Ante Magazine Issue 01

NO 01

M U S IC | ART | S TREET CU LTU RE

HUF HEALTH UNDFTD NEON INDIAN KILLIAN MARTIN

THE DIAMOND ISSUE

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EDITORIAL:

Love the Ante Team

ante:

Contributors:

Contact:

Editor in Chief: Ava Nirui

Editorial: Alexander Craig Teresa Cong Benji Jacobs Lizzy Pattinson Garth Travers

For all editorial needs: editorial@antemagazine.tv

Creative Director: Nina Harcus Advertising: Alexander Craig

Design/Art: Samuel Corlett Steph Tsimbourlas Emiel Saada

For anything PR or Advertising: advertising@antemagazine.tv All design enquiries and contacts: design@antemagazine.tv

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www.facebook.com/antemagazine Ante Magazine assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions.

Ante Magazine is provided ‘as is,’ for your entertainment and information only, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringment. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Copyright 2011

ARMOURDILLOBRAND.COM

grolsch/ Vanmoof To celebrate

the release of Grolsch Draught in Australia, much to the delight of hundreds of trendy, bearded connoisseurs, the boys at Grolsch have linked up with their fellow flying Dutchmen over at Vanmoof to create the ultimate urban bicycle. Producing a beautiful fusion of function and form, the team at Vanmoof have built the bike from lightweight aluminum, cutting it down to the bare essentials. It consists of a simple 3 hubintegrated gear system, back-pedal brakes and a wooden basket which conveniently fits exactly 24 Grolsch bottles. On top of all this, it rocks a clean paint job with an uncanny resemblance to a beer bottle on wheels.

In terms of performance, 3 minutes into a roll down to your local and you feel like you’re riding a monster truck; the bike is indestructible.

Although the bikes aren’t for individual sale, they’ve been displayed over the last few months at a limited number of bars and cafes around town. The only way to cop one is by winning it with the purchase of a Grolsch Draught from a participating venue. All the bike needs now is a box-logo and half of Sydney will be sculling Grolsch like water in an attempt to get their grubby little mits on one of these bad boys. After riding it, I noticed it has 3 too many gears and 2 too many brakes, but then again not everyone can be as big a hellman as me. In all seriousness though, props to the boys at Grolsch and Vanmoof for producing a rad collab, looking forward to seeing more from all you dudes in the near future.

Words: Benji Jacobs

www.grandscheme.com.au

Jimmy Bliggs Designer behind fresh-todeath Australian Streetwear label Grand Scheme chats with us on the creation of the brand, artist collaborations, New Balance 574 and Melbourne’s creative scene.

Can you just give us a brief run down of Grand Scheme’s history and how it all began?

I started about 5 years ago when I was working as a freelance artist/designer. I wanted to make a range of t-shirts and to basically chase my dreams instead of working 9-5. It’s started off small, with only a couple of tees and I also wanted to collaborate with my friends who where starting to blow up as artists and with their own independent projects. It has evolved into a really solid cut and sew range and we have stockists throughout Australia, New Zealand, New York, LA, Canada and Europe, scattered everywhere and growing each week.

Yeah, Melbourne has always been a central place for Australia’s fashion scene, especially to Sydney siders - how does it feel to be a major player in the world of Australian independent streetwear?

It feels good, I think there is a lot of really good stuff happening in Melbourne, there’s lots of creative people doing things and it’s a really good scene. It’s great, it was a lot of work to get to this point but I’m really proud of what we have accomplished so far.

Grand Scheme has an online store, so is it an amazing feeling that some kid in the USA or Europe is rocking one of your t-shirts or hats?

It’s definitely cool knowing some kid that I sent stuff to yesterday is rocking it in Norway or New York and is stocked on the brand. To be able to operate on a global scale like that is a great feeling, we are trying to do more stuff overseas and it’s really cool knowing we can connect, inspire or make an impact with someone on the other side of the world.

Are there any major challenges being an Australian label over being a US label?

I think there is, there are a lot less retailers. Australia is a big country, but retailers for what we are into are quite limited compared to the USA. They have chains that have 100 to 150 stores, whereas over here there are a lot of skate and surf shop - there is high fashion, but not much in between and if you don’t fit into those categories it can be hard to find enough stores in your niche. I think Australia is the best place to live hands down, but it can feel a bit isolated from the global market. Production is also challenging, it’s very expensive to make anything here unfortunately and off shore production can be very daunting, especially when you’re just starting.

You’ve been featured on the New Balance 574 videos alongside fellow creatives from across the nation - how was it working with the NB team?

Yeah, it was good. I was really happy with the outcome, but it was a little bit different, because I had stayed behind the scenes with the label up to that point and hadn’t really put my face to it. It was different going from being anonymous to being documented over 6 months, but I’m glad I did it and all the other people involved were really good too. It was a really good way to spotlight the Australian creative scene, and I was really happy to be a part of that.

Grand Scheme has collaborated with a series of talented artists - are there any Australian or international artists you would like to work with?

We have a couple of big ones lined up for next season like pop/ political artist Ron English (Popaganda) and Australia’s next big name in street art Kid Zoom, who is doing some huge things overseas at the moment. We are also working on some really exciting stuff with some friends of mine who run a spray paint company (Ironlak). There’s also a huge lineup of Australian artists and designers involved over the next couple of seasons. We try to work with a strong mix of up-and-coming and established artists from Australia and abroad. It gives everyone an even platform to showcase their work.

Where can Sydney-siders pick up your gear?

In Sydney we are stocked at Half Sleeve, Lo-down, Lee and Mee, Rad Store and a few more - check the website for the full rundown.

An Essential Guide To The ‘90s With

l.a. 90s rap artist

SKEE-LO

Thank GOD for the ’90s . There were so many great songs, movies, television shows, and more. When I think about the ’90s, there are some memories that stand out more than others.

Remember New Jack City? I think I watched that movie five times in the theatre, thirty times on TV and only god knows how many times on DVD. It’s a classic in my house! And I can’t forget my favourite television show The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. That was without a doubt the best television show of the ’90s. Don’t tell Will I said this, but I actually thought that I was The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air when that show was out. Good job, Will. Let’s not forget

the music of the ’90s. My top picks include Snoop Dog, Wu Tang, A-Z, Dre, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Ahmad, Pharcyde, Aaliyah, A Tribe Called Quest, Goodie Mob, Mobb Deep, 2Pac, Biggie Smalls, Busta Rhymes, Mace, 112 and Jodeci. The most inspirational album for me was 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me (peace be upon him). Does anyone remember the Phat Pharm Clothing line? Every mall in every state had Phat Pharm Clothing. They killed the game with that Baby Phat line too! Everybody who bought that had to go back for the kids. I know I did! My most memorable ’90s track is ‘I Wish’. What’s yours?

Words: Skee-Lo

give me a beat

NAYSAYER GILSUN Ante talked beats with innovative Melbourne mashup DJs Naysayer and Gilsun Naysayer Daft Punk – Alive 2007 There aren’t many electronic releases I would include among my favourite albums, but surely if there’s one, it is this. Alive 2007 is basically just a collection of mashups of pre-existing Daft Punks with crowd roars littered throughout it. Ask anyone who has listened, though, and they’ll tell you it’s a lot more. The unbroken, mixed stream of electronica, dynamic changes of tempo and intensity make the album something of a sonic magnum opus. There is something really pleasurable about listening to Daft Punk songs mixed and cut to be one coherent set, rather than a collection of tracks. This album was among the best of the decade.

D-Sisive – The Book D-Sisive is a fat, white, underground Canadian rapper, known for his razor-

sharp flow and deadpan wit. After his father died and he missed his chance to sign with a major label because he arrogantly believed he could do better, he fell into a brutal depression. The Book is his concept album detailing the experience. Fittingly, it’s brutal. The album is an exploration of the melancholy inherent in pursuing musical success, each track more lyrically impressive than the last. “Hollywood seeks and Hollywood finds, the last two letters on the Hollywood sign.”

Gilsun Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space I know this album is loved by many people, but until literally every single person on the planet can sing along to it, I’m happy to call it ‘under-rated’. Taking all the elements of heartbreak and drug addiction and successfully turning them into a gigantic, grandiose piece of work could easily make J Spaceman seem like a dick (see: 99% of hair-metal, especially the ‘unplugged’, acoustic songs) – but instead this thing just sweeps you up, makes you feel like shit, and spits you out again – always feeling a little

reborn. Like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, it also made me realise how fucking good brutal, brutal noise can be.

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Carrying on with the bands-that-were-bigin-the-’90s theme, I can’t really go past Pavement. I love Slanted and Enchanted pretty dearly, but Crooked Rain just hits me in so many places – kinda like a positive but emotional shotgun shell. Stephen Malkmus’s ability to change tone, ranging from unabashed sarcasm in tracks like ‘Unfair’ to seeing darkness and not really giving a shit in ‘Gold Soundz’, really makes this album a rollercoaster. Riding along with Pavement means that one minute you’re wallowing in pity, the next you’re sticking both middle fingers up at Billy Corgan.

What’s not to like?

For some, skateboarding is a throwaway time-killer, for Spanish pro-boarder Killian Martin, skating is an overall lifestyle which is executed artistically, thoughtfully and with beautiful sentiment. His style is free of gimmicks- it is rather a scenic expression of self, infused with the skill of a gymnast and the steez of original 90’s pro-boarders.

Ante chatted with Martin about his viral Brett Novak collab short-films, freestyle boarding and skate as an art form.

When and why did you start skateboarding?

I started skating in September 2004 because I couldn’t surf in Madrid and I thought skateboarding would help me with my surfing abilities.

Shortly after, skateboarding meant much more than that to me.

What is the Spanish skate scene like? How does it compare to that of the United States?

It´s big. Lots of skate-parks, lots of skate spots, lots of great skaters... in the U.S. skateboarding is just bigger in every sense.

Why freestyle skateboarding?

I don’t call what I do ‘freestyle’ as such. It’s just skateboarding.

Its just freedom of doing whatever you want to do with your board.

Styles tend to put limits on what you can do on your skateboard.

It is easier to expand your originality and express yourself being an individual.

What other skaters or skate groups are you influenced by?

I am influenced by anyone who tries to be original. For example, when I see a trick on a video, I don’t usually go and try that exact same trick. I usually try to do something different or create a variation of it.

Your moves and tricks are quite abstract. Do you consider your skating to be an ‘art form’ and why?

I totally think skateboarding is an art form. When you’re expressing yourself with it, you can see it clearer. I usually think skateboarding is more beautiful when it’s original. Originality usually gets more people to smile then it does to clap and that is awesome. It shows how skateboarding sometimes doesn’t have to be that serious if you are skating for fun.

Who are your sponsors and in what way do they support you?

Powell Peralta ,Vision Streetwear, Stance Skate Shop (Madrid),

The Grind (Oceanside). I love Powell Peralta, they give me great products and support me economically. They have done so much for skateboarding culture. They keep letting everyone know that skateboarding is about fun. They have years of experience and were making boards way before I was born. I had the chance to meet almost everyone in the company - just being part of it, is amazing. Vision is a legendary brand as well, they give me good shoes and support me economically. They have been out there since 1976. The other two sponsors support me with products.

‘A Skate Illustration’ is the most beautifully shot short film. Why do you choose Brett Novak to direct your videos and what is the experience like?

Thanks. Because Brett is an artist and a rebel with his camera, we just study how to make our videos better and better. There is a great partnership and we get in each other’s work because we have pretty much the same mindset.

What would you be doing for a living if you were not currently skating?

If I didn’t get into skating I would probably be an illegal immigrant in the U.S., working in a restaurant as a waiter by the beach and getting money under the table (laughs).

What advice do you have for kids who wish to pursue professional skateboarding?

I never skated to be a ‘professional skateboarder’ that is just my title. I skated because it was fun and because it was something I could do without caring about what other would think. To me, it feels unnatural to skate to fit other people’s expectations. Find the best ways to have fun with your skateboard. Once you inspire others, you’ll be a professional!

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www.undefeated.com

You can’t have an ego when you’re part of a team.

With alternative, original, sports-inspired designs and a cleancut ‘street-couture’ aesthetic, Undefeated was founded by friends Eddie Cruz and James Bond who turned the brand into a collaborative fashion and art collective, rather than an atypical, conventional ‘label’. “It started as a sneaker boutique and the label was something to compliment the sneakers on the wall,” Cruz notes.

“It evolved by default – shop tee’s and sweatshirts were a must and it evolved into what it is today. It wasn’t easy, it’s taken about 5 years of hard work with Stussy to make it look this easy.” With successful graphic collaborations with prolific labels and artists such as Nike, Puma, Visvim and Disney, Undefeated combines contemporary subdefinitions of ‘cool’ and reproduces this into their forward designs.

“The collaboration with Disney was fine,” Bond states. “They were really cool to work with and seeing their archive was amazing! Our favourite collaboration was with Converse – they have been great.

They really get what we are about.”

The aesthetic of the brand can be accurately described as ‘high-end urban trackwear’, with this modern sports look being carried through to their sweatshirt, snapback, sneaker and crewneck designs and

‘five tally’ logo. “The logo is based on the World War II bombers art following successful missions as well as kids keeping scores. It’s a mix of hardcore military and sports and playfulness,” Bond explains.

“We’re based in sport. We play, watch, bet and breathe sports. I’ve learnt everything about life whilst being on teams and learning how to achieve goals by working hard every day.” The unique collective are also actively involved in the U.S. art community, with a giant Nike billboard periodically showcasing local artists outside their Los Angeles flagship store. The team has been working hard on their recent, Fall 2011 drop as well as opening a new store and collection in San Francisco this summer. “It is never easy,” Cruz highlights, “but we have a great team of soldiers and respect for one another so we work well together. You can’t have an ego when you’re part of a team.” The label has flourished internationally out of a mutual love and understanding of the L.A. street and sports scene, as well as inimitable patterns and designs. “You have to believe in what you are doing,” Cruz adds, “understand the person buying your line and trust your instinct.”

Words: Ava Nirui

H E A LT H “A dude once told me we sounded like a ‘caveman getting killed by the wheel’”

Listening to Californian pseudo-thrash electronic group HEALTH can be easily equated to scouring your cochler with steel wool and smashing your head against a busted synth during a futuristic digital apocalypse. The innovative four piece mix the peculiarity of Black Dice, the grit of Fuck Buttons and the rebellion of No Age to simulate dense aural orgasms and a completely novel, nauseatingly dense aesthetic experience. Their genre-defying sound and old-school, hardcore sensibility has intensified their hyped-about nature in underground music scenes and landed them support spots with prolific bands such as Nine Inch Nails. “A dude once told me we sounded like a ‘caveman getting killed by the wheel’”, bassist John Famiglietti laughs, “I interpreted this as as technology killing its creator”. This raw, eccentric, mechanical sound was promoted through

an extended period of free HEALTH shows which showcased the band’s strengths onstage through an energetic and violently passionate live show. “Our worst show was at a bowling alley a long time ago in South Carolina.” Famiglietti notes, “the bowlers were not stoked.” Their, as Famiglietti puts it, ‘heart-stopping’ live show at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory last year demonstrated the band’s experimentative, enigmatic, headache-inducing live performance.

“We prefer playing live. Being in the studio sucks!” Famiglietti passionately states, “I met our singer when we both worked at a Guitar store in Hollywood. He was already trying to get something started with the other guitar player. We found the

drummer through Craigslist.”

On a more mainstream level, the boys were first recognized following their 2007

OLOGY collaboration with bad-ass Canadian pals Crystal Castles on the track ‘Crimewave’ off their debut self-titled record. Bonding over the same raw, violent, electro-thrash sound and nonchalant attitude, the pixelated digital masterpiece with addictively synthetic, manipulated vocals and glitchy electronic beat was born. This infectious tune landed the fellas a #9 spot on the UK music chart, granting them both local and international attention. “We just started trading emails. ‘I like you . . . do you like me?’ type shit. A split, remix and a tour came out of it. We’re still great friends.” Following this successful collaboration, the band did themselves a favour and released lo-fi second album Get Colour in 2009 – a more listenable, accessible record which still managed to embody the signature vitriolic HEALTH sound. When informed that the sadistic, slow-motion film-clip for first single of the

record ‘We Are Water’ induced recurring nightmares Famiglietti laughs and says “don’t blame me, blame Eric Wareheim”, clip director and star of inexplicable sketch show Tim & Eric. Since then, the boys have blossomed in the underground music scene, continuing to play wild live shows and demonstrating their modeling skills as they posed for Streetwear label Mishka’s radical Summer 2011 Lookbook. “It was pretty cool!” Famiglietti boasts. “We just hung out with the Mishka dudes, took a few photos and got a lot of free clothes.”

After five years saturated in hype and two praised albums, the boys are putting “all [their] energy into making a new record” as Famiglietti notes, to deliver more of those demented, neo-technological, swelling beats to our scoured ears.

Words: Ava Nirui

Featuring: Well Dressed Vandals, Vintage Marketplace & Vans Footwear Models: Jarrad Foster & Nadine Grace Photographed by Jake Terrey

J um per : W ell Dre ss e

dV an da ls

T-Shirts: Well Dressed Vandals

Jac ket : Vi nt Sho age M a es: Van rketpl ace sF oot wea r

Jacket: Vintage Marketplace

T-S hirt :

We ll D res se dV an da ls

Jac ket : Vi nta ge M arke

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Jacket: Vintage Marketplace

Cloaking the edges of the base of Mount Fuji near Japan’s Kawaguchiko, the Aokigahara forest spans 35 square kilometres in a blanket of dense, green woods. More than 300 years after the volcano became dormant, dark, heavy moss crawls over remnants of molten ash which have settled into haunting figures of stone, hunching between tree trunks and keeling against tangled nets of slowly thickening vineries, creating a labyrinth of spectral rubble and hidden caves.

The remnants of magnetic iron in the volcanic lining of the forest’s floor are so potent compass needles are unable to accurately direct visitors in or out once inside the woods, and tales of lone visitors losing their way in the forest and never emerging are abundant in local folklore. The density of the alpine trees which fold together across the damp floor of the woods imposes a quiet stillness over the woods, where locals from the town of Kawaguchiko say

Unlike the surrounding Eboshiyama woods, popular amongst tourists and sightseers for its spectacular views of Mount Fuji, Aokigahara is a notorious haunt of travellers with a taste for the macabre. In 2002, the last year a count was released by the region’s local officials, 78 bodies were found in the Aokigahara woods.

In a town with a population of only 24,000, Aokigahara is now the second most popular spot for suicide in the world, second only to the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.

Aokigahara locals say there are three archetypal travellers who pass through the town to visit the forest – the first, keen to experience the serene stillness of the surroundings of Mount Fuji; those hoping to catch a glimpse of ghosts or cadavers; and men and women with sad, determined faces, who have come to Aokigahara to die.

The forest has long been besmirched with tales of horror and ill omen. In the 19th century, the woodlands were famed for the occurrence of ubasute, a Japanese ritual where elderly or infirm relatives were abandoned by family members in the woods to die, after famine and poverty left many unable to support their loved ones. In 1960, Seicho Matsumoto’s novel Nami no To revived Aokigahara’s notoriety, when his cult selling novel culminated in two ill-fated young lovers coming to the forest to fulfil a suicide pact. Since Matsumoto’s novel, many of those discovered in the forests have had Nami no To found alongside their bodies.

The popularity of the forest as what Wataru Tsurumi describes as ‘the perfect place to die’ has led to an expedition of volunteers into the woodland each year to uncover bodies and check for lost possessions. In the 1980s, rumours emerged that Japanese criminal gangs were employing homeless men from neighbouring towns to search the forest for cadavers, after stories of bodies with car keys and cash being found by visitors who had wandered off the tracks spread through Aokigahara. If a body is found, the searchers

will delegate one unlucky volunteer to take the remains back to a camp house, where a volunteer must spend the night sleeping next to the dead. If left alone, Japanese spiritualists believe

and wander through the forest, bound to the woods for all of eternity.

A cultural delegation of normalcy to suicide lurking beneath the surface of contemporary Japanese society is no recent emergence.

The unparalleled success in Japan of The Complete Manual of Suicide by Wataru Tsurumi (a how-to suicide manual with detailed step-by-step instructions on carbon monoxide poisoning and overdosing on prescription medication complete with pain, ease, mortality and appearance ratings, which has sold more than 1 million copies since 1993), as well as Suicide Club (2002) and Haruki Murakami’s cult novel Norwegian Wood, suggests a preoccupation, or at least an acceptance of the notion of suicide and it’s place in contemporary society without the inherently stigmatized approach to its discussion in Western culture.

Perhaps the popularity of the Aokigahara forest can be seen as an indicator of the prevailing acceptance of suicide as a viable and legitimate repose for life’s problems in 21st century Japan - a kind of dark zeitgeist for a culture which, in its hybridity as a hyper-cultured amalgam of East and West, has had the role of suicide in society evolve and mutate, culminating in a dark place where wooden picket signs remind visitors of loved ones at home, and the morbidly curious explore beaten tracks in search of the sighting of a cadaver.

Alongside mazes of red and yellow string, tied to trees in a Hansel-and-Gretel-Brothers-Grimm manner for volunteers and unsure visitors alike to find their way out, Aokigahara is speckled with Japanese translations of bible verses pinned to trees, and flowers and photos left by loved ones in the last place their lost ones were seen. With no natural wildlife found inside Aokigahara, the forest stands today as a graveyard for the depressed and lonely, an eerie and still place hidden within the grounds of the breathtakingly beautiful Mount Fuji, a reminder of what Haruki Murakami suggests as the one important truth humanity must learn – that “Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life”.

Words: Teresa Cong Illustrations and layout: Steph Tsimbourlas

corpus As far as punk bands go, CORPUS , the two-man ensemble from Sydney, are as belligerent as they come. Imagine an old, retarded goat that knows nothing except years of butting its head against a brick wall. These guys have had a tough life, eking a paltry living playing house parties whilst pushing against the grain of popular opinion for six years. Someone really should’ve relieved them of their misery long ago.

Yet by some stroke of divine favour, the two rapscallions have survived in bat country long enough to develop a live sound and presence imitative of their sweaty existence.

Drummer JACK BRUUN-HAMMOND , with all the nuance of a steamroller, throwing every sinew of his lean frame at the skins like a cornered arachnid. Singer/guitarist KEIRON STEEL , once named the second most attractive post-punk frontman in the featherweight division for North-West

Sydney, performs as if possessed by the Spirit of Jazz himself, and often ends up sprawled on the floor, jerking wildly against his guitar in what anthropologists believe is a bizarre mating ritual. Yeah, their shit is intense. Think - The Stooges, Nirvana, Gallows and At The Drive-In, with the swag of Biggie in ’94, or Shady in ’99, or Busta in ’01, just to keep things interesting. Fucking intense, dude.

And CORPUS seem to have come good at the opportune moment. Their no-fuckingaround EP Man slices through a scene that is a little too whimsical, ethereal and pretentious. Recorded over three days in Surry Hills with beer as the main form of sustenance, Man has achieved the elusive goal of balancing raw, unadulterated chaos in a studio setting. The drums sound

like drums, only louder and played with impossible ferocity. The guitars sound like guitars, only edgier and thicker. The bass . . . well, there is no bass. And the combined wails, moans and screams of these two kids coalesce in a concord of unadulterated punk angst. This lean, muscular punk record cements CORPUS ’ reputation for being the only two-piece that can make you think AND make you dance ‘til you throw up. At only six tracks long, the repeat button on your stereo will be absolutely necessary, as well as another set of speakers when you’re done... not to mention a hearing aid after extended exposure. But it’s a good hurt. I promise.

So whether you get your hands on a copy of Man or squeeze yourself into the front row at one of their live shows, you will get your money’s worth and more.

Just make sure you have room to thrash, ‘cause shit’s about to get real.

Words: Ava Nirui

Dubai based illustrator Kristy Anne Ligones’ 2011 sketchbook project features a collection of detailed, layered sketches, which depict ethereal snapshots of the unconscious through a series of thoughtful yet simple artistic techniques. We sat down with Ligones and discussed the root of this project and where the inspiration for such hauntingly beautiful images originated.

Background: I loved doodling when I was a kid, and eventually I got into summer art workshops during high school, where I was introduced to coloring, and learning different applications and mediums. Then college opened me up to a more modern and larger variety of art. I like the way I evolved in this field, starting from simple doodling to getting into fine art, then venturing into graphic and digital arts.

Inspiration:

What’s next:

There is a lot to mention, but the first two artists that totally struck me were Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo and I also look up to today’s pop-surrealist artists like Craola Simkins, Audrey Kawasaki, James Jean, Tara McPherson, just to name a few.

I’m currently doing some paintings, personal tributes and also getting involved on some projects for up coming events here in Dubai and also outside Dubai as well.

Hopefully more exhibits in the future, that also includes the Sketchbook Project 2012, where the subject and theme will get a lot creepier than my previous one. There will be a bit of fun to it and hopefully I’ll be able to complete the pages before the deadline, and won’t turn into a living nightmare.

Sketchbook Project 2011: We were asked to choose a certain theme and I chose ‘nightmares’ since I’m always intrigued and quite fascinated by them.

Influences:

Intention of the project:

Dreams, nightmares, things I just imagine, something that just pops out of nowhere, sometimes just random stuff I see and experience everyday.

It is eerie, because of the theme itself.

The weirdness and how some nightmares just connect to situations in the real world sometimes make it even more creepy.

Keith Hufnagel, visionary behind eminent US street wear label HUF, truly does embody the concept of ‘skate’. His former pro skateboarding life has been invaluable to his fresh and practical threads, and lies at the core of this designer’s aesthetic.

Hufnagel shared with us the passion behind his craft and what is takes to effectively formulate an original, high-quality, streetwear brand.

Since 1992 HUF has become a prolific name in the street wear industry – from a lone store in 2002 to prevalence in Sydney, Australia. Did you see such immense success in your future from the very beginning?

No way! We really didn’t see any of this coming. Basically, we just built a little shop in SF in the beginning and then once that caught on we started making our own clothes out of it. Since 2002 a lot of things have changed. We went from being a full retail company to a full wholesale company.

So no, I definitely didn’t see this coming, but I am super happy on where the brand is right now and the future of HUF.

You have collaborated with major labels such as New Balance and Nike. What does the collaboration process entail?

The process is always a bit different depending on the company, but it always begins with that initial spark, that original idea. Once that idea is in place, we develop it as a team down here, and then approach whatever company we have in mind. Some of those companies may be really feeling the idea and choose to go forward with it, but some companies may shoot it down and then we may have to re-approach them again in the future. The fact that there’s two camps and so many different minds coming together to make a collaboration What was your original vision for the label? happen makes the process very difficult and The original vision was just to make quality frustrating at times. But then again, that’s product: period. We always wanted to make what makes them so sick and worthwhile product that would last and skaters would when they actually come together, you rock . . . clean, simple and durable gear. We know. Like when everyone agrees on the started out just making tees and hats, soon idea and is stoked, you get so much positive that grew into a full-blown clothing line, and input from like-minded people, and then the now we have added a complete footwear line project just develops organically from there. to the collection.

How do you think the Internet has revolutionized streetwear?

It has definitely revolutionized streetwear in the sense that it has globalized it. Back in the day, streetwear brands were very localized, you know . . . there could be some cool shit out in NY, or LA, or SF, or Japan, or wherever, but wherever that brand was based, that’s where it was available for the most part. Back then, you had to wait until someone returned from their tour in Japan to see all the cool shit they had come across, and you weren’t really able to get it unless you got out there or had some sort of connection. Nowadays, though, you basically have access to anything within an instant . . . it’s crazy. These days you can go on the Internet to check out all the new shit . . . like it, hate it, buy it, whatever. I guess the Internet has changed the game for better or worse in that it has made street wear grow and die fast. It makes brands huge over night and puts them out of business at the same speed.

“If it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it.

Unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don’t do it.”

Do you think your skate background has affected the way you design and how so?

Absolutely. Skateboarding has been a way of life for me ever since I first stepped onto the board. As a result, it influences a lot of how I see and approach life, so of course it translates through into the way I direct and design within the brand. As a skateboarder, I think it’s safe to say that we get a lot of our ideas, inspiration, and influence from the streets. We’re always traveling to very unfamiliar places in search of new shit to skate, so everything we see along the way just accumulates into our collective understanding of the world. Skateboarders are lucky in that they get to see a lot of the world most ordinary people don’t and that gives us a very different and fresh perspective when it comes to design.

What’s your opinion on the sudden resurgence of skate culture in the last few years?

It’s great! I think it is amazing that there are so many people putting back into skateboarding right now. There was a period when these outside corporations

and businessmen seemed to have been trying to buy their way into the culture, which was really confusing at the time. But now, I think skateboarders have adapted and grown smarter and taken it back into their own hands. It stokes me out to see skateboarders now able to build their own brands, influence huge companies, even create their own skateparks.

Nowadays, you don’t have to wait 10 years to go through the city to find a skatepark.

Skateparks are being built all the time by skateboarders themselves. This will progress skateboarding and skill level to be even greater than we could ever have foreseen it to be.

What’s next for HUF? Right now we’re putting a lot of focus into progressing our footwear line. This is our latest project, so we’re really working to create new models that are going to feel great to skate in and will handle the abuse, yet will also get people psyched to wear around even after skating . . . I guess something you can skate in all day and then still feel comfortable going out in at

night (laughs). We’ve also been working to put together a strong skate team that will sort of reflect the vibe we’re going for as a brand. This upcoming year is also going to be our 10-year anniversary as a brand, so we will be celebrating that with a lot of collaboration projects with different brands and artists. Stay posted for those!

What advice do you have for those who wish to start a skate/streetwear label?

I suggest they don’t do it! Only kidding.

There’s this line by Bukowski that goes, “If it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. Unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don’t do it.” I think that’s pretty good advice for approaching anything in life. If you want to start a label and you think that it is your passion and goal then give it everything, if it doesn’t work out for you, well, you would have learned that it wasn’t for you and, hopefully you would have learned a little about the garment business as well! www.hufsf.com

BONDI BURRITO COMPANY With ‘Day of the Dead’ style décor, striking beach side locations and carefully prepared flavorsome treats, modern-Mexican chain restaurant Beach Burrito Company uniquely fuses surf and skate culture with quality dining. We caught up with founder of the diner Blake Read to chat about awkward dates, kitchen mishaps and getting fucked up off tequila slushies.

From where did the idea of authentic Mexican food within Australia originate?

I’d say we are more Californian style food than Mexican. I lived in the US for 10 years and fell in love with the food over there. The majority of kitchens are run by Mexican workers and they introduced me to their culture and different flavours. I found that I loved the food, but wanted other flavours involved.

The dishes from Beach Burrito Company are absolutely delicious. Who creates these genius recipes and how do you guys make them so addictive?

I came up with all the recipes from my experiences abroad. We use a ‘special ingredient’ that comes in from Columbia via Mexico then into Australia via Christmas Island - the recent political attention may contribute to slight price rises in the future.

Look, I came to BBC before work one time and got drunk off your slushies. Why would

you do this to me?

It’s a consistent story, I was sick of buying weak ass drinks around Sydney so I top ‘em up. My thoughts are if you buy a cocktail, you deserve a buzz.

Imagine going on a date with a chick and having beans all down the front of your shirt and dripping down your hands. What dish do you recommend to order on a date so you don’t look like a fool?

It really is funny when that situation happens which is all the time...typically I’d use tequila to help break the tension once that’s done, it’s all fun times! If you get beans and food all over yourself then you may have to go home and change or whip your top off in restaurant (a common occurrence in the Bondi store). It could be suggested that we just help things move along a little faster. But if you do need to keep those slacks clean perhaps stick to the Fajita Burrito or Taco salad.

What is BBC’s biggest mishap in the kitchen?

A pipe burst behind a door one night and there was a slight trickle coming out.

Thankfully it was behind a rack that we couldn’t get to until we’d finished cleaning and closed up. When I opened the door the entire room had flooded and a wave of about 4 feet high came out washed me down the kitchen floor and caused quite the mess.

Of course all this happened on a Saturday Night at 1am, which is when all major problems happen!

I have a saying ‘never trust a man in a sombrero’, why should I trust you?

I wear a Vans cap.

How do you think BBC differs from other Mexican chain restaurants?

My plans for the restaurant include personal surfboard racks and the fit-out budget includes a new surfboard and wetty at each restaurant for me.

Dana nana nayk royd Although Dananananaykroyd recently announced their split after five years of delivering solid chaotic punk melodies to punters worldwide, I had the pleasure of chatting with Calum Gunn just weeks before the surprise break up.

Dananananaykroyd hailed from the musically and culturally intimidating Scottish industrial city of Glasgow, wedged sound-wise between the twee and punk which characterise the music scene they grew up amongst. Gunn and I made headway through the difficulty of understanding each other’s accents and discuss their last ever release There Is A Way, video games and hip hop.

The new record does seem to represent a change of direction for you guys both in terms of sound and the album artwork. Was there a conscious shift in what you were playing and doing or a change of influence at all?

We don’t actually share much influence as a band at all really, we all listen to really different stuff. I think the only band we could all get on board with was the Smashing Pumpkins… actually, when we were recording There is a Way I got really into Metallica… which is a bit embarrassing. We definitely were moving away from the screaming and toward a more iconic, focused sound. It’s easy to find yourself falling back on the screaming early on with a band but this time I actually found myself trying to sing and it was weird.

Don’t worry, there’s still a wee bit of screaming at the shows.

What are some of your bands prouder moments? I understand ‘Black Wax’ was featured in a video game, surely that’s a mark that you guys have made it?

If we’d never got off our feet as a band, I actually would have fallen back on a career as a video game tester. I used to do that a bit in Glasgow before we started playing all the time… so yeah I suppose that was one of our good moments. Some of the guys were totally overjoyed by that news. It’s funny that our music is on a video game when I can’t hear songs from the video games I played as a kid without being transported back to playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 at my friend’s place…

You say you all have pretty varied music taste. What would you say your favourite genre of music is at the moment?

Right now I’ve been listening to a lot of weird hip hop actually… If I had to collaborate with one artist it’d probably be Busta Rhymes.

That guy can rap! He makes my brain all tingly… Whatever he’d let me sing with him, I’d do it.

At an awkward moment earlier, Calum informed me that he did tend to talk ‘complete rubbish’ in interviews. I’m keen to take advantage of this, so I ask him one last and completely irrelevant question.

If you had to be trapped inside an television show, what show would it be?

Oh, god… The Wire. Definitely. Because the game’s the game, yo.

(Laughs) I’d be Prez… the meek little guy who always fires his gun by mistake. The sort of… idiot… they’ve somehow let out into the streets to fight crime and it just ends up being a huge mistake and they have to bring him back in.

Words: Lizzy Pattinson

Op Shops are fucked . They are cold, smell weird and are mindnumbingly disorganized. You often spend hours sifting through thousands of unreasonably priced second-hand goods before you find one mediocre garment to purchase. This painstakingly long and unnecessary process can be avoided with the introduction of Facebook-based e-store Vintage Marketplace , which allows you to scroll through thousands of fresh, authentic sportswear items for sale from Australia and abroad. Curated in Melbourne by friends Jai Spence and Kate Perkins, the webstore was born out of a mutual love of second hand track-wear, breeding an e-store packed with a plethora of collectable snapbacks, jerseys and varsity jackets. “My business partner [Kate Perkins] and I had always been interested in vintage clothing,” One half of the team, Jai Spence, notes. “I guess it really started as a hobby and then to support our vintage buying habits we decided to start selling some pieces at local markets.”

From the marketplace origins, the duo saw potential in the promotion value and accessibility of social networking websites such as Facebook, thus deciding to adopt this unconventional sales method. “We decided to put some pictures of stock we were going to have at the market up on Facebook to showcase some items we had,” Spence explains. “I think we posted maybe five or six items and after returning from lunch we found that all six had interest in being purchased before the market. That is where I guess we began selling the way we do now; we hadn’t seen anyone else doing it and it was by accident more than anything.”

This simple idea has resulted in 59,000 fans and immense interest in the original, modestly priced garments for sale on the page.

“The idea is simple: we list items and it’s the first person to comment SOLD has dibs. Most people pay which

is great and the ones that don’t usually mysteriously disappear.”

Although Facebook has been successful in promoting the store, Vintage Marketplace is taking to more efficient web strategies to ensure that their OG threads are more swiftly transmitted to keen vintage-wear buyers. “We have a website that’s very close to launching that we plan to assist other like-minded folk sell gear.

The biggest issue with Facebook is the manual labour that goes into it, so we’re building a platform to help eradicate these issues.”

Words By Ava Nirui

W W W. A NTE MAGAZINE .TV