FLAMINGOPAPER by The Flamingo Arts Project

FLAMINGOPAPER Illustration & Music | #01 | Free

Welcome to FLAMINGOPAPER Back when the CD was king, the first listen of an album was usually accompanied by a flick through the artwork tucked inside its jewel case. For some of us, this process added to the experience, and brought together the visual and auditory elements of the album. However, when we got tired of buffing out scratches on jumpers, and sick of CD cases splintering the first time we dropped them, CDs were, err, dropped. The internet has drastically altered music’s association with art, and we’re in danger of forgetting that relationship. FlamingoPaper, the satisfyingly inky piece of newsprint you’re holding right now, is an experiment in bringing the two art forms a little closer. We have interviewed some of the most interesting musicians working today, including Ghostpoet, Peggy Sue and Dam Mantle. We then asked some of our favourite illustrators to read the interviews, listen to the music, and then create a visual piece to accompany the words. In addition to all of this, we’ve also asked illustrators James Clapham and Jason Kerley to visually interpret their favourite songs. We hope you enjoy the very first FlamingoPaper, and if you’d like to see more of what we do,you can buy a copy of our big-sister publication, Flamingo, from www.flamingomagazine.com.

Editor Siobhan Leddy siobhan@flamingomagazine.com

Cover illustration Shaun Lynch shaunlynchillustration.com

Art director Craig Jackson craig@flamingomagazine.com

Illustrators Zoë Barker zoebarkerdraws.com

Features editor Grashina Gabelmann grashina@flamingomagazine.co.uk

David Ryan Robinson davidryanrobinson.com Jason Kerley jasonkerley.co.uk Hanna Viktorsson hannaviktorsson.com

Laura Gee lauragee.co.uk James Clapham cargocollective.com/jamesclapham

Andrew Thorpe andrewthorpe.co.uk

Advertise with us advertising@flamingomagazine.com

MSTR Gringo (Alex Green) mstrgringo.com

Published by:

Cat Sims cargocollective.com/catsims Jon Cox studiojon.com

SIGNALBOX FlamingoPaper is printed on FSC accredited paper.

Ghostpoet Illustration by Zoë Barker

There’s something inherently likeable about Obaro Ejimiwe, otherwise known as Ghostpoet. He’s exceedingly polite, and appends each sentence with “darlin” in his soothing, unplaceable British accent. Last year was a hugely successful one for Obaro, seeing him support Metronomy and Jamie Woon, play Glastonbury and be nominated for the much-coveted Mercury Prize. This year is set to see him flourish even further, and we’re catching up with him as it’s all beginning.

What would you not be able to live without? My missus! I can’t live without her. We’ve been together for about three-and-a-half years now. What would you say was your lucky break? I guess that would be Brownswood, my label, getting involved with me. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing right now? Probably some kind of customer service job or something. I was doing that for a few years. Nothing creative really. I did media production at uni, but the chance of turning that into anything passed me by a long, long time ago. What’s your favourite sound? Hmm, maybe the wind? No, the sea! It’s so natural, and never-ending. When you hear it, you can envisage yourself being in it or near it. It’s amazing.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Umm ... probably mussels. With lots of mushroom sauce and some fresh bread. What’s your greatest moment so far? Playing the Mercury was pretty good. I wasn’t really nervous, though. Once we’d done the soundcheck and everything, it just felt like another gig. I mean, not your average gig, admittedly, but still a gig. I put myself in a calm frame of mind, and that helped. If you were prime minister for a day, what would you do? I’d declare a national holiday, and a create a festival that would incorporate my favourite artists ever. I’d do it so that people would play in places like Blackpool, or Scunthorpe. And the Beatles would play in a small east London club, tiny and random. It’d happen all around the country.

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In a world where listening to mainstream electronic music is often like having cocktail sticks shoved into your ears, Dam Mantle comes as sweet relief. Structured, intelligent production holds his music together, and each of his beautiful melodies is punctuated with unexpected twists and turns. Like several other British producers of the same ilk – Gold Panda and Mount Kimbie, for example – this is definitely a time to be excited about the electronica/dance section of your local record store. We speak to the man behind the Mantle, Tom Marshallsay. Why did you choose the moniker Dam Mantle? I’m starting to wonder that myself; trying to tell someone that in a club after playing is always a pain in the arse. Most people end up thinking I’m just called damn mental. What’s your favourite sound in the world? Fireworks. If you had to listen to one band/producer for the rest of your days, who would it be? Dimlite. What’s the best thing about Glasgow? It’s the opposite of Shoreditch. What’s your favourite thing on toast? Sunflower seeds fried in soy sauce. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing right now? I’d probably be making films.

Illustration by David Ryan Robinson

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Artist / Gatekeeper Title / Optimus Maximus Label / Fright Released / October 2009 Illustration / Jason Kerley

We asked Jason Kerley to visually interpret his favourite music. This is the result.

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PEGGY SUE Illustration by Hanna Viktorsson

Peggy Sue, a Brightonian three-piece, consists of Katy, Rosa and most recent addition, Olly. Both their debut, Phantoms and Other Fossils, and last year’s Acrobats are haunting and beautifully stripped-down albums that make for an alluring listen. Our response? To ask them a whole load of silly questions.

If you were trapped on a desert island, what supplies would you grab to ensure survival? Katy: There is not a doubt in my mind that I would not survive, so probably just some biscuits and some tinned sweetcorn. Rosa: Avocados, gardening tools and rope. Olly: A dinner suit, a pair of dress shoes and a jaunty hat. Who do people say you look like? Katy: Daria. Rosa: Once a drunk man called me Tina Turner. And once a homeless man with no shoes on said I looked scruffy. Olly: Jason Statham, Bruce Willis and an egg. How do you like to spend a free hour when you’re not working? Katy: Watching The Wire. Rosa: Reading, hanging out on my bike, hanging out with a bottle of wine or going sailing on an inflatable boat. Olly: Browsing records in a charity shop.

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Who shot JR? Katy: Don’t know. We’ve been too busy trying to find out who killed Laura Palmer. Rosa: Who’s JR? Olly: Who cares? What’s the funniest thing you can think of? Katy: Beavis and Butthead. Rosa: Cheese jokes. Olly: My brother. What’s your favourite place in the world? Katy: The Ladies Pond in Hampstead Heath, London. Rosa: Being on an inflatable boat on the River Lee. Olly: I’m still looking.

CSS Illustration by Andrew Thorpe

Cansei de Ser Sexy, or CSS, are Sao Paulo’s musical finest. Once upon a time they were pioneers of the now obsolete New Rave scene (or was it spelt “Nu”?), but their current style veers more towards reggae and punk. We speak to guitarist, drummer and, in her spare hours, fine art student, Luiza Sá.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a musician? I would probably be working in something related to art. I went to art school and I do a lot of photography. Lovefoxxx does a lot of illustration and drawings, Ana went to film school, but she’s so bright she could probably work on anything. Carol was working at the art department of a magazine, but I know she would love to work with architecture. Adriano has a company that does sound for advertisement, so he would always make music somehow. If you could combine three animals into one superanimal, what would those three animals be? A shark that flies, and is also a panther. Wow!

What’s your first memory? My cat killing a bird outside the window. Or ET. I think I watched ET 200 times when I was a kid. What would you save if your house was on fire? My cats. And I’d try to save my ’73 Telecaster Custom. If you ruled the world for a day, what would you do? I would divide the money in a better way. What’s your party trick? Being Brazilian!

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Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher 08 | FLAMINGOPAPER

Label / Brunswick Released / 1931 Genre / Jazz Illustration / James Clapham FLAMINGOPAPER | 09

Having lost its way for a few years, UK hip hop is climbing its way back to the fore with a bunch of distinctive and experimental artists. Kieren Dickins, known to the world as DELS, released his magnificent debut album, GOB, back in 2011. There was no misogyny, materialism or any trace of hip hop’s darker side – just honest, astute lyrics matched by first-class production from Kwes and Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard. We caught up with the Ipswichborn musician to find out more.

Saturday nights or Sunday mornings? Saturday nights, mostly because Sunday mornings don’t actually exist. Well, for some of us, anyway. Flying or invisibility? Flying. I’d feel like some kind of weird stalker if I could become invisible. Nobody would trust you. Besides, I’d fly to my dream destination, Tokyo!

London or Ipswich? Ipswich, because my family live there – although I prefer to spend most of my time in London. Studio or live performance? This is tough one, actually. Probably studio? I find playing live a liberating experience these days, though.

Illustration by Laura Gee

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Can you tell us about one of your everyday treasures? This can be something that has no obvious value at all to anyone else, but means a lot to you. There’s a gold chain that was bought for me by my mother, father and grandmother on my 18th birthday. I hadn’t received any birthday wishes all day, and thought that everyone had forgotten. Little did I know that my mum had planned a surprise party for me and all my close friends. There were decks and a big sound system was set up in the living room, so we just ate Caribbean food and danced to garage all night through to the early hours.

Illustration by MSTR Gringo

The name of Swedish electronic band Little Dragon derives from the tantrums that singer Yukimi Nagano would throw while recording. However, their melodious, lost-in-thought electro-pop couldn’t sound much sweeter. We speak to a remarkably un-dragon-like Yukimi.

What’s your party trick? I can make a beard grow on my face. Most of the time people are impressed by that. What’s your favourite body part and why? My feet, because they look identical to my grandma’s. Her feet are really special. What was the first album you bought? It was the Best of Prince. What would you be doing if you weren’t a musician? I don’t really know. I’d be unemployed, maybe. I’d draw, dance around in my apartment and bake some things. If you were on the cover of a tabloid what would the headline be? “Are you invisible? Do you care? Breeze-surfing Little Dragon’s here!” Something like that.

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Illustration by Cat Sims

Veronica, Simon and, er, Ximon – collectively known as Teeth – are a London/LA dance trio. Titling their debut album Whatever, and emerging from the DIY warehouse scene, you could easily dismiss them, on paper at least, as tena-penny hipsters. Fortunately, they’re equipped with barrels of tenacious, synthy electronica and, just as importantly, a sense of humour.

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What could you not live without? Veronica: My friends, and chocolate milk. Ximon: Air. Simon: Fast, reliable wifi.

What was the first album you ever bought? Veronica: The Mulan soundtrack. Ximon: New Kids On The Block. Simon: Gangsta’s Paradise.

What’s the funniest thing you can think of? Veronica: Simon Whybray doing an Australian accent. Ximon: Typing “gaylien” into YouTube and watching this awesome pink avatar appear. Simon: Humanity.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your lives, what would it be? Veronica: Sushi. Ximon: Those 25 cent packets of Lemonheads. Simon: Roast dinner.

Battles, having survived losing their lead singer, is still one of the most exhilarating bands working today. Dave Konopka, Battles’ guitarist and designer of Gloss Drop’s bizarrely amorphous cover art, tells us about his traumatic early memories and what he’d do if the world was ending.

What’s your earliest memory? A few things, and I can’t really remember which came first, but a really vivid one is from when I was three years old and I was reaching across the breakfast table. I got it wrong and spilt a huge pot of coffee on my arm, which fucking hurt. A lot.

In the same apartment, another time, I was downstairs and it was dusk. I was out on the street and I was talking to my mother and her neighbour. I was really bored, ’cos it’s boring when adults talk when you’re a kid. If you could combine three animals, what would they be? There was some wet newspaper on the sidewalk, as it’d I would say a dog would definitely have to be one of been raining, so I picked it up and started to wallpaper them, and maybe a bird of some sort. A large bird too, a car with it. This guy came out, he would have been like an eagle or something. And, uh, I guess a human about 25 years old, and started screaming, “Hey, what being. Why not? the fuck are you doing putting newspaper on my fucking car?” I was just like, “Woah there!” My mother What’s the funniest thing you can think of right now? was more like, “Jeez, he’s just a baby, calm down.” So yeah, being burnt and being yelled at. Nothing positive. A dog, a bird and a human being having an orgy to create some kind of future-animal.

What would you do if you were to rule the world for a day? I don’t really want that responsibility, but I’d probably make the whole world take a day off. Enjoy yourselves, embrace anarchy. If the world was going to end in three days, what would you do? That would depend on when it was announced. If it was just before a show I’d make sure we played the last show. Then I’d fly home to be with my wife and dog, and my family. I’m sure as fuck not gonna stick around and work if it’s my last three days! What was the first album you bought? You mean like a tape, or 12”? I’m not really proud of any of them to be honest, but it might have been Twisted Sister, or Mötley Crüe.

Illustration by Jon Cox

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