S P R I NG / SUM M E R 2019
PRESENTED BY DAVID JONES
the
music issue
FLUME
Future styles and sonic success
SAM MARGIN
Rap collabs, fatherhood and fresh streetwear
PAUL SMITH
Fashion is music is fashion
HERE COMES THE SUN
Party shirts, Summer shades, Board shorts
HARTS superstar in waiting
U N D E N I A B L E C H A R A C T E R HANDCRAFTED BOOTS SINCE 1932
AD E LAI D E - B R I S BAN E - CAN B E R RA - DARWI N - HOBART - M E LBOU R N E - PE RTH - SYD N EY
CONTENTS THE MUSIC ISSUE (No. 6) SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Mr.Jones Sam Margin wears Carhartt Michigan coat, $249.95, Script T-shirt, $59.95, and Sid pants, $189.95. Vans Authentic sneakers, $99.95. On the cover, Darren Hart wears Polo Ralph Lauren jacket, $319. Critical Slide Frenzy boardshorts, $79.99, and T-shirt, $59.99.
E D IT O R I A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Justine Cullen EDITOR Ben Mckelvey MANAGING EDITORS John Agnew Hayley D’Onofrio JUNIOR MANAGING EDITOR Jessie Aylmore SENIOR EDITOR Amanda Bardas CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Huxley ART DIRECTOR Hannah Lidbury PRODUCER Triona Singh SUBEDITOR Vanessa Fazzino EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Paisley Crozier EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES E: davidjoneseditorial@ mediumrarecontent.com
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CONTRIBUTORS Laura Agnew, Gavin Anesbury, Tim Ashton, Travis Balcke, Dannielle Cartisano, Pete Daly, Rachel Eldred, Mat Faint, Noelle Faulkner, Christopher Ferguson, Daniel Goode, Kelvin Harries, Brad Homes, Emma Kalfus, Koh, Jesse Lizotte, Pablo Martin, Amanda McCourt, Lucy Miller, Michael Naumoff, Christine Nelli, Kim Payne, Katerina Tsompanis, Rory Rice, Hannah Warren, Stephen Ward
Sam Margin
A DV E R T I S I N G
The Rubens frontman is relaxed – and also a little rebellious – in casual wear.
HEAD OF SALES Annii Hirst ACCOUNT PARTNER Henry Kalaf
MEDIUM R ARE C O N T E N T AG E N C Y MANAGING DIRECTOR Gerard Reynolds DIRECTOR Sally Wright CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Fiorella Di Santo HEAD OF CONTENT, FASHION & PRESTIGE Justine Cullen DIGITAL DIRECTOR Karla Courtney SOCIAL DIRECTOR Scott Drummond MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Shannon O’Meara FINANCE MANAGER Leslie To
DAV I D J O N E S GENERAL MANAGER, MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Georgia Hack GENERAL MANAGER, MENSWEAR, CHILDRENSWEAR AND HOME Chris Wilson MARKETING MANAGER, MENSWEAR AND CHILDRENSWEAR Andrew Mills MARKETING COORDINATOR, MENSWEAR Jack Lirosi
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17
18
4
Darren Hart
20 Brian Ritchie
38 Sound is colour
70 Grooming
Søren Sand
22 Flume
41
76 Audio file
Know it all
28 Hit the decks
52 Game, set, match
Bring on the big time: the musician runs free in this season’s key pieces.
A chat with the great Dane about how simplicity and quality powers his brand.
Statement socks, summer cocktails, a cartoon collaboration and more.
Mr.Jones / SS.19
Why the Violent Femmes guitarist moved from the Big Apple to the Apple Isle.
Electronica artist Harley Streten, alias Flume, talks success, sound and style.
The best gear for when you’re poolside, seaside or just outside.
Venturing beyond the boundaries of the senses with synaesthesia.
Riot act
The art of dressing down your (work) suit while bumping up the fun.
Style is in your court with these modern and sporty all-weather ensembles.
Scents, shavers and skin savers: how to keep your cool as the mercury rises.
Speakers, headphones and, yes, sunglasses that sound as good as they look.
78 Paul Smith
The iconic designer on the place where fashion and music meet.
magazine is published for (ABN 75000074573) by Medium Rare Content Agency (ABN 83169879921), Suite 58/26-32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont, NSW 2009. © 2019. All rights reserved. Printed by Hannanprint, 8 Priddle St, Warwick Farm, NSW 2170, under ISO14001 Environmental Certification. Arrival dates of items featured in the magazine may vary. Prices correct at the time of publication. Not all brands and styles available at all stores or online. For store availability visit davidjones.com Subject to stock availability. Some items featured are display items only. No responsibility is accepted for unsolicited material. Articles express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of David Jones or Medium Rare Content Agency. For a copy of Medium Rare Content Agency’s Privacy Policy, please visit mediumrarecontent.com
D I O R .C O M
T H E N E W PA R F U M
HIJACK $169.95
LOTUS $169.95
SAMUEL MILLER
THE BEARDED CELEBRANT MELBOURNE
CHOLO
FINE LINE TATTOOS MELBOURNE
E D I TO R’S L ET T E R
Harts performing in Sydney during his Smoke Fire Hope Desire tour.
PS: Join cover star Harts, Sam Margin of The Rubens and Ben Mckelvey at the In Conversation with Mr. Jones event presented by Paul Smith at the David Jones Bourke Street store, Melbourne, on October 17 at 6pm. Register at davidjones.com/events
My first job in publishing was at a music magazine. The pay wasn’t good, the offices were spartan and the company that employed me was consistently teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. But the fringe benefits of getting tickets to almost every concert that came to town and scoring free albums (note to those aged under 25: music used to exist in the physical world and cost money) were, for a guy in his early twenties, worth any downside. The only problem with that job was that I had to write about music, which is to say the only real problem was that I had to review albums. I was brazen enough to suggest to readers that I wasn’t just judging the music they might buy subjectively, but also objectively. Now that thought makes me sick. “This music is bad. Four out of 10.” Can you imagine? Making any blanket judgement about music seems odd to me now. In his book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, neurologist Oliver Sacks says, “Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It has no power to represent anything particular or external, but it has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.”
Who, then, was I to suggest that a piece of music wouldn’t pierce someone’s heart simply because it didn’t pierce mine? This reminds me of a quote: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” The quote is so pithy and true, it’s been attributed to many people over the years, including Elvis Costello, Frank Zappa, little-known comedian Martin Mull and well-known music critic Lester Bangs. Musical taste is like personal style; it’s the answer to a question that you are only asking yourself. In fashion, there is such a thing as excellent craftsmanship and also an undeniable creativity, but your reaction to those things is purely up to you. We think we have an abundance of quality and creative looks in this issue, as well as a number of singularly talented and of-themoment musicians. But the questions of what you should wear and what you should listen to aren’t really for us to say.
Ben Mckelvey, editor
Photography Leila Maulen
C O N T R I B U T O R S What was your all-time favourite gig?
HAYLEY D’ONOFRIO , JONES managing
LAURA AGNEW , JONES features director,
MAT FAINT , the Sydney-based illustrator
“Beyoncé’s The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 2013 in Sydney.”
“LCD Soundsystem at Amsterdam’s churchturned-music-venue Paradiso in 2017.”
“The Flaming Lips at 2009’s Splendour in the Grass.”
editor, who wrote the grooming report on page 70.
who interviewed Sam Margin on page 60.
who plied his trade on page 18.
Throughout the issue, we’ve added this icon alongside products that are Exclusively Yours at David Jones and available at no other department store. SHOP THE MAGAZINE Buy what you see in Mr. Jones at all David Jones department stores or at davidjones.com/edit/mr-jones
davidjones.com
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Ph o t o g ra p hy by
STEPHEN WARD S t yl i n g by
KIM PAYNE
H A RT S ON SLEEVES He may not have crossed over to the mainstream yet, but Darren Hart remains true to his sound and style.
D
C O V E R S T O RY
“HE REMINDS ME OF HOW I WAS AT THAT AGE.” – PRINCE
Wo rd s by
BEN MCKELVEY
D
rums were the first instrument Darren Hart played. He started at school when he was 15 – relatively late in prodigy years – and showed an aptitude almost instantly. When his parents saw how good and engaged he was, says Hart, they were wary. It wasn’t the noise (well, not just the noise), the space and cost or even that music was taking focus away from his studies. Their issue was that they thought the music game was unfair. “My parents were from India and they were really great athletes there. In athletics, if you’re the fastest, you succeed; they didn’t think it was like that with music. They were worried about that,” he says. Hart moved from drums to strings during his last year of school, splitting the cost of his first guitar with his brother. When he started playing guitar and then keyboards shortly after, Hart’s real genius revealed itself. Within a couple of years he was writing not just melodies but also full multiinstrumental songs – many of which ended up on his first EP, Offtime, released under the enduring moniker “Harts”. The EP was critically lauded, with British music journalist Paul Lester saying the tracks were “as good as Prince jamming with Chic”. While the reviews were universally glowing, the music was hard to place in the modern Australian scene.
Hugo Boss trench, $849. JAG jeans, $130. Polo Ralph Lauren belt, $99. Axel Arigato Dunk sneakers, $320. OPPOSITE PAGE JAG T-shirt, $55. Emporio Armani cargo trousers, $920.
Hart was being heard on Triple J, but his DIY funk-rock sound didn’t match anything else being played by the station or even commercial radio. It’s easy to imagine a counterfactual world in which Hart hooked up with Swizz Beatz or Calvin Harris and became a monster commercial hit-maker, but that wasn’t what Darren Hart was all about. “There’s real skill in pop music. But the problem with pop is that when there’s a formula that works, it gets exploited and it gets boring,” he says. “The real ones, the great ones, transcend that with their own voice and style. Stevie Wonder transcended what a pop artist is, as did Little Richard and Prince. I’ve always aspired to follow in their footsteps.” After the EP, Hart parted ways with Island Records and Universal Music Australia to forge an independent path. He released a single on Facebook called Leavn It All Behind, a raw piece of brilliance that wouldn’t sound out of place on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories record. There was also a live video of Hart playing the song, including every instrument – simultaneously – in a rehearsal room. Again, the track was praised by the music press, especially in the UK, but that didn’t translate into commercial interest or a career path. “My dad thought music was a game of luck davidjones.com
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“THE GREAT POP ARTISTS TRANSCEND WITH THEIR OWN VOICE AND STYLE.”
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Mr.Jones / SS.19
C O V E R S T O RY
Academy Brand Hampton shirt, $79.95. AllSaints Cleaver pants, $179.95. New Balance 574 sneakers, $130. OPPOSITE PAGE Ben Sherman shirt, $89.95. Country Road chinos, $99.95. Common Projects Original Achilles sneakers, $490.
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and I did start to wonder if he was right,” says Hart, who began considering a very early retirement. He was only 22 years old, but his whole young life had been dedicated to music and he questioned whether his style and sound would ever be understood and accepted. Then an email – half written alphabetically, half in hieroglyphics – arrived from a person alleging to be Prince. Yes, that Prince. A phone call from someone claiming to be with Prince’s management followed. Then Prince himself called and it was only when Hart heard the unmistakable deep voice that he believed all the correspondence was from the legendary musician. He had seen the rehearsal-room video for Leavn It All Behind and listened to some of Hart’s other material. Prince loved the music and invited Hart to visit Paisley Park, his Minnesota recording studio in the US. Prince was nothing less than you’d expect, says Hart: brilliant, unique, indefatigable, inscrutable. Although Prince never asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement, nor requested privacy, Hart doesn’t wantonly share details about the private life of a very private artist. But he will share what he was taught in the studio. “He helped me realise what the end goal was,” says Hart. “I had already met my idol and he loved my music; that usually happens at the end, but it happened at the beginning. I was wondering why I do it and... I figured it’s about the work. It’s the amount of fun you have performing or writing.” After his time at Paisley Park, Hart returned to Australia and released Daydreamer, another critical success, which he followed up with his latest album Queens, Kings & All Big Things. After Daydreamer, Hart pondered the possibility of working again with Prince, or at least catching a Prince show, something he’d never previously done. Those opportunities died with Prince, who passed away at Paisley Park in 2016. “It feels quite weird having played with Prince but never having seem him perform live,” says Hart. Another legendary musical name has since become associated with Hart, however. Jimi Hendrix’s nephew, Austin Hendrix saw Hart play in New York and has since become a champion of the Melbourne-based musician, even helping Hart and the Hendrix Estate come together so Hart can reinterpret some of Hendrix’s music. “Harts is the real deal,” says Hendrix. “He has all the tools to lead a new generation that our world has never seen.” 12
Mr.Jones / SS.19
C O V E R S T O RY
Polo Ralph Lauren Oxford shirt, $159. Levi’s 516 jeans, $99.95. Ben Sherman tie, $49.95. Polo Ralph Lauren belt, $99. OPPOSITE PAGE Emporio Armani jacket, $1650, pants, $1000, and shirt, $720. Common Projects Original Achilles sneakers, $490.
“I KNOW THE MUSIC-MAKING IS HONEST AND IT’S ME.”
C O V E R S T O RY
Grooming Rory Rice at Lion Artist Management
G-Star jacket, $500. Carrera sunglasses, $320. OPPOSITE PAGE Saba Smithson shirt, $169, and Parkville jeans, $149.
davidjones.com
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I N T E RV I E W
Denmark of quality Søren Sand, co-founder and CEO of clothing label Sand Copenhagen, speaks with Mr. Jones about fabric, music and that Scandinavian style.
W
here did it all start, this love of fashion and design? I think it has a lot to do with the way I grew up, surrounded by Danish architecture and design in a place where, culturally, everything needed to be well executed. I grew up in a small town called Randers, where my father worked as an engineer and a professor, streamlining the production of railroads. At a very young age, I found I wasn’t interested in railroads but in clothes; I was dyeing my own T-shirts at 15. After high school I completed an economics degree and then, in 1981, we decided to start our own womenswear brand.
Photography Asger Mortensen Still-life photography Sevak Babakhani
Who’s “we”? Lene, my wife, my soulmate and the creative director of Sand. We met when we were in high school and built a relationship around our creative interests: architecture, furniture design and fashion. We liked everything that was beautiful but I think, above all, we had a passion for fabrics – rich Italian fabrics – and that’s what took us to our first collection. Some years later, when we started the men’s line, it was obvious I should take a bigger part in creating the collection. What spurred you on to start creating menswear? I couldn’t find any garment styles out there that suited my personal taste and I thought there had to be others who had the same challenge. I was wearing Armani and thought he was really cool, but we wanted to create a Scandinavian version of a designer collection – something that wasn’t in the market, using only natural materials like wool, silk, cotton, linen and leather. We were searching for the perfect product and if you’re going to create something beautiful, you need to start with beautiful fabric. I would define our collection as a combination of Danish design and quality Italian tailoring.
Søren Sand with his wife and business partner, Lene.
It seems you still have a great respect for the history of Italian menswear textiles. Along with my wife, it’s the skilled Italian people who work at textile factories, weaving mills and the like who inspire me most in my work. Today, our design studio is located by Lake Como in Italy, where knowledge of and respect for craftsmanship is unparalleled. You haven’t been seduced by the possibility of moving production facilities to a cheaper emerging market? Some brands outsource their production to countries with significantly cheaper labour, but I don’t see us doing that. It’s very important to keep the craftsmanship and knowledge that is passed on from generation to generation alive. I think it’s advantageous for the fashion industry as a whole and for our brand specifically. It means our garments are attached to a history and standards of excellence that I’m yet to see elsewhere. This issue of Mr. Jones has a music theme. Has music woven itself into the fabric of your work? Of course. A lot of musicians wear our brand – Aloe Blacc, The Killers, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran – but music also inspires me personally. When I’m designing, I’m always listening to music like David Bowie, The Doors and Queen. David Bowie inspired me so much for our spring collection that when we cast the model we chose for the campaign, we styled him exactly like Bowie. Any last words for the people who wear your clothes? Love it. Use it. Pass it on.
Sand polo shirt, $159, and chinos, $229.
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DRINKS
HOW-TO
Quick fixes Want a 10-second style update? Here’s what to wear when the heat is on.
It’s five o’clock somewhere
1.
Was your last getaway too long ago? These easy-to-mix cocktails are almost as good as the real thing.
Swap a button-up for a fresh cotton tee. It’s just as polished.
E S C A P E TO F LO R E NC E
Blend one part Campari, one part Regal Rogue Bold Red Vermouth and two parts Chrismont La Zona prosecco, then pour into a tumbler over ice and stir lightly. Garnish with dried blood orange.
2.
Too hot for jeans but too casual for slacks? Linen trousers are breathable and look smarter than shorts.
E S C A P E TO TO K YO
In a highball glass, pour two fingers of Mars Maltage Cosmo Blended Malt Japanese Whisky over ice, then slowly add soda water and stir gently to combine. Mars Whisky Mars Maltage Cosmo Blended Malt Japanese Whisky, $160. Riedel glass, $49.95 for set of two.
3.
E S C A P E TO T H E YA R R A VA L L EY
In a short tumbler, pour three fingers of Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin over a single giant ice cube and garnish with a slice of lime.
Even the most conservative office dress codes allow for socks with a playful print.
Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin, $94.95. Luigi Bormioli glass, $59.95 for set of six.
P R I N T S T H AT S H O U T “ S U M M E R ! ”
Three pieces so souped up with season-appropriate patterns, you can’t help but get happy.
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N O V E LT Y
B O TA N I C A L
CLASSIC
Make your ankles the star of the show, letting a pair of fun socks peek out or go on full display.
The bottom half of your summer uniform, these shorts look good in and out of the water.
Say aloha to warmer weather and your new party shirt, in all its gaudy glory.
Happy Socks Ice Cream socks, $19.95.
Tom & Teddy Palms swim shorts, $89.95.
Critical Slide Utopia shirt, $79.99.
Mr.Jones / SS.19
It is against the law to sell or supply alcohol to, or to obtain on behalf of, a person under the age of 18 years. Still-life photography Pablo Martin Illustration Mat Faint Photography Getty Images
Campari liqueur, $42.95. Regal Rogue Bold Red Vermouth, $39.95. Chrismont La Zona Prosecco, $22.95. Country Road glass, $12.95 each.
K N OW I T A L L
STYLE
Cartoon network Iconic Australian characters make their fashion debut.
The James Harper x Michael Leunig collaboration is out now at David Jones (shirts, $99.95 each, tie and bow tie, $54.95 each, pocket squares, $29.95 each).
O N E S U I T, T H R E E WAY S
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Need resounding proof that you can (and should) love cartoons at every age? This new collaboration between James Harper and Australian artist Michael Leunig is it. The Collingwood-born fashion label – which, since launching in 2012, has evolved its range from accessories to shirts – has given familiar characters such as The Duck and Mr Curly their moment in the sartorial spotlight across shirts, ties and pocket squares. The best part? The bold, quirky and colourful designs are subtle enough to wear in the workplace or at the weekend.
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For the wisest suiting investment, think versatile. This one ticks all the occasion-dressing boxes. THE NEW OFFICE Creative workplaces welcome spins on the stockstandard employee uniform, so swap out your button-up shirt for a slick navy polo and box-fresh sneakers.
T H E R AC E S For an afternoon spent trackside, skip the dark suit and instead pair this grey one with a pale blue shirt and brown derby shoes. Finish the look with a cool knitted tie.
Country Road polo shirt, $59.95. Veja V-10 sneakers, $195.
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T H E BA R Dressed down with a white cotton T-shirt and sneakers, this everyday combo will become your new fail-safe. It looks equal parts polished and relaxed (but requires minimal effort). For an even more wearable finish, swap the pants for dark denim jeans.
Tommy Hilfiger oxford shirt, $119. Altea knit tie, $129. Ted Baker Tifir derbys, $289.
Calvin Klein suit jacket, $429, and suit pants, $270.
davidjones.com
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I N T E RV I E W
BRIAN RITCHIE
Violent delights, Tasmanian ends The Violent Femmes’ Brian Ritchie was once a cornerstone of the American punk scene. Now he lives in Hobart, working with a millionaire gambler, curating one of Australia’s most interesting music festivals. Mr. Jones finds out how that happened.
H
ow does an American punk end up in Tasmania? I first went to Hobart in 1992 as part of the Violent Femmes. We played at the City Hall and the audience was just so ecstatic that we were even there. Back then no-one would have thought to go to Hobart [to perform].
When you moved, did you conceive of the unique kind of work you’ve ended up doing in Hobart? I didn’t want to work at all in Hobart. I wanted to play around the world with the Violent Femmes and then retreat to my sanctuary. But along the way I met David Walsh [professional gambler and multimillionaire owner of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art] and he had very different ideas in mind, for me and for Tasmania. When did you meet David? We met at a restaurant in 2009. He was different then; he wasn’t comfortable around artists and I think he was more nervous to meet me than I was to meet him. He wanted to have music at this museum he was building and to hold some sort of festival built around the music – perhaps an art festival. Because I was in the music business, he thought I could do something like that for him and we met on that basis. Originally, I wasn’t that interested. As an artist, that’s not my job. My job is to get up and play. I didn’t know anything about the other part and didn’t have any confidence in being able to do it. How were you convinced? David can be quite persuasive. I think we just really hit it off. The first Mona Foma happened three months later.
Where is the middle ground where you and David met? We were both blue-collar people. We’re the same age, basically, and we grew up in dreary towns. Milwaukee and Hobart were culturally dreary, in the ’70s anyway. He told me he took intellectual refuge at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and at the free concerts held by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra – organisations we’ve now been able to work with – and I felt a familiarity. And what was your intellectual refuge? When I was 16 or 17, punk rock happened and all of a sudden there were hundreds of bands and clubs in Milwaukee. It quickly became a really lively scene. The Femmes started doing shows and I was away. You’ve been doing Mona Foma for 10 years, so your curatorial process must be quite refined now. Can you explain it to us? I always see it from the perspective of the punter... We create for the ideal audience, which is often ahead of the real audience, but you have to be confident that they’ll catch up. For Mona Foma, I try to have one-third Tasmanian artists, one-third mainland Australian artists and the rest international. As well as Mona Foma, you also organise the 100 to 200 gigs that happen at the museum each year. It sounds like a lot of work for someone who didn’t want to work in Tasmania at all. Well, we’re one of the biggest employers of musicians in the state and it’s a pleasure to do something that’s good for musicians and listeners. When I was a teenager growing up in Milwaukee, I remember being in my bedroom, staring at the ceiling, waiting for life to happen to me. And now that it is, I never take it for granted.
Mona Foma returns to Launceston January 17-19, 2020. For more information, including line-up and tickets, visit mofo.net.au
O N P UN K I N 2019: I’m not sure punk has the same cutting-edge status it had back then. Saying whatever you want and that yearning for DIY viability; those ideas have kind of come to fruition now. People have more freedom.
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Mr.Jones / SS.19
O N P L AY I NG T H E H I T S: We started playing Blister in the Sun and the entire audience jumped to its feet and sang along. It was like blowing the horn for a horserace to start. It’s a good feeling – why not indulge in that?
ON DAVID WALSH: He’s gracefully assumed the mantle of poet-philosopher for the state. He’s also become more civic-minded, and one of the pleasures of living here has been seeing him evolve as a human being.
O N JA PA N E S E F LU T E T H E S H A KU H AC H I : I play it for meditation and for music. It’s frustrating because it’s so hard to play. But I love to make the mistakes and realise I’m not that great; that’s the meditation.
Interview Ben Mckelvey Photography Getty Images
Surely, more than gratitude drew you to live there. My wife [entomologist Dr Varuni Kulasekera] was sent to Tasmania by the American Museum of Natural History and I was like, “I’ve been there. I’ll come along.” We went looking for insects in the bush and it was an eye-opener to the natural beauty of the place. We came back to the US saying, “Let’s move to Tasmania.” And eventually we did.
Polo Ralph Lauren Now’s the time to give sorbet hues a try. Ease your way in with a tee, before committing to a head-to-toe look. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Polo Ralph Lauren polo, $159, chino shorts, $139 each, linen shirt, $189, Hanford sneakers, $159, and T-shirt, $69.
HIT REFRESH Shake off the working week and master the art of casual dressing in pastel separates.
davidjones.com
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THIS IS
HARLEY
FL UM E. THIS IS
This profile is not a profile; it’s a mixtape.
Ph o t o g ra p hy by
JESSE LIZOTTE S t yl i n g by
DANNIELLE CARTISANO
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Mr.Jones / SS.19
F E AT U R E
Bassike T-shirt, $140.
“I’M A BIT SICK OF THAT BIG ALBUM THING. I MEAN, CAN’T WE JUST HAVE SOME FUN?”
HARLEY STRETEN AKA FLUME
“HI THIS IS FLUME IS SET UP TO SELFCONSCIOUSLY DISMANTLE THE VIEW OF STRETEN AS MAKING MUSIC OPTIMISED FOR THE ALGORITHM.” PITCHFORK REVIEWING FLUME’S LATEST RECORD
H Wo rd s by
BEN MCKELVEY
“WHAT’S THIS S**T? IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CUTLERY DRAWER BEING DROPPED ON THE FLOOR.” THE REACTION OF WRITER’S FRIEND, TOM, TO THAT SAME RECORD
arley Edward Streten was born on Sydney’s North Shore to a filmmaker/music producer and a teacher. He went to a public school, where he learnt to play saxophone, and at home his dad listened to Van Morrison and Santana. Streten liked those records, but perhaps not as much as the trance music his next-door neighbour used to play. One of Australia’s most popular electronic dance music (EDM) artists ever, Flume – as Streten is known professionally – has won 11 ARIA Awards and, in 2017, a Grammy Award. He’s played live shows all over the world and demand for his presence is only growing, especially in the US, the world’s most lucrative EDM market. These days, Streten lives in Los Angeles with a dog called Percy, rides an electric scooter and hangs out with a tight-knit group of friends, mostly transplants. Streten is a human being, while Flume (who works in a studio under Streten’s house) is a business – one with assets worth millions of dollars and an earning potential that record labels, agents and bookers will be relying on for years to come.
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Saturdays NYC Canty Decade shirt, $260.
ON VULNERABILITY: “I WAS WATCHING AN INTERVIEW WITH THOM YORKE [FROM RADIOHEAD] THE OTHER DAY AND HE WAS SAYING HE GOT VULNERABLE WHEN THE PROJECT STARTED WORKING. WHEN HE WAS LYRICALLY VULNERABLE, THAT’S WHEN THINGS GOT REALLY INTERESTING. I’M THINKING ABOUT THAT MORE AND MORE.”
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“THE DNA OF THE MIXTAPE WAS COMING BACK TO WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING – PRODUCING AND EXPRESSING IDEAS. IT’S A WAY TO CENTRE IT ALL. IT’S MORE ME THAN ANYTHING.” His latest album, Hi This Is Flume, isn’t really an album; it’s a mixtape. The difference, he says, is that there’s a remix on the mixtape, he has collaborated on it with other producers and it flows in a certain way – all things Streten readily admits don’t exactly disqualify it from being an album. Perhaps the key distinction isn’t what the mixtape does have, but what it doesn’t. It lacks, for example, a track with catchy vocals by a famous female singer, laid down over a club-friendly beat. Nothing on it could serve as a radio single or be used in an ad for the latest $100,000 family-sized SUV. “So much of what I’ve done has been put down to one or two huge radio hits. The mixtape gives me an opportunity to show I’m much more than that,” says Streten. “Hopefully, it shows what I can do, like have some real fun with music and not be so serious all the time.” The mixtape starts with Flume clearing his throat and saying, “Hi, this is Flume and you’re listening to my new single. Tap the artwork…” He then folds back on himself, repeating “Hi, this is Flume” over and over again, from the left channel to the right, front to back. There’s more throat-clearing and more “tap the artwork”. More and more folding and distorting, then laughter rises and with it a synth. Flume disappears and the hissing snare arrives, followed by a growling bass drum before the party starts. The synths are unusual; the drums are rough and angry. There’s syncopation throughout, deconstructing beats, so it sometimes takes effort to reconstitute them in your mind. The bottom auditory range of comfortability is investigated and also the very top. It’s my favourite Flume record. Nothing on the mixtape sounds like anything else, including Skin – Flume’s huge breakout second album, released in Australia in 2016 with the single Never Be Like You, which went on to top the Triple J Hottest 100 that year. Streten arrives at California’s beachside suburb of Santa Monica, wearing white linen pants, a cotton T-shirt, Birkenstocks and bed hair. After being shown the fashion assembled for him, he quickly conducts a style triage, mentally dividing garments into three piles: clothes he really wants to wear, clothes he can probably be convinced to wear and clothes that will stay on the rack. Asked if he enjoys photo shoots, Streten replies: “I used to hate it, but now I kind of like it.” It takes a while for anyone to warm up in front of a camera lens and Streten is no different. To help things along, photographer Jesse Lizotte gets his subject talking – specifically, about the music career of Jesse’s father, Mark Lizotte, better known on the Aussie charts as Diesel or Johnny Diesel. Streten not only warms up but also starts to show curatorial skill, something every successful music producer has. Although the magazine has hired a hairstylist, he insists on styling his own hair using his own product.
Z Zegna jacket, $1975, and pants, $775. Double Rainbouu Palmz shirt, $195.
FLUME’S UNIQUE SPOTIFY LISTENERS PER MONTH (TOP FIVE CITIES)
LOS ANGELES 214,937 SYDNEY 189,552 CHICAGO 167,287 BRISBANE 164,934 LONDON 161,391 SOURCE: SPOTIFY
“I DON’T LIKE DOING INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK LIVE AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I DO VALUE MY PRIVACY. I’D LIKE TO CONNECT AND PUT MYSELF OUT [THERE] MORE.”
When it comes to make-up, Streten correctly asserts that sunscreen is all he needs on his face. Later in the day, he starts suggesting shots and at the end of the day, he dons a robe brought for him to wear between photos, lies down on a patch of grass and flowers and says, “Shoot this. This will look good.” They do. It does. Hi This Is Flume was released with a 42-minute movie using the mixtape’s music as a score. Streten floats in and out of the visualiser. There are no lingering shots freezing his mood; his humanity is always in motion. Created by Streten and Australian artist Jonathan Zawada, it’s at once beautiful and jarring, gauche and technicolour, grimy and dark. In social media parlance, it’s everything. Streten used to use Instagram the way most of us do. Even as recently as last year, he posted pictures of himself in front of landmarks and next to famous people, often with a forced smile on his face. Then it all started to feel like a chore, he says; like something he had to do lest a publicist or manager chided him. In short, Instagram made him anxious. “I know a lot of musicians have a funny relationship with social media,” says Streten. “I used to think I had to put some dumb selfie up every second day with the hashtag ‘chillin’ or something. “I’m going to do more, but on my terms. I’m trying to do fun videos. I met a friend over here, a Kiwi who does film work – ads, short films and stuff. We’ve been making these dumb little skits with weird edits. I think that’s going to be my social media. It’ll be a TV series of weirdness: fun, engaging, wacky and, in a weird way, personal.” Streten discovered Beirut’s 1970s funk music scene while producing Hi This Is Flume. “I fell deep into a Habibi Funk [the record label reissuing the music] hole recently and it was super inspiring. They can really shred on synths and had some crazy keyboard solos… kindred spirits from thousands of miles and decades away.” As for lyrics, he doesn’t really write them. He once did a session with Nick Murphy (aka Chet Faker) where they decided not to write about women or relationships.
A 10-STEP GUIDE TO MAKING ELECTRONIC MUSIC BY HARLEY STRETEN
1
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Buy a computer and a sequencing program. Start making music.
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Have even greater success.
2
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7
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Get paid to DJ and, with that money, buy synthesisers and drum machines.
Get access to more equipment. Have critics and label reps deconstruct your music and musical choices.
3
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8
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Make music with the limited equipment you have.
On a stack of blank cards, jot down limitations, like “write a song in 15 minutes” or “write a song at 85bpm”.
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9
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Have a success, then buy more equipment.
Shuffle the cards and pick two for the next recording session.
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Start to feel overwhelmed by choice when you go into the studio to record.
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Start writing, reinspired by your limitations.
They ended up with nonsense, he says, though it worked well with the melody and music. That collaborative session resulted in the track This Song Is Not About a Girl. Ever since, Streten has been thinking about writing his own lyrics but recognises that, unless he uses nonsense phrases and ‘word paint’, as he did with Murphy, he will likely have to change his process and his attitude to his relationship between art and life. “There’s usually no narrative in my music so I’m in a strange place, I guess. I know what works, but… a lot of my best work has come from collaborations – but it is a little less me,” he says. “The mixtape was just about the weird, nerdy productions and details and I needed to do this to make sure I still could. I guess it’s made me really confident for the future. We’ll see what happens next.” 26
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A HISTORY OF REDDIT USER U/HUMBLEBUZZ (STRETEN’S USERNAME SINCE 2010)
2010
A POST ON R/WEARETHEMUSICMAKERS, AN ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCERS LOOKING FOR TIPS, SOFTWARE AND BEATS.
“A NEW MUSICAL PROJECT OF MINE – GIVE IT A LISTEN. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!” There’s a Myspace link. No comments or upvotes.
2011
A COMMENT ON A POST ON R/WEARETHEMUSICMAKERS LOOKING FOR MEMBERS SIGNED TO A RECORD LABEL AND ASKING HOW IT HAPPENED.
“I WAS DISCOVERED WHEN THE LABEL ‘FUTURE CLASSIC’ RAN A COMPETITION FOR THE BEST ORIGINAL TRACK. ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO, I SIGNED UP WITH THEM ON AN ARTIST DEAL. SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN CALLED BY DUDES SUCH AS UNIVERSAL MUSIC.” No comments, no likes.
Critical Slide Day in the Sun T-shirt, $49.99.
2019
REPLYING TO AN AMA QUESTION POSTED ON R/FLUME ABOUT WHY HE HASN’T PRODUCED MUSIC IN A WHILE
“I WAS WORKING SO HARD AND STARTED TO HATE MUSIC/TOURING. SIX YEARS OF PUTTING WORK BEFORE MY HAPPINESS. I NEEDED TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE FOR A BIT.” 477 upvotes
2011
A COMMENT ON R/FUTUREBEATS, A COMMUNITY WHO APPRECIATE EXPERIMENTAL EDM.
“MY EP CAME OUT THE OTHER DAY. I THINK YOU GUYS MIGHT ENJOY IT :)” There’s a link to a Beatport page, six upvotes and two comments, including this one: “Awesome stuff, dude.”
2014
A COMMENT ON R/FUTUREBEATS IN WHICH A MEMBER ASKS:
“WHY IS IT THAT FLUME GOT HUGE? WHAT SEPARATES HIM FROM ALL THE ARTISTS WHO MAKE SIMILAR MUSIC TO HIM?” “Hey dudes, Flume here... One half is the music, the other half is the team backing you, timing, marketability and a little bit of luck.” 54 upvotes and six replies, including this one: “You’re definitely an inspiration, man.”
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F E AT U R E
“I BASICALLY LEARNT TO MAKE MUSIC THROUGH YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND REDDIT.”
THE LOOK
RIVIERA LIFE
T A E R G E P A C S E Elevate your weekend wardrobe with breezy linens, nostalgic prints and seaside-ready separates.
WHITE-OUT
Academy Brand Try a pair of white linen shorts as an equally versatile alternative to denim. Wear them with everything from printed button-downs to polo shirts. Academy Brand Noll shirt, $79.95, Riviera shorts, $79.95, and sneakers, $59.95.
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SHORT STORY
Tommy Bahama Good news? Boat shoes are back. Better news? You don’t need an 80-foot yacht to get away with wearing them. FROM LEFT Tommy Bahama Florence Flora shirt, $178, and The Good Life shorts, $128. Tommy Bahama Sea Glass Breezer shirt, $128, and Baja Forte De Marimi Seas swim shorts, $145. Country Road Flynn boat shoes, $149.
ROLL ’EM UP
Ben Sherman On sweltering summer days, roll up your cuffs twice, then fold back down for a perfectly undone sleeve. Ben Sherman shirt, $99.95, and shorts, $89.95.
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THE GOOD LIFE
Scotch & Soda Your lazy-day uniform? An untucked shirt and shorts (with a print on top or bottom), finished off with a straw hat and loosely laced sneakers. FROM LEFT Scotch & Soda shirt, $149.95, shorts, $129.95, hat, $99.95, and Garant 1A sneakers, $199.95. Scotch & Soda shirt, $189.95, and shorts, $189.95.
CASUAL COOL Hugo Boss
An overshirt might feel like you’re channelling Chandler from Friends, but it’s actually the easiest way to give your outfit a beach-to-bar finish. Hugo Boss Rash shirt, $159, and Teecher T-shirt, $99.
PASTEL PALETTE
Country Road Washed-out prints evoke the feeling of a nostalgic summer. Give them a modern update with navy- or bone-coloured separates. FROM TOP Country Road printed shirt, $99.95, and linen shorts, $99.95. Country Road linen shirt, $119, and swim shorts, $79.95.
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GOLDEN HOUR
POLITIX
As the sun starts to set, a tucked-in printed shirt creates the perfect vibe for a cheeky drink. For a more formal occasion, add a belt and long pants. FROM TOP POLITIX Cranes shirt, $129, Neville shorts (sold with belt), $119, and Toneri sneakers, $149. POLITIX Tropical shirt, $149, and Winsor chinos (sold with belt), $149.
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MIX IT UP
J.Crew
It’s prime time to build out your shorts collection if you plan on surviving the summer heat. Have a mix of colours, such as beige and navy, and a selection of lengths on rotation. FROM LEFT J.Crew shirt, $119.95, and shorts, $109.95. J.Crew shirt, $139.95, and shorts, $109.95.
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PERFECT MATCH
Calvin Klein
Who wears short shorts? You do. Block-coloured swim shorts are creeping up and they’re best worn with a low-key tee. Calvin Klein T-shirt, $59.95, and Intense Power swim shorts, $79.95.
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OUT OF OFFICE With an endless summer on the horizon, no wardrobe is complete without patterned swim shorts.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Boardies Echo Marble and Palm swim shorts, $89.95 each. Tom & Teddy Parrot and Palms swim shorts, $99.95 each. Tommy Hilfiger swim shorts, $119. Scotch & Soda Preppy swim shorts, $129.95, and Classic and Bright swim shorts, $109.95 each.
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DAN CIN O G T DA N C I NG TO ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE
S
Tuesday is yellow, musical notes are a rainbow and blue has a vivid taste. Noelle Faulkner looks into why perception is subjective for a synaesthete.
itting in a room is Kanye West, Vladimir Nabokov, Billy Joel, Lorde, Marilyn Monroe, Dev Hynes, David Hockney, Pharrell Williams, Geoffrey Rush, Vincent van Gogh, Stevie Wonder and Billie Eilish. You’re told they are linked by a common trait. What would it be? It’s not talent. It’s not creativity. And it cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor heard, read or felt. This group of people, both late and living, belong to a natural-born club who experience a phenomenon in which two or more senses are linked in the brain. This neurophysical sensation is known as synaesthesia, a word that itself combines the Greek term syn, meaning “together”, and aisthesis, meaning “of the senses”. If you know anything about synaesthesia, it’s usually the seemingly supernatural capability that some musicians, such as Pharrell and Lorde, have to “see” a melody or rhythm in their mind – sometimes as an object or a mass of colour – and how that can often help them write new music. Daniel Johns, former lead singer of Silverchair and now one half of the band Dreams, told Andrew Denton on TV program Interview that he suspects he has synaesthesia and explained how it informs his writing process. “I’m not a musician, I don’t consider myself a musician,” said Johns in 2018. “I don’t think
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about music like it’s music; I think about it like it’s a piece of art… The way sound in my head works is visual. I hear something and then will add something else to make it feel or look warmer or colder… I know what I’m trying to paint with the sound.” Music as visions is just one way synaesthesia can manifest itself. More people, like actor Geoffrey Rush, associate days of the week and numbers with a single hue. Others can taste names, smell personalities or frequencies, or feel a similar sensation experienced by someone else in the same part of the body (known as mirror-touch synaesthesia). Many synaesthetes aren’t aware of this cross-pollination of their senses. From their writings and conversations, it’s long been suspected that inventor Nikola Tesla, painter Wassily Kandinsky, guitar-virtuoso Jimi Hendrix, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and architect Frank Lloyd Wright experienced the phenomenon, but they were never diagnosed. “Synaesthesia is an umbrella term,” explains Professor Anina Rich, a cognitive scientist who heads up the Synaesthesia Research Group at Sydney’s Macquarie University and a leading researcher on the subject. “My favourite description of it is: an ordinary event that triggers an extraordinary experience.”
More than 50 variations have been documented and only by an estimated four per cent of the world’s population; the number is hard to gauge because synaesthesia feels so natural, people don’t recognise it in themselves. However, thanks to many of those aforementioned celebrities talking about their own experiences – in interviews, TED Talks, podcasts and other pop-culture information highways – there has been a rise in awareness of late, leading more synaesthetes to open up, ask questions and seek answers. According to Rich, the most common type is grapheme-colour synaesthesia, when numbers, words and letters all have a vivid colour attached to them. “In this case, it’s as much a part of the letter ‘A’ being, say, red as it is the capital letter being made up of three lines to create its shape,” she says. What causes it? Well, that’s still unknown. What we do know is that it’s just as difficult for a synaesthete to understand and imagine what it’s like to live without synaesthesia as it is for those of us who don’t have it to know what it’s like to live with synaesthesia. “I had no idea until I said something to friends about what I was experiencing and they thought I was a weirdo!” says Morgan Bain, a Perth-born musician living in Melbourne. Bain’s grandmother, an opera singer, is also a synaesthete, so he’d always assumed it was “normal”. “I’ve always been able to talk to her about not only the sound of a melody but also the shape and colour it might be,” he says, noting that his grandmother’s experience is more linear than his own. “I think she’s more methodical with her synaesthesia in her music because she was classically trained, whereas I wasn’t.” His grandmother’s variation is common among musicians who experience chromesthesia or soundto-colour synaesthesia. Some may use it as a learning tool for perfect pitch (green is a minor third, blue the fifth and so on), while others might use it in composition, as if it is the brush and palette that paints a masterpiece with each note. Bain explains his experience of synaesthesia as more emotionally driven. “I’ve been in conversations with other synaesthetes who are like, ‘Wednesdays are pink’, but mine has never been like that,” he says. “It’s not just the notes of music but the tension and release in music, too. It’s not like a minor chord is sad or that kind of thing. Instead, the whole song will make me feel something and then that will be a colour... and it will stay that colour forever.” He also uses an example of nostalgia; whenever Bain hears a song that reminds him of his childhood, he will see a severe red. He is also affected by people’s voices and daily noises – the clattering of cutlery in a restaurant, for instance, is “a very harsh, bright-white light like a stove lighter”. The phenomenon has led him to produce his own music. “When other people do it, it’s so hard. They can’t see the image I see.” Bain’s compositions aren’t based on his preference for certain colours. It’s more about the fact that he likes how the music’s colours make him feel. “Explaining it kind of makes me feel a bit more insane than experiencing it,” he laughs.
Sweden-based Australian musician Hannah Karydas, known as Eves Karydas, has a different way of making music. A grapheme-colour and chromesthesia synaesthete, she says she’s learnt to let go as she’s matured as a songwriter. “When I was younger, I let it dictate what I was doing and certain colour palettes had to always go together – but it put me in a box, creatively,” she admits. “So, it’s something I’ve stopped focusing on.” This has helped Karydas arrive at a point where she’s writing the best songs she’s ever written, she says. “I’m finding it refreshing because, for the first time in my life, I’m just focusing on what’s going on with me that day rather than fitting with what I want some invisible landscape in my head to look like.” It still helps her in daily life, though. “It is a useful tool with certain things,” she says. “Like remembering streets when I travel a lot. You know, ‘Oh, between the brown and green streets.’ Even here in Sweden, it helps me with different names. Like, I met someone called Olle and someone called Ulla and they sort of sound the same. So I was like, ‘Okay, one’s white and one’s a caramel colour.’” She pauses. “A lot of the time, I remember the colour but forget the actual name... so it only works sometimes,” she laughs. In the field of cognitive science, a couple of theories have been considered and are still under research. “There are two major camps of theory on synaesthesia,” says Rich. One is that synaesthetes have different brains or “a categorical distinction”. She explains, “It might not be something you can see, because we know there’s no major difference at a macro level. But subtly, they might have extra connections that the rest of us don’t have – that sort of idea.” The other camp, and this is where Rich sits, is that synaesthesia is dimensional, presiding at the extreme end of experience. “So, there is a particular dimension of maybe how much I see things in my mind’s eye, perhaps, and synaesthetes are at the extreme,” she explains. “Non-synaesthetes are still on the same continuum and so you can have varying degrees of synaesthesia. You can have varying degrees of the extent to which you visualise stuff – some people are really good at imagining things. Perhaps synaesthesia is like involuntary imagery; we don’t know yet. “The fact is, I have no way of knowing whether what you perceive is the same as what I perceive,” adds Rich. “We can look at a red card and conclude that, unless one of us is colourblind, we both see the same colour.” Like nailing jelly to a wall, perception science is a minefield of unknowns, a deep-sea valley of information waiting to reveal its true depth. Synaesthesia excites scientists because of its complexity; philosophers because it’s two qualia intertwined simultaneously; and creatives because it shows that the mind’s eye can wander. For those who experience the phenomenon, well, it’s just another day in the life of hearing a song that tastes like pineapple, walking along a street that is blue or patting a cat that is black but also gold.
Photography Getty Images
“Other synaesthetes are like, ‘Wednesdays are pink’, but mine has never been like that. Instead, the whole song will make me feel something and then that will be a colour...”
WIRED FOR SOUND
“I hear a note by one of the fellows in the band and it’s one colour. I hear the same note played by someone else and it’s a different colour. When I hear sustained musical tones, I see... them in textures.” – DUKE ELLINGTON
“I see music in colours. I love music that’s black, pink, purple or red, but I hate music that’s green, yellow or brown.” – CHARLI XCX
“The song appears as light filament once I’ve cracked it… I’ve never seen a duplicated song structure. Obviously, similar chord progressions follow similar light patterns... try to imagine the best kaleidoscope ever.” – TORI AMOS davidjones.com
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INTRODUCING
Join David Jones Rewards and receive access to exclusive offers, events, rewards and a birthday gift. Plus, each month you’ll have the chance to win David Jones gift cards worth $5,000.*
*Entry is open to all Australian residents, aged 18 years or older. Competition opens 15/07/2019 and closes 30/06/2020 at 23:59 (AEDT). Total prize pool value is $60,000. One (1) winner drawn at 11:00 (AEDT) at the end of each month. Purchases made at Sephora will not constitute an entry into this competition. This competition is being run by Engage Australia, Suite 3, Level 8, 56 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Winners notified in writing and published in The Australian. Authorised under permit numbers: NSW LTPS/19/34433, ACT TP 19/03281, SA T19/712. Terms and conditions available at www.davidjones.com. The promoter is David Jones, Building 2, 572 Swan Street, Burnley VIC 3121.
THE LOOK
BUSINESS PLAYFUL
OFFICE PA RT Y This season, 180 your nine to five with not-so-serious prints, fresh colour and polished sneakers.
SEEING COLOUR
Tommy Hilfiger More head-turning than a classic navy suit, consider this your gateway to tonal workwear. When sporting louder hues, ensure your extras are light and clean – like white sneakers and a simple striped shirt – so the colour stands out in all the right ways. Tommy Hilfiger suit blazer, $599, shirt, $119, suit pants, $300, tie, $69.95, and Essential sneakers,$169.
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ON VACAY Saba
Kick casual Fridays up a notch with a holiday-style printed shirt – think modern florals, stripes or palm-leaf patterns – pared back with a tailored blazer for an off-duty feel. When it’s time to call it a day, de-jacket and hit the bar for a pre-weekend sundowner. Saba Duke jacket, $499, Magnolia shirt,$129, and Ronan pants, $149. Veja V-10 sneakers, $195.
CASUAL HOURS Eleventy
A slouchier jacket can keep things more relaxed in the workplace, while sharpening up your weekend wardrobe. Whichever way you choose to wear it, the key to this nice and easy look is opting for a patterned or printed blazer over a restrained number. Eleventy blazer, $769, knit, $599, and cargo pants, $489. Veja V-10 sneakers, $195.
PICK UP THE CHECK
Pal Zileri
Bring some personality to the boardroom with a standout print that’s eye-catching yet professional. Not too eccentric or conservative, a check pattern is the perfect middle ground for keeping workwear interesting if the office dress code is stricter. Pal Zileri blazer, $1699, shirt, $279, and pants, $379. Church’s Berlin Oxford brogues, $699. davidjones.com
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DRESS FOR SUCCESS Canali
Whether executive assistant or chief exec, you can easily acquire power-player style with a crisp, classic suit and bold pairings; try a jewelcoloured tie and a tonal shirt, plus a boss attitude to match. Canali Super 140 Impeccabile suit, $2495, Impeccabile cotton shirt, $399, knit tie, $199, and knit pocket square, $199. Church’s Berlin Oxford brogues, $699.
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ANNUAL LEAVE Ted Baker
It’s time to rethink the graphic jacket. While checks and stripes are tried-and-true work attire, break from tradition with a contemporary print or pattern (like this punchy leafy blazer). If you’re branching out up top, keep your shirt, pants and shoes understated. Ted Baker Stepin jacket, $679, Emuu shirt, $199, Sladrid chinos, $199, and Tifir derbys, $289.
BOLD MOVE Altea
Nothing says summer at work like bright, eye-catching hues. Think big (like this pink) but not over the top – pare down the colour and clean up the rest of the outfit with relaxed, lightweight tailoring. Altea Tito jacket, $749, Smith polo shirt, $239, and Dumbo pants, $359. Veja V-10 sneakers, $195.
INVEST IN STYLE
Daniel Hechter
The best part about investing in a check suit? It’s the easiest print to break, blend, mix and match with workwear staples. Beyond office hours, you can team a light check blazer with a crisp white tee and dark jeans or chinos for a more put-together casual look. Daniel Hechter sports coat, $299, shirt, $99, and chinos, $99. Abelard textured tie, $79.95. Ben Sherman floral pocket square, $24.95. 46
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FIT LIST
Joe Black A well-cut suit goes a long way when it comes to owning the room you’re wearing it in. Joe Black has a made-tomeasure service for this reason. Pants should be slim, with the waist slightly nipped, and sleeves showing two centimetres of shirt. Joe Black Mission jacket, $495, Pioneer shirt, $149, Razor pants, $250, tie, $99, and pocket square, $69. Florsheim Cross derbys, $159.95.
LEADING LINES Ted Baker
A bright-coloured grid, check or stripe will set you up for style success. It’s shouty without being showy and puts your personality on full display (you’re no corporate drone). Bring out subtle shades with playful patterned accessories and a pair of smart leather shoes in black or tan. Ted Baker jacket, $599, Spot shirt, $149, pants, $299, tie, $99.95, and shoes, $269.
SIT IN, STAND OUT Calibre
Comfort may be a welcome bonus, but it’s not the main reason for rocking sneakers with your suit. It’s all about marking yourself as the cool, chilled, on-trend member of the office. Buttoned-up blokes would do well to take note. Calibre sports coat, $599, shirt, $239, pants, $299, Hummingbird lapel pin, $119, and sneakers, $279.
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CARRY ON
From briefcases to backpacks, the boardroom to the bush, these bags will take you anywhere.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Ted Baker holdall, $219. Bellroy laptop bag, $699. R. M. Williams briefcase, $595. Balenciaga Wheel belt pack, $1275. Lacoste Neocroc backpack, $139. Ben Sherman overnighter, $429.95. Tommy Hilfiger Tommy mini reporter, $89.95. Alta Linea flight bag, $79.95. Bally Highpoint Hektor business bag, $1550.
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C L U B S P O RT
EASY BREEZY
Tommy Jeans For summer’s unexpected cold snaps (cc: Melbourne), a brightly coloured hoodie deserves a spot in your rotation. Tommy Jeans hoodie, $179.
Hold court in a sun-soaked summer, with vintage Americana, tailored tonal pieces and logo-emblazoned layers.
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THE LOOK
COLLEGE PREP
BOX-FRESH Roll up your trousers and pair them with Wimbledon whites (that’s ribbed white socks and clean white trainers). The look will take you through this season and into the next. Polo Ralph Lauren polo shirt, $159. Gant chinos, $169. Pussyfoot socks, $15.95. Common Projects B-Ball sneakers, $550.
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BACK CHAT Nautica
Pledge allegiance to your brand with a graphic logo on the back of the T-shirt. A statement exit is the new statement entrance. Nautica T-shirt, $59.95, and swim shorts, $89.95.
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FRENCH TUCK
Tommy Hilfiger Tuck your tee into slimline chino shorts for a look that says, “I belong on the court and in the clubhouse.” Tommy Hilfiger Box Logo T-shirt, $69.95, and Brooklyn shorts with twill belt, $149.
READY STEADY
Tommy Hilfiger There’s a reason this ensemble – a near-white button-up, tailored shorts and contrast belt – is the uniform for weekend drinks and Sunday brunch. It just works. Tommy Hilfiger Ithaca Badge shirt, $149, Brooklyn shorts with twill belt, $149, and Essential sneakers, $169.
LOW-KEY COOL Gant
Level up with linen shirting and chinos as pink as the rosÊ you’ll be sipping on your next date night. They require about as much effort as your trusty shorts-and-tee weekend gear (but look far more refined). Gant The Linen Shirt, $239, and chinos, $239. Sperry Topsider A/O 2-Eye boat shoes, $169.95.
ALL IN ONE
Gant
Want one polo shirt to rule them all? Seek out a navy-and-white stripe. When the occasion calls for a less casual dress code, just swap the shorts for dark denim and add a well-cut blazer. Gant rugger, $189, and shorts, $149. Academy Brand sneakers, $59.95.
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PEACHY KEEN Lacoste
Everything you need for a day at the beach or a session of summer sport: a peach-coloured polo, striped trunks and white accessories. BYO towel. Lacoste Classic polo shirt, $109, swim shorts, $119, and cap, $59.95.
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FROM LEFT Tommy Sport shorts, $109, hoodie, $179, and T-shirt (under hoodie), $99.95. Russell Athletic Pro Cotton Eagle R crew-neck sweat, $109.95, and Pro Cotton Eagle R shorts, $79.95.
YOUR M
FROM LEFT Helly Hansen Loke jacket, $169.95, Calshot swim shorts, $69.95, and T-shirt, $44.95. Calvin Klein Performance Linear Logo T-shirt (available late October), $79.95, and Billboard sweatpants, $139.95.
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OVE
Kee p sum your c o m that er in a ol this ctiv m e a sw akes brea wear eat k wor th it ing .
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H4 wireless over-ear headphones, $400. Champion Packable jacket, $59.95, Warrior shorts, $49.95, and C Logo T-shirt, $29.95. CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW EA7 T-shirts, $84.95 (yellow), and $125 (white), and shorts, $150.
THE LOOK
EVERYDAY EASE
OUTSIDE THE MARGINS As frontman of The Rubens, Sam Margin has found that trends come and go, but the most valuable things in life are eternal.
ONE STEP AHEAD
Levi’s
It goes without saying: chinos and a denim jacket are year-round staples. Make it summer with a graphic printed tee. Levi’s Patch Pocket trucker jacket, $159.95, Baby Tab T-shirt, $49.95, and Hi-Ball utility pants, $139.95. Veja V-10 sneakers, $195.
SKATE ON Rolla’s
White jeans will make a logo T-shirt and your well-loved skate shoes feel fresher than ever. Roll up the hems for an extra lived-in look. Rolla’s Rolla’s Reds T-shirt, $59.95, and Relaxo Chop jeans, $129.95. Vans Authentic sneakers, $99.95.
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McQ McQ funnel-neck pullover, $560, and droppedshoulder T-shirt, $305. (Available late October.)
Calvin Klein Jeans Calvin Klein Jeans T-shirt, $79.95, and CKJ206 jeans, $189. Diesel D-String Plus sneakers, $230.
MSGM MSGM jacket, $900, and T-shirt, $160. (Available late October.)
Carhartt Carhartt Michigan coat, $249.95, Script T-shirt, $59.95, and Sid pants, $189.95. Vans Authentic sneakers, $99.95.
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S Wo rd s by
L AURA AGNE W
ALWAYS SUNNY
Neuw Denim A tropical shirt will be your weekend hero. On hot days, wear it with shorts cut just above the knee and high-tops. Neuw Denim Palmageddon shirt, $99.95, and Ray shorts, $99.95. Diesel Exposure sneakers, $200.
am Margin is thoroughly opposed to being boring, at least in a fashion sense. In fact, as he tells Mr. Jones, “I get pissed off if I look at myself and I’m wearing really bland stuff.” As frontman of The Rubens, he believes his time onstage is an opportunity to “get away with anything. It’s almost like playing dress-ups.” That’s why you’ll find him swaggering around in bold-print pants or a graphic ’80s-inspired shirt. “Throwing in something that’s a bit weird or over the top, that’s kind of my thing.” Together with his four bandmates, two of which are his brothers, Margin has spent the past eight years performing around the world, including opening for Bruce Springsteen and scoring a coveted festival spot at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Their most recent success has been with acclaimed American rapper Vic Mensa on crossover hit Falling Asleep at the Wheel. “Somehow [our track] made it to Vic Mensa through his guitar player, I think, who was a friend of a friend or something. And we got the message that he was into it ... you never know with that kind of stuff.” But sure enough, a week later, Margin flew to Los Angeles as a representative of the band and watched Mensa record his rap in the studio. “It was sick.” The single, a standalone track born from chance, followed on from the release of The Rubens’ third album, Lo La Ru. Sonically, the record takes its cues from hip-hop, funk and R&B. It’s a departure from their well-loved rock ’n’ roll sound – in 2015, they topped the Triple J Hottest 100 poll with the track Hoops – but maybe that’s because they’ve scaled things down. “We went from an enormous expensive studio in New York [for our first two albums] to a home studio... really chilled. It was still a great place to make music, but it was just a different vibe. The process was really enjoyable, super creative and super fun.” Marriage and new fatherhood has something to do with his new-found chill. Margin tied the knot with Australian model Rosie Tupper early in 2018 and the couple welcomed daughter Mozes a few months later. “The sleepless nights everyone always talks about – that’s real. On tour, I’m always the one asking for an extra hour’s sleep, so having a baby has actually made me man up a bit in that sense.” Having spent some formative years in the spotlight, the band has had a front-row seat to the changing industry. When they were discovered, for example, Spotify was just starting to gain momentum. Margin sees the platform as a tool, which musicians can choose to master (luckily for The Rubens, he admits, they had a good team around them from the very start). “It’s definitely a time in music when everything’s been shook up and dropped on the floor and everyone’s trying to pick up the pieces... [but] it’s a flooded market. If we were a band doing exactly what we’re doing now, but in the ’80s or ’90s, I know we’d be much more well off.” Then again, Margin’s the first to admit that as long as he’s making some kind of living from music, he’s doing just fine.
TWIN SET
AllSaints Although they look the part separately, a denim jacket and printed shirt are even better together. AllSaints Idle jacket, $229, and Kayan shirt, $159.95. (Available late October.)
BLUE NOTE
Deus Ex Machina
A dusty blue tee has more mileage than you realise. By day, it’s fresh against khaki shorts; after dark, add selvage jeans. Deus Ex Machina Giza T-shirt, $49.99, and Joe shorts, $99.99.
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OVER THE TOP
PS by Paul Smith It’s summer, it’s hot and you’re going out to some place that requires more than just a T-shirt. The overshirt is your fast-track to looking smart with minimal fuss. PS by Paul Smith jacket, $390 (available late October), T-shirt, $120, jeans, $245, and Miyata sneakers, $379.
“IT’S DEFINITELY A TIME IN MUSIC WHEN EVERYTHING’S BEEN SHOOK UP AND DROPPED ON THE FLOOR AND EVERYONE’S TRYING TO PICK UP THE PIECES.”
GET YOUR KICKS Whether pairing with the latest streetwear, polishing a work look or thowing on an all-rounder, our pick of the freshest sneakers will have you putting your best foot forward this season.
OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Ted Baker Seylen sneakers, $259. New Balance 997 sneakers, $140. Common Projects B-Ball sneakers, $550. Tommy Hilfiger Flag Detail sneakers, $189. PS by Paul Smith Miyata sneakers, $379. THIS PAGE, FROM TOP Veja Esplar sneakers, $155. Lacoste Chaymon 319 sneakers, $179.95. Axel Arigato Clean 90 sneakers, $320. Polo Ralph Lauren Hanford sneakers, $159.
KIND OF BLUE
New scents, fresh-faced skin care, barber-style pro tips and more – consider this your warm-weather grooming update.
MONTBLANC
The scent of a journey Inspired by travel, Montblanc’s Explorer evokes a wearer’s adventurous spirit. With three hero fragrance notes sourced from around the world, vibrant citrus is grounded by fresh greenery while subtle hints of leather add a masculine smokiness. Rugged yet sophisticated, it’s the ultimate companion for a summer escape. Montblanc Explorer EDP 100ml, $139.
DOLCE&GABBANA Fit for a king
Presented in a bottle that highlights both the old and the new, K by Dolce&Gabbana is wildly uplifting and affirming. Drawing on the brand’s Italian heritage, with the zesty freshness of blood orange and lemon from Sicily, plus a dash of pimento essence to give it some kick, this is the perfect scent to splash on as the mercury rises. K by Dolce&Gabbana EDT 100ml, $140.
SKIN
Words Hayley D’Onofrio Photography Pete Daly
D
CARE
SPRING ETERNAL
oes your skincare regimen consist of whatever you swipe from your partner’s vanity? This one’s for you. To keep your skin in top shape, skincare expert Jocelyn Petroni recommends a brush-up on the basics. “Male skin is about 25 per cent thicker than women’s skin and it’s tighter, firmer and contains more collagen,” she says. “It also has more sebaceous glands, making it oilier and generally slower to age. But it needs to be cleansed and moisturised daily, much like women’s.” If you’re not ready to explore active ingredients or spend significant time on skin prep, start by washing off the day – always. “Cleanser removes debris and residue from the skin’s surface. It also stimulates natural shedding to reveal fresh, radiant skin cells,” explains Petroni. From face wash to moisturiser, skin serum to a bespoke facial, add these products to your cart.
Up your grooming game with these skin saviours.
Natio for Men Daily Face Wash ($12.95) provides a gentle yet thorough cleanse to remove dirt and grime and can be used both morning and night. Follow with sunscreen; it’s non-negotiable year-round but even more crucial during summer, particularly if your day job has you working outdoors.
If you’re starting to see concerns such as pigmentation, dehydration or excess oil, boost your regimen with targeted treatments. Lab Series Future Rescue Repair Serum ($100) is suitable for all skin types and uses antioxidants to protect against environmental aggressors that can contribute to ageing.
Ultraceuticals Ultra UV Protective Daily Moisturiser SPF 30 ($79) has a light matte texture without that telltale white cast and offers broad-spectrum sun protection to ward off harmful rays. It doubles as a moisturiser, too.
When you need an extra hit of hydration, turn to Dermalogica Active Moist ($89.50 for 100ml). Forget thick, heavy creams; this lightweight oilfree moisturiser is a lifesaver for summer skin and doesn’t leave a greasy residue.
Eye cream is also worth adding. Clinique for MenTM Maximum Hydrator Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Concentrate ($58) has a gel-like texture and is enriched with a cocktail of hydrating ingredients, including aloe butter.
If you’re really dedicated, book a facial such as the Ultraceuticals Ultra Signature Facial Treatment ($115/1 hour; davidjones.com). It combines a double cleanse, two massage techniques and a mask to tackle congestion, uneven skin tone and the signs of ageing.
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BARBER
SHOP
A CUT ABOVE Bedhead not your style? When a fresh cut or slick new style is in order, make one of these barbers your go-to.
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THE MEN’S GROOMING ROOM AT VALONZ, PADDINGTON, NSW
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Aiden Xydis honed his craft under his mother, renowned hairstylist Renya Xydis, and shares space in her famed Sydney salon. He’s known for precision cuts and his ability to add an on-trend twist. valonz.com.au
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THE BEARDED MAN, PRAHRAN & FITZROY, VIC SHAVING
Ace your at-home shave Replicate that just-been-to-the-barber feeling in a few simple steps.
2. SOAP UP: Shaving cream or foam is essential for protecting the skin from nicks and cuts. Smooth it on (try L’Occitane Cade Shaving Cream, $42) in the direction that your hair is growing, advises Xydis. “Don’t pack it on; put on only one coat that covers the hair.”
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3. SHAVE SMART:
If you’re using an old-school blade, apply a touch of pressure, says Xydis. “Let the razor’s sharpness do most of the work for you, helping to minimise ingrown hairs.” If breakouts occur or your skin is irritated, Xydis recommends skipping a day or two between shaving sessions. For spots, dab on Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel ($77), which helps to heal blemishes quickly and prevent bacteria from building up.
4. GROOM IT:
Post-shave care is just as important as the prep work. Massage in a moisturiser like ClarinsMen Revitalizing Gel ($60) or a scented variation such as 5. Dior Sauvage After-Shave Lotion ($96), which will help infuse your skin with moisture. For beards, try the nourishing 6. Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Conditioning Beard Oil ($85). The combination of hydrating oils keeps hair and skin silky soft.
PUREMAN, BRISBANE, QLD Pureman’s interior, complete with retro chairs, is a nod to the traditional barber shop. The team incorporate up-to-date cutting and colouring techniques with technology. pureman.com.au
Photography Pablo Martin
1. SKIN PREP:
It’s crucial to wash your face before you shave, says Aiden Xydis, head barber at The Men’s Grooming Room in Sydney. “It will prevent any bacteria lying dormant on your face from getting trapped in pores that will open during the shaving process, which can lead to irritation or acne.” Kiehl’s Age Defender Dual-Action Exfoliating Cleanser ($39) uses Moroccan lava clay to deeply clean and exfoliate, banishing dead skin cells. Post-cleanse, “splash your face with warm water”, says Xydis. “This will help open up your pores and make beard hair softer.”
The Bearded Man offers much more than a regular grooming session; an onsite DJ pumps out tunes while a barista serves great coffee. Stop by for a wet or dry shave, beard trim or full cut. thebeardedman. com.au
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MODERN ELECTRIC
Stubble, scruff or squeaky clean, these gadgets will give you a better shave – every time. 1
IF YOU WANT IT ALL...
try the Philips S9711/41 Series 9000 V-Track Pro Digital Electric Shaver (now $399). Eight-direction ContourDetect heads trace every curve of your face and neck and you can use it either wet or dry on one of three shaving modes. There’s also a SmartClick styler attachment for beards.
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IF YOU WANT A FAST SHAVE
On mornings when you’ve hit snooze one too many times, or if you’re in need of a travel-friendly option, Philips’ QP6510/20 OneBlade Pro (now $99) gives a good shave, fast. Standout features include a dual-sided blade and 12 lock-in length settings, allowing you to create sharp, clean lines.
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IF YOU WANT MORE POWER
Sonic technology in Braun’s 7865CC Series 7 Men’s Shaver (now $499) “reads” your facial hair, detecting where to allocate more voltage. You can toggle between five shaving modes to find the setting that best suits your skin type, while the ActiveLift trimmer targets flat-lying hairs.
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IF YOU WANT A BETTER BEARD Whether you have a full beard or just a bit of stubble, the Braun BT5060 Beard Trimming Kit (now $139) features two different combs and 39 length settings, making it a great go-to option for maintaining an even shape. Bonus points for the longlasting battery.
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OFF THE GRID
Supplier’s recommended retail prices shown.
No matter the destination, these sleek suitcases will travel as well as you do. The adventure starts here.
Samsonite Lite-Box Aluminium luggage (from left), $1499 (76cm), $1049 (55cm), and $1399 (69cm).
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MASTER & DYNAMIC MW65 ACTIVE NOISE-CANCELLING WIRELESS HEADPHONES MR. JONES SAYS: No expense was spared in these advanced over-ear headphones featuring lightweight materials, custom speaker drivers, long battery life and loads more. TOM SAYS: They’ve got a retro vibe to them and they do a decent job of tackling external noise. $849
BANG & OLUFSEN BEOPLAY A1 BLUETOOTH SPEAKER MR. JONES SAYS: B&O’s superior sound quality and style shine through in this compact Bluetooth speaker, which has up to 24 hours of play time. TOM SAYS: Considering its size, it really blows your hair back. And it’s dust and splash resistant, so I don’t have to worry about damaging it on tour. $400
MUSIC TO YOUR EARS New David Jones ambassador and AFL-star-turned-muso Tom Derickx road tests the latest in smart sound.
MARSHALL STOCKWELL II PORTABLE WIRELESS BLUETOOTH SPEAKER MR. JONES SAYS: The go-to brand for musicians has created a portable speaker with proper durability, easy connectivity, bass and treble control and a tidy carry strap. TOM SAYS: I instinctively want to plug my guitar into it. The sound is huge; you could use it at a house party. $399
ULTIMATE EARS MEGABLAST PORTABLE ALEXA WI-FI SPEAKER MR. JONES SAYS: This batteryoperated waterproof wi-fi speaker is all class – meaning it frees up space on your phone, while pumping out crystal-clear sound. TOM SAYS: It’s got some power to it, despite being light and portable. Plus it’s waterproof, so I would take this to the beach to listen to music after a surf. $379
AUDIO PRO ADDON C3 PORTABLE MULTI-ROOM SPEAKER MR. JONES SAYS: For the aesthete who loves great sound, this one ticks all the boxes, including long battery life. TOM SAYS: This portable speaker is really cool and it’s good-looking enough to show to your mates as a humblebrag, like a new car or a designer dog. $449
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BANG & OLUFSEN BEOPLAY H9 THIRD-GENERATION WIRELESS HEADPHONES MR. JONES SAYS: Toggle noise cancellation, access your phone with voice assistance and listen to rich, powerful sound. TOM SAYS: These are like pillows over your ears – so soft. The sound is insanely good and the touch controls are, well, a nice touch. $840
BOSE ® NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES 700 MR. JONES SAYS: A pair of very slick, high-quality smart speakers for your ears, enabled with Bose AR, too. TOM SAYS: They’re comfortable and super light. I can’t fault them. $599
BOSE ® HOME SPEAKER 300 MR. JONES SAYS: Small, dark and handsome, it packs room-rocking bass and impressive 360-degree sound, all controlled by your voice or the Bose Music app. TOM SAYS: A speaker that’s hooked up to my phone and can be controlled by my voice while I kick back, with Bose sound quality, is perfect for me. $399
BOSE ® FRAMES MR. JONES SAYS: The latest in wearable tech comes in the form of Bose’s stylish sunglasses that have speakers built into the arms. TOM SAYS: I love the rounded Rondo shape [at top; Alto above] – it’s sick. $299 each. Bose blue-gradient lens sold separately ($29.95) available in both Alto and Rondo styles.
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L A S T WO R D
D
o you think there’s a common thread between fashion and music? Well, for me personally, the two are pretty inseparable. Growing up in Nottingham [in the UK], it was through music that I saw how experimental people were with the way they dressed. As a teenager, I started going to London and witnessing all the different types of music and I was interested in so many different tribes. For a while I was obsessed with Herbie Hancock and the jazz movement and at night I’d travel all over the country to see him perform. Then, during the day, it would be back to the studio to develop the collection. It was impossible not to be inspired by all of that. As the business has grown and I’ve become busier and busier, there’s less time to go and see bands. But music still has a lot of influence, whether it’s references from the past or stuff I pick up on day to day, working with a young team. How has music influenced the brand’s style? Having grown up so closely associated with the music industry, musical figures or tribes have often inspired my designs. My Autumn/Winter 2015 men’s show was inspired by Jim Morrison. He had the most extraordinary way of wearing clothes, combining flamboyant pieces with very normal things. The Spring/Summer 2017 show I had in Paris was inspired by some of my early visits to London in the ’60s. Sleeping on friends’ floors in West London, I loved how vibrant the West Indian community were and Notting Hill Carnival was just kicking off. The music associated with that time heavily influenced the collection.
Q&A
He’s with the band Mr. Jones speaks to the other iconic Sir Paul, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, about the place where music and fashion meet.
You knew David Bowie well, too. Where did you meet and how did he become such an enduring style icon? I was fortunate enough to know David and be able to call him a friend. He was also a regular customer in my Floral Street shop. A long-time customer reminded me of a story recently: he’d come into Floral Street with his mum 35 or so years ago to buy his first-ever suit. He looked around the shop but nothing was quite right. He spotted a suit hanging behind the till, ready for alterations. He said to the boy working in the shop, “Is that one available?” and the shop boy opened the jacket, read the docket and said, “No, that one’s for a Mr David Bowie.” His jaw just hit the floor. We then made him up a suit that was more or less the same, which he’s kept to this day! When it comes to David’s style icon status, it’s simple really: he just took so many risks yet never seemed to get it wrong. The two of you collaborated on the cover for the 50th-anniversary re-release of Space Oddity. Did you enjoy working with him? I’ve been lucky enough to work with David and his team on several projects and it’s always a wonderful experience and an absolute privilege. The Space Oddity project was no exception and I’ve been completely amazed by how popular the record has been; it sold out in the blink of an eye. Have any of the musicians you’ve worked with ever gifted you anything of historical note? Friendship is probably the best thing that comes out of any collaboration.
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Paul Smith and David Bowie in 2002 (top); the 50th-anniversary vinyl edition of Space Oddity.
Interview John Agnew Photography Getty Images
Many of your friends are iconic musicians and you’ve even worked with a few, like David Byrne. How do you find each other? Since those early days of pitching up at gigs and selling handmade T-shirts, it’s always been a natural process, not something that’s forced. Often they’ll take an interest in what I do, wear the clothes and things will grow from there.
Available at selected David Jones stores.