ACUTE | No.2 by ACUTE magazine

ISSUE # 2

2013

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FALL WINTER

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ACUTE. BUT SWEET INSIDE.

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Just remember why you started. Love you all

Anastasia Gerak

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Editor-in-Chief ANASTASIA GERAK Sub-Editor LENA SHUTOVA Art Director / Designer DIEGO DAL BON Special projects coordinator JULIA CHEPURNAYA Contributing photographers ANTON GARETS, CHRISTINA MONMORANCI, DRINKVDKA, JUS VUN, VITALY MELNIKOV Our special thanks to Anatoly Fostik Bize Bristol Hotel All rights reserved. No part from this publication maybe reproduced in whole or part without permission from the publisher. Contact acutemag@gmail.com (067) 183 54 08

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ON THE ROAD

MARIA MINERVA

We met halfway

Dreamgaze girl

NO SWEETS

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When food makes you kinder to the world

Sea adventure

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS Greek heroes

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ANATOMY OF THE PLACE

THE HOTEL

Wandering around the empty hotel

Streets of Strasbourg St Denis

JOHN PATRICK

TROE

Pioneer of the organic fashion movement

Our sporty girls

HEMAN

SELF-SERVICE

Porsche collectors & Christmas tree

Do it better

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Photography Antony Garets garets-anton.com.ua Styling ACUTE Hair & make-up Alyona Troschenovskaya Model Sabina Lysenko/ L-Models

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On the Road

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MARIA MINERVA The Estonian-born, New York-based artist Maria Minerva makes music just the way she feels: dreamy, nostalgic, crispy and messy.

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EASY TO FEEL

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What have you done so far today? Got up around 11, and had a little pillow talk in bed with my boyfriend - who doesn’t want to admit that he is my boyfriend (so maybe I should just call him this man in my bed)… Then he went to make coffee while I opened the curtains and made the bed, then I ate honey nut cheerios and checked my emails. When did you realize that music is something you’re good at? I still don’t think I’m good at it. Or vice versa – I always knew I could write good songs. I was just not sure exactly how to materialize them. I have been singing my whole life, but only when I learned to use Ableton and some pieces of gear, I was finally able to see whether I can actually produce anything. I was 21 when I started making music - I guess that is pretty late. Can you describe your sound? How has it changed over time? My sound is hazy-dazy; I feel that I’m a pretty low-energy person so my music is a reflection of that. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything 100% upbeat; there is always certain sloppiness or a dreamy quality to what I put out. It has changed though, I have improved my production skills a bit and hopefully that shows. I also feel that my vocals always make it mine. However, since I have improved my production skills a bit, my sound seems to have changed, and hopefully that stands out. I also feel that my vocals always make it mine.

Do you have a favorite period in the history of music? Yeah, probably the 1980s. And by that I don’t mean the Kylie Minogue part, but post-punk, post-disco, all that stuff, Arthur Russell, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle… All these have had a huge influence on me. Do you think music is strongly influenced by nationality? Not at all. These days internet erases all the differences straight away, people are pretty much consuming the same stuff. I am listening to the new Drake album in NYC; my friends are listening to it in Estonia… When I was growing up I was lucky because my dad was actually a music writer and had thousands of tapes and CD-s, so I was definitely really well informed, he was always telling me about stuff and when I became a teenager I started to look up stuff myself, that was around 2000, when everyone got the fast internet connection and dropped dial up modems… So I don’t think me being Estonian has much to do with anything, I have always felt like a world citizen, probably also because I was the first generation to grow up with the Internet. Is there a certain instrument or beat that you`re into at the moment? I am kind of into weird percussion sounds at the moment, kalimbas, exotic drums etc. these sounds take me to other places… Which is the latest sound that has caught your attention and you liked? New Drake`s album? Bringing it up once again but I am into the - ISSUE #2

dark, melancholic vibe. I like that someone so mainstream puts out something SO sad. How would you describe your working process? A lot of it is not working. I hang out, I don’t do anything, I get depressed, I talk to friends about not being able to work, I do a little something here and then and then I hate it and then I discard it, almost like moving one step forward, two steps back. And then when I finally make something great, it’s like being cloud number nine. I recently saw the Fran Lebowitz documentary where she said that for artists it’s important to be at times lazy and unproductive like that, she basically said that hanging and talking to people IS working, and I agree. It’s about exploring and feeling out the world, so this is what I’m trying to do. What’s your favorite time of the day to compose music? Definitely night time. During the day I can only do tedious stuff like mixing or fixing stuff I made the previous night. For generating ideas it has to be dark, PM time. Can you tell us a little about your latest video Soul Searchin? It is not a real video in the sense that it’s just documenting a day in South London. It was really weird because I went back to London for the first time after moving to the US. I lived in London for two years, my college was in South London but I never ever felt at home there, so to go back and shoot a video for this track “Soul searchin” was

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”My sound is hazy-dazy; I feel that I’m a pretty lowenergy person so my music is a reflection of that”

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meaningful but mainly for myself. It was a nice, cool day, we were driving around the area where my ex boyfriend used to live and so on, and it just brought up so many weird memories. And then we decided to try to make it into a video. How much time do you spend writing lyrics? And how do you feel about yourself as a lyricist? My lyrics are crap which is fine because you can’t normally hear them anyway. I am trying to improve and bring my vocals out of the haze now so this also means I need to start writing better lyrics. Usually when I make music I just start singing over it something, trying to figure out the melody and etc, so the first thing that comes out is normally what I end up using. It can be really banal, but I do believe in NOT-overthinking when making music. Do you feel that your personal style is evolving in the same direction as your music?

That’s a funny question - I have no idea. I am currently trying to improve my personal style because that I always feel like I look like a mess, or really boring… I`ve been wearing the same pink Nike shorts the whole summer now. I do feel the same about my music, ha-ha, that it’s a mess. So yeah I guess maybe there are similarities?

to get them done.

What are you working on at the moment? Right now I am going through a hard time trying to make my next record. I want to make something a bit more coherent and see how people react. I feel like people don’t really want their favorite musicians to change or improve, yet those same people give them a hard time when they they produce the same material…

What was the last thing that made you laugh? Kanye West’s BBC interview. Utter nonsense, yet amusing. Also James Franco’s roast on comedy central; I almost cried… Do you have a favorite word? Kefir!!

Is there anything apart from music that you consider yourself to be good at? I am a really fast reader, I have a good memory, and I know how to get things done when I need

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Do you have a dream project that you would like to do? My dream would be to get out of the bedroom completely and get into a proper studio AND maybe start writing/producing music for other people. Maybe retire from performing myself yet stay in music.

Anastasia Gerak

”I was 21 when I started making music - I guess that is pretty late.”

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Photos ÂŠ Maren Sundt-Hansen

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Photography Drinkvdka! Styling ACUTE Make-up Nina Zadranovskaya Hair Alena Ilyina Model Irina Ivleva/1 MOTHER AGENCY

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Photography Christina Monmoransi Styling ACUTE Hair & make-up Alyona Troschenovskaya Model Natasha Kovalenko/ K-Models

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KSiA Can’t stop feeling

Sarah P, the vocalist of Keep Shelly in Athens – atmospheric greek band, which has sold out all copy of the first EP in half a year after the occurrence and in a two more years has become a headliner on the world’s largest musical festival – is talking about importance of supervision, internal freedom, filters of impressions and infinite inspiration.

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How did you meet each other and how did you get started? We met through a mutual friend. RPR [scenic name of the second participant KSiA – L.S.] has already uploaded three instrumental songs on our MySpace page and he was trying hard to find a singer. The MySpace was presenting the act to be a girl and boy duo. So it kind of clicked and we got started working together. Your way from group forming to Coachella’s Festival as one of the headliners – this is a big luck, a great success, long-awaited recognition or objective result of really hard working? Really hard working. No fast way. We are no fans of the fast way. Making music for us is our life. We would never set a career on a big luck, nor seek for the five minutes of publicity, that is definitely not what we are trying to do over here. We definitely were given some big opportunities, we grabbed those but then we had (and still have!) to work hard to make our dreams to come true. And our dream it is to be able always to make music that we love and to share it.

Do you know that the most frequent characteristic of your band among journalists and bloggers is «mysterious»? Is it the part of image which you specially aspired to or just a coincidence? I think that it all comes out from the fact that at first and till we knew exactly our band’s ID we were two blury personas who were hailing from Greece. This last one – our greek origins – also created a certain mystery around it all. When you, all of a sudden, appear as an «internet band» who comes from far away, it is reasonable to be called «mysterious». Although, I do not think that we are that mysterious anymore, after three years that we are active. Have you ever got ideas for songs in any unusual situations? There is that artistic perversion that is a true fact. I embraced that side of mine, especially at the drama school, that I learned how to be the third observer, watch everything outside of the box, even when I am the most involved one. So yeah, at many unusual situations, strange ones, saddening ones or extremely

«We would never seek for the five minutes of publicity that is definitely not what we are trying to do over here»

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happy, that you are supposed to not think anything else other than what you’re experiencing at that moment, I find myself writing inspiration, yes. Try to describe an image or feeling which could inspire you on work. Athens itself it is a great inspiration to us, its urban landscapes combined with an old time glory and a great history... Both of us were born and raised there, so we are imbued by it’s smells and it’s grace. Our hometown it is not such an easy city which shows us some tough love. The contradictions it offers can be really inspirational. On another note, greek summers, sun and sea are our constant source of inspiration. Probably therefore your new album is called «At home».Are your own homes really some special and separate space for you and your ideas or creativity becomes easier at other places around the world? I really enjoy the privacy that my home offers to me. It is my own space and yeah, ideas can grow up and come into life. But also, I am collecting experiences from our travels. I cannot imagine myself not travelling around.

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”You should be the third observer: you are supposed to not think anything else other than what you’re experiencing at that moment”

What it happens at home it is the filtering of it all? How native public from Athens treats your achievements? It was a relationship that needed to build up. At first, there was that mystery veil, everybody was like «how do they come from Athens and we do not know them?». And then there was suspicion, doubt. Now we feel

their support and that is the best thing in the world. And which musicians inspire you on music creation? Cocteau Twins, Massive Attack, The Knife. Also genres like oldschool hip hop, darkwave, pop, shoegaze. Your sound is just like big - ISSUE #2

bright mix which consists of different styles. What is your main principle of combining them? Making music that we want to listen at our homes, music that we would enjoy to listen to. We have many different influences that are blending together. It is not something that we foresee. Maybe that is the principle: we

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”There is that artistic perversion that is a true fact”

Your way from group forming to Coachella’s Festival as one of the headliners – this is a big luck, a great success, long-awaited recognition or objective result of really hard working? Really hard working. No fast way. We are no fans of the fast way. Making music for us is our life. We would never set a career on a big luck, nor seek for the five minutes of publicity, that is definitely not what we are trying to do over here. We definitely were given some big opportunities, we grabbed those but then we had (and still have!) to work hard to make our dreams to come true. And our dream it is to be able always to make music that we love and to share it. Do you know that the most frequent characteristic of your band among journalists and bloggers is «mysterious»? Is it the part of image which you specially aspired to or just a coincidence? I think that it all comes out from the fact that at first and till we knew exactly our band’s ID we were two blury personas who were hailing from Greece. This last one – our greek origins – also created a certain mystery around it all. When you, all of a sudden, appear as an «internet band» who comes from far away, it is reasonable to be called Lena Shutova

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Streets of Strasbourg St Denis Jus Vun is an Australian photographer who specialises in fashion, portrait and editorial photography.He currently divides his time between Paris and Tokyo and is available for commissions internationally.

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What was the inspiration for your b&w series? I moved from Tokyo to Paris in August 2012 and lived near a chic and trendy district called Montorgueil St. This street was immortalized by Monet in his painting “La Montorgueil” capturing July 14th French Independence day. Originally, I contemplated doing a street documentary project on the aforementioned neighbourhood but just one metro stop away, was the more enigmatic area of Strasbourg St Denis - a symbol of cultural diversity and what I consider a microcosm of Paris. I think I was inspired by the humanistic approach which photographers such as Louis Stettner and Robert Doisneau have enlivened us with. How would you describe your Strasbourg St Denis pictures? Strasbourg St Denis is a community where Chinese, Indians, Turkish, Pakistanis and Africans live, work and social-

ise amongst each other. To add to the intrigue, it is also notoriously known for prostitution and seedy establishments. Hence, the series “Streets of Strasbourg St Denis” I would say is an exploration of the shadowy crevasses of society and the daily lives of the citizens of St Denis and its surrounding areas. Over a period time, I went to this neighbourhood a few times a week during different times of the day and night in order to capture as much as possible the diversity of people and activities which make up the community of St Denis. I would like to show a side of Paris which people who have never been here would never have envisioned. There is much more to Paris than museums and cafes, if one chooses to go off the beaten tracks. In hindsight, I should have continued this project for longer and with deeper emotional investment by getting to know the people there on a personal level – the photos and the short

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amount of time I spent on this project was just the tip of the iceberg of what could have been. Do you have any favorite memories associated with this shooting? Too many to list but one that come to mind is the portrait of the man with shaved head and the pigeon. The man saw a pigeon on the floor in pain, struggling to fly as its feet and wings were tangled up with a piece of string. He picked the pigeon up and pulled out a pocket knife. As I was the nearest to him, he handed me his pocket knife and I cut the string loose. He then released the pigeon which flew away. At that moment, I thought he showed a side of humanity that we all can appreciate especially with the constant stories of cruelty to animals that are still prevalent in today’s society. Another time, I was walking around in the afternoon and a drunk homeless man came up right in my face and yelled

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“Japanese!” and shortly after “Fuck America!” and raised his middle finger up high in the air (I am not Japanese of by the way). Regrettably I should have snapped a photo right there and then but I was too slow to react. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to provoke a reaction or fight but I was amused. I kept my composure with a poker face and after a few seconds, he didn’t say or do anything else so I just shrugged it off and walked away. What’s the best thing about Strasbourg St Denis? I love eating at the many Indian restaurants along Le Passage Brady, getting a quick trim at the “coiffures” that line up the small passages and shopping at the Chinese supermarket there. One thing people may find peculiar is the myriad of old prostitutes in their 50s and even 60s who casually stand on corners with their skimpy outfits, while young and old walk by without batting their eyelids. Their

very open presence have been accepted by the locals and neighboring establishments for decades as the working girls are as much part of the culture and history of Strasbourg St Denis as the iconic arch of Porte Saint-Denis is.

Pramodh: “Strasbourg St Denis is the place to be if you want to have a small mini escape from the French, a place of diversity where blacks, Indians and many cultures mixes up well...” Marwa: “It is so pleasant to live here; Strasbourg St Denis is a lively neighborhood with a good atmosphere, with many shops and restaurants.” Rie: “An enticing and vibrant arrangement of flavor and vividness, where oases of calm hide behind corners that fleet the eye.”

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Pierre-Henri: “I used to work there, as an intern for Vice magazine 2 years ago. Used to work and partied there, mainly at bar called Swinging Londress. It’s certainly the most bustling street in Paris. I will always remember that tiny Kurdish lamb durüm I ate almost every day for lunch during 6 months. Big time.”

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Photography Vitaly Melnikov Styling ACUTE Hair & make-up Nina Zadranovskaya Model Alena Gayvanenko

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tR oe

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Photography Christina Monmoransi Styling ACUTE Hair & make-up Julia Chepurnaya Models EugeniyaÂ Lavrenchuk/ Art-podium Maria Burlan/ Starsystem Ekaterina Aterina/ Teffi

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Honest and pure Since its launch in 2003 Organic by John Patrick has become one of the most sustainable and authoritative brands in the industry. Founder of the brand New York-based designer John Patrick focused on ethical production of fabrics. He is passionate about supporting small local businesses.

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«I have no obstacle - I create solutions»

You grow some of your own organic cotton. How did you become this way? Traveling in the jungle - in the Amazon jungle. I still own land there. I am doing a new project now in Central America. How would you describe your working process? My process is very slow - I am building a machine. What is the most exciting thing in fashion today? New media, old media is tired.

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creation of the SS 2014 collection? Michelangelo Antonioni`s film L’Avventura. What do you think the future holds for fashion? A new basic and an invisible luxury. What little things do you do in your everyday life to improve the environment? I don’t go in corporate owned stores. I work with farmers.

What are the obstacles to making fashion more organic? I have no obstacle I create solutions. Which pieces of FW 2013 collection are your favorites? Pink dress in which Louise Parker closed the show.. What inspired you during the

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On my food and fashion. Now everyone is using the term «organic». What do you think about that? No comments. What advice would you give young fashion designer starting out today? Work as a farmer instead - do something useful with your life - get off of your ass and help society. What`s the most incredible

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thing you have ever seen/done? Prambanan Temple in Java. What makes you happiest? Being with hippies on the beach anywhere. Do you have a favorite word? Love. What is your favorite place? My new hide out in Baja California peninsula (Lower California). What do you do for fun? Talk to people.

«Work as a farmer instead - do something useful with your life - get off of your ass and help society»

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Self Service

We gave a mirror camera with remote control to our model and leave her alone in the studio for an hour. Well here is the result.

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Idea Drinkvodka! Styling Veronika Arutunyan Hair & make-up Julia Shkiruk Model Sonya Burlakova

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ROLLINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Anatoly Fostik and his son Sergey, collectors and owners of the company Lumier. Here they talk about Porsche passion and the main Christmas tree of Ukraine.

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When did you start? First car my father brought to Odessa in 1996. It was a model of the Porsche 924S. While all the boys dreamed of car from foreign magazines and posters, and these iconic cars were few in the world, it was Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Porsche has always been associated with the model 911.

by about 10% per year. The second model we have is 911 Carrera â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;84. Was purchased in Sevastopol like a state body, everything else separately in boxes. Such as this model is also 3-4 only in Ukraine. The third model is the 944 model, which was bought a long time ago and has been completely restored, yellow. Then there are the 911 turbo 2001, my car for every day, which was bought last year. Since 2001, it is in Odessa, was acquired in 2001 by a famous businessman. There is another 944 turbo, which was brought from abroad, through relocation it was in customs clearances, but then we won with customs courts, a long history, and in the end, after 3 years, after winning all vessels supreme court canceled the registration of the vehicle, despite the fact that it is officially brought in country.

How many cars in your collection and how did you get each of them? Now, there are 911 turbo â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;91, which participated in the survey for the magazine. This machine was purchased in Kharkov in Ukraine and from 3 to 4 cars, only. Today it is the most iconic model, and the most expensive model of the classic Porsche models 91-94 years release. Her price in Europe and in America is increasing

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When you bought your first car? What car it was? It was 924S model. Was one of the first Porsche in Odessa? It was in 1996, probably.

then the car is sent to the painting, where its colored by professionals, we take it and collect it with a bunch of new parts. That is how everything happens.

What is usually in your trunk? I have a fire extinguisher and a standard set of Porsche factory tools.

Not only age affects the auto, but also its history. Are there any stories related to your car? Machine that participated in the first shoot, it is in Ukraine for a long time and one influential person owned it.

What three words would you describe your car? Porsche is the style, design and power. You and your father by yourselves are doing the restoration of your sports cars. How is the process? A lot of work we are doing with father, completely disassemble the car, we do this with father,

Even if it is not Porshe, what it will be? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing. Because there is no alternative. Because Ferrari very brittle cars and too extravagant to ride them every day, Lamborghini the same. Porsche is the best sports car for everyday use. 911model diverges

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huge numbers because it is the best sports car for every day. How did it all begins and why doâ&#x20AC;Ś? Anatoly worked in Poland for a long time, and saw their how to make lighting, accidentally our measure Valery suggested and he set the task to decorate the streets. Then we brought from Poland luminous materials, welded f construction here, decorated central Lenin Street in such kind of illumination for the first time.

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What will be the main Christmas tree of Ukraine? It is not known what it will be like; we already know it will be the same as last year, nothing new. This year we are not participate in the project tree.

What projects you are proud the most? This is Christmas tree in Independence Square, the central streets of Kiev, park in Dnepropetrovsk, the largest park in Europe which was decorated, about two hundred trees.

How many time do you need to set the main Christmas tree? Anywhere from 30 to 40 days.

Tell us about your relationship to artificial trees. And in general the problem of active deforestation. We put the artificial Christmas tree because it is a European trend not to cut natural trees, so we have established the position of artificial Christmas trees, of course, we promote them and from the point of view that there is no sense to cut natural spruce, especially on the artificial Christmas trees that can be beautiful sanctification, exclusive, natural tree you could not decorate with glowing ornament, because there is no surface where you can hang glowing elements. Artificial Christmas tree is the most modern version.

Did you use any energy saving technology? Of course, all the garlands, all the materials are all LED. Do you have a big team, how many people involved into the process? Last year, about 50 people engaged in the manufacture of Christmas tree.

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