Amelia’s Magazine | A Summer Punch Up at Sutton House: Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Party Review

Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn
Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn

Staycations. A word us Brits are getting more and more used to: when the sun shines, there is honestly just no place like home. Great Britain has been the centre of attention this summer. After all, if it’s good enough for world record holders and a Queen, it’s good enough for us. The beautiful rolling green hills, still blues lakes and near-empty endless beaches. We’re spoilt for these spots, everywhere. So why not celebrate them? Forget the rain and embrace our terrain right? Right. Amelia’s Magazine music favourites, Kotki Dwa, well and truly do. So much so, Staycations is the title of their follow-up album. But wait… Here comes a very interesting tale.

While fans sat patiently waiting for second record news, the boys Alex, Tom and Tristan, were hatching quite the plan. An idea long in the making, came true this summer on 2nd July, the release date of the album. And this plan? To ask the National Trust to be their record label. They gave a firm yes!

Kotki Dwa Cakes by Abi Renshaw
Kotki Dwa rice paper printed jam cupcakes by Abi Renshaw

So we’ve all been to a National Trust property right? Yes? Well there are over two hundred historic houses open to the public. Your folks probably took you to an endless amount as a kid. Visiting these properties seemed like a staple part of growing up. Now I’ve hopefully got you reminiscing, it’s filled you with fond memories hasn’t it. The pristine gardens (with a maze if you were lucky), the delicious dairy ice cream from the café, the views from high above. Kotki Dwa thought the same. Dreamt up by the boys, which must feel like an awfully long time ago now, was this rather genius idea. Once they secured the all-important ‘yes’, the possibilities became endless. They knew exactly that this would open all kinds of (historic and stately) doors – to be inspired by, write about and record in.

A Summer Punch Up on Saturday 14th July was their big night. The album was out there, glowing reviews were flowing from Pitchfork, the Guardian and the BBC. This launch party was set to go off. Plus, the venue was quite special in it’s own right. Many ran through the doors bang on 7pm into Sutton House, Hackney’s oldest house and a National Trust gem. So much so, Alex spilled they wrote a track based on its ghost. Buried deep in Homerton, 80 lucky people got to party in this property, built in 1535 by a prominent courtier of Henry VIII. WOW. The Summer (it was raining) Punch Up started with the twilight punch picnic.

Cucumber triangle sandwiches, scotch eggs, jam filled cupcakes with their Polish name on rice paper (lovely touch and too pretty to eat) and flower cakes fashioned in plant pots with Oreo ‘soil’. Delicious.

Kotki Dwa Summer Punch by Edie OP
The Summer Punch Up cocktails menu by Edie OP

They even had themed cocktails after three of their songs. Outside in the bunting-filled courtyard was an ice cream cart. Pay a donation for a scrummy pot of Taywell and cover it in their home-made Pimms syrup. Yeah!

Supporting Kotki Dwa were two fantastic bands, Glaciers and Niteflights. Each surrounded by Kotki Dwa’s British holiday themed set of picnic hampers, hay bales and a snorkel. Once the twilight picnic had gone down and the dancing to both bands over, it was to be their finest hour. The first quarter of the hall filled with the 80 strong crowd. I’m pretty small in height so was pleased with my wing position right by the grand piano, oohhh. The room was beautiful, with its red walls and high beams. Sticking to songs solely from Staycations, you could just see it in their faces, how happy they were they’d got to here. The idea had become an album, and it was rattling that ghost upstairs no doubt. I very much enjoyed the heavily loud instrumental ending of The Wolf, and the single Poison required some serious dancing. The absolute highlight for me was during the song Staycations. A girl dressed in a crab costume was throwing beach balls into the crowd to lyrics such as ‘you la la like it when we go away’ and ‘didn’t I read that sunshine repairs your sanity’. A fantastic night ending with a disco hosted by DJs Midnight A-Go-Go and NZCA/LINES.

Kotki Dwa King Crab by Dan Morison
King Crab by Dan Morison

Oh to re-live that night all over again, yes please! I did the next best thing, I quizzed singer Alex about how they bagged the National Trust as their label and where you can see them play live this summer: read my interview with Alex Ostrowski here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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Amelia’s Magazine | Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Interview with Alex Ostrowski

Kotki Dwa at Sutton House by Sam Parr
The band at their Sutton House album launch by Sam Parr

Your 5 track EP ‘Lunch‘ came out in November 2011. Before that, It had been a wee while since you put any music out other than your Halloween video and exclusive Amelia’s Mag song for the USB Issue. Did this help you prepare for writing and recording Staycations, plus getting you back into performing live no doubt?

Yes we tend to leave quite big gaps in between our major projects. This time around it gave us the chance to develop our sound in the ways we’d been wanting to. The Lunch EP was kind of a ‘study’ to try out some new ways of doing things, moving forwards from our first album. We’d been working out how to be more economical with our part writing, so that things slotted together more deftly. Hopefully that comes through on the new album.

Great videos have always featured pretty heavily with your singles. I was locked in when I watched Robin’s Clogs! You all look like you have a lot of fun making them. As the three of you are all a creative bunch, this must be a pretty great extension of making music right?

We do love making videos and tend to have a lot of fun making them, perhaps too much sometimes! It’s good having a different outlet for ideas.

Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard
Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard

Love the new video directed by Hattie Newman for the song Staycations. Plus she just played flute for a track at your gig. Where did you film this?

It was actually directed by Geoffrey Taylor but art directed by Hattie Newman (she worked with Geoffrey on all the styling and made some cool props). We’re pretty good friends the lot of us, so we all mucked in. To make the video we went on a jaunt around Great Britain, trying to take in the jaw dropping sights of the National Trust’s properties around the country, whilst also changing battery packs, avoiding parking tickets and generally trying to make a music video on the fly with only a few warm scotch eggs to fuel us.

Everyone loves a scotch egg. I’m sure many bands are kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with approaching the National Trust. Are they doing exactly as any other record label would?

We approached the National Trust a long time ago with our ideas. They’ve been great sports and have supported us with many of the resources that a record label might sort out — space to record in, help promoting the album etc. Fundamentally the setup has enabled us to operate very independently and do everything exactly how we’ve wanted to, which is good fun and never disappointing.

All the teapots inside Sutton House
All the teapots inside Sutton House

So, as you started to formulate a plan to approach the National Trust, how did you do it? I imagine no one had ever asked them to be their record label before. Did they sit and think on it or jump at the chance to be involved? You must have been dying to tell everyone…

It was tempting to tell people about it in the early stages but we kept schtum. We approached the National Trust very carefully and very directly as a band. We knew exactly what we wanted to ask, and we knew exactly what the reasons were for them to say yes, so we explained everything with as much clarity as possible so that they would understand what we were on about. They got it pretty quickly and it took a couple of months to put the plan in place, but we got there!

How did this lightning bolt idea arise? I’d love to think you were just in a castle and thought, hey, imagine recording a track in here!

We wanted to partner with somebody other than a label for the release, because we thought it would throw up some interesting challenges. We’d already decided upon the title of our new album – Staycations – which we chose for its bittersweet connotations. And so, the National Trust sprang to mind because they look after so much of the British outdoors and so many weird & wonderful places for us to record in.

Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations
Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations

How many places did you visit up and down Great Britain in all? Do you have a favourite one? Did you write the album before or after these visits?

I think we’ve lost count. We’ve been to the Yorkshire Dales, Borrowdale and Upper Wharfedale in the Lake District, Heysham Head on the West Coast, Arnside Knott, Box Hill in Surrey, Pulpit Woods, Pitstone Windmill, plenty of the London properties including Fenton House, 2 Willow Road and Sutton House – the oldest house in Hackney! We really enjoyed visiting Malham Tarn in Yorkshire, where we had a relaxing boat ride.

Any plans to do anything further with them? I guess they’re helping you by stocking it in their NT shops now right? How many did you press?

We’ve just done a launch show at Sutton House, which the National Trust look after. We also put on a special exhibition at YCN on Rivington Street which showed some National Trust bits including some amazing old postcards which show some of the places they still look after today. We have stocked the album in a handful of their shops too which is nice, only fifty special physicals in existence.

Yes I have one. It’s hand bound in cloth with a lyric-postcard set and 4-colour risograph poster. Staycations has had good things written about it by the Guardian and Pitchfork. It couldn’t have gone much better!

It’s very flattering and we’re truly delighted by the response. We’ve been working on this for so long so it’s great to hear that people are enjoying the results. Hopefully if people enjoy the album they’ll buy it via our website!

During the making of Staycations video
During the making of Staycations video

Yes, it’s great you are selling it through Bandcamp. You all must be super chuffed with how well it’s all going. Especially as your loyal fans got to snap up just 50 limited edition CDs. Your original artwork or unusual features have been a pretty strong USP for Kotki Dwa. For instance, with the yellow Robin’s Clogs vinyl, I got the CD single, a flower pressed badge and fold out poster with lyrics. You really do think about the whole package, where many bands just don’t. Do you enjoy providing all these touches on the side of your music or is it just as important?

Yeah we enjoy making the whole thing as perfect as we can. We’re a fairly small operation so when we do something we do it wholeheartedly. I work as a designer at YCN so that comes in handy on the packaging front.

For me it makes it more treasured. Plus you obviously want your fans at your gigs to know the lyrics. For instance, with the Staycations MP3 version, I’m shown the lyrics on my iPhone! Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before!

Really? Cool, didn’t know that!

The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle
The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle

Well what a nice surprise! The album launch for Staycations: A Summer Punch Up, how did it go?

We had a really great time! We recorded some of the album at Sutton House so it was nice to revisit for a party. We had some great other bands playing too — Glaciers, fronted by brilliant illustrator Nic Burrows, and Niteflights who are an impressive new 4 piece well worth a listen.

Have you had to abide by a load of restrictions, like no noise after 10pm and you have to wear white cotton gloves?

National Trust visiting hours tend to be from 11 until 5 we’ve found, although we’ve bent a few rules like that over the past year! I did have to audition in order to be allowed to borrow one of the Trust’s oldest harpsichords though. Luckily I passed the audition and got to record with it — it’s on the album!

Inside the limited edition Staycations
Inside the limited edition Staycations

Oh great! Have you pencilled in a UK tour for this year? Any other events planned like your Polish paper-cutting workshop?

Well we’re playing Midnight A-Go-Go in London on 25th August, which will be fun. Let’s see what else comes up…

You can catch Kotki Dwa playing at Midnight A-Go-Go on Saturday 25th August at The Waiting Room (underneath The Three Crowns) on Stoke Newington High Street. 9pm – 4am and tickets are just £5. Read my review of the Staycations launch at Sutton House here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Kotki Dwa Comeback: just in time for Halloween

JoeWorricker_by_Sandra Dufour
You’ve just released Finger-waggers. What’s this song about and why the name?
I wrote Finger-Waggers when my hair was so shockingly large people used to pull at it in clubs and take the piss. It’s about the importance of self-love and not letting people tell you how to be. Each of us are only here for a short time and we should be whatever we want to be

What’s the idea behind the video?
It’s set at a tupperware party with posh ladies who are the finger-waggers. The director Lily Smith did a fantastic job, buy she has made it look amazing.

Your sound is a pretty unique combination of pop, purchase indie and soul. How would you describe it and why?
The songs are Beatles, The Marvelettes, Debussy and Kate Bush mixed and the vocal is a weird soul voice I suppose. 

You’ve already been hailed as a new soul sensation – how does this feel? What do your mates mates say to you on the subject?
It’s an amazing feeling when someone appreciates your work. What’s important is how you feel about it. For my first album I’m proud and think I’ve set good starting ground for future things to come. My friends are really supportive and always come to my gigs.

When did you start singing, and how did you end up signed to Rough Trade?
I started singing to Disney songs when I was a baby and haven’t stopped since. When I was gigging round London some music peeps got talking, Rough Trade heard about me and came to watch me in Soho. They then invited me in and offered me a deal

What was it like growing up in Essex – did you live the life of a typical “essex boy”? PS what do you think of the new real life soap The Only Way is Essex – is this the Essex you knew? is it an apt representation of life in Essex?! or not at all….
I probably lived the Essex girl life more. Went out every weekend to binge drink underage with my girl mates and wore and still wear excessive amounts of fake tan. Although I get St Tropez now which is the best in the business, where then it was very cheap rub on tan; I’ve matured. I haven’t seen the show yet, but everyone has been banging on about it. Yes, there are people like the people you see on the programme for sure

X Factor: what’s your opinion? Did you ever enter any talent competitions as a teenager?
Talent competitions can be amazing platforms for people. Jennifer Hudson being the best example, who is totally sensational and may have never been discovered otherwise. I entered the X-Factor when I was 18. I didn’t get through though, I think they were scared of my voice.

Where are you living at the moment and why? 
Fitzrovia. I only live in areas where I can walk to Soho in 5 minutes or less
 
You’re a proactive twitter user – what do you use twitter for?
It’s good for letting people who are interested in your music know about gigs, singles and the generally rubbish you are getting up to. Perfect for potential stalkers.

When can people catch you live? What can they expect from a Joe Worricker live performance and why should they come to see you?
My London headline show at XOYO on 16th November in Old Street. They should come see me coz I’m better live and i’m extra gifted at talking rubbish between the songs

What makes the best kind of party?
Vodka, hilarious music, getting naked in the early hours

When can we expect a debut album, and have you got a name for it yet? go on… give us a bit of a clue…
It is released in the new year. It is the title of the 1st song I wrote for the album. The song is about a moment of profound beauty and clarity when every fear and worry about life fell out of my head and I could see the world clearly

Illustration by Lesley Barnes

Coco Chanel the name synonymous with French fashion, website like this so carefully cultivated by Karl Largerfield, he feels as if a caretaker at the same time as being an innovative fashion designer such is the call of the Chanel Staples. Each catwalk is a reinvention of the tweeds, the stars, the numbers, simplistic beauty is what Chanel conjures and it is what it achieves.

Justine Picardie is a journalist for the Telegraph and an author who produces both fiction and non fiction, for the last 13 years her side project has been researching Coco Chanel. Picard opened her talk on the publication of her Chanel Biography with the statement that the V&A is the heart of Fashion, forget Topshop!

Illustration by Joana Faria

How could I pass up the opportunity to find out more about this ever present, but ever distant fashion designer? Especially as I am yet to watch either of the recent films made about her early life…

It was the perfect talk – full of teasers about what the book contained alongside interesting insights into Coco’s design aesthetic – the monestry where she grew up the walls were embedded with stars, similar to what would later feature in her designs.

A talented speaker, Justine enraptured the audience with tales of Chanel’s rise from rags to riches polevaulting through French Society’s conventions that those born in a certain place – should stay on the rung of society they were born. Luckily, not only for Haute Couture but for women everywhere who wanted to wear trousers, Chanel made ignoring social conventions a habit of a lifetime.

Illustration by Kelly Angood

“Fashion is very dark, what we wear is what we cover up” Coco Chanel

Not for Chanel the corsets of early 1900′s France – no, the most striking thing about Chanel was seeing the pictures of her in a style that has inudated our subconscious – from the wearing of trousers to single handily popularising the Breton Stripe. Most importantly Chanel was an avid wearer of the flat show – not for her the gravity defying, walk preventing spindly heels that seem so popular not only on the catwalk but that shop which nestles within the heart of Oxford Street, Topshop.

Illustration by Maria del Carmen SmithAn aside, notice how Chanel sits on the horse in jodphurs, rather than side saddle, a fairly political statement at a time when most women were bound in corsets.

Chanel was funded by Boy Capell, the man in the above illustration, as soon as the Fashion House produced revenue, Chanel paid every last penny back. From the start Coco was to be an independent women.

Justine Picardie covered the usual ground of Chanel’s relationship with men, starting with Boy Capell and touching upon her life spent fishing in Scotland with the Duke of Westminister. Through whom Coco met Winston Churchill in the early 1920′s. The discovery of a picture of the two together lead Picard to the ministery of war archives, specifically the archives on Winston Churchill to explore Chanel’s reported relationship with a German Soldier may not have been what has so far been reported, the work of a traitor, but a (slightly naive…) plan -devised perhaps by Coco and regaled to Winston Churchill- to bring the war to an early end. This may seem rather glib, but to find out more and the outcome of Picardie trip to the archives? Sadly the author left this announcement within the pages of her book.

Illustration by Abby Wright

Picardie touched upon the inclusions of the number 5 etc and the use of stars… magical numbers were part of Chanel’s magical thinking… Tarot Cards. Chanel was interested in simple beauty. Justine attributes this magical thinking to her time spent as a child growing up in an ancient monastery, suggesting that the epoynmous chanel star was inspired by the mosiac’s made by Medieval Monks…

Illustration by Antonia Parker

Justine Picardie described fashion as “a series of Hauntings” and finished the talk with a wish for a book on the continuation of Chanel by Karl Largerfield, to conclude that such a book could only be written once Largerfield had left Chanel and quite possibly this planet… Coco Chanel, The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie is on my christmas list!

Illustration by Lesley Barnes

Coco Chanel, ampoule the name synonymous with fashion, website like this Paris or otherwise has been so carefully cultivated by Karl Largerfield, he feels at times, as if a gentle caretaker – such is the call of the Chanel Staples. Each season’s Largerfield’s catwalk has produced -whilst channelling his own creative designs- a small reinvention of the tweeds, the stars, the monochrome, the pearls or maintained the simplistic beauty, the word Chanel brings to mind. Chanel is coveted, and her sense of style has embedded itself amongst the designs of the high street, during the talk I found myself playing spot the influence, from the cropped bobs to the presence of stripes on pratically every other member of the audience who found themselves at the V&A that blustery Friday night.

The talk was held by Justine Picardie in celebration of the publication of her new book; Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life. Picardie is a journalist for the Telegraph, an author who writes fiction and non fiction and who has spent the last 13 years researching the life of Coco Chanel. This was an opportunity to discover the person behind the label, that was too good too miss.

Illustration by Joana Faria

A talented speaker, Justine enraptured the audience with tales of Chanel’s rise from rags to riches polevaulting through French Society’s conventions that those born in a certain place – should stay on the rung of society they were born. Luckily, not only for Haute Couture but for women everywhere who wanted to wear trousers, Chanel made ignoring social conventions a habit of a lifetime.

Not for Chanel the corsets of early 1900′s France – no, the most striking photographs of Chanel shown at the talk, documented her investment in a shocking departure from the norm, in the form of trousers and the aforementioned Breton top. Importantly (I am speaking here as someone who despises how reliant high heels make me on those I am travelling with) Chanel was an avid wearer of the flat show – not for her the gravity defying, walk preventing spindly heels that are oh so popular not only on the catwalk but that shop nestling within the heart of Oxford Street; Topshop.

Illustration by Kelly Angood

“Fashion is very dark, what we wear is what we cover up” Coco Chanel

Justine Picardie covered the usual ground of Chanel’s relationship with men, starting with Boy Capell and touching upon her life spent fishing in Scotland with the Duke of Westminister. Through whom Coco met Winston Churchill in the early 1920′s. The discovery of a picture of the two together lead Picard to the ministery of war archives, specifically the archives on Winston Churchill to explore Chanel’s reported relationship with a German Soldier may not have been what has so far been reported, the work of a traitor, but a (slightly naive…) plan -devised perhaps by Coco and regaled to Winston Churchill- to bring the war to an early end. This may seem rather glib, but to find out more and the outcome of Picardie trip to the archives? Sadly the author left this announcement within the pages of her book.

Illustration by Maria del Carmen SmithAn aside, notice how Chanel sits on the horse in jodphurs, rather than side saddle, a fairly political statement at a time when most women were bound in corsets.

It was the perfect talk – full of teasers about the book’s contents alongside interesting insights into the development of the identity of Coco Chanel – from the influence of the monestry where she grew up, to her meeting Boy Capel and Duke of Westminister (with whom she travelled to Scotland and discovered the Scottish Mills who produced the now famous Chanel Tweed).

Chanel was funded by Boy Capell, the man seated on the horse in the above illustration, however, as the Fashion House began to produce revenue, Chanel paid back every penny. From the start Coco was to be an independent women – an undeniably lucky, for her connections with Boy helped her attract clients, but a financially independent one nevertheless.

Illustration by Abby Wright

Picardie touched upon the importance to Chanel of the numbers her perfumes were named after (5,19) etc to the constant use and development of the star motif. In a picture of Chanel’s apartment, Picardie touched upon the presence of tarot cards and the importance of magical thinking alongside Chanel’s training as a seamstress in the creation of the House’s style. Justine attributes this ‘magical thinking’ to her time spent as a child growing up in an ancient monastery, suggesting that the epoynmous Chanel star was inspired by the star mosaics made by the Medieval Monks who originally inhabited the monastery. For more detail, I’m afraid you are going to have to read the book!

Illustration by Antonia Parker

During the talk (which occur weekly on a Friday evening) Justine Picardie described fashion as “a series of Hauntings” and finished the talk with a wish for a book on the continuation of Chanel by Karl Largerfield, to conclude that such a book could only be written once Largerfield had left Chanel and quite possibly this planet…

Coco Chanel, The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie is on my christmas list!

Illustration by Lesley Barnes

Coco Chanel, buy more about the name synonymous with fashion, tadalafil Paris or otherwise has been so carefully cultivated by Karl Largerfield, he feels at times, as if a gentle caretaker – such is the call of the Chanel Staples. Each season’s Largerfield’s catwalk has produced -whilst channelling his own creative designs- a small reinvention of the tweeds, the stars, the monochrome, the pearls or maintained the simplistic beauty, the word Chanel brings to mind. Chanel is coveted, and her sense of style has embedded itself amongst the designs of the high street, during the talk I found myself playing spot the influence, from the cropped bobs to the presence of stripes on pratically every other member of the audience who found themselves at the V&A that blustery Friday night.

The talk was held by Justine Picardie in celebration of the publication of her new book; Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life. Picardie is a journalist for the Telegraph, an author who writes fiction and non fiction and who has spent the last 13 years researching the life of Coco Chanel. This was an opportunity to discover the person behind the label, that was too good too miss.

Illustration by Joana Faria

A talented speaker, Justine enraptured the audience with tales of Chanel’s rise from rags to riches polevaulting through French Society’s conventions that those born in a certain place – should stay on the rung of society they were born. Luckily, not only for Haute Couture but for women everywhere who wanted to wear trousers, Chanel made ignoring social conventions a habit of a lifetime.

Not for Chanel the corsets of early 1900′s France – no, the most striking photographs of Chanel shown at the talk, documented her investment in a shocking departure from the norm, in the form of trousers and the aforementioned Breton top. Importantly (I am speaking here as someone who despises how reliant high heels make me on those I am travelling with) Chanel was an avid wearer of the flat show – not for her the gravity defying, walk preventing spindly heels that are oh so popular not only on the catwalk but that shop nestling within the heart of Oxford Street; Topshop.

Illustration by Kelly Angood

“Fashion is very dark, what we wear is what we cover up” Coco Chanel

Justine Picardie covered the usual ground of Chanel’s relationship with men, starting with Boy Capell and touching upon her life spent fishing in Scotland with the Duke of Westminister. Through whom Coco met Winston Churchill in the early 1920′s. The discovery of a picture of the two together lead Picard to the ministery of war archives, specifically the archives on Winston Churchill to explore Chanel’s reported relationship with a German Soldier may not have been what has so far been reported, the work of a traitor, but a (slightly naive…) plan -devised perhaps by Coco and regaled to Winston Churchill- to bring the war to an early end. This may seem rather glib, but to find out more and the outcome of Picardie trip to the archives? Sadly the author left this announcement within the pages of her book.

Illustration by Maria del Carmen SmithAn aside, notice how Chanel sits on the horse in jodphurs, rather than side saddle, a fairly political statement at a time when most women were bound in corsets.

It was the perfect talk – full of teasers about the book’s contents alongside interesting insights into the development of the identity of Coco Chanel – from the influence of the monestry where she grew up, to her meeting Boy Capel and Duke of Westminister (with whom she travelled to Scotland and discovered the Scottish Mills who produced the now famous Chanel Tweed).

Chanel was funded by Boy Capell, the man seated on the horse in the above illustration, however, as the Fashion House began to produce revenue, Chanel paid back every penny. From the start Coco was to be an independent women – an undeniably lucky, for her connections with Boy helped her attract clients, but a financially independent one nevertheless.

Illustration by Abby Wright

Picardie touched upon the importance to Chanel of the numbers her perfumes were named after (5,19) etc to the constant use and development of the star motif. In a picture of Chanel’s apartment, Picardie touched upon the presence of tarot cards and the importance of magical thinking alongside Chanel’s training as a seamstress in the creation of the House’s style. Justine attributes this ‘magical thinking’ to her time spent as a child growing up in an ancient monastery, suggesting that the epoynmous Chanel star was inspired by the star mosaics made by the Medieval Monks who originally inhabited the monastery. For more detail, I’m afraid you are going to have to read the book!

Illustration by Antonia Parker

During the talk (which occur weekly on a Friday evening) Justine Picardie described fashion as “a series of Hauntings” and finished the talk with a wish for a book on the continuation of Chanel by Karl Largerfield, to conclude that such a book could only be written once Largerfield had left Chanel and quite possibly this planet…

Coco Chanel, The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie is on my christmas list!

Kotki Dwa by Alex Edouard
Kotki Dwa by Alex Edouard. Set design by Hattie Newman.

As anyone who knows me well will know I get VERY excited about Halloween. And so I was even more excited to discover that the bouncy Kotki Dwa have just released a comeback single and accompanying video titled especially for the occasion. I thought I’d better catch up and get the low down on all this Halloween business…. and anyway what precisely have Kotki Dwa been up to?

So, viagra dosage the first question has to be, where have you been? You’ve been very quiet since we last featured you in Amelia’s Magazine!
We’ve been very busy indeed! Alongside our music we’re passionate about other things – Tom is a zoologically trained ecologist working for The National Trust in Yorkshire, Alex is a graphic designer working in London, and Tristan is studying ‘interdisciplinary design’ in Bristol. Aside from that, we’ve been working on new music together – which we’re now ready to start sharing with people!

Your comeback single is titled Halloween and is cunningly released this week…. just before Halloween. What inspired you to do such a thing?
The song’s lyrics were actually written around last Halloween, but it’s taken us a year to get round to finishing and releasing it! So really, it’s a SPOOKY COINCIDENCE…

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Can you tell us more about the video – it looks really fun. How was it made and by whom?
We had lots of fun making the video with our friends Carmel & Harry aka Loopshapers. Alex met Carmel at Art College and they collaborated on our previous video Robin’s Clogs as well. This time we decided to use this cool old Super 8mm camera to try and get some creepy 1950s B-Movie style results, to go with the Halloween theme! Carmel & Harry carefully processed the film with chemicals by hand, which makes it lovely and scratchy. The people in the video are loads of our friends, most of whom were making their acting debut.

Any funny stories from on set that you can share with us?
There were quite a few silly moments – you get some funny looks walking through Peckham dressed like a zombie in a dicky bow and bright red show jacket! At one point we accidentally stumbled through a Sunday family fairground and scared a few children – we had our guitars over our shoulders and one man even thought we were going to play on the stage! Oh, also some of the footage got ruined during processing. Actually, that wasn’t funny at all.

I love the press photo of you all covered in yarn – who’s behind this? it reminds me of the really fun image we had of you in the bathtub for issue 9 of Amelia’s Magazine.
Thank you! We thought it would be a fun idea – set making extraordinaire Hattie Newman made us magical cardboard keyboard, with all the wool coming out the back like wires. The photo was taken by Alex Edouard in Hattie’s studio.

Kotki Dwa portrait

How will you be celebrating Halloween this year? and what will you be dressing up as?
We won’t be together unfortunately, but separately we’ll but getting up to some ghoulish antics for sure. Alex is going to a bonkers veterinary themed party with live stuffed-critter operations! Also definitely going to be watching a LOT of horror movies this weekend. Developed a bit of an addiction during early teenage years and still love a good bit of fright!

Any top Halloween tips?
Just make the most of it because you only get one chance a year. Do everything – carve a pumpkin, apple bob, turn the lights off, scream, gel your hair so hard that it feels like it could crack, stock up on sweets for the trick-or-treaters, eat them all, watch Hocus Pocus and probably fall asleep in your cape.

And finally… What next for Kotki Dwa?
We’re playing two London gigs in November – Saturday 20th at The Stag’s Head in Dalston, and Thursday 25th at The Lexington in Angel. We’ll have three more new songs up our sleeves to share, so come on down! We’ll also continue to develop our new material and get on with releasing more of it – so stay tuned. Fangs for having us Amelia…

Categories ,Alex Edouard, ,dalston, ,Hallowe’en, ,Hattie Newman, ,Hocus Pocus, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Loopshapers, ,Peckham, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Super8, ,The Lexington, ,The Stag’s Head

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