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VOICE OF A GENERATION February 2014

Clarence Seedorf - Aakash Nihalani - Marching Orders Chris Igleheart - J Dilla aka Jay Dee - Parra

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

“Cuando todo vuelva a retirarse a la matriz del tiempo, reinará el caos de nuevo, y el caos es la partitura en la que está escrita la realidad.”

Henry Miller.

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VOICE OF A GENERATION IS AN INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE DESIGNED FOR THE YOUNG AND RECKLESS.

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Clarence Seedorf

Aakash Nihalani

Marching Orders

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Chris Igleheart

J Dilla

Parra

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CLARENCE SEEDORF

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

CLARENCE SEEDORF’S BRAZILIAN RENAISSANCE G

arrincha style,” read the GloboEsporte headline following Botafogo’s 4-1 victory over Nova Iguacu on April 14, in reference to a bandy-legged dribble performed by the game’s standout player. The trick - a kind of full-body, drunken-master feint - created enough space to whip in a cross, from which teammate Nicolas Lodeiro headed home. The name of the club’s most famous son is not evoked lightly, but this was Mane through and through.

Yet the skill didn’t come from a young Brazilian, an upstart pretender to the great entertainer’s throne. It was performed by a veteran. By a gringo, of all people.

It was performed by Clarence Seedorf.

That wasn’t his only contribution, either: Seedorf scored the opener with a clinical header and spent the match creating golden goal-scoring opportunities as if it were the easiest thing in the world. To him, it probably is.

It was just the latest in a string of gala performances that have had Brazilian journalists running out of superlatives over the past nine months. Since arriving in Brazil in June 2012, Seedorf has enchanted the country -- not just with his enduring ability on the pitch, but also with his humility, dedication and human touch.

“Clarence Seedorf has won over Brazilians not just with his play but with his human touch.”

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Seedorf joined Botafogo after a long flirtation. The Dutchman had no shortage of options upon announcing that he was to leave Italy: Offers flooded in from China and the MLS, while Tottenham Hotspur were among the interested clubs in Europe. He was known, however, to be particularly interested in a move to Brazil -- the homeland of his wife Luviana. While other sides made offers, it was Botafogo -- who had first attempted to sign Seedorf 12 months earlier -- which

got the nod after a byzantine novella of negotiations.

At first glance it was a slightly incongruous choice of destination. Botafogo is the unfashionable uncle of the Rio de Janeiro football landscape, condemned to sipping gin in the shadows as aristocratic Fluminense, populist Flamengo and historic Vasco da Gama hog the limelight. They have a (not entirely undeserved) reputation as underachievers and bottlers, and are not particularly well supported:

career between trips to the beach and local nightclubs. He wouldn’t be the first, after all. But such doubts evaporated as soon as he opened his mouth. In word-perfect Portuguese, Seedorf greeted fans and promised to get down to work the following week.

The club known as the Lone Star had a new sheriff in town -- and a dedicated one at that.

His work ethic has paid off handsomely. Seedorf took to Brazilian football like a duck to water, playing a key role

“In a country where bullishness and partisanship rule the pitch, humble veteran Clarence Seedorf prefers a philosofical, right-minded view.”

Recent estimates put their fan base at just more than 3 million people throughout Brazil -- less than a 10th of what Fla muster. A Vascosupporting friend of mine once joked that mocking Botafogo fans is easy but finding one to mock is anything but.

For Seedorf, though, the prospect of stamping his name into Alvinegro history was more attractive than coasting at one of Brazil’s more successful clubs. “It would have been easy to go to Corinthians, who already have a great set-up,” he told ESPN Brasil.

“But I’ll be happier here; the challenge is very important for me.”

His unveiling at the Engenhao stadium was attended by thousands of fans and broadcast live on television. Witnessing a comically overblown entrance by helicopter (someone in the Botafogo PR department watches way too many action films), those who didn’t know Seedorf would have been forgiven for thinking that the 37-year-old had only come to Brazil to wind down his

as O Glorioso (“The Glorious One” -- as you can see, Botafogo definitely won the nickname lottery, if nothing else) finished a respectable seventh in Serie A last year. Playing further forward than he had been at Milan, Seedorf chipped in with eight league goals -- the best return of his career -- and created countless more. That impressive form, both personal and collective, has continued into 2013: Botafogo won the opening stage of the Campeonato Carioca, while his strike against Nova Iguacu was Seedorf’s sixth in 10 starts since the turn of the year.

Seedorf’s intelligence has proved to be his best weapon in the glorified scrimmage that often passes for a midfield contest in Brazil. While other players pride themselves on their ability to win individual battles with (uniformly colossal) defensive midfielders, the Dutchman keeps it simple and nips into pockets of space. On the ball he is precisely as calm as you would expect a man in the 21st year of

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his career to be. He doesn’t go in for grand gestures, preferring economy of movement over lung-bursting sprints.

In a country so famed for generating technically gifted players, you’d be surprised how far a little tactical astuteness can go.

His value to Botafogo goes beyond the confines of the pitch. Seedorf’s commitment to maintaining his fitness (seriously, look at those abs) should rub off on his teammates, while he undoubtedly has plenty of wisdom to pass onto promising youngsters like Bruno Mendes and Lodeiro, as well as to the children in the youth sides he coaches in his spare time. (This, it should be noted, is not a purely altruistic pastime; he is studying hard for his UEFA badges.)

Perhaps his most important legacy, though, might lie in his philosophical, right-minded view of the game, particularly in a football culture frequently defined by bullishness and partisanship. Most players, for instance, would avoid pitch-side reporters after a bad miss in an important game, afraid of rubbing skittish fans up the wrong way. Seedorf, after missing an open goal last month, laughed the matter off, even agreeing to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of TV Globo’s weekly sporting bloopers segment.

Seedorf’s stature.

Seedorf has also expressed frustrations with Brazil’s overzealous referees. Last month he was sent off for the first time in his career after refusing to leave the pitch via the closest touchline, an incident that left a bad taste in the Dutchman’s mouth: “I know I’m not above the law. But yes, I am different. I have a history [of good conduct] and that should be worth something.”

That was a rare reminder of the kind of grandstanding that we come to expect from most storied footballers.

That there has been so little of that from Seedorf speaks volumes about the dedication with which he has gone about his work in Brazil. He has won hearts and minds in his adopted country and shows no signs of slowing up just yet. The clean-living Dutchman may have little in common with Botafogo’s biggest idol, but the two may yet share a page or 10 in the annals of the Brazilian game.

Garrincha style indeed.

(In another notable TV appearance, Seedorf endeared himself to Brazil’s housewives and maids by crooning a rather nifty version of “[Sittin’ On] The Dock of the Bay” on daytime show “Estrelas.” This, admittedly, says rather more about Brazilian television than it does about Clarence Seedorf.)

Things aren’t perfect, of course.

With the Engenhao recently decommissioned due to structural concerns (a mere six years after it was completed, no less) Botafogo have no fixed home. The match against Nova Iguacu took place at the Moca Bonita (“Pretty Girl”) stadium, and drew a paying crowd of just 870. The major leagues this is not. The quality of opposition in the Rio state championship -- which runs until May -- is similarly unbefitting a player of

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JACK LANG, http://espnfc.com/blog

“It would have been easy to go to Corinthians, but I’ll be happier here.

The challenge is very important for me.”

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

“This clear-living Dutchman may have little in common with Botafogo’s biggest idol, but the two may yet share a page or 10 in the annals of Brazilian game.”

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AAKASH NIHALANI

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

AAKASH NIHALANI, ARTE QUE DESAFÍA TU PERCEPCIÓN C

onforme el lenguaje de un artista va refinándose, es habitual que su trabajo se acabe definiendo a partir de una limitada serie de elementos, que de alguna manera conforman el núcleo que después el artista se encarga de recombinar y reutilizar hasta que siente que les ha extraído todo el jugo (o hasta que el mercado se cansa del juego, lo que ocurra antes y dependiendo de la capacidad evolutiva del sujeto). Pasó con el “dripping” de Pollock, con las serigrafías de Warhol o la cámara lenta de Viola, por citar sólo algunos casos.

“Su ambición última es crear un nuevo espacio dentro del ya existente en nuestra vida cotidiana, e invitar a la gente a entrar en él libremente a desconectar de la realidad.”

En el caso del artista de Queens (NY) Aakash Nihalani, la cosa va de líneas rectas. Utilizarlas en combinaciones infinitas, crear con ellas cajas rectangulares, cubos, formas y colores que desafíen las geometrías lógicas del entorno y hagan mirar dos veces a quien pasa por delante. Constructivismo, suprematismo e ilusiones ópticas a lo Escher se dan la mano en versión urbana y colorista.

Su ambición última, en palabras del propio artista, es “crear un nuevo espacio dentro del ya existente en nuestra vida cotidiana, e invitar a la gente a entrar en él libremente a desconectar de la realidad”. Y aunque su trabajo, precisamente debido a esta intención, suele encontrarse en calles, plazas y parques, también uno puede encontrarlo reventando la lógica de lo que es un cuadro en galerías de arte y museos, e incluso en interesantes aproximaciones digitales al mismo juguetón universo de geometrías engañosas, dentro de su página web.

PLAYGROUND MAG http://www.playgroundmag.net

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MARCHING ORDERS

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

MARCHING ORDERS: AUSTRALIAN ROCK&ROLL S

ince I heard the 2010 album “Days Gone By” from Marching Orders for the first time this Australian band became instantly one of my favorites. With the album “Living Proof”, which was released earlier this year, they might have even put out one of the best Oi! / streetpunk records of this year. Reason enough for me to ask frontman Al a few questions!

“You never know when a good song will come up, sometimes you just can’t come up with anything and other times they come when you least expect it.”

First of all thanks a lot for taking the time to do this interview, how are you?

Things are good for us thanks mate.

Although the band has been around since the early 00’s, can you give the readers, who might not know you guys, a brief history of Marching Orders?

The original line up was me (Al), Gav (RIP), Gabe and Darren. We recorded a three track demo which has recently been re-released on vinyl. This line up eventually disbanded and I had to look for all new members. The new line up was Ben,Chris,Ander and me, later Phil joined also. Then we recorded our first proper release ‘last drinks’,since then there have been 3 EP’s, 2 albums and 3 singles/ seven inches.The lineup has changed a few times since then but not too much. We toured the USA in 2008 and Europe in 2011.

I’d like to talk a bit about the new album “Living Proof” first, it’s been out on LP since for almost half a year now. Can you tell us a bit about the writing and recording process of this album?

This album has probably been our best release so far. We have been playing together for enough years that we are working well together as a band and I think we are producing our best songs so far. Ben, Brod and myself are the song writers so you get a cross section of styles as we all write differently. I usually write songs at home with my

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guitar, I usually try to come up with a good riff and then add some words to it. You never know when a good song will come up, sometimes you just can’t come up with anything and other times they come when you least expect it. I wrote ‘place called home’ the day I arrived home from our European tour, it was about 3 am and I couldn’t sleep so decided to write a song.

We also used the acoustic song ‘hand of fate’, this was a song I came up with whilst we were working on the new

torture for fans who don’t have a record player! Why did the labels wait, rather long, to also release it on compact disc?

The new album came with a download code and was also on i tunes so it was available in quite a few formats right away but I guess we did the vinyl first because we love that vinyl sound.

Also you get a lot more when you buy vinyl.Just look at all the extras in the first gatefold issue of days gone by!

Everything we have done since we started has come out on vinyl part

“There are probably more Oi! bands in Australia now than there have ever been and the scene is slowly growing, but still very small compared to EU.” album but didn’t think it would suit Marching Orders. We ended up just leaving it exactly as it was and I think it fits quite well on the album and provides a bit of variety too. We recorded the album with the same studio as our previous releases, although this release has more production and less of a live raw sound than our earlier stuff.

Was there any pressure on you guys after the very well received “Days Gone By”?

After the success of “Days Gone By” there was some pressure to produce another album that would work as well as the previous album had but this was only from ourselves. We had loads of time to put living proof together and we were only going to put it out when we were satisfied with the songs. We ended up cutting one song and using all the rest. I think the end result was that we produced our best release to date.

Last june “Living Proof” also came out on CD, it must have been a real

from the first EP. If anyone out there hasn’t tried records I recommend that you do!!

In between the vinyl and CD release of “Living Proof” the German label Lionheart Records also did a re-release of your first demo from 2002. How did you two got to work together?

The guys from Lionheart contacted me on Facebook and asked if they could release the demo. Nobody had asked about a re issue of the demo before so I was interested straight away. When I looked at their website they had original demo casettes of 80’s oi bands from the UK on there and I thought straight away that this was an authentic label run by true music fans. So we decided to go ahead with it. Also it was a good chance to do a tribute to our first bass player Gav who unfortunately died in 2008.

Are you satisfied with the result? I have both versions and I love what Lionheart did with ‘em! Did you had any input in the design etc…?

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

There were only 40 or so copies made of the original demo so if you have one you are doing well!! I like what they have done with the re issue as it shows what our sound was like back then, we have not changed the sound apart from mastering it for vinyl. We had some input into the layout and cover but mostly I wanted to show the old pictures that I have from the time.

This was before mobile phones had cameras so most of them were taken on an old camera and many did not come out properly!

I guess. Also the professionals were a great band and we are all fans of their stuff.

Now every single Marching Orders recording has been released on vinyl, except the mini-CD “Last Drinks”. Is there a plan to get this out on wax as well?

Last Drinks was re-released on the nothing new cd along with most of our early releases. We have talked about putting it on vinyl but nothing has been decided yet.

I personally have never been to Australia, but when I see live bills a lot of these shows seem to be in hotels, are they actual hotels? Seems kind of odd Oi!, punk and hardcore shows in hotels…

They are just regular pubs, we call them hotels here for some reason! But they don’t offer accommodation usually, just beer!

I usually never ask about covers in an interview, but I loved the Professionals cover “Mods Skins Punks” on the “Songs Of Yesterday” EP! Any special reason why you choose this song to be covered?

That song was Phils idea as he is a big fan of Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I think it works well when you do a cover of a song that nobody has covered before, something unexpected

How is the Australian scene nowadays? I remember bands such as The Blurters, Forward Defense, Stanley Knife, Rocks, Toe To Toe, Death Before Dishonour, Bulldog Spirit and of course Rose Tattoo!

There are probably more Oi! bands in Australia now than there have ever been and the scene is slowly growing but still very small compared to Europe. A lot of the Melbourne bands

Do you play this song, or any other covers, live as well?

We have played this song many times live. We played it at most of our European shows. We have covered more obvious bands like The Business, Rose Tattoo, Cock Sparrer, Menace, Blitz and the 4 Skins as well. It’s just good fun to throw in a cover at the end of your set sometimes, we usually do.

share several members. Stanley Knife recently reformed and have started to gig again and Toe To Toe still play the occasional show. Rose Tattoo are still going but have lost quite a few members unfortunately. Most of the other bands you have mentioned are no longer around though. There have been rumours of The Blurters making a comeback but not sure if they will.

Okay, I’m almost done. But coming back to playing live for a bit… are you guys planning on touring the USA / Europe again / any time soon?

We have been asked about playing shows again overseas but not sure when that will happen as it is a lot to organise 5 people to get time off work etc and the cost is very high also. 2015 is a possibility.

Alright that’s it! If you have anything to add to this interview, feel free to do so! Cheers!

Thanks for the interview and look out for our new split single with Evil Conduct coming soon. Also my new band Razorcut is about to record it’s first 10 inch to be released on Longshot and Rebellion Records. Darren the first Marching Orders drummer is playing drums and I am on vocals with two girls on bass and guitar. The sound is different from Marching Orders but I think people will like it.

Marching Orders Days Gone By (LP) Contra Records & Longshot Music 2010

Marching Orders Living Proof (LP) Randale Records 2012

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“(About Lionheart Records): When I looked at their website they had original demo casettes of 80’s oi bands from the UK on there and I thought straight away that this was an authentic label run by true music fans.”

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

C

hris Igleheart is a bit of an older gentlemen who looks a little like a mad scientist at first glance.

He started at Fat City building mountain bikes back in the day. When you first meet him he seems a touch socially awkward or uncomfortable, like maybe he hasn’t had a lot of visitors or hasn’t spoken to humans in a long time. You quickly realize that’s not the case at all, Chris is just lost in his work, focused and like an old truck or a cyclist over the age of 30, he simply needs some time to warm up. Once in gear, he’s funny, self-deprecating, smart, warm and charming.

We stopped by Chris’ shop that’s in the garage attached to his house an hour north of Boston to talk while he put the finishing touches on one of the Continental bikes. With a quick last tig-weld and a tightening of the screws that hold oval shaped wire head badge he’s done and ready for a beer and a chat.

We look for a path to leave the shop, which is harder than it sounds because its crammed from floor to ceiling with every manor of bike part, tool, fixture and machine that he’d ever need to fashion or repair anything ever made. His shop is part museum, part storage closet, and part ‘Doctor Who’ set with a bicyclerelated synthesis of magical weirdness and industriousness.

CHRIS IGLEHEART: CUSTOM FRAMEBUILDER “I like to build bicycles. Just the ones people like to ride.”

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What’s the deal with Dan’s Continental bike?

Almost everybody wants the lightest, greatest, whatever. But the people that buy from me expect steel because that’s what I make. They know I can fix steel if anything goes wrong with it.

They know that it’s a great frame material. The Continental bikes are just durable road bikes on which you can ride anything New England has to offer without rattling your eyes and teeth.

They run on pretty short wheelbases, the stays are pretty short, but there’s enough metal in the longer seat stays to soften-up the ride a bit. The tubing is certainly stout enough, it’s called “Life Tubing” and yes (laughing), the tubes have a lot of life to them.

What is a Continental bike, what did you look to for direction or inspiration?

I’m inspired by each new bike I build, I try to be open to new attitudes. Sure, I have my way of doing things but I’ve been building for a long time. I got my start at Fat City building mountain

bikes and now I make 29’ers, Cross bikes and Road bikes, so I’ve been messing with angles and custom fit for years. That’s the nice thing about buying a custom bike, I make what you want, not what I want. I put my two cents worth in but I don’t push you too hard towards something you don’t want.

I get upset in the long run with everybody being so precious about the bike when it’s really about the ride.

That’s what important to me. I mean, you can have all the cutouts and fancy details you want, but how does it ride? Some bikes get loaded with so many gewgaws and tchockees, they get over-cooked. I like to keep things simple and let my workmanship speak for itself. More power to the builders that take it over the top, and to the customers that want that. But for me and mine it just gets to be too much at some point. Besides, all that admiration and overcooking is time away from riding.

Speaking of riding, what about it, is it important to you? Where and how do

they manufactured mountain bikes, awful bikes, but I raced one in the Mountain Bike division. At one point I was leading but didn’t know it until I bonked wicked hard and got passed.

I had my first cup of coffee, ever, atop of one of the mountains. The downhill, on ancient Roman cobblestone roads was a gas. Keith Bontrager has done it. Tim Gould a world-class mountain biker, top 10 at one point in the 80’s, got his start racing Three Peaks. He won it five years in a row.

Your roots are mountain biking and your friend Andy rode La Ruta, do you guys ride mountain bikes together, what’s the riding like around here?

New England is all glaciated land.

Before the glaciers left they were over a mile thick. Their slow retreat left a trail of debris called glacial drumlins and eskers. Drumlins are large hills and mounds, and eskers are like railroad embankments made of rocks and sand and glacial till. A lot of trails here run along the top of eskers, snaking through the woods, all buffed out gravel. Bay Circuit Trail runs from Ipswich all the way down to Cape Cod,

“Almost everybody wants the lightest, greatest, whatever. But the people that buy frome me expect steel because that’s what I make.” you roll?

I try to ride at least an hour a day during the week, cause that’s usually how much time I have–maybe an hour and a half. On Saturdays I’ll ride to Boston to visit my girlfriend, and that’s a couple hours there. I usually head back the long way on Sunday, which makes it five or six hours. I don’t watch miles, I just look at hours. I like to ride with my friend Andy because he keeps me young. He’s amazing; he just rode La Ruta last year.

La Ruta is a pretty grueling mountain bike race. I’ve heard stories and I met a guy, who knows a guy, who saw a guy who rode it a few years ago. You ever doing anything like that?

I rode Three Peaks in 1985. It takes place in northern England, in the Yorkshire Dalles, over three mountain peaks. It’s the world’s toughest cycle cross race. I was in the area on vacation in ’83 and happened upon it.

I was so jazzed, I decided I was going to come back and race it. I ended-up with a sponsor of sorts, Muddy Fox,

it’s kind of stitched together but it runs the whole 58-miles. Yeah, it’s like it all starts with rocks, everything does.

“I’m inspired by each new bike I build, I try to open to new attitudes. Sure, I have my way of doing things but I’ve been building for a long time.”

CHRIS IGLEHEART

RAPHA.CC

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

Custom Igleheart Steel Disc Cross: - Custom Igleheart steel fork - Sram Force Groupset - H Plus Son Archetype wheels - Thomson stem & seatpost - Fizik Vitesse saddle - Chris King headset

“Bikes - Stainless - Shiny Lots of braze ons - Mudguard - Forks for all occasions.”

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J DILLA

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

J DILLA’S DONUTS “Donuts began simply enough as an idea to turn a particularly good demo beat tape into a full-length release, and has since became a classic hip-hop album, one of the defining works of the artist’s life. Announced in Fall 2005, the concept of a “rap album without rappers” struck some as minor novelty, but Donuts would prove to transcend the rigid definitions of what a hip-hop album could be.”

Completed during a year in which J Dilla spent mostly in a hospital bed at CedarsSinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Donuts would gain particular poignancy when, only three days after it’s release, February 10, 2006, the artist passed away, losing his battle with a rare blood disease.

J Dilla’s eagerly awaited Donuts, the follow-up to 2001’s Welcome 2 Detroit (released as Jay Dee), is, like its predecessor, a stark departure from the cozy-socks-and-Xbox feel of his former group, Slum Village. In fact, Dilla, if anything, is imposing a meta-rap bent on neo-soul, assaulting the senses in ways unseemly for a guy who used to work with Q-Tip. The drums, though remarkably fluid, are lighter, domineered by dense, abrasive samples that are sequenced with a sense of swing. Percussive end pieces are shorn cheese-grater sharp, then appended to sickly spliced moans. The end result is akin to Norman Smith and DJ Shadow sitting in on a RZA-produced session-- spry, voiceless prog-hop by any other name.

Opener “Workinonit” comes on like a Rubinproduced take on Schoolhouse Rock. Clangy guitars give way to doubled-up groans and what sounds like a back-masked Zulu chant. The sample, supplied by ‘60s soulsters Them, is diced with manic precision, and around the 2:00 mark, the melody builds to a climax, fading, with echo-y vocal bits, into bodiless abyss. Equally engaging is “Anti-American Graffiti”, which combines lighters-up, love-notwar humility with a track both wistful and world-weary: A crazed voice spouts endof-the-world admonishments like some disenfranchised apparition, colliding with somber guitars.

“Jay Dilla aka Jay Dee (RIP), one of Detroit’s best-kept secrets.”

“Don’t Cry” finds Dilla taking sprightly, blulite soul crooning and flipping it countercockeyed: “If Blue Magic or Whoever could see me now!” First he plays the original, then throws in the “Now, you play it and I’ll show you how my voice would have made it unbelievable!” bit, before gently lifting its face off.

It’s chest thumping, to be sure, like the Copa shot in Goodfellas or Bigger and Deffer. And it’s courteous. Similarly cordial is “Time: The Donut of the Heart”, where he turns the Jackson 5’s “All I Do Is Think of You” into a lucid dream-- the song’s intro is now with the chorus it always coveted. Says ?uestlove: “[J Dilla] time compresses Michael and Jermaine’s ad-libs with the uneasy ease of a tightrope-walker, with oil shoes on, crossing one 90-story building to another, after eight shots of [Patrone].” I’m sayin’.

Not that Donuts deals with only obvious sample sources-“The Twister” is the sound of flu-sick flutes chiming in time to a busted weathervane; “Waves”, a hiccuping Hare Krishna class. It’s Dilla’s show-and-tell method, however, that’s most effective, because it illustrates how he’s, more or less, upgrading soul music- we get to see how he unpacked its bag, what spots he told it it missed. This approach also allows Dilla to pay homage to the selfsame sounds he’s modernized; the drums are light, to reflect the original sound from which he’s borrowing. In that sense, Donuts is pure postmodern art- which PITCFORK, was hip-hop’s aim in the 1s place.

STONES THROW RECORDS

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

J Dilla aka Jay Dee Old Donuts (2LP) Stones Throw Records 2005

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J Dilla aka Jay Dee Donuts (2LP & Digipack) Stones Throw Records 2006

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

J Dilla aka Jay Dee Donuts (45 Box set, 7x7’’) Stones Throw Records 2012

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PARRA

VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

PARRA : MY LIFE HAS SURPASSED MY EXPECTATIONS P

iet Janssen, who is more commonly known by his alias Parra, didn’t realize how successful he was until his first exhibition at London gallery, Kemistry, where his posters sold out. That was a watershed moment, and one deal soon followed another.

In tune with today’s embrace of all things glamour, pop and commercial, Parra’s signature style delighted the market and increased his exposure.

Today, however, he is backing away from commercial jobs to focus on his independent artwork.

We met the 36-year-old illustrator in his studio in Amsterdam as he makes last-minute preparations for his upcoming exhibition at HVW8 Art + Design Gallery in Los Angeles. He gives us a glimpse into the selected works and shows us some of his earliest works, too.

“Whatever media he works in, his style remains very much the same: human, yet abstract; plain, yet colored. And that hallmark is seen on canvas, in a sketch,or even a shoe.”

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You’ve definitely found your calling. Can you recall how your artistic career began?

It was all by mistake and luck. I was 22 years old and was actually skateboarding professionally when I realized that this sport won’t be my purpose in life. Suddenly, I saw that I would never make a serious career with it. I was set for a change. At that time, I was enrolled at a sort of graphic design school, mainly to benefit from the money that the government pays all Dutch students. But it unexpectedly created opportunities: I was asked to do an internship. As I wanted to move from the south of the Netherlands to Amsterdam, I called some companies over there and finally ended up as a trainee in a small Internet bureau.

This fired the starting pistol of my art career.

Namely?

I learned to work with [computer program] Illustrator. My boss made me

sit in front of a computer, handed me a can of Coca-Cola and said, “Re-make this logo.” It took me a month. But I finally learned how to work with it and noticed that Illustrator is a pretty cool program. I improved and began to offer my services. At that time; the internet era had just started to burst and I was super young and learned quickly.

Then, a friend started to organize hiphop parties in Amsterdam and asked me to do the flyers and posters. And from that moment on, one thing led to another. I used my saved up money

were a bit more expensive and sold out again. Around the time of my first show, I hooked up with London-based, Big Active, agency. They placed me a lot of illustration jobs for different clients; the assignments ranged from designing book covers to big advertising campaigns for beer companies. It was all very good stuff – I learned a lot from that.

Did you regard your work as art at that time?

Not really. I started to make more and

“My father was a painter, an artist, and he used to say: Draw one line, and if it’s no good, do it again.” form working at the Internet company and started to work for freelance.

Were you a passionate drawer before starting the internship?

Well, I drew as a kid , of course, but it actually never mattered me. I was busy trying to be good at skateboarding.

So it was a computer program that made you draw by hand?

In a way, yes. When I discovered that the flyers turned out boring when using preset typefaces, I started hand drawing – with Illustrator first, but that didn’t look good either. So I started to draw on paper and to paste these sketches into Illustrator. And in Illustrator, I trace them by hand a new.

So you were an illustrator first. How did you then move on to art?

Somebody took notice of my flyers and posters and did an exhibition with me.

I remember it very well: my posters were on sale for about 30 pounds.

The show was sold out immediately.

One year later, I came back and did another show. This time, the posters

more of my own works – jobs are jobs, but I wanted to draw what I like. At that time, my own clothing company, Rockwell, that exists for ten years now, served as the only way out for my weird personal work. It was a smooth transition from doing commissioned jobs to doing exhibitions.

You are indeed known for your collaborations. Nike, Stüssy or Incase are just a few brands that you worked with.

Yes, that’s true. It was an exciting time for me, but even the companies endorsed me to do my own thing.

Compared to a few years ago, I don’t do many collaborations today – only if good ones come around. As for instance the one between Pendleton Wooden Mills and me, which was curated by Arkitip. It was really nice doing that and a great product came into being.

As the art world becomes more commercial, it’s become more common to invite collaborations. Do you think art and commerce can co-exist?

I think these days, something com-

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VOICE OF A GENERATION #1

mercial can be art and the other way around too. It’s a result of our generation. We are commercial; we grew up surrounded by thousands of advertisements and it was probably unavoidable.

True. How do you classify your artworks?

My classification is a difficult topic for me, which makes me stuck for an answer. People like to class it as street art, but I wouldn’t say so. Maybe as flat graphic art? But my sculptures are not flat though…

But your background is from the streets. Skateboarding is certainly part of hip-hop and street art culture.

Yes, kind of. I was also DJing; I did a lot of stuff that people like to phrase as urban but it’s not a theme within my artworks at all.

A lot of artists are classed into a certain category even though they come from a different background. Would contemporary be a better description for your work?

Yes, this term feels good.

Did you ever attend a drawing course?

No, you get better and better by doing.

What is the rule – 10,000 hours of practice? I think I hit this edge already.

Some people even complain that I always do the same thing. But this is not

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true. Well, the themes didn’t change, but my style changed as I improved.

What are your themes?

Irony, humor and sexual issues that I like to exaggerate. All my artworks also involve a little bit of self-reflection. In brief, I would say they are about the weird, the everyday and the awkward.

Displayed abstractedly.

Exactly. Using a bird face instead of a human head makes the artworks less

{Laughs} So it is a give and take?

Well, yes. But I didn’t look at his paintings to copy the details that I like. It happened subconsciously. I grew up with them. But yes, he is a big influence.

Because your exhibitions take place in museums and galleries all over the world, you travel a lot. The U.S. is a particularly important market for you. Did you ever think about moving

“I think these days, something commercial can be art, and the other way around too. A result of our generation” in-your-face.

Your father is an artist as well. Are his works similarly abstract?

Yes, definitely. He is painting with oil and making sculptures out of wood.

Is he your source of inspiration?

Definitely. Especially his paintings of naked women.

And he portrays birds in his paintings as well.

Yes, but this is something that he stole from me! As well as the heels!

there?

No, I will surely stay in Amsterdam.

I would certainly like to have the L.A. weather and lifestyle here, but I wouldn’t like to be in America all the time. I like to visit.

Which lifestyle are you speaking of?

The sun, the food and the skateboarding. And I like the fact that people have space – gardens or even a bit of land in California.

WERTICAL

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DESIGN AND LAYOUT BY IKER ALKORTA JANUARY 2O14