Candy_issue_5a by Macacos Flamejantes

The Obsessive Impulsive Issue. Part One.

ÂŠ Glen E. Friedman.

More, & More & More, & More & More... Witness the aural pleasure that drives Irish women mental right now at http://www.joedolan.com/jukebox.htm Above: MyDesk™. As they’d say in MTV Cribs “Here’s where the magic happens”...

Introduction. Aidan Kelly. Ali Malek. Angry. DADDY. Donnacha Costello. Elaine Constantine. Genevieve Gauckler. Glen E. Friedman. Glenn Leyburn.

*In your inbox. In your face. Jon Burgerman. Keepmesane. Linda Brownlee. Marc Atlan. Michael Gillette. Pony. Simon Burch. Studiomime. WatchList.

Front cover. Tony Alva, at the infamous, original DogBowl, Santa Monica, California, Fall 1977. Photograph © GLEN E. FRIEDMAN. From the book ‘FUCK YOU HEROES’.

This page. Marc Atlan. Self Portrait.

Candy is an independent venture developed to showcase exceptional Irish creativity and culture alongside international equivalents. All informations and visuals contained within this document remain the copyright of the creators, they are simply being shown for the purpose of presentation. No elements of this document may be used, reprinted or transmitted without the prior consent of the publishers and the people featured in the piece being featured. Should any credits be wrong, please contact us and we’ll set it right next issue. Postal address: c/o Dynamo, 5 Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin 7, Ireland (We LOVE when stuff arrives in the post, weekdays can be so boring otherwise!!!).

Introduction.

Wow, what an amazing few month’s. Candy 4 dropped December 1st and has been downloaded over 10,000 times all over the world. SweetTalk’s in Dublin were attended by 250 people and it’s first excursion to Belfast saw almost 150 people make it out on a wet January night to be entertained by Frankenstyles, Glenn Leyburn and Oliver Jeffers. Add to this an imminent project being organised in association with Habitat Ireland and we’ll be needing a little shut eye. Anyhoo, on with the show...

This page and next. Torbjörn the Boatman 3” Qee. Designed by Rinzen for Series 5b. One of Candy’s favourite Qee’s ever, hopefully Toy2R will bring out an 8”! http://www.rinzen.com http://www.toy2r.com Photograph ©2005 The Archive of Light. Used with permission of http://www.Qeester.com

This issue, which is available in 2 parts February 14th and April 1st, is dedicated to those creatives who impulsively do something because they need to do it, get it done and move on. But rather than just putting out something half-baked or unfinished they labour furiously over every detail and slight nuance in order to produce something excellent and exceptional. We really hope you enjoy the following, if you have any comments (good or bad, we can take it!) please feel free to mail. Also, we are starting to accept page illustration submissions based on the issue themes so if you want to submit send your work on cd to the address on the previous page. Okay, let’s get you full of Candy... Richard Seabrooke. richard.seabrooke@dynamo.ie

Staff. Contributors. Thanks.

Contributors.

Thanks.

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---------------------------------------------Anne, Emma & all @ Airside. BrenB. Bryan @ SEA Design. Conor Harrington. Conor @ McGDigital. Damian @ Frank. Eamon Spelman. Eoghan & Paul @ Delicious 9. Fiona @ Robert Horne. Frankenstyles. Glenn Leyburn. Johnny & Michael Kelly. Jon Averill @ Backlash. Jon Burgerman. Lee, Lina & Eike @ Die Gestalten Verlag. Lorcan & all @ Delicious 9. Lucy. Amanda & Wendy @ Dynamo, Mark Blamire @ Blanka. Michael C. Place @ Build. Mike & Enda @ DADDY. Mike & Katie @ TADO. Nicola & Tiernan@ Bombay Sapphire. Oisin @ The Sugar Club. Oliver Jeffers. Paul @ GF Smith. Paul & Merryl @ Kidrobot. Rilla @ Rinzen. Scott, Johnny & Karl @ Angry, Suzy @ Studio Twenty. Timothy Saccenti. Timmy Stewart. Everyone worldwide that have mentioned us either in the press, mailed us or linked us... It’s all much appreciated!!! Mail me if I missed you, will make it up to you next time. You could just call round, I’ve got hugs aplenty to go round... ----------------------------------------------

Linda Brownlee. Only the one contributor this issue, many more next one (promise!) but my, this one is a cracker. Linda was an exceptional find we stumbled onto in issue 4 but for this issue she’s given us an exclusive photostory she did while holidaying in Argentina in December. We are honoured to be able to bring you the piece, hope you enjoy it. ----------------------------------------------

Staff. -----------------------------

Richard Seabrooke. richard.seabrooke@dynamo.ie -----------------------------

Aidan Kelly. aidan@aidan-kelly.com -----------------------------

BrenB. hello@brenb.net -----------------------------

Kevin Horan & Cameron Ross. kevin@newmedia.ie / cameron@newmedia.ie -----------------------------

Very Very Important Note: If you see anything in this magazine that inspires you, hell if you see anything anywhere, find out who did it and go tell them.. Go on, they don’t bite!!

Candy in association with Bombay Sapphire, IDI & Creative Ireland present SweetTalk5. Angry (http://wwwangryretail.com) BrenB (http://www.brenb.net) DADDY (http://www.teamdaddy.com) Date : Wednesday March 15th 2006. Venue : The Trinity Rooms, Limerick Admission : 5 Euro. Doors at 7pm, first speaker 7.45pm Bombay Sapphire reception from 7pm. Limited edition treats for early arrivers. More information at http://www.candyculture.net

Candy in association with Bombay Sapphire, McGowans Digital Print, IDI, Creative Ireland & Flying Cat toys present SweetTalk6.

BrenB (http://www.brenb.net) Conor Harrington (http://www.conorharrington.com) Jon Burgerman (http://www.jonburgerman.com) Lovely Productions (http://www.lovelyproductions.com) & DJ Jon Averill (http://www.backlash.ie) Date : Wednesday March 22nd 2006. Venue : The Sugar Club, Leeson Street, Dublin. Admission : 5 Euro. Doors at 7pm, first speaker 7.45pm Bombay Sapphire reception from 7pm. Limited edition treats from McGowans Digital Print for early arrivers.

Angry. Spring/Summer Collection 2OO6. http://www.angryretail.com

Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing, brightly coloured new clothes to rid us of the greyed Winter wardrobe. Running ably to clothe us with measuring tape in one hand and bottle of fine Scotch Whisky in the other are Angry, Dublinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own couteuriers of cool, with what we reckon is one of their strongest collections yet. Taking the theme of 'Stash' there's lots of hidden pockets, hidden details, graphics tucked away, the prints are full of littlesurprises and the t-shirt prints are a motley crew of artful dodger types, so you'd better watch your wallets when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wearing them. Simply must-have... MUST... HAVE... The following pages show some of the SS2006 collection which is available soon from http://www.angryretail.com or retailers all over the world so best we form an orderly queue...

Ali Malek. contactali9@yahoo.co.uk

Ali Malik hails from Tehran, Iran and the influences of his work are plain to see, but they have an added dimension that isn't of the middle east or even western culture, it’s not even of this planet. Brazen and bold in attitude, much like himself, the work’s always borrowing an idea and making something unique with it. Like all good art Ali’s work has many influences that gel to give us something brand new. His work, under the name ‘Sick Cult’, ranges from couture to ultra-cool t-shirts and recently included in the list of exclusive designers stocking bespoke ranges at Topshop flagship stores Oxford st. London and Dublin. We’re reckon you’ll be hearing and seeing a lot from this svengali in the future. Photography: David Timons & Ali Malek. Styling: Ali Malek.

01. How long have you been designing clothing? it all started 6695 days ago 02. What is it about your work that you feel makes it appeal to so many people? I don't think my work is appealing to everyone just hopefully in a near future to the hole population of China 03. Where and through who did you learn your trade? Me, I and myself 04. Although you're Iranian what is it about Dublin that makes it so appealing to base your operations in? What would you say are the benefits and negatives of working out of Dublin, Ireland? What attracts me to Ireland is that Irish are the Iranians of Europe, what I like about Dublin is the weather and the black stuff that comes mostly in pints. Most important are the friends that have supported my cause even though many have had theirs ????? in my sanity, but rather came to terms with my cocktail of Irish/ Iranian hummer. To be honest I don't live in Ireland full time 70%/ 30% between London and Dublin but when I did, they were the reasons. The negative points would be the lack of funding in arts. And the effect that tiger economy has had on nourishing young creative. The standard of creative talent has dropped due to their parents huge disposable income and the effect it has had on the younger generation,(lazy ideas and lack of drive to be able to research and execute great ideas) so there are no strong young creative to set new standards.

05. It says on your cv that you've designed clothes for everyone from Mariana Faithfull, Bjork, Helena Christensen, Samantha Morton and, em, Minnie Mouse. What do you consider when designing for these people/mice, what do you aim to achieve with your work? I don't know about others, but Minnie is a good client and a muse, we also use to share a house. She has a great style and has not aged even a day in the passed 60 years. What I would like to achieve through my work is to make people think, smile and cry, sometimes even scream. 06. Highlights... Have not reached any yet. 07. I see you now have a collection selling through the new flagship Topshop store in Dublin. How does your approach change, if any, to when your designing your own signature range? My approach is the same it is just how I filter through the ideas, because the work has to be less challenging for the customer and for the production team in comparison to my own line. And then there are the cost issues but by taking all these matters into consideration, I still try to keep my magic hat on. 08. Heroes... Peter Beard, Peter Sellers, Peter Seville, Peter Blake, Pete Townshend and Peter Pan. 09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... To break hearts from 1000 yards 10. Ambitions... To be the creative director at one of the big guns Le Coq Sportif, Connolly or Chanel (so come on Karl, push over.)

DADDY. http://www.teamdaddy.com

The moving image has boundaries that we've become accustomed to over years. We expect a standard and most times we get what we think is the current, the norm, the Irish way. Sometimes, very rarely, you happen upon people pursuing new ideas and a way of working that makes you think otherwise, makes you think "What was that?" Daddy came out of nowhere around 4 years ago and have systematically leveled the playing field with weird and astounding moving graphics and film, not in a usual way but in a startling and funny way. Insane and friendly, like your own Daddy.

Previous page. Halite. 'Underneath The World'. This page. N.A.P.H.I. 'Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?'

Left to right. ‘Yelloleg’, ‘Bloblegs’ & ‘Deadleg’.

The Chalets. Feel The Machineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

01. How long have DADDY been together, how'd it happen? We are friends since college. DADDY have been loosely working together for 4 years or so but more seriously in the last year and a half or so. It started when we decided to make a video for a Warlords of Pez track 'Padre Pio'. We worked on that for about 6 months after 'real' work. A lot of the videos being made in Ireland for good independent bands at the time were very very Lo-Fi, and looking what we could do on our computers at home we decided this need not be the case. Also The Warlords were not the sort of band/music which would stand for a swinging light bulb shot on black and white super 8, and we were so scared of the Warlords - we decided to work hard and do something a bit different. We enjoyed it a lot, and due to some hard work, weird smells and flukes along the way, we are still doing it. 02. How would you define your style? I don't know if we can, (maybe people not in DADDY can better?) I sort of wish we had one, but the ideas come from the music so change from video to video depending on the music, so its not like we can apply the DADDY filter. I would say must stuff we have done has some humour in it. Maybe, we are 'Immature'. Is Immature a style...? 03. What do you feel is important when developing a treatment for a piece of motion, what's your method brief to delivery? For us, a strong Idea is the most important thing, as most of the time we have really really small budgets so you need a good idea so people will see past the cheap sets, poor production values and often badly animated characters. We usually: Listen to the song loads, let it sink in a bit. Have a look at the lyrics too. Sketch stuff in notebooks. Make lists. Have a look in old notebooks if we are stuck. Search Google images for totally irrelevant jpegs. Come up with the idea. Depending on what it is, we would storyboard, and make shot lists etc. Shoot it and edit. Sit at the computers for about a month finishing animation/effects cursing the 'good' idea.. Present to Band/Record Label/Client. Try not to watch it for a while.

04. Who and what inspires you? Why? Music, Film, Books, Internet, our friends - the usual really. Ideas often seem to come at weird times so notebooks are handy. We are not hugely technical but sometimes software is inspiring. Accidents when you are trying out something lead you to another idea, or using software to do something weird that its not really designed for. E.g. 'can we make that horse come out of his face at the same time as his shoes go on fire?'.'We can'? 'Cool.' 05. You recently worked on a mini motion epic for Vice Records in New York for a charity song called 'Do they know it's Halloween?' featuring amongst many others Beck, Peaches and just about every other alternative artist alive. How did this come about and how was it to work on? We were fans of The Unicorns, and were reading somewhere they were planning this tongue in cheek alternative to 'Do they know its Christmas'. We heard it online, lots of people singing on it were people we really like, so we dropped them an email saying Hey! you should make a video for this. A few weeks later they wrote back and said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you want to make a video for thisâ&#x20AC;?? We said Yes. And then realised what we'd let ourselves in for. The song is 6mins long and we had three weeks. It was a bit of a nightmare time wise but we got it done. We got some talented friends to help us too especially Johnny Kelly (http://www.mickeyandjohnny.com) who worked with us all the way along but also Matty Bolger, Brian Cheatle (http://www.mingthemerciless.com), and Del9 (http://www.delicious9.com) who all directed a section each.We made friends with the Unicorn folk and are are going to do more stuff with them, The Vice people loved it as did loads of the folks involved so that makes DADDY happy. >>

Top and second down. Mundy. '10,000 Miles Away From Harm'. Bottom left and right. Warlords Of Pez. 'Padre Pio'.

Previous page. ‘Graph BG’. This page. Bell X1. ‘Flame’. Out in the UK March 13th.

Left. ‘Dance 0073’. Bottom left four. The Chalets. ‘No Style’. Right. Wonderscreen opening scene.

06. Your work for The Chalets (see Candy2) has been the work that has broke you internationally having been hit billions of times online aswell as being playlisted on MTV, what's your creative relationship with them, do they let you do whatever you want or do they retain creative control? We have all been friends for years (before DADDY or The Chalets) so its a very natural relationship. Enda (one half of DADDY) is in the band so creative control isn’t really an issue, we share similiar tastes and references and influences - so they trust us. I'm sure the fact that they have no money and therefore we are all they can afford helps. I'm sure when they are getting the major label big budgets $$$ they will forget all about their DADDY. Hype Williams will direct with cameos from L'iL Romeo and KrissKross and that guy with all the tattoos from Crazy Town will do one of his little raps.

07. While you're best known for your music promos any plans on the horizon for short films, full length animations or the rockumentary charting the rise of Warlords of Pez (http://www.warlordsofpez.com)? Ah go on, tell us, we won't say a word... We have a short film on the cards for ages about the guy who invented Traffic lights. He is a very interesting man. We need to find some time and a bit more money but definitely finish it this year. We also are trying writing a feature with a friend a kind of Horror for kids. We have an amazing idea for Ghostbusters 3 where all the Ghostbusters are older etc but need to pitch it to the right person who is willing to gamble about 100 million. It needs to be made before any of the original actors die. I cant say anymore. (please email daddy@teamdaddy.com if you are interested in funding this) A joke book, DADDY's bumper book of jokes is also coming out this year. With regard to the Warlords they have an incredible new album out in the next few months and an amazing new look website and totally new look band (they all got surgery) They are incredibly annoying people to work for - very ungrateful and quite smelly but it’s hard to resist working with such talent. 08. Heroes... Houdini & Augustus P Morgan (the guy who invented traffic lights) and millions of other people each day. 09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... Enda collects Trolls, cookbooks and vintage cars. Mike collects stuff from the poundshop and cant sleep if he has hot feet. 10. The future for DADDY consists of... Getting more mature.

Bell X1. 'Eve, The Apple Of My Eye'.

Donnacha Costello. http://www.minimise.com

Donnacha Costello is one of Ireland’s most successful techno producers. Always progressive, always inventive, his work is exceptional in it’s breadth, floorfillers through to relaxed compositions, and incredible in his understanding of the end listeners’ needs. Testimony to his ability to create atmosphere through audio is his ‘Can’t Sleep’ mix which was the result of one late night in the depths of dark Dublin. He couldn't sleep very well and unlike most people he didn't reach for the remote control of his worn out TV dropped a 45 minute mix of his own favourite records, felt tired enough, posted it up on his site and finally nodded off to sleep. Next day all hell breaks loose and people never stopped on about this Costello mix.

10. The future for Donnacha Costello consists of... Work, work and more work! Expanding the minimise artist roster, expanding the label into the digital realm, more travel, recording new music and I have a new hobby writing situation comedy.

09. I recently heard your amazing yet eerie 'Can't Sleep' mix (available at http://www.minimise.com) which was the result of one not-so-rare sleepless night. Care to elaborate on the urges that lead you to do this, put it out, document it and share it? Any plans for a follow-up? Well, I had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep so I went down to my studio very very early and just spontaneously recorded that mix. It's just a simple DJ mix with 2 turntables, a sampler and some effects but after doing it, I just got the urge to document it and post it. It was all done and on the web by mid morning. I try not to take myself too seriously these days and I'm quite aware that there is always a sense of vanity in an artist's urge to share his experiences. I suppose on that particular morning I just dealt with some of my stress by writing it down and sharing how my reaction to it. We had a lot of downloads of that mix and people responded well. That was nice.

08. Maybe i'm wrong but your 'Colour Series' of records seems to represent a journey which you want to take with your music rather than just releasing lots of individual releases, something I would see as incredibly challenging. What lead you to want to deliver your body of work in a series format? What have been the hardest challenges and biggest rewards? One of the main motivations for making a series was to impose deadlines upon myself and get into a hard working frame of mind. It was a big challenge to make and release so much music in just 12 months and it really got me back into being focused on my career. Once I was actually doing it there was a separate aesthetic idea being proposed but by the time the last records in the series had been released I had already moved on from that. If there's anything that becomes apparent if you look back over the last ten years of my recording career it's that, artistically, I'm quite fickle and restless. I'm always trying to do new things to keep myself interested, or maybe I just like to make things more difficult for myself :-)

07. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share? Drum machines, pork dumplings, good customer service.

06. Heroes... Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Larry David, Graham Linehan.

Remixes aren't really very collaborative. You get given some materials, you give back your work and either the client likes it or they don't. I usually enjoy doing remixes because in a sense aesthetically you're starting from a position that you normally wouldn't have gotten into by yourself and how you find your way out can often be very interesting. On the other hand, remixing can also be a very difficult and torturous process with the result being an aesthetic compromise. I know a few people who have stopped doing them for this very reason.

05. Collaborations are something you seem to enjoy (Server Project, Uptown Racquet Club, remixes, etc.). What is it about this that makes it so interesting and appealing for you? Both 'Uptownâ&#x20AC;Ś' and 'Serverproject' have been very rewarding. In the end what really stands out in my mind is the social aspect of being involved in them. I think that to some extent the other guys involved in those projects would agree with that.

I started the label back in 1999 and the original impetus was indeed creative control but shortly after that I found a label in Europe that gave me the control I wanted and had the advantage of being already very well established and having far reaching distribution. From 2002 I took a break for a couple of years. I resurrected minimise in 2004 in order to be able to take total responsibility for my career and my livelihood. I don't work for anyone else and I like that level of responsibility for myself. It keeps me focused on what I'm doing and keeps me working as hard as I can.

04. Running your own label aswell you have complete creative control and involvement in every aspect of your music's perception and packaging. Why did you believe it was important/necessary to have your own label, especially after having great successful releases through other labels previously? Creative control is critical. However, I've learned that there is very little you can do about the perception of your work or of you personally. Everyone has and is entitled to have his own perspective so I've stopped worrying about it. With minimise, It's great for me to have control over what music gets released and how it is presented. After that it's out of my hands and that's fine.

03. How would you define your work and approach? Are there any constant themes and stories that run through your work? There's probably a touch of melancholy in almost everything I do. Another thing that is probably imperceptible to anyone but me is a kind of paranoia. I'm not suggesting I'm crazy but it's there.

When I'm here I just want to work privately on my music and my record label, spend time with my wife, with my friends and get some distance from what I do outside of here.

Regarding levels of success here and abroad, in the past number of years I have made very deliberate attempts to stay out of the Dublin scene. I tend not to perform here very often or even go to clubs socially. I'm not trying to be aloof and I'm certainly not looking down on Dublin or the people around me, it's just that by doing that I keep two quite different aspects of my life very separated. It gives me more stability.

02. Although based in Dublin you're far more successful internationally. What is it about working out of Dublin that you find rewarding and/or frustrating? There's really nothing particular to Dublin itself as a city, or as a place, that makes it especially frustrating or rewarding for me to work from here.

01.How long have you been making and producing music? I've been doing electronic music for about 12 years now and I've been releasing records for about 10 years of that. Before that I was in a string of bands, before that I was playing piano, guitar and other instruments. I've had musical aspirations since very early childhood.

Elaine Constantine. Represented by http://www.marcosantucci.com

Being a graphic design student was a very strange thing in the mid 90’s. Ireland was only waking up to the fact that design was actually important and because of this inspiration was hard to find either of this isle or not. Enter The Face, the now defunct British style magazine, that dropped like a creative bomb ripe for the picking every month onto the newsagents’ stands. This was a window on what was going on all over the globe, an insight to a world so distant, so amazing. Through The Face, and it’s brother and sister publications, I learned about so many incredible emerging talents (James Jarvis, Juergen Teller, Kam Tang, etc.) at the start of their careers and since then have watched with interest as they’ve moved onwards on upwards to higher climbs. One such starlet is Elaine Constantine, simply one of my favourite photographers ever. Her work is some of the most colourful, energetic, involving and sometimes insane around, you can understand what effect this had on me, stuck in Limerick in the early 90’s...

Previous page. ‘Seagull’. This page. Roisin Murphy. www.roisinmurphy.co.uk

‘The Last Dance At Ashton Town Hall’.

01. Okay, so I know you best for your incredible work for (much missed) The Face, Arena, Vogue, Diesel and your ’'Tea Dance' project, what else have you been up to? Not that much in terms of photo editorial to be honest. Apart from working on commercial projects for clients such as American Eagles in the US I've really been learning how to write and direct film. Its been a real challenge - I've never really had to write much in my life - but one that I'm finding very exciting. I wrote and directed a 25 minute comedy drama, called Cold Water, which I completed last year and I'm now finally working on a script for a feature which I've been dreaming about for years. Its a story set against the backdrop of the 70s northern scene that will hopefully avoid the usual cliché's or being too wide-eyed about 'yoof culture' . 02. How would you define your style and approach? What is it about your work that seems to have struck a chord with people? I guess you could some it up by saying that when it works there's an authenticity to the expressions/reactions of the subjects in the pictures that the viewer can empathise with. Its probably that simple. 03. People, colour, energy and emotion play huge parts in your work, what makes this approach so appealing to you? I don't know...I think its because that's how I was with the friends I grew up with. The mannered, alienated poses of the early nineties and the stylised sophisticates of eighties fashion photography just felt so naff. The same could be said for colour - it wasn't very fashionable during the early nineties and I guess I was reacting against that. 04. Heroes... Early inspirations were Chris Killip, Terence Spencer, Tony Ray Jones and Martin Parr, as I got more into colour photography I discovered Jeff Wall, Joel Sternfeld and Phillip Lorca Di Corcia. Other heroes include Almodovar, P T Anderson, Ken Russell, Alan Clarke 05. While you're well known for your photographs you also direct commercials, pop videos and documentaries. What is it about bringing your subjects to live that makes it so interesting to you? Who would you consider as dream commissions? I guess I've always been obsessed with character and narrative and I couldn't find a satisfying way to fully articulate those things photographically. A dream commission? The Queen bungee jumping, shot from underneath. >>

‘Mosh’.

Left. ‘Picnic’. Right. ‘Dorm’.

Top. ‘Alex and Ivy’. Bottom. ‘Liz and Norman’.

Karen Elson.

06. While most of your work is ultra-colourful and energetic your 'Tea Dance' exhibition was a departure from your signature style. What were the guiding inspirations and aims for documenting this? The real characters that I met when researching the Tea Dance scene. I wanted to capture their vitality and sense of fun but it is also a record of a passing culture. There's something melancholy about it. I didn't want the pictures to look too gaudy - I thought the subject matter called for a little restraint.

08. Is there any particular type of work (editorial / advertising / motion / etc.) that you prefer for particular challenges or opportunities they present or do you see each project as a question equally in that it needs a creative answer? What do you love most about the work you take on, what do you look for in a prospective job? Sometimes its a technical challenge (esp. with film), sometimes its about getting away with something in a particular context - e.g. My first story for US Vogue, which I thought was quite out there for such a sober magazine - sometimes its the subject matter itself which I find compelling.

09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... I am very obsessive when I decide to do something and it's when I'm putting it into action that I am at my happiest. At the moment I am obsessed with my script. I lie awake all night some nights turning it over. If anything stops my progress I am at my most miserable. 10. 2006 for Elaine Constantine will feature... A finished film script and spending more time tidying up and cleaning...

07. Ambitions... To write and direct a feature film that I can be proud of.

Left. Elaine Constantine for Diesel. Right. Karen Elson. Next page. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Girls on bikesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

It’s a Lonely Life. -

A SET : of : FOUR

AIDAN the:obsessives KELLY By :

I must admit I was led to believe that Nothing was happening in Dublin, or at least nothing worth talking about. Nothing of real consequence was to be overheard at tables all down South William Promenade or Wexford Street watering holes unless it was the sound of money and ideas about new shops or retail opportunities, gay cowboy films and the falling of dirty expletives from the mouthy young ones after yet another imported Eastern Bloc beer. But of course you know this to be un true, and along the way you forgot to mention it to me. Collections of people work at events in hysterical moments but its the individuals who pave forward a way for us followers. In this issue we didn’t want to feature the international heavyweights lookin’ for a fight but local legends trying not to go unnoticed, each has a particular style and devotion to their idea that begs the question, “Why?’. They love their work and in some cases if it wasn’t for their work they’d fail to continue with the obvious pilgrimage they’ve taken, a wrenched soul is a clean soul. Proud, Determined & Dedicated to each cause, they stand alone and away from the usual and burn a mark in the grounds behind them.

Dublin’s not Dead and Gone. We have proof.

ONE : of : FOUR

the:obsessives -

Famed, tall and handsome, Dublin’s prominent selector when it comes to big records, Arveene Juthan has been on the coalface of djing not only in his resident hometown of Dublin but in far away spots like South Africa, the United States and the UK for close on eternity. He even represented our fair isle at last year’s Sonar festival in Barcelona.

Arveene knows his tunes and it comes as no surprise he knows his footwear also. Tenacious in the pursuit of the most elusive kicks it’s time to ask “Is this it?”, “Is it not getting out of hand, surely you have enough?”...

1. You're an avid collector of trainers , what inspired you to start, and why Sneaks? As a kid I always had one pair of Sneaks, when they bust, I'd get another pair, only as needed. It was never a thing where you could have had every and any pair you ever wanted. You just had your one pair of standard kicks either black or white, nike or adidas, never anything flash and that was it till they ripped during some moment of Kid madness. I remember having a pair of Kangaroo's with the hidden pockets in the 80's, I loved them but that was as flash as it got for me. it wasn't until later in my life that my true passion for the glove of the foot really captured my attention. I really liked trainers, as do all young men, you never wore shoes if you could where sneaks did you. About six years ago my big sister Shiarra (bless her) was in the states tour managing that girl band All Saints and came across the first issue of the Nike Presto, all the dancers on the tour where freaking out over them as they where so light and fitted like a glove. She brought me back a pair of Red and Grey one's and to be honest i didn't take to them at first as they looked quite flash compared to my Irish diet of white or black "runners". One night I was djing in this club Soul Clinic and i decided to rock them out... they where the most comfortable sneaker I had ever worn.... big Iove and respect to Shiarra for hooking me up all those years back....fell head over heals for the Presto... I managed to get a second pair at Schipol Airport in the Nike store.Wicked. Around the same time i discovered the bay... eBay... my source for getting what I needed. I knew that the bay had a lot but i didn't realise how big it was and the selection I was going to be presented with...shocked I now had almost everything I wanted at the touch of a simple button... I have been collecting records for over 10 years so getting hooked on sneaks was just a short step away... I'm not in this to make money or to brag, i just honestly love my kicks. I hate the fact that some people have turned it in to a money making racket...there's not much you can do about it, but it's bullshit, they buy them up and sell them for highly inflated prices... it's a pain in the F**king arse and really frustrates me sometimes but you still got to have them... I've travelled to get what i was after a few times.....

2. How big is your collection and what's the rarest pair you have / where you got them ? I've got a couple, half of my collection is made of Nike Presto's, i really feel in love with the whole vibe of the original Presto, light weight, comfortable and it comes in size's Small Medium Large amazing concept. I wasn't feeling all the later models the first is the best in my opinion and i really went for it . It's not really about the amount I have. I just buy what ever I love and can get my hands on.It's really been quite difficult to get stuff when your from Dublin. Up until a few months back there was no place you could buy great kicks... but now we got SIZE?. It's a wicked store and their getting the good stuff in, I've been in quite a lot and it makes me some what calmer knowing that I can get my hook ups in my home town at last. I have a number of rare joints...i got a pair of the Sarah Jessica Parker Presto's, Adidas Bapes, Atmos edition Air max, Tiffany Dunks, Kill Bill Asics, Laser Cortez, Woven Htm's, Ian Brown Superstars, ReeBok Pump Furys, Mowabb air max 95's i could go on. I think the rarest pair i have must be the Velour Presto Water and Air, i got 2 pairs of the Air one's and there are only 240 pairs in the world never to be seen again... I got one pair on eBay and one pair in Alife NYC.

4. Last pair you just had to have no matter the price / what were they ? Recently, I've been feeling the new Puma stuff and I really wanted the new Clyde's and the Puma Disc Camo's they are like butter. I think the Clyde is just one of the most important piece of design and Sneaker history, it was the original shoe of the B-Boy and the trainer that really touched the 80's and 90's dance hip hop culture in my eye's..I had to have them and bagged a pair of the new issue. I saw them on some Glasgow wide boy and chased him up Sauchiehall street till he told me where to get them... Clyde was a famous basket ball player in New York who palyed for the Nicks, he was also one of the most styling men around... his kicks went on to inspire a who generation of b-boys who built the foundations of Hip Hop culture... the Clyde or State as we knew them over here is a piece of essential sneaker history that all should have at least one pair in their collection... the all white is really dope. Also worth a mention are some of the new Reebok Joints... this is the year that brands like Puma and Reebok make a come back strong... i feel that the Dunks and alot of nikes have been played out and i'm after some new shit looking foward to what Puma will be popping this season

3. Does your collection cause hassle in your home... space wise / money wise? How much are they all worth? They do take up a lot of space but i have shed loads of records so it's not so bad... I spend a few quid on kicks but it's worth it, i get a pair every couple a weeks or so roughly and don't spend loads on kicks if i can help it,i'm a good digger when i'm away and can find good deals on kicks...to be honest their price less to me, i'm quite passionate about my kicks and would only consider selling doubles unless i hated a pair and wanted to get rid of something....my girl friend Jean didn't like it when I first started shopping on line and called my mac "the other women in my life" she did think I had a problem and made me ease up a bit so now a buy a pair once a month or every few weeks

5. Do you ever feel like selling everything / how would you feel if they were all stolen? I've never felt like selling everything, that is unthinkable and not an issue right now, but if i had no other choice i would still try to keep them and would grab as many pairs as i could while all ten of them dragged me away kicking and screaming As for someone stealing my kicks. I wouldn't if I where you. I would go to extreme lengths to find you and cause you extreme pain. Never fuck with another mans kicks period.

Genevieve Gauckler. http://www.g2works.com

Previous page. Design for the Hotel Fox Hotel, Copenhagen. http://www.project-fox.org Left 3. Illustrations for Mixte Magazine (France). Right. 'Big Black', by Medicom Toys.

Even though she’s based in Paris the first time I came across Genevieve’s work was through the Japanese published GASBOOK series (http://www.shift.jp.org/factory). While ordering a couple I took a punt on a few people I had never heard of before... And oh how it was worth it. Genevieve’s work is so playful, so inventive, so diverse, so colourful and so, so hard to ignore. With a huge output all of her own hand she’s also part of the amazing collective Pleix which sees he flex her motion skills in a multitude of different styles. The funny thing is that ever since I got the book I’ve seen here work everywhere from toys to tv ads. Genevieve’s work is pure unadulterated creativity. Set your eyes to fun...

Left. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tentorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Centre. Billboard for the exhibition 'Art Grandeur Nature'. Right. 'Ultrath', a Random Monster. Next page. Wallpainting for Galeries Lafayette, Paris.

This page Billboards for the exhibition 'Art Grandeur Nature'.

This page Design for the Hotel Fox Hotel, Copenhagen. www.project-fox.org

01. How long have you been illustrating, how'd you get into it? When I was at the art school, I was making some oil paintings and some weird hyper-realist drawings, my brother was also a comic book drawer so I was also very influenced by him. But I only started making illustration since 3 or 4 years, before that time, I was more into graphic design (book and record covers lay out, typography). Switching to illustration has been very progressive, I wasn’t very confident at the beginning because I only used Adobe Illustrator as a tool and I wasn’t actually drawing.

Bottom. The Three Emperors: Emperor of Disco, Emperor of Void, Empress of Mind.

02. How would you define your style and approach? There are different image styles. Black and simple characters on some photo background, symetric compositions of photos, decorative shapes, bright colors, simple typography, sense of humour if possible. I try to create some harmony in my images. I’m happy when it’s energetic, not pretentious, simple, light. I’m not very interested in style, I’m just trying to build up a world like kids playing with toys, rather than trying to come up with a new style. I’m also very influenced with the tools I’m using (Illustrator, Photoshop, hand drawing). For example, when I’m using Illustrator to create a character, it’s easier to get a simple and symmetrical character because the software is very rigid.

I’m thing also mixing is very important. By mixing bitmap and vector shapes, you get some very exciting images. There’s no more gap between photography and illustration now, it’s a very wide and rich field. I use illustration because it’s straightforward, it has clear outlines. It’s convenient to use it with typography. It’s more related to childhood, photography is more grown up. Illustration and photography is like the yin and the yang of graphic design, both of them are necessary. I guess it’s a way to mix the magic and the reality. It’s a way to express the idea that magic stands in the everyday life reality. It only a question of the way you look at it. Banal objects are given new life. It is my way of rehabilitating the beauty of daily life. If you see a supermarket with the eyes of an extra-terrestrial, it becomes very interesting and even funny. I also like creating an emotion when I’m working on an image. By creating a character or an atmosphere, I try to make something funny, sad, sweet, in a word emotional, because it creates a link between you, your creation and the viewer. It’s magic. >>

Left. 2K by Gingham t-shirts. http://www.2ktshirts.com Right. Design for Yakuta.

Left. ‘Porte’, one of the images made for the Colette/Comme des Garçons exhibition in Tokyo, 2004 . Right. Illustrations from the Big Active book ‘Head, Heart & Hips’ (See Candy 3).

Left. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Human Ladderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Top middle. Packaging for Hip cosmetics. Bottom middle. Record cover for Bleip. Right. Cover illustration for Le Colette #5, Summer 2004.

03. Where do you get your inspirations and ideas? From anything, really anything that’s around me, in a street, in my kitchen, when I’m travelling abroad, at the country, in a bookshop, a supermarket, in a museum, on TV. 04. Highlights so far... I liked working on ‘L’Arbre Genialogique’, a comic book I made last year. It wasn’t the first time I created characters but the first time I gave them a personality, some feelings. And I must say that was magic, because I had so much fun while I was writting and drawing the story. It’s obviously a very different feeling when I’m doing some graphic design. When I started it, I didn’t had a clue about if I was able to find a good story and after a couple a pages, I got the idea. For each page, I tried to come up with something surprising, funny.

05. Your work can sometimes be incredibly refined and sometimes ultra-textured and layered yet always retains your trademark quality and fingerprint, what defines the complexity of the final piece? Do you work closely with the people commissioning you or do you prefer to go away and work on something in isolation before you present it? I like working closely to the people who’s commissioned some work, I try to guess what they are waiting for me to do (it’s my graphic designer background: the idea of have a problem to solve). But well, when I do some personal work, I am my own commissioner, so I always try to challenge myself. I don’t make a lot of difference between commercial or personal work, I just try to do my best. 06. You are also part of the design group Pleix, how does this working relationship differ from working solely on your own work? Pleix was established in 2001 by seven people including myself. Each one of us is working on his own, we support each other. We are not a company, just a bunch of friends. Right now, I’m so busy on my own projects that I don’t have any free time to collaborate with Pleix but I hope to work with them very soon.

07. I see your characters are spilling off the pages and turning up as toys, tees, animations, hotel rooms and even appearing in ads. Any other plans to bring them to a street near us, maybe a remake of 'Apocalypse Now'? Yes, I’ve been recently asked by Francis Ford Coppola about that, we are still hesitating for the shape of the character who will play Marlon Brando. Seriously, for the moment, there’s no other projects with them but in a very near future, Big Active and I we might have some projects about this. 08. Heroes... Not really heroes, just people whom I admire the life and/or work: Bouddha, David Bowie, Saul Bass, Stanley Kubrick, Matt Groening, George Lucas, Andy Warhol, Paul Rand, Steve Jobs, Zinedine Zidane… 09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... I love my dog, Kawa, and dogs in general. 10. Ambitions... I would like to get some free time to start working on my second comic book and to make an experimental video with Pleix.

Left to right. 2 illustrations for the german magazine Form, 2005. Personal work. 2 illustrations from the Big Active book ‘Head, Heart & Hips’ (See Candy 3).

Left & right. 'Yeti vs. Bigfoot', 2 pages for IDN magazine, Hong Kong. http://www.idnproshop.com Middle. Wallpainting for Galeries Lafayette, Paris.

This page. ‘Mandalas’.

Left. Title sequence for the documentary 'Signe Chanel' for Arte Channel. Middle. ‘Squarebird’. Right. Billboard for Lane Crawford, Hong Kong (with Big Active http://www.bigactive.co.uk)

Glen E. Friedman. http://www.BurningFlags.com All photographs featured © Glen E. Friedman, 1977-2005. All books mentioned are available through http://www.amazon.com worldwide and decent book stores can get them if you ask. Best get busy.

Outspoken, individual, and the very best at what he does. To see Friedman's images is to embark on a journey through America, but with an emphasis on the anarchic and the radical left of centre, the sublime and the beautiful. He tries at every corner to speak about the realities in a multi-idealist continent, but to do so with a large dose of honesty. Particularly works, shot on the East and West coasts, which charted the rise of Hip Hop and its gun culture in such a way as to inform us, not frighten. The energetic frames from Black Flag, Fugazi, and the raging American punk scene could be almost a document on an unfound region. The work is simply overwhelming in its attitude and detail, from the very early DogTown skateboard shots to his new music work with further true greats Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, right up to his new offering, 'Recognize', which is a complete departure from the early work and a back- to- basics for him, asking simple questions about important thoughts. Continuing to surprise and make available an extensive collection of work in published book format, it's time Friedman was listed alongside Capa, Bresson, and Avedon. Tony Alva - Trespassing in Beverly Hills, early 1977. From the book ‘FUCK YOU HEROES’.

Black Flag, 1983. From the book ‘FUCK YOU HEROES’.

Picciotto (1992) Vs. Tank (1996). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

From the new book ‘RECOGNIZE’.

1. Are the details of the world important to you / are you almost trying to record everything possible, rediscovering? Absolutely the details of the world are important to me as they should be to every human, and I am Absolutely NOT trying to record everything possible. Discovery is important, understanding more so. Inspiring more so than that, once you have understanding.

2. Did you know at that time when shooting the likes of the early Black Flag, Public Enemy, Fugazi and especially the original skateboard culture work, that you were in the middle of something definitive? Definitive? I don't think that would be the word, but, indeed, I believed I was surrounding myself with culture that was inspiring to me, and I, of course, wanted to pass that inspiration on, and in turn, inspire further understanding and rebellion against politically conservative thinking and ideals... I mean, really, I thought these things that I was shooting at the time should have great influence; it usually just did not happen as quickly or in as timely a fashion as one would have thought, but I guess it was all just moving so fast it took the rest of the society that long to just try and catch on or catch up.

3. You said before that boredom drove you to taking photos, have you accomplished everything? It was not boredom, I never said that! It was the subject matter that drove me to take photos, and the fact that I was not seeing what was going on before my very own eyes, being portrayed as accurately as I would have hoped it would be, so I took it upon myself to do so. Accomplished everything? Hell no, there's as much selfishness and greed, and perhaps more ignorance in the U.S. than ever. So not by a long shot have I accomplished everything. We all need to keep pushing in whatever ways each of us is capable of improving the human condition in our own lives and others. >>

Left. Y'all (1992). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Right. Fugazi Live (1995). From the book ‘FUCK YOU TOO’.

Dead Dolls (1997). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay (1985). From the book ‘FUCK YOU TOO’.

4. You consider yourself and artist? Has it been more difficult getting accepted as a photographer rather than say a painter / fine artist? Yes, I do consider myself an artist, but getting accepted as such is not the goal, I just am. Acceptance? What the fuck is that? One just does these things and perhaps hopes that people will understand what one is trying to communicate, but acceptance I don't really know... I guess I could be considered 'accepted' as a photographer, because people see I create photographs, but that does not mean anything, it's just a label they use for convenience, to be able to label me when they need to. I enjoy my artistic perspective, my aesthetic drives me everyday to do what I do, from cleaning around the house to making books and taking pictures when I'm inspired to do so. Acceptance as a fine artist? That would be nice I guess, but I don't really understand what that all means... 5. Do you think, at the time you shoot certain work that you can effect 'change' as a photographer yourself ? Have you ever set out to do this? Yes, of course, you can effect change as a creative artist or news photographer. Images open people's eyes and change their minds, or inspire new thinking on occasion, and what is this if not change and effecting it. Of course a photographer can effect change, it's possible. How wide spread that is remains another question though. But that's what art is meant to do in my opinion --to be pleasing to the eye first, but to inspire and tell a story as well, in hopes of effecting some sort of change, at least that of one's perspective. 6. Do you think 'photography' has changed the world's perception of America? Photography alone? I have no idea, but all of those arts and sciences related to photography indeed - movies, television, all kinds of imagery expose people to America if they have not had the experience first hand, so undoubtedly it's had some effect on the perception around the world. But honestly, still photos less than the moving ones in my lifetime. 7. If you couldn't take photographs, what would you do instead? I'm a creative person with a loud mouth and lots of ideas, I could be into design of some kind, politics is a part of every moment of life for me too, so that could perhaps be pursued further. I can most likely be used as a consultant of some kind I guess, maybe teach something somewhere? >>

"Engel" (1991). Published in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;THE IDEALISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

8. Lately your work has definitely become more political, is this true, or has this always been the case, can you write about this? It's always been political to some degree, certainly more obvious in some cases than others. But there's always been a political undercurrent in everything I do, and really in most things everyone does whether she realizes it or not. Even being apathetic is political, eating food you buy can be political, voting is political, as well as not voting (although I think the former is more effective). My political slant is toward the progressive, the left, the more radical, but still organized. I'm always into promoting this perspective in everything, from what I eat (Vegan); to how I care about the environment, protesting all wars in the world ; and supporting others, who have similar ideals, who educate the public; to how I preach to anyone who cares, to listen or check into my thoughts, on-line like this, or in print in magazines or my own publications and other artistic expressions. One of the proudest projects of my life was the LIBERTY STREET PROTEST, just over a year ago, and it had nothing to do with my photography! Have you heard of that? I placed huge signs of peace and other statements in the windows of a building that is directly across the street from where the "World Trade Center" towers once stood and people still visit every day. Check this out: http://www.southern.com/BURNINGFLAGS/libertystreet_protest.php 9. In your newest offering, 'Recognize' asks us to see the world in a completely different perspective, Why did you centre your ideas on clouds? What's the significance? There were many reasons to be centered on clouds. First of all because clouds are absolutely universal to the condition of the entire planet, there is not one person on the planet who can not relate in some way to clouds, I don't think there is anything as universal as clouds. There are not two that are alike, just like snowflakes, so every single image would be different and never be able to be duplicated. As well, I concentrated on a perspective from within them (the clouds) for the most part, and not in relation to how we humans normally observe them. This is some truly unique shit going down. Texture, composition, light, and perspective all come into play in a big way, I was trying to incorporate everything that is great about photography as an art, at its base, all at once. And did I mention the "heavenly" aspect for those who may believe in such things? As I said in another interview recently : Roughly 'Recognize' is the document of the mission I have been on for the last 5 years. I'm very excited about the unique beauty of the world and the planet in all its forms, and more often than not, I'm very UN-inspired by what people call art these days. I'm really just trying to bring people back to the basics, recognizing beauty for what it is. It's not only about that reaction; I felt I had a responsibility to do it! In order to help "re-align the visual aesthetic" of the younger generation and of the culture on a whole, which to me it seems to have been dumbed down over the last 15 years or so. With this I'm trying to bring it back to the base, 'start at the beginning' as they say. I'm hoping to open people's eyes all over again. I guess it's kind of a continuation of the ideas set forth in my book 'The Idealist', but just concentrating on one subject and taking it to the hilt. You know on a more social level it's artistically relevant. This is meant to really arouse and wake some dead brains up. This one is more of a proclamation in its relevance to art and photography and my perspective on things, I really wanted to surprise some of the skeptics. But really it is something that I hope inspires people. I really love it and I'm really excited about it and the possibilities and impact it may have on the relevance of vision in art and in general. But you never know when you do something like this, it may go way over everyone's heads (no pun intended). But I just had to do it. You may think nothing of it!

Henry Rollins (1991). Published in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;THE IDEALISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

I think you have to see it yourself and decide, it's pretty heavy and very light all at the same >>

From the new book ‘RECOGNIZE’.

Turning Point (1979). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Beastie Boys (1991) & Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay (1985). Both from the book ‘FUCK YOU HEROES’.

10. Who would you like to work with that you haven't already, anything coming up we should know about? At the moment no one I can think of. In the past 30 years there have been moments in time where I've missed shooting some people who I would have liked to, but not just now.

Left. Fugazi (1995). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Right. HR of the Bad Brains (1982). From the book ‘FUCK YOU HEROES’.

I don't take pictures 'day in and day out', that's probably how I stay inspired to do so when I do, or at least one of the reasons. I don't want to get burnt out shooting all the time, even when it seems like I can. The inspiration always comes from the subjects or ideas that pop into my head. It's a really simple, clear, clean, process, nothing artificial. Whether it's no money or big money. As I said, I don't have a 'to do' or 'wish list' of subjects at this point in time. I just wake up and start doing what needs to be done for that day, week, month, or year and try to get through it all, one step at a time. Because of the nature of over-saturation of media these days in our lives, the urgency of my own art and communications can change every day. At the moment I can't think of who I want to work with, or who is inspiring me to create a photograph. Some of those things I may want to do are being done by others so rarely do I see a need nowadays to go and do something that someone else is doing. But when it's urgent enough, and inspiring enough, you can bet you last Euro I will. Indeed there are things that people are already doing sometimes that I think can be done better, and if I'm so inspired and can create the opportunity, I'll show 'em how.

Another image from the new book ‘RECOGNIZE’.

South Central (1993). Published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Fugazi Live at Fort Reno in Washington DC (2001). From the Glen E. Friedman archive.

FUCK YOU ALL Posters (1998). published in ‘THE IDEALIST’.

Glenn Leyburn. http://www.glennleyburn.com

Underground graphics often begin as an idea conceived spontaneously as circumstances trigger something that lead to the need to produce something. They are the physical interpretation of a person’s environment that can arrive from a walk amid the streets of any busy city, and no better streets than Belfast. Self thought Glenn Leyburn’s hometown has provided a wealth of inspiration through the years from clubs needing an image like the early promotions of David Holmes’ Sugarsweet right up to the packaging of the high street store Bureau. His styles range from an unexpected cut and paste simplicity to Apple inspired accessibility.

Left to right. Album cover for David Holmes’ ‘Come Get It I Got It’. Poster for Belfast club The New Left Bank. Print from forthcoming solo exhibition.

The work is very strong and very stylish in it’s punch and attitude. No punchy attitude from one of the nicest man in the business though, he's reserved and quiet in real life, but the words and images on the paper are firing.

Left to right. Poster for The New Left Bank. The Free Association ‘12” remixes’ cover artwork. David Holmes’ ‘My Mate Paul’ cover. Flyer design for Holes.

Left to right. Free Association ‘Sugarman’ cd single. Free Association ‘Wooden Heart’ cd single. Free Association ‘Everybody Knows’ cd single. Free Association album cover and spreads.

01. How would you define your style and approach to your work? As you may or may not know, I didn't go to art college; I'm self taught, and I'd say that has had a major impact on my style. I'm afraid I didn't know what a grid system was for many years, although I am of course a bit more clued up now! I love Swiss style work done well - Brockmann is a hero. But in my own work, I still try to operate in an organic and intuitive way. 02. Where do you get your inspiration from? That is such a difficult question, because inspiration comes from everywhere: music, film, nature, art, architechture, fashion, whatever. And what inspires me today won't tomorrow. I suppose I have a short attention span, which also keeps it interesting: always searching out an obscure influence. It's something David Holmes and I have in common: we are both constantly searching for new stuff. Obviously I love graphic design and follow it closely, but I always try to look for the more obscure work on the fringes, old or new. I love Polish posters from the 60s and 70s; I have a Polish poster for the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation, hanging above my office desk - and it's a masterpiece. I think it's amazing to compare that poster with the American one of the same time, and see how little the Polish designers were being influenced by western culture, and how it appears to have come from a parallel universe.

03. You seem to be constantly innovating your style for instance through the increased use of texture and experimental typography. Do you give yourself goals when producing a piece of work or is it some subconcious method at play that leads to you to explore? Yes I do give myself goals; I'm very competitive with myself, which keeps me interested. When I first started, I'd throw out all working techniques and process at the end of each large project, and start from scratch again, but really that's a bad idea. I prefer now that the work evolves. I'm not afraid of a piece of work being identifiable as my style, but I do try to keep it moving forward. I am lucky enough to have some great clients who like me to be as innovative as possible, so that helps a lot. I also feel my role as a designer is to try and do things differently within the parameters the client has set. In CD design, this can mean only being able to use a jewel case, a standard paper, or having to have the name in a certain part of the cover and at a certain size etc. These are obviously limitations I could do without, but all art has to work inside of a frame, so I'm not complaining. It's true to say that I am interested in texture and experimental typography at the moment. Very few display fonts excite me. I either like the classics, or something at the other end of the scale, so I tend to try and create or adapt a font. I suppose that's the reason for the experimentation: it's really out of necessity. As far as texture goes, for a long time I worked only designing posters for clubs and gigs, which I still do, and love. There is a different way of working for a street poster, which I like, but with these designs I usually only have one or two colours to work with, so texture can be really important. So that part of my style has also grown out of necessity.

04. Okay, so you do a lot of music design but what is the soundtrack to which you live your life? Working. Partying. Chilling. Etc. Soundtracks can be good for work. At the moment because I'm doing this short film I've been listening to a collection of early Jean Luc Godard soundtracks for inspiration. Eno is also generally top of my list; his old and new stuff. The latest album is great. I have some mp3s of interviews with him and oddly enough listening to his voice kind of does the same thing as listening to his music, inspiring and interesting in a kind of soothing way. If I'm working on a CD cover I listen to that artist alot so it's lucky I like the artists I work for! But it can be anything for work or play from The Arcade Fire to Neu! to Sonic Youth to Johnny Cash to Joy Division to The Kills: I really could go on all night, hard to tie that one down, I like lots of music!

05. Your work for David Holmes has travelled the world accompanied by his soundtrack, how much involvement does he have in his covers? As time's gone on and David has become more internationally renowned and busy as a result has the relationship changed? David is one of my best friends. We speak on the phone most days, and as I mentioned before, we have very similar taste in lots of things and share many influences. Our working relationship goes back a very long way: when David first started DJing and running clubs, he had seen some t-shirts I designed in my skateboard days and asked me to design his posters. At this time I wasn't working as a graphic designer; I just did some posters for fun: no computer, just Letraset and cut up photocopies. So probably at about the same time David was starting to go into the studio to record his own stuff, I bought a Mac and taught myself how it worked. It allowed me to work faster and meant I could start working as a designer full time, and when his recordings got released I got to do the sleeves. David has a really good eye for stuff, and whilst he has always given me really great freedom to do what I want, he also knows what he wants, which is good. He's very decisive; working with him you don't waste much time. There are no maybes - he either likes it or doesn't. I think the brief for the last lot of Free Association sleeves was to use lots of colour, and he was keen that there was a lot of stuff going on on the album cover: he did not want minimal. This suited the music, which of course should be the starting point for a job like that. The Free Ass were a great eclectic mix of musicians and characters; each of them had a very unique personal style, and I tried to reflect that in the sleeves. David's international success hasn't changed our working relationship at all; the only difference now is that there can be more involvement from record company marketing people, which we both roll with. >>

Left to right. Poster as part of re-brand for new media company Make.ie Three prints from forthcoming solo exhibition.

Top. Flat graphic for The Bureau bag design. Bottom. The Bureau bag.

06. Apart from the work which you do for David Holmes what other collaborations are you involved in. What makes these so appealing or necessary to you as an independent? I suppose every client is a collaborator of sorts. Even if they are bringing very little to it. At the moment I'm working with two great new bands from Belfast: Alloy Mental and V Formation. They are very different musically, but both fantastic. I have an ongoing art collaboration with a Polish singer, Pati Yang, which should end with an exhibition in Warsaw, although both of us have been so busy over the last few months that it has all been pushed back. I've also been working on a series of short films written by my girlfriend Lisa Barros D'Sa. I consider myself very lucky to be able to choose the projects that really interest me, and as somebody who works in an office all day on my own, being able to collaborate with people that I like and admire is great.

07. You mentioned before you also are involved in directing motion work. Care to elaborate... Film is a great passion of mine and has influenced my print work. I have dipped my toe into directing over the years, having done low budget promos for David, the Olympic Lifts and The Free Ass, but had not done any drama until last summer when Lisa and I made a self-financed 10 min short on DV called 'Groupies', which was another tentative step. But as we speak, I am heavily into pre-production on another short being produced by a new company I've started with David and Lisa: a company so new it doesn't have a name yet! The short is called The 18th Electricity Plan, and is a black comedy about a man out of his depth in a dystopian future. Lisa wrote the script; we are directing it together and David is doing the music. We have a great cast and crew: our cinematographer is Marcel Zyskind, who has most recently worked with Michael Winterbottom and is shooting Harmony Korine's new movie. So it's a busy and exciting time round here right now. Film is definitely something I would like to do more of in the future.

08. Heroes... The short answer to that is my mum and dad. The long answer is my mum and dad and: Barney Bubbles, Kubrick, Ellsworth Kelly, David Niven, Jay Adams, Richard Serra, Eno, Steve Albini, Cassavetes, Bob Osborn, Robert Frank, Raymond Pettibon, Godard, Neil Blender, Francis Bacon, Johnny Cash, Yves Klein, Beckett, Victor Pasmore, Charles & Ray Eames, Fellini, John Steed, Ray Petri, Tadanori Yokoo, Beuys, Bowie, Tony Alva, Robert Mapplethorpe, Josef Muller-Brockmann, Christian Hosoi, Trashcan Morgan, Jay Adams, Ian Mackaye, Francoise Hardy, Leigh Bowery, Guy Bourdin, Duchamp, Saul Bass, Charles Bukowski, Reid Miles, John Cage, Jackson Pollock, Paul Rand, Archigram, Warhol!! and loads more who i just can't think of right now.

09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... I'm afraid I'm an obsessive shopper! From clothes to groceries and back, I like to have bought the right thing - and that doesn't always mean the most expensive. I like it to do the job it's meant for with the minimum fuss. Often I find a product I like, but don't like the branding, so I remove the labels. So my house has many labelless bottles of shampoo etc. With the shopping obsession inevitably comes the odd thing bought from Ebay. On my last Ebay outing, I bought a close-up lens for a Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera, although I have not actually got an SX-70 as the RIGHT one has not yet come along. But the packaging on the close-up lens is fantastic. 10. The future for Glenn Leyburn consists of.. Hopefully lots of travel, interesting people, interesting work...

Left to right. Mu poster for The New Left Bank. Acid poster for The New Left Bank. Tora Tora poster for The Art College. Print for 12(12)exhibition part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Back of Acid poster for The New Left Bank.

Left to right. ‘Go Commando’ cd single cover. David Holmes single from ‘Come Get It I Got It’ album. Cherrystones disc, back cover and booklet that folded out to a poster.

Skibunny and New Left Bank posters.

Production stills from ‘The Eighteenth Electricity Plan’.

Left. Print for Candy SweetTalk Three, Belfast. Right. Print for Candy SweetTalk Four, Dublin.

Jon Burgerman. http://www.jonburgerman.com http://www.helloduudle.com http://www.biro-web.com

Previous page. 300% illustration. This page. Trexi chase figure . Various illustrations on reused card & paper.

After we administered the Candy Flavoured Travel Vaccineâ&#x201E;˘ we headed off to parts unknown, hoping for tropical and exotic, to interview another in a line of Illustration Gods! Imagine my horror when I removed my blindfold to reveal I was in Nottingham! But this town, once saved by a band of men in green leotards being merry, has a new hero... the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greatest Kung-Fu Cake-Eating Viking illustrator - Jon Burgerman!

BrenB: I probably shouldn’t say this but there is a rumour going round that you actually use…sorry if this is out of line but…pen and paper at some stage in your work! Would you care to take this public opportunity to address this accusation? Maybe you could describe the digital process involved in making your work look hand-drawn? Jon Burgerman: Ha-ha – yes, very good. You shouldn’t believe anything you hear, best to carry a mild distrust of most sources of information. My process of working is not intelligent design (stupid term and idea) but one of slow, painful evolution. Pretty much everything starts out as a basic pen drawing in my sketchbook. It’s a cliché but it’s true – if the piece doesn’t work on paper then it probably won’t work out on anything else. Once I’ve got the drawings down and I’m as happy as I’m going to be with them they are scanned in. Then they get cleaned, tweaked, coloured, and maybe vectorised to suit whatever they’re needed for. It’s a very simple process, and when you look at my work you can probably see how it’s put together and that it has come from hand dawn pieces, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all.

Top. Various character illustrations. Illustrations for SL magazine. Bottom. South Africa.

BB: Your work appears to be very popular at the moment, you must be very busy. But have you done any work you are actually proud of? JB: There’s work I was pleased and excited to do but I’m not sure about being proud about it. It’s all too easy to look back upon most of what I’ve done and only see where it could have been better, I’m often disappointed in myself, I am a let down and must try harder. It’s probably a healthy attitude to have, it doesn’t seem right to be patting yourself on the back because you drew a few pictures. I achieve the greatest sense of pride when tapping on the back of a baking tin and seeing (and smelling) a warm, fresh cake, all in one piece, slide smoothly out on to the cooling rack.

BB: Hmmm, so apart from your (somewhat suspicious) delight in all things confectionary, have you any recent work that you'd care to mention perhaps a particularly good client that highlights why this way of life can be so bloody good? JB: On the one hand all clients (that pay up!) are good because they help fuel the not-going-to-work-and-doing-a-proper-job life I happily part-take in. Highlights for me are the cool projects where I've been trusted (probably against some upper management's better judgment) to just have a go and run with an idea. Of particular note is the WipEout Pure job I did with SONY last year. They got me to create a new level as part of their downloadable bonus content packs for the game. (Anyone with a Pal copy of the game can download the track I designed for free.) It was a crazy brief as, really, there wasn't much of one, which is strange for a job of that profile. So over the course of a few months, working with the 3D computer boffins at SONY HQ in Liverpool, I made all manner of odd track side features and creatures. It was great fun, like winning a special competition or getting your letter chosen on Jim'll Fix! It’s not like having to do work. Future employers and commissioners take note - I only want to do cool stuff like that now, so buck up your ideas a bit, eh? I'd be lucky to work on something as exciting so freely again (though they did cut a trackside building with an impaled hamster on its roof). >>

Left. 'Chump + Chumpette' artwork, Pencil and felt on paper, 2006. Right row. Doodlebot. Babybabybaby Magazine spread (Mexico). Paintings on card.

This page. Jazz illustration. 'I Am Bad' Mobile phone wallpaper. Character design. No store Poster (http://www.nostore.org/index.htm). Candy SweetTalk6 ‘I Love Candy’ special giveaway poster.

This page. Various penand marker drawings. Bottom right. 'Stop Your Messing Around' Tiny Showcase print.

BB: What do you do if you get a spare moment? When you were younger did you ever envisage a time where doing nothing except work would make you happy? JB: If I have spare time I like to sleep, that’s where I can be a Viking. When I was younger I wanted to be an artist, pottering around in a shed and playing with paints all day long. I think this is because at school I found the art classes really frustrating. The teachers would talk for half the lesson and then we’d be really restricted over what paints and materials we could use. Now I can paint, scribble and doodle all day long without anyone stopping me! So who’s laughing now Mrs. Thompson? …ahem

BB: Okay, a conspiracy of silence, I get it, it’s a closed shop. But was designing Toys something you sought out, or did an offer appear one day in your inbox? JB: It started with the inbox footsies but gestated and grew a little into meetings and phone calls. I've been very lucky that I was in a position where a few opportunities where given to me and I had to choose the ones I thought were best. Designing toys takes a long time, the whole process is fraught with lots of back and forths and tweaking but it's a labour of love - it's something I really wanted to do and I am really pleased to be working with Flying Cat on some cool projects, which should finally raise their heads above the precipice soon!

BB: There are too many great illustrators and designers about at the moment, are there any that you don’t envy too much that you can still admire them? JB: I admire a lot of them, you’re right! There are a lot of talented people working in doodles and illustration today. A lot of them can be found on the links page of my website http://www.jonburgerman.com (that’ll get me out of listing anyone here).

BB: When you are under pressure to deliver an illustration and/or a flash animation to a really cool ‘must impress’ client do you ever lose focus and find your mind wandering? Or are you so totally in the zone that you never crack? JB: The zone? I wish I was in the zone! I’m always in a state of cracking. I panic and sweat, toil and stress. I get really worried they’ve confused me with someone else and are expecting something cool that I can’t possibly deliver and they’ll be really disappointed with me. Doodling can be a tough job sometimes, it’s not for the faint hearted.

BB: The Urban Vinyl Toy scene is so hot at the moment. You must have some wicked gossip, who’s not talking to who, who is the biggest bitch, etc? The Public demands to know the truth behind the apparently amicable front! JB: Everyone I know and have ever met has been wonderful.

BB: Is the internet a vital tool for a. creating a global system where atrocities can be reported instantly, people held to account and injustices expressed, or b. purchasing really cool toys, t-shirts and books, and could you give an example of when you have used it for either or both of these options? JB: I think it’s great that people can buy stuff from all around the world, stuff they wouldn’t normally have access to. The internet is a cool medium for information sharing and making the world seem that little bit smaller. I’m glad to be doing what I do in the internet age, where it doesn’t really matter where I live because I can be in touch with anyone anywhere anytime. BB: What are the weather, club scene, graffiti, rent, speed-dating nights and second-hand Book/Record Stores like in Nottingham? JB: When I first moved here I was most impressed by Nottingham’s collection of three Selectadisc stores all in a row on one street (with a couple of comic book stores sandwiched in between). Now there’s a giant Fopp too. Nottingham used to have a lot of pound stores, which again, pleased me greatly when I first arrived as a student. The weather is your standard midlands weather, you can have it in any colour as long as it’s grey. Nottingham is actually a good little city all in all, if it wasn’t I guess I would of left by now. I know nothing about speed or dating (do those two mix?) >>

This page. Plush Zeebzeebs protoypes (Flying Cat). Dinkton and Yimmi vinyl pre-production samples (Flying Cat). Sketchel limited edition bag.

This page. ‘Hello Duudle - The Duudleville tales book’, collaboration with Sune Ehlers (http://www.helloduudle.com). Wipeout Pure PSP Print ad / Section from the first HD book (bottom right).

This page. Screenshots and renders from 'Burgertown', a WipEout Pure track design for the PSP.

BB: Have you any treasures in your studio that you couldn’t work without? Do you collect anything? Would you insist on playing yourself in a Crimewatch reconstruction if your studio had been burgled for these items but you had bravely chased the criminal or criminals away? JB: I love my computer but if it got stolen it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The only important things are the work, so the data on it is more valuable than the computer itself. I’d be upset if someone stole all my back up DVD’s and old sketchbooks, as they’d be worthless to them but irreplaceable to me. It could be fun playing myself on Crimewatch. I could lie about how I fought off six of the criminals with just my kung-fu skills and an array of Posca pens. BB: How much do you love drawing? Have you ever dreamed of losing your drawing hand in, say a boating accident, just so you could give up and try something else or do you think you would train yourself to draw with your surviving hand? JB: I think I’ll avoid boats from now on. I do, however, have a contingency plan if something terrible happens – I will open an international school of doodling, inviting top students from around the globe to come and learn how to draw like me. Then I will send them back to their respective countries and take a healthy percentage of their profits and live off that. Maybe with all the money I could invest in a robotic arm replacement like Darth Vader has and get back on with the doodling myself (whilst expanding the Empire and choking people with my dark side powers). You’ve always got to have a plan B.

...and an added bonus question... BB: Tea & Biscuits or Pint & a Fag? Tea and Biscuits without a doubt (no pink wafers mind). BB: Bearded Ladies or Siamese Twins? Bearded ladies, because you could always shave them BB: Pretty in Pink or Dirty Dancing? Pretty in Pink, much more macho and manly than Dirty Dancing, even though, of course, I’ve never seen either. BB: Luck or Destiny? Both, I don’t believe in either but don’t want to tempt ‘em just in case they do exist. BB: Monty Python or The Goodies? Python, funnier all the way. BB: Richard Whitely or Des Lynam? Neither, I like the clock ‘boong’ sound best. BB: Have a wooden leg but also a parrot that can talk or possess a pair of healthy legs but never own a parrot never mind hear it talk? Got to go for the non-parrot option, it’d only try and peck my eyes out and crap all over my shoulder.

This page. Various illustrations and stupid doodles!

Keepmesane. http://www.keepsmesane.co.uk

Without a doubt Darren Firth has to be one of the busiest creatives on the face of this planet. 9-5 he’s a senior designer for the brilliant un:titled studio but by night, and just about any other moment he spends awake, he’s up to all sorts of amazing projects under a myriad of other guises and pseudonyms. KeepMeSane (his freelance work), WearItWithPride (his creative collaboration site), BrandDead (his tee company) and Sambuki Social all suck up his time yet still he finds some more to collaborate with and connect many of the world’s leading creatives through hugely innovative self-sparked projects. Never tied to styles or techniques, Darren’s design and illustration work is experimental in the extreme but yet always remains accessible and full of the energy that seems to fuel him. A true Tour de Force...

Previous page. ‘Jeep’. This page. ‘rocknroll’.

The work literally drove me round the bend in terms of creativity, and hence "keeps me sane" was born....a site/area which I could utalise with no restrictions or rules, to escape the everyday grind and save my creative sanity in the process - a basis on which I think most personal sites are created. Next came Wearitwithpride (WIWP) which is covered later. Sambuki Social is a collective I co-founded with 4 other like minded creative's (Hellobard, Scuffdept, Anarkitty, and RealSleepy). After endless online communication and frolics, we all arranged to meet up in London at the qee exhibition 2004 - Several beers, sambuka and fucked up scribbles later the collective "Sambuki Social" was born, in the corner of a seedy Soho bar. Lots of collaborations and exhibitions to come!!!

01. Keepmesane, WearItWithPride, BrandDead, SambukiSocial... Care to explain all these ventures which keep you occupied aswell as any other ventures or collaborations? Keepsmesane came first! It was set up over 6 year ago as a personal platform for experimentation and showcasing my non corporate work. I started employment straight from university, and was thrown in at the deep end of a very murky pool, made up of drab educational CD-ROMs and corporate websites.

Top. Illustration for Lounge72 calendar. Right. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mixtapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; illustration.

02. As Keepmesane your work is highly experimental yet still very commercially focussed, what's your history previous to working for yourself? What do you see as the strengths of your work? I don't actually work freelance, I'm currently working as senior designer for a design agency in the midlands UK, called un.titled! I have worked here for just over a year now and have had the privilege of working with some pretty cool brands Nike, Puma, Ben Sherman and Clarks to name a few! I think one of my strengths is my flexibility; I don't necessarily try and crowbar my preferred style into a new a job, I keep an open mind and try and tailer a look and feel around the brands essence and the clients requests (However stupid)! In a way this has been good for my career, as I have been forced into thinking differently about individual client jobs and as a result have developed several different styles over the years. The most interesting jobs for me are the brands that are just starting out or are wanting to take a new direction, this way you are more in the driving seat and it presents a real chance to be experimental and creative. These aren't usually the big sexy brands, but an end result your happy with, free from constant client meddling can be just as rewarding. >>

Left. ‘Acclaimed’ illustration. Middle. WearItWithPride ‘Remixed Vinyls’ custom. Available to buy at http://www.wearitwithpride.com/remixedvinyls.htm Top right. KeepMeSane for Ofracas. Bottom right. EVIL BUNNY BUS, a freestyled hand drawn customised van.

03. Where you get your inspiration, energy and enthusiasm? What do you think are the key things to remember as an independent creative? How do you constantly ensure you're progressing and re/de:fining your style and approach? Nothing motivates me more than a crap couple of days at work due to either nightmare client requests or chasing idiotic deadlines! In a sadistic way this winds me up to want to do more of my own personal work, counteracting temporary creative unhappiness with crap free, fun design with no rules or restrictions. Some of my best work has come off the back of nightmare client jobs. In terms of progression, I just look at what's going on around me, like every other designer. Daily checks on portals, visiting exhibitions, buying magazines, chatting to and collaborating with other designers and taking part in set projects! I also think taking influence from non design related sources is just as important in developing as a successful designer. 04. Through WearItWithPride you are responsible for decorating some of the coolest lapels, jackets and bags of people worldwide. What inspired you to set it up, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the aim of it? I like badges - I love design...there were no badge sites out there at the time....A viola!!! Sorry, I've done this question so many times.

KeepMeSane for Clarks.

05. Through WIWP you've been responsible for bringing together many respected international creative through lots of different exhibitions and initiatives. What have been the highlights and also, the disappointments? Not so many disappointments (None that I'm going to mention anyway), but these have easily been outweighed by all the good stuff! WIth 2 exhibitions, numerous sponsorships/ collaborations and unique products under the WIWP belt I couldn't be happier with the way the project has turned out. It has attracted the biggest names in both the design and press world, from (M) Gillette to the Guardian, Microbains to MTV!! it has exceeded any expectations I could have imagined. 06. You mentioned before that you have a lot of new things up your sleeve for 2006, care to let us in or we going to have to come over to Leicester and stalk you? Please don't make us. Man... so many ideas, so little time!! It sucks! I'm definately focusing more on my personal work this year, thats for sure. It has taken a back seat recently due to commitments at work and numerous design projects I have been involved in organising over the past couple of years; I feel really motivated at the moment (for some weird reason) and want to focus more of this energy on my own work, rather than concentrating on promoting everyone else. Having said that, Im certainly won't be ditching my WIWP responsibilities and do have a few related projects in the pipeline, including a possible hookup with Mr. "Candy" himself - Richard Seabrooke, Ltd Pins from the likes of Insect, Build & Yuck, a site redesign, aswell as plans for another exhibition. On a personal front I have a few collaborations and projects set in place and would also like to get either a small solo or "Sambuki Social" exhibition sorted pretty soon. >>

This page. KeepMeSane for Clarks. Next page. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bunnythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; illustration.

Left. ‘Resist’ illustration. Right. Illustration for Computer Arts magazine. Next page. ‘rocknroll 2’.

07. You mentioned before you also are involved in directing motion work. Care to elaborate... in a less glamorous sense, this was born more out of not having all the skills to carry out the work myself! I've been promising to learn more about After Effects for ages now, but other things seem to get in the way! I've always felt that to do motion work properly, you have to be committed to doing it 24/7 - Choose that as your creative skill and roll with it! Learning little bits can get you by, but to be able to master it and produce work as amazing as say Shylo, Lobo and MK12, I'm positive it has to be a full time career choice...unless someone wants to prove me wrong ;D. Any spare time i get, i spend it on doing illustrations or experimenting with different design styles, so motion work has taken a back seat for me at the moment - Hence directing and not producing ;D

This page. KeepMeSane for Lee Cooper.

08. How would you define worldwide creativity at the moment? How do you see it in terms of possibilities, quality, diversity, etc.? hmmm!! I have noticed more and more independent designers and illustrators getting recognition in a retail sense, for example walking into somewhere as big as Selfridges or as small as a local boutique and spotting products by designers/illustrators that you know or recognise. With the emergence of so many trendy/retro/designy shops and boutiques as well as online initiatives, it seems that there are lot more possibilities presented to designers wanting to get their personal work out there into the real world, whether it be cute girly purses or full colour posters and prints! In a bigger more commercial sense, I also see the possibilities for independent designers/illustrators,artists souring over the next few years as Big brands become more savvy about our industry and community, thus sourcing "Design Famous" and highly respected individuals (Jon Burgerman, Tado, Build, etc etc) rather that big corporate design agencies. 09. Heroes... THE FONZ / MR T / FOX's BISCUITS (THEY MADE THE "PARTY RING" FOR GOD SAKE) / BRUNO (MY CAT) / MICHAEL GILLETTE / THE BRAINBOX / YUCK / GEZ FRY / WARREN HOLDER / EVERYONE IN SAMBUKI SOCIAL (OBVIOUSLY ;D) / INSECT... TO NAME LIKE 1% 10. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... Buying old books and clothes!!

Left. Illustration for Computer Arts magazine. Right. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Power 1 & 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122; illustrations.

KeepMeSane for Lee Cooper.

Linda Brownlee. lindabrownlee@btinternet.com

Featured in the last issue for her work with Celestine Cooney, Linda’s work blew us away the minute we saw it. Then it floored us when she dropped her exclusive ‘El Beso Tango Club’ story into our inbox just after Christmas. Incredibly observed and beautifully captured, the 3 nights spent in the Argentinian nightclub have produced a soulful yet saddening document of life after hours in one of South America’s late night hostelries.

This page and following spreads up to ‘El Beso’ story. ‘Argentinian grooms’.

01. How long have you been a photographer? About three years, but intermittently roaming between doing my own work and assisting other photographers. 02. a) What inspired you to do it? A culmination of things, but New York City had a lot to do with it! After college I went to Manhattan for a 5 month stint in that typical early-20's post-arts-degree crisis time when it suddenly hit me that I needed to pull some sort of career together! New York swept me right off my feet, I found it ridiculously inspirational! I started taking loads and loads of photographs of anything and everything while I was there. I grew more and more obsessed, and haven't really considered stopping since! I met this brilliant Irish photographer in Manhattan, he was the perfect advertisement for the profession, and my first real reference! Until that point, although I'd always been super curious about photography, the notion of doing it full time never even entered my head! I had wanted to be a radio producer, and before that an actor, and before that a VET!! b) Are you self taught? No, initially I had a short theory based introduction through my communications degree in DCU, and then I took the old assisting route and came to London! I worked for a brilliant portrait photographer called Harry Borden, he was very supportive, a good laugh and a proper inspiration! I then went on to freelance and assisted a heap of different portrait and fashion photographers, some were magnificent and othersâ&#x20AC;Ś well, I learnt how not to do things!! Assisting was a pretty invaluable experience, although I've got to say, super tough at times! c) Who have you worked for previously? A real mixture of mags ranging from The Observer to Dazed & Confused. I've done a couple of stories for Elle Girl, Huge Japan, Lula, Less Common, and Dublin's Mongrel.

03. How would you define your style and approach to your work? I'm not sure I can define my style, maybe I'm not objective enough? Mostly I shoot people, and the most important thing for me is establishing a good rapport with those people, everything else seems manageable after that! I'm always on the lookout for interesting locations, studio work is usually a last resort for me. I like to work fast to get the best out of people, although I don't think I'm fast enough yet! I aim to be sensitive and I need to have fun working because it doesn't make sense otherwise. I'm pretty free with my lighting and love working with all types of light - ambient, continuous, flash - it all depends on the budget, environment, the feeling I'm trying to create and how experimental my mood is! Most of my stuff is pretty natural or at least veers towards looking natural! With Portraits and Fashion Editorials, good prep and research frees up my head. When shooting, I try to discipline myself to stop and take stock every so often, and not get too carried away. Getting lost sometimes leads to brilliant places, but often perspectives can get pretty hairy. I always try to keep an open mind and try not to take photography too seriously, I think it would ruin it for me if I do. 04. What do you think it is about photography that makes it so powerful? Definitely its ability to manipulate! One single frame has the power to hurl everybody's emotions in the same direction. On the one hand, an image can capture a precise instant that presents a perfect summation of what something is all about, and on the other, an image that appears so honest and truthful, can be so intentionally misleading. It's all pretty powerful, and perhaps a little bit scary! Photography is such an immediate and accessible form of communication. Everybody can look at an image, understand it, and draw their own conclusion, but not everybody can read Shakespeare, Beckett, or Tolstoy! They say it has all been photographed before, but its when, where, who, why and how it has been photographed that means there's always the potential to produce another interesting image, and that's brilliant! What do you believe is the key to producing a memorable image? I don't think there is one! And if I knew the key, I'd probably be so rich and famous right now. I guess you can have the best plan in the world, the best subject, the best scenario, the best experience, and it still might not happen! Maybe its luck and feeling, right time, right place, right headspace? >>

05. Doing your job there's usually a lot of constant collaboration and debate in order to produce the final pictures. How do you find this, what do you see as the challenges and rewards to working this way over working independently? Most of the time I actually love it! It's a real balancing act. The collaboration and debate is what makes the whole process more stimulating, especially when you get to work with bright talented people. When the dynamic is positive, then working with a team makes perfect sense, it's loads of fun, you learn plenty, produce great work, get to share the glory, and woohoo everyone is happy! I think you need to trust each other for that to happen! Having to work with people that operate on completely different wavelengths definitely freaks me out a little. And compromising is always a tricky one, especially when you're born with a filthy stubborn streak! I'm learning that sometimes it makes sense to be more assertive and firm with my ideas, and other times its better to just shut up, and be more flexible! Dealing with fragile egos can be exhausting, and there are plenty of them floating around the industry!

06. Speaking of independent shoots, I hear you're just back from Argentina where you spent documenting the El Beso Tango Club (featured ahead). What was the idea, inspiration and aims for doing this? Actually the El Beso Tango Club story was an entirely impulsive project which I did on the back of another. I originally went over to Buenos Aires with a journalist to shoot a series of portraits of the best polo teams in the world. I documented the Palermo Open Polo Championships where the caliber of both horse and man was ludicrous! I also worked with the Argentine grooms that are responsible for keeping the whole Polo industry ticking over at base level, they were brilliant! The El Beso project was a total bonus. It began one evening when we were out and about looking for somewhere interesting to go. I was immediately smitten with the club, I'd never seen or experienced anything like it, the ballroom dĂŠcor, the crazy MĂŠlanges tunes, the strange mix of people, the strict dance etiquette, the elegance and passion of the dance, it was a bit mad! The sessions felt like complete time warps, it was like a dating club for old people, all the men seated on one side and all the woman on the opposite, waiting to be asked to dance! I spent four evenings hanging out on the dance floor and in the bathrooms, trying to chat to people with my lame 10 words of Spanish! It was a weird one! 07. Any plans for other projects that you'd like to share? Lots of plans, but best do them before I share them. 08. Heroes / Villians? Heroes : Holden Caulfield, Irving Penn, and my Goddaughter! Villains : Villain of the month, George Galloway! 09. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... Obsessions.. Horses and anything both fizzy and edible! Impulsions.. Spending money I don't have! 10. The future for Linda Brownlee consists of... Adventures go loir, have lots of exhibitions, travel around the world, stay sane and happy, at some stage move back to Ireland!

A photo story by Linda Brownlee. Shot in Argentina over 3 evenings. December 2005.

Hand drawn type by Amanda Bothwell. amanda.bothwell@dynamo.ie

Marc Atlan. www.marcatlan.com

Marc Atlan.

To step into the world of Marc Atlan is to step into somewhere truly wonderful. A true visionary, whatever he turns his hand to, whether it be the latest packaging for the likes of Commes des Garçons or a global beauty for the likes of Tom Ford or Yves Saint Laurent, invariably turns to gold. His work has been the source of constant inspiration to me for many years now so imagine my fright to see a mail from him in my inbox, completely unprovoked. Turns out he likes the magazine but more importantly his favourite number is 5 (he’s even go the tattoo to prove it)!! Seeing as this is issue 5 best get cracking and make sure he gets featured properly in this issue so...

www.marcatlan.com

Previous page. Marc Atlan for Comme des Garçons. Left to right. Marc Atlan dvd cover and disk. Marc Atlan for Comme des Garçons.

01. How long have you been working creatively? As evidence that youth is fleeting, it’s been about 17 years now that I have earned my living as a graphic designer and art director. Halfway through a 4-year industrial design degree, I got my first job working in a creative environment. I was hired to do the layouts for a fashion consultancy bureau in 1989. Even if I didn’t realize it then, I imagine that this choice must have greatly influenced my future decisions, or at least the path I chose to take. I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in 1990. For one year, I did a stint in an advertising agency in order to understand that aspect of the business. Even though I obviously needed to work to earn a living, I knew in advance that this environment was not one in which I would flourish. Nevertheless, I wanted to confirm this impression in the manner of a masochistic experiment. As soon as I got this self-flagellation out of my system, I started working freelance. This was just before my son’s birth in 1992. My first clients were cultural institutions and luxury brands, a dichotomy that I really enjoyed. I was able to achieve a balance between the artistic and the commercial milieus, which in fact are not that fundamentally different. My creative breakthrough came in 1993 when I began a 6-year collaboration with Comme des Garçons. During that time, I designed an incredible amount of perfume packagings for them and helped establish the fundamental graphic vocabulary of this influential and visionary brand. It was one of the most prolific, memorable and enriching periods of my career. >>

This page. Marc Atlan for Comme des Garçons.

In 1999, I immigrated from Paris, France to Los Angeles, California where I set up my studio in an old beach bungalow, a short five-minute walk from the ocean in the historical Venice Beach canals. We literally live on an island near the sea. Three months after the move, the Viennese New Yorker Helmut Lang contacted me to become the art director of his perfume ads and company image. A couple of years later, in 2001, my portfolio landed in the hands of Tom Ford shortly after the house of Yves Saint Laurent was integrated into the Gucci group. For YSL, Tom was looking for an art director who embodied a Franco-American sensibility with extensive experience in the beauty world. This was my most massive contract to date, in every sense of the word. Massive responsibilities, massive salary and massive amounts of work... During this collaboration, I designed over 40 advertising visuals and conceived or consulted on the creation of over 300 packagings. Tom Ford was an amazing mix of creator, businessman and diplomat. He does not ignore the past, he just transforms it. My job was to constantly astonish him with new ideas. He did not want to be bored! Since 2003, there has been an unusually varied clientele attracted to my work. What they all have in common is that they tend to be extreme: extremely big, extremely ambitious, extremely rich or extremely talented... Sometimes all of the above. 02. What would you define as your strengths when it comes to your work? I like finding solutions to problems; I am a problem solver. My work rhythm is very fast, I refuse to bullshit and I like to deliver. 03. Although you are French you've decided to base yourself in Los Angeles. How do you feel location affects a persons creativity, is it important? Is it weird going home? Actually I am not French anymore! I renounced my former French citizenship and became American in late 2005. But to answer your question, Los Angeles and Paris are obviously drastically different --- there is so much more need for sophistication in Europe --- but I do not really feel that difference in how I envision my creative assignments. Los Angeles does not influence my work one way or the other. Living here is mainly a personal choice. I can sometimes feel slightly “isolated”, but most of my clients are international and in the end, it does not really matter where I live. >>

This page. Marc Atlan for Comme des Garçons.

04. Speaking of physical location, you were involved with the LA edition of Big Magazine (http://www.bigmagazine.com), how did this come about, what was your involvement? Did it serve as a confirmation that yes, you had arrived? No, it did not serve at all as a confirmation that I had arrived, since I already had achieved so many of my dreams before art directing Big Magazine. On the other hand, my work on the issue won this magazine their first One Show gold award! It will also be extensively featured in the upcoming book “Magazine Design” written by Charlotte Rivers and published by Rotovision. The way it came about was that Big magazine commissioned me to give my vision of Los Angeles. I was fortunate enough to be given 100% carte blanche by the publishers: total control on the creative choices of the issue. So I approached the project as a dream project, since that’s the process that has always worked best for me. What would be the magazine I would be dying to put my hands and eyes on? Which contributors would I love to see interpret my creative brief and directions?

Starting from scratch, I made a dream list and contacted one by one the collaborators: Spike Jonze, Roman Coppola, Mike Mills, Todd Cole, Dewey Nicks, Janice Dickinson, Charles Bukowski (not from the tomb but through his publishers), Juliana Sohn, Paul Jasmin, Frank Gehry, Max Vadukul, Florian Maier-Aichen, Anette Aurell, Paul Ritter, Matthias Vriens, Arthur Mount, Mitchell Feinberg, George Stoll, Max Bean, Gregory Poe, Patrice Meigneux, Steven Lippman, Alix Lambert, Guillaume Wolf, Francesco Vezzoli, Nicoletta Monroe, Albert Giordan. From up & coming photographers and artists to established or even legendary writers and celebrities, my hope was that this strange and eclectic mix of human beings and talents would exhaust every minute aspect of Los Angeles.

From start to finish, I spent 9 months conceiving, art directing and designing this special issue, so there are many anecdotes to tell, as is probably the case with any ventures of this scope. But one of my favorite memories would be when my friend, the photographer Steven Lippman, and I were able to convince Elaine Young, a 70-yearold real estate agent to the stars (with probably the same number of plastic surgeries under her belt), to pose in lingerie between my legs, scouring an electric oven. This situation definitely required hubris, balls and tenacity.

For the crucial "role" of the cover, I had this obsession about exploring clichés. One of these was the cult of the body and a certain tackiness -- which I happen not to dislike --- that is very Los Angeles. I envisioned a man, an imaginary Heffner or Bob Evans, emerging from his pool. He’s really too tan, all sweaty and greasy. He couldn’t be hairless because this was not about perfection or showing an Adonis, but rather about building an epidermic and visceral feeling for the cover. In the end, I commissioned my long time friend and collaborator Albert Giordan to shoot the photo. At the time of the shoot, we didn’t have any budget left for a model, so I volunteered. Detractors can always look at it as a narcissistic choice, and in a sense it was... But I was really basking in --- and must say still savor --- the irony of the Art Director “making” the cover of the magazine.

This page and following 2 spreads. Marc Atlan for Big Magazine.

More seriously, the best thing about working on this project was to tackle such a vast, complex and contradictory subject as Los Angeles.

This page. Left: Flavors 2k by Marc Atlan Top right & perfume bottle: Marc Atlan for Comme des Garรงons. Bottom right: Marc Atlan Vase.

This page. Marc Atlan for Philippe Starck.

Left: Marc Atlan for The Crazy Horse. Right: Marc Atlan for Oliver Stone.

05. In your commercial/client work you work for a lot of beauty and fashion organisations. What is it about this work that is so appealing? Working for the Beauty industry is one of the best and most complicated jobs in the world. You deal with the obvious and the unconscious, with rational and irrational, with the mundane and the private. It's very rich and vast too. You don't launch a perfume the same way you're releasing a make-up or a skincare line. But the most interesting thing in this industry is being able to meet people who are fascinating, passionate and sincere about their work.

06. Taking the fashion aspect on yourself, you've released your own ranges of clothing through 2k t-shirts. Where did you get the idea for the collections, any plans to expand into other lines other than tees in the future? The collaboration with 2K T-Shirts is an incredibly exciting recent development of my work. There are 2 lines so far. Flavors 2K by Marc Atlan, and the "regular" artistic contribution every 6 months or so of several new models. The Flavors line comes from a simple idea: the T-Shirt spells out its own flavor & color. It's just really fun to come up with a new theme every season. The other 2K line is more flexible, based on my design mood and graphic desires at that time. Both lines combined are now sold in 230 stores in 32 countries, from Colette in Paris to Magma in London or Barneys New York. Future plans actually include more partnerships of that sort and the release of a larger line of clothing and accessories. After having worked on so many perfumes for others, I'd love to release a scent, one day, not necessarily in my own name, but a scent for which I would oversee more than just the packaging. >>

Left column: Marc Atlan for Helmut Lang. Top middle: Marc Atlan for Gotscho / Dior. Bottom middle: Marc Atlan Exhibition Bottom right. Marc Atlan for Prada.

07. Your work is very powerful in it's consideration of clarity for the person who will be viewing it. The amount of detail seems to be dependent on what you see as important and brave typography and well cropped images all combine to deliver arresting images. Do you have a certain approach to your work or do you start every job as a blank canvas? My style was described in Artforum magazine as “a blend of luxury and irony”. But I do not believe there is such a thing as a Marc Atlan style or method. What I have always strived for was to go with my gut instinct, straight to the point in a bold, arresting and irreverent way. I do not approach projects with a previously defined concept. Instead, I start from scratch, sort of a “Tabula Rasa”, without preconceived notions. In the ad campaign for Helmut Lang’s first perfume, my goal was to reach the very essence of his perfume. The fragrance was comforting and elegant yet provocative, so I needed to portray that ambiguity. I tried to say more by showing less, simply visually describing what a fragrance would look like. I love controversy but only if it is intelligent. If you really think of your client, however, you want to make them desirable. Elegance is always desirable and can be conveyed in a million different ways.

Left column. Marc Atlan for YSL. Right. Marc Atlan for Tom Ford.

08. Career highlights so far? Future ambitions? Dream jobs / collaborations? The highlights would be designing the first perfume packaging for Comme des Garçons, creating the first advertising campaign for Helmut Lang's first fragrance and conceiving a very successful Opium ad campaign for Tom Ford at Yves Saint Laurent. Regarding my ambitions, I feel I am at a stage where I have proven myself on many different levels, and this confidence helps me be calmer, not needing so much to run after “fantasies”. But if I had to pick a dream job, I could certainly think of a few companies that I would be excited to work for, and Chanel would definitely lead the pack. It may sound awfully pretentious but I sincerely believe that I am the best fit for that brand. >>

09. What music forms the soundtrack to your life? I hope I will not disappoint you but, frankly, I believe I do not have the best musical taste. I can develop a fondness for relatively obscure artists like SĂŠbastien Tellier or Andreas Dorau, but I also love blockbusters like Madonna or Kylie Minogue. It's not cool to say so right now but I am not very rock oriented. 10. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... I have actually many obsessions. One is for the number 5. I am crazy enough to believe it's my lucky number. More than a decade ago, I had it tattooed on my right arm, as a gift for my wife to celebrate the day I met her. Another obsession is lists and listings. I surround myself with tons of lists. And they have to be paper. I don't own any palm pilot or sophisticated cell phone but I carry my little folded written schedules and lists everywhere.

This page. Marc Atlan for Comme des GarĂ§ons.

Top left. Marc Atlan for Textfield.

Bottom middle. Marc Atlan self promo.

Bottom left. Marc Atlan for Helmut Lang.

Top second from right. Marc Atlan for Remastered.

Top middle. Marc Atlan for 2K.

Top and bottom right. Marc Atlan newspaper.

Michael Gillette. http://www.michaelgillette.com

MTV Calendar illustration.

Originally from Wales but now based in San Francisco, Michael Gillette is an incredible talent who has mastered many diverse illustration styles which he delivers with a trademark quality. Working for some of the world’s biggest clients (Urban Outfitters, Capitol Records, MTV, Greenpeace, Levi’s, etc.) aswell as taking on many a smaller project (including tee designs for Airside, various apparel, limited prints, etc.) Michael’s incredible output mixes media with the aim of producing creations like you’ve never seen before, something that has gained him much fame and notoriety worldwide.

Left. ‘The Fear’. Right. ‘Arrival’.

Left. ‘Another diamond day’. Middle top. Johnny Depp for Virgin Atlantic. Middle bottom. ‘Bust’. Right. ‘Wild Tigers I Have Known’ film poster illustration.

01. So, did you always want to be an artist? If not, what did you want to be when you grew up? If so, when and how did you know you were going to be one? i guess i always wanted to be an artist, though i had no idea what that entailed- you really have to be buoyed up by ignorance, and in retrospect arrogance and stupidity! i liked the attention that drawing brought me, and i was very competitive. my mum was an art teacher so that helped. once i discovered music i wanted to be in a band and figured the swiftest route to the front of the queue was to go to art college. i had all these fantastic notions that art colleges were bursting with music and every form of creativity known to man, the truth was a little disappointing. by the time i got to my degree, i was convinced that i was going to be a graphic designer, but that got killed stone dead pretty quickly. i couldn't believe that we were expected to seriously tackle packaging projects to design things like toilet bowl cleaner... i thought that was the kind of thing that you ended up doing when all hope failed. by my second year i'd dropped out of the band i was in 'cos i realized that my talent was sadly lacking and i wasn't going to be in ride or some other baggydelic chancers. so by default i ended up doing illustration. the only illustration i had any regard for at that time was already a couple of decades out of the spotlight, the style du jour was bendy armed cartoons juggling pound signs, probably due a revival, so i didn't really think of myself in terms of being an illustrator. upon graduating i realized that i'd better knuckle down and at least try and earn a crust, so i flung myself around london with a pretty weird collection of work.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

02. How would you define your style? Why do you think it's so appealing to people, don't be shy? whewff... i dunno.. i've always been in the vein of pop art, my initial infatuation was for pictures with type in them, hence the confusion about being a graphic designer. i still feel happiest approaching painting from a design perspective. i can't bring myself to address the second part, sorry, my keyboard is blushing.

03. You're originally from the valleys in Wales but now spend most of your time living in San Francisco. How do you feel location affects a persons creativity, is it important? Is it weird going home? behave! i'm actually not from the valleys, jeeziz! i'm from swansea, so i was brought up on a peninsula roughly the same size as san francisco so there are some parallels, well, water i guess being the main one. i've lived in san francisco for 4 years now, before that i was in london for 13 years...i did my time but don't remember committing the crime. yeah i think that where you live does have an effect, a huge draw here was the light and the look of the place. i'm really still infatuated with san francisco, sometimes i'll wander around and my heart will be swelling... coff sniff.. i started drawing nature, which i hadn't touched during my time in london. my work started to get a lot prettier when i got here. i guess it's got hippyfied around the edges. going back to london freaks me out a bit, it's obviously a great place and there are many reasons to live there, but for me there are more reasons not to. mumbles, where i grew up is by an large identical to how i left it, eerily comforting. 04. You've worked with everyone from Levi's, Urban Outfitters, Barney's New York to The Beastie Boys aswell as lots of other collaborations and involvements worldwide. What do you like most about the range of work you do, do you feel it's important to try establish a varied range of work in order to push yourself in different ways in different situations? my favourite college experiences were during my foundation course, i loved the variety. whilst doing my degree it felt like the toys had been taken away and the barriers were up. i always felt more like a designer, but one who liked to design using his own images, everything seemed highly divided, and i didn't really fit anywhere. when i left, i started doing record sleeves, laying the type myself and doing the illustrations. then i got the offer to do some videos for elastica. it became partly a question of doing whatever i could to stay afloat (it was 1992the height of the recession) and partly the challenge of doing different things. i thought that's the way you should work. i'd have a bash at anything to try and drum up some loot. i've always tried to keep things broad. it took me a long time to get anywhere 'cos my folder looked like i was a dilettante (nowt wrong with that by the way) repetition is a deadly thing, and although it's pretty much unavoidable in the commercial world i really try to keep things moving, i'm always on a quest to keep myself interested, and in the process, hopefully other people too. when i started doing digital work i purposefully evolved something with the widest scope, so i could take it in as many different directions as possible. >>

Left. ‘Rocky’. Middle top. ‘Macmex’. Middle bottom. ‘Glade’. Top right. Gillette for Greenpeace. Bottom right. Gillette for The New York Times Magazine.

Left. ‘Monarch’. Centre. ‘Joko’. Right. ‘Monkeyshines’.

Left. Gillette for MTV2. Centre. ‘Guitaron’. Right. ‘Death Disco’.

Left. Gillette for PETA. Centre. ‘Duchess Numerous Arms’. Right. ‘The Beverly Brothers’.

Top left. ‘Satan’. Bottom left. Gillette for Gillette. Below. ‘Climaxxx’. Top right. ‘Sustainable’. Bottom right. ‘Designers’.

05. Rather than having a set style or medium to your work the media you use seems to be dictated by a creative intent to answer your brief perfectly. What's your usual approach and journey through a project from brief to production? well that's a sweet thing if i achieve it. it's not quite that planned out. my favourite works are ones that are strongly ideas based, where i basically stay out of its way and voice it in the purest form possible. those are eureka moments of great clarity, they are the thrilling things. other times i will work in a purely aesthetic mode where it's more a case of what can i do to make this interesting for me? what does this weird pencil do? what happens if i bung this watercolour in with something less traditional? the playful things are fun. but once it becomes like a schtick it's going to be ephemeral. it has it's place, but ideas are golden. 06. Career highlights so far? Future ambitions? Dream jobs/collaborations? well my career highlights i don't really think about, it's all pretty much keep on keeping on. the highlights are those eureka moments i mentioned before. these are generally not paid gigs 'cos there is always the compromise of some noggin' sticking their oar in. the highlights are generally where i'm left alone and then paid! the beastie boys were fun, i got to do it with a close friend. i did a cover for paul mccartney last year but sadly the whole project was cancelled, it was very exciting to do, the kind of excitement you'd be ideally sitting on a commode during. i did a nat west animated tv ad, also cancelled but it was a lot of fun and the pay was juicy, it gave me the brass to move here. last year levi's stocked a collection of my shirts with my labels and hang tags, i did them with my wife, it was something different going from initial idea through to the stores being there every step of the way. future ambitions, well i really, really, really want to do stuff in cinema. posters, titles, design. hollywood, yes i would. and i have an idea for an animated series which if i can ever figure out how to do without wearing myself to a nub... >>

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Painted dragâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Top left. ‘Birth-of-dub’. Bottom left. ‘Pocket Symphonies’. Below. Various illustrations. Right. ‘Landfill of the rising sun’.

Gillette for The Beastie Boys.

Left. ‘Thriller’. Right. ‘Kat’.

07. Aswell as your commercial work you also seem to work on a lot of personal projects including your 'Little Angels' series. Would you care to explain the background and inspiration to this range of interesting images aswell as any other interesting stuff you got on? the background is boredom, the great motivator! trying to do something which really brings the primal glee of making stuff i'm proud of. i've been doing some pictures based on a girl in red satin trousers,(!!?) she's basically on a journey to figure out what the hell it's all about. lord only knows actually what it is all about. it's nice to be off your own map, that's where things get interesting, it's hard to find time finish it, and i don't know if i'll get it together cohesively, but it's enjoyable for me, and that's the point. i've also done 3 pictures of john lennon recently which are fun.

08. Heroes... well i don't know about heroes, human fallibility will generally scupper that. there are people i respect, milton glaser i like for his brevity, philosophy and skill. i got to know roger law (spitting image) during the tail end of my time in britain and i really admire him too, and his wife for that matter. he's done so many different things and i get no feeling of smugness or superiority from him. just a decent chap out for an adventure, an inspiring presence. and of course funny to boot. Villains... i dunno, the usual political ones. utterly selfish pricks of every stripe i guess. my present bugaboos are freeway tailgaters, c***s

This page. ‘Little Angels’. Next page. ‘Sketchbook’.

09. As the world gets smaller through technology what do you believe creative people need to do in order to ensure they are noticed? Top 5 tips... well, do what you do and do it good. then everyday figure out how to show people that you're doing it better. i've never been the greatest self publicist, i really wince at the notion of talking myself up, but i've made the effort when needs must. i've known some really awe inspiring talents who don't bother to get their stuff out there. talent really won't out, it has to be pushed, with a hot poker. 10. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... really the only thing i'm obsessed with is music. sixties music enduringly but absolutely not exclusively. i can't stop hunting for truly chiming choons. they are the nuggets that pepper the road ahead.

TWO : of : FOUR

the:obsessives -

Surely it would be enough to be far too busy with design deadlines for our favourite sons U2 but for Steve Averill, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always time for the things that matter. Since the early eighties Steve has been producing world renowned graphics 9-5, attending band practice for the Radiators from Space midweek, and as if this wasn't enough thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a dark secret under his lonesome leather belt.

Would it surprise you that he's got an unusually large sideline in his love of music and not only in his outer world passion for the punk stuff, but a major ability to spot a one-off cowboy shirt or an unusual original block printed poster from Nashville, never mind and extraordinary 3000+ collection of alt-country and straight country cds. Surely that wouldn't surprise you, would it?

1. You're an avid collector of all things country , what inspired you to start, and why Country music? Having grown up listening to, mainly, rock music and moving through the various phases that it took - from beat groups to blues, folk-rock to psychedelic to punk, from electro to industrial - I reached a point where I wanted to listen to something different and went into Freebird in Grafton Street and ended up buying a Dwight Yoakam’s album ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc.’ and liked the feel of it. There was a small selection available which led me to then buying two Vernon Oxford albums on Rounder and finally Hank Williams Snr Greatest Hits album, all on vinyl. I was intrigued and began to explore further. At first what I accepted and defined as country was quite limited but I soon began to discover a much wider option of what falls under the rather broad heading of “country music”. 2. How big is your collection and what does it consist of? Not huge, by any means, I know some friends who also have large vinyl collections going back a long time, when I started to collect country music albums the industry was not releasing country music on vinyl, so it is essentially on cd. I have concentrated on the rawer side of country, one that, for me, has a direct correlation to punk music. But with the advent of alt. country, which moves the music towards the fringes, a lot of the music is released on small indie labels. That means that the music has little actual “collector’s value” and if you took it into a shop they would give you little or nothing for the majority of the CD’s. That however isn’t the point, it’s about the music.

3. Is it also true you collect original country and music posters? Do you have any favourites, can you tell us about them. Again there is nothing inherently valuable about them. They can be purchased from various sites for very reasonable costs. The printers I have visited are based in Nashville and have been in the business for a long time.They can be accessed through the the web site for the Country Music Foundation under Hatch Show Print. You can buy some of their classic reprints from them but if visiting they sell a whole selection of recent posters for minimal costs, they also published a book on the shop a couple of years ago which is excellent. 4. Can you tell us about Lonesome Highway? Lonesome Highway was founded by myself and Ronnie Norton, the photographer of many of the images used, to write about the sort of acts that were largely being ignored in the mainstream media. It has grow from an A4 sheet to the 24 page A5 edition we now have. It has been very well received, especially by many of the visiting artists we have met. There is also a website (http://www.lonesomehighway.com) which, due to a variety of reasons, is dormant at the moment but will be re-activated shortly. We will be making a PDF version of the magazine available there.

5. Have you met any of your heroes, how and when? In strict Country Music terms I have met the man who opened the door for me, Dwight Yoakam in Dublin and in Cork. But I have found many of the artists we have interviewed to be open, friendly and honest. I have become friends with some of my favourite artists like Jim Lauderdale, Robert and Paul of the Mavericks, Troy Campbell and Jason Ringenberg amongst others. Others who I enjoyed meeting have included Hank Williams’ grandson Hank 111. But again it's wrong to pick individuals as when you establish a rapport with someone it can be worth all the hardwork. We have also acted as mc’s and dj’s at a lot of different events and we hope that the Lonesome Highway will continue. We also need to thank Radio 1 dj and mine of information Sandy Harsch who has acted as editor on my dyslexic typing for some time now.

Pony. http://www.ponybox.co.uk

Niall Sweeney has been a leading light for Irish creative talent for well over 10 years. His output is simply astounding, his insight incredible and his delivery flawless in anything he produces. Over the last decade we have grown up on a staple diet of his work as it exists in many forms knitted into the very fabric that is Dublin society. From his revolutionary events like Elevator and Powerbubble through to his work for the Arts Council, everything he produces is memorable and important. In the last couple of years he decided to move to London to find some new challenges under the company name Pony. Alongside his partner Nigel and Ollie the dog there’s no sign of the trademark quality of their output waining. Previous page: ISAAC JULIEN. Back and front covers of book published to coincide with his installation at IMMA, 2005. This page. ‘THE TYPOGRAPHIC EXPERIMENT’ Book, Thames&Hudson, 2003. With editions published in Britain, USA, Germany, Japan and France, this is a jumbled up sketchbook account of contemporary radical and influential typographers.

01. How long have you been designing? For who? A long time I guess. Since 1990, officially. I graduated from DLCAD in 1989, but then I hung around there for a year abusing their print and photography studios, a kind of self-made post-graduate workshop (or denial of the real world). But then again, I had already started commercial work when I was in college. I had met Frank Stanley when I was in first year design, and we started what was to be a long and fruitful collaborative relationship. He was working at Sides Danceclub at the time, so I was doing their flyers and working with Frank on lots of insane one-night parties and installations in the club (including my favourite, the Andy Warhol Obit Party). We even started the Alternative Miss Ireland back then in 1987. And that kind of progressed, and soon I was doing some retail graphics for shops that he was designing. This was a collaboration that was to last all the way to it's zenith which was Makullas on Suffolk Street, which in itself was a focal point and watershed for many things and people in Dublin. I also met both my old pal Rory O'Neill and one of Panti's early relatives (Laticia) at DLCAD, and this led to a long line of performance and club collaborations (Gag, Powderbubble, H.A.M.). Both my father and I had expected my design career to head the way of engineering, but I got distracted by drag queens at an early age... I had a studio on Eustace street after college, but at the same time I was working with Marie Redmond in Trinity College for a number of years in a multimedia research group. She was keen that design, not software, would drive the research projects. Quite quickly it became a fully fledged commercial company and we were producing work for The National Gallery and London Underground. At the same time as this Tonie Walsh had started Elevator, and myself and Blaise Smith used to sneak all the computer and video equipment out of the studio in Trinity down to the Ormond Print Centre, do all our installation /projection stuff at Elevator over the weekend, and return all the gear, under wraps, hoping that the smell of beer and smoke would have gone from the keyboards by Monday morning...

In Dublin, Pony still has it's roots in clubs, producing work for H.A.M., AMI, DEAF, D1 Recordings, The George as well as some galleries and museums such as Douglas Hyde Gallery and IMMA. We have also worked a lot with X-Communications over the years, working on some of their interactive projects like the Ulysses exhibition at The National Library or Francis Bacon Studio at the Hugh Lane. In London, Pony has a bit of a grown-up face (though not too much), producing work for Design Museum, The British Library, Hayward Gallery, The Wellcome Trust, Thames&Hudson and so on. We are closely linked with the Graphic Design Research department at London College of Communication, producing much of their associated graphic output, and for the college in general. We've forged a nice working relationship with the film-based artist Isaac Julien, and we have just completed a book for him for his installation at Art Basel Miami and his posters for the Sundance Film Festival. Recently we've started working with a Government affiliated urban regeneration agency based in Shoredtich.

02. Niall, being responsible for much of the best bits of Dublin's visual landscape of the 90's/00's (Elevator, Makullas, The George, Alternative Miss Ireland, your collaborations with people like Peter Maybury, d'Side, DEAF, etc.) what were your motivations for leaving Ireland to go embelish somewhere else? I think 1993-1997 were the best years in Dublin for sure. Really amazing things happening. And so much! I had been travelling all over Europe and parts of America with work and play, so I never really thought about leaving. Tom of Ireland had met up with the glamorous Trish Brennan on the desert plains of Nevada, and both had returned to Dublin after many years away. Panti moved from Tokyo to Dublin (via Mayo) and it seemed like everything converged collaboratively and creatively. Although, looking back, when I went to Tokyo in 1995 to meet Panti before she moved to Dublin, I think that really sowed the seeds of change. It had an indelible effect on me and my work and it was inevitable that I would leave. The clubs were a catharsis - albeit a 5 year catharsis.

At the same time myself and Nigel have other avenues in our work, together and individually, whether photography, film, music, costume, 3D... it's a real gamut of detritus extra to our practice. We started writing a lot over the past few years, creating a series of short story style, science fiction, travel pieces - under the general title Fata Morgana Travelogue, which have been published here and there. And there's Ollie, the dog, too.

There were good and bad reasons for my departure. It took the conspiration of quite a few things to make me snap out of Dublin and leave it. I had a desire on me to do an MA (I wanted to pay people to force me to read and write more); I felt I had made my mark in Dublin and that anything else I did would just be drawing over those marks, just a fudged up palimpsest; and some Dublin relationships were coming to an end and others were starting up here in London. A window opened and I jumped through it. When I told my friends that I was off, they said they used to think that I was never going to bloody go and that would I please just get on with it. Which I took as a sign of true love. I also seemed to have a constant hangover in Dublin. Something that I mistakenly thought would change when I came to London... I completed my MA in 2000 at London College of Printing in Typo/Graphic Studies, with no real intention of staying on or coming back or even knowing what would happen next - which I really liked. Then I met the lovely Mr Nigel Truswell on a rainy night in Soho and, well, we shacked up together in work and life at the Pony stables, and it's kind of been that way sinceâ&#x20AC;Ś >>

FRANZ ACKERMANN Book, 2005. Produced to coincide with the artist's exhibition at IMMA, 2005.

Top. LCC Department of Graphic Design Research Newsletter, 2005.

Top. Ollie.

Bottom. SEED (Several Exploding Electronic Destinies), 1998. Promotional item from an electronic performance development programme at Arthouse, Dublin.

Bottom. Cover of "Man From Nowhere". Book produced as part of the Here To Go Show, which celebrated William Burroughs and Brion Gysin, 1992.

DOPPELGANGER, 1994. Stills from an early digital sequence created from photographs. Versions of some of these were used in an ad campaign for Makullas.

Sleeves for D1 RECORDINGS' releases (in colour), 2004-2005. D1ASPORA (B&W), USA, 2004 - 2005. Images created for sleeve and label art: a different beast for each release.

Various promo work for: GAG. Fetish club,1995 - 1996. H.A.M. (Homo-Action-Movies). Club, 1997 - 2005. The George. Bar, Dublin.

The George

LEOPOLD & RUDOLF BLASCHKA. Images from the book that accompanied the exhibition "Leopold & Rudolf Blaschka". Design Museum, London, 2002, and currently touring.

AMI (Alternative Miss Ireland), 1987 - 2006. AMI 9 (2003) and AMI 11 (2005) promo work.

03. Do you think there are many opportunities for Irish creatives here or is that a reason that made you leave to work in London? How do you feel location affects a persons creativity, is it important? Is it weird coming home? Well sometimes I feel I never really left (I get that on the street when I'm in Dublin. Someone will come up and say "what are you doing here? we thought you'd left!"). And it's true to say that we seem to do more work now in Ireland than I did when I was living there. I'm glad I left though, and I'm glad I left when I did. Just before the Tigerboom. Sometimes it seems to me that the nation is positively priapic with poorly appropriated style-ticks. But then something else comes along to prove me wrong, and I like that. Technology is especially indifferent to location, and therefor I feel that our cultural differences become increasingly important. In the 1983 film 'Sans Soleil' by Chris Marker, which is roughly all about memory, technology and location, the narrator at one point exclaims "At dawn, we'll be in Tokyo", which is accompanied by the flickering images of a hurtling train, it's passengers seeming like the extras on some film waiting for their cue, that film being their lives of course - which is both a literal reference to the journey in the film, but also the gazed at, dream-like direction our technological culture is taking us. What's amazing to me about Japan, however, is that although it's visual culture is almost entirely based on things it has "borrowed" from outside its borders (even language), it still manages to make them intrinsically Japanese. Ireland famously did this to the English language - creating a more expanded language than it was ever intended to be (we have An Modh CoinnĂollach after all). In Ireland, with all the immigration of peoples and technology and knowledge comes so much possible cultural wealth to add to the mix. I would love to see design tackle so many of the issues raised by this dramatic stage of the nation's development. There's potential now for cultural change and evolution and how fantastic it would be to a pioneer of that change. I think there needs to be some kind of mass-synesthesia. Get Bertie to put LSD in the water.

04. Your creativity stretches the entire spectrum of media from exhibition design to the wildest themed clubnights Dublin has ever been seen. What do you look for in a project before you take it on, what makes it worthwhile for you? A lot of my work has been exhibited or projected or installed or performed - from clubs and galleries to stores and universities around the world, and Nigel has had music and photography released and published. I feel that it's very important to us to have these creative outlets that are not strictly the studio's design practice, and we would seek out or make these opportunities whenever we can. And much of the club and gallery projects have been self-initiated through collaborations with friends and colleagues. And it's interesting that though many of these projects were inherently fiscally poor, they are creatively rich. Sometimes, of course, the best work can be, as constraints force clear thought. Getting the best out of a budget is part of the creative process - it is part of the context (it has to be, or nothing would happen!) Primarily, though, myself and Nigel look for integrity in a project. Whether it's high-brow or low-brow, you often just 'know' when something will be worth doing, that it's going to go somewhere. Every time we do something, we bring an object into the world - a book, a postcard, an image, a story, an idea - we like to think that it'll have a worth while life-span (however ephemeral), that it deserves all the energy that goes in to creating it. It can't be a cynical act. Unless the cynicism itself has integrity, and then it would just evaporate, no? What makes it worthwhile is making good work that works! The smallest, job can be the most satisfying because it achieves everything and more than it set out to do. A problem solved and moved forward. The results can be almost invisible: the resolution of complex data into an apparently simple diagram can be ridiculously satisfying. Making something new, something that none of those involved could have done by themselves. Like the centre point of a triangle, or how any three given points define a circle. To create a catalyst, even. And then there's the visceral aspect too. The sensual and visual delight in craft and print and textures and the smell of ink or the breath you take when images make you blink and actually see or feel something - not just wanting to buy something, though we like that too. The sublime. La petite mort.

05. What would you define as your strengths in your approach to a brief? How do you tackle it, have you a set structure or does it really depend on the individual basis of each job? Understand it then break it down, identify the pieces, put them through a sieve and stick them back together in a new order that's more than the sum of its parts. Or, just go with total gut reaction 'cos you know it's right. Normally somewhere between those two. We are always open to change, no matter how carefully planned a project, prepared to change direction, even at the last minute, if it's what needs to be done. We are often quite worried if a project resolves exactly how it set out never having grown of its own accord. It's a lot about content and context. I think that's why our work can vary hugely in its look and feel. We are very aware that we are producing objects that people interact with on many different levels, no matter how simple they appear to be. A book, for instance, has a unique and historically rich relationship with the body, the eye and the mind, and there's so much that can still be done with that to make it new. We relish the relationships and different functions of type and language, ideograms and icons, rhythms of images. We also engage wit. Humour is a god-send. 06. Collaboration forms so much of your output, not just creative but also intellectual. Why do you see collaboration as important, would you advocate it to others? You cannot do anything without some kind of collaboration. Even if it's just with the milkman. Pony itself is the collaborative endeavour of Nigel and I. And we collaborate on artistic pursuits outside of our 'normal' studio practice. Anyone we work with is a collaborator, to a greater or lesser degree. You just have to be conscious of it. In the end, the work's existence in the world is a collaborative event with it's audience. It has no life otherwise. It's all a kind of play. I would highly recommend the milkman. >>

FATA MORGANA TRAVELOGUE. Short stories with pictures, 2005 - 2006. (FM FILM STILLS). Three stills from from upcoming film versions of the series, first published in 2005. (FM / Visual Communications Journal). Six stories that appeared in a special Typographic edition of Visual Communications Journal, June 2005, Sage Publications.

07. You used to lecture at Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design and I was hoping you'd impart some knowledge and experience to some of our readers. What 5 tips would you give to anyone thinking of going it alone rather than working for "the Man"? When working on an exhibition for Design Museum about John Galliano's first 5 years at Christian Dior, I was over and back to the House of Dior in Paris a few times over the course of a year, with access to the archives as well as all of Galliano's work with CD. What was interesting was - almost in spite of his presence - the role of all of the other workers: the crafts people, the petits-mains. The Monsieur in charge of production recounted a story: Sitting, one smokey Paris afternoon, in his Dior-grey office, adding up the millions of Euro made on the many sales of small items (perfume, lipstick) that fund the couture industry, and hearing the familiar and dreaded sound of clicking heels fast approaching on the marble floors of the corridor outside, he takes a deep breath of dread. A precise tap-tapping that was matched only by the sharp angled shoulder-pads of their maker. She was the chief pattern cutter. In her hand, a small pair of silver scissors. Madame bursts through the double-doors, coming to a single-click stand-still in front of his Dior-grey desk. She says not a mot, bon or otherwise. Then, in a two-step motion that on the first causes the scissors to hover precariously close to his face and on the second they are smoothly and accurately positioned (pointing at him) on the glass top of his bureau, she spins on one of her sharp points and exists. His heart sinks. This is the signal that the cutters, the most valuable asset of any couture House, are on strike. Galliano is just a figure-head, an icon. The petits-mains will be there for many years, he is just passing through. It was a fabulous and revealing story of power, and where it really lies, and of the absolute value of craft, of skill and knowledge. it's also a story of knowing how, when and where to stick the knife in and twist it. Okay, the self-help list goes something like this: 1. Force yourself into constantly becoming more incredibly and unbearably skilled and educated so that you are free to be as radical or conservative as you wish on a daily basis. 2. Travel. Read. Write. Draw. Play. Work. Wear wigs. Have sex with your friends. Eat meat. Drink. All with equal amounts of gusto. Talking about art is like dancing about architecture. You have to be passionate about something (and it doesn't have to be design...) 3. Remember, Truth and Fiction are regular sodomites. 4. Make good work and try to charge appropriately. 5. Get a studio dog (with 4 legs, not 2). I couldn't imagine working without Ollie in the studio now. Or at least get a muse. We have Panti. She flits around the studio or around our minds on a daily basis. Mostly she is doing the dusting, but every now and then she becomes the cadaver that we hook our ideas up on.

08. Career highlights so far? Future ambitions? Dream jobs/ collaborations? The 30 foot high Panti outside Makullas on Suffolk Street wearing iceskates and her dress so short that you could see so much of her knickers and Bus Eireann moved the bus stop so that it was just below her because the real Panti was swinging from a giant bell in the window doing Christmas songs and you could speak to her via an intercom from the street like those ladies in Amsterdam. And Alternative Miss Ireland is quite an achievement I guess - raising all of that money (over 150,000 euro and counting) over the years for Irish HIV/AIDS organisations - it's going to hit number 12 this March. So I have highlights from that, like in 1997 putting the "Bar" into Shirley Temple Bar or in 2004, watching Heidi Konnt and her Family Von Tramps win the crown. AMI is a kind of Picture of Dorian Grey to my life, but I'm not sure which one is getting more decrepit as the years pass... oh, and there's all that design work too, which is nice. Many of the people I would love to collaborate with are dead, which doesn't help the collaborative aspect. Perhaps I should set my sights higher... 09. What can people expect from Ponybox in 2006? More excellent design service! Plus, a pop-up book on Early Christian Virgin Martyrs; Film versions of our Fata Morgana Travelogues; More Panti; More books; More social change; More soundtracks; More growing-up (just a little, we've bought a flat); And Ollie the dog making his narrative debut. 10. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... Food. Drink. Heels. Good quality shirts. Hair. Architecture. Pictures. Words. And, always, the chance of a dance...

Pony recommended_ --------------------------------http://www.ponybox.co.uk http://www.mcsweeneys.net http://www.alternativemissireland.com http://www.darklight.ie http://www.dataclimates.com http://www.metahusky.net/~nick/ http://www.e-a-t.org http://www.leshalles.net http://www.papotage.com/dec04/tom.html http://www.presstube.com http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk http://www.ladybunny.net http://www.softsleeper.com http://www.sutnar.cz http://www.fabprefab.com http://parole.aporee.org http://www.yugop.com http://www.buttmagazine.com http://www.readyourselfraw.com ---------------------------------

DEAF (2002 - 2005). 2002 Posters.

POWDERBUBBLE. Performance super-club and tranny-dome, 1997. Six flyers form that year. Sadly there are no images of the 1:1 scale model of the fluorescent pink basking shark surrounded by a school of dolphins that hung over the dancefloor one summer night. You had to be there...

HOUSE OF PRINCE. Book, DHg, 2004.

HILTON EDWARDS Homo social club lounge, 2001 - 2005 Posters, ads and flyers. Ollie. (Dog & Bones).

DHg (Douglas Hyde Gallery). Pony produce some books for the Douglas Hyde Gallery. They all have the same physical format and a linen case-bound cover. Sometimes they work closely with the artists involved, and sometimes not at all. The covers themselves are a great pleasure to do.

Pony marques.

SCREENS & THE SOCIAL LANDSCAPE. Research group, with LCC and the London Knowledge Lab. A series of workshops, talks and think-tanks.

DEAF (2002 - 2005). 2005 programme poster.

SEED (Several Exploding Electronic Destinies), 1998. Promotional item from an electronic performance development programme at Arthouse, Dublin.

MIRA CALIX. We particularly like this CD design for Mira Calix and Warp Records. It's all concrete and crickets. Some of the smallest things can be so pleasurable.

DEAF (2002 - 2005). 2003 programme. Ollie.

Various promo work for H.A.M. & The George.

Simon Burch. http://www.simonburch.com

Previous page. ‘Bungalow in Donegal’. This page. ‘Mask’.

The quality of Simon’s work is what strikes you first, it has a certain perfection that just seems so unattainable by mere mortals despite all modern advances. Go one level deeper, investigate the images, and they suck you in with their clarity, considered composition and originality. There’s so much going on his images even when it’s not immediately apparent, his ability to create atmosphere enables the viewer to feel the environment and cirumstance as well as see it. Originally from Northern Ireland but now based in Dublin Simon’s work ranges from beautiful composed portrait work through to big global advertising campaigns for the likes of Guinness and Smirnoff, for whom he tackled a 4 foot mouse model in it’s accompanying set in sub zero temperatures in a London industrial estate in order to get the perfect shot. Is there any lengths this won’t go to for the perfect image? We doubt it.

Left. Peter Matthews portrait. Right. Neil Jordan portair.

01. Did you always want to be a photographer? If so, how did you know? If not, what did you think or hope you'd be? I originally studied architecture and, having decided that this was not to be my future, I rented a little studio and started painting. My father was a painter and I enjoyed the idea of being able to explore ideas and work in between the lines of a 'conventional' lifestyle. More and more I started taking photographs as part of my preparation for paintings, which eventually led to me becoming an assistant to an advertising photographer in London. This is where I got my grounding and where I decided that photography was to be my future. This is the other thing I love about photography - how far you want to go is up to you, the quality of your work is entirely your responsibility. Not too many professions can boast that, although it does take determination and putting in the hours. If I hadn't become a photographer I would have liked to work in the movies. I think just about everybody enjoys a good movie and to be able to pull that off is pretty cool.

02. What do you feel about your work that sets you aside from others? What do you see as your aims when taking on a project? Whenever you take a photograph, commissioned or personal, it's important to give that photograph presence, to make it stand up as a piece of work which does more than just record what is in front of the camera. The clarity of the idea behind the shot is important; it's like a sentence, which should be constructed in such a way to state clearly the intended message. Preparation is vital for this and by that I mean what you are thinking, the way you intent to approach the shoot, how you are going to light it - how exactly you want the final outcome to look. Whenever you decide this, the actual shoot has a structure and this in turn allows you to depart from your planning if suddenly something happens which you prefer. I try approach every shoot, commissioned or not, with this attitude and this helps set my work apart as it reflects more of my thoughts in the final picture.

03. Your work seems equally weighted between personal work and commercial projects. Why do you think it's important for you to do other projects outside your 9-5? I think it's about why anyone wants to be a photographer in the first place. Commercial work does offer great opportunities to execute great ideas - you will be given a budget and paid to do it. I think that if you leave it there, you don't give yourself the chance to experiment, to try different things, to keep developing. The definition of a photographer is a person who takes photographs, and if you only take out a camera when you get paid to you can lose your enthusiasm for simply taking pictures. This is especially true in advertising as you are always shooting to brief, a researched concept that you shoot on behalf of the client which at times has very little room for manoeuver. If you're shooting fashion or editorial the opposite is true and is a much more open environment to work in.

When starting a personal project my aims are simply to look at something new, or to approach a familiar subject in a new way. This is never easy and I certainly don't succeed all the time, but it leads on to other ideas and lets things evolve.

Left to right. ‘Portnoo Beach’, ‘Picnic tables Donegal’, Bloody Foreland Sea’.

Simon Burch for Guinness.

Left to right. John Hurt, Billy Bob Thornton & Cillian Murphy.

Top. ‘Jackson’. Bottom left to right. ‘Memphis’.

04. Your portraits are both beautiful and arresting yet not your standard shots, they really seem to capture something more within the individuals. What do you see as the key rules to remember when taking a person's photograph? Firstly I think that you must remember that it is a person and not an object that you are photographing, and he/she should feel included and part of the process. And keep it simple. Unless you are dealing with a model who is very comfortable in front of the camera, you should put the person at ease, talk to them and explain what is going on. Many people do not like being photographed, and although they agree to do it, don't really relish the whole idea. So keep it light - chat about things which interest them, or times which they remember with happiness. I used to be terrified of taking portraits until I realised that people look to the photographer for direction and are infinitely more happy when there're told what to do, how to sit and what you're aiming for. Again good preparation will make the photographer confident and this naturally will rub off on the sitter. 05. You recently went on a trip across the American South-East, care to tell us about the motivations for doing this? How did it work out, any plans to publish the results? Going to this area of America (Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia) I wanted to look at lesser-known parts of the States, the non-glamorous side. In these areas there is a lot of poverty surrounding pockets of wealth, and I decided to take photographs that did not include any people, just deserted scenes as the place did have an abandoned feel. This has been put together into a small booklet called 'Southern States' and is a great way to bring a project like this to a conclusion; it also gives a distilled view of the work. 06. While the magazine and good to give a flavour of the work you do, where can people see it for real, have you any exhibitions coming up or have you any plans to publish other work? I am currently involved with The Huxley Gallery, which is a small print sales room started by a friend of mine in Ranelagh. (by appointment 01 498 2983). Some of my American photographs are there and the intention is to build this up with other projects in time. I am going back to the states later this year and will looking at a different area, so this will be added as will as producing another booklet. In professional terms my portfolio is available for anyone who calls it in. >>

Top left. ‘Birmingham, Alabama’. Bottom left. ‘Chairs. Bottom left to right. ‘Glencolmcille lights’.

Left to right. ‘Ian 1’, ‘Ian 2’ & ‘Vincent’.

Simon Burch for Guinness & Smirnoff.

07. Heroes... No. 08. Highlights so far? Ambitions? Dream jobs/collaborations? Just to keep on working on my personal projects and to work with people who are as keen to develop and grow creatively as I am. 09. As the world gets smaller and more immediate through technology how do you see this impacting on your day-to-day (if at all)? What do you believe creative people need to do in order to order to get noticed? Technology has certainly benefited photography greatly and the ability to shoot first, then take this into a digital format and work on a picture in post production has now become a fantastic tool. I am still to be convinced that shooting digitally is better than shooting on film, but the vast amount that is now achievable after the shoot is impressive. If a photographer now wants to 'be noticed' then it's his ability to draw together a picture, to shoot and then to retouch, if necessary, that will help him. Of course some shots are best left alone and it's important to be able to recognise this, but to feel that retouching a picture somehow takes away its purity is misguided. At the end of the day what will make anybody's work stand out is the final picture, however it's achieved. 10. Any obsessions or impulsions you'd like to share... Shoes and motorbikes. Small ads in newspapers.

Top. ‘Birmingham, Alabama’ & ‘Atlanta, Georgia’. Bottom. ‘Jackson’.

Studiomime. http://www.studiomime.com

Previous page. ‘He Jumped & Kicked & Spun & Twirled’, 2001-02. Stills. Hi-8 Video. Exhibited at the Digital Hub 2002 and 2005/06. Below left to right. Colorseries Pistachio 12" Sleeve, 2004. Front. Printed 1 colour. Colorseries 12" Sleeves, 2003/2004. Series of 9. All printed 1 colour.

Whether in his design (done under his Studiomime name) or in his music output (which is mostly self-titled) David Donohoe’s work has a beautiful confident rhythm to it which guides the viewer/listener through it simply and seamlessly. Always looking for new ways to question and reinvent his output is laboured over until it is just perfect. Style wise it seems to be that he allows himself the freedom to find the result quite organically. Sometimes his work can be simple, sometimes textured, sometimes a mix, whatever it needs to do in order to communicate David ensures this happens. Working closely with the likes minimise’s Donnacha Costello, D1’s Eamonn Doyle and a wide range of other multidisciplined creatives we feel we’ve only got the front page of a rising talent’s book.

Various spreads from ‘Scrap’, 1997/2005. Edition of 1. Photocopied on various stock. Hand Bound.

Custom T-Shirt designs, 2003 - 2006.

Left. Various spreads from ‘Notes from an Orange Room No. 1’, 2004. Edition of 9. Inkjet printed on Newsprint. Hand Stitched. Bottom. ‘Minimise 019’ 12" Sleeve and label, 2005. Both printed 1 colour.

03. Your work encompasses print, multimedia, motion and music, all which you do to an exceptional level. Why do you feel you need to be involved in so many media, what do you get out of it, are there things you need to say but can’t do so through some media? Discuss. The reason is perhaps a flaw: I don’t really perceive much difference between media. 01. What is Studiomime? Studiomime is me, my work and the process involved in realising that work. The name evolved from the fact that I have worked from a number of different locations and in different disciplines. So for me there was a parallel with the idea of the mime artist defining the space around him/herself through gestures. My work is my gesture by which I define my space, this work being Design (for Print, Web, Exhibition), Typography/ Type Design, Handmade Books, Video, Sound, Music, Poems and any other stuff that comes my way. Except mime!

02. What do you feel are the benefits and downfalls (if any) of working for yourself? The obvious benefit of working for yourself is the control over what you do, when you do it and whom you deal with. The downside used to be the niggling insecurity, but I have come to realize that insecurity is just as relevant for the employed as well as the selfemployed, so I’m not really sure. I think if it suits you personally, the whole experience (including the downfalls) is a very positive one. It certainly gives me a determination and independence.

There is a huge amount of crossinterpretation, emotion and crossed intentions for me in media in general. Perhaps I’m not analytical enough to be able to discern sharp divisions. I’m definitely not well enough versed in any media to be able to do so. So maybe, yes, I can’t work some processes out in one media so I turn to another. I never really thought about it like that, what I do has always come from an intuitive place. This is the side of life that interests me the most, the instinctive, the wondrous. It is this that allows me to remain open to all questions and all results.

04. In all of your work your meticulous attention to detail is more than apparent. Do you have a set approach to projects, from brief right through to ensuring that the final piece is perfect? I don’t really have a set approach to projects. The nature of the work dictates that to me, and obviously there are subjective levels of perfection in a designer/ client relationship. So I generally try to bring things as close as I can to my idea of a relative perfection. I never get there. But the results are sometimes quite close. >> Meticulous attention to detail has always been the most important thing to me in anything I do, work or otherwise. I am very influenced by natural life systems and as such my view of life is very holistically detailed. This is true also of my attitude to work. Work that I consider valuable must be holistic. It must be a self contained, interlocked arrangement. And this must be its beauty (or ugliness). My best work can be seen as an intricate unit suspended in air, like a mobile, whereas my worst work may well be in the air, but it needs a scaffolding to hold it up!

05. Working independently how do you ensure your work continues evolving and diversifying? Where do you get your inspirations? My main drive is the need to record and document. It fills me with absolute hunger for designing, photographing, writing, making music, drawing, …everything. Change is the main flux of life and as long as I keep documenting my own changing patterns I will evolve and diversify. I am inspired by limitation, structure, texture, method, tradition, craft, stillness, belief, animals… lots of stuff.

Left. ‘EIGHTSECONDSDEEP’, 2002. Stills. Hi-8 Video. Right. ‘Haiku’, 2003. Stills. Hi-8 Video.

Left. Poster for Uptown Racquet Club live, 2002. Digital Print. Photography by David Donohoe and Donal Dineen. Right. The Merchant of Venice poster, 2005.

Various Spreads from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Miserable Repulsive Trash: Modified and Defaced Materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, 2004. Inkjet and Laser printed on pamphlet by Rev. J. Gerard. Hand Stitched.

Left to right. David Donohoe ‘Nature Morte!’. 12" Sleeve, 2004. Printed 2 colour. Donnacha Costello ‘Infinite Now’. 12" Sleeve, 2004. Printed 2 colour. David Donohoe ‘Hail, Holy Light’. 12" Sleeve, 2004. Printed 2 colour. All available through http://www.minimise.com

07. Collaborations are another side of your work that seems very important to you. What is it about them that makes them so appealing to you? I collaborate with various people in various capacities, for various reasons. It affords a sharing opportunity to learn and teach at the same time, which is a dynamic I value. I am involved in a studio sharing design partnership with Space.ie and Fuel which allows me to be involved in a wide range of projects. I work with Space.ie on exhibition design and with Fuel on website/ online-shop design. In one day I can be involved in the carpentry, lighting, painting of a room and on the other hand the design of a navigation bar. So this gives me the chance to deal with idiosyncrasies of scale, which is very educational. And then when that’s all finished I go back to making my little books! 06. Heroes... I don’t think I have any ‘heroes’ as such but I like these… Samuel Beckett, Morris Fuller Benton, Charlie Brown, Kate Bush, Sophie Calle, Noam Chomsky, Peter Gabriel, Allen Ginsberg, Kim Hiorthøy, James Joyce, King Crimson, Zuzana Licko, George Maciunas, Julian Morey, Gabor Palotai, Arvo Pärt, Paramahansa Yogananda, Peter Saville, Sri Yukteswar, Cy Twombly, Yes… amongst many others.

I’m also involved in Serverproject with Donnacha Costello, Peter Maybury and Dennis McNulty. It’s a very interesting structure, each of the other members having absolutely different approaches, but there seems to be some common area generated by these. It’s an audio improvisation project and it’s fascinating to hear something so intense develop organically around you while being only one source of it’s input. I find it quite inspiring and often moving.

08. Career highlights so far? Future ambitions? Dream jobs/collaborations? Moving to my current studio/office last year was a highlight. Capel Street is great!

09. As the world gets smaller through technology and also technology allows for more and more people to dabble in creative media (either making music, cutting up motion, designing, etc.) what do you believe creative people need to do in order to ensure they are noticed and excel? I think too many of us vigorously protect our status as professional/ educated/ trained/ qualified. I am all of the above but I more so think of myself as a dabbler! In terms of life and existence I think we are all dabbling. ‘Noticing’ becomes simply a matter of how our own dabbling has evolved in relation to everyone else’s.

I recently worked with Space.ie on the Albrecht Dürer at the Chester Beatty Library exhibition. It was a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with such iconic prints and books.

As our society becomes ever more superficial and obsessed with the inane, it’s easy to be noticed. Be vulgar, be hollow, be inflammatory, be idiotic … that should work!

My immediate future ambition is to finally finish my new website, which has been in progress for the best part of two years! This will mainly be a portfolio site, but it will also have a shop where I will be selling handmade books, prints, t-shirts, odds and maybe some ends.

Seriously though, I don’t know. The idea of ‘being noticed’ has been done to death by the advertisers hasn’t it? It has helped facilitate a culture of spoon fed ignorance. I am more interested in people searching for what they feel they need rather than noticing what they may need. This may be a moot point and marketeers will fit me neatly into the ‘anti-marketing’ market but there you go.

Dream jobs/collaborations?… I’d like to work on a project with Sophie Calle, where she just hung out in my studio, browsing, reading and talking to me whenever she felt like it!

As far as excelling goes, I know the answer to that one… Go with your gut.

10. Any obsessions or impulsions you’d like to share (it’s the Obsessive Impulsive issue)... I’m obsessively neat, but not obsessively clean. I have to wear shoes/ runners when making music. Can’t do it in socks or barefoot. I have a constant impulsion to buy typefaces. Consequently I’ve lots I’ll never use.

Left. Various spreads from ‘Notes from an Orange Room No. 2’, 2004. Edition of 9. Inkjet printed on newsprint. Hand Stitched. Right. Various spreads from ‘Shelter’, 2005. Edition of 2. Inkjet printed on Arcoprint. Hand Bound.

Top. David Donohoe ‘Statuesque’ cd cover, 2005. Below. ‘Pax’, 2003. Stills. Digital Video. Accompanied David Donohoe live performance at Mór 2004

Left. Various spreads from ‘Touches’, 2005. Edition of 2. Inkjet printed on french folded ColorBase Vivid. Hand Bound.

WatchList. Stuff to do with people like you.

Paul Smith proves he’s got bottle. ---------------------------------Paul Smith has collaborated with HP Sauce to create a limited edition bottle featuring a take on his multi-stripe in varying shades of brown. Produced in only 1899 limited edition bottles, one for every year that the sauce has been in existence, each bottle was numbered and came with its own certificate of authentication. Long sold out from Harrods, best to get to eBay if you want to get saucy. ---------------------------------http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/news/paul-smith-for-hp-sauce.html

TADO & The Urbanites bring Horror on tour to Chicago. ----------------------------------------TADO and Chris Lee's Horror on Tour show recently blew up at Rotofugi in Chicago. Among the specially produced pieces were ultralimited prints, plushes and a whole lot more besides. Pictured to the left is one of the beautiful prints produced in the creative swapshop that saw Christopher and Tado battle it out over email for months solid. At time of press they’re wasn’t sight nor sound of these as they were quickly sold out (best get to d’Bay if you dare!), best to mail them and see what they’re up to next. Oh, oh, if you’re around for the Burgerman SweetTalk in Dublin Tado will be in the audience so make sure to get your Fortune Pork’s signed... ----------------------------------------http://www.tado.co.uk http://www.thebeastisback.com

Michael C. Place gets all symbolic. --------------------------------------------------------------A recent find, Blanka offers exclusive special edition printed works from some of the world’s leading creative talents including Experimental Jetset, Browns and our very own Image Now. One of the most recent pieces up for grabs is ‘Symbolism’, a limited edition screenprint designed by Michael C. Place of Build. Printed using glow in the dark inks it’s an amazing first release in a collection of prints which will be released over the coming year. Stunning work indeed, here’s the 5-0... Symbolism. Screen print poster* 'Numbered edition of 100. First 25 signed by the artist. Screen printed with glow in the dark ink on GF Smith 175 gsm Dark Grey Colorplan. This is the first in a series of posters specially commissioned, limited edition print and available exclusively to Blanka. Once these are sold out they will not be reprinted. Available now. --------------------------------------------------------------http://www.blanka.co.uk

Airside make sure you get your kit on this Valentine’s. -------------------------------------------------------------------Never pun in the nude. That’s what our mother’s always said. Cover your lady bits from prying eyes with Alex at Airside’s controversial new design, Tit and Pussy vest and pants sets. They’re cheeky without being obvious, feminine without being sluttish, extremely comfortable and absolutely functional; yet possibly not for the faint hearted amongst you. If you suffer from Catholic guilt - or any other guilt for that matter - just prefix ‘tit’ with ‘blue’ and suffix ‘pussy’ with ‘cat’ to assuage your malefaction. Come on girls of Airside (and boys if these are to your taste), bra’s and thongs are o-v-e-r. Sets are £24.99 (+P+P), not sold as separates, but do come beautifully wrapped in delicate tissue. Get some and, em, get some. -------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.airsideshop.com

Sónar presents ‘Miss Kittin Live at Sónar’.

------------------------------

----------------------------‘Miss Kittin Live at Sónar’ is testimony to one of the greatest moments of the Sónar 2005 edition, a session in which the Kraftwerkesque stylings of Arpanet, the funked-up bass of Aphex Twin’s Window Licker, the minimalism of Sleep Archive, and Ricardo Villalobos’s twisted dark grooves and re-worked live versions of Caroline Hervé (aka Miss Kittin) converge before closing with a Boom Bip track re-wired by the Scottish Boards of Canada. Tracklist: Tim Hecker: Azure Azure / Miss Kittin: Happy Violentine (Mr. G remix) / Philus: Kuvio 3 / The Hacker feat. Miss Kittin: Masterplan / Sleeparchive: Track 4 / Felix Da Housecat feat. Miss Kittin: Madame Hollywood (Ursula 1000 remix) / Miss Kittin: Requiem for a hit (2manydj’s remix) / Modeselektor: Turn Deaf! / Miss Kittin: Professional Distortion (Otto von Schirach remix) / Arpanet: Software Version / Miss Kittin & The Hacker: Stock exchange (live version) / Miss Kittin & The Hacker: 1982 (live version) / Aphex Twin: Eindow licker / ricardo villalobos: dexter / The MFA: The difference it makes (Superpitcher remix) / The Orb: Traumvogel / Boom Bip: Last walk around mirror lake (Boards of Canada remix) / The End.

----------------------------http://www.sonar.es

Pictures On Walls makes sure your credit card doesn’t get a breather. ---------------------------------------------------------------Banksy ‘Crude Oils’ exhibition postcards for a fiver. The new Banksy book. New Jamie Hewlett prints. Loads of new artists now added to the incredible roster that includes heroes like D*Face, Eine, Bast, Faile, Kid Acne and a whole load more. What you sitting there reading this for, get yourself along to this site and buy some art... ---------------------------------------------------------------http://www.picturesonwalls.com

Were-d goings on at Playlounge. ---------------------------------From the fevered mind of Serge Seidlitz, 'The Wereman' print is a scarily great limited edition print (only 20) signed & numbered by the man himself available at a very affordable price of 28.95 sterling (+P&P)! Printed on Colourplan 320gsm, dimensions are 78cm x 52cm. ---------------------------------http://www.playlounge.co.uk http://www.sergeseidlitz.com Represented by http://www.debutart.com

Designers Republic get fizzical. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Having been invited to be the European representative of a thought provoking global M5 project, initially working to produce a design for a limited edition bottle, tDR have produced an entire brand vocabulary and attitude called 'Love Being' for the worldwide campaign. There are five bottle designs, one from each continent, which glow in the dark are available worldwide only in some of the leading style bars and clubs. Other designs for the other continents were done by MK12, Towa Tei, Lobo & Fischerspooner. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.thedesignersrepublic.com http://www.them5.com

NeubauBerlin sells out.

‘WR : Dress OR Die?’ sees cartoon characters sporting their kicks. ----------------------------------------------------------------WR's brand new series of art work : ‘DRESS OR DIE’ features a series of popular characters from the east & west including Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, Miffy, Zaku, Pink Panther, etc. Which all of them are not showing faces but showing their coolest kicks! In all these years, these group of characters or any other traditional characters have NEVER wear anything on their feet, but in 2006, WR tell us that it's time to get some fashion even on Cartoons!! Hello Kitty with Bape sta? Doraemon with Adidas Superstar? Zaku with Nike Air Jordan III? Can he kick it? He just did. Full details: Size 8 x 11.5" litho on glossy bond paper, (special prices on framed works). Each comes in an edition of 10. ----------------------------------------------------------------http://www.wrongwroks.com

-----------------------------------------------To celebrate the selling out of the first edition of his ‘NeubauWelt’ book Stefan has made ultra-limited editions of the booked which come signed in bespoke screenprinted packaging. In other news he also got people all over the world to pose with bags over their heads, holding the book in various locations. Below is Candy’s effort, ie. me on the Ha’Penny Bridge. Photo by Aidan Kelly. -----------------------------------------------http://www.neubauberlin.com http://www.neubauwelt.com http://www.die-gestalten.de http://www.heavybackpack.com

SweetSounds. This Issue: Aidan Kelly. -----------------------------------------‘Know the lingo’. Claro intelecto. From the third ep in a series of 6 seemingly about Modern Love Mark Stewart is definitely making some inspiring music that draws on the old Basic channel well but sounds very edgy and contemporary. info@baked-goods.com

-----------------------------------------‘Olufeme’. Oscar Sulley. Originally Recorded in the heat of Ghana West Africa 1973 this track is taken from the comiplation Ghana Soundz Vol 2, Its a gloriously funky thing, Remixed in the best possible way by Natural Self. info@soundwayrecords.com

-----------------------------------------‘NLQ’. Erast. Written and produced by Nika Machaidze. His album "Cyberpunk" is an electric assault on the senses from the cover through the website which I was informed was by Matt Pyke Ex Designers republic and onto the tracklisting, fine electonica with a romantic twist. http://www.laboratoryinstinct.com

-----------------------------------------‘Would you?’. Dubble D. Q Ball and Curt Cazal would be very well known to the Grand central frat boys from Manchester Remixes by Max Sedgley and Nightmares on Wax, its as good as it gets UK hip hop wise.... 20 20 vision doin’ it different. http://www.2020recordings.com

-----------------------------------------‘Le monde a changé’. Amadou & Mariam. Heavily influenced by the pop of the Seventies, electric blues, reggae, Cuban, this Blind Duo from Mali remain with you for sometime after a first listen. From the album ‘1990-1995 : Le meilleur des années maliennes’.

-----------------------------------------‘Butuku Karting Klub’. Unidentified Musical Object. On Home Entertainment From a compilation released almost ten years ago I've just discovered this and its off ryhtms are still fresh now as im sure they were then.They released another album "The Karaoke club" in 2000.

-----------------------------------------‘Hold It’. Traffic Signs. From the album My Minimal House, Vol.1 This sharp and nasty work is dancefloor perfection, Traffic Signs, better known as Steve Bug, is an underground favourite. For a comprehensive catalogue of information on him and his label associates check http:www.dessous-recordings.com

-----------------------------------------‘Sei’ (Steve Bug Remix). Sian. Again from My Minimal House, Vol.1 Sian (aka Dublin based Graham Goodwin) is a new member of the Poker Flat family, this lovely deep technical work nicely laid together is the best I've heard out of Dublin for a while. http://www.pokerflat-recordings.com

-----------------------------------------‘Cruises’ (on Stars 3 - EP). Star You Star Me. Star You Star Me are Jani Lehto and Tatu Metsatahti, (Jani runs the newly formed Stars Music label, while Tatu has already gained worldwide reputation in underground electro circles with his band Mr Velcro Fastener and his solo Mesak project). Lovely Simple House music with some dark secrets. http://www.stars-me.com

-----------------------------------------‘Music's My Love’. Crazy P. Taken straight off A Night On Earth album I've been a fan of this bands output for years. Funky old school street tune. http://www.shivarecords.com

-----------------------------------------Aidan Kelly’s ‘Soundings’ show is available for download at http://www.powerfm.org (Archive section). Get clicking.

A Habitat Ireland & Candy* collaboration. March 2006. More information see http://www.habitat.ie & http://www.candyculture.net

Next issue. The Obsessive Impulsive Issue, Part 2. April 1st 2OO6. Image: ‘Birmingham, Alabama’ by Simon Burch.

PS. Happy Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. Image: Mike from Daddy with, em, Mike from DADDY.