F/I/M²/P · Issue 11 · April/May (June) 2014

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ONE LAST HURRAH!

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ISSUE N 11

ep, we’re releasing our final issue. Now we might be a bit hazy as to why exactly we’re doing so, but it just feels like it might be time for everyone here to be branching out beyond this project that we had lovingly conceived and worked on together. Each one of us will be venturing into new adventures, bigger ones, different ones and more challenging ones... Just like you do, so give us a break!

This here bundle of joy brought all of us behind it both personal and professional satisfaction; teaching us and allowing us along the way to create, curate, produce and share an abundance of fantastic local talent.

It has also given us the chance to bridge gaps between the different fields of Art and Design and provide a place for collaborative efforts.

What you have between your hands was a starting point for us and we’re ready to go ahead and expand in different ways now that we’ve discovered what we each crave out of work and how each one of us wants to go about doing it.

As we celebrate our two-year-anniversary and our twelfth issue (there was issue zero, remember?), we also bid adieu to all of you for the time being. So there, we’ve said it… and now you know! We want to thank you for believing in what we did and for working beside us for the past two years. We hope to have helped, launched and entertained the way we envisioned this project would. If nothing else, it’s been a great deal of fun. *wipe away pesky tear* Alright, let’s get on with this, shall we?

Since we do not see this as an end, but rather as a beginning and a window for new opportunities, we thought we’d celebrate all things bourgeonning from existing ends by using this platform one final time to showcase reinvention and recycling; No, wait, UPcycling: Re-duce, Re-use, Re-play.

It’s time for one last hurrah!

ILLUSTRATION BY ELIA TAWIL INSPIRED BY ADVENTURE TIME

EDITORS’ LETTER THESE ARE OUR FINAL FEW THOUGHTS AND GOODBYES. TAKE A MINUTE AND ENJOY WHAT OUR JUVENILE MINDS HAVE FOR YOU, ONE LAST TIME.

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WHAT’S INSIDE

OUR PEOPLE TANYA TRABOULSI EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHER 6 MIKE V. DERDERIAN EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR 14

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY FOUAD MEZHER

REVIVE, REBRAND, REFASHION THE FASHION ARTICLE 22 ANDRE ALLAN ANJOS INTERVIEW 24 NADIM ASFAR INTERVIEW 26 CYRILLE NAJJAR INTERVIEW 28 ENDTRODUCING DJ SHADOW 30 NOUR EL HAGE KURKUMA 32 LOOPSTACHE INTERVIEW 36 DARINE HOTAIT INTERVIEW 38

SCAN THE CODE TO VIEW ALL PAST ISSUES IN THEIR DIGITAL FORM

GENERATION GAP 40 REDUCE / REUSE / REPLAY OUR PICK OF THE BEST IN UPCYCLING 44 BLOGGER 52 ALBUM REVIEWS 54

EDITORS IN CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTORs MOHAMAD ABDOUNI & RUDY SHAHEEN MANAGING PARTNER FATIMA M. EL MARINI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER krystel kouyoumdjis ASSOCIATE EDITOR KARL HITTI FASHION EDITOR CHARLES HADDAD

EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHER TANYA TRABOULSI EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR MIKE V. DERDERIAN

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS CLARA ABI NADER RAMI HAJJ CHRISTINE LABBAN TIFFANY FRANCES

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS ELIA TAWIL OMAR AL FIL DIALA DAJANI JULES BAKHOS MOHAMAD KRAYTEM RANA ZAHER

EXHIBITING FASHION DESIGNER NOUR EL HAGE

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS NISRINE NAJEM OMAR AL FIL SERGE KALDANY LEA YAMMINE STEPHANIE KOYESS KARIM ABOU ZAKI RAPHAELLE MACARON

MOVIE REVIEWS 56 FRANZ FERDINAND LIVE IN ROADHOUSE, LONDON LIVE REVIEW 63

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CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC ARTISTS MELANIE DAGHER ALEXANDRA WARDEH ERIC RITTER

THE EXHIBITORS Tanya Traboulsi & Mike V. Derderian

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TANYA TRABOULSI

UNE DERNIERE PELLICULE (ONE LAST FILM) What follows is a series of photographs taken by Lebanese-Austrian Tanya Traboulsi in 2011 with a 110 film camera that was given to her when she was only 3 years old, by her mother’s friend. After having found it later on amongst her things in her adult life, she took it upon herself to give it a try and found an expired 110 film to do the job.

THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH OF A YOUNG TANYA HOLDING THE 110 FF WAS TAKEN BY HER MOTHER BRIGITTE.

OPPOSITE: VIEW OF HIPPODROME AND NEIGHBOURING ROOFTOPS FROM A FRIEND’S APPARTMENT

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TANYA TRABOULSI

HIGHWAY BETWEEN BURJ HAMMOUD AND ASHRAFIEH

VIEW FROM TANYA‘S APPARTMENT

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BOTTLES IN TANYA‘S LIVING ROOM

A RECOVERED HEIRLOOM AND ONE LAST FILM

VIEW FROM SABTIEH, METN

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TANYA TRABOULSI

ATLAS BEACH, JIYEH

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A RECOVERED HEIRLOOM AND ONE LAST FILM

ATLAS BEACH, JIYEH

REMOTE REGION ABOVE AMCHIT

REMOTE REGION ABOVE AMCHIT

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MIKE V. DERDERIAN

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ARTICLE BY CHARLES HADDAD COLLAGE BY MELANIE DAGHER

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FASHION ARTICLE

REVIVE, REBRAND REFASHION

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hen a brand finds itself in the midst of a financial hiccup, it tends to turn to a makeover to save the day. No, we are not talking about those chicken gig makeover shows. You know, those that seek out grocery store victims and slap on a feel good weave and painted face, that wash out the day after. Isn’t that right ladies? We are talking about a full corporate makeover starting with the creative director.

You know what they say, if its not broken don’t fix it…but what if it is? Well, you fire the queen and hire a new one!

Right after the tiara got knocked off Galliano’s dirty blonde head, it was a tough bet as to who would succeed he who originated Dior as we know it today. It wasn’t long before Mr. Arnault realized that he needed to wipe the slate clean and hand the throne to someone who would keep it pristine. Along came design royalty Raf Simons, who himself had revamped Jil Sander, ready to hit the refresh button on Galliano’s cluttered desktop. Simons brought his minimal aesthetic to the front of the line. Pulling out all his Antwerp guns, he refashioned a new and improved Dior army. Sales went up by 24% after his debut at the house; looks like that makeover was truly in order. Simultaneously we had another makeover champ that debuted his collection for YSL…oh excuse us, we meant to say Saint Laurent Paris. Hedi Slimane moved from Dior Homme, which itself was known as Christian Dior Monsieur before he laid his hands on it. Not only did he get free range within the design studio, but he somehow charmed his way into rebranding the iconic YSL logo; a move that got a lot of backlash from long term fans. However, buyers are going bananas for Slimane’s new take on the house’s DNA with a 40% increase in sales. Selling like leather bomber hotcakes, some call it a rebranding success story. He framed his name in the fashion hall of fame alongside Tom Ford for Gucci, Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga and Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum.

However that isn’t always the case, at least it wasn’t with Ms. Alessandra Facchinetti. She was hired as the first successor of Valentino Garavani after his retirement…pressure much? Unfortunately, she only lasted a mere two seasons

before Valentino executives realized she was not the right match. The rolling dollar signs were not within view. It wasn’t until the brand’s accessory designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli cracked open those atelier windows that we felt a breath of fresh air. They were able to preserve the house’s DNA while being relevant to the now. Easier said than done, but damn do they do it right. Another flop was Nicola Formichetti for Mugler. Between him and Lady Gaga, they definitely caused a lot of ruckus in the industry. But that goes to show that ruckus alone does not generate a cash flow. We hope London based designer David Koma will be able to put food on the table… with a sexually infused meal that is.

On one hand you have people like the Valentino super duo that fight to keep a brand on its feet, and on the other you have the ones that are attempting to drag a brand out of the ashes.

One such example is Christian Lacroix for Elsa Schiaparelli.

After his own label went downhill, Mr. Lacroix spent a few years dabbling in costume design until he was approached to design a one-time tribute collection. However it was Diego della Valle who chose Marco Zanini as creative director, a season after Lacroix, to revive Elsa from the grave. Resuscitation is feasible but sustainability is key…see you next season Schiap? Let us hope so. Another resurrection that’s making news is Hussein Chalayan’s quick stint at Vionnet. Goga Ashkenazi, the current chairwoman and creative director for the brand, invited Chalayan into the Vionnet studios to lend a helping hand for Spring 2014 Couture. The result was not as successful as one would have anticipated. Critics saw it as a heavy and stiff attempt for a label that is known for utter fluidity. We pray for an “Alber Elbaz meets Lanvin” moment to skyrocket Vionnet to where it deserves to be. Keep an eye out Ashkenazi, he/she is out there somewhere.

When it comes to historical brands, one cannot help but wonder how much free range a creative director should get.

It’s never a guarantee, even when it seems to be a match made in fashion heaven, until that money truck comes rolling in.

Which brings us to our point, at the end of the day as much as we would like to think it’s a good old fashioned dress up party, it is in a fact a business. Get that coin boys and girls, cause a bakery with no dough…makes no vodka…wait what? - (F)

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RAC

INTERVIEW: ANDRE ALLAN ANJOS // THE MAN BEHIND RAC

INTERVIEW BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC MENA

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This all really began with a phone call you made to The Shins’ manager after having found his number on their website. Did you ever think that phone call would get you where you are today? *Laughs* Definitely not. I was very nervous and in a moment of courage, I just decided to go ahead and call. It ended up changing my life, so definitely worth it. I think I realized then that the worst possible thing that can happen is hearing “no”.

That’s not that bad.

Even as far back as that first remix almost three years ago, we could still sense that same strong RAC identity that we can hear in music today. What is the goddamn secret?

I’ve always stayed true to what I like and that’s been a constant throughout my career. I’ve never chased trends and I firmly believe that if you force your way into the music world with your own style, that you’ll have a longer and much more successful career. It’s easier to chase trends, it’s much harder to carve out an identity. I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old. I’m 29 now. I’ve seen so many people rise and fall because they fell into the trap of chasing trends. Just stick to what you like and you’ll be a leader, not a follower.

Do you simply just keep working on a track until it makes you feel personally euphorically happy? Because this is how it seems like on the outside … *Laughs* I just like happy music. I think some musicians are afraid of major keys. I find it to be liberating. I just write what comes out. When I sit down to write a song, I don’t really think about it. I just let it flow out naturally. Music making is very bizarre. You have to turn off your brain sometimes.

What’s a more fun track to work on? Indie or Pop? Grizfolk or Katy Perry?

I think they both have their challenges, but I do have a lot of fun with Pop stuff. I don’t take myself very seriously and I don’t think the Pop artists do either. Why not just have fun with it? Music is about making a connection to another person.

Touching somebody with deep and moving lyrics is just as valid as making somebody feel good with a catchy melody.

What moved RAC from truly being a remix artists collective boasting a number of contributors such as Karl Kling and Andrew Maury, to becoming your own personal project?

The true story isn’t very exciting. I started RAC in college hoping that it would become a large collective. Andrew and Karl joined a little bit later, but I was still doing most of the work. They are still very good friends and we still collaborate on lots of projects, but I felt like it was time to be more honest about who was doing the remixes and the work.

After an array of remixes spanning over three years of the who’s who of both the indie and popular music scene, RAC releases an album of original work this year. Could you tell us About Strangers? Was it always a goal to move towards song crafting and not to stick with remixing?

The album process started about 4 years ago. I was toying with the idea of writing some dance singles and releasing them on vinyl.

Something very low key. Once I started writing, things became a lot more obvious that it wasn’t gonna be dance music. It was naturally turning into a pop project. I got pretty serious about it and just started writing as much as possible. I wrote over 45 demos for this album and sent them out to all these different vocalists. They started to send me back their song ideas and it all started to take shape. The loose theme of the album has to do with the fact that I didn’t know most of them personally. We did it all through the internet. I’ve since met a lot of them, but at the time I hadn’t even met them in real life. There’s a few exceptions, but that’s the reasoning behind the title Strangers.

Why did you decide to release strangers in two parts?

The honest answer is marketing. It gave me double the exposure.

The other reason was because the album is quite long. Unfortunately people don’t have time to listen to 16 tracks non-stop, so the next best thing would be to split it up. They aren’t really meant to be judged on their own, but as an entire album.

What should we look forward to from RAC once Strangers Pt. II is released?

Well, I’m already working on album 2! More remixes, more touring, more projects. I love what I do, so I don’t think I’ll ever stop. - (M)

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PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER: NADIM ASFAR

STILLNESS, MOVEMENT & SOUND INTERVIEW BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI PHOTOGRAPH BY NADIM ASFAR YOU WORK WITH BOTH PHOTO AND VIDEO. WHICH CAME FIRST? Photography. I started with photography very early on, around the age of 11 *chuckles*. I didn’t really delve much into video until I started learning it at university. It was the first time I ever thought of producing moving images. It wasn’t anything I had thought about earlier. To me everything regarding those moving images is about story telling. At the time I began with photography, it was very hard to do video. Photography was much more accessible. Video was not, it was the eighties. Shooting a film was something!

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF EACH OF THESE TWO MEDIUMS? WHICH OF THEM DO YOU RUN TO IN ORDER TO CONVEY A CERTAIN IDEA OR EMOTION? Sound is what makes the difference between these two mediums for me. Film brings sound. It comes before moving images. Whenever I feel the need to use a film format, it’s when I need to produce a sound first and foremost. Then, come different factors, such as when I want to create a story, a sequence of events happening or a link between images. Video gives more body to the images I take and most importantly brings in my presence to the work, intimacy; whereas in photography, you can still feel that presence, but it’s more of a point of view. You are not moving inside the space. Video brings in more time. As for my photographs, I believe they have a more intellectual aspect to them. You can like the photograph, or not, and move on.

You cannot feel the same about the videos. It also depends on the subject really, its sound or its silence, its movement or its stillness …

IN INNENLEBEN, GERMAN FOR ‘INTERIOR LIVING SPACE / INNER SPIRITUAL LIFE’, YOU CAPTURED THE MOMENTARILY VACANT ROOMS OF SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO BROADCAST THEIR SEXUAL LIVES ONLINE VIA WEBCAM. TO DO SO, YOU DECIDED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN RATHER THAN SIMPLY CAPTURING A DIGITAL SCREEN SHOT …

Well for starters at that moment there wasn’t a screenshot option on computers, really. It was in 2009. I had always been attracted to the screen and the relationship we have with it, in fact one of my future projects will be dealing with that. I like to feel the screen… its magnetic field. I also wanted the texture of the screen. If I had used the screenshot option, I would’ve had no feeling of time. I wanted to capture all these layers that defined that moment in time in which those photographs were taken.

WHAT INSIGHT REGARDING THEIR PERSON DID THEIR SURROUNDING AND BELONGINGS BRING YOU?

Nothing. The project is about the opacity of images. I don’t think we learn a lot about a person by their image, or that of their space. My photos bring the fragility of each space and of its representation. You can daydream and fantasize about it, but you can’t really know. It’s illusion. You can’t learn or state anything that’s certain. It wasn’t the objective for me anyway. What I found intriguing was that the people that dominated the frame moved and suddenly, behind them, I had an exclusive access to a very punctual place that revealed nothing except its presence.

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TELL US ABOUT EVERYDAY MADONNA, WHICH IS, AS YOU’VE MENTIONED BEFORE, NOT A DOCUMENTARY, BUT AN IMPRINT, A PHYSICAL TRACE. This film came in a very peculiar way. During the war of 2006 in Lebanon, as of the early days of it, we were faced with a threat. This threat of everything collapsing around me, all my work … I was afraid for my things, my computer, my cameras, everything that could leave a trace of me as a person to someone else, for someone else to know that I existed somehow. It’s very hard to know that you could just disappear along with your trace, to realize that you’re nothing. At that moment in time I was very alone, no one knew me very well.

Now it’s different, I have Antoine, I have people surrounding me who know how I live, how I am, how I woke up… But not back then. So what I tried to do was leave this physical trace of the moments I enjoyed in everyday life; the music I listened to. Madonna had two main meanings for me. She’s a link to my childhood firstly, and a challenge as well in a way: working with something so popular and impersonal and putting it in a very specific and personal space and moment.

YOUR VIDEO WORK TENDS TO VEER MORE TOWARDS CAPTURING LIFE IN ITS MOST MUNDANE OF STATES AND LESS TOWARDS THE CINEMATIC. WHOSE WORK WOULD YOU SAY BRINGS GREAT INSPIRATION TO YOUR OWN? Strangely, I find inspiration from artists that don’t work in the same field as mine, walk a similar path or express in the same language. I’m interested in those who have an interesting approach, a way of expression and development of a project, regardless of which category they might fall in. Jean-Luc Goddard is someone who challenged me a lot in a way. He has become a very trendy reference nowadays but I don’t care because what I believe interests me in his work is very specific to me. There are also some writers for example that inspire me like Kafka. When it comes to someone who works in a similar approach and language, Jean-Claude Rousseau is an artist that I find very inspiring. His work focuses on intimacy mostly.

DO YOU BELIEVE YOU RECYCLE MUCH WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR WORK? TAKE BITS AND PIECES AND USE THEM FOR SOMETHING ELSE? I think what I do naturally, something I’ve done my entire life, in different ways, is to give meaning to a very specific or mundane moment and to give it volume. I try to use something that is already there and to experience it differently, at another level, another depth. For Everyday Madonna for example, it was the idea of working with songs that belonged to everyone and to shift them into a more personal direction and transform them into a new sound. The recycling occurs here, when the song becomes a sound.

When you translate what you have from one language to another.

AND WHAT’S NEXT? Sound. - (M2)

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INTERVIEW: CYRILLE NAJJAR // THE FORCE BEHIND WHITE SUR WHITE

CYRILLE NAJJAR GIVING WHITE A NEW SHADE INTERVIEW BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY FRANCES

CAN WE START OFF WITH THE NAME AND WHAT IT MEANT FOR YOU TO CALL YOUR STUDIO WHITE SUR WHITE? White sur White’s name was inspired

by Malevitch’s painting “Carre blanc sur fond blanc”, his work was the beginning of abstraction, it was quite a revolution as it elevated art and created a shortcut for art into emotions. Our aim as a company is to shortcut the process and rethink the way a product is made; we feel that designers are still creating the way they did hundreds of years before, and aren’t considering the implications of assembly, packaging, shipping, handling, processing and taxes enough and these have an outrageous carbon footprint.

WHAT IS IT THAT WHITE SUR WHITE DOES? HOW DOES IT OPERATE AND WHO DOES IT CREATE AND PRODUCE FOR? I have a hard time segregating between the different artistic/ engineering disciplines we design for fashion, art, industry, architecture or installations working with a wide variety of trades and people from very different sectors like R&D or the music or security industry.

As for our clients we mainly design with businesses; Governments, Banks, Museums, but also consumable companies, we also work with limited edition for clients and galleries.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST BEGIN WITH YOUR OWN VENTURE? WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO GO SOLO? I always loved jumping in the void not knowing what was waiting for me next!

I started really early at the age of 19 and was always a hard one to contain (ask my parents) I was working many companies and then started to get clients from around the world, I later worked with Future Brand in London and other architecture firms here in Beirut but I always knew I wanted to start a firm with an unusual workplace that’s actually fun.

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WHAT WAS THE FIRST PROJECT THAT CAME OUT OF WHITE SUR WHITE? One of the first big architecture projects was for Memac Ogilvy’s Mindshare and Media insight MENA offices in DT Beirut and right before that I had won a competition and designed a body signal instrument for Yamaha for non-musicians converting your body’s signals into music.

YOUR LATEST COLLECTION IS A BUILD-IT-YOURSELF FURNITURE SET THAT IS AIMED AT A GENERAL PUBLIC. WHAT BROUGHT THIS ON? OneplusOne is a no screw no glue collection of products for the house or office, however, it started off as a collection for the refugees back in 2010, the purpose was that every designer would add an item to the online shop collection but the blueprints were freely available online for NGOs to produce in crisis situation, so we designed beds, stretchers, crutches, houses, storage systems; well really anything you need. Quickly our clients started being interested in our designs and soon enough it became a brand on it’s own.

WHAT IS NEXT FOR WHITE? So many exciting projects! After our head office our lab is now open, the next step should be B2C in a certain way but we still have to figure that out.

YOU’VE BRANCHED OUT INTO WHITE LAB, A CREATIVE SPACE IN THE HEART OF BEIRUT, WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THIS PROJECT? White Lab is our playground, it’s where we experiment the oddest designs and technologies, it will soon open up to a membership that will allow fellow designers, architects or artists to have access to our facility, that means, exhibition space, office space, prototyping workshop, the photo studio, 3d printing and a great network of arts and crafts as well as industry specialists.

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INTERVIEW: DJ SHADOW // IN RETROSPECT

IN THE SHADOW OF ENDTRODUCING ARTICLE AND ILLUSTRATION BY OMAR AL FIL

“Producing” proclaims a man’s voice, signaling the appearance of a tense repetitive piano melody. The man goes on to recount the experience of acquiring a vague skill of some kind by listening to records, pausing briefly allowing an ominously low piano chord to resonate again and again. He concludes his speech by stating a desire for self-expression through the drums; conveniently followed by a pounding drum beat. No, this is not some avant-garde composer’s idea of an experimental art piece, but the opening of the track ‘Building Steam with a Grain of Salt’ from American DJ and producer DJ Shadow’s seminal debut album Endtroducing..….

Just think: in a mere 2 years, it will be a not-so-mere 20 years since this genre-defining instrumental Hip Hop album crashlanded onto the scene, leaving one big significant crater in its wake. The album, which consists of 13 instrumental tracks, wowed listeners and critics alike with its dope beats and dreamy

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soundscapes, all of which were purely composed of samples, found sounds and borrowed melodies. It was the first album produced solely through samples, as attested to by the Guinness Book of World Records; making it a milestone for instrumental hip hop and sample-based music.

Before we go any further, some history: sampling is the act of taking a clip of existing audio and re-appropriating it as an instrument in a new musical composition. Sampling’s earliest roots can be traced back to something called Musique Concrète in the 1940s. Musique Concrète was an experimental musical practice in which sounds recorded onto magnetic tape would be modified and edited, through cutting, pasting and manual manipulation, to create strange new sounds and audio anomalies.

Fast forward to the late 70s, when a little piece of tech called a sampler had been developed, facilitating the use of samples

in more standard musical compositions. In that period, Hip Hop culture had just recently emerged from the womb and was slowly taking form as a new musical movement, alongside Punk of course. With time, Hip Hop eventually embraced the sampler and turntables as its trademark tools of the trade, and soon enough, samples and loops grew to define the exciting new Hip Hop sound that emerged.

As this radical new culture continued to prosper, the growing popularity of certain acts, such as Run-D.M.C. and Public Enemy, set the MC and DJ on a path to steadily becoming the new rock stars of the era; filling up clubs and stadiums and getting their music videos played on TV… they really made it. But despite that, the now-standard practice of a producer putting out an album of pure instrumentals was a strange and unheard-of concept back then; after all, why would anyone want to buy an album of beats without rhymes?

That would all change after various producers would indeed start releasing their instrumentals on wax, to show off their skills of course. One example is New York DJ and producer Mark the 45 King, whose 1989 album Master of the Game consisted of his own productions, with MCs spitting over those on the A side, while the B side was nothing but straight up bangin’ beats. Fully instrumental albums and “beat tapes” would start popping up here and there in due time, but the true turning point came in 1996 when young Josh Davis, a.k.a. DJ Shadow would put out his masterfully produced magnum opus Endtroducing..….

So what exactly made this release so groundbreaking? It’s not like sampling was a newly conceived practice or Hip Hop instrumentals had not yet come into existence prior to 1996.

What made the album so different was elevation of these somewhat basic techniques through the artistry and diligence with which they were approached. Shadow’s weapons of choice while making the record were sparse to say the least: nothing more than an Akai MPC60 sampler, a Technics SL-1200 turntable and an Alesis ADAT tape recorder; oh and, hundreds of obscure records of course. His self-imposed rule of utilizing samples as the basic building blocks of these tracks shows a lot of dedication to the craft.

When a musician must compose a bunch of tracks with different moods and dynamics that tell different stories and convey different emotions, all they have to do is write them down, play them and record. However, for a producer, or more specifically, one particular sample-obsessed Mr. Davis, this process boiled down to the painstaking task of digging through tons and tons of records, and listening carefully for bass lines, melodies, drum loops and even individual drum hits. He didn’t have to, but he did. Casual listeners may be indifferent to all the nitty gritty details, but for real sound junkies, listening to these tracks, then looking up the original sources they were extracted from is a real treat; it’s like getting to witness every brushstroke that went into turning a blank canvas into the Mona Lisa.

And when it came time to convey these moods and emotions, it wasn’t just a case of slapping a bunch of sounds together and hoping for the best. Shadow is as much a skilled composer as he is a dedicated beatmaker, decorating his productions with tense intros, energetic build-ups, and satisfying conclusions, all of which are necessary to make up for the absence of a rapper or vocalist’s lyrical contributions and keep the listener engaged and curious. Due to his use of certain film score elements among

his samples, the music inevitably ended up having a cinematic feel to it; painting dynamic mental images with little-to-no dialogue uttered.

The atmosphere that Shadow painted had typical Hip Hop attributes of being heavy and groovy, while also leaning towards a psychedelic vibe, with chopped up beats and floating ambience best described as … “trippy”; the term “trip hop” itself was actually coined two years prior by a British journalist reviewing Shadow’s single ‘In/Flux’ , so it should come as no surprise that this album was a smashing success across the pond, where Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead were making it big. Alternative Hip Hop and electronic music label Mo’ Wax, which Endtroducing..… was released through, was a driving force in defining the sound of that period. Two years later, Mo’ Wax co-founder James Lavelle would recruit Shadow for the debut album of his own musical project: Unkle.

Even though Trip Hop, the style it was so frequently labeled under, is more-or-less a dead genre today, and Hip Hop production has taken major leaps in all kinds of directions since the 90s, Endtroducing..… has stood the test of time and caused some major ripples in the music world. In the years following the album’s release, producers took notice and started putting out their own intricately crafted instrumental Hip Hop albums. Artists such as: RJD2, Blockhead, Wax Tailor, and more. Even Radiohead were big fans of it, citing Shadow as one of their influences on the album OK Computer. Hell, there’s even a band that was put together called Introducing whose sole purpose is to recreate the album note-for-note live on stage using actual instruments.

But the legacy of this album has been both a blessing and a curse for its creator, as expectations were high for Shadow’s followup material and fans were eagerly anticipating some more of the same. Though they were treated to some somewhat similar, but by no means identical, future work, fans eventually found themselves at odds with the man, who wanted to explore new territory in his style. In 2006, The negative feedback Shadow was receiving following the release of his drastically un-Endtroducing..…-esque album The Outsider compelled him to post the following response on his blog: “Repeat Endtroducing over and over again? That was never, ever in the game plan.

Fuck that. So I think it’s time for certain fans to decide if they are fans of the album, or the artist.”

In the 2002 turntable documentary Scratch, DJ Shadow is featured in the basement of a record shop he frequents in his hometown of Davis, California, surrounded by towering heaps of records. Perched between these stacks of wax, he muses: “Just being in here, is a humbling experience to me, because, you’re looking through all these records and it’s sort of like a big pile of broken dreams in a way. Almost none of these artists still have a career really. So you have to kinda respect that in a way.

I mean, if you’re makin’ records and if you’re a DJ and putting out releases, whether its mixtapes or whatever, you’re sort of adding to this pile, whether you wanna admit it or not. 10 years down the line, you’ll be in here. So keep that in mind when you start thinkin’ ‘Oh yeah, I’m invincible’, ‘I’m the world’s best’ or whatever, because that’s what all these guys thought”.

Well it’s been almost 20 years now Shadow, and we’re sorry to say, we still haven’t been able to find a copy of Endtroducing..… wedged between a stack of dusty old records; God knows we’ve tried. - (M)

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KURKUMA

NOUR EL HAGE PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTINE LABBAN STYLING BY CHARLES HADDAD

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INTERVIEW: LOOPSTACHE // CARL FERNEINÉ & SALIM NAFFAH

loopstache INTERVIEW BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI PHOTOGRAPH BY RAMI HAJJ

Boys, let us just ask you right off the top: What’s with covers? Why is it that taking the cover route is such a popular breakout method for up and coming bands?

Covers are fun and easy to work with. People already know it and can sing along to it, while discovering your input. You just take the vocals or the main melody and tweak it, modulate it and transform it the way you feel it, and if the feeling is shared that’s when u know its a good cover.

What made you guys follow along those footsteps and unveil yourselves to the world through covers?

Basically, we continued with the covers because we thought it’s a good way to gather a consistent online fan base to eventually be ready for an original album launch. So while writing our own songs, we’d throw a new cover every couple of months to keep our fans in the loop.

How did you guys get to choose which songs to tackle so far? Do you guys fight to get to a decision? Is there blood shed? Who usually ends up winning?

Until now, we counted 13 stitches, broken bones and teeth and a lot of blood shed.

Our studio sessions are like battlefields, the strongest army always wins.

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Now that you’re working on your full length debut, are we looking at a cover record or all new original material?

Give us some insights!

You guys are getting 100% Loopstache music. Our first album is going to be a set of original tracks especially designed to keep your dance moves up to the standards.

How is what you’re working on for the upcoming LP any different than what we’ve heard so far?

Loopstache is a melting pot of fun and good vibes. We keep on trying various associations; experimenting around feel good tunes. Our sound is ever evolving and this time around it’s mainly ElectroSwing, Electro-Funk, Nu-Disco and some laid back beats.

Just like everyone else, as you probably already know,we had your cover of ‘Blurred Lines’ (with Safar) on repeat for days following its release. And the video’s so damn cute! How did it feel to have your track/ video go viral and to know that overnight, everyone had heard of Loopstache?

That’s why social media is so amazing.

When you collaborate with the coolest people and you have such a good time doing what you do, plus, you believe in it, people will respond to it. Nothing beats

the feeling of waking up the next morning, opening your freshly uploaded piece of creativity and seeing all the nice words, the kind encouragements and people’s honest feedback.

Any surprise collaborations in store for your debut record?

Yes! :)

If you each had to pick one vocalist/singer to collaborate vocals on a track you’re working on, who would it be? Aim big!

Salim : Stevie Wonder Carl : MNEK A cover that you think is better than the original, off the top of your head … GO! Pomplamoose just released a super cool cover of ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ and it sounds super nice !

It’s been a pleasure getting to work with you on set, you guys had a sick bond going on, what’s your secret?

Sunday mornings maybe.. But hey! the pleasure was all ours ! What’s YOUR secret? - (M)

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INTERVIEW: DARINE HOTAIT // FOUNDER OF CINEPHILIA

Darine Hotait Cinephilia Screenwriting Lab for Shorts INTERVIEW BY KRYSTEL KOUYOUMDJIS PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY FRANCES

Walk us through it, what is Cinephilia Screenwriting Lab for Shorts?

The Cinephilia Screenwriting Lab for shorts is an initiative founded by Cinephilia Productions in 2012 that aims at discovering new and visionary voices in the art of filmmaking from the MENASA region. The lab is a stateof-the-art platform that allows filmmakers to develop their storytelling potential, criticism faculty and technical proficiency. The lab tours in different cities across the MENASA. Through an application process, the lab selects 8-10 filmmakers who are developing a short film screenplay. During the intensive 6 days, filmmakers get to develop their screenplay in an environment that offers constructive feedback. The most exciting part about the lab is the award. One filmmaker wins the Best Screenplay award. The screenplay gets funded and produced by Cinephilia Productions.

What goal does it hope to achieve in the region?

We aspire to promote content originality and high standards of storytelling sensibility by presenting a platform of unconditional freedom for filmmakers to address unconventional stories. We want this lab to gather a roster of screenwriters who show the prospects of a future film industry in the region.

How effective has it been so far? And How committed have participants been?

Cinephilia is working towards this goal in every possible way. The lab is slowly reaching out to filmmakers in the region. In less than 2 years, and with limited resources, the lab received somewhere over 400 applications for 8 labs in 8 different cities with 80 selected participants and 4 winners. We couldn’t hope for anything more. That only says one thing: Filmmakers want to be part of it and are committed.

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Why focus on Shorts?

Cinephilia is not just focused on Shorts.

We have a lab for Feature films that we just launched this year. However we started with Shorts because we know that most filmmakers in the region are looking for a platform that can offer them the tools to advance their technicality as well as the awareness of the international film industry. There is a huge gap in film schools when it comes to screenwriting. The lab is mainly working towards filling this gap. If we focus on mastering storytelling in a short format, we will be facing a generation of influential filmmakers who will invade the big screen with nothing short of masterpieces. Most if not all filmmakers went through the short phase cause it is a stepping stone to feature films. Many great helmers still sometimes choose to make short films. Shorts are really an art form by themselves.

What makes for a very good screenplay in your opinion?

It’s a relative question. There is no good or bad screenplays. If we are talking craft, a good screenplay is the one that has no gaps in its plot points and has a clear theme.

However, screenwriting, like any art form, is unconditional. You don’t have to follow the dramatic rules to tell a story. A good writer is the one who can coordinate between the rules and their own novelty. For the audience, a good screenplay is a story that makes them forget that they are in a movie theater. For the filmmaker, a good screenplay is the one that they haven’t yet written or maybe the next draft of what they have in hand.

The online description states that “The winning filmmaker is the one who shows dedication to the art form, sincerity to

their personal vision, and novelty in their voice.” How difficult would you say it is to manage this novelty?

Novelty is not an unreachable state as many describe. It’s as natural as any other human quality. The problem is that we practice against it all the time. Therefore it starts to slip away from us. To manage a writer’s novelty is to have values of authenticity and integrity towards their work and their personal observations of life and to stay away from influences that divert them from their true voice. As Allen Ginsberg put it best ‘To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.’

What drives the insight into the screenwriting process?

How do the participants learn?

Trusting one’s intuition is the main element to gain an accurate understanding of the screenwriting process. In the lab, through different exercises, participants learn techniques that help them in building a writing routine. This routine should become more of a ritual with its main goal to keep the creative cells in the brain active. It takes a great deal of dedication to build a writing routine. Just like when you want to learn a new music instrument, you have to practice everyday for many hours to get to a point where you can call yourself a musician. Practice is a sacred art and writing (of any form) is nowhere short of being in that category.

Tell us about the previous winners of the best screenplay award and the films that are currently being made.

The first winner was Yasmina Hatem from Lebanon for her screenplay ASH. The film was produced mid 2013 and premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival in August.

The film is making its Lebanese premiere at the Lebanese Film Festival 2014. The film was Yasmina’s directorial debut. We have 3 other winners whose films are now in preproduction. From Egypt, Salma Ibrahim will direct her screenplay INTERLUDE that follows the story of a relationship that struggles to maintain its sanity in the midst of the never ending political turmoil. The film is scheduled for production in September 2014 in Cairo. From UAE, Jason Joseph will be making his directorial debut with his winning screenplay MAUDE. It’s a Sci Fi story about seeking redemption. The film is scheduled for production in June 2014 in Dubai. From Lebanon comes Yasmine Ghorayeb with her screenplay AGORAPHOBIA that tells the story of a bipolar woman who is haunted by guilt and plots a mischievous scheme to murder her husband. The film is scheduled for production in August 2014 in Beirut.

Are there any other ways in which you and Cinephilia promote all of these up-andcoming filmmakers and their work to the public?

Cinephilia launched the ‘Filmmakers to Watch’ screening series in 2013 that highlights the work of unique and remarkable voices in the art of filmmaking from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The program is a platform that promotes upcoming talents in the art of short films by displaying their films as successful examples from the region to a diverse audience. We curate between 4-8 films per year. The series tours in various cities across the region and screens in art houses, independent theaters or art galleries.

It is often followed by a networking event or a panel discussion that invites local filmmakers and industry professionals to discuss the current of the short film scene. We just announced our 2014 selection! - (M)

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GENERATION GAP // MIKE TOMPKINS

ARTICLES BY LEA YAMMINE

NAME: MIKE TOMPKINS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GENRE: ACAPELLA DOWNLOAD: AMERICAN GIRL/CANADIAN BOY SOUNDS LIKE: POMPLAMOUSSE

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COLLAGES BY ALEXANDRA WARDEH

GENERATION GAP // SEPTEMBER GIRLS

NAME: SEPTEMBER GIRLS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: IRELAND GENRE: NOISE POP DOWNLOAD: SHIPS - HEARTBEATS SOUNDS LIKE: DUM DUM GIRLS

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ailing from Dublin, September Girls are a band whose style and name is reminiscent of bands that recently came out of the USA’s West Coast. The all-girls noise pop band is making waves with their first album Cursing The Sea (pardon the pun), which was released in January. Think of their music as pre-End of Daze Dum Dum Girls – back when guitars overpowered their songs – meets Tamaryn’s brand of hypnotic shoegaze sensitivity and psych-rock undercurrents. Named after a Big Star song covered by the Bangles, the five-piece band lists among their influences original shoegazers and fellow Irish men My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain, and The Cure. Now that we played the music industry game of lumping artists together in categories, we can focus on giving a more well-rounded description that would give the band justice.

Formed in 2011, September Girls have a distinctive noise pop sound that veers more into the garage rock territory. Their songs, which feature fuzzy droning guitars and reverb-heavy melodies with throbbing drums, are instantly catchy. While these elements are nothing new, the band released many songs before their official album and was able to

adopt an intoxicating straightforward brand of lo-fi pop.

Their album reveals a confident band in control of its sound.

The songs bathe you in a bittersweet feeling and convey some melancholy as the band ventures darker lyrics over their drifting distortions and hypnotizing tunes. The girls tackle gloomy subjects that have to do with the chaotic matters of the heart, betrayal, feelings of insecurity and even rape. The detached and swooning vocals are a perfect combination with the hazy music, even when it takes on heavier undertones; the result is haunting tracks.

‘Ships’, released just before the album as limited edition for Cassette Store Day UK, is a song about personal unrest sporting the same kind of grainy catchy music; it is however enhanced by rich guitars and menacing drums that don’t slow down. The song won September Girls praise by the one and only bible of cool, Pitchfork, as “the most thrilling music they’ve released in their short existence”. With the album promising good things to come, it would probably be a good idea to keep an eye on this band and the direction it will take in the future. - (M)

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GENERATION GAP // ASHLEY MAXINE

NAME: MAXINE ASHLEY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GENRE: URBAN POP / R’n’B DOWNLOAD: PERPETUAL NIGHTS - GLORY BOX SOUNDS LIKE: N.E.R.D

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ollowing in the footsteps of eminent songstresses like Janet Jackson, Aaliyah and Beyoncé who have contributed to shaping the r‘n’b genre as we know it, Maxine Ashley is the newcomer with her eyes on the throne. Her gritty, not yet mature but all the more her own, style makes her stand out from the pool of people attempting the same feat.

In fact the 20 year old first got noticed on YouTube, as is the dream of every millenial out there. Unlike most millenials however, Ashley’s talent shines through even in the “low production” videos of her covering songs in her bedroom. These covers got her discovered by none other than happy man himself Pharell Williams and producers Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, both of whom produced her first EP. Lanvin even picked up one of her songs (Cookieman) for their spring/summer 2012 ad. All that attention is duly earned; the singer delivers the tunes with emotion and style, making something as trivial and generic as a YouTube video turn into a captivating performance. Clearly having a knack for covers, Ashley takes on Portishead’s Glory Box on her debut EP and makes it her own with her soulful voice. The very wittily

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called “Mood Swings EP” showcases her raw talent which, combined with brilliant arrangements courtesy of her producers, makes her songs bustle with a fresh distinctive sound. The result is a set of infectious tunes that make you anticipate the release of a full album.

The first track off the EP, ‘Perpetual Nights’ features Ashley’s smooth vocals over music by Williams who, it has to be said, is as much a genius in music as he is in head accessories. As a side note, the whole of the interwebz has agreed that the video for ‘Perpetual Nights’, directed by Lady Tragik and referencing the French nouvelle vague, is “dope” so it’s worth the watch.

The young songstress, reported saying she likes The Smiths as much as Beyoncé, mixes different influences into a characteristic brand of r‘n’b, soul and urban pop. While this may not be anything particularly new, Ashley infuses these tracks with her very own touch and infects them with her seductiveness, so it only makes sense that the music industry would become mesmerized with her and so should you. - (M)

GENERATION GAP // STAR SLINGER

NAME: STAR SLINGER COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM GENRE: HOUSE / R’n’B DOWNLOAD: Dutchie Courage - Close To Me SOUNDS LIKE: BLOOD DIAMONDS

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uring the past decade or so, the term DJ became associated with (mostly bad) techno/pop club music – we can all thank David Guetta for that crime against humanity at large and our ear buds specifically. But DJing is an established musical practice consisting of selecting and playing tracks, scratching and manipulating sounds on turntables, sampling and/or remixing. Star Slinger is a DJ whose specialty is sampling and remixing and whose style is atypical and far removed from that of mainstream producers and DJs.

The act is composed of Darren Williams, based in Manchester UK, who found his way into music through a love of sampling. This passion is most palpable in his work; it permeates his productions and the dedicated precision in the tracks he creates. Star Slinger dons a distinctive eclectic style, mixing influences that vary between funk, soul, hiphop and electro. As a result, his tracks are all quite catchy, beat-driven melodies that channel a happy mixed-and-matched panoply of musical sonorities. Williams dusts off old tracks, takes one small element of a song then molds it into something else completely.

He constructs around it a whole other composition so as to convey his personal style, to the extent that the original element is practically unrecognizable; untraceable back to the source.

Star Slinger’s online collaboration with Teams, under the label Mexican Summer, resulted in a handful of tracks sourced from classic vinyl soul and r‘n’b tracks. The samples got chopped up, reworked and reshuffled by the two artists until they were repurposed as their own groove-inducing, rhythmic electro tracks infused with sound treatments that make them channel a warm shimmery summertime vibe. Highly prolific since his first release in 2010 (Volume 1, selfreleased LP), Star Slinger has put out an impressive amount of hits and productions. Many of his remixes are available online. The list of artists he officially remixed includes Jessie Ware, Washed Out, Gold Panda, and Broken Social Scene, and he is currently on tour. But this fruitfulness paid off, he has been dubbed “best new act this year by miles” by the Guardian in 2011 and is credited as one of the artists defining a new kind of British beat music. He’s likely to still have many gems up his sleeves; hopefully this year will see some revealed. - (M)

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RE-DUCE, RE-USE, RE-PLAY

REDUCE / REUSE / REPLAY WHAT FOLLOWS IS OUR PICK OF THE BEST IN UPCYCLED IDEAS FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT:

THE ANIMATION SHORT

THE SOUNDTRACK

THE LIVE RECORDING

THE ALBUM

THE TV SERIES

THE COLLECTIVE

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THE ANIMATION SHORT ARTWORK COURTESY OF ABSOLUT VODKA

ABSOLUT & RAFAEL GRAMPA // DARK NOIR A SHORT STORY ANIMATION / COLLABORATION BETWEEN ABSOLUT, GRAMPA... AND THE WORLD RELEASED IN MARCH, 2014 DURING A PRIVATE SCREENING AT MADE IN BERLIN NOW AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ONLINE

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THE SOUNDTRACK ILLUSTRATION BY JULES BAKHOS

VARIOUS ARTISTS // I’M NOT THERE THIRTY THREE DYLAN COVERS // ONE ORIGINAL UNRELEASED DYLAN RECORDING STARRING AN ALL STAR CAST OF PERFORMERS FEATURING THE LIKES OF CAT POWER, THE BLACK KEYS, CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG, KAREN O, SONIC YOUTH AND SUFJAN STEVENS

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THE LIVE RECORDING ARTICLE BY NISRINE NAJEM

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im had a band. Tim wanted to hit big. Tim’s original tunes weren’t getting picked up. Tim did a cover song with his band. Tim was all over the radio. Disclosure: If you’re name is Tim and that’s your story, then we can assure you that your story is quite popular.

Contrary to popular belief, cover songs are not the product of some post-modern fad. Singers and bands have been covering other people’s tunes for the past half-century. If at first, cover songs were seen as revival or reworking, they now represent more of a tribute to the original piece, singer, or band. Some have even gone as far as dedicating their lives to reviving a certain dead genre by introducing it to a younger audience. And although covers are usually faithful to the original versions, artists are experimenting more and more with adding their own twist to it, eventually giving birth to a musical masterpiece, or just making a complete mess out of it; Miley Cyrus’ cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ anyone? Umm, how about no.

Jump to 2001. Zit-covered teenagers are going crazy over the alien-concept of an iPod, Christina Aguilera and three other women are dressed in corsets singing about some lady called marmalade and Britney Spears is getting nasty with a snake on stage. Meanwhile, The Jo Whiley Show debuts as a weekday radio show on BBC Radio 1 and offers different segments revolving mainly around music, with one in particular standing out: The Live Lounge, or what some might consider as the birthplace of some of the best covers of the post-millennia. Live lounge is exactly what its name says, a lounge. The place sees various artists go through its door to perform live, usually they play a couple of original songs then followed by a cover of any artist who’s been to live lounge in the previous six months. The choice is totally up to them, along with how they choose to interpret the song(s) they’ve chosen. Some of the results of those sessions would go on to alter the course of music, or just give listeners a chance to enjoy certain songs in different genres.

The reason why Live Lounge gained instant popularity and remains on top till this day is because few others offer the same deal; like, where else would you find Katy Perry channeling her inner Vanilla Ice and rapping ‘Niggas in Paris’ or a rock band like 30 Seconds To Mars doing a cover of Rihanna’s ‘Stay’. We’re not saying that all covers are good; they’re just different. Every artist twists and folds the original tracks until you can’t recognize it in the end like when Vampire Weekend covered Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ and managed to transform it from a tacky sexist mainstream song into a hipster-approved socially acceptable guilt-free track. Or like when London Grammar did a cover of ‘Wrecking Ball’ and we thought it was finally acceptable to do the Miley face while singing that song all day at the office and taking punches at the wall. (Turns out it’s not, mostly because of our voices, hi boss!).

Early on, Radio 1 knew they had something going for them, they realized they had found the gold pot at the end of the rainbow and decided to mass distribute it to the public and thus Radio one’s live lounge volume 1 saw the light in 2006: cover tracks and original material collected in one album. It comes with an affirmation from Joe Whiley to give you goosebumps. The album contained lots of big names in the music industry like Foo Fighters, Artic Monkeys, Lilly Allen and Franz Ferdinand who managed to deliver on a musical spectrum ranging from fresh electrifying to lifeless off-key.

Radio 1 would go on to produce and release 9 volumes of the Radio 1’s Live Lounge over the span of 7 years, including a best-of album released in 2011 with artists like Kylie Minogue, Paramore and the famous ‘run’ cover by Leona lewis.

We think we can safely say that the live lounge albums are definitely the most anticipated yearly annual round-up of the crème-de-la-crème. It acts as an indicator of who’s who and who’s coming through, showcasing the biggest hits of the past year either. - (M)

RADIO 1 // LIVE LOUNGE CONTEMPORARY COVERS AND ORIGINAL RECORDINGS YEARLY COMPILATION RECORDS FEATURING WHO’S WHO OF BOTH POPULAR AND INDEPENDANT SCENES COVERING CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND CROSS-BENDING MUSICAL GENRES

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THE ALBUM ILLUSTRATION BY FOUAD MEZHER

SCARLETT JOHANSSON // ANYWHERE I LAY MY HEAD TEN TOM WAITS COVERS // ONE ORIGINAL RECORDING PRODUCED BY DAVE SITEK (TV ON THE RADIO) FEATURING DAVID BOWIE ON VOCALS & NICK ZINNER ON GUITAR

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THE TV SERIES ILLUSTRATION BY DIALA DAJANI

A&E TELEVISION // BATES MOTEL A CONTEMPORARY PREQUEL TO HITCHCOCK’S PSYCHO NORMAN BATES AND HIS MOTHER NORMA ARE PLAYED BY FREDDIE HIGHMORE AND VERA FARMIGA

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THE COLLECTIVE ILLUSTRATION BY MOHAMAD KRAYTEM

BECK + FRIENDS // BECK’S RECORD CLUB FULL ALBUMS COVERED // EACH ALBUM IS RECORDED IN A SINGLE DAY, WITHOUT REHEARSAL STARRING AN ALL STAR CAST OF PERFORMERS FEATURING THE LIKES OF MGMT, NIGEL GODRICH, WILL BERMAN AND JAMIE LIDELL

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THE COLLECTIVE ARTICLE BY RAPHAELLE MACARON

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t is said that a natural way to pay homage to any art form is to reproduce it. Many musicians have chosen this method of conveying their admiration for a music piece and thanks to the Internet, song covers are widely accessible to the public. From teenagers invading YouTube with cringe-worthy versions of ‘Hotel California’, to Johnny Cash reclaiming Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Hurt’ as his (which actually led to Trent Reznor admitting it was no longer his song), it is sort of an unwritten rule that masterpieces never go uncovered (sometimes to our total despair, like with Miley Cyrus’s painful cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.)

Beck’s ambitious take at covering classic gems is not to be taken lightly. Whether you are familiar with every aspect of Beck’s artistically restless career, a decent fan of ‘Guero’ and ‘Sea Change’, or head-banged once to ‘Loser’ in a bar, it is almost impossible to deny the man’s genius and credibility in the industry. Jumping between his solo career, producing artists such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, working on movie scores (he is behind four songs in the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack, hidden under the name of the fictional band Sex Bo-Bomb), and being awesome, it is safe to say that the lo-fi rocker has earned the reputation of a rock solid self-made musician; thus attracting well-deserved attention to every project he takes part in.

In 2008, the all-time music man launched a new project under the name of “Beck’s Record Club”. The “Club” is, as its name suggests, a collective of musicians covering a whole album in one day. The rules are simple: no rehearsals, no arrangements, no artifice, and one single day in the studio.

The songs aim to document the renditions, as roughly and faithfully as they occurred; rather than offering perfectly structured and polished covers. They do not intend to compete with the original’s energy. The Club is simply about playing music and Beck carefully chooses its participants.

Thankfully, talented people seem to roam the streets of Los Angeles, and even more so, Beck’s friends are definitely musicians that you would want on the same album. From Nigel Godrich and Joey Waronker (Radiohead/Atoms for Peace), Will Berman and Ben Goldwasser (MGMT), Andrew VanWyngarden (Wolfmother) and Jamie Lidell to name a few; extremely varied acts took part in the collaboration (if you look closely enough, you will even find actors and producers; welcome to L.A). The Club has covered five albums since its creation: INXS’s huge selling 1987 Kick, Leonard Cohen’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Skip Sence’s Oar, Yanni’s Live at the Acropolis and last but not least: The

Velvet Underground’s self titled The Velvet Underground and Nico. For the gem that is VU’s record, Beck assembled a merry band with thoughtfully selected accomplices to accompany him in this somehow absurdly ambitious assignment. The result is a blend of praise and tumult.

The album starts, as the original track list order, with a hauntingly gorgeous version of ‘Sunday Morning’, the kind of cover that you would’ve wanted to hear on that terrible Sunday when you found out Lou Reed was gone; the kind of cover that perfectly accompanies a Sunday mourning. Beck’s uniformly cold vocals and the trance-inducing cello give the song justice and suggest that proximity and faithfulness to the originals will be maintained throughout the album. ‘Waiting for the man’, begs to differ. While maintaining the chop-chop-chop punk piano texture of Lou Reed’s original, The Club takes the cover to a new, revitalizing twist. With additional instruments such as a sitar and a berimbau, the cover doubles the anxiety of waiting for a heroin dealer that Reed portrayed in the original.

Even if the disorganization sounds rickety at times, the group manages to sustain coherence, and document the song’s essence.

The initiative is then uneven, ranging from Brian LeBarton forgetting the lyrics of ‘Heroin’, abusing his crash cymbals and screaming his way through the song, to ‘Run Run Run’s electronic and poppy arrangement that work remarkably well.

With a simple drum-line powered by Nigel Godrich, an 8-bit like synth sound and Thorun Magnusdottir’s honorable take at covering Nico’s backing vocals, the song that was famous for its lyrics narrating a tumultuous day in the life of four junkies and Reed’s electrifying solo, is now a whirly feel-good tune. ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ received the same treatment: a dance-infused feel takes over the piano-driven melody of the classic, leaving us with an absolutely gorgeous re-imagining, a result deserving acknowledgement, for the original’s mood is almost inconceivable to reproduce (If you listen closely, you can hear a Oud playing in the background, chords that are greatly responsible for the unconventional sound of the cover).

‘I’ll be your mirror’, one of the greatest love songs ever written in Rock n’ Roll history, is a delicate interpretation, with Beck and Magnusdottir on vocals and a very simple guitar line, making room for poetry.

In conclusion, you will find many things in this spontaneous cover-album: from the chaotic, sometimes cacophonous and goofy performances to the elegantly and humbly revisited; it is by no means a competition to the original but definitely worth many pushes on the replay button, but then again how could it not be with a musician such as Beck at the helm? - (M)

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THE BLOGGER

INDIE REMIXES (indieremixes.tumblr.com)

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on’t know much about you, but as far as we’re concerned, summertime can never come soon enough. Just the thought of laying on sand, until the sun fries all insecurities away (sure, the alcohol chugged for refreshment might’ve helped with that as well), makes our toes curl up. A cardinal rule to a perfect beach day is having a fresh playlist on hand: for the road, to serve as a soundtrack of that day if you’re romantic like that, or to simply tune out the bunch of screeching hormonal teenagers being angrily eyeballed by everyone else. (No judging there, Grinch away my friend, Grinch away.) But that winter playlist of yours got a bit weary and frankly, even your friends are judging you for hitting the 100 mark on the play count. Worry not! For IndieRemixes is here to solve all your problems and make you cool again. Just call 999-GIVEUSYOURMONEY and kiss that rut goodbye. Commercial break aside, this tumblr serves up some very enjoyable tracks to cater to your car-DJ needs. What you’ll find is a bunch of your indie favorites reworked into light and sunny tracks. Don’t get too excited though; there is nothing too legendary or iconic there. Just a few songs to enjoy on the spot, and that will give you pleasure as ephemeral as that of the day at the beach or anything else really. - (M)

COVER ME SONGS (COVERMESONGS.COm)

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hen you think “coming back to life,” you think of a barefoot bearded messiah with a round halo floating over his head.

Rest assured though, this, is not about that type of resurrection. The one we’re talking about here, is more the human resuscitation type. Not mouth-to-mouth per se, though the presence of a mouth is more or less relevant. Some things are better left untouched because, well, they’re still too alive to need saving. Some end up overshadowing their past life and some just end up suffocating their wannabe rescue target to death. This is not about CPR. It’s about CMS. Cover Me Songs is a blog about song covers. The posts fluctuate between trivial information about old but great covers, lists of covers by theme and the most recent covers on the market. It tackles the biggest names as well as the underdogs. The blog started out as an unsuccessful radio show in 2006, which ironically needed a revival itself. It was later salvaged by turning into a blog that has since been featured on other music websites like RollingStone. com, pitchfork.com and Spin.com to name a few. There is something for everyone; those who only know the cover could get to learn about the original behind it and avoid sounding idiotic when it’s brought up in a conversation and those who need to impress could surprise others with their “dissimilar” takes on a popular song. - (M)

DIY (there isn’t just a one blog for this... google stuff)

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o it yourself” is not a mother yelling at her way-too-dependent teenage kid in despair, nor is it the cry of an angry girlfriend begging her “momma’s boy” of a boyfriend to stop expecting everything to be done for him, with a smile of course. “Do it yourself”(s) or DIYs for short, have been trending on the Internet for the last couple of years and are the subjects of oh so many blogs and Pinterest boards. Given we’re all at the age of spreading our wings and leaving the parental nest (or at least planning on it), the lucky ones who do fly away end up living in empty impersonal apartments due to limited budgets. Abeautifulmess. com is a great address to find DIY ideas for decorating on a budget.However as you can imagine, just like recipes we pin on Pinterest for looking easy (but always end up eating that ‘fishy’ can of tuna from the back of the pantry), a lot of the DIYs found online are too complicated and are left haunting our to-do lists only to be forgotten. Somehow, the crafts posted in this blog are different: they are actually easy, practical and feasible even if you don’t have the exact same tools or material to work with. There is something for all the shades of crafty and going for it sure would be a great change from your mother’s golden statuettes and your father’s vintage everything.

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FOR THE MODERN DAY ARTIST & CULTURALLY INTRIGUED INDIVIDUAL

PHOTOGRAPH BY CLARA ABI NADER

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VARIOUS ARTISTS // JUST TELL ME THAT YOU WANT ME: A TRIBUTE TO FLEETWOOD MAC CONCORD MUSIC GROUP // 2012

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERIC RITTER

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ALBUM REVIEWS

HEADLESS HEROES // THE SILENCE OF LOVE NAMES RECORDS // 2008

GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE XX // WE’RE NEW HERE XL // 2011

TRICKY // MAXINQUAYE ISLAND // 1995

KYLIE MINOGUE // THE ABBEY ROAD SESSIONS PARLOPHONE // 2012

REVIEW BY KARIM ABOU ZAKI

REVIEW BY KARIM ABOU ZAKI

REVIEW BY KARIM ABOU ZAKI

Gilbert “Gil” Scott-Heron is a Soul and Jazz musician that came to prominence in the 70’s. His commitment to revolutionary thinking and the consciousness he brought into his work has influenced generations of rappers and MCs. After a long hiatus, he released his first album in 16 years– 2010’s I’m new Here. Jamie xx – aka “The xx’s beatmaker”– was approached by his label to remix the album. Mixing Scott-Heron’s vocal tracks from the original recording sessions over his own instrumentals, rather than the original music, Jamie completely re-imagined the tracks. Gil’s vocals range from spoken word to bluesy crooning; delivering his message through bleak humor and sorrow.

The sound is glitchy, synthy, and grinding with spacious basslines and dubstep tones.

They may sound like an unlikely match on paper, but the contrast works. We’re New Here is a unique addition to ScottHeron’s legacy. - (M)

Maxinquaye is the dangerously lush debut

by English musician Tricky. He was mostly known for his work with Massive Attack before masterminding this classic, named after his late mother Maxine Quaye. Every track was built around somebody else’s as a foundation; taking different samples from different genres (The Smashing Pumpkins, LL Cool J). The resulting blend is seamless and cohesive even in its most chaotic moments. The ingenious structures and arrangements complement each other; creating a soundscape that gets richer with every listen. Dark Electronica flavors ravage this stoned and unhinged Trip-Hop. Tricky lends his breathy, half-spoken style vocals to the songs, and his then-girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird elevates them with fragile and mesmerizing melodies. Even Alison Goldfrapp makes a delightful appearance on the haunting ‘Pumpkin’. This record sounds like it has no precedent and remains innovative to this day. - (M)

Who doesn’t like Kylie? That was a rhetorical question. Even Kylie wanted to celebrate herself in The Abbey Road Sessions marking her 25 years in showbiz.

Ms. Minogue revisits her career-spanning hits, laying her musical palette bare and re-imagining it with a full orchestra; the songstress is softly and seductively singing in the forefront, showing more range than ever before. The result is a creative transformation that adds a new twist and more depth to the classics. ‘Slow’ gets even sexier as it morphs into a vampy jazz number. Standout ‘Confide In Me’ carries on the mystery, entrancing with drums, woozy strings and Middle Eastern influences. Nick Cave even lends new, tortured vocals on the stripped down and haunting ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’.

There are a few missteps–’Locomotion’, ‘I Believe In You’, ‘I Should Be So Lucky’–but they do not diminish the overall experience of these reinterpretations. This album is a must-have for Kylie fans. - (M)

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SIN CITY FRANK MILLER & ROBERT RODRIGUEZ // 2005

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATIONS BY RUDY SHAHEEN Basin City is a town drawn up from a sinister emo on drugs.

In this unforgiving place, violence is at every corner and fatality is unavoidable. We follow a series of people telling their story on a stormy black night as they try to make it so they wake up the second day. Which one will make it out alive?

That Yellow Bastard On his last day of duty, police officer Hartigan (Bruce Willis) goes to close his last case, a personal one, despite the advice of his partner (Michael Madsen) who asks him to let the force handle it. He has to save young Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba). For that he might need a hand from his lawyer Lucille (Carla Gugino). His heart is slowly giving up on him, but nothing is going to stop him from getting the pedophile (Nick Stahl) with an inexplicable condition that makes his skin glow and reek of yellow.

End of first story, two more to go, but wait… what’s that?

Credits? In the middle of the movie? Yes indeed! After every short film you have to go through a series of credits, unedited, 3-4 minutes long… unless you go for the rated version, the one that cut them out of the picture.

Now, before the other two stories, lies a short one (that is even shorter than its own credits) called The Customer is Always Right in which a man (Josh Hartnett) kills his customer (Marley Shelton) and then finds a girl named Becky (Alexis Bledel). Sorry to give away the ending… told ya it was short!

The Hard Goodbye Marv (Mickey Rourke) is a coat aficionado. He also happens to be an ultra strong man who gets framed for the murder of a woman he just paid to have sex with; a prostitute by the name of Goldie (Jaime King). And he swears to get revenge for his dame. That means going to consult the reliable and very naked Lucille to go after an unexpected target; a cardinal of the church (Rutger Hauer). But first, he must go through his trusty cannibalistic karate-swordsman Kevin (Elijah Wood). Little does he know that Goldie’s identical twin, Wendy, is after the same thing.

More credits here… Fast-forward… fast-forward… fastforward… whoops!!… too far… rewind a bit… perfect!

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The Big Fat Kill A damsel in distress is always a good incentive for a man to go on a rampage. Dwight (Clive Owen) just got involved in the assassination of Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) who has been mistreating Shellie (Brittany Murphy) for way too long.

Except this time, the situation veers towards the unexpected in Old Town, the rogue part of town run by ladies, Becky, Miho the ninja master (Devon Aoki) and at their head the ruthless and fiery Gail (Rosario Dawson). Due to a betraying whore, they all get dragged into a fierce territory battle against mobster enforcer Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan). The situation quickly turns into a bloodbath, a spectacle only aiming at one thing; killing.

Two directors are working hand in hand to achieve this piece of mastery, Robert Rodriguez, and Frank Miller, author of the neo-noir comic novel (because yes, Sin City is a comic book originally). The third story also gets a guest director, somebody you might know… his name is Quentin Tarantino. It is fabulously directed, the shots are simply superb and that’s putting it lightly.

To mimic the comic book, the movie is filmed in black and white apart from a few appearances of prime colors. Red for blood, a velvet bed, the customer’s dress, police sirens, the thundery sky, Dwight’s converses and car, and a red button full of surprises.

Blue for Becky’s piercing eyes, Miho’s kimono, Jackie Boy’s car, and the cardinal’s eyes. Yellow for the yellow bastard and his blood, for Goldie’s hair, Manute’s fake eye, and the strip joint’s lights. At some point, all three colors flash by as Dwight is driving to run for his life.

There are also some notable scenes, like Jessica Alba dancing around in a bikini, or Clive Owen’s steely long glare. The realization is a perfect mix of filming and cartoonization, a mix that had been arduously tried and failed. The most striking thing however is the cast; of course it has quite a few big names, but mostly, they were handpicked and rightly so. They all portray murky yet lovable character to the bone and we couldn’t see anyone else for any role.

It has the perfect cast.

After 9 years of torturous wait, Sin City is back, again with three stories, the original A Dame to Kill For and 2 completely new stories…

Joining the already existing cast (minus a couple of people) will be Josh Brolin, Lady Gaga, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ray Liotta, Stacey Keach, and Jeremy Piven. All we have to say to that is: We’ll meet you at the movies on opening night… - (M)

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MOVIE REVIEWS 12 MONKEYS

OCEAN’S ELEVEN

SCARFACE

TERRY GILLIAM // 1995

STEVEN SODERBERGH // 2001

BRIAN DE PALMA // 1983

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY

12 Monkeys is far from being an action movie, but it is nonetheless very kick-ass, not to mention that both Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt aren’t strangers to mind-blowing plot twists. Welcome to the monkey spiral, hurling you back and forth in the 4th dimension: time.

After a virus wipes most of the human species off the planet, convicts are sent through time to gain information about how to kill the virus and save the human race. So what’s new about this movie? The notion of time travel has been treated profusely in the cinematographic art but no one thought about the risk of getting stuck in between times; it seems too horrible and lonely; sickening even. But don’t worry, you won’t be stuck in there alone, you will be closely followed by eerie music creeping at your feet, tickling every inch of your skin, crawling up your neck and into your ears; now this seems horrible and yet somehow addictive. Director Terry Gilliam will keep you guessing about what time it is, about the number 12, and about the peculiar animal that is the monkey. And what does it all have to do with this movie? - (M)

How does Hollywood come up with a huge blockbuster? Have an all-star cast?

Add a surprising twist at the end? Or just revive an old-time, long forgotten movie hit? Maybe add some gun action, and sexy people? When Hollywood decides to join all of this together, however, minds get blown. For a not-so-brilliant movie, let’s be honest, Ocean’s Eleven manages, like its crew of thieves, to come out on top. The story is simple: fresh out of jail, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) gathers a team of eleven thieves, hence the title. For the sake of laziness, we’re not going to bother remembering the characters’ names; let’s stick to the actors. He calls for the services of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Qin Shaobo, Eddie Jemison… is that eleven yet?... to rob Andy Garcia’s casino. This is a movie for everybody, and we do mean everybody, from newborn toddlers to dead great-grandparents. It is without doubt the family movie of the century. - (M)

We know what you’re thinking, and no… we’re not gonna say it... Ok fine…

“Say hello to my little friend!” A Cuban refugee arrives in the United States and starts climbing the ladder of the drug cartel only to fall at the hand of his own greed and thirst for power and money.

Brace yourselves, this 3-hour classic movie will require three buckets-full of popcorn, two big bags of chips (one salted and one BBQ flavored), four Cokes (the brown liquid, not the white powder) and maybe one or two bathroom breaks. But, we have to warn you now! Watching this movie might stir up some bad, albeit awesome, reflexes of yelling about and calling people ‘maricón’ with a gangster accent. Well at least promise us not to go and get a license to operate an ‘M16’ riffle. With Al Pacino’s most recognizable character on set, Tony Montana, you are sure to be the spectator of a cocked crazed guns-a-blazing manic insulting action. Trust us, you will remember the face, and you will know the name of Scarface. - (M)

THE THING

TRUE GRIT

VANILLA SKY

JOHN CARPENTER // 1982

JOEL COEN // 2010

CAMERON CROWE // 2001

REVIEW BY NADINE GHARZEDDINE

REVIEW BY NADINE GHARZEDDINE

REVIEW BY NADINE GHARZEDDINE

We can only imagine the riots that a bad adaptation of John Campbell’s novella Who Goes There? would have sparked among sci-fi fans. Thankfully, however, the 1982 film adaptation, The Thing does the cult classic justice. With Kurt Russell in the lead role of MacReady, the film builds up the paranoia as a shape shifting alien infiltrates an American expedition in Antarctica, and starts taking over the appearances AND personalities of its victims. The fluid camera motion adds to the tension and, along with the visual contrast between the vast snow terrain and the almost claustrophobic confined headquarters, gives the film a distinct visual identity. Although the actual ‘thing’ may be too gory for the squeamish amongst us, the special effects are a perfect example of 80’s horror; they showcase, guts, blood, alien slime and yet the film plays as a Whodunnit/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller.

What’s not to love? - (M)

True Grit follows the story of hardheaded 14-year-old Mattie Ross, who hires US Marshall Rooster Cogburn to hunt down her father’s murderer, fugitive Tom Chaney; they are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (also on Chaney’s tracks) who completes the odd team that sets the colorful search in motion.

As expected from the Cohen brothers, the violence is unpredictable and very bloody; the humour dark and abundant; and the larger than life characters could have easily fallen into caricatures of themselves had the acting not been backed by an exceptional dialogue and rich plot. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld holds her own with seasoned actors with a performance that is both sharp and endearing. Jeff Bridges plays US Marshall Rooster Cogburn, a role played by John Wayne in the 1969 version.

Where Wayne’s portrayal is much lighter and exceptionally delivered… Bridges brings to the part a depth and darkness that sets the standard for the entire picture as a Cohen film: quirky, dark, humorous and at times absurd. - (M)

Like all films produced by its lead star, Vanilla Sky risked amounting to nothing more than a vanity project, but this 2001 remake of Abre los Ojos is ‘like a remix of a familiar tune’ if we’re to paraphrase the directors. We love that it’s filled with culture references from all fronts that come together to construct an immersive film.

Cruz is in top form in her reprisal of the role of Sophia – which she played in both films – this incarnation is somehow lighter, sweeter and richer than the previous one.

The chemistry between Cruise and the rest of the actors is so dynamic that we almost didn’t miss Eduardo Noriega… almost. As expected from director Cameron Crowe, the soundtrack is above all the most iconic aspect of the film. The score not only stands on its own as a great listen but also adds another layer to the collage; enhancing the whole picture. The final result is a Phantom of the Opera-meets-Inception hybrid that works like a charm. - (M)

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MOVIE REVIEWS

FATAL ATTRACTION ADRIAN LYNE // 1987

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY Everybody who went to Sunday school at church should know what not to do in order to avoid going to the fiery place with the goat-hooved imp with a pitchfork. Dan Gallagher (a young Michael Douglas) must have been out sick on the day they learned “thou shalt not cheat on your wife or thou shalt find thyself in some deep shit”. This specific shit came at him in the form of a sorceress embodying a young lustful blond woman by the name of Alex Forrest (an even younger Glenn Close).

Coloring outside the sexy/psychotic line of morality, Alex stalks her one-night stand and his family; playing on daring and taboo grounds.

“Are you discreet? … Me too!”

From the first silver glance of attraction to the last fatal breath, your body will be paralyzed in front of the screen in suspense. And remember; try not to lick your lips too hard, tongues get stuck to icy cold bodies… you might even loose it to frostbite. Happily, some heated scenes will come to soothe the pain. Just keep your legs together and sit tight.

This movie started a few actor trademarks: Michael Douglas falls in love with a psycho having a hard time letting go, and Glenn Close

plays a villainous psycho who’s sole purpose is to destroy the lives of her surroundings. It is truly a battle of the sexes and only one can emerge victorious. This movie will bring about confusion over which of men and women are the fairer sex and which are the stronger sex.

The man responsible for this movie, Adrian Lyne is obviously quite a big fan of adultery. Between this and Indecent Proposal, Lolita, Unfaithful, Nine and a half weeks, one could say that he went down into the deep, wet and sweaty details of his subject. One could even call him obsessive, which might explain Alex’s behavior.

Let’s cut the bullshit, it’s a movie about sex… need we say more? Then again sex might be turning into an overrated topic…

Today, all movies and TV shows have gratuitous sex and nudity in them. It has become somewhat of a tedious addition. We think we even saw boobs in the new Teletubbies season (that purple one looks like a huge slut by the way). However, in 1987, flashing boobs was a rare occasion, and when it occurred, it was done with sensual erotic taste, not as a commercial stunt. In Fatal Attraction… well we’ll just have to let you find out for yourselves. - (M)

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INFOGRAPHIC BY PAMELA KARAM

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FASHION ARTICLE

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FRANZ FERDINAND ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON // MARCH 14TH, 2014

REVIEW BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY RANA ZAHER Ok class! …If you would turn your history books to page 31, you can see that World War One was started in 1914 with the murder of the archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand. Now let’s flip that page, and we can clearly see here that he came back to life about 90 years later in the form of an indie post-punk band. Notoriously, the band itself lets loose on the war references, what was and/or could have been, and the emerging Nazi era. We guess it might indeed be less depressing if we sing about it rather than hear boring lectures.

Franz Ferdinand quickly came to fame with their first three albums Franz Ferdinand (2004), You Could Have It So Much Better (2005), and Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009); touring from the Americas to Japan. Apparently they go frantic and unleash their Scottish inner crazy on stage. That seemed too good to be true; we just had to see it for ourselves. And now, they struck again with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions, a humble but elaborate title for their new album. In any case, they were gonna perform live in London on March 2014, and we were not gonna miss that one.

Right! So off we went riding the tube to the venue. We grabbed a couple of lagers and frayed our way into the masses, closer to the stage where we were welcomed by three skinny blokes opening with a new-wave Placebo style. Final preparations needed to be made, the stage doubled in size, and the lights went out for the main act…

Franz Ferdinand came out bolting like a ‘Bullet’ to flashing and epileptic lights. All four Scotsmen were running around and jumping like they were in elementary school recess.

Banging on subtly until ‘The Dark of the Matinee’, the ground was rumbling and heads were shaking. Hands were tirelessly up to ‘Tell Her Tonight’, pointing at the drummer bashing away on his set with the ‘Evil Eye’ staring into his drum kick.

People shouted, some girls even fainted to the swaying charms of the lead guitarist while the lead singer was telling them ‘No You Girls’ never care and ‘Do You Want To’. Want to? Want to what? They certainly knew…

‘The Fallen’ finally came up next. We were wishing to have a medley of all four albums and we weren’t disappointed, not one bit. Cutting into the mayhem, their salute to the Beatles, ‘Fresh Strawberries’, calmed the nerves, bringing the whole crowd together, reminding us that we are all the same, slowly rotting away and to make sure to live life in the fullest. One thing was sure there was no way to ‘Walk Away’ from this performance. It was quickly going to turn into one of the greats.

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They made us ‘Stand on the Horizon’ and we ‘Can’t Stop Feeling’ like flying ‘Auf Achse’! We were floating around like in some sort of ‘Lucid Dreams’, meeting with random people with that weird feeling that you know them intimately, ‘Brief Encounters’, maybe a guy called ‘Michael’.

The singles superseded starting with their arguably most famous song; ‘Take Me Out’, and ‘Love Illumination’ and ‘This Fire’. ‘Ulysses’ was right at the corner ending the uninterrupted wave of awesomeness. Franz Ferdinand left us wanting for more, and more is exactly what we got…

It wasn’t possible to have a Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions tour without the title single ‘Right Action’. Coming back from the encore suspense and out of the darkness, they rocked our pants off (don’t worry, we came prepared) twirling us in the flames of the golden age along with the ‘Evil and a Heathen’. But after two straight hours of live performance, they called up ‘Jacqueline’ in order to say ‘Goodbye Lovers and Friends’ and that really was the end. But was it really though? Was it the end? Hell no… The audience charmed the foursome into a final slice. It had to be a good one, one that even ‘Outsiders’ in the streets could hear, and boy… did they deliver.

We don’t want to irritate you, but yet again, it still wasn’t over.

Franz Ferdinand really live up to their reputation. They aren’t just crazy; they are “bonkers”. As a farewell-parting gift, they performed their signature move, having all four members going at it for a group drum solo. Keep in mind that is the finale, but crazy didn’t just appear towards the end. Here are a few of the extreme emotions and events that went down. We lost our inner-ear balance, and with the earthquake going on under us, dancing was not an option anymore, it was obligatory; so much so that, between the screams and the moving, our throats were drying up big time.

The considerate venue organizers were distributing free glasses of cold water in fear of somebody passing out. It was mental. You could see the band was performing out of passion and not greed (although filling up bank accounts while jamming didn’t hurt at all), rocking so hard that the keyboard wasn’t standing still and almost came crashing down. The drums might have had a few new scars, but what we could see was that the lead guitarist actually managed to break a string of his guitar…

We never personally knew the original Franz Ferdinand, but if this experience was anything to go by, he was one fucking awesome mustachy German-speaking retro-looking archduke-y dude… - (M)

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