HISKIND Summer 2017

ART · FASHION · MUSIC · LIFESTYLE · HOMOCULTURE

Jack Antonoff NYC Downlow · Edinburgh Fringe · Pins Daniel w. Fletcher · Swardspeak · Stockholm Free

Summer 2017

HISKIND Summer 2017

We had a vision to create a revolutionary brand that improved the conversation between gay men, the LGBT+ community and our allies. We don’t want LGBT+ content to be refined to a specific section of a magazine newsstand. We believe it should be available on the tubes, in your favourite cafes, bars and restaurants and at gates and lounges of airlines, just like all other publications. Deciding to do this in 2017 is no easy task but it’s one that has been made easier by an extraordinary team bringing together a collective of like-minded, passionate game changers, thought leaders and creatives around the globe.

Publisher Josh Fletcher josh@hiskind.com Editor Dean Eastmond dean@hiskind.com Music Editor Bill Baker bill@hiskind.com

In a world full of imitation and replication, we wanted to do something different. Something that would stand out, be authentic and something we could take beyond the pages of a print magazine. HISKIND celebrates the good in the LGBT+ community whilst acknowledging struggles those in our community still face every day across the globe.

Editorial Assistant Beatrice Mustocea Writers Adam Groffman Bart Kaczanowicz Baldwin Ho Connor Spilsbury-Brown Caoilfhionn Nic Uidhir Darcy Rive Jon Sanders Jordan White Josh Milton Oscar King Creatives Sane Seven Daniel w. Fletcher Joseph O’Brien Thomas Chat Tom Prior

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NYC Downlow

To anyone who has been following our journey from day one, you’ll have witnessed our evolution and watched us grow. We want you to be apart of our journey so we ask you to give us your feedback, tell your friends, join the conversation, contribute, submit and let’s continue to build a voice that reflects a community.

Art Direction Studio LP studio-lp.com With thanks to Aaron Cullen Adam Packer Alberto Padilla James Rowell Printed in the UK by CPUK Print Publishing cp-uk.co.uk Follow us @HISKIND

It’s been one year since the Pulse nightclub shooting, where 49 LGBT+ innocents were murdered and, after a rough few months for the UK, we’re calling for you to stay defiant, resist and call out hatred when you see it.

Solidarity is more important than ever, be that solidarity with your fellow queer community, with trans women and men, with gay Chechens, with muslims and people of colour across the globe. Embrace community, show love, stop hate.

Thanks for your support and thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy the issue.

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Dean, Josh & team HISKIND

Jack Antonoff

32

Stockholm

HISKINDmagazine @HISKINDmagazine

Copyright HISKIND © LTD 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher.

All information and prices quoted herein are correct at the time of going to press.

Whilst every effort is made to achieve total accuracy, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions within this magazine.

To stock HISKIND, work with us or contribute, please contact hello@hiskind.com To advertise please contact advertising@hiskind.com Cover shot by Sane Seven and styled by Daniel w. Fletcher with thanks to Lights of Soho.

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The List We round up our favourite new discoveries, latest releases and this month’s must haves.

Union Sunglasses

£95 hookldn.com HOOK LDN’s unique colour palettes and designs have come up with the perfect summer sunglasses, the aesthetic of their assortment capturing the essence of their A-list clientele.

UO x Pride T-Shirt

£29 urbanoutfitters.com Urban Outfitters have tapped into the joy of pride season with a pride based apparel collection in collaboration with rapper Taylor Bennett that will benefit LGBT+ charity GLSEN.

Ibiza Rocks

by Jérôme Ferrière

Sonos Playbase

£699 sonos.com/Listen-Better Sonos’ April 2017 addition to their wireless home sound system comes in the form of a versatile thin speaker designed to fit any room while maintaining sound quality.

ibizarocks.com This photographic book acts as a retrospective filled with over 100 rebellious, irreverent and iconic images that document a fresh generation of live music encapsulating the magic that is Ibiza Rocks.

Garmin VIRB® 360

£649.99 Garmin.com/VIRB360 The newest in their range, Garmin’s VIRB® 360 is an exciting immersive 360-degree 5.7K camera experience.

Wheel by Miniot

Pre-order of miniot.com A slick Dutch designed wooden turntable by Miniot offering simplicity, purity and ease to use.

Nespresso Prodigio & Milk Titan

£219.99 nespresso.com Nespresso’s first Bluetooth venture, the Prodigio & Milk allows you to select from three coffee sizes as well as schedule a coffee break with a tap on your mobile phone.

Pride Pin

Signed copy of Drawings

by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Price upon Enquiry ideanow.online/store One of the last few copies of Basquiat ’s drawings collection remains on the market in this rare edition, signed by the artist in 1985.

RAINS Msn Bag

£67 rains.com Danish designer RAINS makes bad weather infinitely more fashionable with their Msn bag range. Perfect for the metropolitan fashionista and festival obsessive.

$12 gaypinguys.com Effortlessly marry art and activism in GAYPIN’ Guys’ Resist pin. Read more on page 07.

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Gender Trouble 6th July – 9th July Doomed Gallery Dalston, London E8 2NP Photographer Anna Sampson’s first solo show in London sets-up a site that assesses and examines the notion of gender identity. By bending and blending gendered clichés, Anna frees the gendered-body from binary and solidity. doomedgallery.tumblr.com

Pukkelpop 16th-19th August Hasselt, Belgium

Belgium hotspot festival Pukkelpop is back and bigger than ever this year, boasting the likes of London Grammar, the xx and Flume on their ever growing, fault-proof lineup. Glamping upgrades, hundreds of quirky street food outlets and a track record of being one of the most exciting music festivals Europe has to offer, Pukkelpop is the 30 year old festival community experience not to miss this year. pukkelpop.be

Where we’ll be and what we’ll do

The Diary July-Sept

Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender and Identity 28th July – 5th November Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool L3 8EN LGBT+ history has long been overlooked by the textbooks, but the upcoming exhibition will coalesce previously concealed queer art and histories. The opening will mark 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality acts was passed in England and Wales. liverpoolmuseums.org.uk /walker

The Vigil 28th August Sackville Gardens, Manchester M1 3HB

Pride is bulletproof. In this post-Orlando moment, 1 year after the shooting, it ’s more important than ever before for spaces to mourn, ref lect, and articulate hurt. The culmination of Manchester Pride is The Vigil, which sees the Sackville Gardens transformed into a sea of f lickering candles.

Frank’s Café 10th Floor, Peckham Multi-Story Carpark, London SE15 4ST Since popping up in 2017, Frank ’s has been a fixture in hipster’s Instagram feeds. Only open during the summer, the rooftop bar is back with its stirring view of the capital.

Each year it collaborates with the non-profit art project Bold Tendencies to bring fresh visuals to the SE rooftops. frankscafe.org.uk

Eat Stay Play

Fringe

Edinburgh Festival Fringe turns Scotland’s capital city into a carnival of theatre, comedy, arts and booze for the entirety of August. Joy and splendour saturate the city come rain or shine as international visitors flock to be a part of the world’s largest arts festival. You’ll never be stuck for something to do, but we’ve chosen the places that you simply cannot miss.

Eat El Cartel Redefining an overdone food trend, this compact cantina is bursting with f lavour, drawing crowds willing to wait hours for their eclectic tapas-style tacos, frijoles and various other exciting Mexican favourites.

A firm favourite amongst locals, El Cartel operates a no booking system so a wait is inevitable, but time is a mere tuppance to pay to get your lips wrapped around one of their homemade frozen blueberry margaritas.

Play Paradise Palms

elcartelmexicana.co.uk

Stay Angels Share Situated in Edinburgh’s trendy West End and a mere 60 second walk from Princes Street, with one of the best vista points for Edinburgh castle, Angels Share offers affordable chic in a city filled with overpriced giants. Stay in contemporary rooms named after famous scots, and you might find some truth in the line, “I slept in Paolo Nutini’s bed.” This boutique hotel is one of the best in the city when it comes to location, price and taste.

Words Caoilfhionn Rose @CaoilfhionnRose

A self-confessed dive bar, Paradise Palms is a treasure trove of vinyl records, neon lights, 70s décor and Caribbean disco memorabilia.

Five quid will buy you a jazzed up simple serve, but choosing the cheaper option will detract you from the decidedly impressive list of imaginative libations, including their Buckfast Daquiri and a BFG Snozzcumber Sour. Events include life drawing, jukebox bingo, flea markets and regular DJ and cabaret nights. theparadisepalms.com

angelssharehotel.com

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Inside the secret gay language of the Philippines

X-Men

Words Dean Eastmond @deanvictorr

A republic of more than 7,500 islands, the Philippines remains one of the world’s most linguistically diverse regions with both Malaysian and Polynesian heritages and the shadows of American and Spanish colonists. Even though English holds the most power globally, Filipinos across the country still speak more than 170 languages, eleven of which are sadly dying.

Swardspeak, however, couldn’t be more alive. Though not part of the country’s two official languages (Tagalog and English) or nineteen auxiliary languages, the coded language has reached national recognition as a once secret dialect used by gay men to communicate, turned witty and twangy lexicon seen and heard across mainstream Filipino media. Swardspeak’s origins are as extensive as they are complex, but by blending English, Tagalog and the names of celebrities, brands and references to pop-culture, the fabrics of the language were somehow born. Though the cryptolect language got its name in the 70s, it’s believed to have existed decades before this as a way for gay men to exclusively communicate between each other without the fear of being outed. Despite reports of discrimination and hate crimes against LGBT+ individuals in the country, the Philippines is growing more and more tolerant of gay people every year, allowing the language to filter into pop culture and, oddly, boom.

But Swardspeak is far from one of its kind. In the UK, Polari was the hidden language used by gay men to communicate their sexuality and identity without being caught by police or worse, before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 and has given us widely used terms like “naff ”. In Brazil, Pajubá is the secret language of the trans community, used to subvert yet reinforce queer identity. Pajubá allows trans women to both conceal their identities through a hidden language, but also use it as a badge identity and honour. And in South Africa, two hidden gay languages exist; one for the white gay community and another for the black gay community.

Polari died when it was popularised. It was no longer a secret so put gay men at risk and, with the decriminalisation of homosexuality fifty years ago and better social attitudes towards LGBT+ people it wasn’t really needed anymore. The popularisation of Swardspeak, however, couldn’t have resulted in a different response.

What makes Swardspeak so different to previous secret and cryptic languages that have emerged in the past is

its openness and public nature. Despite the treatment of gay and bi men in the Philippines still not being ideal - with the likes of conversion therapy still being legal and 70% of Filipinos strongly disagreeing with same-sex marriage in 2015 - Swardspeak is used as an over-the-top comedic form of language to make comedy and entertainment out of homosexual struggle and identity. In the same way camp and flamboyant men are made as presenters in the UK as a “jester”-like character (Paul O’Grady, Graham Norton, Alan Carr, Rylan etc.) Swardspeak outs gay men but is also used as a social shield to protect speakers by coming across as famous/reality TV stars.

Most Swardspeak terms originate from popular, celebrity and TV culture, with many a Swardspeak phrase using celebrity’s names to mean something based on the things they were famous for. For example, ‘bara’ in Tagalog means ‘to block’. Because Barbara Streisand’s name somewhat rhymes with ‘bara’ and because of her diva status, her name has become a codified and nationally recognised term meaning “to be rejected bluntly.”

The dramatisations of these references are filled with humour and reminiscent of cockney slang from the Victorian era. ‘To transform’ your look is to go throw an ‘optimus prime’ (the lead character from Hollywood blockbuster Transformers) or to make yourself look from plain to glamorous is to have a ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (referring to the resurrection). In the same way Polari was riddled with euphemisms and sexual references, Swardspeak similarly coins terms mainly to discuss sex, attitude or appearance. ‘Murriah carrey’ brutally means ‘cheap’ and ‘pocahontas’ means ‘prostitute’. Off the back of Marvel hit X-Men, Swardspeak has claimed the name of the term to mean “gay man”. Whether this is a comment on gay men being outsiders like the mutants in the franchise or a nod to whether coming out as gay considers you to be less of a man (and subsequently an ‘ex-man’) is unknown, but it’s clear that Western cultures more tolerant to LGBT+ people are at the core of this language’s identity.

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Anaconda

gaypinguys.com

@gaypinguys

Wo r d s s t m o n d Ea Dean @dea

ay m e n a n d g , s rd a w n so end From the 6 0 on pins to s tt u b e s u + ld u a s the LGBT activists wo ty ri a d li o s r ss test o rights . Acro signs of pro ir e th r fo t h foug ties , communit y f the nough o h c u m d n sa Now, the late 9 0 ges fade d. d a b f o e c n a l and the signif ic d in e na me re e v o c , k c they ’re ba a n eve r. swa nk ie r th

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e es , th ey w er ed th em se lv 1940 s, y m en pi nn e ga th re In fo e. be Bu t of th e st at e en em ie s re d in N az i pi nn ed as th an d m ur de ed in ta de g in be w ith pi nk en d m ga y er e bran de as n ca m ps w w er e us ed s le ng ia co nc en tra tio tr ei r ar m . Th e e ca m ps , th th in on s en le m tr ia ng en tif y ga y sh am e to id iv or of th e ba dg es of Fr en ch su rv y ga as no a , el Se re at “t he re w er th Pi rs oi w ith lo ng ed in hi s m em be g in ey rit th w s; t, Ho lo ca us ua l pr is on er ex os m n ho he e w r th ev en so lid ar ity fo er pr is on er s, t ca st e. O th th em .” et rg ta to th e lo w es to ed em se lv es , us be tw ee n th e Se co nd ed af te r th te r re cl ai m la as fia nc e. w de le d ia ng ur , pr id e an Th e pi nk tr w fla g dg e of ho no bo ba in a ra as ic ar on Wor ld W ea te d th e ic cr r r ea ke w Ba t ld er m un ity w ou Be fo re G ilb th ei r of th e co m rs on be ns pi em m as in 1978 , te r th e fla g nt s ng le an d la w s. Fo r pa re th e pi nk tr ia m os ex ua l la ho tiUP an T fy AC de or to s cl ot hi ng pr id e pa ra de na bl e m ar ch er s in an d fa sh io of qu ee rs , lo ud , pr ou d a e er w ns pi , rs pr ot es to . fo r ch an ge w ay to pu sh

ed the t a e r c s a h of pins h t r ives i t b a e e r r c e + T “Th B ung LG o y r o f y t i n ate e r c o t opportu m s i v ith acti w t r a y r atively r e a r c g to m n i e b way of a s a ’, look m d s l i r o w ‘activ e h t aking m t s l i h w , l integra tiful.” u a e b e r o a little m With the popu larisa tion of drag throu gh RuPa ul’s Drag Race , man y a drag quee n have also relea sed their own enam el pins for fans to show alleg ianc e in an affor dabl e and temp orary way.

Subt le, but still a state men t, enam el pins have yet agai n beco me the LGBT + com mun ity’s best frien d.

Seas on 9 quee n Sash a Velo ur, for exam ple, relea sed an enam el pin as part of a subs cript ion servi ce ever y wee k follo wing each episo de.” after just befo re “Sub tle, but still a state men t, enam el pins have yet agai n beco me the LGBT + com mun ity’s best frien d.

We cont inue to live in an extre mely polit ically exha ustin g and turbu lent envi ronm ent for LGBT + peop le. Stev ie Hann igan , one of the face s behi nd GAY PIN’ Guy s - an LGBT + dedi cate d enam el pin shop - claim s that due to “the curre nt socia l clima te in the worl d, peop le feel an adde d urge ncy to be outw ardly visib le as LGBT + or an ally to the com mun ity.”

“Gay men are still bein g put in conc entra tion cam ps in Che chnya. The suici de rate for LGBT + peop le is more than three time s the average of their strai ght peer s,” he expl ains. “40% of hom eless yout h iden tify as LGBT + beca use they are often kicke d out of their hom es whe n they com e out. Thin gs are bette r than 20 year s ago, but there’s still so muc h impo rtant work to do.”

Man y ar tis ts ha ve us ed pi ns to w ith th ei r go on e st ep su pp or t fo fu rt he r r th e LG BT pr oc ee ds to + co m m un va rio us be ity, do na tin ne fic ia l ch g Tr ia ng le Pr ar iti es . Th e oj ec t, fo r ex Pi nk am pl e, se ll ra is e m on ey pi nk tr ia ng le fo r th ei r ca pi ns to us e an d th ta ck lin g LG e Tr ue Col or BT + ho m el es s Fu nd , sn es s ac ro ss is su pp or te Am er ic a, d th ro ug h pi n pr oc ee ds by G AY PI N ’ G uy s.

So ci al m ed ia is al so ex te ns iv el y re re su rg en ce sp on si bl e fo as w el l as r th e th e re in tr od fa sh io n on uc tio n of 90 th e ru nw ay s . In st ag ra m be co m e st ac co un ts ha or es fo r on ve lin e w an d de si gn in do w -s ho pp in g. Ar tis er s ha ve tu ts rn ed th ei r ga lle rie s to so ci al m ed di sp la y th ei ia in to ar t r w or k an d - w m em es bi rt ith th e ris e hi ng in to th of e m ai ns tr ea re as on fo r m , th er e’s a on e) fo r ev pi n (o r er yt hi ng .

Ba dg es , ho w ev er , ha ve re m ai ne d si si gn po st of nc e th e 60 ac tiv is m an s as a d ch an ge . co m m em or Ba dg es di d at e a m om no t m er el y en t in th em se lv es hi st or y, bu . Wea re rs w t m ad e hi st or y er e th e trai he ro es w ho lb la ze rs an se w or k le d qu ee r d to an ag G ay id en tit e of LG BT + y an d so ci to le ra nc e. al de si re ha be en ca pt ur d, fo r th e fir ed an d im m st tim e, or ta lis ed th pi n ba dg es ro ug h th e . An d th is ar m ed iu m of ch ae ol og y on in its yo of qu ee r cu ut hf ul re su ltu re liv es rg en ce to da y.

If on e th in g is cl ea r, it’s th at th es e ar e he re to st ay.

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Celebrating 10 Years of

NYC Downlow

Words Jon Sanders

Imagine, if you can, that you’re wearing wellies. Your bottom half is caked in mud, while your top half is plastered with several day’s worth of sweat and baby-wipe residue.

These are the unglamorous realities of festivalling. And yet, around and above you, glittering through the grime, a legion of drag queens are dancing exquisitely to a thumping soundscape of disco, soul and house.

You’ve been trudging through a field in Somerset with your tent but have somehow arrived in the meat packing district of 70s New York, immersed in its famous underground gay nightlife. This is the NYC Downlow, the signature queer nightlife experience for Glastonbury Festival by Block9, and the sun has just set on her tenth birthday.

At the NYC Downlow, the odd mixture of camp and campsite only supports the escapism that Block9’s musical worlds create. All visitors are supplied moustaches on arrival, so all can join the NYC Downlow’s picture-perfect muscle daddies who appear to have thrusted straight out of a Tom of Finland illustration. Guests are ushered into a sexual playground which harkens back to the seedy origins of the gay clubbing.

“Ten years of Block9’s work have taught us that the unexpected is always expected.”

Jonny Woo, a fixture in the London drag scene, returns this year in the company of an international f lock migrating to the queer homeland. Californian rap artist and poet Mykki Blanco can be heard along with New York ’s Masters At Work, Chicago’s Michael Serafini and Berlin’s Prosumer.

Previously, surprise performances at the Downlow have included Roisin Murphy and Florence Welch, but ten years of Block9’s work have taught us that the unexpected is always expected.

In 2007, Steven Gallagher and Gideon Berger, the creative duo at Block9’s helm first brought the NYC Downlow to Glastonbury. Since then, its presence at the festival has blossomed. Block9 now commands its own field where 50,000 visitors can explore three mind-bending experiences. Besides the Downlow, you’ ll find The London Underground, where the thumping celebration of the city’s sound system scene masks a dark underbelly, a surreal

piece of sight-specific theatre produced in collaboration with The Roundhouse Theatre inf licted on unsuspecting ravers. Outside, Genosys dominates: a 55 tonne concrete structure whose mess of wires and plants tells the story of our rebirth in a dystopian future with electric music as our midwife.

Glastonbury may be Block9’s beating heart, but it is by no means the limit of Gallagher and Gideon’s imaginations’ reach. They designed for the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad and have engineered immersive musical art experiences for live events by Skrillex, Lana del Rey and, most recently, Gorillaz at Margate’s Dreamland.

And do you recall Banksy’s installation and parody of Disneyland, Dismaland?

The apocalyptic fairy tale castle at its centre was their doing.

Though Block9’s art flourishes where there’s a party – festivals, live gigs, theme parks – there is always a darkness

to their aesthetic direction and the fun they create always has a sting in its tale.

Stephen Gallagher says, “Our work is often political in nature. We frequently make statements through the work that prompts audiences to question the world they inhabit.” The NYC Downlow, for instance, is an escape to a gay arcadia of yesteryear, but it’s also a dive: crumbling billboards, boarded-up windows and eviction notices on the plastered everywhere on the “Atlantic Meats Warehouse” also tells the story of the grim, urban poverty where a sequestered queer disco scene first took its roots, echoing the threat rampant gentrification has on LGBT+ music and performance in the real world today.

Block9’s productions weave ambitious, heady fantasy themes seamlessly into the party, creating incomparable worlds that explore, in Berger’s words, “the fleeting space between music and the built environment”. If ten years is anything to go by, long may the party continue.

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Introducing…

From our stereo to yours: We shortlist our favourite emerging music acts to add to your playlists.

Listen on

HMLTD

ALMA

Cosima

Leon Else

HMLTD, formerly Happy Meal LTD, are the six-piece rockers who pushed boundaries with their daring theatrical stage presence and gender defying looks. Their in-your-face personas easily captivate audiences and make them move to their every desire. Their live shows can only be compared to the Rocky Horror Picture Show on acid in a big top, with their music continuously breaking the conventional rules of mainstream music and categorisation, blending psychedelia, electronica, and post-punk in a gender-blurred manner.

HMLTD are a breath of fresh air in the way that they give you not what you want, but what you need.

Punk-pop sounds glorious all over again. In ALMA’s breakthrough track Dye My Hair we’re greeted by a slick cyber boss whose independency thrives; with follow up Chasing Highs painting pictures of listeners inside a dim neon nightclub, surrounded by leather jackets, dancing the night away with the lady herself.

ALMA’s sound is highly energised; where inf luences can be drawn from her surroundings of the angsty Finnish kids in her hometown.

The 20-year-old proudly represents the rock/punk community, and if you saw ALMA wearing a band t-shirt, you can bet she can name at least five songs of theirs.

No doubt one of the most exciting sounds to emerge on the British music scene this year, south Londoner Cosima is a spectacle. Blending deep vocals with R&B mellow tones, Cosima is rapidly becoming the name on everyone’s lips. Recently dropping her Fleetwood Mac cover of Dreams , while still releasing a sea of innovative original tracks strikes her as one hell of a songstress. Singles Girls Who Get Ready and To Build A House root her name firmly and deservedly in the music scene. Armed with a shadowy aesthetic and the ability to dress herself like a goddess, you’ d be silly to miss out on this one.

Has dreamy synthpop ever sounded so good? Margate-raised/ LA-based Leon Else holds the key to soulful, punchy excellence, drawing inspiration from his tormented, sexuality-questioning teens right through to his London dance school scholarships and Elton John backing. Now signed to Interscope, Else is set to add one further addition to his already-vibrant CV: pop domination as one of the finest newcomers around.

And, with the recent release of What I Won’ t Do - a summery f lourish of synths and Carly Rae Jepsen-esque pop tones there’s nobody else we’ d rather listen to (see what we did there?)

Jordan White @jordanxcx

Dean Eastmond @deanvictorr

Bill Baker @billbaeker

Connor Spilsbury-Brown @cnnrbrown

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hiskind.com

Styling Daniel w. Fletcher Assisted by Tom Prior Photography Sane Seven Edtorial Assistant Connor Spilsbury-Brown

Jack Antonoff

Words Connor Spilsbury-Brown @cnnrbrown

Jack Antonoff: musician, songwriter, producer, activist and pretty much everything in-between.

Bill Baker @billbaeker

He’s a man who’s crafted a new dictionary meaning of polymath, securing his name as one of indie-pop’s most intriguing and profound exports whilst assisting in shaping the musical landscape of late-twenty-ten at the touch of his, seemingly, magical fingertips.

2012’s breakout with dork-pop trio fun. preceded Antonoff ’s co-working with Taylor Swift on her indisputable masterpiece 1989 before winding up on the song writing credits for the likes of Grimes, Lorde, Sia, Zayn, Little Mix, Banks, Tegan and Sara, Fifth Harmony and Sara Bareilles.

Grammy’s followed suit (both Song and Album of the Year accolades crop up on his CV) as his John Hughessoaked, new wave solo outing as Bleachers dropped 2014’s anthemic Strange Desire and this year’s regal, self-ref lexive Gone Now. The latter, released back in June, showcased the Renaissance man’s talents once more through soaring and slick, often political and overtly honest pop. He’s amid a whistle-stop London visit (“You’re fully a prisoner to a powerless process,” he stresses when the suggestion of downtime is voiced) as we collectively express delight at the sight of coffee for our 8am meet in the capital’s Marylebone Hotel.

“It ’s a dawn of a full new era for me as a human being,” he ponders. “I deeply feel like I’ve turned into an actual adult in the time of making this record.”

“It’s just fear.

Most people are designed to hate something that they don’t understand.”

Whilst Strange Desire felt like being the sole delver into someone’s most treasured journal entries, its follow up awaited a whole array of new listenership and, thus, a new perspective for Antonoff. “I’m actually talking to people on this record so the perspective is less of a diary and more of trying to relate to where I fit in in the world,” he explains. “ Strange Desire was strictly from my perspective whilst, in contrast, Everybody Lost Somebody on Gone Now was one of the first times I really considered that everyone feels loss and depression too.”

Mental wellbeing and selfquestioning appears as a common thread throughout Antonoff ’s back catalogue, roping in themes of

relationships, social construct and politics ostensibly more so than ever on Gone Now. “ We live in this really disappointing awful moment where it ’s fully hip to give a shit,” says Antonoff on how politics formed his sophomore effort.

“That ’s the beginning of how things move forward though, I guess.”

“I just want to be in conversation with people. I’ d rather be an artist that people actually know than one people want to be. I’m not talking at people, I’m talking with people.”

Given his track record, conversing with others is far more than a forte of his. One prominent example on Gone Now is the addition of viral star-turned-pop heroine Carly Rae Jepsen, a relationship that stems as far back as Antonoff ’s inaugural collaboration. “I had to prove myself when working with others and she was one of the first people who let me into the room, so I’m forever grateful for her,” he explains. “I was working on Hate That You Know Me whilst making Ella’s [Lorde] Melodrama so I played her the song and she actually came up with the idea for those backing vocal parts.”

The significance of collaborative work to Antonoff ’s legacy is indisputable, feeding into Gone Now and the final patchwork-like product of his abundance of musical associates. “It ’s an interesting record as, on one hand, there’s this crazy list of artists that are a part of this wild huge project on mine whilst, on the other hand, it was me sitting alone in the solitary space that is my apartment,” he declares. “Everyone on the record is a close friend and someone I wanted to be a part of it.”

Inclusivity appears as another constant métier. Most notably, for his co-launching the Ally Coalition (TAC) with former fun. members and hiskind.com

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“I’m a straight white Jewish guy, no one needs my voice in that area, but I can use my success to funnel a lot of voices to people who need to listen.”

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designer/sister Rachel Antonoff, aimed at raising awareness for homeless LGBT+ teens, advocating for the fight against discrimination.

“In America, 40% of homeless kids are LGBT+ because they’re being kicked out of their homes. The percentages of those who are non-white is even higher,” he states.

“There’s a very specific demographic of kid in America who are being failed and they’re LGBT+, often non-white and there are so few resources available for them.”

He recalls high school as “ torture” (“everything that wasn’ t normal in the 90s was gay”) before reminding that, in 2016 alone, over 30 US states introduced anti LGBT+ legalisation. Personal and global reasoning combined account for TAC, evidently impacting his live work with Bleachers as a clear priority. “It ’s not about my voice,” he clarifies. “I’m a straight white Jewish guy, no one needs my voice in that area, but I can use my success to funnel a lot of voices to people who need to listen. A dollar from each ticket from every show goes to shelters so even if you’re a totally close-minded prick, you’re paying for these kids to get by if you come and see me.”

With Gone Now venturing into political territories previously unreached with Bleachers, it ’s hard not to wonder if someone in Antonoff ’s position can pinpoint a source for this discrimination in order to aid and advocate.

“It ’s just fear. Most people are designed to hate something that they don’ t understand,” he affirms. “ When I’m talking on-stage, it ’s very information-based as 99 out of 100 people will actually want to do something about these issues once they understand as, right now, no one is giving a fuck about LGBT+ homeless shelters.”

In an age where the definition of ally can appear blurred and adaptable to suit needs at will, witnessing the manifesto of Jack Antonoff as told by the man himself has felt as refreshing as it has honouring, truly determining him as a one-of-a-kind creative force.

“People only need to look at the culture, art and music of the LGBT+ community to see why it ’s so incredible,” he emphasises. “You tell someone that they can’ t do something, they’re gonna do it better than anyone else.” A moment of

contemplation amid a few sips of now-cold coffee later, he concludes: “There’s way more excitement in LGBT+ culture than in the white 9-to5 culture because there’s simply a need for it.”

He reiterates the power of voice once more, insisting; “More than ever, talking to people has become important and I’ d like to just maintain being extremely honest and forward in everything I do.” As one of pop’s most forward-thinking, socially-aware and, arguably, busiest names, it would be almost impossible to doubt him.

Visit the Ally Coalition at theallycoalition.org Listen to Gone Now on

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Styled by:

Daniel w. Fletcher

With an ‘art imitates life’ mentality, Daniel w. Fletcher has absorbed the social issues of contemporary Britain, turning his fashion into a stylish and fresh platform for commentary against civic disenfranchisement.

Words Beatrice Mustocea

From his Peckham Pony Club, a graduate collection dissecting Peckham’s borderline position between historical poverty and gentrification, to the bittersweet nostalgia of English Schoolboys for Autumn/Winter ’16 and the unsubtle anti-Brexit STAY for Spring/Summer ’17, Fletcher actively paved the way for his most recent tour-de-force, ‘Let It Bleed’.

He brought the timeless motif of the call-to-arms that is his Autumn/Winter ’17 collection to our studio, as seen on our cover star Jack Antonoff of Bleachers.

The last few years have been a very rewarding ride for the Central Saint Martins alum, with his politically motivated style gathering endorsements from Lanvin’s Lucas Ossendrijver and artistic director at Louis Vuitton Kim Jones. His reworkings of traditional British silhouettes transitioned into an eponymous label fresh off the graduate runaway, when Daniel found a fan in Opening Ceremony, which started carrying his capsule collection straightaway. As a firm believer that the younger generation should constantly affirm its presence on the political scene, the brand has acted as a political activator, blurring the lines between presentation and demonstration ever since Daniel reasserted his commitment through his fashion to the European Union in a peaceful protest outside 180 the Strand prior to the Brexit vote. The Fall ’17 outing visualises that concept further, calling millennials out to vote and make their voice heard.

Styling Ben Schofield Photography Thurstan Redding Casting Sophie Lynas at Leda Hair Jody Taylor Model Karim At Leda Footwear Camper

Let It Bleed remains faithful to the politically cohesive story that is integral to the brand’s ethos.

The Autumn/Winter’17 instalment announces its desire for reformation from the very title, the visuals to further be styled around the theme of a political rally, supported through the patchwork of the designs, an ode to a ‘sewn together’ spirit.

That, along with the suits turned inside out, another metaphor calling for the restructuring of Conservative austerity, allows for the most triumphant chapter of Daniel W. Fletcher’s politically aware and fashion forward career so far.

danielwf letcher.com

Treves & Hyde

Food & Drink

The top restaurants and bars HISKIND has been checking out this summer.

Treves & Hyde

Bala Baya

Arthur Hooper’s

Centred around slick Scandinavian geometric style, Treves & Hyde is an ingredient led hub of luxury without the price tag. Located within Aldgate East ’s Leman Locke, the venue is an airy two storey eatery offering diners an extensive wine menu, fiercely talented mixologists and a menu that refuses to let any ingredient go unnoticed. trevesandhyde.com

Armed with an authentic Israeli pita oven, a trendy location and a sublime menu to match, rising star Eran Tibi’s newly opened Bala Baya is teeming with temptation and ingredient focused cuisine. Tel Aviv style and taste meets Southwark ’s hungry diners with small plates mixing desire, tease and surprise in what can only be described as a f lirt on a plate. balabaya.co.uk

Having suffered tremendously during the London Bridge attacks, this is one independent wine bar, we are very keen on supporting. Their beguiling jewel box interior design from Buster+Punch is an instant winner with wine connoisseurs. They have an exclusive wine list curated by Liberty Wines which contain European gems that match the seasonality of their appetising dishes. arthurhoopers.co.uk

Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Cleansing Oil £32

La Roche-Posay Anthelios W Gel SPF30 £15 La Roche-Posay Anthelios W Gel SPF 30 is so lightweight, it is actually traceless. Sunblocks are no longer white, chalky, nor heavy. They’ve come a long way.

Kiehl’s delivers a blend of antiaging plant extracts with soothing herbs for a one-step deep cleanse in their Midnight Recovery formula. Aromatherapy and skin care benefits included.

Grooming

Lab Series Age Rescue+ Water-Charged Gel Cream £46 Using a moisturiser is important.

Crucial, really. The Lab Series Water-Charged Gel Cream is a fast absorbing, universal option that can be used day or night.

Just days ago we were bitching about the neverending winter, but can we talk about this heatwave for a minute? Add longer days, travel and a social calendar packed with alfresco dates overflowing with Aperol spritzes - it’s time to step up your grooming game.

Words Bart Kaczanowicz @omgbart

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG £5.80

Dr.Hauschka Translucent Bronzing Tint £28.50

The Ordinary, a newcomer that f lipped the tables on the industry offers a solution that is both ridiculously affordable and insanely effective. This unique serum delivers results in the extreme makeover category.

No need to worry about any Coco Montrese vibes. Whether you are aiming for a pre-brunch glow or to look like your holiday didn’ t get rained out, this is the only bronzing formula you will ever need. In the history of ever.

Ernest Supplies Awake & Exfoliate Body Bar £12 This body bar is made from skin nourishing coconut oil and luxurious jojoba oil and works overtime to keep a guy’s skin hydrated.

How we do it in

Stockholm

Words Adam Groffman @travelsofadam

The capital of cool in Scandinavia, Stockholm with its long summer nights, stylish shops and one of the biggest European pride festivals, makes for a great European destination.

Sweden legalised gay marriage back in 2009 and Stockholm has long been the centre of Scandinavia’s gay history. Today, the city’s gay scene is pretty much integrated throughout. Södermalm serves as the hipster hotspot for Stockholm, home to a mix of unofficial gay bars and hangouts. Visit during Stockholm Pride and you’ll find rainbow pride flags adorning every public bus, 7-11 convenience store and almost all shops.

Shop

Eat & Drink

Sights

Party

Festivals

Sweden is the birthplace of so many of our favourite brands from H&M to Happy Socks, but spend an afternoon in the SoFo neighbourhood and you’ll quickly discover plenty of newer and more unique fashion outslets.

If there’s one Swedish word to learn, it’s fika.

This is the name for the Swedish tradition of coffee and cake which is almost religiously adhered to every afternoon.

Stockholm just oozes with cool things to do, but there’s more than just enjoying a fika (afternoon coffee and cake). The Fotografiska photography museum houses some of Sweden’s best contemporary photo exhibitions and it’s open late on weekends so makes for a perfect date spot.

In the summer, gay locals and tourists alike find themselves drinking rosé regularly at Mälarpaviljongen — an excellent restaurant and bar floating across three connected docks off the island of Kungsholmen.

The Södra Teatern (Southern Theater) is the other queer hotspot—a complex of restaurants, bars, clubs and an outdoor terrace on the top of a hill with views out over the Stockholm skyline. Music, theater, DJs and even the odd party such as Hip Hop Karaoke takes place throughout the maze-like building. Just down the hill from Södra Teatern, you’ll find Omnipollos hatt—a craft beer bar with affordable pizzas.

Stockholm Pride stockholmpride.org It’s the largest pride festival in the Nordic countries. This year’s Stockholm Pride takes place from 31 July to 6 August 2017. The festival incorporates an educational Pride House for seminars and meetings, while the Pride Park is where you’ll find the big music acts, latenight parties and even an area dedicated to learning about BDSM.

Sivletto, located in a basement off of a side street, with a small sign outside making it easy to miss, it’s one of those places where you can buy vintage jeans, art books, and manage to get a haircut and coffee all in the same place.

But Södermalm’s most famous shop is probably Grandpa which sells everything from vintage posters and furniture to fashion from local Swedish brands such as Uniforms for the Dedicated. From wandering around their store, though, you can clearly tell it’s not about the brands, it’s about the specific products — all meticulously selected and curated because they’re the best of the best.

Stockholm has hundreds of cafés, but Chokladkoppen in the Old Town is a personal favourite thanks to the LGBT+ staff and the tasty treats. For one of Stockholm’s best coffees, Johan & Nyström has a roomy café off of Mariatorget square with a great collection of teas and coffees.

After shopping in and around Nytorget Square, it’s worth visiting the Urban Deli - a restaurant, bar and small organic grocery store. Get the meatballs, of course. Not much further away, the restaurant Marie Laveau in Mariatorget square serves a Cajun/creole menu in a trendy setting alongside craft beers and perfectly mixed cocktails.

There’s also, of course, the ABBA Museum for those looking for a bit of kitsch (or the opportunity for karaoke). ABBA is likely Sweden’s most famous export (excluding IKEA, Nokia and H&M) and the museum is full to the brim with artifacts and informative displays about the iconic band.

On Sundays, there’s the legendary gay night at Patricia aboard an old steamer docked in Södermalm. And in the summer? Trädgården is an outdoor club under a bridge and made up of a mismatched collection of buildings with the best DJs, the coolest envirnoment. Club King Kong is an indie club located in the basement of Hotel Rival with three separate spaces to dance, including a regular room for schlager music.

Located in a former cinema, Hotel Rival’s bistro serves brunch every Sunday underneath iconic movie stills and celebrity photographs—the setting is as rich as the brunch!

Popaganda Festival popaganda.se Stockholm’s most hipster music festival, Popaganda takes place the first weekend of September (1-2) at an outdoor swimming center just steps from the Trädgården nightclub. Stockholm local Tove Lo is headlining alongside Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club and many more pop and indie bands.

For more information visit bit.ly/stockholmgayguide

How to Fika in 5 steps >

1 Be cosy

2

Get coffee

3 Eat cake

4 Have company

5 Repeat

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Expression Sessions

Heather Cassils

Heather Cassils is a gender non-conforming, trans-masculine visual artist (they/them/ their pronouns) and has recently been named as one of ten transgender artists changing the landscape of contemporary art. From their home in Montreal, Cassils explores the human body as ‘social sculpture’. By pushing the body to physical extremes, their art inhabits performance, photography, sculpture and video, allowing the audience to witness themes of struggle and occasionally graphic violence through their work.

Words Oscar King

Cassils embraces the slipperiness of trans identity in their work.

Rather than squeezing their art into a framework of rigid heterosexual binaries, Cassils welcomes it in all its wonderful complexity. Gender is performed as a continual process of ‘becoming’. Concepts are stretched to breaking point, with sweat, blood and sinew adding to the construction of each performance, leaving the audience with a graphic but impactful depiction of both art and gender.

103 Shots Upon the recent anniversary of the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, where dozens of innocent LGBT+ men and women lost their lives, Cassils’ short film ‘103 Shots’ confronts the attack through art and performance with bodies and balloons being used throughout.

Having spoken to one of the survivors of the event itself, Cassils visually constructs one of the survivors’ initial thoughts that the gunshots were just celebratory noises of popping balloons: “You’re sitting there having a great time at a club and you hear what sounds like fireworks popping and you assume it ’s part of the show.”

The video shows various couples locked in an embrace, with nothing but a balloon between their stomachs separating them.

As the embrace becomes stronger, the balloon finally bursts under the pressure.

103 shots, 103 embraces, one for each life lost. The watcher is left feeling shocked and brutalised by the popping – resembling a fusillade – as they enter the vacuum that so many of the victims of Orlando must have felt in the aftermath of the shooting.

Art like this becomes even more important in our present political and social climate. It represents not only what happened last year in Orlando, but captures the senses and anxieties felt by those caught in the midst of terror attacks across the globe. Though there’s no denying that a sudden loud noise in a public space will cause people to panic, Cassils’ art reminds us that, as terrorism seems to perforate more and more into everyday life, resisting fear becomes the ultimate act of rebellion.

“You’re sitting there having a great time at a club and you hear what sounds like fireworks popping and you assume it’s part of the show.” hiskind.com

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Words Josh Fletcher

Gerardo Vizmanos

How to break NYC’s photography scene

@gerardovizmanos

Back in 2015, when the idea of HISKIND was first conceived, we discovered the work of NYC based Gerardo Vizmanos.

His aesthetic portrayed our vision for a brand we were just dreaming of creating and we followed his work closely. Having shot for Gayletter, Kalblut and Vanity Teen, his work uses visual language to address concepts surrounding the notion of “subject”.

He works with the idea that the subject and its identity have no real existence.

His work deals with movement, bodies and shapes, contrasting a sense of serenity with the tension of a latent sexuality that could be present but remains hidden.

Fresh from his latest exhibition Hidden Secrets at MoMA , Vizmanos shares some tips on how to conquer NYC’s competitive photography scene.

#1

“Get all of the money you can. Money will help you more than inspiration because NYC is so expensive. I got told that you should never ask someone about their economic problems at events in New York because probably everyone in the room is having the same problems.”

#2

“ We all need people who believe in us and support us, but the only way you will find them is if you do what ’s in your gut and stop trying to please. You have to follow your instinct because it ’s the best thing you’ ll have and usually good things happen when I stop caring about what other people think.”

#3

“I’m in a specific world, dance and kind of fashion and it becomes a family. I’ve been able to build a really strong network of dancers and models.

I know dancers in locations all over the world and they know people, who know people. In the creative scene it ’s all about people.”

#4

“Be courageous. If you fear failure, then you’re more likely to fail.

Remember, failure is not always a bad thing in a big city like New York because you’re able to reinvent yourself and when one door closes, there are plenty more than can open.”

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Boys Who Throw Punches KnockOUT, the UK’s leading gay boxing club, talks about what puts them in the ring and the fight against stereotypes.

Words Darcy Rive

In November 2016, out boxer Orlando Cruz lost in the eighth round to Terry Flanagan in the WBO lightweight title fight. If he’ d won, Cruz would have become the first openly gay world boxing champion.

KnockOUT is one of the UK’s leading LGBT boxing clubs, based in London and in Glasgow. They may not be world championship ready (yet), but its members are taking on the stigma of gay boxers, one jab at a time.

“I don’ t know why I was attracted to boxing because I don’ t believe in violence,” says Richard, a photography professor. “I like that it ’s something controlled. It ’s an art. After the first class, I was totally hooked.”

“A common experience amongst many of the members, and my gay friends, is a bad time at P.E. in school. We were all put off sports from an early age because of our sexuality,” says Benjy, a journalist. “It ’s refreshing to

“You’re not just fighting in the ring, you’re fighting people’s prejudice.” be around people who have had the same experience and developing a love for sports – even at an older age.”

One of the biggest draws of the club is the sense of community that comes with fellow LGBT people, outside of the typical night scene settings. “I intentionally searched for an LGBTspecific boxing club because it would allow me to meet with other members of the community outside of the pub and club scene,” says Martin, a graphic designer. Benjy agrees: “The gay scene can feel very shallow and transactional sometimes. It ’s nice to hang out with other gay men in a non-threatening and non- sexual environment.”

With remarks from the likes of Fury and Gavin, it would seem there are many

people who don’ t believe gay men and women should be boxing. Interestingly, some members of the LGBT community have a similar reaction. “If you say it ’s a gay boxing club, some people go, ‘oh, do you just slap each other?’ and that ’s from other gay men,” says Richard.

“The club definitely challenges people’s perceptions. That ’s another reason I love it – you’re not just fighting in the ring, you’re fighting people’s prejudice.”

While the club ’s impact on other’s perceptions is vital, the most important aspect is how the members feel about themselves. “Boxing is hard,” says Mickey. “If I can do that, I can probably do anything.”

There’s no need to cue the Rocky theme tune. It ’s just great to see LGBT+ people feeling empowered within themselves.

Photography Eliska Kyselkova Designer Joshua Chan Model Michael Moon

knockoutlondon.org.uk

For others, the reason is more practical.

“I was bored of being scared every time I walked around at night or when I was out with my partner,” says Mickey, a writer. Self-defence is a common motivation for people joining a club like KnockOUT. In the months after Brexit, homophobic attacks rose by approximately 147%. 2016 proved a politically volatile year, and instances of prejudice, intimidation and violence have been on the rise. For argument ’s sake, these boxers could just join a regular boxing class: when you’re swinging a hook, gay or straight, the technique is the same. But learning in an environment of like-minded and likeoriented people can remove the anxiety of potential homophobia. “Boxing gyms can be pretty intimidating,” says Phil, a property developer. “I thought a gay club would be more friendly.”

Photography: Vincent Lo

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