ION Magazine issue 55 featuring Lykke Li by ION Magazine

ION MAGAZINE

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CONTENTS Volume 7 Number 2 Issue 55 14 16 18 47 48

Editor’s Letter Every time we Tweet, ION loses up to 140 characters of character. ION the Street Stick it in your ear! Of The Month Shameless self-promotion, games about zombies and fighting, two gay cats and a movie about a band made up of handicapped people. Horoscopes Marc Godfrey has consulted his magic eight ball for your horoscopes this month. “Ask Again Later” came up, then all the blue liquid leaked out onto his rug. Cartoons

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TiFdyL Good luck pronouncing that name.

FILM 28

Death by Chocolate True story, Prachya Pinkaew doesn’t speak English and we did this interview with a Thai interpreter. Yeah, we have one of those on staff.

FASHION 30 32

The Style of Spring Check out the latest from Lily + Jae and (212). Daydream Believer This month’s fashion features Lykke Li and is shot by Roberta Ridolfi.

ABOUT THE ION MOBILE GUIDE This year ION is introducing a fun new mobile component that will help enhance your experience with the magazine. Keep your eyes peeled for the ION Mobile Flag on pages where there is further mobile content available. For music-related mobile content, simply text IONMUSIC to 82442. You’ll immediately receive a text with a link to a mobile website. If your phone is compatible with iTunes, you’ll be able to preview and purchase all the music featured in the current issue of ION. In future issues, we’ll start recommending a few choice tracks you should consider purchasing. For fashion related mobile content, text IONFASHION to 82442. You’ll be directed to a website that lists where you can purchase all the clothing featured in the current issue. To make it easy for you, there will be Google Map links for all the stores. This is still all really new for us so expect a lot of exciting new mobile features to be added in the future. And apologies in advance, we don’t plan on accommodating people who still only own a pager.

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Telephone Explosion Records This label has an extremely wise business model where they put out music on obsolete media so you can’t listen to it. Clubfeet Club sandwiches not feet. Album Reviews Poster Art: Patent Pending Responsible for the majority of the posters for a little known label called Sub Pop.

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ION MAGAZINE

Publisher/Fashion Director

Vanessa Leigh vanessa@ionmagazine.ca

Editor in Chief Creative Director Art Director Music Editor Fashion Editor Designer Copy Editor Editorial Intern Design Intern

Michael Mann editor@ionmagazine.ca Danny Fazio danny@ionmagazine.ca Tyler Quarles tyler@ionmagazine.ca Trevor Risk trevor@ionmagazine.ca Toyo Tsuchiya toyo@ionmagazine.ca Leslie Ma leslie@ionmagazine.ca Steven Evans Patricia Matos Samantha Langdorf

Office Manager Advertising

Natasha Neale natasha@ionmagazine.ca Jenny Goodman jenny@ionmagazine.ca Paul Ellis paul@ionmagazine.ca

Writers Troy Sebastian Alden, Chad Richard Buchholz, Hayz Fisher, Tyler Fedchuk, Stefana Fratila, Marc Godfrey, Shallom Johnson, Sharon Ko, Kellen Powell, Adam Sabla, Valerie Tiu, Natalie Vermeer. Photographers and Artists Toby Marie Bannister, Claire Edmondson, Ashley Gesner, Jenny Kanavaros, Hubert Kang, Kyla Hammelgarn, Brenndan Laird, Alexandra de Lapierre, Tim McCready, Rebecca Padgett, Ryan Rey, Roberta Ridolfi, Jesse Williams.

ABOUT OUR COVER PERSONALITY LYKKE LI

When Lykke Li’s debut, Youth Novels, dropped last year, it was met with critical praise, peppered with the predictable comparisons all talented female musicians who are a little bit weird get. Bjork-ish, Feist-y, M.I.A.-esque. However you want to describe her, at the young age of 22, this Swedish singer is a woman who knows herself and knows what she wants. When we met up with Lykke before her sold-out show, this quickly became apparent. We arrived with an amazing wardrobe that would make any girl weep. She then told us that she “usually styles herself.” A compromise was reached and it was time to shoot. Not only did she not require any direction, she was involved in the shoot and was always keeping a watchful eye on the test shots that kept popping up on the nearby laptop. The pretty charm on the end of her necklace is actually a kazoo, or as she refers to it, “her instrument.” Later that night, before a massive gathering of cute girls at The Commodore, she showed that it’s not only fashionable, but a functional crowd pleaser. Then, just when we thought we had Lykke Li figured out, she got down to Lil Wayne and then launched into a mean cover of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?” Quirky indeed.

ION is printed 10 times a year by the ION Publishing Group. No parts of ION Magazine may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written consent from the publisher. ION welcomes submissions but accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited materials. All content © Copyright ION Magazine 2009 Hey PR people, publicists, brand managers and label friends, send us stuff. High-resolution jpegs are nifty and all, but they’re no substitute for the real thing. Clothing, liquor, PS3s, CDs, vinyl, DVDs, video games, and an iPhone can be sent to the address below. New Address #303, 505 Hamilton Street. Vancouver, BC, Canada. V6B 2R1 Office 604.696.9466 Fax: 604.696.9411 feedback@ionmagazine.ca

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Youth Novels is out now on Warner and you can also hear her on Royksopp’s latest album Junior. Check her out in our fashion editorial this month. [www.lykkeli.com] Cover Credits Photographer: Brenndan Laird. Styling: Toyo Tsuchiya [Judy Inc]. Makeup: Ashley Gesner [Liz Bell] Live Shots: © ADELAP :: http://flanepourvous.blogspot.com Clothing Credits: Black vest - Smythe from Holt Renfrew Black turtleneck and necklace - Lykke Li’s own

CONTRIBUTORS ILLUSTRATOR [JESSE WIILLIAMS]

JESSE WILLIAMS SHALLOM JOHNSON

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Jesse Williams did the illustration for the Clubfeet article. Jesse is a designer/illustrator from North Vancouver. He is inspired by the great outdoors, Thai food and traveling. When he has spare time he likes to put it to good use by eating spicy foods and taking frequent catnaps. Jesse is graduating from the IDEA program at Capilano University in the spring. He can’t wait to get naked and hit wreck beach. [www.jessewilliams.ca]

WRITER [SHALLOM JOHNSON]

TIM McCREADY

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Shallom Johnson wrote the article on TiFdyL for us. Aside from writing, she also makes art and dances. She has a blog called Stylefinds and is somewhat addicted to online social media. She is more interested in little details than big pictures, and can often be found photographing the parts of the city that nobody really thinks very much about. Shallom works too much and spends very little time sleeping, and is therefore forced to daydream—for fear of never dreaming at all. She is rather complicated and kind of nerdy, and is sometimes as confusing as she is confused. Every once in a while she gets inspired and comes up with something good – maybe even bordering on awesome. Other times she just parties a lot and ends up wandering home at 4am with someone else’s Ray-Bans on top of her head, having drank too much vodka and smoked far too many cigarettes. And no, she does not plan to give the sunglasses back. [www. stylefinds.blogspot.com]

PHOTOGRAPHER [TIM McCREADY]

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Tim McCready took the photos of Jon and Steve for the Telephone Explosion feature. He’s the Production Manager for VICE Magazine in Toronto and plays bass in a garage/soul band called the Bang Bangs. Last week he started shooting a talk show called Scotch Talk that he’s hosting with his friend Alex Hughes. They’ll be aggressively interviewing their friends and are seeking sponsorship by Glenlivet. His girlfriend Adrienne Reid will be shooting and editing it. Episodes will be two minutes long, with updates on Monday mornings at 10am on his blog. He’s almost finished DREAMACHZINE, a collection of dream stories, with corresponding illustrations. Between the writers and illustrators he has submissions from over 100 contributors, including Brian Borchardt from Holy Fuck, Isis Salam from Thunderheist, ION editor Michael Mann, VICE Canada Editor Sarah Steinberg and TV Carnage’s Big Pinky. Even though it’s 130 pages, he’s still calling it a zine because he’s hand-binding all 250 copies. Since each contributor gets a copy for free, there won’t be a lot left over for sale so keep your eyes open. [www.timmccready.tv]

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Crack is Wack by Toby Marie Bannister

MICHAeL MANN Dear Diary, This month we launched a new website and I inadvertently got addicted to Twitter. It started off innocently enough. A few updates that were either jokes or various attempts to internet market to our lovely readers. Then I stopped using phone, email and verbal communication with people I’m in the same room as in favour of @ messages. I realized I had a problem the day I rolled out of bed and the first site I checked was Twitter and not my Friendster profile. Those four words “What are you doing?” greet me on my Twitter homepage whenever I need a distraction (every three minutes). It’s pretty interesting to see how people choose to interpret that question. For some it’s to post fascinating musings about the world around us. For others it’s an opportunity to roleplay that you’re Cobra

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Commander. And then there are those people who think it means they should broadcast every inane detail of their life (you can tell they’re asleep when they’ve stopped tweeting). But the one thing we’re all “doing” is getting hooked on the most streamlined form of computer crack the world has ever known. Facebook has too many bells and whistles and MSN doesn’t allow me to publicly broadcast my conversations. Twitter is the perfect internet drug. I know all about computer crack. Initially Twitter gave me horrible flashbacks to those rough couple of years where I battled an addiction to IRC (my excuse is I was in university and going through an experimental phase). If you don’t know what IRC is, congratulations are in order. You are less of a nerd than I am. They say a drop in work performance is a surefire sign of addiction. Well,

the only way the Editor’s Letter was getting written this month is if it was about Twitter and the first draft was only 140 characters long and I wrote it on my phone. I do like the cap of 140 characters. It’s like one of those free papers you read on the bus. Quick factoids are all I need thank you very much. I’ll flesh out the details with my imagination if it’s really important. If you can’t say it in 140 characters you shouldn’t say it all. I wish some of my more loquacious friends would try capping their conversations at 140 characters. Remember when the way the world worked was internet celebrities were trying to become real celebrities? Well, now real celebrities are trying to become internet celebrities. If you are famous and don’t have a Twitter account right now you’re not going to be famous for long. Even The Terrorists

are on Twitter. It’s true, they’re using Twitter to organize attacks and kill you. At least that’s what Wikipedia says, so it must be the truth. When I’m not checking out Twitter on my laptop or on my phone, I’m having a lot of awkward conversations with people about how much I enjoy reading their Twitter feeds. I’ve never said two words to a lot of these people but I know what they’ve had for dinner every night this week. “Hey man, so we’re both internet stalking each other now hey? How did that bubble bath you had two hours ago work out for ya?” In conclusion Diary, Twitter is dangerous. Stay the fuck away from it if you, like myself, sit in front of your computer all day, drinking coffee. But in all seriousness, Twitter is awesome and you should probably follow us at www.twitter.com/ ionmagazine

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ION THE PRIZE Loyal Army Clothing This month’s prize comes courtesy of San Fran’s very own Loyal Army Clothing. Featuring men’s, women’s and kid’s shirts, hoodies and accessories that are bound to catch your eye. Simply adorable graphics in delectable colours: each Tee has a pretty sweet design and an even better catchphrase. Seriously all that and a bag of chips. So collect ‘em like you still collect Pokémon cards and Pogs. Explosions of cuteness all over your bad, bad self. If you can’t express your true feelings on your chest – what can ya do?

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Photography: Hubert Kang. Styling: Toyo Tsuchiya. Makeup: Jenny Kanavaros [Judy Inc.] Hair: Rebecca Padgett. Models: Minnie [Richard’s]

To enter text IONTHEPRIZE to 82442 or visit www.ionmagazine.ca

OF THE MONTH We Have A New Address New Website Tough Economic Times Tips [Game] Resident Evil 5 [Game] Street Fighter 4 [1]

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[1] We’ve Moved! Hi, we’re very much aware that we mentioned we moved last issue, but some things are so important they are worth mentioning twice. So here goes, over the holidays, ION relocated to a lovely new office in a charmingly cruddy area of town. Our new address is Suite 303, 505 Hamilton Street. Vancouver, BC V6B 2R1. Update your mailing list and send us office-warming gifts. Nothing under $100 in value please. [2] New Website We thought this whole internet thing was a quick passing fad. Turns out we were wrong. So we gone done and made ourselves a pretty new website, catapulting ION into the year 2002. Feel free to comment on articles, pick apart our grammar and tell us what assholes we are. All our pictures are on there too so you can also tell the dudes how ugly we are or send creepy emails to Leslie, Natasha, Toyo and Vanessa. There’s also an ION Twitter account that we’ll try to update whenever we’re drunk (often) or doing something mildly interesting (not very often). www.ionmagazine.ca www.twitter.com/ionmagazine [3] Tough Economic Times Tips How the hell are we still in business? Everyone else has gone under. This month’s Tough Economic Times Tip is to carry an awesome knife with you wherever you go. Blades are great. Firstly, you can protect yourself when anarchy breaks out and the streets run red with the blood of the innocents.

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Secondly, it’s great to whip out at hilariously opportune times. You don’t ever flash your ripper at a party in anger (that sounded dirty). Remember, timing is key. Examples: At a party “Oh man, I can’t untie this knot in my shoe.” Or at a steak restaurant to the guy at the table next to you, “You call that a knife? This is a knife.” [4] Game— Resident Evil 5 The ultimate survival horror series is back with your two favourite things: guns and zombies. Forget all the stupid movies that have been made, these games are always the shit and genuinely scary. This time you’re going to Africa where a bioterrorist threat is turning humans and animals into mindless killing monsters. The solution, naturally, is to kill everything in sight. You’ll have to use your mind a little as there will be puzzles to solve along the way. This one also features online co-op so you can fight through the game with your nerdy friends. [5] Game— Street Fighter 4 Holy shit, it’s the game we’ve been waiting for since high school (we’re all really old). This time we’re not going to have to blow all our allowance at the corner store as it’s on the 360 and the PS3. All your favourite characters are there, as well as some new ones, with next-gen graphics. Funny how we can’t remember the birthdays of our parents but we can remember how to do a haoduken fireball with Ryu or a spinning pile driver with Zangief.

OF THE MONTH [Pets] Rufus and Cedric [DVD] EX DRUMMER [DVD] VIVA [6]

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[6] Pets— Rufus and Cedric Meet Rufus and Cedric: your resident gay felines here at ION magazine. As guests at our Fashion Editor Toyo’s home, Ruf and Ced have been spotted many a time humpin’ each other dry (literally). Rufus likes it on top; all the time. Meowwww. Poor Cedric, the bottom, just takes it. Once he tried to escape—jumping from the 2nd storey of his building while his fluff-ball lover watched ever so nonchalantly, laughing to himself. If only the rest of us had furry balls of cuteness chasing us down, wanting to mount and hump till the cows come home – well… maybe less of the furry and more of the cute. A girl can hope. Send photos to pet@ionmagazine. ca to have your pet immortalized in print. [7] DVD —EX DRUMMER Ex Drummer is the story of Dries, a famous author, and his relationship with three misanthropic, un-employed handicapped losers. It takes place in Ostend, Belgium, a city that seems to be rotting from the mistreatment of its inhabitants. Dries first meets the trio when they come to his apartment to proposition him to join their band as its drummer. They issue two ultimatums, Dries must also be in some way handicapped, and they will only ever play one show, covering “Mongoloid” by Devo. Dries goes along with it, thinking that slumming it with three lunatics might be a good way of escaping his insulated life as a famous author. The film wavers aesthetically between hyper-stylized viewpoints of cool detachment, extreme violence and pornography (One scene takes place inside a vagina, and it has the largest penis ever seen in a movie). Dries seems to know his band mates are doomed, and rather than try to help them, keeps himself at a protective distance as he watches

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them self-destruct. An American film would have been tempted to give the story a more Disneyesque treatment. Ex Drummer doesn’t bother. It’s worth seeing for its unique visuals and great performances, but its hyper-nihilistic attitude and graphic depictions of sex and violence may be hard for some to stomach. [8] DVD— VIVA Viva is the deliberately campy story of its title character as she explores her sexuality against a colourfully artificial Seventies Los Angeles backdrop. Barbie isn’t satisfied with her boring life as a housewife and secretary, and when she loses her job due to a perverted boss she decides to pursue the glamorous world of modeling. This starts Barbie down a path that distances her from her husband (a successful businessman, avid skier and drag racer), who’d be happier if she focused on having dinner ready on time. After Barbie gets a makeover her husband suffers a complete physical collapse and decides to go to Aspen for a month. This leads to Barbie’s recreation of herself as Viva. From this point on Viva encounters an array of over the top pseudo-sexual drug and alcohol fueled situations that all seem to fade to black before anything too steamy happens. Viva borrows heavily from the grindhouse sexploitation flicks that inspired it, but is more about highlighting their absurdity than mimicking them. The acting and the characterization are deliberately half-assed for comedic effect and the retro soundtrack and colourful production design provide the film with a fun aesthetic that feels like the bastard lovechild of Tim Burton and John Waters.

www.firetrap.com For store info: 1.866.240.2808

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Photography: Ryan Rey. Stylist: Toyo Tsuchiya.. Hair and Makeup: Jenny Kanavaros [Judy Inc] Models: Hana and Zia

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LEND US YOUR EARS Headphones are the new must-have head accessory. Instead of earrings, earmuffs or hats, you can put colourful or plywood headphones on and listen to your music in style. Here are some that we’ve been seeing around and it doesn’t really matter if you’re listening to music or not—we won’t think you’re crazy, just fashionable. [1] Bagpipe - WESC [2] Nomadic - Nixon [3] David Burel - Para [4] Skullcrushers - Skullcandy [5] Star Pink - Mix-Style

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CULTURE

TiFdyL

TOKYO DRIFTER Words: Shallom Johnson

TiFdyL (also known as Taka Sudo) is a young Japanese-Canadian artist whose work and life spans two continents, deriving inspiration from both. This multidisciplinary artist currently splits his time between BC and Tokyo, keeping a home base in Whistler while spending a few months of every year in Japan. In addition to painting, illustration and clothing design, he works as a curator, organizing exhibits for independent artists on his trips to Japan. Over the years he has come to appreciate the differences between Japanese and Western artists as well as the unique challenges that come with selling work in both countries. “In my opinion,” TiFdyL says, “Japanese artists are more emotional. When making art,

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emotion comes first. In Canada artists pay more attention to beautiful detail, and technical skill comes first.” He also notes that relative to Canada, it’s difficult to sell original artwork in Japan. “When I have art shows in Japan, only tourists buy art” he notes with a grin. “People’s homes are too small; they have no room for paintings. More and more Japanese artists are moving towards design work.” Over the past five years this movement towards illustration and design has become apparent in TiFdyL’s own art, manifesting itself in a line called LADE clothing. A collaboration with his business partner Yoshi Aida, TiFdyL describes this aspect of his work as “portable, wearable art.” Available at El

Kartel, Ayden Gallery and online at ladestore.com, this line of graphic tees and hoodies for men and women is not only another creative outlet but also a way for him to gain visibility and accessibility for his creations. “If I make art on a canvas, it hangs in someone’s house and their friends, their family see it. If I make art for t-shirts people can go anywhere with it, anytime.” TiFdyL’s confluence of techniques is most apparent in his recent paintings. He incorporates line work and typography that strongly reference illustrative work, and combines this with an eye for colour, movement, composition and materials that are more painterly. His mixed-media work on canvas and wood panels incorporates “almost

every medium that there is,” he says. First comes a collage base containing “no meanings, no messages”—newspapers, magazine pages and his own photography, hand-picked with more of an eye for shade and colour than content. On top of this he layers on everything from acrylic, spray and latex paints to markers and inks. TiFdyL prefers to leave the interpretation of text and image up to the viewer. He describes his bulbous-headed, neon characters as “nobody but anybody with any types of feelings, emotions, characters sometimes this guy, sometimes that guy, sometimes me.” Even for him, the identity of any particular character or piece develops slowly over the creative process and is fully realized only when complete. “I want

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to make people happy with my artwork,” he says. “People can decide for themselves if there is a deeper message.” Every once in a while, however, a particular work will necessitate a more direct and specific intent—and happiness becomes a message with roots far beyond the surface. TiFdyL took a private order last spring from a woman in Belgium, a large-scale piece for her newly-purchased home. After a month spent discussing the specifics of the commission, he received an email containing disastrous news. His client had been struggling through a long battle with cancer. Things had been looking up and she was planning a new start to life—with a new apartment and a new

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marriage—when her health suddenly took a turn for the worse and she passed away. Asked to complete the painting, TiFdyL felt the need more than ever to make something beautiful that would be a celebration of the strength and vitality that she possessed while alive, helping her husband find the strength to get himself through the dark days ahead. Looking forward, TiFdyL plans to continue experimenting with the possibilities of his current aesthetic while always looking for a new styles to explore. He wants to diversify his work by collaborating with artists in other genres - from musicians to photographers and filmmakers, with a specific interest in writing movie scripts. Two

years ago he collaborated with Masao, the web curator of tokyomade.com to produce Fragment, a showcase of international artists located in Tokyo. In the future, he plans to return to this concept, bringing Canadian artists to Japan and Japanese artists to Canada. His strongest inspirations are the creative people that he’s met in his travels, and hopes that he can help his peers benefit from this same international exposure. 2008 was a big year—some of his notable exhibits include Brave Art in Whistler, Ayden Gallery’s Equilibrium, two solo shows at HANJIRO in Kyoto and a showing of work at Pemberton Festival last summer. So far, 2009 has brought TiFdyL to Vancouver for multiple

exhibits including Blood, Guts and Gore at The Fall, Big Hearts Art Show at Chapel Arts and a solo exhibit, Fluorescent Desire, at New Vintage Kicks—a rare chance for his fans to see a solo show in Canada. With 17 exhibits under his belt within the past two years and a future full of ambitious goals, TiFdyL has what seems to be the perfect balance of talent, experience and ambition to succeed in the international art market and make his dreams a reality. [www.tifdyl.com] [www.ladeclothing.com]

FILM

Prachya Pinkaew’s Chocolate

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE Words: Michael Mann

The whole Crouching Tiger Art-Fu thing was cool for a while, but when it comes down to it, it’s kind of stupid that people are flying. I also don’t care about character development or cheesy love stories. If I’m watching a martial arts film, I just want to see a lot of people get their asses kicked. Prachya Pinkaew knows what I want. Prachya Pinkaew may not be a household name in North America but he’s kind of a big deal in Thailand. He’s a writer/director/ producer best known for Ong Bak and The

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Protector, two of the craziest martial arts movies you’ll ever see, starring Tony Jaa, the most ridiculously awesome martial arts star of all time. In Prachya’s films, there are no wires used and all the actors do their own stunts. It’s probably best to sum up these films with the oft-repeated thought that goes through your head while watching them: “Holy shit that looked dangerous.” With his latest offering, Chocolate, a different thought will be going through your head: “Holy shit that looked dangerous... that poor teenage girl.”

The idea for Chocolate was born when a then-teenage Ammara Siripong auditioned for a part in The Protector and dazzled Prachya. “It took three to four years to train her for the role. So while we were training her we were thinking and crafting the script. Also, to do that we looked at her personality and that she seems way younger than her actual age. She’s very bright and very positive and very petite. In order to make her fights with grown men look interesting, we had to give her some special characteristics,” he explains

with a grin. The special characteristics are Ammara’s character Zen’s has autism and superhuman reflexes. When her ex-Yakuza mother develops cancer and can’t pay the bills, Zen goes on a rampage to collect money owed to her family. But how is a teenage girl with autism going to collect debts from dangerous criminal syndicates? Through watching television and playing video games of course. By watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee films, she learns to master Muay-Thai, the national sport of

Thailand—a martial art that sets itself apart from others due to its heavy emphasis on kneeing and elbowing people in the head. The story is heartwarming, the choreography in the fight scenes is mindblowing and the knees to the head look painful. Chocolate culminates with an especially dangerous looking fight scene on the ledges of a four-storey building (remember, no wires). This begs the question: Why are you trying to kill your actors? “Learning from Ong Bak and The Protector, people give a lot of

value to the fact that we put a lot of effort into making it real. It’s a unique aspect of my work. We’ve seen many other movies where girls fought before; what differentiates us is that we don’t use stuntmen. Hollywood movies use a lot of technology so it’s of the highest safety. The audience can figure out it’s not real. In order for us to compete we take a different approach. It’s the only way we can compete.” Injuries are commonplace on sets but Prachya says they were only minor to medium

in Chocolate. Keep in mind, Prachya has a far different definition of a what a “medium injury” is than you or I. The worst of the bunch came while filming the ending. “Five men fell off the side of the building at the same time,” says Prachya. “One of the men landed on his head and he had a neck injury so we had to send him to the hospital.” All in all, seeing an autistic teenage girl unleash an unholy asskicking on 200 baddies makes Chocolate one of the most satisfying martial films you could ever hope for. Before

my time hanging out with Prachya was up, he offered up these two secret tips on how to make a wicked martial arts film. “Firstly, you have to put in something new that the audience has never seen before. Secondly, you have to make it real for the audience. For example, if a person hits someone, they should hit them the hardest but make sure the person receiving it isn’t hurt... much.” [Chocolate out now on DVD and Blu-ray]

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FASHION

Lily+Jae & (212)

THE STYLE OF SPRING Words: Valerie Tiu

Photography: Kyla Hammelgarn

Spring fashion collections have always been synonymous with all that is super sweet: from baby doll dresses to bubble skirts, to an abundance of frou frou patterns. This year, however, fashion has a brand new outlook on femininity. Gone are the days of box-like, shapeless silhouettes. Instead, Spring ‘09 calls for mixing, borrowing from the boys and creating effortless looks that remain functional. Enter Vancouver’s own Lily + Jae, whose very name reflects the relationship between the masculine and feminine. In the words of designer Judith Feller, ”It’s the tomboy flirting with the idea of being girly... boyish silhouettes with hidden details [are mixed with] vintage silhouettes paired with cute prints.” No-fuss natural fibres like cotton, lightweight denim, cotton jersey and terry make up the base of Lily + Jae’s collection. “We’ve also recently moved onto working with more mature materials such as silks, wools and organic cottons,” says Judith, ”You will rarely find a synthetic material in the line.” These unique elements stem from Feller’s own creative experiences. She was raised by an artist, has previously worked

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Styling: Toyo Tsuchiya

in film and television designing costumes, and was known to change her clothes “at least five times a day” in her childhood. Lily + Jae arose out of Feller’s need for functional, casual yet detail-oriented clothing. The line has evolved since it launched as a nine-piece collection in Spring ‘07. This year, Feller has designed her largest collection to date: 32 pieces. Her practical, yet intricate clothing has become a staple of Vancouver fashion. But what about the boys, you ask? Look no further than Gastown’s (212), a label that brings trendy New York style for both men and women to the forefront. This retailer houses its own private label in addition to urban designers like Interlude, Odyn Jeans and menswear by Shades of Greige and Rise & Fall. (212) is all about effortless dressing, an aesthetic that is sure to appeal to the Vancouver crowd. The store is the creative collaboration of Anthony Castro and Scott Walhovd. “I wanted to bring something new and refreshing to Vancouver that was different from the staple, unchanging fashion that currently was available,” says Scott.

Anthony attributes his interest in fashion to his youth in New York. “Growing up in the East Village in New York City, it was so vibrant and inspiring that clothing for me was a blank canvas where I [could] express what I was feeling at the time. Vancouver is a vibrant city with lots of artistic ambience.” For Spring ‘09, (212) is preaching youthful and effortless style in natural and luxurious materials. “It’s light and airy with classic silhouettes of American sportswear,” says Anthony. “The collection consists of beautiful muted florals and colours pertaining to spring and summer.” After a mere four seasons in the business, (212) is expanding rapidly. It recently launched into wholesale and plans are in the works for a full fledged lifestyle brand. According to Castro, “Pretty much, the sky is the limit.” Lily + Jae is available online and at various boutiques around North America. Visit (212) online or at 454 West Cordova St. in Gastown. [www.lilyandjae.com] [www.twoonetwo.net]

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Model: Darya K [Liz Bell]. Hair and Makeup: Ashley Gesner [Liz Bell]

FASHION DAYDREAM BELIEVER

REVEILEB MAERDYAD Photographer: Roberta Ridolfi Stylist: Claire Edmondson Model: Lykke Li

This Page: Yellow High Tops—Reebok. Mickey Mouse Sweatshirt—Beyond Retro. Denim Shorts—Tsubi. Doc Martens—Doc Marten. Opposite Page: Native Sweatshirt—Beyond Retro.

FASHION

Dress—Jojo and Malou. Leather Biker Jacket—Beyond Retro. Boots—Stylist’s Own

FASHION

Opposite Page: Plaid Shirt—Marc by Marc Jacobs. Acid Wash Jeans—Top Shop Boutique.

MUSIC Telephone Explosion Records

EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE Words: Tyler Fedchuk

Depending on whether you are a consumer or a major label CEO, the music industry is either in the best shape yet or it’s looking like a homeless donkey. For the consumer it’s great. There is more music available than ever before, it’s easier to find music that suits you and a lot of it is available freely through blogs, which also happen to be genre-specific most of the time. One can then easily go ahead and purchase hard copies of favourite records cheaper than ever via sites like Discogs and Gemm, which aggregate thousands of stores’ collections into a one stop search. Not to mention digital sales on iTunes, Beatport and emusic. The consumer’s access to music is at an all-time high. For the record industry executive it’s looking a lot different. Vinyl and cassette sales have all but disappeared, and the compact disc is on its way out as well. CD sales have been steadily declining since their heyday in 2000 with 942 million units sold that year. In 2008, 363 million physical CDs were sold (428 million if you include the full album equivalents made up of digital tracks). Armed with those figures, most people would agree now is the worst time in modern music history to start a record label. Knowing this, why would anyone want to go ahead and do just that?

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Photography: Tim McCready

Back in the fall of 2007, a couple of neighborhood pals from Toronto, Jon Schouten and Steve Sidoli decided against all odds that they would start up a label. They had known for years this is what they would do, and the label would be called Telephone Explosion. And after a lengthy discussion about the current state of the music industry (specifically the imminent death of the compact disc) they were convinced their label would release primarily audiocassette tapes – a format not readily playable by most people. Telephone Explosion emerged in 2008 as a Toronto-based label that focuses on garage punk released exclusively on cassettes. According to Schouten, apart from the low overhead costs associated with cassettes, their inherently “smeared” sound lends itself quite nicely to the bands they intended to work with. And since a cassette tape is about as readily playable as a minidisc these days, every release comes with a download code to get the MP3s off the website. Since its inception, Telephone Explosion has seen nine cassette-based releases from Teen Anger, Holy Cobras, Ugly Stick, Charlie & The Moonhearts, Demon’s Claws, and Superstitions. Its tenth (and first vinyl-based) release is a shredding 12” LP courtesy of Montreal’s Demon’s Claws titled Lost In The Desert, which is due out

this month. It features unreleased songs as well as demos, outtakes and a collaboration with King Khan. The label has no plans to stop releasing cassette tapes and will step up their overall output in 2009. Telephone Explosion is not alone in releasing cassettes either. Cassette-punk seems quite healthy out there these days with labels like Fuck It Tapes from NY and Wizard Mountain from California routinely selling out of their limited edition cassettes. Vancouver is even home to our own cassette-punk label Cassette Or Die which is run by Justin Gradin, who is probably best known for his work running the Emergency Room (RIP). According to Gradin, “cassettes are the coolest looking things in the world. Also it is neat to be obsolete!” And that’s the whole point of going out and buying cassettes or vinyl records in 2009. Even though MP3s are really convenient, sometimes it’s just not enough to possess the sound of the music on a hard drive or an iPod - everyone’s mom can do that. Sometimes you just want something tangible and unique you can hold in your hand. [www.telephoneexplosion.com]

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MUSIC

CLUBFEET

FIRE WALK WITH ME Words: Natalie Vermeer

It’s hard to walk when you have a club foot. It’s hard to record someone’s words when your phone connection is fuzzy (Oh, and you lost your recorder) “Pull it Together” comes on the stereo and I promise I will. My introduction to Clubfeet was their first single, “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)” from their debut album, Gold on Gold. The Melbourne trio acquired inspiration from the glorious movie, Heathers - much to my delight. Overall, however, it seems the band is influenced mostly by The Baha Men’s cover of “Hakuna Matata,” proposes singer/synth player/hand-clapper Monty Cooper. The Baha Men have been mentioned in several interviews before and I’m not sure if it’s just to trick readers into YouTubing the band to see if the song is of any merit (nope!),

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Illustration: Jesse Williams [www.jessewilliams.ca]

or if Cooper believes that repeating such claims will sound impressive (definitely!). I’m curious to see if the bands will get to collaborate in the future as Cooper says he hopes. Clubfeet don’t do band things the normal way - if there is one. They started up within the past year and did not start performing locally: “Our first ever gig was in London and then our second gig was in a castle in Cape Town,” Cooper recalls. “We sat down to do a record in a quick period of time and pretty much when we finished it, one of the songs got picked up by MTV in Europe for the MTV Europe Music Awards so we got flown over to play a bunch of shows and parties and stuff. So this has all happened in like the last five months!” Within the last five days, however, before

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I talked with Cooper, an hour from his city, fires had destroyed everything in the deadliest fire in history. “It’s right next to where we are,” he shares, “The epicenter of the fires is called Kinglake and it’s about an hour out of Melbourne. I went out with some of my bandmates and my sister on Saturday, because we were looking at buying a bush block in the National Park to build a studio and art space. It was the hottest day ever recorded in Victoria, which is the state we’re in. We left this town about 3pm and at about 4pm, the whole town got flattened by fire. I filled up my petrol tank at about 3pm and at 5:30pm, the service station exploded!” Smokey pleasure is made to sound enticing on “D.I.E.yuppiescum” and I’m basically break-

ing out the pom-poms when the song’s title is chanted out. If Gold on Gold is an instructional pop album, I feel like I’ve been educated by Hot Chip, The Teenagers, Air and Broken Social Scene. Thank you, Clubfeet. [For now, check out Kap10Kurt’s remix of “Teenage Suicide” on myspace.com/clubfeetband and hope and pray that after the band’s European tour mid-2009, they make it over to North America.]

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MUSIC REVIEWS [1]

A Camp [Colonia] Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus [Goodnight Oslo] Malajube [Labyrinthes] M. Ward [Hold Time] [2]

[1] A Camp Colonia Reveal Oh man I did not like this album at all. I really wanted to like it. I really wanted to write a positive review. This album has so many things going for it in my books that I was sure it would be easy to write a positive review. First, it’s Swedish. I really like Swedish music. Second, ex-figure skater/Cardigans front woman Nina Persson is the main collaborator. I really like The Cardigans. Third, James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins plays guitar. I was never into them, though. Unfortunately, 12 songs about how love is worse than death is just really boring to me. The musical arrangements are also exceptionally boring, although exceptionally well produced. I listened to this thing on repeat for like six hours and not a single hook was woven into my head. I suppose maybe that’s an accomplishment in itself. Sorry A Camp. I wanted things to be different for us -Tyler Fedchuk [2] Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus Goodnight Oslo Yep Roc While I did my time at the defunct A&B Sound on Seymour Street in Vancouver, I found myself obsessed with Syd Barrett and thought it a shame he never came out of seclusion. My friend Michael told me about this guy consumed with Barrett named Robyn Hitchcock and his band The Soft Boys, which were lumped into the first wave of British punk but took a decidedly poppier and, dare I say, psychedelic approach. If you haven’t already, download his catalog (and The Soft Boys’ indispensable Underwater Moonlight. On Goodnight Oslo, Hitchcock’s second outing with The Venus 3, the self-proclaimed Mummy’s

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[3]

boy from Cambridge is poised between 2006’s Ole! Tarantula and Spooked. His idiosyncrasies are concealed in the gentler songs, while the clattery drum thump, familiar jingle-jangle of Rickenbackers, and whimsical lyrics illuminate them in the boisterous ones. ‘Your Head Here’ chugs along like Leonard Cohen on a locomotive. ‘I’m Falling’ is among the best of his serene songs. And something about ‘Intricate Things’ recalls ‘My Wife and My Dead Wife’ from Fegmania! With former Soft Boy Morris Windsor and The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy guesting, fans will find Goodnight Oslo familiar; as familiar as Syd Barrett, another Mummy’s boy from Cambridge, is to Hitchcock himself. -Adam Sabla [3] Malajube Labyrinthes Dare to Care Malajube are Canada’s Francophone gem. Labyrinthes, though you may not have anticipated its coming, is Malajube’s second release on Dare to Care Records following 2006’s Trompe-L’oeil — which if you remember liking, you can expect to like Labyrinthes also. Malajube are still poppy like a hair flip to the side or a spill of tea on lady thighs. But, Labyrinthes builds a more ominous tone with a varied selection of minor chords and beat breaks, particularly in the beginning and towards the end of the record. It feels like entering woods of white trees. Then, as you walk a little further, the trees thicken with leaves and mechanical robins and wind chimes and synth sounds ring in your ears. Then, a thunderstorm starts and everything grows dark and then... the album ends. Maybe they are hoping for a series of dark music videos. If so,

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[4]

“Luna” will nicely summarize the record. The louder “Collemboles” plays with droning noise and leads into the acoustic guitar picking of “Hérésie,” followed by another very poppy and clean track, “Dragon De Glace.” And if there’s one thing that Malajube have down, it’s the art of naming. That said, if you didn’t understand French before, you definitely won’t understand Julien Mineau‘s vocals because they are completely overpowered by the cymbals. But, the instruments are at all the right levels. -Stefana Fratila [4] M. Ward Hold Time Merge Only about one in 10 people have really listened to M. Ward. Sure, everyone got up to hear She & Him, but that was mostly due to Zooey Deschanel’s lovely face, not to M. Ward’s piece in ‘the Him.’ So, I’ve always wanted the record which gives M. Ward the recognition he deserves to be an indisputably solid record. Hold Time does prove what M. Ward does very well: production. The songs softly tap your ear drums, all the instruments are gently played, easy to take in. There’s also Lucinda Williams, Zooey Deschanel, and Tom Hagerman (of DeVotchKa) guest performing. But, the songs blend into one another and the album turns into ten tracks of Chinese Translation tempo (which is easy to love, and also easy to ignore). That said, with his tender voice, there will never be an occasion when M. Ward isn’t what you want to hear. Never Had Nobody Like You begins almost exactly like Iggy Pop’s Nightclubbing, but as soon as you figure that out, it becomes less of a maybe-rip-off and more of evidence of an I-do-how-I-please

Royksopp [Junior] Sepultura [A-lex ] Telepathe [Dance Mother] Vetiver [Tight Knit] [5]

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attitude. There will always be time for M. Ward. In fact, M. Ward seems like he will always have time for himself, so, really, things are just getting started. -Stefana Fratila [5] Röyksopp Junior Astralwerks Röyksopp, like Felix Da Housecat, are in a higher class of electronic music performers as they make full-length pop LPs instead of bloggable laptopisms. With their third release, Norway’s top act (sorry Annie) solidify their place in the charts instead of the club, and this is no accident. Using a virtual plethora of tempos, time signatures and pretty much every Scandypop singer available, Junior is easily as good as the duo’s debut Melody A.M. If you’re not familiar with Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge’s music then enjoy this record if you’re a fan of any of their guest vocalists; Erlend Øye (of Kings of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive), the super-human (and sometime Snoop Dogg collaborator) Robyn, this month’s cover artist Lykke Li, and Karin Dreijer who you may know as the chick from The Knife. If you’re not comfortable with me using the word “chick” then replace it with “singer” or “trollup”. -Trevor Risk [6] Sepultura A-lex Steamhammer I get it now, this 11th release by Sepultura (A-lex) is a “re-imagining” of A Clockwork Orange. That would explain the ambient garbage, weakly trying to paint some cinematic portrait of dystopian England, right? It would also explain the song “Ludwig Van” and its half assed attempt to include music that the character Alex is obsessed with in the book, riiiight? Not

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really…. It is very successful at doing what most concept albums do, songs written by whatever band, with some window dressing to loosely connect it to it’s source material. In all fairness, I haven’t picked up a Sepultura album since Roots Bloody Roots, (which was well over a decade ago.) but they sound exactly how I remember them, even with both Cavalera brothers out of the band. Overall they could have ditched the filler on songs like “Sadistic Values,” where Sepultura devolves into a shit attempt at Alice in Chains, including all of Lane Staley’s vocal affectations. They should have just kept all the killer, which there is a bit of. On “Filthy Rot” they bring back their chanting and tribal drumming from the Roots era, and on “The Treatment” where it’s just old school thrash. The whole Clockwork Orange thing though…. Leave that shit for pussy bands like Radiohead. Nice try Sepultura. -Troy Sebastian Alden [7] Telepathe Dance Mother Phantom Sound & Vision Girls in New York can be kind of intimidating. Chances are they have a better job and more money than you and are tougher than you, even if they’re dressed like fashion editorial fantasy girls come to life. A poor boy’s only saving grace is the fact that girls outnumber (straight) dudes something like 10-1; you’re not gonna get any respect, but play your cards right and you might just get a warm bed to crawl into. What does this have to do with Telepathe? Well, listen to the way Melissa Livaudais and Busy Ganghes harmonize the word “motherfucking” on “Chrome’s On It.” It’s crystalline, sweet, and barbed with a tip of

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menace that suggests (as actually stated earlier in the song), “First you gotta know my name / Then you gotta learn my game,” or else fuck off, dude. The rest of the album treads a similar line: soaring, semi-detached harmonies, echoing synth, thudding bass, skittering drums. It’s a weird, beautiful love child conceived in a girl-group/ electro/dirty South/shoegaze orgy. But now I’ve over-sexualized the thing. I guess this is the closest I’m gonna get to writing a love letter to this band. -Chad Richard Buchholz [8] Vetiver Tight Knit Sub Pop What a boring record. When the Seventies easy-listening hippie-crystal-gripping-acoustic-folk-narf revival movement is over, this record will be looked back on like a penny on the road: flat and pretty close to worthless. The upbeat glimmers of hope on Tight Knit are marred with lyrical absurdity and/or extreme lameness. “Everyday” was a quick sniff of morning puke that I will undoubtedly hear again in a commercial for a well marketed, semi-environmentally-friendly car; possibly a Hyundi Benkweller or the Honda Jackjohnson. It would be ridiculous not to mention that there are some great (and I mean great) ideas and fantastic sounds on this record, most often revealed in clever horn arrangements and synth lines that are on first listen subtle additions, but with deeper analysis prove are in fact the weight that carry most of the songs. The weight, but never the focus. Too bad... narf. -Hayz Fisher

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POSTER ART PATENT PENDING

Since 1999, Jeff Kleinsmith and Jesse LeDoux have had their fingers deep in the poster art pudding, and have been gobbling it all up with delicious intensity. These two have a great back-story and here it is in their own words. “We started Patent Pending while working together as art directors at Sub Pop Records. At the time, a lot of the artwork for Sub Pop’s releases were done by the bands. Although we had plenty of ideas, we rarely had the opportunity to use them. There weren’t many people doing rock posters at the time so we had a great outlet to work through our various ideas without having to wait for the right project to come along at Sub Pop. We frequently get compliments on our choice of colour, good type, and a strong central image. We strive for our work to be timeless and classy. On a couple occasions they’ve wound up pointless and assy.” [www.patentpendingindustries.com]

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HOROSCOPES THIS MONTH: Marc Godfrey Marc Godfrey’s lifelong love affair with the written word first started a week ago when his cable was cut off. He is the lead singer for a part-time LA based band called SOULKID #1. They were signed to Dreamworks and enjoyed a string of hits all called “Be Bop A Bounce California” or some such nonsense, before being dropped due to his constant tardiness. Pisces: Flattery is going to finally pay out big dividends. Free meals, free tickets to the hottest shows, even FREE SEX with numerous SEXual partners! However mid-month, Pisces, you may find yourself feeling a bit guilty about manipulating people for your own selfish purposes. When this happens, remember the words of the Great Edwardian Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, ‘Ass, gas or grass - Nobody rides for free’. Taurus: Your winning streak is OVER and you will find yourself on the brink of financial ruin. Think of yourself as the Icelandic stock exchange and think of this month as the month that the Icelandic Stock exchange was decimated by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor... However, it’s not all bad news! You’ll also become gravely ill with an incredibly rare virus. So rare, in fact, that you’ll be able to auction it on eBay, thereby reversing your financial woes. Sagittarius: You’ve been weighed down by technology for TOO long. The best thing to do is free yourself from the Matrix-like shackles that imprison you! It’s time to embrace your inner Luddite. Once you do this you’ll finally achieve the tranquility that was eluding you throughout winter. Then when some techno-slave asks, ‘You working hard or hardly working?,” just stare at him knowingly until he nervously backs away.

Aries: Advancement is DEFINITELY on your horizon! It is, however, important to continue in a forward direction as you have done in the past. If you follow this route I can GUARANTEE that this month you’ll find that you get where you actually INTEND to go! Also, you’ll find that what was once considered ‘sexual’ harassment in your work place will now be accepted as ‘sexy’ harassment! Gemini: Now is the time to make all those rash life decisions that you didn’t have the courage to make before. Don’t think about ANYTHING this month - Just DO it! Consequences be DAMNED. You see a car that you like? Just TAKE it! You can go on the crime spree to end all crime sprees with no ramifications. And don’t worry about the police, those guys couldn’t catch the flu. Virgo: I see romance in the near future and NOT the usual, “I let you drink half my Pilsner tall-can so the LEAST you could do is give me a hand job or something” variety that most girls are used to. Be ready to be swept off your feet by that Prince Charming you’ve been waiting for all your life. Sadly, if you happen to be a male Virgo, your love life is going to continue along as bleak as it was the previous month. Let me put it to you this way, if you fell into a swimming pool full of tits, you’d still come up sucking your own thumb.

Leo: I think everybody remembers the time when Adam Clayton, the singer for iconic Irish popsters U2, first came to the US and was asked if he had “anything to declare?” He slyly quipped, “I’ve nothing to declare but my Genius!” The customs officials were so dazzled by his Celtic wit that they promptly pulled him into a small room and strip-searched him. So LEO, don’t lie to customs when traveling this month! And remember to sew Canadian patches onto all of your shit so that people don’t mistake you for an American. Capricorn: In the past you’ve been described as a Quasimodo-like tribute to human ugliness and a constant source of disappointment to friends and family. Good News! Nothing will happen this month to change these sad facts about you. So at least you’re consistent! Libra: Most Libras find themselves successfully walking upright at an early age (shortly after Toddlerhood) and continuing to do so well into maturity. You’ll continue this dynamic balanced walking streak throughout the month without incident. Scorpio: It’s time to throw caution to the wind and re-imagine yourself! Don’t be scared to use annoying Hollywood buzzwords like “re-imagine”

and if you want to act like a Drama Queen - DO IT! People will just love you more for being yourself! If some sort of award existed for ‘Best Actor’ you would undoubtedly win it this month! Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, no such award exists. Aquarius: We all remember that old-school yard song... “The Dutch, The Dutch, what a funny race, they fight with their feet and fuck with their face.” Well this is just as true now as it was back then. But this month isn’t just about ignorant and obscene poems about the Dutch, it’s also a month of drastic life changes and deep introspection. Your lucky numbers this month are 9, 11, 911 and 69. Cancer: This is the month when you finally realize that you do indeed make a better door than a window. Your roommate (or flatmate in English) has been unsuccessfully pointing out this fact for weeks but you were never quite sure if it was true. You’ll find that it is true! In the very near future, while blocking your roommate’s view of the TV (short for Television) during Corner Gas, you’ll finally become convinced of this undeniable truth that you ARE indeed a better door than window. But don’t get too excited. This doesn’t mean that you should literally start functioning as a door because you’ll find that it’s quite a tedious endeavour (or endeavor in American) and the pay isn’t that great.

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COMICS

DINOSAUR COMICS BY RYAN NORTH

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