Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Bestival & Camp Bestival

twoofhearts_sheltercardquilt_lesleybarnes
seven little houses

When Lesley Barnes found out about the 4th Annual Animboom Awards animation competition in conjunction with Sesame Street (Blimey, ampoule try saying that fast!), viagra 60mg she just knew she had to work with fellow illustrator Thereza Rowe. The results of their collaboration is this wonderful piece: Seven Little Houses. You can watch the video here.

Seven Little Houses clouds
Seven Little Houses bottles

Lesley Barnes describes how they approached the Aniboom competition:

One of the competition categories was to design an animation that would help children learn about either colours, viagra 60mg shapes, numbers or letters. We chose the number seven as it seemed to give us scope to do a bit of counting without it being a huge number for kids to deal with and for some reason we both agreed that there was something special about an odd number.
We gave the animation a circular feel by creating it around the idea of a day, with the sun at the beginning and the moon at the end. Repetition was key so the narrative turns around lots of groups of seven; the idea being that children will get used to counting 124567 and begin to repeat it. As well as having the numbers on screen we included groups of seven objects; seven houses, seven bottles, seven clouds, etc. because it’s easier to visualise the numbers as objects.
The animation was mostly done in after effects and took about a month to finish. My friend Al Paxton, who is a musician in Brooklyn, provided the sound. It was his idea to have the voices (him and his girlfriend) shouting out 1234567 and I think it’s really important because it encourages children to shout out along with the animation.

twoofhearts_sheltercardquilt_lesleybarnes
Lesley Barnes’ illustration for the Shelter Card Quilt.

Thereza Rowe Shelter Card Quilt
Thereza Rowe’s illustration for the Shelter Card Quilt.

Lesley first got in touch with Thereza after admiring the playing card that she designed for my Shelter House of Cards Quilt in 2009, and since then they’ve kept in constant contact via email and twitter. I asked them to write down a few words about each other.
 
Lesley Barnes on Thereza Rowe:
 
We both had cards included on Amelia’s final Shelter Card Quilt and Thereza‘s goats – although she now tells me they are deer – were my favourite! Amelia’s Magazine has given us such a great platform for our work: we have been in touch ever since and knew that we wanted to do a collaboration at some point… When I saw the Aniboom Sesame Street competition I thought that Thereza’s textures, colours, shapes, illustration style and personality (including her love of pink milk and bendy straws) would be perfect for it. We started work with Thereza‘s house illustrations and from that we both designed a selection of characters. There were far too many in the end, so the final seven characters were a bit of an amalgamation of our work.
Working with Thereza was ace and the best thing was all the colour that she brought into the animation – my animation can sometimes get a bit monochromatic so it was such a pleasure to work with such a great selection of colours and textures. I also think that Thereza‘s lovely upbeat personality comes through in Seven Little Houses.

Seven Little Houses umbrellas

Thereza Rowe on Lesley Barnes:

When Lesley contacted me for the first time with some nice words about my work and a suggestion that we should collaborate in a future project I was so excited because as soon I set eyes on her stunning animation and illustration work I knew that we would eventually produce something really good together. Since then we have kept in touch whilst keeping an eye out for interesting briefs which would suit our ideas of a collaboration… and so the Aniboom competition came about!
Working with Lesley has been an ongoing joy as she’s creative, diligent, determined and hands on. We both share a similar sense of humour which is very important because it makes the working process a pleasant experience. As the project developed I was amazed to see how the aesthetics of our work just gelled together effortlessly, almost like magic. Surprisingly we have not met in person yet, although it feels like we have….
I am really proud of how she made our illustrations move in such a graceful manner and we’ve been receiving some lovely responses from people who have seen the animation. I’d also like to echo Lesley’s thoughts on the constant support and appreciation of the work we produce that we get from Amelia’s Magazine.

seven little houses people

I also wanted the girls to talk about the importance of Twitter to their collaboration, as I often see conversations between Lesley and Thereza passing through my own Twitter feed: it’s how I found out they were collaborating on the project for Aniboom, and it’s a medium I feel strongly that all illustrators should engage with.

Lesley on Twitter:
Twitter is an easy way of staying in touch and see what each other is up to. When you are a freelancer it’s great for reminding you that you are not completely alone in the world and means you can check out what’s inspiring other people, collaborate with them, get feedback and generally just have a bit of a chat.

Thereza on Twitter:
Using Twitter helped make the collaboration go more smoothly because Lesley and I were always tweeting bits of work in progress to each other and teasing other about what was coming next. I used to be very resistant to using Twitter but now I’m a self proclaimed addict because it’s enabled me to engage with some ace collaborations that otherwise might not have happened.
Twitter is probably the best current social tool for illustrators in terms of networking and establishing links with both the industry and peers as it provides an open channel for direct communication and it’s fab for promoting your own work and the work of others. I love the fact that Twitter is free of advertising and has a nice layout which allows you to customize your page background nicely. I’m really fussy about such factors…
Also, the job of an illustrator can often be a lonely one as we spend a great deal of time confined in our workspaces, well, working… so I tend to have my twitter page open through the day, so it almost feels like having lots of nice people around 🙂 

Both Thereza Rowe and Lesley Barnes appear in Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration.

Photo: Ben Gold

It’s the day before the general election and the concluding part of Amelia’s Magazine interview with Think Act Vote’s Amisha Ghadiali. Tomorrow you have a chance to vote. Use it.

Why do you think if “politics were a brand, ed no one would wear it!”?

This statement is about Westminster politics, in many ways the system we have is out of date for the world we are living in now. I don’t see people wanting to “wear” it as it is. This is why I really support the work of campaigns like Vote for a Change that focus their around how we can make the system work better for us.

How can fashion be used to engage people in Politics?

I think that fashion plays a key role in how we express ourselves and we use it to communicate things about ourselves or messages that we care about. The campaign t-shirt has become iconic as a phenomenon. At the beginning of the campaign, we ran a competition to design the perfect campaign t-shirt, which was a great opportunity for up and coming illustrators to showcase their work. The winning design by Jesson Yip was selected by a judging panel that included Katharine Hamnett and Daisy de Villeneuve. The symbols represent each word, with different fonts to represent different people’s voices. The design was then printed onto Earth Positive Eco T-shirts and is now on sale.

Through working in the ethical fashion industry I see fashion as a key way to think about sustainability. We all wear clothes, and the fashion industry affects so many people across the world as well as the environment. I work closely with Ethical Fashion designers at EFF and am one myself with my jewellery label. As an ethical designer, you don’t just have to make sure that your collection looks and fits great, but you spend a huge amount of time researching new fabrics, new technologies and finding out who is telling the truth about their labour standards or production methods. You need to be pioneering and inquisitive as you think through your entire collection and its impact on the environment and people at every stage.

Ethical Fashion designers are always pushing boundaries and are extremely passionate about what they do. I wanted to include this talent in the campaign and asked leading ethical fashion designers to create a show piece or an easy DIY customisation using a Think Act Vote t-shirt and off cuts from their collections. The designers that took part included Ada Zanditon, Junky Styling, Traid Remade, Tara Starlet and Beautiful Soul. The pieces that they created in just a week are stunning.


Photo: Dominic Clarke

Think Act Vote discusses the negativity imbedded in modern politics – Were there any particular examples that spurred you into action?

There are loads of examples, just try and think when the last time you heard something positive about politicians or about changes in our communities. We are always focusing on people’s failings and the ‘fear’ out there. Just last week the country spent two days focusing on the story about Gordon Brown saying a woman was a bigot.

Is this negativity the reason, do you think, for the decline in the number of votes?

Not the only reason. Things have changed a lot over the last few decades. I think two features of the neo-liberal British political landscape are related: the rise of consumerism and the demise of traditional participation. I think that the way we express who we are is different now, not that many people are lifetime members of political parties. Political identity is no longer inherited.

As mentioned before I don’t think the political system reflects who we are, which makes us lose interest.

Have you been watching the Leader’s Debate?

I have seen bit of them, but not all the way through as have been doing talks and events most evenings in the past few weeks. I think it is great to have the leaders on TV, as it has really helped getting people talking about the election. I am not sure how much of their personalities and policies we are really seeing as the whole things does feel a little over polished. I think it would mean more if we had a vote on who was PM as well as on our local MP. I would also like to see some of the smaller parties be given this platform too.

Will you be voting this election?

Yes I will be voting, I think this is vital. I haven’t decided who for yet. I will decide on election day. I am deciding between three parties but then I went on Voter Power and saw that my voter power in my constituency is only 0.039. It is an ultra safe seat. So I am thinking about voting through Give Your Vote. It is a fantastic campaign about Global Democracy which allows you to give your vote to somebody in Afghanistan, Ghana or Bangladesh. It is an act of solidarity with those who do not have a say in the decisions that affect them.

Join Amisha tonight at: The Future I Choose with Live Music, Poetry, Fashion, Photography ??
The City and Arts Music Project, 70-74 City Road, London, EC1Y 2BJ?
5.30pm til 9pm


Photo: Dominic Clarke

It’s the day before the general election and the concluding part of Amelia’s Magazine interview with Think Act Vote’s Amisha Ghadiali. Tomorrow you have a chance to vote. Use it.

Why do you think if “politics were a brand, online no one would wear it!”?

This statement is about Westminster politics, there in many ways the system we have is out of date for the world we are living in now. I don’t see people wanting to “wear” it as it is. This is why I really support the work of campaigns like Vote for a Change that focus their around how we can make the system work better for us.

How can fashion be used to engage people in Politics?

I think that fashion plays a key role in how we express ourselves and we use it to communicate things about ourselves or messages that we care about. The campaign t-shirt has become iconic as a phenomenon. At the beginning of the campaign, patient we ran a competition to design the perfect campaign t-shirt, which was a great opportunity for up and coming illustrators to showcase their work. The winning design by Jesson Yip was selected by a judging panel that included Katharine Hamnett and Daisy de Villeneuve. The symbols represent each word, with different fonts to represent different people’s voices. The design was then printed onto Earth Positive Eco T-shirts and is now on sale.

Through working in the ethical fashion industry I see fashion as a key way to think about sustainability. We all wear clothes, and the fashion industry affects so many people across the world as well as the environment. I work closely with Ethical Fashion designers at EFF and am one myself with my jewellery label. As an ethical designer, you don’t just have to make sure that your collection looks and fits great, but you spend a huge amount of time researching new fabrics, new technologies and finding out who is telling the truth about their labour standards or production methods. You need to be pioneering and inquisitive as you think through your entire collection and its impact on the environment and people at every stage.

Ethical Fashion designers are always pushing boundaries and are extremely passionate about what they do. I wanted to include this talent in the campaign and asked leading ethical fashion designers to create a show piece or an easy DIY customisation using a Think Act Vote t-shirt and off cuts from their collections. The designers that took part included Ada Zanditon, Junky Styling, Traid Remade, Tara Starlet and Beautiful Soul. The pieces that they created in just a week are stunning.


Photo: Ben Gold

Think Act Vote discusses the negativity imbedded in modern politics – Were there any particular examples that spurred you into action?

There are loads of examples, just try and think when the last time you heard something positive about politicians or about changes in our communities. We are always focusing on people’s failings and the ‘fear’ out there. Just last week the country spent two days focusing on the story about Gordon Brown saying a woman was a bigot.

Is this negativity the reason, do you think, for the decline in the number of votes?

Not the only reason. Things have changed a lot over the last few decades. I think two features of the neo-liberal British political landscape are related: the rise of consumerism and the demise of traditional participation. I think that the way we express who we are is different now, not that many people are lifetime members of political parties. Political identity is no longer inherited.

As mentioned before I don’t think the political system reflects who we are, which makes us lose interest.

Have you been watching the Leader’s Debate?

I have seen bit of them, but not all the way through as have been doing talks and events most evenings in the past few weeks. I think it is great to have the leaders on TV, as it has really helped getting people talking about the election. I am not sure how much of their personalities and policies we are really seeing as the whole things does feel a little over polished. I think it would mean more if we had a vote on who was PM as well as on our local MP. I would also like to see some of the smaller parties be given this platform too.

Will you be voting this election?

Yes I will be voting, I think this is vital. I haven’t decided who for yet. I will decide on election day. I am deciding between three parties but then I went on Voter Power and saw that my voter power in my constituency is only 0.039. It is an ultra safe seat. So I am thinking about voting through Give Your Vote. It is a fantastic campaign about Global Democracy which allows you to give your vote to somebody in Afghanistan, Ghana or Bangladesh. It is an act of solidarity with those who do not have a say in the decisions that affect them.

Join Amisha tonight at: The Future I Choose with Live Music, Poetry, Fashion, Photography ??
The City and Arts Music Project, 70-74 City Road, London, EC1Y 2BJ?
5.30pm til 9pm

seven little houses

When Lesley Barnes found out about the 4th Annual Animboom Awards animation competition in conjunction with Sesame Street (Blimey, link try saying that fast!), treatment she just knew she had to work with fellow illustrator Thereza Rowe. The results of their collaboration is this wonderful piece: Seven Little Houses. You can watch the video here.

Seven Little Houses clouds
Seven Little Houses bottles

Lesley Barnes describes how they approached the Aniboom competition:

One of the competition categories was to design an animation that would help children learn about either colours, approved shapes, numbers or letters. We chose the number seven as it seemed to give us scope to do a bit of counting without it being a huge number for kids to deal with and for some reason we both agreed that there was something special about an odd number.
We gave the animation a circular feel by creating it around the idea of a day, with the sun at the beginning and the moon at the end. Repetition was key so the narrative turns around lots of groups of seven; the idea being that children will get used to counting 124567 and begin to repeat it. As well as having the numbers on screen we included groups of seven objects; seven houses, seven bottles, seven clouds, etc. because it’s easier to visualise the numbers as objects.
The animation was mostly done in after effects and took about a month to finish. My friend Al Paxton, who is a musician in Brooklyn, provided the sound. It was his idea to have the voices (him and his girlfriend) shouting out 1234567 and I think it’s really important because it encourages children to shout out along with the animation.

twoofhearts_sheltercardquilt_lesleybarnes
Lesley Barnes’ illustration for the sShelter Card Quilt.

Thereza Rowe Shelter Card Quilt
Thereza Rowe’s illustration for the Shelter Card Quilt.

Lesley first got in touch with Thereza after admiring the playing card that she designed for my Shelter House of Cards Quilt in 2009, and since then they’ve kept in constant contact via email and twitter. I asked them to write down a few words about each other.
 
Lesley Barnes on Thereza Rowe:
 
We both had cards included on Amelia’s final Shelter Card Quilt and Thereza‘s goats – although she now tells me they are deer – were my favourite! Amelia’s Magazine has given us such a great platform for our work: we have been in touch ever since and knew that we wanted to do a collaboration at some point… When I saw the Aniboom Sesame Street competition I thought that Thereza’s textures, colours, shapes, illustration style and personality (including her love of pink milk and bendy straws) would be perfect for it. We started work with Thereza‘s house illustrations and from that we both designed a selection of characters. There were far too many in the end, so the final seven characters were a bit of an amalgamation of our work.
Working with Thereza was ace and the best thing was all the colour that she brought into the animation – my animation can sometimes get a bit monochromatic so it was such a pleasure to work with such a great selection of colours and textures. I also think that Thereza‘s lovely upbeat personality comes through in Seven Little Houses.

Seven Little Houses umbrellas

Thereza Rowe on Lesley Barnes:

When Lesley contacted me for the first time with some nice words about my work and a suggestion that we should collaborate in a future project I was so excited because as soon I set eyes on her stunning animation and illustration work I knew that we would eventually produce something really good together. Since then we have kept in touch whilst keeping an eye out for interesting briefs which would suit our ideas of a collaboration… and so the Aniboom competition came about!
Working with Lesley has been an ongoing joy as she’s creative, diligent, determined and hands on. We both share a similar sense of humour which is very important because it makes the working process a pleasant experience. As the project developed I was amazed to see how the aesthetics of our work just gelled together effortlessly, almost like magic. Surprisingly we have not met in person yet, although it feels like we have….
I am really proud of how she made our illustrations move in such a graceful manner and we’ve been receiving some lovely responses from people who have seen the animation. I’d also like to echo Lesley’s thoughts on the constant support and appreciation of the work we produce that we get from Amelia’s Magazine.

seven little houses people

I also wanted the girls to talk about the importance of Twitter to their collaboration, as I often see conversations between Lesley and Thereza passing through my own Twitter feed: it’s how I found out they were collaborating on the project for Aniboom, and it’s a medium I feel strongly that all illustrators should engage with.

Lesley on Twitter:
Twitter is an easy way of staying in touch and see what each other is up to. When you are a freelancer it’s great for reminding you that you are not completely alone in the world and means you can check out what’s inspiring other people, collaborate with them, get feedback and generally just have a bit of a chat.

Thereza on Twitter:
Using Twitter helped make the collaboration go more smoothly because Lesley and I were always tweeting bits of work in progress to each other and teasing other about what was coming next. I used to be very resistant to using Twitter but now I’m a self proclaimed addict because it’s enabled me to engage with some ace collaborations that otherwise might not have happened.
Twitter is probably the best current social tool for illustrators in terms of networking and establishing links with both the industry and peers as it provides an open channel for direct communication and it’s fab for promoting your own work and the work of others. I love the fact that Twitter is free of advertising and has a nice layout which allows you to customize your page background nicely. I’m really fussy about such factors…
Also, the job of an illustrator can often be a lonely one as we spend a great deal of time confined in our workspaces, well, working… so I tend to have my twitter page open through the day, so it almost feels like having lots of nice people around 🙂 

Both Thereza Rowe and Lesley Barnes appear in Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration.

Another weekend on the festival calendar that has readily established itself as one of the more well-regarded events around is Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank‘s Bestival, more about which takes place every year in the late summer on Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. This year’s event takes place from the 9th to the 12th of September, pill and having such a late date every year marks it out as being perhaps the last significant camping festival to take place on these fair isles before autumn’s cold, unhealthy clammy hands take a grip of the countryside.

It’s been running since 2002, but in 2008 its ‘little sister’ spinoff, Camp Bestival, was launched. Based at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, Camp Bestival is a much smaller, and more intimate, affair (10,000 capacity versus the 43,000 of Bestival), specifically designed as a more child-friendly event, and taking place much earlier in the year (in mid-July). It conjures up much of the same ethos and atmosphere as its older brother, but there’s more of an emphasis on making it a happy environment for the kids – which is a splendid idea, really. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to reach middle age only to find that the annual road trip mashup bangin’ weekender at Reading becoming less practical with a newborn baby on the backseat.

Like a lot of smaller, more ’boutique’ festivals, Bestival offers more than just a music lineup. The Saturday of the festival is usually designated the day for dressing up in costume (in 2005 they attempted to break the Guinness World Record for most people in fancy dress at one time), and there’s a heavy focus on political and environmental causes. It’s not uncommon to find artists interrupting their sets to declare their opposition to some military action in some far off country, or to promote vegetarianism (there’s a lot of vegetarian food on offer at Bestival), or merely to lead a chant for peace.

The organisers also try to make the festival carbon neutral, which includes offsetting those things that they can’t control (like the petrol burnt to get everything to the site) but also by promoting recycling and sustainability on site.

Camp Bestival is similarly-focused, but the main difference between the two (apart from the size) is that the focus is much less on the music. A large number of comedians perform at the festival, and there are also tents for poetry readings and theatrical performances. This makes sense, when you consider that up to 5,000 kids can attend on top of the 10,000 adults, and parents will no doubt love a chance to sit and relax, not having to chase small bundles of energy around.

Bestival’s musical lineup this year includes the Prodigy, Flaming Lips, Dizzee Rascal, Roxy Music, the xx, Fever Ray, a solo set from Jonsi of Sigur Ros fame, and a rare festival appearance from LCD Soundsystem (who will most likely disband at the end of this current tour, so catch them while you can). You’ve also got Gil-Scott Heron, Echo & the Bunnymen, Chase & Status, Simian Mobile Disco, and even Rolf Harris will be putting in an appearance.

Campe Bestival’s lineup is less prestigious, but still worth a shout – headlined by Madness, Friendly Fires, and the Human League, with appearances also from the legendary George Clinton & Parliament, as well as the slightly-less legendary Lee Scratch Perry, and also Calvin Harris, Marc Almond, Billy Bragg, and a host more.

So, taken, together, you’ve got a couple of pretty decent ways to bookend your summer on the south coast. Just make sure that, if you go, you do recycle – a new study out today has shown that festivals are emitting over 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. Every little helps, eh?

Categories ,bestival, ,Billy Bragg, ,Calvin Harris, ,Camp Bestival, ,Chase & Status, ,dizzee rascal, ,Echo & the Bunnymen, ,Fever Ray, ,flaming lips, ,Friendly Fires, ,George Clinton, ,Gil-Scott Heron, ,isle of wight, ,Jonsi, ,lcd soundsystem, ,Madness, ,Marc Almond, ,parliament, ,rob da bank, ,Rolf Harris, ,Roxy Music, ,sigur ros, ,Simian Mobile Disco, ,The Human League, ,the Prodigy, ,The XX

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Amelia’s Magazine | Music Listings

Time and Place

Bridget Macdonal
New paintings and drawings from the artist’s new figurative and landscape work.

Art First, online abortion 1st Floor, 9 Cork St, W1S 3LL
Apr 28 – May 21, 2009

27a.jpg


Where Eagles Tremble

Vic Reeves
TV comedian Vic Reeve’s art work mixes the surreal and the mundane in an amusing way,
the exhibition features a new series of paintings that focus on aviation.

Mews of Mayfair
, 10-11 Lancashire Court, New Bond Street, Mayfair W1S 1EY
2nd April – 29th April 2009
Weekdays 10am – 6pm

reeves1.jpg


Optimistic Immigrants

Performances and films from a group of London based immigrants as Part of the East End Film Festival 2009.

Vibe Live and V Gallery, The Vibe Bar, The Truman Brewery. 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
Main event: Tuesday 28th April 7-11pm

Tickets £7. £5.50 concessions.

oim.jpg


Avoision

Dan Mort
This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with Museum 52 gallery.

Museum 52, 52 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DP
20th March – 30th April 2009, Wednesday – Saturday 11am – 6 pm or by appointment

t1.jpg


Still Life

Robin Conway
An exhibition of stunning underwater photography.

Red Gate Gallery
, 209a Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8RU
24th- 30th Apr 09, Monday – Saturday: 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm
Free

photographer.jpg


Swedish Fashion: Exploring A New Identity

This exhibition showcases fashion and jewellery from a group of Swedish designers.

Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, Tower Bridge, SE1 3XF
6 February 2009 – 17 May 2009, from 11am – 6pm
How Much: £5 tickets, £3 Concessions

111.jpg

Monday 27th

Don`t let a rainy and grey Monday discourage you from having a fun and joyful evening out. Go for curry and great indie/electro in Bricklane where Blitz And The Sheets, find Beta Rays, side effects Richard Peter Snapes and The Lie Awakes will be playing at 93 Feet East.
7:30pm. Free.

l_71f662df61fb49f78e26f332cbf113ed.jpg
Blitz and The Sheets

Tuesday 28th

Let the beat – and one more of ICA`s awesome musical nights – control you. This time is Micachu and The Shapes performing their delicious electro pop.
7:30pm. £8.50.

micachu.jpg
Micachu and The Shapes

Wednesday 29th

Better and more creative than band names only venue names, right? This one is called Last Days of Decadence and is welcoming the very ladylike sound of My Toys Like Me.
8pm. £6.

mytoys23.jpg
My Toys Like Me

Thursday 30th

That`s a night we were all waiting for! Straight from St Albans comes Friendly Fires, three lovely boys who came up with one of the most catchy and totally danceable things from last year. I just can`t stop listening to “Jump in The Pool”. Support comes from Boy Crisis and they will all be at the HMV Forum.
7pm. £12.50.

ffires.jpg
Friendly Fires

Friday 1st

Start your long weekend at a fantastic venue that is Koko. Hosting Joe Gideon and The Shark + White Man Kamikaze in another Club NME night.
10:30pm. £7, £5 before 11pm, concs £4.

l_97320f70fa3e20e7ad3930268dd99444.jpg
Joe Gideon and The Shark

Saturday 2nd

Presenting their fourth album entitled “Kingdom of Rust”, Doves will be stepping up Brixton Academy`s stage on Saturday. Don`t pass out the opportunity to check this historical band out and their new stuff for this year.
7pm. £20.

l_52197d05bf0b77c33a468616b1e37139.jpg
Doves

Sunday 3rd

Some easy and boyish vibes can`t never hurt so pray for a better weather to come and plan your Sunday to enjoy the Sheffield`s boys from Skeletons at Barfly.
7pm. £5.
skeletons.jpg
Skeletons

Categories ,Doves, ,Friendly Fires, ,Live, ,London, ,Micachu and The Shapes, ,Music Listings

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Amelia’s Magazine | Music Listings

So London Fashion Week is officially in full swing. It couldn’t have kicked off with a nicer day on Sunday as fashion folk of all shapes and sizes donned their finest and turned up at the various venues around the capital to see what’s in store for Spring/Summer 2009. Of course Team Amelia couldn’t possibly miss out on the chance of spotting new talent, medical try so putting all thoughts of Sunday roast firmly to the back of our mind, more about we joined the rest of the fashion community at some of the weeks opening shows.

Now in day 4, price my highlights would have to be the eccentric desert tribe meets punk-rocker collection presented by Horace; a breathtaking show by Quasimi which opened with a dancing violin playing duo and ended with a couture clad Erin O’connor; an exotic Hawaiian themed collection from Antoni and Alison complete with beach scenery, deck chairs and complimentary coconuts, and finally the beautifully detailed range of sculptured metallic shift dresses, oversized caps and two-piece suits from Bernard Chandran.

According to this weeks reoccurring trends, delicate pastels and neutral shades are set to dominate our wardrobes next summer alongside layered ruffles on just about everything. Don’t bother to ditch your gladiator and patent heels too fast because it looks like eccentric heels are set to stay for another season.

That’s all for now, but keep checking the website for detailed reports and pictures from each of the each of the shows.

horace_02.jpg
Horace

.jpg
Horace

quasimi_1.jpg
Musicians at Qasimi show

quasimi_3.jpg
Finale at Qasimi show

We should have seen the nipples coming, viagra order really. After all, we were greeted on the door by the most exciting clipboard wielder I’ve ever laid eyes on. A taste of what was to be expected…he checked our names off the list showing not one sign of embarrassment over his outfit (nor should he! He was fabulous, dahling), an ensemble that consisted of Russian army hat atop blue hair and teeny shorts held up by Union jack braces. And nothing on top. So, if we had had our wits about us, we should have known that nipples would be on the menu for the night.

We were, of course, at the Under/Current Magazine launch at Cafe OTO in Dalston. All the cool kids were in attendance (tired of heading West for Fashion Week, presumably) with many guys rocking the Giles Deacon/Terry Richardson big glasses look. There were some not so cool ones, too; we were rather put off by a guy who’s jacket was covered in dead foxes – not big, not clever. Still, we averted our eyes by taking a sneak peek at the first, ‘Dynasty’ issue of the new arts and fashion magazine. After taking in the beautiful cover shot by Babette Pauthier we had a good flick through. It’s a lovely size (30cm x 23cm, to be exact), full of avante garde fashion photography and I’m sure it’s set to become a firm favourite of mag junkies like myself. Lot’s of pictures, not so many words – just the way I likes ‘em.

undercurrent.jpg

On to these nipples then. As we watched a few members of Cleckhuddersfax setting up, we noticed a rather foppish guy step on the scene and begin disrobing. ‘How alarming! Would there soon be nudity?’ we whispered amongst ourselves. Alas, no, as we soon realised that this was the lead singer, rather than some strange streaker, and he was only taking off his top layers to reveal his official stage outfit. Suitably under-dressed, and giving us no time to prepare ourselves, Cleckhuddersfax got stuck in.

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Cleckhuddersfax describe themselves as sounding like ‘Fake-Prog Musique Con-cretin’ on their myspace page. Erm… yep, it’s actually a fairly good description. From the looks of the band (excepting the lead singer, of course) long hair and beards had led us to believe that things would be getting pretty old school rock, and we were not disapointed. Cleckhuddersfax also have a bit of that mental operatic thing going on, which did feel pretty prog, but on top of this there’s keyboards and voice warping devices a-plenty.

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Cleckhuddersfax make the most alarming noises; it’s as if Wyld Stallyns had found a Korg and got into Devo. Perhaps it all sounds a little strange, but it was very fun and definitely dance-able with much toe-tapping taking place at the front of the crowd.

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Toe tapping wasn’t enough for the tango-ed front man, however. Seen below giving it his all in front of a video-projection by Adham Faramawy, he rampaged his way into the first few layers of crowd, shouting into audience members faces and daring everyone to dance. Many were glad to take him up on his offer, and things got a little messy in the front row.

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After getting all hyped up by Cleckhuddersfax, it was unfortunate that we had to take our leave. Ahh, well, I suppose Fashion Week is about cramming in as many parties as possible and, to be honest, I think I’d seen quite enough nipples for one evening…

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The Greengaged event organisers (left to right) Sophie Thomas (co-founder, erectile thomas.matthews), price David Kester (CEO, Design Council), Sarah Johnson of [re]design and Anne Chick (Director, Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University)

As the girls were busy planning their outfits and getting their hair done I grabbed my notepad, A-Z and sandwiches and off I trundled in seek of the Design Council. I won’t bore you with the details of my nightmare journey, but all I will say is that London Transport and I have been the least of friends this week. My galloping through Covent Garden and colliding with dawdling tourists payed off and I eventually arrived at my destination to be greeted with a sticky name badge, coffee and biscuits. I poured myself a quick fix and pulled up a pew in the rather minimalist, swish function room (what else was I expecting?!).

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Simon Terry of Anglepoise

With pen and paper poised I sat and listened attentively as the first speaker opened the lecture on the sustainability of Product and Fashion Design. As the managing director of the lighting and manufacturing company Anglepoise, Simon Terry stressed the importance of that “a product should be a pleasure to use” not purely an aesthetic beauty. When addressing the query of how they as designers of the future can help to change the conscience of a consumer Terry spoke of the term ‘world view.’ Within this he outlined that it is not possible to make a consumer conform, instead you must enter their awareness (or world view) through their own agenda.

Cressida Granger, founder of DeWeNe a product design company mirrored these thoughts with their motivation in creating designs consumers ‘need’ not purely desire. Designs are based on utility and function over the ‘look’ of a product, very different to her background career with lava lamp company Mathmos. ‘Hook and Go’, one of their more popular product lines works with the current climate of shopping bag reduction, using a recycled steel trolley with wheels to transport shopping. Carrying up to 8 bags (32 kilos) of produce this design aims to reduce our carbon footprint, decreasing the need to use the car around town.

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Hook…. and go

A future addition is the ‘eco cooler’ worked on by David Weatherhead of the Royal College of Arts. Working with a terracotta dish and bowl, water is dispensed into the dish below which then evaporates and acts to cool the contents of the bowl. Designed for the preservation of our fruit and veg, Granger hopes that this will encourage consumers to use smaller fridges, thus dramatically cutting down our demand on energy. Keen to work with an ethically friendly product line, Granger has set up two places of manufacture, allowing the customer to decide for themselves what is high on their agenda. The cheaper option is made in India and imported, whereas the more expensive same design is constructed in Wales by the social project Crafts for All which employs people with physical and mental complaints.

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The eco cooler by David Weatherhead

Closing this talk was Tom Fishburne of the Method product company. The brainchild of an American product designer and scientist, this product line has only recently cropped up on British shores. They have quite a charming story behind the birth of their cleaning product company…. once upon a time Adam (the scientist) considered why we are encouraged to use registered pesticides (which in turn pollute) when we clean? Meanwhile the product designer was shopping and realised the disgusting array of nasty shaped and coloured cleaning products and began making thoughts on how to develop these. I am a little sceptical of the story (it is a bit cheesy and convenient) but, there is no doubt Method have found a gap in the market with 95% of current cleaning products refusing to bridge into the 21st mentality of green products. Non toxic and sourcing natural ingredients is absolutely the way we should be cleaning.

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The natural ingredient Method product line

In much similarity to the ideas expressed by Terry and Granger, Fishburne spoke of the need of how to shape clients. You can’t make the consumer consume less, instead you have to make them smarter. They are certainly achieving this, with product lines established in John Lewis, Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s and of course online.

Insightful, inspiring and free… to all those designers out there, get your free spaces on the last few days of the workshops here!!

Carianne Laguna may look like a fresh-faced intern entering a building standing among lofts owned by fashion models in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood. However, unhealthy the 28-year-old is Vice President and General Manager of Blackheart Records, viagra a label that rock legend Joan Jett helped create in 1980. Laguna, drugs who resides in Brooklyn, tirelessly commutes to her office, where she signs new artists to the label, including punk acts like Girl in a Coma and The Cute Lepers. Not only does she spend days promoting artists, but she manages the “I Love Rock N‘ Roll” rebel. In the music industry – where few women take behind-the-scene roles in impacting listeners, Laguna does it all with a toothy grin. Yet, she wouldn’t have been crowned queen of indie music management if it wasn’t for her family.

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The Cute Lepers

Her father is Kenny Laguna, a music producer who, in 1980, began managing a 17-year-old Jett. Despite Jett joining a band when she was just 15 and befriending Sid Vicious, 23 music labels turned her down, causing her manager to sell demos from the trunk of his car. Consequently, the duo started Blackheart Records, one of the first music labels owned by a woman. Jett would go on to sell millions of albums, becoming one of rock’s top-charting females in history. Laguna, who grew up traveling around the world as Jett performed for thousands, would later carry on her father’s legacy. She graduated from the University of Colorado in 2001, where she took several internships to fully understand the business of music. “When I got to Blackheart Records, I said ‘I’m going to do this, but I would like to sign a lot of new bands that are in it for the music and not the fame,’” she says.

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Joan Jett

Laguna did just that, all while proving herself. “People tend to dismiss you if you’re a girl,” she reveals before groaning at how few females are leaders in the music business. “People think it’s just a fabulous thing to look as young as an intern, until you have to be taken seriously.” After many frustrations from Devil Wears Prada archetypes, she chose to keep moving without ever looking back. She takes a deep breath before gushing about her love of finding overlooked musicians and giving them a chance. “It just makes me feel good that I’m spreading their music. That beats out all those days when people would look down at you just because they had their own hang-ups.”

Just like her father perfected, Laguna is still applying the DIY method. From designing all the artwork, to selling merchandise during Warp Tour, Laguna isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. At times, she would even pass out Cds in bars, restaurants, and any place that plays music. Yet, it’s this technique that’s going to help save the suffering music industry. “This is a great time for indie labels and artists to get their art out there,” she explains. “A lot of people are discovering bands on the internet. You have to hit all the networking sites and play live as much as you can. There’s just no better way of finding new music.”

Speaking of upcoming hits, Laguna happily shared some exclusive news, including of Girl In A Coma and The Dollyrots going to the studio this fall. If that isn’t enough, she also revealed that Lana Davies, daughter of The Kinks founding member Dave Davies, was recently signed to the label and will be recording soon. It’s certain that as long as this bubbly brunette keeps challenging the all-male club known as the music industry, good music, with a woman’s touch, will always prevail.

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The Dollyrots

Appointed with the responsibility of covering London Fashion Week’s opening show – Dublin born and well established Paul Costelloe, there I had dreamt about providing a fabulous and detailed write up complimented by stunning pictures taken with my Canon 5D camera that I’d managed to get in without a hint of a bag search. I was rather perturbed, click as you can imagine then, to find that my review button didn’t work, which meant I couldn’t delete any photographs. From a FULL memory card. So whilst I struggled trying to get it to work, the show started. As guests including Erin O’ Connor and Hilary Alexander enjoyed the show, I went into panic mode in a desperate attempt to fix it. The poor guy sat at the side of me, clearly unsettled by my constant rummaging in my bag with beads of sweat pouring down my face, slid as far across the bench as he could. Before I knew it the show was over, I’d looked up 3 or 4 times, and the delighted audience were clapping while I clacked my teeth and painfully giggled at the irony of Fashion Week’s head sponsor – Canon.

This opening show whizzed by in seconds, or so it seemed, but what I saw of it through the tears in my eyes looked fabulous. With a colonial and uplifting soundtrack, models were adorned in sharp tailored suits (the designer’s signature) nipped in at the waist with a hint of military (just enough, not overdone) first in neutral beige and navy and then in stunning vibrant yellows and hot pinks. Shape here was key – hoods and shoulder emphasis was a fine element and reinforced the female silhouette – as did a combination of a-line and tulip skirts. The third segment displayed even more military flavour along with elegant yet discreet floral patterns. The shoes, supplied by ALDO, were understated and complimented each of the looks.

You’ll be glad to know that my camera is still under warranty, it seems to be working, and I’ll be covering shows later in the week. I do hope I can redeem myself.

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Images courtesy of www.catwalking.com

FELDER • FELDER are German twins Daniela and Annette Felder. They first launched their womenswear line in 2007 whilst studying at Central Saint Martins.

A folksy guitar track begins the show, web complimenting the altogether floaty and feminine look of the first few dresses to hit the runway. High neck lines add to the modesty of these dresses whose natural spectrum includes greys, website like this beiges, sickness mosses and mints. Waterfalls of ruffles flow across the body of each dress, which hang loosely from the tighter fit around the top. Multiple chiffon layers give weight and movement.

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The hues soon turn darker, pebble moving to slate, and ruffles move on to shoulders and skirts. As the music moves to an electro beat we are surprised by a pale teal coloured dress that reveals a bright aqua flash within its ruffles. More shocking is the entirely turquoise piece, a definite ‘neon pastel’, the hot new hue that everyone’s banging on about.

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The music begins to pound as a track from The Duke Spirit breaks out of the sound system and Felder Felder fall in to their stride showcasing a more rock chick look. This is an area that the duo became confident in with their AW08/09 collection that featured black fur, gold studs and leather. For SS09 leather embellishments, short shorts, cropped jackets and cuffs translate their harder edge to become more wearable in the more temperate months. Chiffon overlays soften the look.

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This bandage dress was the real stand out piece of the collection. In an interesting turn, dresses began to emerge on to the catwalk that were made up of shimmering oyster bands of fabric. Much clingier, these dresses accentuated the body and glittered like scales as the models moved. The tops of these dresses were tighter, cut more in the style of a biker vest, again falling into the rock chick category. Bright coral chiffons provided another splash of colour in this segment.

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With this show I was left in two minds about Felder Felder’s direction. I felt the loose silhouettes with frills over the front were unremarkable and perhaps included to fulfil a feminine sensibility associated with the Spring season. However, I enjoyed the self assured woman who later appeared in Felder Felder’s work summoned in by edgier styling and bolder colours.

Watch the show for yourself here.
10.15am may not be early in the real world, mind but in the world of London Fashion Week (especially on Thursday, ailment this is day 5 of 6 for gawdsakes!) 10.15am may as well be dawn. Skip that, I’m sure most fashionistas were still partying at dawn with ‘Mr Diamond-head’ or ‘The Turban Woman’. But, well, you get what I mean.

By Thursday I was already scraping the bottom of the little pot of Benefit ‘EyeCon’ that had come in a goody bag earlier in the week. With eye bags suitably smothered I yawned all the way to the Royal Academy of Arts for the Romina Karamanea show. I was greeted by a very small crowd of hard-core fashion enthusiasts and a helpful girl who told me the show would be starting at least half an hour late. Late? But this is the first show of the day! Oh well, I suppose the later the start the more hung-over LFW visitors they were be able to round up.

When we were eventually allowed to take our seats I was excited to see the whole first 4 rows decorated with goody bags (surely a reward for all those dedicated enough to get out of bed), each one complete with a bottle of Sabai Wine Spritzer and a packet of vodka filled chocolates. Hair of the dog, anyone?

But of course, goody bags aren’t enough to prise a gal out of bed. No, the crowd was eager to see what Karamanea, a St Martins graduate who has worked with leading designers such as Clements Ribeiro, Robert Cary-Williams and Preen, had to offer us. And with the knowledge that Karamanea impressed the late, great Isabella Blow (she reportedly took a shine to an ‘origami dress’ from the SS07 collection) we were expecting a lot.

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The feel of the show was utilitarian, yet sexy. Karamanea has admitted in past interviews that she is influenced by the functionality of the Bauhaus movement and this showed in her SS09 pieces. The clean simplicity of cut brought uniform to mind, indeed it often felt that we were being presented with visions of ‘uniforms of the future’. I don’t really want to reference Star Trek, but I might have to…

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Karamanea’s sculptural style that had been apparent in her origami creations of old came to the fore once more in her new works with almost absurdly boxy shoulders. The often harsh shapes were tempered down, however, with varying techniques. The occasional flash of neon blue found its way underneath garments, whilst sunglasses and Doc Marten boots punkified outfits to give a youthful edge. A very of-the-moment translucent softly flowing tangerine dress even cropped up in the collection.

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More flowing shapes were evident which, twinned with geeky brogues and shades, gave the look of a studious bad girl or an art teacher with a naughty past.

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Slightly less forgiving than the more flowing silhouettes were the tight playsuits, which I imagine the average woman would steer well clear of for fear of the dreaded camel toe.

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Front row fashion is, of course, one of the other spectacles of Fashion Week. Romina Karamanea’s show saw one guest robed in a rather revealing yellow dress, only hiding her modesty by covering her head with the biggest, pinkest hat I have ever seen. I captured her below in some sort of hat stand-off between herself and a model sporting a large black mesh visor. Which one will win in the style stakes?

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Karamanea’s jewellery was note-worthy, with plastic neck pieces that almost looked like ammo straps. High waisted shorts also found their way into Karamanea’s collection, yet another clue that we can be sure that they will feature heavily in our SS09 wardrobes.

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The styling of the models was definitely a hugely interesting part of the show. With hair that was slicked back at the sides but flowed in waves down the back (a look that nodded to Alice Dellal, surely) the girls looked cool and androgynous. Femininity was never girly; even the chosen heels were the brogue-ish Rosie shoe from B Store, their clever sculpted heel adding to the modernist feel. Clever uniforms accompanied by a sound-track that included a tune that told tales of motor cycles setting you free, this truly was a show for the bad girl with brains.

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I really enjoyed viewing Karamanea’s daring pieces and the whoops of appreciation that came at the end of the show meant that I definitely wasn’t alone. I look forward to see the shapes she will create in the future.

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Watch the show for yourself here and here.
In 2005 Helen, page Myra and Cathy, online three graduates from the London College of Fashion, decided to join forces (and the first two letters of each of their names) to become Hemyca. With their first show at London Fashion Week, we were promised a ‘Dream Of Time’, and the show was chimed in, quite literally, by the trilling, ticking and whirring of clocks.

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The ‘Dream of Time’ soon transpired not to be a dreamy Alice in Wonderland style flight of fancy, but rather the modern dream everyone shares of having more time; with models in sharp tailoring marching business-like around the catwalk. Pleats a-plenty softened and added interest and made sure the sillhouettes were anything but straight-laced.

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Catching our eye on the front row of this show was the (now almost legendary) Mr Diamond Head. I wonder if he was a fan of the Hemyca high-waist?

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Well, the high-waists in this collection really caught my eye, with the ensemble below being a particular favourite. Simple and smart, with an elegant attitude, the wide, loose trousers flowed beautifully as they moved and looked hot teamed with the racer back white vest. Inspiration for this collection had apparently come from the idea of a broken clock and garments were printed with illustrations along the same theme. The ensembles were topped off with wire mesh hats by Monique Luttin.

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Just as I was becoming comfortable with the show and enjoying the interesting shapes before me, I was a little bit shocked by some rogue brightly coloured pieces creeping in. ‘Neon Pastels’ is a palette that we’ve been warned to expect from SS09, and many designers have showcased lemon sorbets, candy pinks and aquas with aplomb. Hemyca, however, had concentrated on the ‘neon’ side a wee bit too much, sending a couple of warm canary yellow pieces down the catwalk. This was later followed by a cold, acrid lime coloured dress. The colours felt confusing, as I can’t imagine the two sitting together very well on a clothes rail. The miss-match felt like a curdle in the collection.

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I also can’t claim to be a fan of Hemyca’s use of bright blue tartan. My only explanation for the inclusion of the two tartan pieces was perhaps an over-exposure to Henry Holland. I can’t fathom, however, why yellow ruffles had crept in to one of the tartan dresses. The result was an unfortunate cheapening of some actually well cut dresses.

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After this acidic hiccup the rest of the show carried on as before, demonstrating Hemyca’s love of interesting shapes. Cocooned hips made their way back into the Hemyca catalogue (a hark back to their last SS collection, entitled ‘Secret Garden’), with some lovely jumpsuits. Yes, jumpsuits again! Seen at Olanic and Jacob Kimmie, amongst others, there’s no doubt these will be part of the idealised 2009 wardrobe. And if I’m going to have to struggle in and out of one of these bad boys every-time I need the loo then only the black, bodice topped Hemyca jumpsuit will make it all worth it. Seriously, I heart it.

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On the subject of wearability, that old conundrum the playsuit made yet another appearance on the LFW runway. Of course it looked amazing on the Amazonian model with legs up to her armpits, but how it would translate on the average woman? I just don’t know.

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With their last offering, Hemyca showed us that they can also do full on glamour. A beautiful, billowy, draped dress flowed down the catwalk, embellished with strings of jewels and metallic pieces reminiscent of a watch’s inner workings. Cog like embroidery over the back was a delicious, delicate touch.

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I know I will be keeping an eye on Hemyca, as I really love their interestingly structured garments. I do hope, however, that in the future they will stick to their more restrained colour palette. Either that, or take control of their own colours and not feel pressured by trend forecasts that predict ‘neon pastels’ or way too much tartan.

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See the show for yourself here, or take a peek backstage here.

We’re rather taken with London based Turkish designer, cialis 40mg Bora Aksu, physician here at Amelia’s. Not only was he featured by us way back in issue 1, but his ongoing collaboration with fair-trade fashion pioneer People Tree has got him into our good books AND our forthcoming issue 10. Needless to say, we were looking forward to see his Spring/Summer 09 collection debut at the British Fashion Council Tent.

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It looked like the designer has been partaking in one or two viewing sessions of The Sound of Music as we were greeted by a girl in a white dress and satin sash as the show began. Okay, so the sash was pink, and not blue, but girlish dresses did seem to be amongst Aksu’s favourite things for next Spring/Summer.

The femininity presented at Aksu’s show was not all young and frilly, however, with wonderfully tailored pieces (cropped jackets, high necks and puffed sleeves) giving an assured and womanly aspect to the collection. The head wear veered between youthful oversized bows and grown up Sunday-best hats (both by milliner Misa Harada).

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Aksu’s colour palette was spot on for the season; with frosted peaches, pistachios and lemon tones gracing the runway at the start of the collection. With talk of pastels (from candy colours right up to neon hues) being a big part of our warmer-month wardrobes next year, Aksu’s collection looks set to be bang on trend. Personally, I’m a little hesitant to go all out sugar-sugar with my own attire next Spring, so I was relieved to see daring combinations of purple and black further in to the show.

The striking thing about many of Aksu’s creations was the Art Nouveau style embellishments that drew attention to the contours of the wearer. Ribbon like piping ran across the garments, mapping out curves and acting like the leading in a stained glass window; it was a technique that allowed Aksu to bring in panels of new colour and texture.

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There has been much talk of ‘the modesty dress’ this London Fashion Week, the term referring to a trend for enveloping unforgivingly skin tight body-con dresses with billowing translucent over dresses. The double dresses were seen at Issa, Graeme Black, Aquascutum and, of course, on the Bora Aksu catwalk. Aksu’s take on the modesty dress involved anything from pink chiffon capes cinched in over dresses to Grecian style draping of fabric pieces that concealed choice areas.

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The stand out piece, for me, was a bubbly black party frock. A bustier front over a body of black mesh was both modest and sexy in it’s half revelation of back and shoulders, but this simplistic top soon burst out into an eruption of petal-like layers in the skirt. The movement of this skirt was flighty and fun, being especially voluminous at the back. Can you spy my favourite frock at the rear of the model queue?

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Romantic and whimsical, Aksu’s fairytale collection was the epitome of Spring/Summer 09 style. In a show backed by floaty folk and violins, ruffles and pleats took centre stage and won our hearts.

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Watch highlights of the show for yourself here. And look out for our profile of Aksu and People Tree in our forthcoming Issue 10!
Soft pastel patterns, pill ruffles and high-waisted shorts filled the Trinity Building near Regents Park last Sunday as Poltock & Walsh featured their Spring/Summer 09 collection at London Fashion Week. Think French Riviera in the 1930′s, which is what designers, Fiamma Poltock and Katie Walsh used as inspiration to create this line of elegant, wearable womenswear.

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High-waisted shorts seem to be back for yet another season, and Poltock & Walsh paired them with silk three-quarter length blouses and jackets. The shorts were slimmed for a flattered silhouette, but the tops used ruffled sleeves and square cuts to enhance shape. While the overall appearance may be a bit simple, they’ve accessorized it with just the right block belts to give it enough excitement to perk my interest.

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The ruffles and enhanced shapes continued to be the trend in their lively cocktail dresses. Cut graciously to show off the legs, some were slimming to show off curves, and others hung freely for a looser fit. I also caught a glimpse of print designs in blue and yellow pastels, inspired by the Art Deco movement of the 30′s.

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The duet met while studying fashion design at Kingston University and formed their label in 2006. Although fairly new, they already have quite a portfolio with a successful showing of their Spring/Summer 08 collection at Style 360 during New York Fashion Week. They have since returned to the homebase of London for Autumn Winter 08/09 and this latest show. Already discovered by Vogue as one of the new designers to keep an eye on, they are sure to be a hit in the seasons to come. Their collection is available for purchase at Sefton if you fancy splurging for the look of Poltock & Walsh.

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Olanic‘s collection took inspiration from the British summertime, stuff or lack of it as is often the case. The unpredictability of Spring/Summer09 resulted in a collection of geometric shapes blown sideways. The weather theme was further worked upon within the fabrics, a collaboration with Scottish textile companies. Designed by Niki Taylor the fabrics used abstract weather symbols executed in clashing colours.
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Summery colours of pink, green and blue, were mixed with muted tones more associated with the rainy days a British summer is famed for. Simple silhouettes of shift dresses, blouses and shorts were given a breath of fresh air with subtle details. These simple shapes were adorned with plaited necklines, shoulder wing-tips and fabric bows.
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The jumpsuit, which seems to be a firm favourite with designers for next summer, was reworked into an elegant evening wear piece. Only revealing its shorts form when the model strode down the catwalk. Sequins were sprinkled over a ladylike bustier, a pair of leggings and a cropped tux jackets. Other highlights included balloon tapered trousers in silk styled with an upside ballet wrap draped top, both in jewel colours.

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Olanic almost trademarked punkish Edwardian overtones were also present, the blues and greens gave way to red and black. Vertical striped spray on trousers, striped tux jackets and a marching band style red cape sashayed down the runaway in quick succession.

Creating highly wearable designs (often ignored in fashion), Olanic showed an accomplished collection which will only strengthen the label’s ‘one to watch‘ status.

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Monday 22nd September

Hearts Revolution – Puregroove Records, order London
Iglu & Hartly – Carling Academy 2, Liverpool
Ponytail and Mirror! Mirror! – Durr at The End, London

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Rolo Tomassi – Macbeth, London

I’m hardly the biggest fan of metal, but Rolo Tomassi are something else. I haven’t heard a band so forward thinking in ages and i think a live show would be very exciting.

Dananananaykroyd, Johnny Foreigner, My Psychoanalyst – The Venue, Derby
Undeground Railroad – Rough Trade East, London

Tuesday 23rd September

Adem and Mary Hampton – ICA, London

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Islands – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

‘Rough Gem’ is one of those songs that has stayed in my favourite, despite frequent listenings, and although none of their songs have really matched up to it again, they’re still an ace band.

Black Affair, The Oscillation and Hearts Revolution – White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s, London
Ladyhawke – Pure Groove Records, London
Attack Attack – Rock City, Nottingham
Hope and Social, Muarena Helena, The Dodo Fightback, Royston Jones and Funny Face – Monto Water Rats
White Lies – Rough Trade East, London

Wednesday 24th September

O’Death – Crane Lane Theatre, Cork
Friendly Fires – The Joiners, Southampton
Little Man Tate and Inner City Pirates – Islington Academy, London
Rolo Tomassi – Barfly, Glasgow
Pete Doherty – Opera House, Bournemouth

Thursday 25th September

Broadcast 2000 and Gold Teeth – Proud Galleries, London
Dragonforce – Carling Academy, Glasgow
Thomas Tantrum – Cockpit 3, Leeds
Esser and Your Twenties – The Macbeth, London
Hot Club De Paris – Banquet Records, Kingston upon Thames

Friday 26th September

Midnight Juggernaughts and Heartsrevolution – ULU, London
Barringtone – Louisiana, Bristol
Chas and Dave – Rayne Theatre, London
Micachu – Down The Rabbit Hole at Barghouse, London
SCUM, Futurism vs Passéism, Vegas Whores and Wire Rooms – Whitechapel Gallery, London
Pete Doherty – Kasbah, Coventry
Lovvers, Bromancer and Sad Shields – Old Blue Last, London
Metronomy and Tubelord – The Macbeth, London

Saturday 27th September

Sky Larkin, Data.Select.Party, Sportsday Megaphone – Notting Hil Arts Club, London
Benga, Late Of The Pier, Metronomy and more – Tate Britain, London

Gig of the week

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Archie Bronson Outfit, Micachu, Clinic, SCUM, Jay Jay Pistolet, Ipso Facto, Polly Scattergood, Hatcham Social and more – Nail The Cross at Various venues, London

A very interesting line-up which promises to be the most interesting event in town on this Saturday night.

Future of The Left, Bearsuit, Calories, Cats In Paris, Chris T-T, Copy Haho, The Deirdres and more – This Ain’t No Picnic at KCLSU, London
The Spinto Band – Arts Centre, Norwich
Primary 1, Frightened Rabbit and The Hair – Weather Club @ 93 Feet East, London
Let’s Wrestle – Push at Astoria 2, London
Artefacts for Space Travel – Down The Rabbit Hole at Bargehouse, London

Sunday 28th September

Foals and Maps and Atlases – University, Cardiff
Polysics, Alan MX, Brontosaurus Chorus, The Duloks, Fighting With Wire, Popular Workshop and more – KCLSU, London
The Duke Spirit – Cockpit, Leeds

I know it’s been long since Bestival, advice but I’ve literally only just finished cleaning the mud off me. Seriously. Okay, viagra dosage maybe not. But it did take a long time and I have also sadly reached the conclusion that perhaps I am not as young as I used to be because it took me a good three days to properly recover from three days of fun, mud, music and random happenings. Still, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to buy my early bird tickets for Bestival next year.

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So, after my copious amounts of fruit smoothies and milk thistle tablets to get me on the mend, I can finally positively reflect on what was a bloody awesome weekend. After a comic session of wading through the mud-river that was the road to the campsite and then setting up our tents in an equally hilarious manner (to any onlookers not hiding in their tents) we gave up hope of ever being dry and warm, and sat and got drunk on rose boxed wine instead.

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Friday night started off poptastically perfectly with Alphabeat, and continued with Chromeo. We were gutted when Sam Sparro and Black Kids had cancelled, however. Something about the BBC Introducing stage being too muddy – um, what? Why not cancel the whole festival then? Bloody squares. (I later found out that Sam did do a set to a small crowd at the X-Box tent, but with no way of communicating this to the crowds, we all missed out.) Anyway we tottered along to CSS instead who were awesome, (although I think the sound technician was on acid) and then we headed to the Bollywood tent for a DJ set.

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Saturday was never going to be dry so we decided to hide in the Restival section instead and after a few games of Shithead, we were treated to some brilliant poetry performances from Hammer & Tongue. Seriously, if you live in London or Brighton or somewhere where they perform regularly, check them out. It’s a night you won’t forget.

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Why I even bothered wasting my time going to see Amy Winehouse on Saturday, I don’t know. Hot Chip were awesome and well worth pushing our way to the front for, but after that we had over an hour of waiting for Miss Amy should-go-to-Rehab-immediately Winehouse to pratt about on stage and manage to sing about 4 recognisable songs. It was pretty funny at the time, but looking back, it meant that I was so knackered after standing around in the cold I had no energy left to dance.

Miracle of miracles, it didn’t rain on Sunday and we made the most of it by finding all the places we hadn’t been to. Bramble FM was a highlight – a seemingly imaginary radio station which appears at all the festivals and gets the crowds dancing around in a circle or cheesy tunes – true story. And actually, it was awesome fun. Which is what festivals are all about – being just plain silly sometimes.

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We kept our blood pumping after a brilliant set by Six Nation State by heading to the ‘come dancing’ tent and showed ourselves up by being the only ones dancing to RnB. After the organisers realised that no true festival goer lowers themselves to enjoying RnB music, let alone dancing to it, they started a dance lesson, teaching us the ‘cha-cha’. That got everyone on the dance floor and after working up a suitable sweat, we watched a powerful performance by thecocknbullkid.

As it had finally stopped raining, we actually managed to have a meal outside our tent for the first time all weekend, and refuelled we headed to the main arena, having a bit of a boogie in the X-Box tent (Bournemouth clubs come to Bestival – hurray! – please note the sarcasm) and then checked out the Cockney Knees Up tent, which was supposed to have some drag acts on, but was actually just a bunch of transvestites dancing around to eighties music. Not really what we were looking for.

The Rizla arena was awesome, and we ended the night in true Bestival style by meeting some randoms and bringing them back to our tent for pointless conversation and more alcohol.

Getting off the island was less than pleasant – after a muddy session of packing up our tents we struggled with our backpacks up numerous mudslides and eventually made it back to land of solid ground.


Monday 22nd

Museum of Brands, online Robert Opie Collection: Until 31st May 09
2 Colville Mews, off Londsdale Rd, W11 (£5.80, concs £3.50, kids £2)
Robert Opie‘s 12,000 original items from his collection moves to Notting hill after seventeen years in Gloucester. Think back to the good ol’ days of vintage postcards, Skippy chocolate bars, cadburys toffee buttons. O.k. you may not be old enough to get too nostalgic but the collection of toys, posters and magazines ensure even the most cynical will get doey eyed at the past as consumer culture is revealed decade by decade. In short, this is a retro lover’s heaven on earth.
(Adults £5.80, Children (7-16) £2.00, Family £14.00, Concessions £3.50. Group discount 10% (groups of 10 or more, pre-booking appreciated).

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Tuesday 23rd

The Gallery at BFI Southbank, London, ‘The all seeing Eye’: An installation by Pierre Bismuth and Michel Gondry: until 16th November
BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, London, SE1 8XT
A mesmerizing video installation by the inventive French duo Pierre Bismuth and Michel Gondry, celebrated for their Oscar award winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The installation consists of a well furnished apartment involving a central camera revolving around a room where the room spins, armchairs, magazines, houseplants, rugs, mirrors and a dining table appear only to disappear during successive rotations until the apartment is stripped bare. First conceived and shown in Paris in 2005, this new version of The All Seeing Eye has been commissioned and specifically conceived by Bismuth and Gondry for the Gallery at BFI Southbank. A series of films selected by Pierre Bismuth and Elisabetta Fabrizi, BFI Head of Exhibitions, on the theme of erasure has also been included.

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Wednesday 24th
BISCHOFF/WEISS: ‘Our Immortal Souls’: Maya Hewitt: Until 1st November
95 Rivington Street?London ?EC2A 3AY
British born Hewitt juxtaposes childish fantasy with an adult perspective in intricate pieces loaded with symbolism and iconography. Characters are displaced from their original context from the past and placed in the present, allowing for an ambiguous and eerily surreal landscape.

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Thursday 25th
Transition Gallery, ‘Mime 1′ Mimei Thompson: Until 5th October
Unit 25a Regent Studios, 8 Andrews Rd, London E8
Recent RCA graduate Mimei Thompson‘s work depicts dark, mutating cosmic worlds, populated by clouds, probing eyeballs and cartoon brains. Surreal portraits including alien beings connects the real with imagined worlds, evoking questions such as death, decay and regeneration.

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Jaguar Shoes, ‘Horse Tears’: Matthew Hodson: Preview Show
32 Kingsland Rd, London, E2: 25th September: 7pm till late
Why not join us to the preview show of Hodson‘s weird, melancholic and rude illustrations and comic books? Hailing from a small village in Yorkshire Dales, Hodson was soon drawn to the mean streets of London, although he still retains a soft spot for wind, dogs and trees. Although he adopts a simplistic style, do not be tricked into thinking all his work is as sweet as pie-With contemporary references and dark undertones, Hodson allows us to be kept on our toes.

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Friday 26th
The Photographers’ Gallery, ‘Soho Archives: 1950s &1960s’: Until 16th November
5 & 8 Great Newport St, London WC2H 7HY
Three archives from Jean Straker, David Hurn and the Daily Herald newspaper documents Soho in the 1950s and 1960s. They capture a Soho that provided a haven for those dissatisfied by Britain’s provincialism. Also a place known for it’s criminal activity and creativity, as well as scandal and sexuality, images document the vibrancy and eroticism of the time.

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Saturday 27th
Paradise Row, ‘The Day Nobody Died’: Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin: Until 26th October
17 Hereford St, (off Cheshire St) London, E2 6EX
In June of this year Broomberg and Chanarin traveled to Afghanistan along with the British Army units on the front line in Helmand Province. What results is strange abstract passages and patterns of black, white and variegated hues – all modulated by the heat and the light invites us to question the nature of violence, culture, politics and morality.

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Hamiltons Gallery, ‘Bokuju Kitan/ Marvelous Tales of black ink’: Nobuyoshi Araki: Until 19th October
13 Carlos Place, London W1K 2EU
Born in 1940 Nobuyoshi Araki’s photography, heralded as Japan’s foremost contemporary photographer blurs the line between art and pornography. He selects 88 images from over 30 years worth of Kinbaku work (bondage art) and hand-painted calligraphy on each photograph. His erotically charged pieces are both lyrically beautiful and steamy, without being brash. Phwaorr indeedy!

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It doesn’t take much for the East End glitterati to migrate West, generic so a good old fashioned strip show had them flocking in their dozens last night. The reason: the opening of the latest Coco de Mer store in South Kensington in conjunction with London based design duo Fleet Ilya.

Fleet Ilya are son of Russian sculptor Ilya Fleet (see what he did, physician there?) and London gal Resha Sharma. Together they are a ‘taboo-breaking accessories label’ who create stunning, pilule exotic, erotic leather goods, from luggage to, er, strap ons.

The lusty store on Kensington’s chic Draycott Avenue wasn’t too difficult to find. The pummelling music (Studio 54 meets Miss Chuckle Cherry) and flashing lights instantly drawing attention, and quite a crowd of bemused onlookers too. It was hardly Fort Knox:
‘Hi, we should be on the list’
‘Oh, really? Oh, just say who invited you, that will do.’
‘Er, Ilya?’
‘Oh, sure!’

I think if my companion had said we were pals with Coco (de Mer), we’d have been granted access.

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Inside the store

Inside was quite the occasion. The music loud, the lights low, packed to the foundations – punters spilled out into the street or into the changing rooms just for a gasp of air. Canapés were creatively supplied by Passion Organic (an apt title for even the caterers) and pink champagne was aplenty – so much so that just another glass and I might have been tempted to slip into a harness myself. Not that I was without action – whipped and tickled as we all were.

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Clockwise from top left: a Coco de Mer girl; the Dj; Coco de Mer lingerie; A Fleet Ilya harness and corset; An erotic bust, part of the store’s merchandising; Fleet Ilya girls

At the beginning tension was high, you could feel it, and it was down to some very liberated male and female performers with sizeable attributes to get us in the mood for an outrageous romp. Fleet Ilya’s ladies wore constructivist themed black soft leather conical bras, off white corset style belts, brown ponies tails at the rear and harnesses with a nod to equestriana. They carried whips, wore handcuffs and brandished other quintessential bondage paraphernalia. A rotund gent, clearly a professional in the art of erotic movement, gave what can only be described as an eye-watering performance, which I’ll keep censored so you can use your own imagination, but the baying raucous crowd certainly enjoyed his fruitful achievements.

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Models show off Fleet Ilya in the window

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The model who ‘spoilt’ us with his one man strip show

CdM aint no Ann Summers – it’s a tasteful exploration of erotic merchandise and has something for everyone. If you’re not in the market to make a hardcore purchase, then, well, shame on you frankly – but you could be tempted by something from their decadent soft furnishings range, or a discreet title from their vast collection of literature – maybe Tickling or Flogging or The Complete Guide to Cunnilingus. Just suggesting.

Fleet Ilya aren’t just about erotica – their Classic and Concept lines deal in luxury leather goods including oversized luggage and accessories. There wasn’t much of this on show this evening but it’s definitely worth looking out for and you can see a full range of their products on their website – but only click into the Restraint area if you can handle it…

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The Coco de Mer girls

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Make up

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The Fleet Ilya girls

Pictures by Matt Bramford
Back in the mist of time now, stuff well…namely a fortnight ago, viagra order Sarah and I had a rather arty night of mischief and mayhem. First we ventured to the ‘Drawn to each other’ event where I got to go back to A level art years. After drawing various colourful characters with charcoal and also getting my portrait done, see we were in the mood for another dollop of fun. So we went to 93 feet east where ‘Laser fingers’ had an event called ‘Do you want fries with that?’ Unfortunately we didn’t get a serving of fries but we did get to view some cool zines and talk to some art collectives.

My first pit stop was Middleboop , a graphics collective headed by Gordon Reid and Simon Stroud. They describe themselves as ‘two designers who enjoy moaning about the state of art, design, film and music at the moment.’ If you’re a graphics-head check out their blog and let them know what you think.

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Next I talked to ‘Laser Fingers’ Collective who organized the whole affair. The team from Hertfordshire consists of Sophie Buckle (Graphic Design) and two illustrators, Nikki Hemmings and Ella Tamplin-Wilson. With a colourful array of designs and fresh faced illustrations, they are creating quite a buzz within the art collective scene.

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sarah having fun with a ‘laser finger’ pizza box

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derv modelling a felt sandwich badge by ‘laser fingers’

Unkle Baxta is a fashion design label and this girl loves what she’s doing as she pipes her creations are ‘original, unique and they look boss!’ It’s not exactly my cup of tea but if you’re into your bold designs, and indie rock prints have a peek.

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One zine that caught my eye was called ‘the smell of the wild’ by Gareth Brookes. Delicately drawn and with poetry recording the ageless beauty of the countryside, the zine both tickles and delights. It sure is worth the £1.50. Gareth Brookes also contributes to the banal pigs publications.

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Another favourite was Sally Faulkner‘s beautifully naïve zine, English Grub-filled with pastel coloured sprinkled cakes and whippy ice creams. Just graduated from Kingston Uni, and with a recent illustration in the Guardian Magazine; she is definitely one to watch.

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cute badges

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So all in all a good night! After all this creative mingling-it was time for a tipple at the bar.

Starting their catwalk show with a video piece of models contorted into letters of Annalisa Dunn’s and Dorothee Hagerman, label name. Cooperative Designs set the tone for their soon to be paraded original designs .

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To celebrate their offerings Anna Lou of London and Laura Lees held a party in the heart of the West End. Needless to say that the muttering of a party had a sizable group of the Amelia’s lot heading West.

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Party times

We were welcomed by a tasty cocktail – it had things like ginger and berries in it, patient as well as Courvoisier cognac, which was new to me. Problem was it took an age to queue for a beverage, as the guys behind the bar were those cocktail professional types that throw everything around a bit before they pour it. Obviously though, the drinks were not supposed to be the main highlight.

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The fashion pose

The highlight for me was a guy who had turned up with a shaved head covered in diamonds. Though completely impractical (I can imagine your chances of getting mugged on the way home would increase dramatically), it made him look like a disco ball – and nothing says party like coming as the disco ball. I now know that if you want to get you spotted, covering your head in something really shiny is a good way to start.

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Try and spot the diamond head man

Being music editor, it didn’t take me long to take notice of the DJ. He was pumping out a nice mix of James Brown and DJ Shadow, my only problem being his occasional experiments in scratching – a technique that should really just be left to world DMC championships nowadays. The crowd was also obviously far too cool for dancing, although as the liquor began to diminish there was a little more movement on what I assume was the dancefloor.

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I think it’s fair to say fun was had all round, even if I personally left a little puzzled as to what the whole event was all about.

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A central St Martins graduate, visit Scott Ramsay Kyle made his debut at Vauxhall Fashion Scout with his S/S09 collection. Scott took inspiration from The Queen of Hearts‘ henchman from Alice in Wonderland and Grace Jones’ iconic strong style.

Jumpsuits, mind playsuits (surely a double whammy of all-in-ones spells a HUGE trend for next season), shift dresses and tunics were Tabard shaped. Not since the animated cards of Alice in Wonderland did a pack of cards look so appealing. Peek-a-boo sides lead the eye down to embroidered embellishment in metallic shades, that Scott had harnessed during his time at legendary label Biba, adding extra decoration to the sharp clean lines. Scott also used heavier embroidery, with beads and tassles, as focal points on the front of tabards, giving these designs a military-esque feel.

Once again, as seen at many shows, bright colour took a back seat to neutrals and more muted shades. Scott took this to a more extreme level than I had previously seen, harnessing creations in only three colours. White, Beige and Black were the colours to march down the catwalk under Scott’s watch. Laudable in his use of boring beige, Scott gave the much lambasted colour a style injection complimenting it with shimmering gold. This restrained use of colour flattered the structured shapes.

The sophisticated collection had a real summer in city feel to it. Helped by a ‘beep beep’ traffic noise song featuring on the playlist (much googling has not revealed what song this is, if anybody knows please do share). With many of the looks suitably for office wear, well fashion offices anyway. That said some of the more structured tabard shapes may prove a bit difficult to make the skip from catwalk to high street. Easier to wear looks, included the knee-length more relaxed all-in-one’s and tunics worn with 90′s style cycling shorts.

Steve J and Yoni P who hail from Central St Martins and London College of Fashion respectively, pharmacy have been consistently causing a flurry of excitement in their past three seasons at LFW. Bagging a Best Menswear Award (CSM BA graduation show 06), stuff Samsung Fashion Design Fund (07/08) and opening their diffusion range at Topshop; has only gained them more attention. Yet it is their trademark style of modern quirkiness, case with luxurious fabrics and tailored cuts that has ensured their individuality remains intact.

Walking into the Korean Cultural Centre in West London on 16th September, I was greeted by a charming floaty voice and harp. Along with Japanese rice snacks, this created a relaxed yet classical ambiance. With this mood we were taken to our places.

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the harp playing woman with no head

The duo interpreted sculptural elements such as metals and structured blocks into a cool modern look. Being influenced by Danish abstract painter Asger Jorn; they used simple colours such black and white, orange, pinks, blues and whites, with silver and gold as an accent colour.

Neutral whites initially dominated the catwalk, with tailored tops accompanied by geek glasses and bulbous headgear playing with proportions.

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some creams cropping in

Pencil skirts teemed with see-through tops followed.

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cute head-wear!

Little-bow peep and bow head bands also played a big part in the collection. English wool with Italian silk mixed together to juxtapose the casual and luxurious was also used along with architectural transparent dresses.

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.. and back to the simple staple black numbers

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Along with black simple hugging dresses, neutrals such as peach and pink popped up. Intricately draped pleating gave pieces a dreamy quality. With models hugging oversized Japanese bedtime toys, this only made the audience swoon.

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Three sets of ballet dancers dressed in blue and white with oversized bride veils stood on top of white blocks. Each cutting the string which held the veils in place, they individually tottered and spinned onto the catwalk performing graceful fluttery movements. Their performance emphasized the fragility and quiet classicism of the collection.

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Next came more architectural works of metallics and draped pleating. Origami-esque folding, baby doll dresses, fitted pencil skirts with pleat front jackets followed.

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On talking about the collection Steve J and Yoni P have said that were inspired by ‘the surrounding environment, particularly constructive architecture and the linear, almost endlessly repeats of design details in both buildings and supporting structures.’ The catwalk was positively teeming with unique pieces as well as off kilter accessories such as oversized glasses, bows, butterflies and bulbous head dresses. Combining architectural metallics and see through dresses with soft colours and detailed pleats ensured that the duo delivered a collection full of charm, wit and whimsy.

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For their second season at London Fashion Week, viagra approved Aminaka Wilmont’s “Perfect Imperfection” collection took the stage for the BFC Tent’s final show on Friday. Maki Aminaka Lofvander and Marcus Wilmont were inspired by the eyes of modernist architects, recipe Jean Nouvel, Richard Rogers and Frank Gehry, which translated to the catwalk means soft, feminism pieces with a powerful, industrial edge.

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Featuring silk trimmed with leather, and chiffon dresses paired with geometric gray and blue graphic prints, the collection has a futuristic feel to it. The color palette combines soft neutral tones with blacks, grays and blues, coinciding with those colors found in cement, metals and steel.

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The most striking design of the show I found to be the shoes. Binding only to the heel, this leather and wooden device left the sole of the foot completely exposed to the ground below. I question how this would work out on the street, but for the purpose of the avant garde look this design duo desired, this so-called shoe definitely exemplifies the collection.

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Aminaka Wilmont is most notably recognized for being Fashion Fringe’s 2007 winner. You can check out more of their line at net-a-porter.com.

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Robots In Disguise are perhaps not the best way to start an evening. They are usually a band I try to avoid, more about but I was making the effort to try and get a good spot for These New Puritans – who I’ve been desperate to see all year. Robots In Disguise play a set of mediocre, there yet still somehow quite grating, electro/indie/mash-up. The best bit was the guy (or girl) in the big robot mask.

After a break for refreshments, it was time for These New Puritans to take to the stage. Two things that stood out immediately were the overly cool expression the female synth player was sporting (making her look like the most bored person ever) – and the chain mail shirt the lead singer had donned for the occasion. Not only was it fun to look at, but I can also imagine it to be quite practical when walking home through unsafe areas late at night.

They begin their set with the brash intro to ‘Swords Of Truth’. Their sultry vocals, and gothic strut should seem pretentious and dislikable, but something allows them to get away with it. They’re the pinnacle of what so many modern bands aim to do, but they do it the best – so it’s okay.

The highlights of their set were tracks like ‘Elvis’ and ‘Numbers’, which revert against their attempts to be so freakin’ avant-garde. There are moments where they create new wave genius, and the 3-minute psych out feedback marathons in between actually do build the intended suspense. As a live show their music and musicianship would struggle to be beaten, but their stage manner is at times slightly cringing.

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I thought it would be almost impossible for me not to really, really enjoy a Young Knives gig. That was until I saw them play a set of less than stand out album tracks. I know they must have grown tired of playing the same tracks over and over, but they’re the most popular songs for a reason. People like the songs, that’s why they’ve come to see them live.

In all fairness, I missed about 5 minutes of the beginning of their set – but literally the only song I recognized was ‘The Decision’. Unless they filled the first five minutes with an impressive mini mix of ‘Terra Firma’, ‘She’s Attracted To’ and ‘Weekends And Bleak Days’. It was necessarily a bad gig, it just seems like they’ve given up on pleasing their fan base.

After watching a slightly disappointing Ossie Clark show, adiposity I felt I really needed to see a collection that stepped out of the chiffon and floral-patterned safe zone, cost and started London Fashion Week off with a much needed bang. Much to my delight, this came in the form of design duo Horace, who I have to say, managed to impress me the most on Sunday afternoon.

According to their press release, the story behind Horace’s spring/summer 09 collection is ‘a futuristic tribe living in the heat of the desert.‘ With an adventurous teaming of soft black leather and studs with laddered knits and linen, what has transcribed is an interesting punk rocker meets Arabian villager type collection, which was just the edge our senses needed on a Sunday afternoon.

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Designer’s Adam Entwisle and Emma Hales have used a neutral palette of blacks, whites, greys and creams, to create a range of oversized vests and jersey tops alongside figure skimming leather bottoms and socks to create an unusual, but striking collection of day to evening wear.

I wasn’t surprised to find out the label had caught the eye of Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn, as the clothing effectively captures that unique element of effortless chic for which both the models are renowned.

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Monday 10th November

Jackie O Motherfucker, viagra 40mg Valet and Ince Ore – Corsica Studios, London
Youthmovies, Adam Gnade and The Tupelov Ghost – The Portland Arms, Cambridge
We Have Band – Pure Groove Records, London
Fleet Foxes and J Tillman – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
MGMT – Academy, Birmingham
Goldfrapp and Eugene McGuinness – Brixton Academy, London
Emmy The Great and Blue Roses – ICA, London

Tuesday 11th November

N*E*R*D – The Roundhouse, London
Kanye West and Santogold – O2 Arena, London
Fleet Foxes – Junction, Cambridge
Grammatics – Bush Hall, London
Hush Arbors and Lawrence Arabia – Old Blue Last, London
Noah & The Whale – Glee Club, Birmingham
Laura Marling – The Scala, London
Lord Auch, Micron 63, Factory Floor and This Tawdry Affair – Buffalo Bar, London

Wednesday 12th November

Black Keys, Liam Finn and Jessica Mayfield – Brixton Academy, London
Jeremy Warmsley – The Soul Tree, Cambridge
Hot Club De Paris, Middle Class Rut and Kieran Leonard – Proud Galleries, London
Biffy Clyro, Friendly Fires and Frank turner – Union Chapel, London
Crystal Fighters, The Third Warning and La Shark – Madame JoJo’s, London
Dark Captain Light Captain – 100 Club, London

Thursday 13th November

High Places – Old Blue Last, London
An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump, Martin Sexton – Seen at The Neu Gallery, London
James Yuill, Mike Bones and Pete Greenwood – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
The Wombats – Carling Academy, Glasgow
Revere, Artifacts For Space Travel and Upcdownc – 93 Feet East, London
Das Wanderlust and Trouble Vs Glue – Metro, London

Friday 14th November

Violens and Boy Crisis – Barfly, London
High Places, Gentle Friendly and Banjo Or Freakout – The Lexington, London
New Young Pony Club – Rin MY Bell! at Proud Galleries, London
The Stranglers – Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Burningpilot and Gold Teeth – The Monarch, London
Swn Festival – Clinic, Rolo Tomassi, Threatmantics, Indian Jewelry, The Big Pink, Volcano, Johnny Foreigner, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, James Yuill, Pete and The Pirates, Thomas Tantrum and more – Various Venues, Cardiff

Saturday 15th November

Let’s Wrestle, The Late Greats, Sound Of Guns and Scholars – Metro, London
Bridgette and Ezra Band And The Hot Machine – St Moritz, London
Foreign Beggars and John Robinson – Cargo, London
Nevereverland – The Presets, Shy Child, Ladyhawke and Van She Tech – The Coronet, London
Boy Crisis and Plugs – Proud Galleries, London
Swn Festival – Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences, Cats In Paris, Jay Jay Pistolet, Golden SilversHigh Contrast, Chipmunk, Das Wanderlust, The Boy Least Likly Too, It Hugs Back and more – Various Venues, Cardiff

Sunday 16th November

Hook And The Twin, The Clik Clik, Cherbourg and Alexander G Muertos – Old Queen’s Head, London
DRIFTING AND TILTING, THE SONGS OF SCOTT WALKER: Damon Albarn, Dot Allison, Jarvis Cocker, Gavin Friday, Michael Henry and Nigel Richards – Barbican Theatre, London
An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump and Benjamin James Jinx – 93 Feet East, London
Swn Festival – Danananaykroyd, Tubelord, Future Of The Left, Micachu, Sportsday Megaphone, Rob Da Bank, Goldie Lookin Chain and more – Various Venues. Cardiff

Categories ,Adam Gnade, ,An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, ,Artifacts for Space Travel, ,Biffly Clyro, ,Black Keys, ,Dark Captin Light, ,Das Wanderlust, ,Emmy The Great, ,Eugene McGuinness, ,Fleet Foxes, ,Foreign Beggars, ,Friendly Fires, ,Goldfrapp, ,Grammatics, ,Hook and the Twin, ,Hush Arbors, ,J Tillman, ,Jackie O Motherfucker, ,John Robinson, ,Kanye West, ,La Shark, ,Laura Marling, ,Liam Finn, ,Listings, ,MGMT, ,Middly Class Rut, ,Music, ,N*E*R*D, ,New Young Pony Club, ,Noah and the Whale, ,Santogold, ,The Tupelov Ghost, ,The Wombats, ,This Tawdry Affair, ,Valet and Ince Ore, ,We Have Band, ,Youthmovies

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Amelia’s Magazine | Friendly Fires and Jape

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Hello, treat treat Katie!! featured in our latest issue, prescription as part of the New Brasil section. It’s the vision of Hisato, who Amelia described as ‘a small portly man with the slightly pallid demeanour of someone who lives for the night”. He’s a very well respected DJ, and I think this says a lot about the key idea behind his latest EP, ‘Girls’.

Opener ‘Don’t Panic (That’s The Way It Is)’ is drenched in the atmosphere of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ – famously the highest selling 7″ of all time, purely because of it’s popularity with DJs. Vocals come in the form of some super cool sounding girl, who I imagine to look exactly like the type you see standing in front of DJ booths in the hope of grabbing attention. It’s a song that I guess comes from Hisato’s time spent hanging around the super cool, Djing fashion shows and stuff like that. Considering the band is named in honour of Kate Moss herself, this is perhaps something to be expected.

My favourite track is ‘Female Moustache’. It has the feel of a soundtrack from a high octane action movie, building and plateauing, only to return to its peak moments of drama once again. You can imagine some bald guy with stubble diving between trains to it, or something like that anyway.

It finishes with ‘Today’s Tomorrow’s Breath’, something of a respite compared to the rest of the album. The vocals sound almost scary, sung by Hisato himself in what sounds like a cave.

The EP comes across like a party in your ears. It has all the aspects of really fun party music that has put Brazil on the musical map in recent years.

Having interviewed the girls who will be featuring in issue 10 of Amelia’s mag (keep an eye out for them), click I was keen to make a pit stop to their preview of their exhibition, look ‘in bed with the girls’.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the bubblegum pink Beverly Knowles Gallery in Notting hill is the burst of colour within all the photos. Cramming 12 years worth of staged portrait photography, capsule self portraiture and performance pieces in one smallish room gives their work an intensity. A few faves are the performance piece where a naked lady is adorned with various sweet treats such as: swiss rolls, tarts, custard creams. The performance piece reminded me of the oldsy english countryside picnics that now looks like a novel practice. With a priest sat next to her this set to unnerve the viewer.

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Also the smurfette pieces were cute and kitsch.

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Most of their work is playful, set with lavish sets, however I also like some of their black and white shots particularly Dungeness which are actually tiny.

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With so many different sets designs and images, these reflect two varied, bubbly personalities. They reference pop culture, the idea of Englishness, gender roles, nostalgia and desire in a fun yet also subtly dark way. So there really is something for everyone.

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Perhaps you’d like a pair of wizard boots? A caterpillar? some skeleton string? or a monster forest? Inventory of Parlour, ed an Australian designed jewellery label, more about offers treats for the imagination! A range of delectable pieces with intricate and distinctive designs that originate from another realm.

Katia, who studied textile design at RMIT University in Melbourne, was introduced to the wonderful world of jewellery when she spent some time living in London interning with the infamously unique Tatty Devine. The influence is clear – treating jewelry as a piece of art, creating something personal to illustrate the wearer. Katia’s own inspirations draw from the Parlour rooms of the 1800′s and the curious happenings within them. The pieces themselves are made mostly out of collages using text and vintage imagery from periodicals, catalogues and encyclopedias.

“A world of alakazams and abracadabras.. demented delights and a menagerie of oddities..”

Intrigued? Want to see more? Unlock the cabinet of goodies on the their blog and get a new lace for that neck!

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Photo: Dan Spinney

Despite my obsession with These New Puritans (we’ve all read the inspiring reviews from music boffs across the globe so its not necessary for me to rationalise this passion), medical neither time nor cash had granted me with a chance to witness them live, prescription until their set at the Amersham Arms. Perhaps it was dangerous levels of excitement which left me doubtful (or the fact that Derv from Amelia’s team wouldn’t stop chatting in my ear), but I couldn’t help but feel that I was left half empty.

There’s something about the intensity of delivery by lead vocalist Jack Barnett which just didn’t hit me as hard as my 5 year old Woolworth’s headphones. Its not that I’m not accusing them of being poor live performers, ‘Colours’, ‘Infinity ytinifnl’ and ‘Swords of truth’ resembled the album versions to a T, but all that intellectual equation and science stuff just seemed that little bit more magical without the hustle and bustle of a pub. Naturally These New Puritans took the opportunity to drop a few new tracks, which if this occasion is anything to go by, prove to be bordering on bland or atmospheric depending on your perspective or the volume of your glass.

Micachu and The Shape’s set wasn’t as enthralling as it should have been, mainly due to the venues poor sound. Teamed with a crowd that seemed preoccupied with having a chin wag, their music almost seemed to take a back seat. When I’ve seen them before, crowds are usually silenced by their magnificent performances, but I think most people were too preoccupied with drinking at that stage of the night. ‘Golden Phone’ did seem to divert people’s attention, and it’s definately still her standout track. She’s an artist destined for much bigger events this time next year.

Next we headed over to The Tavern to finish our night with sets from Loefah and Benga, and were subjected to some very garage heavy selections, which delighted some, but for me it just wasn’t too exciting. Soon after they had taken to the decks though, the speakers blew. It was announced that the line-up would be moved to the nearby Goldsmith’s Student Union Bar.

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Photo: Louis Hartnoll

We followed the crowds round the corner to where there was already a sizeable queue forming. I hate situations like this, when a mass of people is trying to get into a venue and the venue’s security sees it as an excuse to exercise their power by just being weird and annoying. Eventually they decided everybody had waited long enough an allowed us in. The choice of venue was strange, and didn’t really suit the music. Nevertheless, everyone was there to have a good time, and it’s difficult not to enjoy yourself in that type of environment.
So this morning I received an email shouting about NOISE, erectile an online arts showcase funded by the Arts Council & NWDA. The idea is to showcase art, ask music and fashion all conjured up by creative beings under 25. The curators include acclaimed industry professionals such as Badly Drawn Boy for music and Norman Rosenthal for fine arts. This month NOISE festival will cherry pick the crème de la crème for your viewing pleasure. Here’s a few things I spotted:

The talented miss amy brown, prescription who designed the cover of amelia’s mag issue 8 has her portfolio on here. She says that an average day consists of replying to e-mails, tea drinking, drawing, and wiping paint off my kitten Millie-Rad. She also comments that she has always loved drawing and just hope that people get as much enjoyment from looking at [her] work as [she]does making it! Have a peek at her work.

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patrick gildersleeves, aka wowow is inspired by the people of the world, patterns, paper, animals and plants. He likes to work with a pencil, felt tips and paint. His biggest influences are Inuit art, Ancient South American culture and drawings from the Far East.

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heres a cool image of promo shots for the electric circus band by ‘paul’
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6 by rae:
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clockface by chimere:
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brunch from brunch series by shauba:
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So if you want to inject a little brightness to your day or are seeking some inspiration go and check it out.

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It’s been a busy few days – I’ve been up early again with the Suffragettes to try and persuade city commuters that they should join the Climate Rush on Monday.

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getting ready in the station

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Tamsin sandwiched by commuters

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I’ve learnt that the amount of technical devices attached to your body is a direct indicator of whether you are likely to engage with a piece of paper coming your way. Commuters plugged into ipods are in their own little world and noone is going to disrupt that other place… and if you also have a mobile in your other hand you are doubly likely to ignore anyone else. Interesting, this site how we disassociate from the real world around us. Also a trend I have noticed that disheartens me – people with bikes are also more likely to ignore people who are flyering. Very saddening that – all the more I think because as a fellow bike rider I always expect people who ride to be on our side.

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flyering aplenty

That said, remedy many flyers were given out and since then the Suffragettes have been out every day all over town to try and raise awareness. I will be joining them on Friday afternoon in Soho (5.30pm in Soho Square if you fancy coming along) The more the merrier – we’re quite an arresting sight amongst all that grey.
On Saturday we’re going to be making more sashes at my house – if you fancy joining in email us. I am in east London and we plan to go out on the town afterwards dressed as Suffragettes, so come meet us and join in the fun!

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shaking a fist for the cameras

Then yesterday I hotfooted it over to Newham town hall in East London (well, more like District line slowfooted it. How slow is that tube line?!) to meet up with the Flashmob, there to oppose plans to expand City Airport.

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I love this golden light…

The council was meeting to make the final decision on whether expansion goes ahead and local group Fight the Flights directed a flashmob of about 30 people in a chant for the ITV cameras. Everyone was wearing distinctive STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION t-shirts. It was all over very quickly and I then had to slowfoot it back into town to do my jewelery class for the evening.

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flashmobbers still need lipstick

Unfortunately I have since found out that the council has given the go ahead to the expansion, but the evening was not without its drama. I’ve just spoken with Leo from Plane Stupid, who was one of some 25 people to present objections during the meeting, and it sounds like the locals put up a great fight. There were about 75 objectors in the audience who were “kicking off left, right and centre,” so that by the time the meeting drew to a close some hours later a lot of people had been removed for causing a ruckus. Leo was eventually removed for throwing paper airplanes.

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looks like Ken, of Barbie and Ken fame. is actually a highly groomed ITV reporter.

Apparently the local group will be taking the council to court on the grounds that there was no proper consultation – even though up to 13,000 people will be affected by increased noise pollution there have been no new measurements of noise since the year 2000, and only 10,000 letters have been sent out as part of a mandatory consultation.

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A local teacher explained that his students had been processing field data which showed that the noise levels are frequently reaching 85-95 decibels, and not the declared 57 decibels, over which the government considers noise to be a nuisance. Funny then, that the airport owners have forgotten to take new measurements in the past 8 years.
Leo described the yellow tie wearing owner as being totally complacent, safe in the knowledge that his plans would get the go ahead. In fact he was looking so smug that the locals even had a pop at him about it. I wasn’t there, but I can picture him in my mind’s eye. I bet he would have wound me up too.
The airport expansion may be mooted to go ahead, but don’t expect it to happen without a fight…

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sporting an E.On F.Off badge in a hairband. Lovin the look
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We think we may just have sparked a bit of a trend with the USB we gave away free with our last issue. Mr. Scruff has made a pretty tasty looking; tuna shaped stick that has his new album ‘Ninja Tuna’ on it – and it’s the first thing we’ve seen similar to what we did in the UK.

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Now you may think that such fancy packaging may be compensating for something, look but I assure you that the album is equally as good. It has all the jazzy hip hop stylings you expect from Mr. Scruff, but with a few forward thinking surprises thrown in for good measure.

The high point of the album for me has to be Roots Manuva’s cameo on ‘Nice Up The Function’. It’s a far cry from their previous collaboration ‘Jus Jus’ on Scruff’s second album ‘Keep It Unreal’ – something of a standard Roots Manuva tune (if that’s possible).

Scruff has a philosophy behind his music, in which ‘drinking tea holds mythological status and where it’s always music that gets you high’ – which lead me to believe that perhaps he’s just a little bit too much free time lately to be thinking about these things. It did mean however that a tin of organic tea bags was also sent to us. I’ve now listened to the album when drinking tea, and when I have not been drinking tea. My verdict is that the tea makes no difference to your listening pleasure, but is quite nice.

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Every year at two different creative cities in Europe, buy more about Illustrative International Art Forum displays the best in graphics and illustrative arts. This year is happening at Zurich and displays over 400 works from more than 60 artists. This two week long festival aims to exchange ideas, treatment promote emerging new talent as well as rediscovering current trends. With conferences, film programs, book art, illustration and concept art added to the mix, the festival promises to titillate the creative senses. At the end of the festival a Young Illustrators award will be presented to the best young talent. Why not have a peek at the talented bunch’s work. You might even pick up some inspiration. Here’s a few bits of art that tickled my fancy:

heiko windisch:
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dave prosser:
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olaf hajek:
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keith jones:
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andrew hem:
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tara gschwend:
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I walked along to this gig not expecting anything particularly unusual, viagra little was I to know that I would walk away from it wondering whether it may have actually been the best thing I had seen all year.

It was the last night of the tour, which always kind of suggests that you’re in for something special. Jape take to the stage and announce that they’re most excited about the fact that they’ll soon be able to go home and wash their clothes. Their set however suggests they’re a bit more excited than they let on. The singer is literally leaping as he thrashes his drum machine.

As a support band they more than fit the bill. They’re a band not a lot of the people in the room would have known of before the gig, but they manage to get a pretty good reaction. I can’t help but think that their songs don’t seem to have quite enough body to them though. They make Tom Vek styled electronica that could be brought to life by laying off with the use of backing tracks and adding a couple of band members. In my opinion you just can’t beat doing things live. Obviously some bands are great using purely electronics and sampler, but I think Jape’s style of music just doesn’t quite suit it.

Friendly Fires have been a real favourite of mine for quite some time. They have the same chic, funk sound LCD Soundsystem mastered, but with a little more swagger and panache. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane demonstrates some of this panache by strutting and wriggling around the stage like a man possessed.

They open with ‘Photobooth’; one of their songs that I think is slightly overlooked. Out of all their songs I think it has to be the best demonstation of their songwriting skills. But then it was the song that first got me interested in them. So perhaps I’m a little biased.

I expected the crowd to be standing through their album tracks, waiting for them to play the hits. I was sorely mistaken though. Not that they have any bad album tracks, I just thought they would be hard to make enjoyable live. I was sorely, sorely mistaken. ‘White Diamonds’ and ‘Strobe’ were perhaps some of the highlights from their set. The band took them to whole new levels, and the light shows that went along with it more nothing short of dazzling.

Understandably ‘Paris’ and ‘On Board’ seem to kick the crowd into a frenzy, and it’s at this point that they let off confetti launchers. Usually I’d say this was pretty gimmicky, but I’ll let it pass, it was the last night of their tour.

They finish their set with recent single ‘Jump In The Pool’, and about half way through some Brazilian drummers and carnival dancers appear on stage. From then on the song just builds and builds until everyone in the crowd’s faces are awestruck. Ending your tour with a miniature carnival works, and as the stampeed of everybody trying to leave the building began, the only words on people’s lips were “Wow!”

Categories ,Friendly Fires, ,Jape, ,Kings College, ,Live, ,Music, ,Review

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Standon Calling


Illustration by Donna McKenzie

Regular readers of Amelia’s Magazine will know that we covered the Maison Martin Margiela 20 exhibition last March, visit when it showed in fashion capital Antwerp.

But, price since it’s moved to our very own fashion capital, we thought we’d have another look, and get some of our wonderful illustrators involved!

Somerset House is quickly becoming a fashion hot spot, with the rehoming of London Fashion Week and the recent SHOWstudio sessions. It’s clear why, too – it’s bloody beautiful.

This is the third outing for the Maison Martin Margiela exhibition, after seasons in Antwerp and Munich, so actually it’s the label’s 22nd anniversary this year, but who cares? I’ll use any excuse to have a poke around a fashion archive.


Illustration by Louise McLennan

The exhibition, set in Somerset House’s lower galleries and you’d be forgiven for believing, if this building wasn’t centuries old, that the space had been purpose-built for this nostalgic trip down Margiela memory lane.

All but a couple of the rooms are white-washed in typical Margiela fashion, and while the exhibition allows us to explore the history of this conceptual and inspirational label, it still give nothing away about the elusive man himself.


Illustration by Amy Martino

Instead of being a chronological or nostalgic display, the aim of this exhbition is to explore the key themes of Maison Martin Margiela, including the inspiration behind each collection and the techniques used.

So it is the quirks that have made this brand truly unique that are given most attention. We begin with a look at the anniversary catwalk show, amongst a lot of polystyrene models, whilst mooching along a row of rather battered Tabi shoes.


Illustration by Donna McKenzie

The bulk of the exhibition explores varying collections and what made them stand out alongside so many other fashion designers of the time. Flat-pack clothing, XXXL oversized pieces, painted garments, narrow tailoring, the trench coat, and the re-visioning of old garments. We also see the evolution of Margiela’s elusivity – first it was a slash of paint across a model’s face, then a blindfold, and then the infamous sunglasses (which I was so tempted to lift I had to walk around with my hands in my pockets. Damn I wish I’d bought them – what a collector’s item).


Illustration by Farzeen Jabbar

One room is devoted to archive footage, film and photographs from across the collections – the room is dark and has white lounge chairs for you to kick back and revel in some of the most iconic fashion images of the last two decades.


Illustration by Zarina Liew

Whether you like fashion or not, I’m entirely convinced that you will love this exhibition – it breaks the boundaries of typical gallery design and it is incredibly inspirational – Go See It!

You can read a full review of the Antwerp exhibition (which was exactly the same exhibition, I promise) here.

For the all important details, visit our listings section.

Most bands have a limited shelf life, medicine especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.

British indie rock band Delays have so far managed to defy the odds. They have gone from strength to strength, following the release of their debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ in 2004. Six years on, the four-piece are set to release their forth record, ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel’ produced by Duncan Lewis.

In a tiny room in the basement of music venue Water Rats in King’s Cross – decorated with blue and white fairy lights, a few old shelves and an enormous brightly coloured abstract painting – I join spiritual front man Greg Gilbert (GG) and down-to-earth drummer Rowly (R) before they take to the stage at their sold out London gig, to talk about their latest album, town criers and livin’ it up at Glastonbury over lime-flavoured Doritos

How would you describe your new album in three words?
GG: Rustic, organic and psychedelic
R: I don’t like organic, it sounds a bit vegetably
GG: OK then; rustic, psychedelic and melancholic
R: Yeah, that sounds better – I second that emotion
GG: Or we could say “Our. Best. Album” – three words – succinct and to the point

What has inspired your latest album?
GG: Our last album had a lot of orchestral arrangements and there was a real urge between the four of us to strip the sound back and become a four-piece band again. With that in mind we started to go for long drives at night along the New Forest, making music to soundtrack the journey. We built the record from the ground up and it was just a case of being inspired by the environment opposed to any concerns about writing a single. We banned the words ‘single’ and ‘commercial’ from the studio.
R: We used to do it all the time; we would say: “I think this one’s a single”, which makes you approach making music differently. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, reacquainting ourselves with the city and each other again, which does come through on the record. The result is a much more personal and honest sound.

How have you found the audience’s response to your new material so far?
GG: We’ve found that people who wouldn’t have liked our previous stuff have been positive about the new album. They’re responding to the fact that it’s a more personal record – they’re getting from it more from us as individuals then a commodity. So far, the people who have heard our record think it’s the best one.
R: The new tracks are going down just as well as our old stuff. It’s a great feeling when the roar for a new song is as enthusiastic as for an old song, like ‘Long Time Coming’.

How do you think your sound has evolved over the years?

GG: The first album sounds like a beach, the second album sounds like a club, the third album sounds like a festival and this album sounds like the forest, with the roots growing underneath the city at night making the buildings shake whilst you’re asleep. The first album is quite delicate because we recorded that before we toured so there was a certain amount of discovery. For the second album we worked with Graham Sutton who is genius producer; he brought a real club edge to the record which had a raw but beautiful precision about it.
R: We wrote the third album with the approach that it would be amazing at a festival; it’s big and bombastic and sounds like you’re playing it to 100,000 people rather then making a record for headphones.
GG: This album’s much more abstract; you can hear this on a beach in Scandinavia at two in the morning with mist flowing in the morning. We were trying to create a record which maintained a mood and an atmosphere which carries you into different surroundings. I think the best records take you to different worlds and that’s what we tried to emulate.
R: It’s not necessarily one genre of music. There’s a certain atmosphere which you can’t quite put your finger on, but it works for late night drives with aerial views over the city.

What’s your proudest achievement to date?
GG: To me it’s the fact that we’re about to release our fourth album and our songs are still playing on the radio. Very few bands get to make four albums so that makes me feel very proud. We’ve been around since 2004 and we’ve managed to sustain and grow our fan base in a way that has been pure because there is no hype now around what we do.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?
R: I’ve been going to Glastonbury for years so to play there was amazing. I was really ill on the day and I came so close to calling the others to say I couldn’t do it, but by the time it came to going on stage I’d never felt so healthy in all my life – Glastonbury has that effect, it wakes you up. There was another time when we played in Mexico City; we were headlining on one of the nights at a festival called ‘Manifest’ and we had no idea how big it was going to be. There were 6,000 people crammed into a wrestling/bullfighting arena all chanting ‘Delays, Delays!”. We were slightly in shock for the first couple of numbers.

Did you have any ridiculous demands on your rider in the early days that you don’t feel embarrassed about fessing up to now?
R: I don’t think our rider has changed much since the start; just the same stuff: vodka, beer, water bottles. In the beginning we did have one thing that we thought would be great to collect, which was to have a picture of the local mayor from every town where we played. The only one we got in the end was from Gloucester where they gave us a picture of the town crier which they also got signed – that was ace!

Now that you have played with your long-term idols the Manic Street Preachers, who would you most like to support?
GG: I always come back to Prince. I’m also pretty obsessed with Scott Walker at the moment – he’s the musician I most admire. I’m not sure how we’d go down with his audience but he’s awesome.
R: It’s still The (Rolling) Stones for me. Apparently we did get an offer to support them in Vienna about three years ago but we were already booked in for a festival in Wales on the same day.
GG: Keith Richards is pretty much top of the tree when it comes to rock and roll. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again…

Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.


Now this one has us rubbing our hands together in excitement. It’s not just the music that is getting us hot under the collar – although the line up is pretty electrifying. Standon Calling has a well earned reputation for having its finger on the new music pulse, prostate and this years festival is no exception. It’s also because of the care and attention to detail that Standon has put into their event, pharm once again highlighting the difference between the sprawling, stuff amorphous and messy mega-festivals and their small -but perfectly formed boutique counterparts.


Danish collective Efterklang will be playing at Standon Calling


As will Telepathe, who we discovered last year. Read our coverage of them here.

Known for being keen champions of upcoming talent, Standon has put artists on the stage at times in their career when they still needed people to take a chance on them; case in point, Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Mumford & Sons have all played at Standon a good year before they orbited into the festival stratosphere. So stay close to the stages this year, to see the cutting edge and critically acclaimed artists that everyone will be talking about in the next few months. Joining Metronomy, British Sea Power, Steve Mason, Jeffrey Lewis, Alice Russell and The Magic Numbers will be Danish collective Efterklang (who we will be interviewing shortly), Southend art-rockers These New Puritans, upbeat electro-popsters Casiokids, a DJ set by Tom Ravenscroft, one of Brooklyn’s finest exports, Telepathe, and a band who we will support until the end of time, Lulu And The Lampshades, (the lead singer is an ex-Amelia’s Magazine staffer). Of course, this list is but a drop in the ocean of the final line-up, check Standon’s website for all the details.


Look out for Casiokids, playing at Standon 2010

As we mentioned earlier, a lot of love, time and energy has gone into planning Standon and making sure that it not only meets, but improves upon the check list that a seasoned festival goer might have. Living up to their boutique credentials, the thoughtful folk understand that you can love music and still want to maintain basic hygienic standards, so they have laid on extra (and ‘top class’, no less) showers and toilets for the campers, and for those who are bringing water-wings – always be safe, kids – Standon are in the unique position of having a swimming pool at their disposal to offer up. But here’s what I like best about the Standon experience, and I could probably write a festival preview on this basis alone; the Standon ‘fairies’ leave a revitalising drink outside each guests tent in the morning. Seeing that my drink of choice at a festival is Vodka and Berocca, I can’t think of anything more thoughtful, necessary or appropriate for a three day festival. Note to other festivals, take your cue from Standon!


Pack your cossie for a dip in Standon’s pool

Standon Calling is held from 6th – 8th August, in Standon, Hertfordshire, around 40 miles outside of London. There are several options for tickets; a full adult weekend ticket costs £95 (a Sunday day pass is also available). Check the website for details on tickets and various options for camping, including tipis and yurts.

Standon Calling is also running a competition that will appeal to a huge section of our readers.They are inviting designers, artists and illustrators to design a t-shirt, with the winning entry being turned into festival merchandise. The competition will be judged by a panel of creatives and illustrators. Here’s a bit more information from the people behind Standon:

This year’s theme is ‘Murder on the Standon Express’ so think murder, mystery, mayhem and madness. A panel of established arts professionals will judge the designs, with the winner receiving two VIP festival packages including boutique camping, as well as seeing their T-shirt printed. The winning artist will also be featured on the festival website. This isn’t a money-making exercise, so any proceeds will be donated to charity.

How to enter
-Please email your design to design@standoncalling.com before the 21st June 2010 as a moderately high j-peg (at least 1500-pixels wide). Although please note that the final artwork will need to be supplied as either a colour separated PSD file or a vector/bitmap based Illustrator file.
-Your design should contain a maximum of three colours.
-Your design should not contain any copyrighted material.
-Please don’t include any fancy pants printing techniques, such as glow in dark, fuzzy felt or marmite.

Categories ,British Sea Power, ,casiokids, ,festival preview, ,Florence and The Machine, ,Friendly Fires, ,Illustrator Brief, ,Indie, ,Jeffrey Lewis, ,Mumford and Sons, ,Standon Calling, ,telepathe, ,The Magic Numbers, ,Tom Ravenscroft

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