Cindy Chens visits to the city with her beloved Grandpa, link she sets out to show you the lives and her loves of this Chinese metropolis.

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Scarlet Cheek manages to transport you to Chongquing, about it where you can really feel the firey sun beating down on you as your feet tread the paved streets of the city. Chen’s fondness for the place really shines through and the friendly atmosphere of the city washes over you with everyone of her tender words.

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Let her guide you through the streets, stuff tripping past playing children, graffitied walls and fortune tellers, before finally putting your feet up and dining out at Meishi Jie’s food street. With the accompanying photographs of these scenes from the street you get a multisensory experience of the city which leaves you dying to touch, see and smell everything that’s going on around you.
As your guided tour comes to an end you are left to wander freely through the rest of the pages. Interviews with bands and artists come to life as they are simply conversations you overheard. The factual history of the city is nicely combined with tales from it, adding to your experience of Chongquing as told by the people that call it their home.
From the streets upward we see the bangbangs, a group of migrant workers seeking all possibilities of a job, up to the beautiful women the area is known for, celebrated in a double page spread of loveliness. The region’s food is also tastily displayed in graphic food porn shots, whilst images of the neon night life tempt you out to play after dark.
This is not a gloriously glossy depiction of the city, but a wonderfully realistic glimpse into the lives of everyday people in Chongquing. This issue of Scarlet Cheek’s is a celebration of a place where memories are held dear and where many more are surely to be created.

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Windsmoor, more about the quintessentially English establishment label, link has just reached the ripe old age of 75. Bearing in mind that this brand is the same age as my Nan, page I was expecting the celebrations to revolve around a nice game of scrabble in a tea shop. Oh how wrong I was. Come the day of the party I checked the address, and almost keeled over when it read: ‘Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner’. The party was literally IN an arch.

A roomful of slinky cocktail dresses and flutes of champagne replaced the knitting patterns and scone recipes I had expected and I’d soon hijacked the prime balcony location to enjoy the view. Sights included all the London favourites: The London Eye, The Mall, and a sneaky peak into the Buckingham Palace grounds (sadly HRH was not playing on her tennis court this particular evening).

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Meanwhile back inside, decades of Windsmoor advertising campaigns graced every inch of wall space. These ranged from World War Two era posters to a campaign fronted by Cindy Crawford. Windsmoor have always maintained their desire to provide women with luxurious yet affordable clothes and after 75 successful years this philosophy will no doubt see them through the looming economic recession.

Indeed, Windsmoor is so much a part of British culture that even the poet laureate John Betjeman had something to say about it. In his 1954 poem, ‘Middlesex’, he tells of

Fair Elaine the bobby-soxer,
Fresh-complexioned with Innoxa,
Gains the garden – father’s hobby –
Hangs her Windsmoor in the lobby,
Settles down to sandwich supper and the television screen.

The night was monumental, and just like Elaine the bobby-soxer I headed home for some toast and the latest news from another integral part of British culture, the Big Brother house.

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Frock Me! London’s hottest vintage fashion event is back in town and it’s set to be a big one! It’s the one-stop shop to the dressing rooms of the past, click from 1920′s flapper chic to 1980′s retro cool.

Held in the heart of illness ,10268~3206161,00.jpg”target=”_blank”>Chelsea’s fashionable King’s Road, you will find the crème de la crème of the country’s vintage dealers, offering everything from beautiful clothing, hats and shoes, to gorgeous accessories, bags and jewellery.

Whether you’re a costume designer looking to dress the big stage, or a fashion student with an eye for a bargain, Frock Me! is the place to pick up that perfect item. Ranging from one or two pounds to several hundreds, whatever your budget, you’ll be sure to find the fabulous vintage gems to suit you.

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Brimming with one-off fashion finds and vintage trends, you’ll often spot top models and stylists gliding between the rails in search of the right item to complete their individual styles from the range of enchanting collections from days gone by.

It’s not only the magnificent range of clothing that will take you back in time while at the fair. The Frock Me! Vintage Tea Room offers a unique ‘pre-war’ experience, where you can sit back and relax with an old fashioned cream tea whilst listening to the nostalgic tones of the original gramophone.

Described by The Sunday Times Style magazine as ‘The place to pick up something old and stylish’, vintage fairs are the only place you can find more classic shoes, Lanvin dresses and pussy bows than Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe.

For the first time since the opening fair four years ago, 2008 sees Frock Me! expanding out of the big city and into Brighton to treat the South coast to the array of treats that the top vintage dealers have to offer. Being held at the Sallis Benney Theatre opposite the pavillion, Brighton joins London in being home to the fashion world’s favourite vintage event.

You can catch the next fair in Chelsea on 7th September, and in Brighton on 5th October so make sure you get to one of these fabulous events and pick yourself up some vintage, darling!

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This morning I got up really early and cycled up to Angel to join the Greenwash Guerillas outside the Business Design Centre in Islington, information pills in a protest against the E.ON sponsored Climate Change Summit being organised by the Guardian.

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C’mon, Guardian, what’s going on? Why are you colluding with E.ON? Is it the same irony that your paper shows by going on and on about being green whilst still supporting cheap flights with heaps of advertising space? We all need money but some of us are less likely to sell out…

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Caroline Lucas,the Green MEP for the south east joined us in her white boiler suit before joining the conference – she will be protesting about the choice of sponsor in her speech. Go Caroline!

E.ON is a major target for climate campaigners at the moment – Climate Campwill be protesting against their planned new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth in a few weeks time (join us!) which, if built, will rule out the UK’s ability to stop catastrophic climate change. Do you detect any irony?!

Of course E.ON would prefer to give the impression that they give a shit about climate change, hence the choice of sponsorship. However, they clearly don’t, which is why I wear my badge saying E.ON F.OFF with pride, and why I will be attending Climate Camp.

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We did the can-can, sung songs and handed out leaflets to the delegates – there was a big turn out of activists, all bearing handmade “greenwash detectors” with which to sniff out bullshit. These ranged from a butternut squash to feather dusters to highly creative hairdryer/vacuum hoover/bike light creations.

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Of course the police were as humourless and heavy handed as they always are – I was given a very aggressive shove for daring to take a photo from the steps.

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Bicycology also turned up with their super sound system, and we danced in the bright morning sunlight to a suitably apt soundtrack – it seems Britney Spears could have written Toxic specifically with E.ON in mind! When the bullshit all got too much we collapsed on the ground and with that most went off to their daily jobs, but not before showering E.ON with much unwanted attention. Hurrah to that!

Click below to check out different videos from the day.
One
Two
Three
Four

For more information please visit Indymedia.

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UNIQLO’s annual T-shirt design competition since 2004, pilule the 5th “UT Grand Prix” will call for entries from July 15th. UNIQLO has actively developed its global expansion as a casual wear brand from Japan, opening flagship stores in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Korea and China, and also shown the global promotion campaigns that world people can participate such as UNIQLOCK and UT LOOP!

Based on the concept of “T-shirt Design Olympics”, UT Grand Prix calls for T-shirt designs from young & upcoming creators from all over the world. Works will be chosen from more than 10,000 submissions in the first and second phases of judgment, & these will be shown on the web. In the final stage, 20 designs will be selected by presiding guest judges, & these designs will then be sold as UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) at UNIQLO stores. Cash & other prizes will be also presented to the winner(s). The Grand Prix (top) prize is 3 million JPY (or equivalent in local currency at current rates).
Submission Period: July 15th – September 21st, 2008

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As a fashion capitol, sale London loves looking for the next big thing.
Season after season fashion stars of the future ascend in the strangest of places: spontaneous off-schedule shows, information pills worn-down warehouses, more about hidden headquarters. The freshest, often cash-strapped design talent explodes onto the scene with experimental aplomb, giving little more than an eccentric knowing nod to the establishment.

This September seems no different. FaCshion is a two-day exhibition for trade buyers and consumers looking for that elusive fashion edge. Held perhaps predictably in The Old Truman Brewery, on the 13th and 14th of September FaChion invite new & brilliant designers working across knitwear, lingerie, footwear and accessories, to showcase their wares to the world, at a fraction of the cost normally involved in staging a memorable catwalk show.

The event, determined to rip up London’s fashion rule book once again, is billed as a brilliant way for buyers to source new collections and shoppers to source a design hit.

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Sensing a change in shopping sensibilities for the upcoming season, the organisers are keen to expose the ethical edge of the event. An array of modern design heroes from the eco age are lined up to attend. Recycled jewellery and reworked vintage nestle against second hand style and organic cotton pieces. With emerging brands like Lalesso and TraSsh already challenging the design status quo, this event aims to show how conscious clothing continues to shake up the hard-ass fashion clichés that haunt the industry.

Two days spent at FaCshion, dipping in and out of the stalls and catching a catwalk show, reintroduces London’s fashionista to the idea of experimenting. Designers are selected for their fresh approach, excellence and innovation.

FaCshion are currently looking for more designers to exhibit at the two day event, so if you feel you have what it takes and are interested in submitting your work, check out the website for more details on how to participate. For the rest of you – why not come and look again at what British talent can create. You might even find the next big thing.

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After being in a band called Catchers at school, see Dale Grundle began working on songs for The Sleeping Years solo. Living by the sea in Northern Ireland seems to bring about a theme of melancholic existence that justifies the suitably desolate title.

Having released three sell out EPs he then released the album, signed to rocketgirl records n the uk. This is an album of pleasant simple quiet melodies in which not many songs particularly stand out against the others. ‘Dressed for rain‘ is slightly different containing a single layer of acoustic guitar and a soft voice, but the song is far too long. ‘You and me against the world’ is the only song I had any desire to listen to more than once and I think that might be just because it reminded me just a little of Shout Out Louds. My nan told me the word nice is an unimaginative way to describe something but this album is just that, nice, nothing very memorable.
Last night as I was walking around the Vilma Gold gallery, capsule waiting for Tom Morton to begin his talk on the works of Brian Griffiths that were displayed there, dosage I did a spot of time traveling. It felt like I was in a time, perhaps not too far from now, where humans live amongst the huge land-fills that they have created. A lonely race, there is not much to amuse them aside from finding odds and ends in the junk heap (a victorian hot water bottle shaped like a rabbit, a tatty piece of tarpaulin, a crushed car, a giant bears head from a derelict theme park) and adorning them with bright paint or making odd compositions with them. However much these pieces might be treasured, their elevation seems strange – even laughable – to us in our time.

Perhaps this was Griffiths’ intention. Or perhaps I’ve been watching too many Wall-E trailers. Either way, I was looking forward to what Tom Morton (who is, amongst other things, the curator of the Hayward Gallery) had to say about it all.

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With his talk Morton proved that, not only does he know his art, but he certainly knows his comedy. Leading us around the Vilma Gold space Morton constantly referenced all those classic British sitcoms that work on the themes of aspiration, failure and despair… what those in Germany might call Shadenfreude but here in Britain we call prime time entertainment.

It’s a great analogy to run with, as Morton brought to mind Rising Damp
as we stood in front of the huge ‘Stone Face’. This giant concrete bear head took up almost a whole room, with it’s painted on grimace seeming to morph into the brave face Rigsby’s would adopt each episode just as all around him crumbled and his dreams disappeared before is eyes. Morton asked us to wonder whether beneath this surface of an eternal optimist is another creature slowly going mad.

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The comedy found in despair is not such an obscure reference, it seems, as Morton tells us that the darkly comic 1970′s series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is actually an important influence on Griffiths. Griffiths himself has said; “The work, I always think, has high aspirations that are never met”. Disappointment seemed to hang, quite literally, from the walls of Vilma Gold with Griffith’s banner like pieces and the tarpaulin ‘Shadow’s in my Pockets’ displayed in such a way that they sagged and drooped wearily.

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Morton then directed our attention to ‘Daylight Jed’, a wooden box construction with a hole at the top and a drawer, containing a pair of glossy brown brogues, at the bottom. I hadn’t been sure what to make of this piece on my first walk around the gallery, but Morton had the answer for me; It’s a Houdini style magician’s box, except this one might have been used by Tony Hancock
in the series Hancock’s Half-Hour. With this in mind the piece could be seen as both the trapping-within and the possibility-of-escape-from a less than desirable life.

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Being led around Griffiths’ ‘Another End’ by Tom Morton really added to my experience of the exhibition because each piece on display was given a personality that I had not imagined before. We were encouraged to consider how the pieces had come to terms with their own disappointed selves, and so be inspired to find humour in the harsher knocks life deals us. The best thing about Morton’s talk, in my opinion, was that his references were pitched perfectly for a part time art dabbler like myself. Art criticism is often in danger of becoming so obscure that it loses the interest of it’s audience, but sling in a few pop culture references and I know my ears will prick up.

There was one classic comedy reference missing from Morton’s list however, and that is the incredibly apt Steptoe and Son. With the ‘Another End’ exhibition Brian Griffiths has definitely become a modern day rag and bone man, collecting junk for a living and turning strange trash into undeniable treasure.
Teddies, sildenafil dummies and rattles appear to any unsuspecting spectator to be the possessions of a young child, more about yet within the work of Hazel Davies they are not. With a body of work entitled Nurseries; baby pinks, buy blues and yellows leak from the photographs, suggestive of the love and security a parent hopes to provide for their little ones. Concealed amongst the toys and decoration are contrasting items which are foreign to the space Hazel shares with us.

And slowly the cogs turn; a toddlers harness stored on a size 14 hanger, a strange set of cuffs dangled from a high chair. The cleverly cropped leg on the chair is not that of a very hairy child. The ladies hanger is not mummy’s and those handcuffs, I need not say.

I reach for the exhibition brochure. I need clarification. Sleeping in a cot, wearing nappies and drinking from bottles Hazel informs, are pastimes of Adult Babies. These “Nurseries” for the fully grown, providing brief visits or overnight stays offer services from spanking to nappy changes.

Hazel states her intent is to break down misconceptions surrounding Adult Babies. Unaware of such a fetish I can’t say her work inspires me to condone it, but praise her for the intelligence with subliminal messages and a sharp photographers eye.

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Gob-smacked. Impressed. Amelia and I wander further through the Truman Brewery and stumble upon the work of Christopher Broadhurst.

Like magnets, our eyes are instantly drawn to the magical landscapes. A spectrum away from the Adult Babies, there is an element to this body of work which makes you want to climb in the images, to explore the mysteries which these forests hide in secrecy. Untouched, delicate and moody Christopher’s technique of traditional print making and digital processes make truly alluring images.

Roll on the closing Free Range starting tonight at six…

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AMUSE ARTJAM, more about a new art competition by a Japanese agency for all-round entertainment “AMUSE”, order will open calling for entries from August 1st.
This is a competition that has counted more than 5000 submissions and total 70000 visitors in the past 6 events, gathering attentions as a gateway for young artists to success. This year as a new project, they will open a new gallery for contemporary art called “ArtJamContemporary” in the art complex building “NADiff A/P/A/R/T” in Ebisu, Tokyo. The participants of ARTJAM will be mainly featured in the gallery and sent to the world.
Anyone can participate in this competition regardless of genders, nations, ages, educations, professionals or amateurs, and genres. However, the competition winners need to participate in the award ceremony, which will be held in The Museum Of Kyoto on October 5th, 2008.
Submission period: August 1st – 31st, 2008

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CG-ARTS Society with Agency for Cultural Affairs and The National Art Center, doctor Tokyo will start calling for entries for 12th Japan Media Arts Festival. They seek vibrantly creative works that are opening up a new era in each division of Art, Entertainment, Animation and Manga.
Submission Period: July 17th – September 26th, 2008

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Online magazine SHIFT presents DOTMOV Festival 2008, adiposity a digital film festival aiming to discover talented creators and provide them with an opportunity to show their works. Works submitted from all over the world will be screened throughout the world venues from November 2008 (Date will be different depending on the venue). Last year’s total submission was 297 works from 34 countries. This year’s tour will be Sapporo, this Sendai, visit Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo.
Submission Period: September 20th, 2008

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Shift has been trying to offer artists many platforms to showcase their works online. The Shift calendar competition held from 2003 successively, information pills pushes the boundaries between online and off line using a “calendar” as its medium. Entries are invited from all over the world and selected works will be distributed throughout the world in the format of a physical calendar.
This year, this selected works will be exhibited and sold at PRINT’EM web site for a year with support by PRINT’EM, a graphic print center operated by Mitsubishi Paper MIlls Limited.
Submission Period: September 10th, 2008

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coffee

A rich full bodied blend, viagra 60mg with each sip enticing you for another subtle caramel hinted caffeine hit… okay I hate to sound like Jilly Goolden so I’ll stop and get on with my point. Not only does this coffee taste top notch (trust me I’m normally a bit of a caffetier snob) but this blend can be drank with a clear ethical conscience. The creators Cafedirect have always paid above standard Fairtrade prices for their crops and reinvest 60% of their profits back to growers’ communities and businesses aiding to a brighter and sustainable future. A broke Londoner myself, I am the first to be tempted to shy away from organic and ethical brands and reach for the savers option, but at a mere £2.85 for 100g at all supermarkets, this is a truly splendid blend.

So, for all you coffee connoisseurs out there, put the filter coffee down, and give the Cafedirect Fairtrade Classic Blend Premium instant coffee a whirl and let us know what you think.
Two Thousand trees in Cheltenham began with our privileged arrival to pre-pitched tents, sildenafil not to mention a laminated-book-of-dreams (argos) gazebo. We then quickly found the open mic night taking place where the first memorable act I saw was The Loyal Trooper.
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Named after a tiny pub near Sheffield, viagra sale he sang and played clever, pharm observant lovely sounding acoustic songs to a jam packed tent, the crowd who had been fairly rowdy remained completely silent throughout. This small unpretentious festival was full of friendly people listening with open ears, being shockingly considerate to one another, and recycling. Then the man who introduced the acts sang some impressive Italian opera and played a ukelele! What more can a girl ask for?

The next day while I ‘wellied up’, Dave opted for the lesser known, i would say under appreciated Boddingtons welly.
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We thoroughly enjoyed a new band called A Silent Film who played piano related melodic noise that made my ears very happy and won the crowd over with a cover of Born Slippy. Then I scampered (as much as scampering is possible knee deep in mud) to see Chris TT, whose brilliant acoustic set sounds great, he even bravely sings one song acappella. His songs protest at the state of affairs in the world, then in a self-critical mode of genius he goes on to poke fun at people who object to the state of affairs in the world, while they sit at home eating biscuits.

There were some rather fabulous costumes around including,

Festival Mexicans.
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Papa New Guinea however has to be my favorite.
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No festival is complete without token ‘mud diver’ people but I was pleased to observe this being combined with a nice civilised game of cricket.
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Then the Duke Spirit came on the main stage (which was significantly tinier than most main stages). They were amazing! Leila showed her stunning front girl skills, strutting and singing powerfully yet prettily to the note perfect to loud deep dark guitar sounds that had me dancing in torrential rain. Sadly minus Dave at this point who had had one too many Boddingtons and had to be put to bed.
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My festival hero was Beans on Toast, who’s gravely voiced comedy songs made me weep with laughter. ‘The day that dance music died’ almost gave me a hernia. If you havn’t heard of him you are most certainly missing out. By the end of his set the whole crowd sang along with Beans and Frank Turner and a great Badgers Bottom cider fuelled time was had by all. I will certainly go back next year!

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Amelia’s Magazine | Teebs: Otherworldly Rhythms on debut album Ardour.

South County Dublin boy without the accent or heino addiction, ask fled to Bristol under a desperate attempt to become the next Ally McBeal. Following more pints than points of law it soon became clear this wasnt to be. After a year in Paris, find I found my true calling and went back to being a fresher this time by the sea in Bournemouth and got swept into the world of fashion.

A marriage, a couple of funerals, more parties, and eventually a graduate collection inspired by dandies past and present all led to a move to the capital. Here I design menswear for the high st and dream of a fashion empire developing at my feet.

So having just hit my 30s, which should be noted I am welcoming with open arms, and bizarrely a marathon, (It’s the done thing these days apparently.) I’m designing suits, writing, enduring long runs in the rain and loving London. Other than that I’m most often seen propping up a bar with a group of mates debating the intricacies of politics, fashion, music, and possibly Strictly. Its not a bad life really and hey someone’s gotta do it.

South County Dublin boy without the accent or heino addiction, pharm fled to Bristol under a desperate attempt to become the next Ally McBeal. Following more pints than points of law it soon became clear this wasnt to be. After a year in Paris, this I found my true calling and went back to being a fresher this time by the sea in Bournemouth and got swept into the world of fashion.

A marriage, a couple of funerals, more parties, and eventually a graduate collection inspired by dandies past and present all led to a move to the capital. Here I design menswear and dream of a fashion empire developing at my feet.

So having just hit my 30s, which should be noted I am welcoming with open arms, and bizarrely a marathon (It’s the done thing these days apparently.) I’m designing suits, writing, enduring long runs in the rain and loving London. Other than that I’m most often seen propping up a bar with a group of mates debating the intricacies of politics, fashion, music, and possibly Strictly. Its not a bad life really and hey someone’s gotta do it.

South County Dublin boy without the accent or heino addiction, mind fled to Bristol under a desperate attempt to become the next Ally McBeal. Following more pints than points of law it soon became clear this wasnt to be. After a year in Paris, pill I found my true calling and went back to being a fresher this time by the sea in Bournemouth and got swept into the world of fashion.

A marriage, approved a couple of funerals, more parties, and eventually a graduate collection inspired by dandies past and present all led to a move to the capital. Here I design menswear and dream of a fashion empire developing at my feet.

So having just hit my 30s, which should be noted I am welcoming with open arms, and bizarrely a marathon (It’s the done thing these days apparently.) I’m designing suits, writing, enduring long runs in the rain and loving London. Other than that I’m most often seen propping up a bar with a group of mates debating the intricacies of politics, fashion, music, and possibly Strictly. Its not a bad life really and hey someone’s gotta do it.

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Matt Bramford is the son of a coal miner and Miss Butlins 1979. A fan of fashion from an early age, abortion Matt could be found sporting Spring/Summer 1988′s pastel pallette on Blackpool’s glorious sands, embarrassing his parents by carrying his matching bucket and spade in the crook of his arm. He can only apologise.

Nowadays, when not designing layouts featuring Stacey Slater or Ronnie Mitchell or, erm, Stacey Slater, at Britain’s favourite TV magazine, he’s usually chained to his desk replying to emails or editing pictures. He takes a hot snap and is a massive fan of Autostitch and Hipstamatic for iPhone, although he gets the occasional pang of guilt for cheating with the latter.

If you want to know what he had for breakfast this morning, find him on twitter @mattbramf. If you want to see some of said ‘hot snaps’ you can here.

Matt is fashion editor of Amelia’s Magazine
Your previous work has explored Poe and Baudelaire – what drew you to their writings and inspire you to visualise their literary landscapes?

They are both writers who utilise the city as a character within their own mythology. They blur the line between the now and another world. There is an atmosphere of insubstantial things, viagra order essences and emanations, viagra dosage of beauty as a manifestation of a perpetual beyond. Of smoke, fogs, shimmering obfuscations and of a moon setting sail over the city. Through their absent, distant world, I can better see my own city, with its scuffed, graffiti-layered surfaces—another forest of symbols, veilings and half-read signs, a world of unstable meanings, porous images which flow into each other.

Your exhibitions contain both the static and moving image, how would you describe your relationship to these two methods of representation?

The drawn images both in the show and the film are an attempt to crystallise a particular idea or thought, the moving three dimensional fimed sections are more about conjuring up a state of mind or world

What possibilities of expression or narrative does film offer over the static image and vice versa?

I can be more open ended with film. when I’m making the images for my film, I create sets and project light and images into them and take hundreds of pictures ,so I often end up with something very different from what I began with film allows me to juxtapose and arrange images and have more than one thing going on at the same time by appealing to both the eyes and the ears, it also overlays images so someones impression of the film is a group of visual memories

The sets of the film resemble Victorian Children’s Theatre, possibly a stage for shadow puppets, is this a design inspired by research or relationship to the themes within the films?

I think my Poe film was more theatrical because his writing is very stagey and melodramatic

How did you discover Swedenborg and what drew you to his dream journals?

I went into the swedenborg society book shop out of curiosity, I like that part of town. it is also near to where Poe lived in London and also The conway hall and I loved the imagery in the dream diary and the struggle between reason and imagination

Which illustrators, artists or filmakers inspire or are used as reference within your work?

The Quay brothers, David Lynch, Kiki Smith, Paul Klee, Marcel Proust, Goya, Leonardo Da Vinci, Henry Darger

The enigmatic mood of the films feel similar to Alice by Jan Svankmajer, have you seen this film?

Yes I have seen it and I very much like it so I’ll take that as a compliment

What interests you with regards to Alchemic Drawings or the relationship between Science and Faith?

I like the use of Heiroglyphic language in Alchemy, the linking of the rational and the irrational and the idea that the smallest thing is linked to the greatest, the idea that the whole universe is a code where everything is both itself and something else.

Where did you study?

Cambridge University and Chelsea

Watercolours are frequently used within your drawings, what attracts you to the medium?

They’re very bright – I use radiant watercolour inks. also I like their irreversableness
teebs

Flying Lotus seems to be a man that can do no wrong at the moment. His latest album, sildenafil Cosmogramma, was met with resounding praise from critics across the globe and his new EP, Pattern + Gridworld, looks set to enjoy the same success. In addition to his personal prominence at present, FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label is enjoying similar notoriety due to some inspired signings that are taking hip hop production to dizzying heights. His latest offering, Teebs, is likely to increase the LA label’s popularity even further.

teebs_ardour_cover

Teebs, real name Mtendere Mandowa, is a 23 year old Californian beat maker who is about to unleash his inspired debut album, Ardour, this month. The elegant piano flourishes and spellbinding harps are closer to the works of Caribou and Bonobo than they are to the works of fellow label mates and beat purveyors Gaslamp Killer and Lorn. This is an album so understated and mystifying that label owner Flying Lotus refers to it as “like an island vacation. The way Avatar looks.” Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs has been heaping praise upon it during her weekly show, calling it “a unique and tender magic.”

The Chino Hills native began producing his own music after he tore his Achilles tendon during a skateboarding accident. Due to the fact that he was not physically able to pursue one of his passions, he simply decided to replace it with another. “I was out for half a year and just made music and art during that time,” says Mandowa. “That’s when I just got stuck, since I got the same feeling I did when I was skating.”

Soon, Teebs’ creations took on a life of their own and resulted in the producer making regular trips to Los Angeles to perform at Low End Theory, the experimental hip hop haven that has produced the likes of Daedelus and Shlohmo. “Low End was the Mecca,” advises the young producer. “I think it still is for a lot of artists coming up in the LA area. It’s freedom in the purest form. Anything goes there as long as it has its own honest feeling to it.” 

It didn’t take long before Flying Lotus became aware of Teebs’ talents and the pair forged a friendship through their similar philosophies about what hip hop should music could be. Says Mandowa: “After a few visits to his old place in the valley and a beat CD that I passed over to him, Lotus just texted me and it read something like, ‘So whatsup, will you join us?’”

This seems like a fairly informal way to score a record deal, but Teebs’ attitude in general tends to give the impression that he takes everything in his stride and tries not to force anything too much. This may just have worked in his favour as his debut album, named after his preferred digital audio workstation, easily ranks as one of the most ambitious releases on Brainfeeder to date.

Despite the fact that Teebs’ first album sounds like a focused collection of works that were meticulously threaded together, he is happy to confess that none of it was intentional. “It’s definitely just a collection of tunes that I pulled together after I was asked to make a record,” confesses the 23 year old. “I never thought my music would get pressed or that I would ever really put stuff out seriously until I got on Brainfeeder. It was a strange feeling like, ‘Oh I need to make this work as a single record now.’”

Ardour is out now on Brainfeeder.

Categories ,album review, ,Ardour, ,Avatar, ,Bonobo, ,Brainfeeder, ,caribou, ,Cosmogramma, ,Daedelus, ,Flying Lotus, ,Gaslamp Killer, ,Lorn, ,Los Angeles, ,Mary Anne Hobbs, ,Mtendere Mandowa, ,Pattern + Gridworld, ,Shlohmo, ,Teebs

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Amelia’s Magazine | Kate Daisy Grant : An Interview

phil Collins1 © 2008 Phil Collins, erectile abortion 16 mm film transferred to digital video, viagra approved colour, sound, 28 minutes

Victoria Miro presents Phil Collins’ latest work, Soy Mo de Me, a thirty minute telenovela created in response to the glaring differences in lifestyle between two Aspen communities discovered while on an artistic residency. Collins interests as an artist appear to lie in the lack of responsibility provided by ‘reality’ based media, specifically in the wake of the Celebrity Big Brother racism row.

For the latest exhibition Collins contemplates the ability of popular culture – specifically melodrama – to deal with racism, modern slavery (embodied by the character of the maid), social segregation and the TV soap’s favourite plot device of tenuous identity due to being given up or swapped at birth.

Emotional problems are bigger and more expansive on the set of a soap. Human emotions and miscarriages of justice become shrieked across the stage. The episode portrays the dramatic condition of humanity through our self-created dramas. Subsequently the theatrical acting borders on the theatre of absurd or the Victorian melodrama beloved by the artist.

Phil-Collins2 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

Popular culture is all too often disregarded precisely because of its popularity. What is too frequently overlooked is its ability to portray and explore political and social tensions through apparently mindless TV. Soaps can provide a different platform to the news media from which to examine the continuing implication of social issues such as race, poverty and the outcomes of inequality.

As in previous work by Collins, the telenovela explores the relationship of suspended trust between the viewer and the camera. Collins work frequently asks the viewer to question what it is that they are watching and what is all too often left out of the edit.

Soy Mo de Me continues to question ideas of the camera as a representation of ‘visual truth’ through revealing the set and the people involved in creating the soap’s ‘reality’.  The revelation of artifice within TV programmes can also be read as a comment on the construction equally involved in making a documentary, suggesting they can be as fictional as a television drama.

The level of artifice created by crew members is revealed as the camera pans backwards from a particularly emotive scene (the maids begging their mistress for money to save a husband). The movement of the camera slowly reveals the wooden walls that create the lush parlour, the camera crew and the maid walking off set, shaking off her character as she accepts a drink from an on set runner.

Phil-Collins3 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

A beautiful film, it retains a humour portrayal of humanity’s continuity amateur dramatics whilst in search for a sense of identity. Soy Mo de Me’s poignancy lies in the level of inequality visualised between maid and mistress (a reference to Genet’s exploration of the violence inherent in the unequal relationship between maid and mistress).

The unsettling technique of changing actresses playing the lead characters also comments upon the use within telenovelas of lighter skinned actresses to play mistresses and those with darker skins to portray maids. Collins’ use of multiple actresses playing the role of maid or mistress disregards skin colour, consequently disregarding another human folly, the separation and value of people through the colour of their skin.

Phil-Collins4 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

The decision to change the actresses playing the maids highlights the continually changing face of slavery, or to be more specific, the facelessness of those who make the world tick. These actresses become those ever-interchangeable characters history too often forgets.

The telenova’s predictable framework, manipulation of the viewer’s emotions, incredulous narrative, and most importantly the huge part of the culture of the community, are all elements Collins records. Soy Mo de Me is a homage to humanity’s ability for dramatic flourishes and popular culture’s opportunity to question the current status quo through over dramatic situations.

The exhibition finishes this week. It is a must see before Christmas.

phil Collins1 © 2008 Phil Collins, pill 16 mm film transferred to digital video, more about colour, sound, 28 minutes

Victoria Miro presents Phil Collins’ latest work, Soy Mo de Me, a thirty minute telenovela created in response to the glaring differences in lifestyle between two Aspen communities discovered while on an artistic residency. Collins interests as an artist appear to lie in the lack of responsibility provided by ‘reality’ based media, specifically in the wake of the Celebrity Big Brother racism row.

For the latest exhibition Collins contemplates the ability of popular culture – specifically melodrama – to deal with racism, modern slavery (embodied by the character of the maid), social segregation and the TV soap’s favourite plot device of tenuous identity due to being given up or swapped at birth.

Emotional problems are bigger and more expansive on the set of a soap. Human emotions and miscarriages of justice become shrieked across the stage. The episode portrays the dramatic condition of humanity through our self-created dramas. Subsequently the theatrical acting borders on the theatre of absurd or the Victorian melodrama beloved by the artist.

Phil-Collins2 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

Popular culture is all too often disregarded precisely because of its popularity. What is too frequently overlooked is its ability to portray and explore political and social tensions through apparently mindless TV. Soaps can provide a different platform to the news media from which to examine the continuing implication of social issues such as race, poverty and the outcomes of inequality.

As in previous work by Collins, the telenovela explores the relationship of suspended trust between the viewer and the camera. Collins work frequently asks the viewer to question what it is that they are watching and what is all too often left out of the edit.

Soy Mo de Me continues to question ideas of the camera as a representation of ‘visual truth’ through revealing the set and the people involved in creating the soap’s ‘reality’.  The revelation of artifice within TV programmes can also be read as a comment on the construction equally involved in making a documentary, suggesting they can be as fictional as a television drama.

The level of artifice created by crew members is revealed as the camera pans backwards from a particularly emotive scene (the maids begging their mistress for money to save a husband). The movement of the camera slowly reveals the wooden walls that create the lush parlour, the camera crew and the maid walking off set, shaking off her character as she accepts a drink from an on set runner.

Phil-Collins3 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

A beautiful film, it retains a humour portrayal of humanity’s continuity amateur dramatics whilst in search for a sense of identity. Soy Mo de Me’s poignancy lies in the level of inequality visualised between maid and mistress (a reference to Genet’s exploration of the violence inherent in the unequal relationship between maid and mistress).

The unsettling technique of changing actresses playing the lead characters also comments upon the use within telenovelas of lighter skinned actresses to play mistresses and those with darker skins to portray maids. Collins’ use of multiple actresses playing the role of maid or mistress disregards skin colour, consequently disregarding another human folly, the separation and value of people through the colour of their skin.

Phil-Collins4 © 2008 Phil Collins, 16 mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound, 28 minutes

The decision to change the actresses playing the maids highlights the continually changing face of slavery, or to be more specific, the facelessness of those who make the world tick. These actresses become those ever-interchangeable characters history too often forgets.

The telenova’s predictable framework, manipulation of the viewer’s emotions, incredulous narrative, and most importantly the huge part of the culture of the community, are all elements Collins records. Soy Mo de Me is a homage to humanity’s ability for dramatic flourishes and popular culture’s opportunity to question the current status quo through over dramatic situations.

The exhibition finishes this week. It is a must see before Christmas.

kdg
I was making my way through my e-mails one morning at Amelia’s HQ and I came across one from a lady called Kate Daisy Grant. This caught my eye as it is the name of my old boss…and her daughter… merged? Confused. I know she is not the most technologically gifted of folk so I was miffed to see an e-mail from her. I had no doubt that it was going to be about how much she missed me and my mocha making skills, discount However it wasn’t her at all. It was another lady, pharm who perhaps is a distant relative (we explored the idea at one point). Anyway, I checked out her myspace and “I liked it” as Louis Walsh would say. So Kate and I arranged to meet in a blind date stylee in Brixton.
“…What do you look like so I know how to spot you?…”
“…Im wearing a tan faux fur jacket, pale blue jeggings…”
I sounded like a compete tit. Fake fur and “JEGGINGS” I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t bother turning up. I sound like I have been rolling around in Coleen Rooneys wardrobe. I didn’t mention my diamond head band, I think if I did it perhaps that would have been too much. The beautiful young thing came bouncing up to me at the station with a pretty pixie crop, I was expecting something like this when she said she had cut her own hair. We bonded over our love of the “luscious motion” of gel pens then Kate began by telling me about her musical upbringing…

Kate: My Granny was a concert pianist, but she gave up due to performance nerves, and she got married instead. It was the 30s or 40s and it’s a shame that in that era the advise was “Your too nervous, You should just give up!” My mum was a ballet dancer and I played the piano before I could even reach it!

School was a musical time?
Yeah, total geek! The only thing I have ever nicked are choir music sheets!

The only thing I really played at school was recorder, Did you go down that route?
Yeah, all routes; cello, piano, singing… Now I have a collection of toy instruments, toy bells, tiny piano, autoharp…

Your home is like a musical museum then?
Yeah, Totally! And puppets as well. I’m making lots of puppets for a video. Usings lots of pompoms and wool! I’m trying to knit a baby at the moment!

fp

I have a big bag of pompoms that my sister used for a project and I wouldn’t let her throw them away, would you like them?
Yes! That would be great! I would actually because I want to make a panda and I could make sheep out of them!

I knew I was keeping them for something!
This is to accompany your music?
Yeah, this is the single I guess from the film so I’m doing a video for it. It’s based on a 50’s film called “Lili” which is about a girl who follows around a travelling circus and she falls in love with a puppeteer who is a bit of a bastard, but he is really nice to her through the puppets, and she becomes part of the act, So it’s a reworking of that.

When shall this be released?
January, then I’m going to do a whole spate of videos in January.

So this first video is for “One Thing You Should Know About Me”? Is this available now?
It’s on the film soundtrack and its available on itunes at the moment. I haven’t done a big push yet because I’m going to wait until I can do it through some kind of label or my own, to properly shunt it out there! I am published by Sony but we record independently so we have more freedom.

It must be nice to have that creative control?
Yeah defiantly, I know people that are singed to the wrong label who aren’t even aloud to gig- they just put you on the shelf so thank god I’m not like that.

So where since school has your musical journey taken you?
I dropped out of theatre at university because I wanted to gig and not be told if I was good enough to write or perform, I just needed to get on with it.

Where did you study?
Bristol, I spent about 5 weeks there! I’m from London, Hammersmith. So since then I have been gigging, I’ve been at The Edinburgh fringe, Written a children’s book which is being turned into a ballet next year!

fp1

What’s the kids book about?
It’s called “The Fox and the Pig”, have you read the little prince?

No…

Love it! It’s tiny! It’s a French book…

Yes!! I have! I bought a clock in a charity shop like 2 weeks ago, that is so weird! I have not read the book…
That’s so lucky! What a great thing to have! The book is great! Get it! It’s a fable about a man who comes form another planet and visits all these planets on the way to earth and he tells an airman who is stranded in the desert all about these silly adults he meets…and he dies at the end so he can go back to his own planet. So our book is like that- a tragic love story between a fox and a pig. We did models like Bagpuss style, Victoriana style models, a toy stage from an orange crate, made everything like flowers out of glacier cherries and stuff like that. And so somebody wants to make it into this ballet puppetry!

So, where shall this be?
In London, somewhere we are looking at venues but it might still be a while but we are defiantly going to do it. Hell of a lot to do. We are going to use shadow puppetry, and I have written the soundtrack too….

I understand that you’re a fan of toys, Last time I went to the dentist, I saw these toys in the waiting room, They are straight from my childhood! Do you recognise them at all?
That would be big bird- you wind him up? I defiantly recognise him!

I think the bear could be a great instrument…

toyz

You are right, I’m going to go into Argos and charity to see what hey have got. I have a speak and spell! Around the corner they have a Qur’an, You press a button its chants! And I have a robot that plays the double bass. I use instruments in weird ways, like the way I create a tambourine sound is I fill a toy drum with pennies and it makes a nicer sound than an actual tambourine, cheese graters with a loosely held handful of spoons! I’m just desperate for new sounds!

Do they come to you in the middle of the night or is it just from stuff lying around?
When I was doing the sounds for the children’s book, I realised that my budget was totally limited and I went round just knocking chairs and walls and various filled glasses all around my room! Toy wise- I used to have bells- they are really out of tune, but they sound amazing! A toy piano from the 50s that I dismantled, it sounds better now! I just wanted to see inside what goes on!

Where do you find them?

Brixton market! It is so rubbish!
So rubbish its good

There are a lot of kinda leftfield pop strong female songstresses around at the moment, which ones would you call yourself a fan off?
PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Bat for Lashes, Cat Power and Bjork.

Do you go to gigs a lot?
I saw The Yeah Yeah Yeahs not that long ago- so amazing!! I’ve also been to The Correspondents and Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.

So, Instrument and toy wise your Influences are quite, retro lets say? Is this the same with your musical influences?
Yeah, well, Tom Waits, he uses sweet sounds pots and pans dustbin lids, he is an influence. I love how he can have a sweet sad melody with something creeeakin’ in the background like something being wound up and your not quite sure what it is!
I like film soundtracks and French films like Amelie

Have you seen “Love Me If You Dare”? That’s a French film- best film ever.
Oh god I have seen it! And they marry themselves! It’s got that purity and it’s really clean story telling with a dark ending!

How did your work for the film “Mr Right” come about?
We met through a friend – he kept playing my music in his shop and the director heard it and decided that it was perfect for the end scene in the film. It’s about gay relationships with out having any characters that play to gay stereotypes, it’s really refreshing. I wrote a song as well for the opening scene and more.

Did you get quite a free reign?
It was amazing because she showed me the film and showed me the scene that she wanted the music for, it all came instantly into my head and it wasn’t a struggle at all and I did it all in about 2 days. She didn’t change anything that I had done it was a pretty blessed situation.

You record in London?
For the album- I used a studio in North London with my producer. Sometimes I record straight onto a laptop- not even with a mic! So it has this kinda messy quality!

Tell me about the relationship with your producer?
I have known him bout 2 years now-2 years working together, He is amazing, a total surf dude- in attitude- he doesn’t actually surf at all, he is amazing, drenches stuff out of you! He is like a Jewish Bob Dylan!

Jewish Bob Dylan surfer dude

And so he would play live with you also?
Yeah, his name is Ken Rose and we have an amazing cello player called Hannah and we are there with dustbin lids and bells.

Gigs in the new year?
Yeah there are in the pipeline!

Finally, If you could live any era when would it be…
I am torn between the 20s and Victorian era- or the 40s?! Before climate catastrophe and people were inventing really exciting things. I think they are now- but in a different way. Everything was so fresh and there was a hunger for entertainment!

There are so many different layers to Kate Daisy Grants sound. When you listen to her its like visiting a fairground, like another world! Her truly unique sound is built up with her collection of jingles from toys and clanks of household objects. These arranged with her charming vocals arranged over the top give her music the ability to transport you back in time to a number of dreamy destinations.
Amelia’s will keep you posted with her live dates in the New Year, In the meantime check out her myspace and the film “Mr Right” is out now which you can catch it at The Prince Charles Cinema.
Kates album is available on itunes.

“The Fox and The Pig” photographs are copy write of co-writer of the book, Myles Quin

PS.
This is my clock…

clock

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