SUMMER • FASHION • COOKING &
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Whether it’s the swinging 60s or the electro 80s, summer 2007 is all about retro
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Acid colours:
Love it or hate it, bright pinks and yellows will be cropping up all over the high street
Romance:
It’s summer, which seems to make the world that little bit better. Pastel colours and silky layers are the order of the day
Florals:
from delicate petals to bold patterns, flowers will be big this summer
Shiny fabrics:
the fashion world has been overrun by magpies
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Make yourself stand out in brightlycoloured accessories – told you that bright colours were back!
How much? Pink watch: £120 from Storm Green watch: £100 from Storm
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ti a l: n se es l
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But that’s not all it can do:
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Fe st
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You’ve packed your tent, crammed your rucksack and your clothes are ontrend; but don’t forget the Vaseline. The humble pot of goo can be a real face saviour when you’re stuck in a field with nothing but a stick and some mud for aid. Much to our disappointment, Vaseline isn’t actually cultivated in small blue tins. It was actually discovered in 1869 by Robert Chesebrough, a dispensing chemist, who found that by distilling a paraffin-like material called ‘rod wax’ he could produce a substance that had healing properties when applied to burns.
Make up remover Because Vaseline is oil-based, it removes make-up with less irritation then soap and water. And it’s got to be less painful than the time we accidentally grabbed for the nail varnish remover.
Lip salve Vaseline is an excellent moisturiser – it’s our favourite thing for repairing sun-battered lips.
Mascara Bear with us, here. A slick of Vaseline on your eyelashes is a really good way of making them stand out without having to worry about morningafter eye gloop.
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ow, here at etc. we like to keep ahead of the crowd; try new things; and lead where others follow [and one day everyone will recognise our pioneering ‘dressing gown and biker boots’ look as a work of genius – etc.]. Which is why we’re such big champions of Graduate Fashion Week (GFW). Now in its 16th year, GFW is one of the most important fashion events on the calendar, showcasing the latest graduate talent from the UK’s universities and colleges – these are the names and faces who’ll be deciding what we wear over the coming years. Last year’s event saw Richard Bradbury, Managing Director of River Island; Glenda Bailey, US Harpers Bazaar Editor; and Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s Creative Director judge fashion students from around the country on their creative flair and fashion finesse as they vied for the attention of big fashion brands and recruiters. And it’s not just about competition – there are lots of lovely clothes on show, too. etc. will be heading down to GFW to report back on the togs, tears and tantrums. And you could be coming, too. We have five pairs of tickets to the Gala Show to give away. If you fancy a day out for you and a fellow fashion aficionado, email: comps@etcmag.co.uk. And hurry, we currently have them locked in a vault to protect against the prying clutches of some of team etc.. We’re not too sure how much longer we can hold them…
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Graduate Fashion Week takes place from Sunday 3 June to Wednesday 6 June For opening times, visit www.gfw.org.uk
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Student standards! Off to self-catering halls this September? Here’s what to pack, and a couple of easy things to cook when you get there. Yes, the easiest thing is to start a relationship with the takeaway down the road, occasionally seeing the odd microwaved ready meal on the side, but that’s not a very healthy option. Besides: cooking impresses people, and could be a good icebreaker in halls, as it gets you in the kitchen meeting other students. Give it a go, and see how you get on – what’s the worst that could happen?
[If you’re wondering, the worst that could happen is leaving the gas on and burning things down. Turn the oven off! – etc.]
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A chicken breast (you should try to get free range, British meat from the butcher. Yes, it’s an effort – do it anyway). Veggie? Tofu will work just as well A red pepper A few mushrooms A clove or two of garlic
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First, the preparation. Wash all the veg except the mushrooms – wipe them clean with a bit of damp kitchen roll (they go soggy if you wash them). Slice the chicken/tofu, pepper and courgette/ carrot into thin strips; finely chop the garlic, ginger and spring onion; and cut the mushrooms into fairly big pieces.
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Get a pan of water on the hob and bring to the boil, then cover and leave it until you’re ready for the noodles.
A piece of fresh ginger A courgette or carrot (depending on your mood) A couple of spring onions Soy sauce Chinese five spice (most supermarkets sell this)
Pinch of chilli powder, or a fresh chilli, if you like it hot Pack of dried noodles (you’ll only need one layer each) Veggie stock (crumble an Oxo cube into a cup of boiling water and stir) Oil for cooking, preferably vegetable
There are more recipes, tips and so on at : www.etcmag.co.uk/articles/life/cooking!
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Put your wok on the hob, pour about a tablespoon of oil into it, and turn the heat up to full – then leave for a minute or so to let the oil heat up. (Don’t wander off at this point, you should never leave hot oil unattended, as it can misbehave, catch fire and so on.)
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When the oil’s good and hot, put the chicken or tofu pieces in and start stirring straight away, until they’re browned all over (this will take a couple of minutes). Add a few good lugs of soy sauce and stir again.
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Put the noodles into the boiling water – they’ll only need a few minutes.
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Add your veggies, some more soy and the chilli/spices. Keep stirring things up for three or four minutes, occasionally adding a splash of stock to stop things going dry.
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When your veggies are softer, but still nice and crisp, drain the noodles (use the pan lid), then pour them into a bowl.
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Add the contents of the wok, and more soy sauce if you want. Munch! Use chopsticks, it’s more fun.
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O
bviously, the easiest pasta dish is ‘open jar of sauce; heat’, and we’ll forgive you for doing that sometimes. But this one doesn’t take much longer, and doesn’t contain the added sugars, salts, preservatives and so on – worth a try!
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Pasta of choice (100g per person) A medium-sized onion Two cloves of garlic Tin of chopped tomatoes Fresh basil (most supermarkets have it, but dried is OK too) Half a red and half a green pepper One whole chilli Bacon (optional!) Olive oil
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Peel and chop the onion; crush the garlic under a wooden spoon and peel it, then chop it; wash and dice the peppers into medium-sized pieces; finely chop the fresh basil if you can find it; dice the bacon if you’re using it.
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Turn the hob to a medium setting, and heat the oil (again, about a tablespoon) in the wok, then gently fry the garlic and onion for a few minutes until they start to go clear (don’t turn the heat up too much, you don’t want to burn the garlic).
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Add the bacon if you’re using it, and cook for a few more minutes, then add the peppers and keep stirring until the peppers go soft.
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Turn the heat down a notch and add the tomatoes and the whole chilli, then leave the whole thing to bubble away (but not boil) uncovered while you take care of the pasta. You can add a veggie stock cube here if you like. (Keep stirring occasionally.)
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Get a pan of water on the boil.
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Add a little olive oil and salt to the boiling water, then add your pasta and cook according to the instructions on the packet. If you’re using quickcook pasta wait until the sauce is nearly ready before putting it in, otherwise it’ll be done too soon.
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Keep checking the pasta. When it’s soft but still firm to the bite, it’s ready (or ‘al dente’, ‘to the tooth’, as the Italians say). If the sauce still isn’t thick enough, turn the heat up to max for the last few minutes while you drain the pasta.
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Drain the pasta and put in a bowl. Remove the whole chilli (which will have added some nice warmth to the sauce without making it hot) from the sauce and add the fresh basil at the last minute. Add the sauce to the pasta, and grind some black pepper over everything. Eat!
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Wondering what to do? Here are some dates for the diary‌
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JUNE 6 England v Estonia in the European Championships. Can England win a match? We won’t hold our breaths. www.uefa.com.
tion on poor Andy Murray? www.wimbledon.org.
30 Beckham joins LA Galaxy. He’s best friends with Tom Cruise, you know… la.galaxy.mlsnet.com/t106.
AUGUST 5 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. So much new talent
7James Morrison tour begins. The soul warbler
30 London Pride. Flam-boy-ant.
is spotted here (Little Britain, League of Gentlemen…). See it first among the 750,000 visitors and 500 daily shows, and gorge on comedy, dance, theatre, art… www.edfringe.com.
8-10 Download Festival. Black t-shirt, black
JULY 5-8 Roskilde Festival. Denmark – it’s not all
FA Community Shield. The Premiership winner v the FA Cup winner. But what if the same team wins both? Do they play themselves? www.thefa.com.
begins a series of gigs. In forests. No, really… www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com.
eye-liner, loads of angry young men in bands. Just don’t call them Emo… www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
8-10 isle of Wight Festival. Laid-back seaside
pleasure with The Rolling Stones, Snow Patrol, Muse, Kasabian, Keane, the Feeling, the Fratellis… Jimi Hendrix played this one a while back. www.isleofwightfestival.com.
9-10 Rockness. Dance on the shores of Loch
Ness with The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, The Charlatans, and The Automatic. What’s that coming out of the loch, is it a monster? (Sorry.) www.rockness.co.uk.
11-17 ATP Artois Tennis Championship. Warmup for Wimbledon: start talking about ‘backspin’, and the like. www.artoischampionships.com.
14-17 O2 Wireless Festival. Kaiser Chiefs, The White Stripes, Faithless, Just Jack, Editors and Kelis, in a field. www.wirelessfestival.co.uk.
16 Steven Gerrard and Alex Curran get married. We’re crying already.
19 Lord of the Rings – the musical. Seriously, the hills are alive with the sound of Mordor. www.thelordoftheringsmusical.com.
22-24 Glastonbury!
Glasto, we missed you! The world’s greatest festival is back with a vengeance for mud, mayhem and chemical toilets, and featuring: The Who, Arctic Monkeys, Bjork, Mika, Arcade Fire, Lily Allen, Hot Chip, Kaiser Chiefs and, er, Shirley Bassey. Never mind the bands, go to the Greenfields, daub yourself in paint and make like a hippy for the whole weekend – life’s short, man. (Don’t drink the cider.) www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.
25 Wimbledon. The thock of balls, the lines-
man’s cry, the play stopped for rain. Everyone ready to put an unreasonable weight of expecta-
www.pridelondon.org.
lager and all-butter shortbread, you know. This perennial favourite is Europe’s largest, with street events and 170 bands, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, My Chemical Romance, Klaxons. www.roskilde-festival.dk.
5-15 Cambridge Film Festival. Got your heart set on a career in film? Want to meet the likes of Luc Besson, Terry Gilliam and Mike Figgis? Then this celebration of international film is for you. www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk.
6 Tour de France. Le Tour kicks off in London for the first time since 1994. An epic battle on two wheels – we get out of breath just watching. www.letour.fr.
7Live Earth. The biggest global music event since
Live 8. Simultaneous gigs will take place across the globe (UK, USA, Brazil, Japan, China, South Africa, Australia and Antarctica) with Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a plethora of others out to highlight climate change. www.liveearth.org.
7-8 T in the Park. Head to Scotland for 170 acts…and maybe some sunshine? www.tinthepark.com.
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11-19 Elvis week. Uh-huh, thank you very much. www.elvis.com.
24-26 Carling Weekend. Taking place in
Reading and Leeds, this gluttonous music feast has a great selection of tasty morsels: Razorlight, Smashing Pumpkins, the Chilis, The Gossip, Enter Shikari, We are Scientists… www.readingfestival.com, www.leedsfestival.com.
25 Creamfields. Dance yourself nauseous to The Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, Carl Cox and Status Quo (just kidding). www.creamfields.com.
26–27 Notting Hill Carnival. Rio comes to
London (de Janeiro, not Ferdinand – though he might come, too). Two million revellers can’t be wrong. www.mynottinghill.co.uk.
SEPTEMBER 5 Air Guitar World Championships. Gurning ex-
pression – check. Tortured pose – check. Lightning fingerwork – check. You’re a star. Get yourself to Oulu, Finland. www.omvf.net.
8 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Like Scalextric, 16-22 London Fashion Week. All things bright but without the overtaking. Zoom zoom! www.silverstone.co.uk.
20 Never Forget (Take That – the musical).
Prepare yourselves for the trials and tribulations of Gary, Mark, Robbie et al. Written by William Shakespeare and scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Possibly. www.neverforgetthemusical.com.
21 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Every-
thing ends – the final Potter is released upon the world at 12.01am. etc. is already camped outside our local bookshop with sleeping bag and flask of tea waiting to find out which two characters will die. Actually, that’s pretty dark…
and beautiful: people to meet, shows to see, darling… www.londonfashionweek.co.uk.
26 Raindance Film Festival. Hmm, yes. I really
liked that Somalian film – the one made in black and white. With puppets. Serious art – get some. www.raindancefilmfestival.org.
HE Conventions
There are over 50 UCAS HE conventions throughout the year, where you can go to get advice on careers, Higher Education, university and beyond. For a complete rundown of national and regional events, head to www.ucas.com/getting/events/cal2007/index.html and book your tickets.
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B
eth Ditto, the loud, out-and-proud frontwoman of The Gossip, is tired. She’s collapsed face down on a sofa in the dressing room, from where she waves to etc.. ‘I’m not ignoring you!’ she promises, and it’s interesting to see the Ditto whirlwind in a moment of calm. Watching her onstage later, you’d never believe that the word could apply to her. But it’s not surprising they’re tired. Long-time underground darlings, their inclusion on the Skins soundtrack and heavy rotation on daytime radio, coupled with word of mouth and gigging their socks off has seen them suddenly appear all over the place. Then there was the argument over not putting them on the cover of NME, the one about Beth topping the ‘Cool’ list, the usual daft Heat-like exposés into the size and shape of the lead singer…has anyone noticed that there’s a band under all of this?
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The Gossip hail from Portland, Oregon, where there’s a decent underground music scene, but also a lot of ‘jangly, whiny boy music,’ according to drummer Hannah. ‘Bands with nothing to say, you know.’ Is that important? ‘Well, a lot of bands have nothing to say, but if they make up for it with interesting music that’s OK; but if not…’ A quick kicking is administered to bands like The Shins, Modest Mouse, the Decemberists here. And what about making their own music? ‘Being “safe” to have mass appeal is not what we’re about,’ she says. ‘We’ll think about stuff that’s inspiring us, and we’ll jam…and the magic will happen!’ Lounging around with beers, downloading tunes onto laptops, The Gossip are an amusing, sarcastic, incredibly laid back bunch – ‘I can’t even describe the magic!’ she mocks, luvvie-style. Mind you, there’s an undeniable on and offstage chemistry between the trio, who finish each others’ sentences and leap around while playing without
The Gossip managing to decapitate one another. Explaining to etc. that they love playing live to develop their material, guitarist Nathan’s also quick to point out the band’s live work ethic – ‘we try to be energetic when we play live. Kids pay so much money to see these shows…’
‘…and we just hate seeing these bands who look really bored when they’re playing,’ Hannah picks up, ‘standing there like they’d rather be anywhere else. You have to involve the crowd.’ For this reason they love playing small clubs ‘where you’re standing right in the audience,’ but say that they find festivals hard, when the crowd can be so far away. (Makes etc. wonder how they’ll take to the main stage at Reading and Leeds this year, of course.) So do they get influenced by bands that they see? ‘Sometimes I see people perform who are just so good it makes me think I should just give up,’ says
Hannah, ‘or there are really young people who are up there, ruling, and I feel jealous…’ Talk turns to bands who make it fast, and young, at which point Beth wakes up. ‘Imagine,’ she says, ‘the stuff you did when you were 15 or 16, that when you’re 22 you remember and say “what the f*ck was I thinking?” If you’d been famous when you were doing all of that stuff…it would make you want to jump into a well! Just be glad we’re not 16.’ She rolls her eyes to punctuate this, before flopping back on the sofa again. Hannah continues the theme. ‘I think if you just write one hit song and all of a sudden you’re totally popular, you don’t really have an appreciation for what it’s about, and you’re just a flash in the pan that’s gone in six months and what have you go to show for it?’ It’s Arctic Monkeys time, of course. Nathan: ‘I feel bad for these British bands, you know, who have one record and then get so huge – like Arctic Monkeys, their first show was huge and they were signed so fast…where else is there for them to go but down? We’ve played to small crowds, we know what it’s like.’ They’re starting to sound very serious, and Beth pipes up again, in a fake hillbilly accent, ‘we just caint wait to get back and play for 15 people…’ The
mood is neatly skewered, and everyone’s laughing again. etc. suspects that this sort of thing happens a lot. Ain’t never been cool The days of 15-strong crowds are gone, though, as the packed venue beyond the dressing room suggests. They’re on the way up, but what about this ‘cool’ business that seems to surround them? They’re matter-of-fact. ‘It’s bullsh*t,’ says Hannah. ‘You should play music because you need to make it; it’s not a popularity contest, you know?’ There’s no denying their popularity during the show though, especially the closing moments of their signature tune ‘Standing in the way of control,’ when Beth hurls herself into the crowd, grabbed and hugged while that truly incredible voice soars about the maniacal racket on stage. etc. is reminded of their parting words to us as the crowd lurches forward – explaining that they want to find their niche, and be a defiant, truly ‘Punk’ band, and not ‘like Wolfmother or some sh*t,’ as Hannah put it. ‘We want to be the anti-Wolfmother!’ Nathan decreed: watching Beth appear briefly above the crowd, dress billowing and gasping for air before plunging back into the fray, we’d say mission accomplished. Stand in their way at your peril.
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ince she was last in etc., Jamelia has been busy – having another child, winning awards, and creating ‘Beware of the Dog,’ etc.’s favourite pop song for a long, long time. We thought it would be a good idea to have a little catch-up… I’ve aged! And I think with age comes a lot more experience and being more at one with yourself and the world. Yes, it’s all good. Has that been reflected in your music, then? Yeah, I’d like to think so. I’d like to think I sound a bit more mature. Although being ridiculously happy didn’t help at the beginning, because I found it really hard to write. Being ridiculously happy makes it harder to write? Yeah, it actually does! I’d much prefer to be sad and depressed. I mean, you write some amazing songs when you’re down. How did you get past that? The thing is, when I wrote before I would say…I wasn’t in a good place when I wrote the last album. And for this album I had to put myself into another position. But I definitely enjoyed the challenge! There’s a different approach in the song-writing, but your vocal approach is also different. There’s an edge to this album that wasn’t there before. Having kids has improved my voice: I feel it adds more depth to my vocal range and ability. I’m very happy about that! Why would having kids improve your vocal range? It’s not a case of yelling at them all the time is it? It’s the screaming in labour that opened up some new vocal chords I never knew I had! That’s definitely one way of finding your voice…
Yeah, but I’m not recommending it. I’m not promoting it! You got your break very young, and even with time off to have children you’re still young – what do you think of the pressure that gets heaped on young artists, like the Arctic Monkeys? Only time will tell whether it’s the right thing for them to do. Because of my experience, I probably would encourage young people to get involved – but my experience is different to the next person. True – your professional life now is quite remarkable. You’re nominated for awards left right and centre every time you release music… It’s amazing and I do feel so fortunate, but I continually stay ambitious… Speaking of ambitious, tell us about ‘Beware of the Dog’… My main aim was to do something different – too often, especially in the UK, you have to be pigeonholed by the kind of music you do and the idea that this is the only kind of music you should do. I just thought, why should I? Why can’t I be something else? So I made a conscious decision to break out.
makes me think about, how it makes me feel, what connotations does it create in my head? Then after that I dream up a scenario and then I’ll come up with words. I just like to write songs in the way I’d say them – though obviously they rhyme! I don’t have any sentences in my songs that I wouldn’t actually say in real life. You’ve got some live dates coming up – is it nervewracking? Performing live is one of the best aspects for me; I love the fact that anything can go wrong. The crowd shows whether they like me or not – it’s definitely one of the best aspects of the job! Finally, then, what about some of the best and worst live moments? My best moment was possibly the V Festival a few years ago, it was amazing. The crowd was electric, and even though I’ve performed to bigger crowds, performing at the V Festival is a live performance I’ll never forget. My worst performance? When the strap on my dress broke and I was exposed! Catch Jamelia live at the Brighton Music Park event on June 23. Find out more from www.jamelia.com!
But have you ever gone to create music and thought, God, it’s gone, I’ve lost it? I did when I was making this album. It was so hard at first, and I thought, ‘oh God, I can’t write anymore.’ It wasn’t until I really pushed myself and went inside myself that I realised that pain doesn’t make you a writer. It’s you. Once you got past your creative block, how do you get your lyrics down? Do you write in the studio or at home? I have to live with the music first and think what it
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ETC magazine
SUMMER MUSIC COOKING & FASHION