Demur - Bronzed Babe - June 2017

Bronzed Babe - JUNE 2017

A Fashionable Culture

EDITORS LETTER Dear Loyal Readers We all have a responsibility to love and care for each other, not only when we are attacked but at all times.

I strongly believe, one day there will be enough positivity in the world, to outweigh the negative. In the meantime, we mourn the innocent lives we are constantly losing.

We are proud to be a media partner for Africa Fashion Week Nigeria and to help us celebrate this positivity, we sat down with Society of Alumni, a group of young artists already working on their legacy.

Straight from Lagos, Nigeria, Zurik Girl talks to us about making clothes in Nigeria and distributing in the US. Hassan Aliyu talks us through the first time he made money from his art and how he has made a career out of it, lasting more than thirty years.

Until next time…

Noreen Chada, Editor, @noreenchada

Noreen Chada – Editor Shirley Dee- Copy Editor Alice Diamond- Staff Writer Kay Samuel- Editorial Assistant Emily Bone – Staff Writer Intern Nicole Samoto – Social Editor Stella Dzingai – Contributing Writer Harrison Madzivachando – Creative Content Manager Dzynmax concepts - Design & Art Direction Published by Demur Ltd Visit us at: www.demur.co Email: info@demur.co

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CONTENTS

Demur Magazine

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04- Editor's Pick 08 - Out and About with Demur 12 - Demur Street Style 17 - Hassan Aliyu – Nigeria’s Art Wonderkid 21 - Music – Zkeletonz 23 - Bronzed Babe - Photoshoot 29 - Society of Alumni 34 - Your Social Media 101 36 - Fashion Diaries – Zurikgirl

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A Fashionable Culture Demur Summer Anthems – songs that give us hope that we will see summer one day.

Noreen – Pete Flux & Parental - Right Here Alice – Loop – Know Me Better Harrison – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime Nicole – Calvin Harris ft. Future & Khalid- Rollin Stella – Mafikizolo ft Uhuru - Khona COVER Photographers Alina Budina @Demur Magazine

© All Rights Reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily of the publisher, Demur Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden except with express permission of the publisher. It is not the intention to print any matter that discriminates on the grounds of race, sex, sexuality or disability. We accept no liability for any misprints or mistakes and no responsibility can be taken for the contents of these pages. Demur Magazine is a free monthly publication addressing a fashionable culture. Demur Magazine is published and distributed by Demur Ltd. For any distribution enquiries please email info@demur.co

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FAshion

Out and About with Demur

Graduate Fashion Week The Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London E1 6QR Sun 4th – Wed 7th June 2017 £8.00 - £14.50 Graduate Fashion Week is the largest showcase of BA fashion in the world with over 35 UK universities and colleges on show. It represents the future of creative design talent, which could one day be one of your students. The annual event, held June 4th-7th 2017 at The Truman Brewery in East London, showcases the work of thousands of the very best graduates from the most influential and inspiring universities around the world.

Shop My Closet by Les Filles2londres Strongroom Bar & Kitchen 120-124 Curtain Road EC2A 3SQ London Sun 11th June 2017 1pm -5pm FREE Shop My Closet is a quarterly event where Fashionistas sell their undesired clothes to other Fashionistas. The entry is free, the smiles are free, the DJ set is free to dance along to or you might want to chill while sipping some drinks at the bar or chatting with likeminded women. Please note mirrors and changing rooms will available. Traders will be unable to accept card payments. If you wish to clear out your wardrobe and make some spare change, you can email lf2l.events@gmail.com to register as a trader.

Distract Presents: Men's London Fashion Week Party Lights of Soho 35 Brewer Street London W1F 0RX Wed 14th June 2017 £7-£10 To celebrate Men's London Fashion Week, and Distract's new rebrand, Distract are hosting a press party at Lights of Soho Gallery. The party will showcase the latest fashion collection from designer Songzio, and feature live performances from proflic musicians, DJ, Press bag Giveaways + more! Free drinks bar between 7pm & 8:30pm (on a first come basis).

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Art Best of Brockley Family Street Art Tour Meet at Bob Marley mural Brockley Station Coulgate Street Brockley Street Art Festival is an annual celebration of street art, with a mission to bring colour to the streets of Brockley and London SE4 surrounding neighbourhoods, through creating a showcase of Sun 4th June 2017 stunning murals by local, national and international artists. Take a 2pm-3pm family friendly tour of some of Brockley’s most popular murals with FREE museum, gallery & arts educator Neysela da Silva-Reed. Children aged 3 and above are also welcome.

London Pop Up Art Fair Sunny Art Centre 30 Gary's Inn Road WC1X 8HR London Thurs 22nd June 2017 FREE Come along to the Sunny Art Centre on June 22nd and 23rd for a Pop Up Art Fair where a mixture of creative people from a variety of disciplines will be celebrating art. All the work at the fair will be of an affordable price and available for purchase on the evening.

Refreshments will be available during the opening night and throughout the day of the fair. From painters, illustrators, designers, 3D artists, to ceramic and jewellery designers, the evening will give you a chance to mingle with a variety of talented artists and art enthusiasts.

SOUL FILM : Celebrate Connect BFI Southbank Belvedere Rd, South Bank, London SE1 8XT Fri 2nd June 2017 3pm -9pm FREE S.O.U.L. CelebrateConnect is a screening & networking event at the BFI Southbank. Set up in support of ethnic minorities in British Film & TV. There will be a screening of a selection of short films and work from emerging talent from the BAME communities. Following the screening networking drinks reception will follow.

S.O.U.L. CelebrateConnect is an exciting opportunity to see the work of fresh new talent and network.

Demur Street Style

@rorimochi

@lilyrose.gannon & @ruth.grundy

@cristina_massaro90

Meen Clothing Model Sabrina Make Up Artist Kkglamovers Designer Meen Clothing Accessories Mode Nubienne Photographer @wytchgyrl Alice Chapman

Hassan Aliyu – Nigeria’s Art Wonderkid Angel of Love & Lightmedium - collage with scrap and worthless lottery paper

What were you doing in your previous life before you became an artist or have you always been an artist?

My oldest memory as a child was drawing airplanes in the sands of Auchi in the late 1960s, when we returned to Nigeria from the UK and I was the only child for miles who had ever been on a plane.

How would you describe your artistic style?

I have no idea of the outcome at the outset of creating as mine is a very spontaneous response to stimuli and impulses as ideas or fragments of colour.

Where do you seek inspiration for your pieces?

I am motivated to create work that documents the African / black experience and through line colour and form. I yearn to make magic and capture illusions of space and time.

My work strives to dismantle preconceptions and provide a narrative that projects my race in a positive light.

With many creative jobs such as yours, it takes a while before you start making money, how long did it take you to sell your first piece of artwork?

I found my money very early on in my career. By being innovative, by the late 1980s I had become a well sought after artist and made a good living producing my work from my Lagos studio. I sold my first piece of artwork while I was in uni.

Are all your art pieces usually well received? How do you deal with negative reviews/feedback?

The messages contained within my work are strong and sometimes controversial however the aesthetic rendering of visual elements is geared towards engaging my audience in a dialogue - ensuring that responses and feedback are at the very least objective. Whichever way, my work stimulates conversation.

Where can we keep up with your work?

I have a private gallery adjoining my home and studio in Rainham Essex and this is open by appointment. You can email me at hassart@ aol.com

Runaway Man! collage with cereal boxes.

Hassan’s Home Gallery The Fragments Of a Lost Soul collage with door-to-door leaflet paper scrap

In an industry that is constantly evolving and artists becoming more independent and taking control of their creativity, Zkeletonz are coming at it in a different, unique, exciting way. These three handsome lads from London describe themselves as a 100 % DIY #PopStop. With satirical singles such as “Olympics & Chill”, celebrating a bit of sexiness when watching sports with a significant other, we were curious to find out more.

MUSIC

Music – Zkeletonz

You describe yourself as a 100% DIY pop stop, what does this mean and what exactly does this entail?

A holistic approach to music making, from writing all the way through to production, mastering and performance. No-one does it for us, we do it for ourselves.

Villagers literally danced around us in the streets, parading a giant horse skull.

After getting back and hitting the studio, it started to get really exciting! So we invited friends to come hear the music. The people living downstairs were warned. It was Halloween, everyone in costumes, so that became our 'birthday'. Now there's a Zkeleton party that day every year.

Your local rehearsal and studio space is currently under threat from rising rents, amongst this what other difficulties do you face as an independent band trying to get your music out?

Getting the balance right between creativity and administration. Making music videos with no experience.

Also, openness to collaboration with other music and non-music artists. The 1st Zkeletonz video “Trouble” was shot in Saudi artist Zaina Hizami's painting studio. Her colourful psychedelic portraiture was the backdrop. Another recent collaboration was at Kafri Studios with Hackney rapper Young Grandez. Look out for that coming soon.

Your first ever performance was at a house party, how did this come about, was this planned?

The project gestated for 3 months before the first few little baby Zkeletonz songs were born. It was conceived in the remote Cornish countryside.

We accidentally attended a weird folk festival there.

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And some people get sceptical about this being 100% DIY. What's the psychology behind that? Scepticism about us doing everything ourselves. Why? In this day and age technology facilitates it. Our Uber bill is massive though!

You have set yourself a task to release new music, art and video every month this year.

Is a month enough time to work on quality content for release or do you have an archive of some content for us?

The short answer is we do have loads of stuff written. But if you write 15 good songs, you get 3 great songs. And Zkeletonz is about making people happy with great songs.

It's taken 2 years to perfect our live shows.

That's now a fully immersive audiovisual They accompany us to important engagements. extravaganza.

Where can we keep up to date with you guys?

There's also about an album's worth of At WWW.ZKELETO.NZ for releases/shows or day material in the bank right now, but all at to day @Zkeletonz on Instagram. Also our #Postpop different stages of our self-recording, mixing radio show on Boogaloo Radio every Wednesday and mastering process. night.

Do you have any Zkeletonz in the closet you Anyone wanting to feature on Zkeletonz tracks or write wish to share with us? music with us, get in contact, or to remix one of our tracks and get a beautiful postpop remix in exchange.

No-one should be haunted by the spectre of a regretful past! There are literally 6 fake animal The next single is a double A side remix collaboration skeletons in the closet of Zkeletonz HQ; cat, with Alive By Night, before the end of May of rat, mouse, vulture, dog and human. course... www.zkeleto.nz | www.zainalhizami.com | www.kafristudios.co.uk 22

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MUSIC

Society of Alumni

Society of Alumni are a versatile collective of music artists and creatives. After spending an afternoon with these young, ambitious, dedicated and hardworking innovators, they left us inspired and intrigued by their plans to change the UK music scene. As they kept telling us “there is no one doing what we are doing”, their mannerism and the way they conducted themselves during the interview, truly supported this statement.

Society of Alumni consists of Mula, Knucky, BabySoul, iSEE, Jaspo Beats, Flewid, Mak, Vels, King Timmi, Bad Jay & Devante Vaughan. Here is what some of the alumnis’ had to say when we sat down with them.

Society of Alumni group

What's wrong with the current UK music scene? respect for hip hop and furthermore we put everything into the work we produce.

Mula: There seems to be a lack of structure which is of course a problem. There is no real identity Devante: Once SOA have done what they for hip hop in the U.K. There is no immediate need to do, the UK music scene will not artist that comes to mind when you think of hip be the same. We would have provided an hop in the U.K, that provides that identity of what infrastructure to artists who really want to dig hip hop in the U.K looks like. I feel there are a deeper into the artistry of hip hop. What we lot of artists who are just scattered around, you are about to display is going to be epic. Every don't really know what genre to place them in. artist on our roster is more than well equipped, The music here has lost its potency. There is no we are going to kick down doors. We are originality, people see the success of one artist going to be so big because we are following and they sort of feel like, that's the blueprint they what's in our hearts and the next generation should follow to make it as well. By doing that will no longer need to look to the US for you lose your own originality and everyone inspiration. When you are the biggest over here you can be big anywhere. It's going to starts to sound the same. be incredibly self-sufficient and self-celebratory Mak: We obviously connect Grime to the UK as well. and you've got trap music as well, but that's all sort of lost its character because everyone Vels: Grime when it first started used to be is trying to do the same thing. We are trying to relatable and the music used to speak to us. bring a breath of fresh air to the music scene Now as time has gone on, most people are and showing people that you don't have to try just talking shit, talking about a lifestyle that and be like everyone else, just being yourself you are wishing but there is no one addressing the lives we are living now. We are making is enough to get your far. music about real life. The people who are How are SOA going to save the UK music scene? from where we are from can understand and relate to that. We are not driving German Jaspo: Our music comes from the heart, whips, we are on the TFL and that’s what we collectively we share the same love and are talking about.

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bad Jay

Mak: Just the way we have structured ourselves demands respect. Most people are doing things half arsed and getting by. The standard isn't there and that's why the UK music scene probably doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Vels: I've always loved music. In primary school, I used to be in the choir and used to play instruments but I never thought I could get a career out of it. Based on my surroundings when I was younger, the only thing I aspired to do was work at Tesco, because that seemed more realistic. It's only three years ago I started to believe I could make something out of it. I grew up listening to Kool G Rap, Lauryn Hill.

My mum used to record all the music videos from The Box on to the VCR and there was everything from hip hop, rock and other music I wouldn't know how to categorise.

Do you think perhaps resources limit other people from producing a good standard of music?

Devante: There is no excuse. The only thing that limits people is their mindset. If you are lucky enough to be born here and live here, there are enough resources to produce quality music.

Vels: The resources are there people just don't iSee use them correctly. The problem is everyone wants to mimic the low standards that we iSee: Growing up my dad used to play have here. No one is making an effort to new jack swing, house and garage. Heavy D was played a lot in the car, Mos Def, A conquer or overcome it.

Tribe Called Quest all those guys. As I got When did you all realise this music thing is older and started to explore on Limewire and what you wanted to do as a full-time job? started listening to DMX, Styles P the whole Mak: My journey began when I was very Ruff Ryder's crew. I started writing when I was young, when I was listening to some of my nine as a way of expressing what I was going favourite MCs. Their songs filled me with a through in my household and kept meeting great energy that made me want to pick up people who were on a similar wavelength the pen. I grew up listening to A Tribe Called and just took it from there.

Quest, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, as I got older my knowledge of hip hop grew.

Flewid: I started writing when I was 13 as a BabySoul: I wanted to do music theatre when form of release more than anything else. From I was younger and when I went to college I them on my love for music grew and I was started taking my singing more seriously and enjoying the experience of writing and it felt then I met the SOA gang. I grew listening to so much better than working a 9-5 to job. It's a lot of neo-soul, people like Erykah Badu, Jill a beautiful thing that we are all here doing Scott, Lauryn Hill. I took a break from music what we love and we are working hard to and had my two kids and when I came back take it to the highest platform. That is the drive for me. I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop.

I was certain this was what I wanted to do.

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I love hip hop, I just love the way it sounds and the feeling it gives you. I listened to Big L, Mos Def, Eminem, The Pharcyde, my mum used to play all that stuff for me.

Jaspo: It was always going to be music for me.

My dad was a bass player. It hasn't always been hip hop for me. I grew up listening to John Coltrane, Genesis, James Brown. At school I was always trying to make beats and one day when I was in the music room, iSee introduced me to hip hop, he showed me people like J Dilla and since then Dilla, has been the greatest influence in my music.

So how can one join SOA? Mula: We are not actively looking for members but we are open to collaborating with other artists. First and foremost, this is a family we have spent a lot of time together and grown together. You must understand the sacrifices we have made and are making before you can just walk in.

What do you want your legacy to be?

Mula: Greatest collective of all time. We will create the blueprint for U.K. Hip hop.

Flewid: That’s what we are going for. This is Mula: I guess since I came out of the womb. something very different from what's going on There has never been no doubt in my mind. currently. There aren't many people who are Everything I have done or been though has doing what we are doing. been preparing me for this. I grew up listening to Big L, he was the first rapper I ever listened to. My mum played Fela Kuti and Fugees.

Devante: I started flirting with the idea of making a career out of music when I was a teenager. However, I have always been musically inclined. I started playing the piano when I was young and I was surrounded by a lot of music growing up. I grew up watching a lot of MTV, so there was a lot on from Nickelback to a lot of hip hop. My nourishment came from the car where I heard Talib Kweli, Aaliyah, H-Town, Jodeci, Al Green and a lot of Ghanaian music. Both my parents are super into music.

Have any of you had thoughts about getting signed to a big label?

Flewid: I joined SOA through iSee and Jaspo and I felt like SOA had a different vibe. I never really thought about getting signed it was never in my spectrum, but now through working with SOA I can see the possibilities and would love to get signed.

Flewid

As you are doing something different, are you bothered that you are not really reaching the common commercial audience?

Vels: Not really no. There are two types of people in the music industry. Those that want to be around the network and be successfully iSee: I'm not going to lie, when I was younger commercial and those who are passionate I had dreams of getting signed to Ruff Ryders, and stay true to their art. they were my idols. I was in a collective Mula: We are not trying to be celebrities. before called S2K and performed at the All artists say they have a message but then Battersea Arts and when I joined SOA it was they get to a certain level and they start to so different from my old collective. It just felt forget the message they came with. We have natural and organic. a message and we promise to stay true to it.

Devante: I had no dreams of getting signed but I Devante: Good music is undeniable and my have known that I was going to make an impact team is too fly to be worried about being commercially successful. in this world through creating untouchable art.

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BabySoul: We are coming with something Jazz pianist ever. If I could just take a bit of his real and you can't really move away from it, talent that would be great.

Mula: For me it's probably Rae-kwon from you can only be drawn to it.

As an artist should you not adapt to the Ghostface. I would love to have done a track trends? with Big L. Vels: We do but in our own way. We can Devante: Bass player Thundercat. A dream easily adapt to the latest trend talking about project would be with SOA and Mad-Lib. A hoes, trapping , drugs and all of that but those great producer would be Alchemist. people can't adapt themselves to do what we do because there is no substance to their music. iSee: I don't think people know what they like.

Everyone just follows what everyone else is listening to and what's trending.

How are people receiving your message?

Devante: People are only seeing a glimpse of what we are about to do and they are already appreciating it.

Mak: We are still grinding. Our show at the Battersea Arts Centre was special because real people came to see us perform in real life.

Vels: We are working hard and not stopping to count followers or views. iSee: Seeing people who knew us from the beginning when we were nervous to perform to now where we are rocking crowd a is special. These people have been on this journey with us for years. It means a lot but we've still got a long way to go.

Devante Vaughan

What would be a dream collaboration for each of you?

Mak: Earl the Sweatshirt, we've got a similar mind set.

BabySoul: Teedra Moses, she has been a big influence on me.

Vels: Chynna and Little Simz, there are the only two artists I can think of who are on my wavelength. iSee: For me it would be Joey Badass and my old school favourite Redman.

Flewid: There are loads. My main one would be Nas and new age would be Da$H and RetcH. Jaspo: It's tricky but Ahmad Jamal the craziest 32

Mula

Babysoul The first official single from the SOA gang “Roundtable Discussions� is out 2nd June.

Download, stream and share the movement!

You can follow the SOA collective sing their social hands below. Be sure to check out the Demur X SOA Cypher on our Youtube Channel.

Twitter @societyofalumni @mulasoace @devantevaughan @_velsworld_ @babysoulsoa @flewidsoa @maklyricist @badjaysoa @iseesoa @jasposoa @DJamari88 Instagram @societyofalumni @mulasoace @devantevaughan @_vels @iseesoa @badjaysoa @maks0a @babysoulsoa @flewidsoa @jasposoa @DJamari88

Vels

Mak

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01. Keep your social media regularly updated.

Lets face it; we all have busy schedules so planning is key (no I don’t mean grab your pen and paper.) There are websites that will ensure your page is kept up to date whilst you’re on the go. Tweet deck is such a website that connects with your Twitter account, and means you can schedule tweets days in advance. It is simple and easy to use, if I can use it, so can you! Although Instagram do not allow for scheduled posts, there are websites which you can use to prepare your post, i.e upload the image and caption. You will then get a reminder reminding you to manually post your post to Instagram.

Don’t forget trusty Facebook enable you to schedule your posts also, so that you never forget to post!

02. Know your prime time.

Now I did my research here and although there are a variety of statistically ‘best’ times to post, don’t forget times can change for different media platforms. My trusted source, the good old Huffington Post, suggests that 5pm-6pm is most effective for interaction for all platforms.

(My guess is that most people have finally sat down after a long day at work, I know that’s me.) 9am-3pm seems to also be a prime time for posting, so give it a go!

Your Social Media 101 To growing your business

by Emily Bone

prime time for posting, so give it a go!

03. NEVER buy your followers.

Let’s be honest it comes across desperate, doesn’t it?

On the outside, it may look good to see high numbers, but in reality, they are just that… Numbers! If you are not having real people, you are not having interactions from your audience, so are you really achieving anything?

Don’t forget it’s important to differ your language and style to each media platform…

Twitter– Remember their character limit, annoying I know, but use this to your advantage. Keeping it short and punchy will keep the attention of your audience, and use hashtags to bring in more people.

4. Keep your content in the interest of your audience.

This means what it says on the tin (I mean subheading.)

If your audience are interested in modern art, then probably best not to post or re-tweet about your secret gaming addiction. The love won’t be reciprocated.

5. Images all the way.

In a sea of hundreds of people that we have on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, you need to be the one to stand out. Images have been confirmed to be one of the most effective ways for audience interaction. Probably down to the recent research conducted, which showed the average person’s attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. That’s now lower than a goldfish. (What was I talking about again?) Don’t forget links. We are a lazy society and we like to be taken directly to what content we are shown.

How do I know all this you ask?

On top of research, I conducted my own understanding on social media as I had the honour recently of managing Demur’s social media pages. I found that scheduling posts was brilliant, allowing me to spend a long time putting thought into them days before, but I could still continue with my busy routine. I also thought it was good how I received reminders from the various apps, telling me that my posts had been published. I would definitely recommend scheduling, for any growing business.

Facebook– Keep it short but you can include more information. Be sure to include an image or video, and link if applicable.

Instagram– Image/s, obviously! But keep your caption short, otherwise people will continue scrolling, and we don’t want that. Hashtags will help attract more people interested in your content.

Hashtag Top Tip = Too many hashtags can come across desperate for likes rather than to target your audience. Try to keep a max of 5!

Follow Emily : Twitter: @emilybonewrite Instagram: emilybonee Blog: herdinkystyle. wordpress.com

Fashion Diaries – Zurikgirl Started in 2015 by; Chinenye Ezurike. Zurikgirl is a ready–to-wear US brand made in Lagos Nigeria and distributed in the United States.

How easy or difficult is it for you to distribute your brand to the world from Lagos, Nigeria?

It has been a rough labor of love, passion and hard work for the team. The biggest hurdle is the fact that we can’t always mass produce the demand. Most times when it comes to fabric sourcing and restocking, due to our production being outsourced, it’s difficult to expand without a committed production front working specifically by the brand and for the brand.

Who is the typical ZurikGirl?

Our clothes are easy-to-wear, fluently chic with a splash of personality. They are perfect for the contemporary woman with a big city mind. From the college student fashionista to the working-class fashion forward woman, Zurikgirl appeals to a wide variety of women.

Do you have to have a different approach when marketing your brand to a Western audience?

Our type of fabric and price point speaks for itself when it comes to marketing to our target audience. Our fabrics are vibrant and one of a kind which is aesthetically pleasing in the western culture. We are constantly looking for different ways to change our marketing approach, as a young brand we have to keep our styles in trend with the seasons which also helps in setting our marketing approach.

Do you have any other designers that you connect and network with to bounce ideas off of?

We are currently based in Chicago and there are a handful of great designers that have been doing this for a while and we look up to greatly. Designers such as: Jennifer Akese Burney of Akese style lines who is from Ghana and Idrine Bishweka from Congo.

How do you see the ZurikGirl brand developing?

Instead of going to China or Mexico like a lot of other brands do, we have plans of building our own production facility in Lagos, Nigeria, where we can employ young

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women and girls with the opportunity to make an honest living in a city where the fast life seems to be the easy way out. With that we plan on expanding ZG into a storefront and also distribute wholesale to other major brands and boutiques where our customers can easily have access to shop Zurikgirl.

Where can we keep up to date with the ZurikGirl?

You can follow us on all social media platform Instagram, Facebook and twitter @zurikgirl and also shop Online at zurikgirl.com