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Amelia’s Magazine | Frieze Art Fair 2011: Exhibition Review

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-salon-94
Salon 94 at Frieze Art Fair 2011.

It shouldn’t really be possible to deduce trends in the art world, approved should it? Yet that is exactly what I was able to do at Frieze Art Fair. By housing a spectacular array of galleries all alongside each other in vast tents, dosage some with work by the same artist shown on different continents, medicine the sameness of much art is highlighted. And I say trends because none of these similarities can really be named a movement, not when the artists are flung so far and wide that they can have no possible involvement with each other than a fleeting knowledge gleaned from the media or touring art shows.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Amelia
This year the biggest trends seemed to follow only a couple of themes.. deducible even as I zipped around the fair in a matter of hours. I must admit that I make judgements on what I like within milliseconds at such events, so by default most of the art that I picked up on were things that spoke to me (and not always for a good reason).

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Dominique-Gonzalez-Foerster
After by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review From the River-Christina-Mackie
From the River by Christina Mackie at Herald St.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Map of Truths and Beliefs by Grayson-Perry
Map of Truths and Beliefs by Grayson Perry.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Isa-Genzken
Isa Genzken.

Neon letter artwork and giant typography in general are popular (Tracey Emin, hello), as are craft inspired pieces that pile together assortments of materials to create something that often looks similar to a school art project. Add to this ceramics, tapestry (Grayson Perry, you have a lot to answer for, and I love you) and old toys, and the potential to create something exciting becomes seriously viable – though that line between primary school art project and stroke of genius is often hard to distinguish.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-David-Altmejd
David Altmejd at Andrea Rosen Gallery.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Ramiken Crucible by Andra-Ursuta
Ramiken Crucible by Andra Ursuta.

This trend sometimes crosses over with a very strong theme that says a lot about the spiritual deficit of our current lives: curious creations that bear significant reference to tribal deities and animist beliefs but also often with strong links to our present lives. Think crystallised heads on sticks, strange shaped skulls with flapping teeth, a flattened woman who looks like she’s just been removed from a peat bog: her body glistens with a jelly like substance, yet she wears trainers.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Joy-by-Tomoaki-Suzuki
Joy by Tomoaki Suzuki.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Elmgreen-and-Dragset
Elmgreen and Dragset.

In opposition to this present day esotericism I also found realistic figures in banal situations, often in miniature size. Or play dead, high heels and Blackberry at the feet or a morgue trolley. Ring a bell, Ron Mueck?

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Doppelganger-(Blue)-Peter-Liversidge
Doppelganger (Blue) by Peter Liversidge.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Gert-and-Uwe-Tobias Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin
Gert and Uwe Tobias at Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin.

Odd arrangements of objet trouvé on shelves have never been more popular. As ever I was also attracted to all the colourful decorative paintings. Aesthetically pleasing, and close in many ways to illustration.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-Pierre-Huyghe-Recollection
Pierre Huyghe: Recollection.

And then of course there was the hermit crab in Pierre Huyghe‘s Recollection. That funny creature in a darkened room, benignly going about his own business in a small tank with only smaller creatures for friends. He bears a sculpted head on his back ( a replica of Brancussi’s Sleeping Muse) as he is coo-ed over by the moneyed hordes, marvelling at out total dominion over nature. But maybe the last laugh is on us? For what cares the hermit crab where he makes his bed.

Frieze-Art-Fair-2011-review-378

Colourful art world characters.

In the past I have been put off attending Frieze Art Fair by what I have heard about the experience. And it was, indeed, a bizarre one. Whilst the plethora of artwork on display undoubtedly provides loads of inspiration, I think a whistle stop tour is necessary to weed out all the dross (of which there is much) and retain a modicum of sanity. But the event undeniably left a curiously icky feeling inside: I’ve never seen so many rich people in one place, and Frieze stank of serious wealth. Ridiculous, unnecessary wealth, of the kind that sucks the lifeblood out of whole nations and forces us to reevaluate our connection the universe. Do you sense the irony? We all know that art is a huge commodity in our money obsessed times, but here it is laid bare for all to see… and it’s disheartening to realise just how much the art world relies on the buying and selling powers of the mega rich to survive. Surely art is about more than this?

Frieze Art Fair continues until Sunday 16th October – you can visit the Sculpture Park for free, more details here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday October 15th, 2011 12:34 pm

Categories ,Andra Ursuta, ,Andrea Rosen Gallery, ,Animist, ,berlin, ,Brancussi, ,Christina Mackie, ,Contemporary Fine Arts, ,craft, ,David Altmejd, ,Deities, ,Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, ,Doppelganger (Blue), ,Elmgreen and Dragset, ,Frieze Art Fair, ,Gert and Uwe Tobias, ,Grayson Perry, ,Herald St, ,Hermit Crab, ,Isa Genzken, ,Joy, ,Magic, ,Neon, ,Objet Trouvé, ,Peter Liversidge, ,Pierre Huyghe, ,Pottery, ,Recollection, ,Ron Mueck, ,Salon 94, ,School Art Project, ,Sleeping Muse, ,spiritual, ,Tapestry, ,Tomoaki Suzuki, ,Tracey Emin, ,typography

Amelia’s Magazine | Andy Gilmore: Like a Black Math to the Flame

Oxfam’s Pedal Powered Outdoor Cinema

Laban
Creekside
London SE8 3DZ

Thursday 6th August
7:30pm
Free

“A screening of Franny Armstrong’s ‘The Age of Stupid’, sickness cheapest starring Pete Postlethwaite, followed by a panel discussion with contributors from Oxfam, the GLA and the team behind the film. The event is completely powered by bike and those attending are invited to contribute some pedal power. Booking essential.”

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Dan Garson and Henry Diltz – The Woodstock Experience

Idea Generation Gallery
11 Chance Street
London E2 7JB

5th August – 30th August
Monday – Friday 12pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 12pm -5pm

Free

“Woodstock Experience provides a visual trip through those legendary days, 40 years ago, in a field outside New York, featuring scores of photographs from official Woodstock photographer Henry Diltz and unseen and unpublished images by star-struck but quick-witted teen photographer Dan Garson.”

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Paper City: Urban Utopias

In the Architecture Space
Royal Academy
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BD

31 July—27 October 2009
10am-6pm every day except Friday
10am-10pm Friday

Laurie Chetwood

“Paper City: Urban Utopias showcases a selection of extraordinary drawings, collages and photomontages that have been produced for Blueprint as part of their back-page ‘Paper City’ commissions over the past three years. Architects, designers, artists and illustrators including James Wines, Steven Appleby and Ian Ritchie RA articulate their ideas about the city, suggesting imaginative possibilities for the future. The exhibition also includes new commissions from Peter Cook RA, Chris Orr RA, Marc Atkins, Javier Mariscal and RA Schools students Inez de Coo and Rachael Champion.”

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The Tomorrow People

Elevator Gallery
Mother Studios
Queens Yard
White Post Lane
Hackney Wick
London E9 5EN

Friday – Sunday 12pm – 5pm
Until 14th August
Free

“Part of Hackney Wicked festival, The Tomorrow People and Elevator Gallery presents you ‘the artists of the future’ with exciting work by recent graduates across a broad range of different media, including Amy Clarke, Vicky Gold, Andrew Locke and Jon Moscow.”

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Clare Shilland – Girls! Girls! Girls!

House of Propellers
5 Back Hill
London EC1R 5EN

Until 23rd September
Tuesday – Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 4pm

This is the debut solo exhibition from south Londoner and fashion photographer Clare Shilland. From a lifelong urge to be a female drummer comes this documentation of girls who are just that, an ambition she says was thwarted when she realised she had an inability to play the drums. Contrasting the two poles of Shilland’s personality, the tomboy and the femme, as well as beauty and bravado, movement and stillness, these images are both intimate and honest, qualities that are the backbone to all Shilland’s work.

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Deceitful Moon

Hayward Gallery
South Bank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XZ

Until 31st August
Open daily 10am – 6pm, late nights Friday until 10pm
Free

“Opening 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landings, the group exhibition Deceitful Moon does not mark the anniversary of this world-shaping event, but rather commemorates the longstanding doubt that it took place at all. Featuring work by British and international artists, the show explores the moon as a site for misrepresentation and mistrust, touching on a tradition of hoaxes and conspiracy theories that reaches back to at least the 18th century.”

Artists include: Tom Dale, William Hogarth, Aleksandra Mir, Karen Russo, Amalia Pica, Sam Porritt, Johannes Vogl, Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart, Carey Young and Keith Wilson.

This may come as a shock to those who know me well, page but I do have a resounding appreciation for mathematics. My GCSE Maths results may say otherwise, ailment but I’ve always found geometry fascinating and beautiful; the ability to reach perfection with numbers, lines, angles and curves astounds me in the same way much of what I’ve since forgotten from Science does too.

What reminded me of this secret joy of oscillating patterns and symmetrical shapes was discovering Andy Gilmore, king of the kaleidoscope, who’s futuristic graphics are as mesmerising as they are complex.

The 34 year old New Yorker is also a musician, and in Gilmore’s work the colours play like chords, scales made from tonal graduations and harmony is achieved as a result. His pieces are like Spirograph drawings for adults, swirling intricately interwoven lines complying within the framework of physics and equations to produce hypnotic digital art.

His work has been likened to slipping into a ‘visual vortex’; the circular whirls morphing and hovering away from their black backgrounds as if like spacecrafts, other images forming ‘off-kilter shapes like small planets bouncing around some condensed parallel universe’. There are simultaneously retroesque and ultra modern, cleverly blending genres to form his own abstract vision, rather than making it something for everyone.

The New York Times, Foursquare Outerwear, Seed Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Wired Magazine and the Webby Awards are all fans of Gilmore’s creations, and the following of his talent is snowballing. Prints and t-shirts emblazed with his designs are available on etsy, and we recommend that if you’re into the whole wowing your friends with being two steps ahead thing, that you get your hands on this stuff before it gets global and anyone who’s anyone covers their walls in Andy Gilmore’s geometric masterpieces. And for those lucky enough to reside in Berlin, an exhibition of his work is currently on show, details below.

Andy Gilmore – Black Math

Pool Gallery
Tucholskystrasse 38
10117 Berlin Mitte
Germany

July 11th – August 22nd
Monday to Friday 12pm – 8pm
Saturday 12pm – 7pm

Written by Alice Watson on Tuesday August 4th, 2009 4:10 pm

Categories ,Andy Gilmore, ,Berlin, ,Digital Art, ,exhibition, ,Graphic Art

Amelia’s Magazine | Bauhaus: Art as Life at the Barbican Art Gallery

T. Lux Feininger’s Sport at the Bauhaus by Scott Nellis

A retrospective of a German modernist design movement seems like a slightly curveball choice whilst London is busy boasting about everything British. Even Tate, notorious for shunning British artists at its Modern site, celebrates Damien Hirst this summer. In Hirst fashion it’s rumoured that he kicked up a fuss at the thought of exhibiting at Tate Britain, and even paid for the floors of Tate Modern to be reinforced to accommodate his dead animals in tanks, leaving Tate Britain tenuously linking Picasso to British artists (and, hilariously, dealers) in its Picasso in Britain major exhibition. Even so, the theme of London’s galleries seems to be how great Great Britain is. Except, it seems, for the Barbican.

Bauhaus by Sam Parr

Nevertheless, I was excited to see what this new retrospective would offer. A visit to the Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin is a must for any design perv. I’d clocked that this Barbican showcase was in association with said archives so my feelings were mixed – would it be pieces I’d already seen, rehung in a different fashion?

The Barbican from above, by Morgane Parma

Unusually (I think) this exhibition begins on the upper floor of the gallery, which had punters looking a bit bemused at the bottom of the stairs, most of them deciding to begin on the ground floor and bottle-necking one of the lower exhibition rooms. I stifled giggles as I crept upstairs where it was relatively quiet. I couldn’t help thinking that Gropius, Mies Van Der Rohe, Moholy-Nagy and pals would be pretty happy that their work and influence were being celebrated in the Brutalist concrete alcoves of the Barbican Art Gallery. The first room charts the opening of Bauhaus at Weimar and Walter Gropius‘ educational approach, particularly the Programme of the State Bauhaus in Weimar, a hefty text which has since become known as the Bauhaus manifesto. There are a few interesting pieces in these early rooms – particularly Lyonel Feininger‘s woodcut for the manifesto cover, on loan from MoMA.

Walter Gropius by Scott Nellis

The rest of the upstairs takes us on a tour of the early years of Bauhaus the ‘return to crafts’, showcasing the school’s impressive roster of teachers including Klee and Kandinsky; ‘salute to the square’, discussing the turning point in 1923 where Bauhaus progressed from emphasis on craft to its more rational aesthetic with which we associate the school today. One room, ‘instruments of communication’ got me particularly hot under the collar, showcasing some of Bauhaus‘ incredible typographic and editorial design work and many examples of Bauhausbücher produced between 1925 and 1930. The eclectic style of early Bauhaus print had by this point been replaced with a slick, efficient design aesthetic – geometric shapes, simplified information and even printers’ marks. In my humble/honest opinion, it’s some of the sexiest graphic design ever created.

All photography by Jane Hobson courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery

It’s downstairs where the exhibition really comes alive, though, through tangible design, photography and costume, charting the move to Dessau, Bauhaus’ final home. Vibrant photographs document life at the school – sport, recreation, teaching, socialising. Dramatic photographs of the building itself show what a marvel it must have been, from Gropius‘ futuristic design to Marcel Breuer‘s tubular-steel furniture. The exhibition opens up here and it feels slightly overwhelming at first, particularly as you’ve been guided so carefully around the upstairs rooms.

Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadisches Ballett by Niki Groom

It was a challenge not to go wild as I surveyed the space, with costumes from Oskar Schlemmer‘s Triadisches Ballett that I hadn’t seen in Berlin, Josef Albers‘ nest of tables and club chair, Marcel Breuer‘s Wassily chair… it was a feast for any design fancier. Pig in proverbial shit, you might say.

Bauhaus (with Marcel Bruer chair) by Gilly Rochester

I could talk more about the pieces but any of the Bauhaus publications do it much better, so I’d recommend, if you can, to just go and bloody see it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe by Sandra Contreras

In 1933, after only 14 years, the Bauhaus dissolved under Mies Van Der Rohe‘s leadership. The Nazis grew ever anxious about what the school represented. Hannes Meyer was dismissed due to Communist leanings; Kandinsky‘s work had to be hidden because of his Russian background and funding was withdrawn. A poignant letter hangs as the last exhibit, written by Mies Van Der Rohe to the final students of Bauhaus, detailing its closure. It’s a poignant end to an exhibition that celebrates the enduring legacy and worldwide impact of the school.

All photography by Jane Hobson courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery

Written by Matt Bramford on Monday May 14th, 2012 4:38 pm

Categories ,1920s, ,1930s, ,Archiv, ,Archives, ,Art Deco, ,art gallery, ,bauhaus, ,berlin, ,Damien Hirst, ,design, ,Dessau, ,editorial, ,Germany, ,Kandinsky, ,Klee, ,László Moholy-Nagy, ,london, ,Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, ,Lyonel Feininger, ,Marcel Breuer, ,Modernism, ,MOMA, ,Nazis, ,picasso, ,publishing, ,Tate, ,typography, ,Walter Gropius, ,Weimar

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Berlin dance band Claire, and review of new EP Broken Promise Land

Claire by Lynne Datson.

The new EP from Berlin based band Claire features a series of anthemic dance tunes that will get stuck in your head in the best possible way. Sultry female lead vocals are supplied by Josie Claire Burkle, with the boys in the band providing pretty harmonies that makes this music to get lost in…. It has taken a while to catch up with this busy band that prides itself on a DIY ethos, but let’s find out more…

Claire by Rose Petal Deer (Emily Katherine Reader).

What inspired the songs on your EP?
We inspire ourselves a lot, all coming out of slightly different genres we started playing all sorts of music to each other. Stuff of which you knew the other one doesn’t know but might be into it. So we started this private Facebook group, were without the other giving a comment on it you can post music. A few songs out of these we try and put on our tumblr.

Claire Illustration by Hollie McManus.

How did you spend your ‘adolescence in the underground’ and how did you all meet up and start playing music?
We all had a really different time growing up but for some reason we all fell in love with music. In the end it is just a big coincidence that we started doing music together. After working on our first song together, which was actually just thought as a song for a short-film of a friend, we started by doing a bit more together, because the feedback was really great on it and we had fun doing music together.

CLAIRE
Games

Why is it so important to you that you maintain credibility in a sea of plastic pop, and how do you act to ensure this?
In our case, we do everything ourselves and that is what makes it credible for us. We started of with not just us five being Claire but also a whole bunch of friends and family members who helped us from day one to create everything that goes with the music. Christoph Schaller, a old friend of Flo’s (he is also the one we did our very first song for) does most of our videos and band pictures, Messel’s brothers are doing the artwork and our website and many many more to be mentioned and we are really thankful for all the help. Even if we are now signed to a major label we are still able to keep it the same as when we started.

Claire- Broken Promise Land ep cover
I love the artwork for your for your album sleeve, who designed it and what was their brief?
Again, Thanks to Alex (Messel’s brother)… Actually as he has been doing our artwork from day one on. He also formed the image we wanted to convey. We often give him a free hand in what he wants to do, and up until now we think it worked very well.

CLAIRE by Gemma Cotterell.

What next for Claire?
We are preparing for our fist headliner tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in November and after that we are taking a few weeks holliday over Christmas and New Year. Then we are really hoping to play as much live as we can and hopefully do a bit more travelling in the next year.

Broken Promise Land by Claire is out now.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday October 29th, 2013 1:00 pm

Categories ,berlin, ,Christoph Schaller, ,Claire, ,Emily Katherine Reader, ,Fidolin Achten, ,Florian Kiermaier, ,Games, ,Gemma Cotterell, ,Hollie McManus, ,interview, ,Josie Claire Burkle, ,Lynne Datson, ,Matthias Hauck, ,Nepomuk Heller, ,Passion Pit, ,Rose Petal Deer

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sue Denim, talking about debut solo album And The Unicorn:

Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts.

Sue Denim is one half of electroclash duo Robots in Disguise, who launched with a bang in the same year that I began making Amelia’s Magazine: in fact they were featured in the first ever issue. Eight years and several albums down the line RiD have built a huge fanbase, particularly in Europe, where they are much loved. But for now Sue is taking a break: leaving the busy London streets for a simpler life in Wales, where she has lovingly crafted her acoustic debut solo album. And The Unicorn is a world away from the bleeps and shouts of RiD but it nonetheless bears her hallmark bounce in a series of incredibly catchy tunes which wonderfully showcase her sweet soprano voice.

SUE_Denim-CD_FRONT
Your debut solo album eschews the electronica of Robots in Disguise in favour of a much warmer lo fi sound. How did this radical departure come about?
I wanted it to sound very different from RiD, wanted it to be simple and warm in terms of sound. Then I found producer David Wrench, warm simplicity in recording being one of his trademarks!

sue_denim_by_angela_lamb
Sue Denim by Angela Lamb.

When did you start working on your solo material, and what was the biggest difference to working together with Dee Plume?
I started writing songs on my own about 5 years ago, just after the recording of RiD‘s 3rd album, ‘Get RiD!‘, when I had a lot of time alone in Berlin, and found I loved writing on my own. Biggest difference – I was able to express myself fully without any compromise and get songs finished quickly! Less arguments! But also, less laughing. Good and bad points to working alone.

When did you leave London and what prompted the change of scene?
I had been living in Wales to make the album and I just couldn’t move back, for various reasons (see next Q!)

Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts.

I believe you fell in love in Wales, not just with the land but with a person… can you tell us more about what happened?
Love at first sight happened. Amazing! And then we made a record together. It’s been a very wonderful year.

What inspired the lyrics and feel of the album?
All sorts really. Some love, some loss of love, books, bikes, fresh air. Many changes – changes in relationships, including me and Dee not writing together, some death, some fantasy. Just my life I guess.

I love your animated video for the first single Bicycle – can you tell us more about the making of this.
I worked with the brilliant Graeme Maguire, who’s been a friend for years, we met in Berlin, and have worked together twice before – to make RiD’s ‘We’re In The Music Biz‘ and ‘The Tears‘. It was originally not going to be an animation, but just as we were about to shoot it all fell apart as our ideas were too ambitious for our budget. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could’ve happened – I think it’s an amazing animation, I couldn’t be happier with it!

Sue Denim by Lea Rimoux.

What has been the biggest surprise about living in Wales?
The biggest surprise was how bored I have been on occasion!! I really thought ‘only boring people get bored’. Hmmm. You gotta be SO much more creative about finding interesting things to do in Bangor. I’m used to London/Berlin, where amazing cultural opportunities are everywhere. But I love so many things about it, too. The fresh air, the water, mountains, beaches..all the proper nature you just can’t get in a big city. And there’s a really exciting music scene. Check out Y Niwl, they’re my fave Welsh rave at the moment!
I’m over my bored phase now!
Gonna be learning Welsh in a week or two, very excited!

Sue and the Unicorn by Emli Bendixen
Any top tips for a trip to Anglesey?
Yeah. Spend a night in Barclodiad Y Gawres (Apronful Of The Giantess!) – it’s a Neolithic burial chamber – I haven’t done it yet but I plan to! Let me know how it goes! And then, of course, Llanddwyn Island – totally beautiful.

sue denim
What next for your solo project… where does it all go from here and what’s happening with Robots in Disguise?
I’ll be recording a second solo album soon, I can’t wait! And there’ll be some gigs coming up from us RiD playing all the golden oldies but no new music planned as yet. Nothing ruled out though, we may well get around to album 5 in the future!

And The Unicorn is out now on Sue’s own label, Superhealthy. Sue Denim plays Islington Academy on Friday 14th September.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday September 13th, 2012 4:25 pm

Categories ,And The Unicorn, ,Angela Lamb, ,Bangor, ,Barclodiad Y Gawres, ,berlin, ,bicycle, ,David Wrench, ,Dee Plume, ,Get RiD!, ,Graeme Maguire, ,Islington Academy, ,Lea Rimoux, ,Llanddwyn Island, ,Louise Bennetts, ,RID, ,Robots in Disguise, ,Superhealthy, ,The Tears, ,wales, ,We’re In The Music Biz, ,Y Niwl

Amelia’s Magazine | Jeniferever launch their new album Silesia at The Lexington

Jeniferever by Liam McMahon.

It was never a good idea to make an effort to see a support band without first checking up on them. This I really should know after many years of gig going. But sometimes you just don’t learn, help you know? So it was that I found myself facing the most excruciating half naked squall in the upstairs venue at The Lexington in Islington. I had rather presumed that as the support band for the Jeniferever Silesia album launch These Monsters might echo their soporific post rock nuances, prescription but their particular brand of ‘Regressive Rock’ could not have been more different. So I removed myself from the noise and waited in the downstairs pub until it was time to return for Jeniferever.

Silesia Jeniferever

I first profiled Jeniferever in Amelia’s Magazine many years ago, and I remember well the band asking me if I knew of anywhere for them to stay as they set off on a tour of UK cities, an anecdote which demonstrates well their tenacious nature. They are now onto their third album, Silesia, which was recorded in the wake of the death of singer Kristofer Jönson’s father, and was named for the former name of Berlin’s Ostbahnhof because he was nearby when he learnt of the news.

Jeniferever by Liam McMahon.

From the moment it opens with the deeply reverberating echoes of Silesia it’s clear that we are on familiar territory – hypnotic vocals wrapped around a simple but deeply engaging tune. The following tune Waifs and Strays feels like a protracted yearning, but The Beat of Our Own Blood moves the familiar Jeniferever sound onto an altogether different level, the curling melody a sure fire contender for mainstream radio play where even the lyrics “goodbye to bright spotlights” are discernible.

Jeniferever by Sky Nash.

A Drink to Remember starts with the simple pickings of a guitar but nearly seven minutes later finishes with an incredible wall of sound. Deception Pass is frantic, all shadowy reflections as Kristofer traverses “the darkest hours of hope”. By Dover there is a lighter feel, a sense of climbing out of troubles… moving forward with the help of friends. The album finishes on the slightly more pensive and questioning sound of Hearths.

Jeniferever, Lexington-Photography by Amelia Gregory
Jeniferever at The Lexington, all photography by Amelia Gregory.

For their album launch Jeniferever peppered new songs with a smattering of older goodies, each member effortlessly swapping between instruments. Guitarist Martin Sandström swung his asymmetric blonde hair elegantly against the beautiful ruby red backglow as I drifted off to Jeniferever land, the emotions reverberating across the floor and up through my legs.

Jeniferever, Lexington-Photography by Amelia Gregory
Guitarist Martin Sandström.

Jeniferever have always done it their way, and Silesia is no exception: it’s a must have album for anyone who loves the otherworldly end of the musical spectrum.

Grab your free tracks Dover and Waif and Strays from Soundcloud. Silesia is out now on Monotreme Records.

Jeniferever, Lexington-Photography by Amelia Gregory
Kristofer Jönson of Jeniferever.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Sunday April 17th, 2011 11:51 pm

Categories ,album, ,berlin, ,Broken Pixel, ,Dover, ,Islington, ,Jeniferever, ,Kristofer Jönson, ,Liam McMahon, ,Martin Sandström, ,Monotreme Records, ,Ostbahnhof, ,post-rock, ,Regressive Rock, ,review, ,Silesia, ,Sky Nash, ,SoundCloud, ,The Beat of Our Own Blood, ,The Lexington, ,These Monsters, ,Waifs and Strays

Amelia’s Magazine | The Hidden Cameras introduce the video for Year of the Spawn

The Hidden Cameras by Charlotte Mei

The Hidden Cameras by Charlotte Mei*

Since 2001 the Canadian musician Joel Gibb has played with his band The Hidden Cameras, staging unforgettable nights in the churches of Toronto, complete with male gogo dancers. Gibb shaped Toronto’s music scene at a time when it was practically nonexistent and went on to become the first Canadian artist to sign with Rough Trade. Nowadays Joel Gibb lives in Berlin and has found his place, as songwriter and as artist. On new album AGE, he is no longer concerned with who he is, but rather, with how he came to be.

Matt Wolf is the director of the video for Year of the Spawn:
‘I just finished a film called Teenage about the invention of teenagers. In that process, I collected over 100 hours of archival footage, mostly images of historic youth. I couldn’t use a lot of it, particularly the more bizarre and mysterious vintage newsreels. When I heard The Hidden Camera‘s song Year of the Spawn, I connected to the themes of adolescent longing and ennui. And I know singer Joel Gibb‘s fanzine aesthetic matches the grimy black and white look of old newsreels. So I searched through my archival scraps to find these idiosyncratic and melancholic images that illustrate his beautiful song.’

The Hidden Cameras album AGE came out on Evil Evil on 26th January 2014.

The Hidden Cameras by Elsa Quarsell

The Hidden Cameras by Elsa Quarsell.

*Illustrator Charlotte Mei describes her process: My drawing nods to both the vitality, and the contrived rebellion which is at the essence of what it is to be teenage. Matt Wolf mentions his connection to feelings of ennui within the track Year of the Spawn and in his video, while contemplative, also illustrates a sense of desperation and a need to examine and define one’s Identity.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday January 28th, 2014 5:13 pm

Categories ,AGE, ,berlin, ,Canadian, ,Charlotte Mei, ,Elsa Quarsell, ,EvilEvil, ,Joel Gibb, ,Matt Wolf, ,Rough Trade, ,Teenage, ,The Hidden Cameras, ,Toronto, ,Year of the Spawn

Amelia’s Magazine | The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition – an interview with Husky Rescue

Husky rescue the long lost friend album cover
The latest album from Finland’s Husky Rescue celebrates ten years of releases with Catskills Records and is a continuous musical exploration, blending Marko Nyberg’s melodic electronica and folk-tinged vocals with compositions by Antony Bentley and charismatic vocals by Johanna Kalén. The album is accompanied by a high-concept instrumental collaboration with Bentley, made to coincide with a New York exhibition by designer and long-standing Husky Rescue collaborator Kustaa Saksi. Husky Rescue describe the inspiration behind The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition.

husky_rescue_skin_of_snow_2
What states of emotional intimacy (or lack thereof) have informed the current album?
Tricky question but, oh, many – and in many ways.
In our case, rarely does any certain event or emotional experience get translated to a song as such. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes slow, but it takes a while for things to find their place and context… And finally it’s like the album is telling you that it’s complete, thematically speaking or as a musical entity.
There’s all these experiences that are gathered along the way, maybe forgotten but lying around. And then a melody or sound comes along, then a weaving of sounds and then you suddenly realise what prior experience or feeling of yours the music is beginning to convey.
In the case of this album, it perhaps ended up conveying feelings of nostalgia and longing, musings about the unquestionable force of friendship and also about struggling to remain a child, despite being caged in an adults body.
Finally, of course there’s a remarkable level of intimacy in sharing a creative process. It takes a lot of trust and affection from your peers for you to be able to bring bare-bones lyrics or some early formless musical idea to the table in the first place.

husky_rescue
Who is the long lost friend of the album title and how did you get back in touch?
I’m sure all of us have a slightly different take on that. But the album title came to Marko during the making of the album, after he got back in touch with a friend of his after a really long silence. But just as well it could be any childhood friend you used to build tree houses with, or a lost loved one, or – as in the case of the title track – the long lost friend trapped within yourself, the true you, that you’ve been waiting to come out with a bang.

How was it produced and who was involved with its making?
The album was produced in studios – or wardrobes or pencil factories – in Helsinki, Stockholm, Berlin and New York. The core was us three: Marko, Antony and Johanna. The three of us work in a remarkably seamless formation where anyone can bring in any little fragment and it often would end up taking us somewhere special. But to generalize a bit, Marko is definitely the producing mastermind, Antony wrote most of the lyrics with some key contributions from Johanna. And everyone brought in their share when it comes to melodies or arrangements but Marko is most organized in keeping it all together.
Also we had some wonderful friends helping us out here and there: A close friend and long time Husky member and collaborator Ville Riippa and a string duo called Akkajee, just to mention a few.

huskyrescue-DeepForestGreen
Your longstanding collaboration with illustrator Kustaa Saksi has produced some amazing album artwork – in what way have you worked together on The Long Lost Friend?
It is a long-term friendship I’ve been lucky to have in my life. We’ve known each other for over a decade now. We start working together in the early stages of the process, sometimes sending some sketches and demos back and forth and I think we’ve both inspired each other. We always have. Recently Kustaa has been working on a large project called Hypnopompic, involving dreamy and surreal tapestries and rugs, which he has exhibited around the world. When he opened his Hypnopompic exhibition in New York, he asked us to make a music performance for the exhibition which turned out really inspiring. At last the process kind of turned upside down: first came Kustaa‘s artwork, then music to go with it.
Kustaa had complete freedom regarding the illustrations on this album cover. I like the way nature is portrayed. There’s also all these insects and other inspiration that are a kind of continuation on the world of the Hypnopompic project. 

husky_rescue
How has Husky Rescue evolved over 10 years of music making?
If one were to listen to all the albums I’m sure it’s quite clear that the evolution has taken many turns. But it comes from a place of freedom of form, there hasn’t been effort to keep it within some certain constraints. Even this Special Edition release alone contains quite a sonic journey in itself.

What have been the biggest highlights and pitfalls?
The biggest pitfall must of been when the tyre on our tour van broke twice on the same trip.
The highlights… the release of the first album – and actually every release after that. It’s never self-evident that it all comes together – that an album gets completed, then released – yet so far one release has always happily led to the next one.

Kustaa Saksi-Husky rescue
What is it about extreme countrysides that is so appealing?
There’s nothing more fantastic than experiencing big cities while knowing you can soon escape to the wilderness or to the silence of a countryside cabin by a still lake and stare at the open fire. It has a grounding effect. It’s a place of low disturbance, of sharpening of the senses and calm. It can make you stop and look at a dewdrop in awe. And it reminds you of who’s the boss, how in fact it’s Mother Nature who is in charge. Quite like surfing does.

Where do you hope to work and live next with your travelling studio?
Many places!

The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition by Husky Rescue is out now on Catskills Records.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday May 6th, 2015 8:28 pm

Categories ,Akkajee, ,Antony Bentley, ,Bentley, ,berlin, ,Catskills Records, ,finland, ,Helsinki, ,Hypnopompic, ,interview, ,Johanna Kalén, ,Kustaa Saksi, ,Marko Nyberg, ,new york, ,Special Edition, ,stockholm, ,The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition, ,Ville Riippa

Amelia’s Magazine | Rainbow Reservoir: City Bike video exclusive

Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Angela Space works under the moniker Rainbow Reservoir, producing surreal tunes with poppy arrangements that only hint at her classical background and an alternative career teaching saxophone at the University of Southampton. Here she describes the making of the video for City Bike, which we have on the website as an exclusive. Enjoy!

City Bike was inspired by my first trip to Berlin. I had an entirely surreal couple days where people turned into other people with the same name, a monster drove a cab, and things came out of the darkness that were beautiful and unexpected and terrifying. The video was all shot in Berlin, mostly from a bike. It is supposed to give you that slightly mad feeling of a night out where you are just going wherever the bike, tram, or train takes you.

My second EP 400 Imperfect Rhymes was recorded in Oxford at Oli and Rob Steadman‘s studio. Oli and Rob played bass and drums respectively and Oli did the engineering. Duncan McNaughton played the trumpet track on City Bike. The beautiful album artwork was done by Kiri Kopcke and depicts Berlin, which is a city that had a great effect on me and my songwriting.

400 Imperfect Rhymes was mostly written at Tegel Airport and if I were to do a video for 400 Imperfect Rhymes it would probably involve Tegel Airport arrivals and departures displays.

Photo by Tom Weller.

400 Imperfect Rhymes by Rainbow Reservoir will be released on July 14th 2014. Find Rainbow Reservoir on band camp here, and facebook here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday July 9th, 2014 9:35 am

Categories ,400 Imperfect Rhymes, ,Angela Space, ,berlin, ,City Bike, ,Duncan McNaughton, ,Kiri Kopcke, ,Kirini Kopcke, ,Oli and Rob Steadman, ,Oxford, ,Rainbow Reservoir, ,Tegel Airport, ,Tom Weller, ,University of Southampton

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Peter Broderick and review of new album http://www.itstartshear.com

Peter Broderick by Gemma Cotterell.

http://www.itstartshear.com makes no grand entrance: I Am Piano is the softest of openers, with quiet keys gradually joined by the curling sighs of a looped violin. The vocals only makes an appearance at the end, sliding easily into the next tune. Melody, whether picked out on violin, piano or guitar is the most essential component of this album, which I think is best listened to as a whole. (As an aside, ever fancied learning the violin? Try this website for a range of affordable electric violins). Blue, written by Peter’s father, is deliciously light but it isn’t all airy fairy – the title track It Starts Hear references the website domain name of the album in the lyrics, complete with scratchy off beats and sampled trumpets. With Asleep things once again take a more secretive turn, female chorals creating a rolling lull in Colin. Peter then does a fair effort of singing in German for sparse Bad Words, despite confessing to a poor knowledge of the language (see below). With The Notes On Fire the album gathers speed again, with vocals entirely composed of la-las; who knew they could be so evocative? The album finishes on the beautifully sophorific Everything I Know, ending http://www.itstartshear.com with low key panache.

It Starts Hear

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Searsmont, Maine (USA) and raised mostly in Carlton, Oregon.

How did you find your way into music; was it an easy and natural process or has it been a struggle to make it happen?
Both of my parents are musicians, and both my older brother and sister as well, so I grew up in a house full of music and it felt natural, almost essential, for me to take up an instrument. I started taking lessons on the violin at age 7, and also tried to play whatever other instruments I could get my hands on.

Peter Broderick camera
When was this album put together and what frame of mind were you in when you wrote it?
I started recording the first notes for the new album in January, 2009 . . . and from there it was a long and surprisingly complicated journey before I was able to call it finished. I think my frame of mind went through many phases and changes in those few years… everything from ecstatic happiness to complete depression and all that’s in between.

Peter-Broderick Image courtesy of Incubate
Peter-Broderick. Image courtesy of Incubate.

You decided to release it via your website – what was the thinking behind this?
Well, when I first started recording the songs for this album, I realized that most of them had a real story they were based around, and I was imagining the finished album coming with some kind of book in which people could read all these ideas I wanted to share about the music. but then I thought . . . wait a minute . . . most people don’t get physical copies of music these days! Most of them just download it, so they’ll never see this book which, to me, would be a big part of the album. So I developed the website idea to be a place online where all listeners, no matter which format that they obtain the album in, can have access to the same notes and visuals that are meant to accompany the music. That’s the basic idea.

Peter Broderick by JL Illustration.

One of the songs on the album was written by your father when he was 19, which sounds incredibly romantic! What kind of musician is he?
My father is a closet musician . . . he is very passionate about music, and perhaps at one point he had his own dreams of building a career in music, but he’s terrified of performing in front of other people. I’ve actually never heard him sing, except for on this one cassette tape my mother kept with a recording session from 1979, where he plays the guitar and sings this one song that he wrote, called blue. I fell in love with this song when my mother played it for me in 2008, and dreamed about sharing it with the world somehow. So I recorded a cover version for this new album, plus a lovely label from Berlin, called Sonic Pieces, released his original version on a 7″ vinyl in December, 2011.

Peter Broderick face
Another song is dedicated to a bird whose life you stole whilst driving – what did this make you feel and do you feel that amends can be made by means of expressing gratitude in incidences such as this?
The day I ran over that bird I felt absolutely awful… I remember feeling ashamed to be human, thinking it was so stupid that we roll around in these big machines on our smooth roads that destroy parts of nature. I wrote a long piece of text that day about how terrible I felt, and also wrote the song trespassing, and I think doing those things definitely helped me to make amends with the situation. It was an accident after all, and since I wasn’t able to go back in time and undo it, I did the best I could to express my sorrow and to somehow turn something tragic into something beautiful and positive.

Peter Broderick by Gareth A Hopkins.

You’ve had a somewhat difficult year, what with a recurring knee injury that left you unable to walk. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking? And how did you learn to cope?
There has been a great paradox in my life the last few years . . . because, the week before I moved to europe toward the end of 2007 (which is when I feel like my career in music really started), I had a very stupid accident in which I tripped over my suitcase and destroyed my right knee… and it took me a long time to figure out what was really wrong with it, and in that time I was traveling the world and doing all these amazing new things, but always feeling restrained by this physical problem. And since I waited so long before having the right operation for my knee, I developed a lot of strange habits in my body to compensate for the bad knee, and which sort of threw off the balance in my body. But I also have so many things to be thankful for, and in many ways these last years have been a dream come true, so I try to focus on the good things and to be grateful for all that I have.

How would you describe http://www.itstartshear.com and do you think that the website as a name of an album will work? (it confused me a little bit)
I’m sorry if it’s confusing! But I really like the idea of the website as a title . . . and not because I’m obsessed with the internet or anything. Actually, sometimes I really hate the internet, but no matter what I think, I can’t deny that it’s become a huge part of our lives and has made so much possible for me. So in a way I see the title as some kind of tribute to the internet, or maybe even a statement of how our virtual lives are seemingly becoming more and more prominent and possibly even pushing reality aside… but I like the web address as a title because it brings people to the site, which I have built it as a place where people can listen to the music and read about it and see images and videos associated with the music. Any time the album is written about, it will automatically become a link to this virtual place… in my mind it makes perfect sense! Of course there is another side of me that thinks the whole idea is ridiculous . . . but it was just one of those ideas that I felt I had to try out. You’ll never know how it works until you try it… (brilliant answer!)

Peter Broderick by Adrian Bischoff.

What are your plans for 2012?
2012 is a slowing-down year for me. I’ll be taking a break from touring, spending more time at home in Berlin, releasing this project which I’ve been working on for quite a while and following the progress (or anti-progress) of this album and website… and I’m trying to pay more attention to my body, which needs some love after these years of sitting in cars and planes and trains, carrying heavy equipment in and out of buildings, and eating different foods all the time. One goal I have for this year is to finally learn how to speak German! fingers crossed.

http://www.itstartshear.com is due for release on Bella Union on 20th February 2012.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday January 25th, 2012 2:22 pm

Categories ,Adrian Bischoff, ,Asleep, ,Bella Union, ,berlin, ,Blue, ,Carlton, ,Colin, ,digital, ,Everything I Know, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Gemma Cotterell, ,http://www.itstartshear.com, ,I Am Piano, ,interview, ,It Starts Hear, ,Jason Lear, ,JL Illustration, ,maine, ,Oregon, ,peter broderick, ,review, ,Searsmont, ,Sonic Pieces, ,usa, ,With The Notes On Fire

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