Spindle Magazine Issue 3 by Spindle magazine

I s s ue 3 // 2011 F re e , bu t b y no me a n s c he a p

Issue 3 // 2011

Photography

Kevin Mason at Garage Studios Styling

Heather Falconer model

Dinara at Premiere Models Illustration

Sarah Ferrari

Issue 3 // 2011

one•to•watch // ghostcat

one•to•watch // leelou

one•to•watch // amity

one•to•watch // the•heartbreaks 12

one•to•watch // acid•washed one•to•watch // Men

14 18

hello•world

charlie•le•mindu

22 26

lee•lapthorne

nordic•anime

the•great•british•cover•up

36 42

Mr•pustra

saltar•por•los•muertos 46

young•american

welcome•europe

the•low•anthem

Cont

ents

Issue 3 // 2011

the•moons

the•crookes

dan•le•sac• &•scroobius•pip david•e•sugar

mount•kimbie

sunday•girl

archie•bronson•outfit the•bees

les•savy•fav

boy•george

dub•pistols

Almodóvar!

jean•seberg• &•la•nouvelle•vague cine•esteli

alfonso•cuaron

wide•open•walls

culture•influence•design

84 5

Issue 3 // 2011 Editor in Chief and Creative Director Heather Falconer heather@spindlemagazine.com 07719 528 622 Art Direction and Design Sarah Ferrari sarah@spindlemagazine.com sarahferrari.com Music Editor Amy Lavelle amy@spindlemagazine.com Music Co-ordinator Bee Adamic bee@spindlemagazine.com Music Writer Dominic VonTrapp Arts Writers Kathryn Evans kathryn@spindlemagazine.com Lana Lay lana@spindlemagazine.com Film Writers Thomas Dearnley-Davison thomas@spindlemagazine.com Toby King toby@spindlemagazine.com Contributing Writers Nos Gbadamosi Emily Amelia Inglis Contributing Stylists Sara Darling Lauren Eva Photographers Natasha Alipour-Faridani natashaalipour-faridani.com Jean-Luc Brouard jeanlucbrouard.com Sam Hiscox samhiscox.blogspot.com Kevin Mason kevinmason.garage-studios.co.uk Daniel Regan danielregan.com Christopher George Simms christophersims.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Dominic VonTrapp Elise Kerr Fran Glover Heather Falconer Jean-Luc Brouard Kathryn Evans Lana Lay

Photography (Cover)

Kevin Mason at Garage Studios (Full credits page 46)

8 Sarah Ferrari 9 Thomas Dearnley-Davison 10 Toby King 11 Bevan Stevens 12 Bee Adamic 13 Amy Lavelle

Illustration (above)

Oscar Armelles

Illustration (opposite)

Philip Dennis

Illustrators Oscar Armelles illustrationsbyoscar.com Aurélien Arnaud aurelienarnaud.com Laura Brown laulaulikes.blogspot.com Zoë Bryant zoebryant.co.uk Denis Carrier studiofolk.com Simon Cook stoneandspear.com Philip Dennis philipdennisart.com Sarah Dennis sarah-dennis.co.uk Ruth Ferrier ruthferrier.com Peter James Field peterjamesfield.co.uk Tom Forman tomforman.illustrator@yahoo.co.uk Hannah Forward hannahforward.com

Kev Gahan kevgahan.com Carlos Garde-Martin carlosgardemartin.co.uk Jordan Gyoury tinymansillustrations.blogspot.com Shane Hawkins freshflowerpressed.blogspot.com Lauren Hutchinson strange.zzl.org Ben Jensen handsomedevilart.co.uk Zarina Liew cobaltcafe.co.uk Miriampersand miriampersand.com Sally Renshaw sallyrenshaw.com Maria Sagun mariasagun.com Steven Silverwood stevensilverwood.com Rory Walker roryroryrory.com Anton Weflö antonweflo.com Joel Wells joelwells.net Rachel Williams missrachelle.co.uk Jess Wilson jesswilson.co.uk Online Editor www.spindlemagazine.com Thomas Dearnley Davison thomas@spindlemagazine.com Web Design Bevan Stephens Interns Brianna Fryer Elise Kerr Laura King Brad Kitchen Stephanie Payne Amber Upton Erika Welsh Vanessa Wai Amy Yates Publisher Heather Falconer Many Thanks John Falconer Mary Falconer Amy Forrester Carole Jordan Dean Marsh Ganda Media Madame Geisha Advertising Manager Francesca Glover fran@spindlemagazine.com Submission Email info@spindlemagazine.com Spindle Magazine is printed by Wyndeham Grange Ltd, Butts Road, Southwick, West Sussex, BN42 4EJ © 2011 Spindle What do you think of Spindle? info@spindlemagazine.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without permission from the publisher. The views expressed in Spindle are of those retrospective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine. The magazine welcomes ideas and new contributors, but can assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Spindle is printed and published in the UK 4 times a year.

Issue 3 // 2011

Welcome to issue 3 // The International Issue. With the increased popularity, and accessibility of the online world, it means we can now have access to the internet all of the time. This, along with the trend of blogging, youtube, tumblr, facebook, skype means that we can keep in touch with our friends across the globe, our interview with Jamie Kyle (pg18) illustrates how the heightened popularity of the online world, has created a whole new platform for people to network. It allows us to discover artists, musicians, designers from around the globe, who would otherwise to us, go unknown. This was proved evident in Kathryn Evans interviews with international designers (pg90) where she spoke to Project Graphics from Kosovo, Sadahiro K azunori from Japan and Apfel Zet from Germany to discover how the different characteristics of our countries and how that relates to design. This issue also sees Spindle’s selection of ‘Ones to Watch 2011’. Our six chosen ones aren’t just incredibly talented, but filled with determination and deserve to succeed, from designing their own album artwork, to organising their own tours and videos, their passion and drive gains a huge amount of respect from all at Spindle HQ. If you’re not all that familiar with Spindle, log onto our website: www.spindlemagazine.com where you can read the first two issues online. Hope you enjoy this issue, and stay tuned for issue 4: the ‘Perfection’ issue

Issue 3 // 2011

GHOSTCAT are a super hip duo made up of a delirious , fun time sound-clash of dancefloor beats , pop lust and sonic sleaze. The match between Ali Cat and Dan Gamble is a perfectly twisted one , fusing a narcoleptic Chinese/Canadian Wu Tang fan singer against an enigmatic Madonna-loving Japanese/English synth guru. Guitarist Dan Gamble spent his early life hopping between Tokyo and London listening to American pop and deconstructing 80s stadium rock. Born in Toronto, singer Ali Cat was the guitarist in an all-girl teen punk band at sixteen. By 2006 she was living in an aspiring art collective’ in Kilburn, Ali explained “we lived in the same house and just naturally started making music together”.

The twosome took time recording their debut album in the London basement studio owned by Prince’s engineer Chuck Norman, however spent a lot of the time arguing over the limits of its eclecticism so handed over their musical truce to the mastering suite and both headed to the Far East. They were then picked by French director Charles De Meaux to appear in his Chinese Mafia gambling movie ‘Stretch’ and flew to Thailand to film their scenes. They forgot to return to the UK, instead being lured by the nocturnal temptations of DJ-ing in Bangkok nightclubs, but some months later ended up in Italy doing a gig for Prada and realised it was high time to head back London and finish the album. They hope to finally release their broken-hearted, party pop noirdance album in April this year 2011... excited... us... er... yeah!

Issue 3 // 2011 words

Bee Adamic photography

Christopher George Sims styling

Sara Darling Makeup

Keti Nikolova hair

La Lah styling assistant

Hermione Russell Illustration

Laura Brown

LeeLou’s carefully crafted post-punk sound is both intelligent and exhilarating ; there’s a substance to her music so often lacking in today’s chart fodder.

GhostCat Ali

Dress: Anya Wilkinson Tights: Miss Selfridge GhostCat Dan

Top: Jesire Trousers: Cheap Monday LeeLou

Dress: Jaeger Boutique Tights: Pretty Polly

LeeLou’s powerful voice tears through the rich tapestry of Paul Simm’s production to create inventive and adventurous pop music that cuts straight to the core. LeeLou, aka Rebekah Dobbins explained that turned her musical inspirations range from artists such as The Pixies to Bob Dylan and from books and poetry and general day-to-day experiences. A random encounter in the West End led her to meet Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague who later

invited her to join the band for their forthcoming tour, before turning her full time attention to this project with songwrititing and creative partner Paul Simm. “Paul and I met up again and we started to write more that’s when we found we had something unique to work with. We travelled around London, New York and LA for inspiration, writing as much as we could, we spent months honing the sound. Music isn’t a vocation, it’s a part of us which has to be fed in order for us to exist. Without it we drown. I’m here because I want it more than anything else”. LeeLou released her debut EP, ‘Kiss. Death. Love. Come.’ in October last year. Dark, edgy and effortlessly cool, it’s a hugely accomplished debut. Beautiful, sexy, and intelligent with a true rock’n’roll spirit

Issue 3 // 2011

“ I can imagine that this is on par with getting your dream fixed by Jimmy Saville. After 6 years of working hard and playing harder it fills me with comfort to know that it’s now starting to pay off my debts.” Meet Amy Forrester, AKA AMiTY: Brighton’s resident one woman band. words

Amy Lavelle

photogrpahy

Shane Hawkins Illustration

Hannah Forward

While it wasn’t always music for AMiTY (“as a tot, my mind was too busy on football and kiss chase”) since learning her guitar chords, she’s become a fixture on the local touring circuit, earning a reputation as one of Brighton’s finest due to her propensity to pick up any instrument on stage close to hand and her bare all with her lyrics.“After performing

songs about past lovers and one night stands in front of my parents of all people, there are no skeletons left to bare.” But, having been a fixture on the Brighton circuit for some time, the New Year will see Ms Forrester retire to her Wolverhampton bedroom. “I’ve come to a point where I need to take a step back, slow down and put my thoughts back together. I was finding myself performing the same set and falling into the overplaying Brighton trap.” So instead, it’ll be home cooked meals, and a chance to create some new material, before she re-launches herself onto the scene. “My aim is to come back stronger, better and hopefully wiser. For 2010 my goal was to tour the UK, which I independently achieved. For 2011 I want to be all over the festivals like an overpriced burger van.”

Issue 3 // 2011 I was fortunate to catch up with Matthew Whitehouse, Joseph Kondras, Ryan Wallace and Chris Deakin of British indie rock band The Heartbreaks to ask them a little bit about how life was going for them right now as a band. Having all met in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecame, Matt explained he remembered Ryan from playing out as a kid, “he was always roller blading and with Joseph and myself we met at the Moscow State Circus on Rylands Park, then Deaks just turned up one day with a guitar under his arm and a spring in his step. We went skinny dipping in the crab pool on Morecambe promenade and the rest as they say is history” They relocated to Manchester, but however claim to be obsessed by the seaside Joseph added “with its faded glamour” and “tacky, tragic beauty you can’t beat British coastal towns such as Morecambe” When listening to their tracks you will hear smatterings of Presley, Costello and Springsteen in some of them. For these sensitive souls sing about the rain falling down on a humdrum town. There is also a dose of Suede’s glam stomp in their music, too, and a degree of 60s Glasvegas-style shimmer and echo that betrays a love of girl-group pop. There is a lot happening for The Heartbreaks in 2011 and this will almost certainly be the year that they shine words

Bee Adamic photogrpahy

Jean-Luc Brouard Illustration

Denis Carrier

Issue 3 // 2011

Acid Washed can only be described as a two-man process made up of Richard D’Alpert and Andrew Claristidge: two DJ’s keen on using modern and vintage equipment to create sophisticated electronics with a sharp pop aesthetic. The result is a fusion of late nineties French house vibes and DFA disco touches that acknowledges the influence of Chicago and Detroit without being overly reverential. Their sense of style hasn’t gone unnoticed outside of the music world. I was lucky enough to catch up with them both in between parties. I ask Andrew how it feels to be one of the most blogged acts of 2010 after gaining massive recognition their remix of Kelis’ track ‘Acapella’. “Honestly, it’s a very nice feeling as we’ve been working really hard on our music & musical development over the last year” Acid Washed haven’t earnt their success overnight and I quiz them on how it all started. Richard replies “I met Andrew about 10 years ago in one of the most infamous streets in Paris. Unfortunately gentrification is killing it now but back then it was a mysterious underworld of crack, prositutes, shady thai massage saloons and we had the same passion for filthy dancefloors & dirty music

especially the Detroit/UR techno scene and the Berlin electronic music scene. We started to DJ together all over the world, and then one day, we thought hey, maybe it would be great to put all these memories in on album.. that is how Acid Washed was born” Their self-titled album includes lots of guest productions from the likes of Dakar and Christian Kreuz who Richard exclaims with great enthusiasm “we were fortunate enough to work with our friends, Laura Lippie is one my best friends same for Christian, I prefer to work with people where the bond stretches further than a musical connection, a common background formed from countless evening spent drinking and reminiscing”. 2010 was certainly a great year for Acid Washed and their music was often featured on a number of catwalks for R.Cavalli, Agnes B, Zadg & Oltairemore to name but a few. I predict an even better year for the duo in 2011 with number of exciting collaborations both in music and fashion

words

Bee Adamic Illustration

Simon Cook

Issue 3 // 2011

Yes, I know how that sounds. It’s not exactly de rigueur for a dance tune.

Founded by Le Tigre’s JD Samson and Johanna Fateman , MEN is the band/ art/performance collective who use their powerful live performances , combining costume and art , to articulate their socio/sexual political views. To dance music.

But the idea is central to the entire concept of the band. Their stage personas and the use of costume and art on stage, is a vital part of their pivotal performances and the way in which they convey their views and opinions to their fans.

words

Amy Lavelle photogrpahy

Daniel Regan Illustration

Carlos Garde-Martin

“Building on a stage persona is important to me. Putting on a new outfit in general is really meaningful as a performer. Then having that outfit used to occupy a particular space for content and context is really fun.” Ultimately, it is from this train of thought that they derived the very name.

“It comes from the idea that we are all men. We can all be whatever the fuck we say we are. Just like Eminem says. I am whatever I say I am.” So what exactly is an ‘art collective’? “We work with other artists to collaborate on musical projects as well as visual art projects. Including other people helps us to appreciate the project more.” And, or course, their worst haircut? “Shaved with a long bleach blonde front bit that went behind my ear. And then two curls in front of each ear.” Bloody hell

Issue 3 // 2011

Mr Pustra, Vaudeville’s darkest muse is a character drawn on the styling of Weimar culture and performers of the 1920’s and 1930’s. A visually compelling and often tragic character, he has performed at LFW, Edinburgh Festival and will be appearing at Coney Island, NY next year followed by a short US tour. Mr Pustra is also an illustrator, photographer and video editor and has screened at various fashion weeks, Selfridges London, Act Art, Videoholica in Bulgaria and Fonlad Digital Arts Festival in Portugal www.myspace.com/mrpustra

Photography

Christopher George Sims Styling/Costume design

Lenka Padysakova Makeup

Mr Pustra Top Hat

Amy Jansen-Leen Millinery Illustration

Mr Pustra

Issue 3 // 2011

When and why did you start the blog? I started blogging about half way through my degree two years ago. My current blog is an offspring of 2 former blogs (rest in digital peace). This was initially, and remains to be, my online sketchbook. It helps me to keep track of what I’m doing and it allows me to present my work in a much more direct and practical way. An online CV come portfolio, as such. The fact that the blog platform is much easier and quicker to have than your own personal website was a big factor too. id you have a plan of how and what D you would post – and looking back, has that changed to how and what you post now? I guess I had a rough plan, at first it was mainly for my tutors and peers to keep them up to date with my projects through photos, videos, drawings and text that I would find online. What differs now is that my posts are for my own benefit. I post drawings/photographs/videos that I’ve done in my own time, to show I’m still creatively active – it keeps me motivated too. It’s also become a lot more like a

typical blog in the sense it’s more reflective and I would write more (which I usually detest) about little bits and bobs I found interesting, as well as the latest projects I’d undertaken but in a lot more detail. I guess I do this to get more of my personality across, I don’t mean that in a self absorbed way, I mean; if you were to read a celebrity blog, you can hear their voice in your head as you already know them, bloggers like myself have to put more effort in, in that sense. hat was the first example of how your W blog reached others; for example, did someone comment/give positive feedback, contact you directly, etc.? It was mostly friends and tutors who would compliment me or give me any sort of feedback, the usual stuff like “Nice one!” or “Good work”. Then I got a few compliments from complete strangers. In one post about a certain filming technique called Stereoscopic vision, this guy posted to me a detailed paragraph about the technique; I was amazed, to say the least. That’s when I realised a blog can have a lot of potential.

Issue 3 // 2011

hen did you first receive ‘work’ or W an ‘opportunity’ as a result of the blog? And what was it/who was it for? When I graduated I immediately sent out a tidal wave of emails to prospective design studios, with a short paragraph about myself as well as my blog address attached. As you can imagine, I didn’t get a whole lot of responses back, but this one guy returned my email. He was from ‘Duckeye’, who specialise in music videos and TV commercials, saying he would like to bring me on as Assistant Animator for a week to help out with a TV commercial he was working on. It turned out to be for Peugeot, and involved jigsaw pieces and stop frame animation. It has now been aired on Channel 4, and he wants to have me down for future projects.

words

Emily Amelia Inglis Illustration

Jamie Kyle

until now, what work and/or Up opportunities have occurred that you would consider would not have done so, had you not had the blog? Animation. Art Directing. Screenwriting. Further Photography (It has always been a hobby of mine, but it has really encouraged me to showcase more photos) Writing for fun. hat is it about the platform of W ‘the blog’ that you prefer over having a website to showcase your work/ thoughts/etc.? It’s without a doubt so much easier to set up and function than the tedious tasks of creating a website. I do plan to build a website at some point, but I find it so draining. Even when you have to update it, it can take a lot longer than simply going on to your blog, typing in some text, attaching a photo and pressing ‘done’.

When I graduated I immediately sent out a tidal wave of emails to prospective design studios , with a short paragraph about myself as well as my blog address attached.

Issue 3 // 2011

Keep it simple and fresh , and I think the most important thing is to do it for yourself, and not for an audience. You ’ ll get a lot more self-satisfaction out of it.

hat, if any advice, would you give to W the person you were before you had the blog and the experience you have now? Would you create the blog in the same way, or would you have possibly done certain things differently? I think I would create my blog in the same way. It’s worked well for me and for what I’ve needed. The only advice I would give to my former unblogged self, is to keep to a structure of 1 or 2 posts a week. New bloggers always overload it straight away, which is great for showing enthusiasm, but it soon fades and is forgotten about – which is a shame. Keep it simple and fresh, and I think the most important thing is to do it for yourself, and not for an audience. You’ll get a lot more self-satisfaction out of it.

Also, you have to remember to have a good balance of pictures and text, no one really likes just a text based blog, it can get very boring reading a prose-esque blog, but on the other side of the coin; no one likes just pictures, because it seems lazy and often points are missed as people are more likely to scroll past a stream of images. Have there been any downfalls to using the blog? Ha! Well…the impression I get is that my friends grow a bit tiresome of me encouraging feedback from my latest post, which is fair enough! Other than that, nothing major I would say, perhaps that it puts a bit of a pressure on myself to post things really interesting or really cool but I just need to keep it simple and remember it’s for my benefit

Issue 3 // 2011

Hi Charlie, How the devil have you been? It’s been a very long time since our paths have crossed. I know that you’ve been busy, so what are you working on at the moment? Hi, Ah I’m very good and very busy. I’m working on something with Disney at the moment, for Rapuntzel: their new movie. There’s an exclusive for you. Ah it all sounds very lucrative and exciting. Have you always had the fascination with hair? Yes, since I was a young boy and used to see all the lovely womens hair in my mothers pub. They all looked so fantastic, and glamorous. I’m picturing your mother as being a hybrid somewhere between Bet Lynch and Peggy Mitchell. Did you find it difficult to get where you are now, career wise? Did you find that it was a tough slog to get to this height in your profession? I don’t think I’m at the peak or at the top of my profession in any way. I think I’m far from it. You just need to test yourself all the time… and have sex with the right people.

Your first collection at London Fashion Week was only last year, What do you find, style wise, that is so unique about London? It’s meant to be such a hub for creativity but lately it’s just boring. I loved everything about London a few years ago, everyone was dressing up and living for the night-time, but now everyone has their heads down. We need a new generation to come through to fire things up a little. Are you planning on staying in London for the meantime, and if you had to live anywhere else, where would that be? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I like London but I want to see other places, a place that houses more freaks! I like Berlin a lot. It’s like the new Dalston. How do you prepare for a show like London Fashion Week? I work alongside amazing people so it’s quite easy, but it’s more of a question of producing good work. It’s not really a question of press or agents, they never really help.

Describe your own personal style? I’m a Gypsie. I don’t have A style. It shifts around a lot. Like a gypsie. I mix it up a lot, I’m fortunate enough to have a creative set of friends so I wear a lot of their designs too.

What is the worst hairstyle that you have ever had? I once had a cross on my forehead. It wasn’t bad, it was just an acquired taste. I loved it but it got frowned upon by the general public.

I loved you lips collection, how did you manage to think of a project that was so outlandish? I think that just the pure thought of having hair on and around your lips is disgusting, so that’s why I chose to do it. The models looked amazing walking down the catwalk with these huge fucking lips stuck to the tops of their head. So sleek.

What direction do you predict mens grooming to go? It’s going to go forward. Men will soon be more groomed than the elegantest of ladies. Everyone should just wear wigs. Who is your favourite menswear designer, past or present? I like Moschino and I love Levi’s Red label.

Issue 3 // 2011

Charlie Le Mindu burst on to the UK fashion scene after starting out as a hairdresser at the ripe old age of 13. He is renowned for his sculptural wigs, couture clothing and accessories made from the finest quality human hair. Le Mindu has pushed the boundaries and put the ‘styling’ into hair stylist and ‘dresser’ into hairdresser.

Questions

Laura Hayward Interview

Shane Hawkins Illustration

Jordan Gyoury

What hair products do you use? Shu eumura. It has an amazing scent and it leaves the texture of my hair in beautiful condition. My hair is constantly morphing into something else so I like to give it a good rest sometimes. i might just shave it all off and keep the cuttings for a future wig. I heard that you used to cut the hair of Barbie dolls when you were a young boy. Do you prefer to work with long hair or shorter crops? I prefer longer hair, especially longer hairs on boys. I still have Barbies but my muses to me are like the human equivelant. Was it a lot of fun doing your ‘pop up salon’ in Berlin and Soho’s Machine-A boutique? I can imagine that to get pretty messy? Oh it was amazing. We all had so much fun but when it came to the end of the day we were hardly cutting any hair and just dancing around, drinking and being crazy. Have you ever had a client that has ever been disappointed with a cut or a style that you have created? No! Never! I think if it ever came to that point, then that’s when I would consider giving the job up as a career and keeping it as a hobby. You’ve worked with some amazing creatives and artists, if you could cut anyones hair who’s would that be? I love working with everyone, if they’re interesting and individual. They don’t have to be famous, wealthy or popular. All i ask is that they have an open mind, a creative eye and a wild imagination. I love Jodie Harsh and singer, Peaches, they’re both so outspoken and full of character. They take risks and trust my ideas. I love to have a great relationship with my muses. I make them look good and they make me look good. They promote me... on their heads

Issue 3 // 2011

YOU REGULARLY SHAVE YOUR HEAD no AS A CHILD, YOU CHANGED YOUR HAIR COLOUR TO MATCH YOU’RE MY LITTLE PONY YES YOU’VE BEEN KNOWN TO COLOUR COORDINATE YOUR DATES WITH YOUR BARNETt YES YOU THINK DAVINA MCCALL IS THE ANTICHRIST OF HAIR DYE YES YOU MOOD STONE IS SYNCHORNISED WITH YOUR HEART AND YOUR HEAD YES OF COURSE COLOUR MATTERS! YES I CAN SEE A RAINBOW, SEE A RAINBOW, SEE A RAINBOW... NO WAIT, THAT’S YOUR HAIR. IS THAT SHORT GUY WITH YOU YOUR DATE OR A LOST LEPRAUCHAN LOOKING FOR HIS POT OF GOLD?

Charlie Le Mindu Hair Quiz

YES SORRY, THIS IS THE WRONG QUIZ FOR YOU no no

no no no

YOU WERE BORN WITH HAIR AND HAVEN’T CUT IT SINCE YES WITH THE RIGHT HAIR MOUSSE, COUSIN IT COULD HAVE BEEN A TOTAL BABE YES YOUR FRIENDS ARE USED TO HEARING YOU SAY “HAIRBALL! HAIRBALL!” *COUGH. HACK. SPIT* YES YOU CAN TAKE OUT A MAN WITH YOU HAIR TOSS. LITERALLY. YES THE DOCTORS TELL YOU THOSE HEADACHES ARE THE INEVITABLE RESULT OF GRAVITY ON YOUR PONYTAIL YES ‘RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN THY FAIR HAIR!’ AND RISK SCALPEL DAMAGE AND SPLIT ENDS FOR SOME IDIOT MAN? BUT YOU GET THE PICTURE: YOU’RE HAIRY.

no no

AS A CHILD, YOU HAD THE BIGGEST COLLECTION OF HAIR ACCESSORIES YES SEVERAL ‘SIGHTINGS’ OF UFO’S HAVE ALL BEEN DOWN TO POOR VISIBILITY AND YOUR HAT COLLECTION YES THOSE SIX INCH SPIKES AREN’T ON YOUR SHOES YES YOU ONCE HAD AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT OF TOSSING YOUR HEAD AND TAKING OUT THE GUY STANDING BEHIND YOU WITH YOUR UP DO YES OF COURSE SIZE MATTERS! YES SOME SORT OF GROWTH...? NOPE, JUST THIS SEASON’S HAIR ADORNMENT

Issue 3 // 2011

Issue 3 // 2011 Photography

Natasha Alipour-Faridani

Assistant

Markus Milcke

words

Emily Amelia Inglis

Illustration

Hannah Forward

Issue 3 // 2011

Issue 3 // 2011 The Spring/Summer 2011 collection was inspired by the ‘fantasy and illusion’ of the ‘speed and movement’ of the Carousel horses, of which you have compared and related to life and how we live it. Would you consider this a direct reflection of your life past or present? I remember as a kid that although I never stood still back then I seem to have had more time to reflect. As the years have passed, time seems to have sped up and I am often caught up in a whirlwind of fast paced living now. My home is a haven where I allow myself space, but I never actually stop. Where were you when you first noticed the intricacies of the Carousel; had you gone looking for inspiration or is this something that had come to you previously? I stumbled across the horses at a Christmas fair in Birmingham city centre. I have always been fascinated with these circus creatures. They are beautiful but they also have a sinister and plastic feel to them, like clowns that give some people the creeps. The series of photographs I took sought to capture of this line between beauty and darkness. It was at this time that I experienced the illusion of pace and speed, and my experience was magnified by the chiming old music of the Carousel. I knew that I wanted to create pieces that were full of colour and light, to celebrate its positive attributes and fantasy. Whilst we have, more often than not, all grown up looking on in glee at these historical icons with their frozen-in-time galloping horses and colourful exteriors, Carousels can also exude an almost eerie quality if we allow them to. The video created for the collection, shown on your website, seems to reflect this. When did you find in the design process, that this darkness came out of something otherwise innocent and light-hearted? It’s always been there and I suppose it’s in most of my work. There is always a dark side to most parts of life and people. The film portrays this. I envisage that my work will follow this path, where the Spring Summer Collection will be full of colour and my Autumn Winter Collection will be dark.I’ve already artworked my next collection, which is based on dead birds. Tell me more about the design itself; you have layered other aspects such as spiral graphs. (Please take the time to take the readers through the design, the evolvement and other aspects of the collection.) The spiral graphs are layered prints over the surface of the digital prints. These represent a playful element to the prints but also the movement of spinning circles, like the Carousel’s movement. It is important for me to have layering within the work and not to just rely on digital

printing. I like to add texture to my pieces. This might happen before I scan or replicate a design. i.e. take an image, manipulate it from textiles, print this digitally and then manipulate it further through re-printing or by adding texture. This has always been my working process. Carousels and spiral graphs, are all reminiscent of many childhoods – is your childhood something you referred to a lot, or was this a coincidence and/or is this just how the creative process seemed to flow for you? I didn’t have a spiral graph as a kid but I did draw a lot. I found the spiral graph set at a car boot sale a while back and loved the idea of lines converging to create pattern – very 70’s, which I suppose was from my early childhood, like the string art fad. I like the geometric patterns, which in turn create organic flowing shapes. As a British designer, how important is it for you to have your pieces created in England? And will this ever change? I love being able to create here, though it is costly and in this present climate this is not good. Creating in England has its advantages as you can easily check on your production, making the process quicker. I was contemplating writing ‘Made in England’ on my labels but am unsure if this is a good or bad thing. As a statement, it doesn’t seem to have the pull for buyers or consumers that it used to. Expanding into your many other positions as artist, curator and producer; let’s focus on the incredible success that is On|Off. With the state of the economy at present, for many, graduating and finding work, most specifically in a sector that they wish to work and have studied years for, how important is it to give aid and provide that platform? In short, how important is On|Off to budding designers? (If possibly, please provide an example of how On|Off has opened doors for a designer that would otherwise not have received such opportunities.) On|Off provided support to designers such as Aminaka Wilmont, Hannah Marshall, Peter Pilotto, Mark Fast, Osman, Emilo de la Morena, Tim Soar and JW Anderson who all debuted at On|Off before going on to be awarded New Gen. Many of these designers had no other means to showcase their collections in a professional and international platform. On|Off was the first event of its kind and pioneered showcasing during London Fashion Week. On|Off is independent and struggles to finance itself. It receives little support from the British Fashion Council or the government.

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Our track record or supporting and delivering design over hype is testament to our professionalism and passion for the survival of our design industry. When I meet a talented designer I cannot help but want to help them succeed. For those who are presently studying, or have just graduated, how would you advise them to not only take their first step into the business, or to approach On|Off, but also how to inspire themselves as creatives and to keep expanding their horizons, the way in which you have. Learn from the mistakes of others, you’ve got time. I would recommend working for a designer first. If you want to set up a small label, work for a designer for 6 months or a year. If you eventually want to become a designer for a major label then find yourself a job under a designer in a major label for a similar period. You need to make sure that you are well prepared before you start your own label and realise that it’s not all glamour and parties. Its a life’s work and requires an absolute focus on succeeding.Get yourself a business plan in place and or a business person behind you. Take it slow and build stockists because without sales you have no business. Never stand still and be true to yourself. Strive forward and believe that anything is possible. I’m like a Rottweiler and I never let go until it’s done!

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Left

Metallic woven dress: Samantha Brooke Woven belt: American Apparel right

Perspex necklace: House of Flora Multi-coloured knitted dress: Laura Theiss Tights: Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

Photography

Kevin Mason at Garage Studios Hair

Emma Hedges Styling

Heather Falconer makeup

Anna Inlgis Hall Model

Dinara at Premier photography Assistants

Natasha Alipour-Faridani and Markus Milcke fashion Assistants

Steph Payne and Elise Kerr Illustration

Denis Carrier

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Crochet black dress: Samantha Brooke Tarten printed wool tights: Samantha Brooke Perspex necklace: House of Flora

Issue 3 // 2011

Crochet black dress: Samantha Brooke Tarten printed wool tights: Samantha Brooke Perspex necklace: House of Flora

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Issue 3 // 2011 Purple trench coat: Deploy Peacock print bikini: Seafolly Brown shoes: Nico D ‘Jaguar’ necklace & bracelets: Maria Lau

Photography

Christopher George Sims Fashion Editor

Sara Darling

Hair & Makeup

Oscar Alexander using Tigi products Model

Brooke at Select Photography Assistant

Benjamin Penaguin Fashion Assistant

Barbara Kalwajtys illustration

Laura Brown

Issue 3 // 2011 Check mac: Land’s End Gold ‘Love & Peace’ earrings: Laura Gravestock Gold cuff: Sam Ubhi

Issue 3 // 2011 Gold coin necklace: Sam Ubhi Metallic swimming costume: Seafolly Snake arm cuff: Fashion Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

Issue 3 // 2011 Suede trench coat: Marc Cain Pink bikini: Puma Glass necklace: Gabilo Gold belt: Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Shoes: Finsk

Bolero jacket: Beautiful Soul Orange bikini: Seafolly Gold shoes: Tamaris Stcking bracelets & hoop earrings: Laura Gravestock

Issue 3 // 2011

Issue 3 // 2011 Left

1950s bikini: Land’s End ‘Swirl’ earrings: Sam Ubhi ‘Disco ball’ bracelet: Sam Ubhi ‘Majestic’ bangle: Laura Gravestock Turquoise chiffon jacket: Nico D this page

Dark grey mac: Lipsy Metallic sunglasses: Adidas Swim suit: Seafolly

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Issue 3 // 2011 left (Jeremy)

Shirt: Beyond Retro Trousers: H&M Shoes: Vans left (Max)

Scarf: Beyond Retro Top: Created by stylist Jeans: Topman Below

T-shirt: Created by stylist Trousers: Monkee Genes Belt: Beyond Retro Boxers: Modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Shoes: Vans

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right left

Scarf: Beyond Retro Jumper: H&M Skulls: www.brighthelmstoneltd.co.uk

Blazer: H&M Top and scarf: Created by stylist Belt: Beyond Retro Jeans: Topman

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Below

Blazer: H&M Top and scarf: Created by stylist Belt: Beyond Retro Jeans: Topman Shoes: Vans

Photography

Art Direction

Styling

Models

Makeup

illustration

Sarah Bird

Lauren Eva Lydia Pankhurst

Lauren Eva and Sarah Bird Jeremy Boateng and Max Sztyber Sally Renshaw

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Lois wears

Latex headress: Atsuko Kudo Lace dress: American Apparel Hooded jacket: Lee Lapthorne

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Photography

Kevin Mason at Garage Studios Styling

Heather Falconer hair

Emma Hedges Makeup

Anna Inglis Hall Model

Lois at Storm Photography assistants

Natasha Alipour-Faridani and Marcus Milcke Interns

Elise Kerr and Erika Welsh Illustration

Sarah Ferrari

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Photography

Jenny Brough

Art Direction

Styling

Lauren Eva

Lauren Eva and Jenny Brough

Makeup/Hair

Model

Retouching

illustration

Rosie Lee

Monica Chamorro

Oliver Vaughn Rory Walker

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To Eurovision: Europe’s most celebrated tradition and all time favourite show. The institution that first gave us ABBA. So much more than just another music competition, Sir Terry said it best when he called it an ‘Event’. In other words, off key singing, spectacularly hideous outfits and dance routines that would make the choreographers behind ‘The Macarena’ cringe. Royal weddings and the Olympics can sod off: Europe does it best when it does its worst. Oh Eurovision, how we continue to suffer through you. As a child, Eurovision meant a chance to stay up late on the sofa to enjoy in all its glory the sequins and sparkles, clouds of dry ice billowing across the stage and the drier ripostes of Sir Tezza, as we watched the finest examples of what Britain’s music industry had to offer and felt the waves of patriotism wash over us. Remember the glory days of Bucks Fizz or Sandie Shaw’s bare feet?

Nope, me neither, because I’m of the generation that brought you Scooch. Let’s face it, unless you were watching from the finer shores of pretty much anywhere in Europe other than the UK, in more recent years you’d be confronted with the likes of Jemini; an act so terrible that not even turning up the volume of their backing vocalists’ microphones could save the situation or sufficiently

drown them out. That year, we couldn’t even rely on the customary vote of neighbouring Ireland and walked away with nul points, making Malta’s loss in ’72 with 48 points look not so bad. Oh Malta, how we make you feel better about yourself. (You’re on your own with that dress this year though; that was unforgivable). And then there was this year, when the only way was

most certainly not Essex with (Essex born) Josh Dubovie’s performance another exercise in the cringe. It didn’t sound good to anyone, Josh. Unfortunately, none of these contestants were available for comment. Luckily, though, Boogaloo Stu, host of the BBC’s interactive commentary, was. Oh Stu, why do we unceasingly choose such irredeemably crap acts?

Issue 3 // 2011 “I’m not sure really if it’s the acts to blame. In recent years the addition of so many new countries who all vote for each other has skewed the voting perspective. I’m not sure that anything will change until the powers-that-be actually change the way that songs are voted for. Having said that, I think the UK has had some terrible choices in recent years.” And of course he’s right, it is all politics. Sir Terry himself sounded off to the BBC about this voting issue; with certain

countries consistently voting in blocs, as a lonely little island housing a nation of people who believe the best way to get the rest of Europe on side is to speak louder and slower, we can hardly expect much of a look in. And while, yes, most of the time it is in fact definitely the act to blame, it’s easier on the patriotism to blame it on the corrupt political voting alliances at work. It’s just all so un PC. Stu, however, remains positive that success is within reach.

“I really think we missed out on Eurovision success with Justin Hawkins, and also a very pregnant Katie Price. Can you imagine how amazing that would have been, just for the spectacle? I think the board need to consider which stars, British or otherwise, are very successful in Europe and Russia, and choose accordingly. Sophie Ellis- Bextor’s career may be in freefall here in the UK, she has recently had two number one hits in Russia... Get her to represent the UK and she could quite possibly steal the crown

thanks to all those Russian and Eastern European fans...” Let’s face it Britain: drastic measures need to be taken now. It’s time to shape up our act and become something more than just the entry that makes everyone else look good. It’s time to find a genuine talent to represent us come May; finally, we have a chance to validate the existence of the X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Or failing that, we should at least be able to get the Cheeky Girls

words

Amy Lavelle Illustration

Ben Jensen

Issue 3 // 2011

Last weekend ended like every weekend ends. Approximately ten inebriated people crammed into my hovel of a flat, fully devolved into animals. One by one we would wrestle for control of the computer and play to the others our bands of the moment, each hoping to enlighten the brethren with his choice of song, and win the coveted prize of musical superiority. For a second it looked like I was winning; my excellent selections of ‘The Drookit Dogs – Cradle Song’ followed by ‘The Heartbreaks – Liar, my dear’ had gone down extremely well. I finally put on Frankie Miller’s stunning rendition of “Jealousy” and it looked like I had this party wrapped up, when suddenly Tom approached the computer.

Issue 3 // 2011

words

Dominic VonTrapp Illustration

Zoë Bryant

om is not a handsome man. His porcine features rest uncomfortably on his clothes, as if he were sculpted by a child, who had halfway through got distracted and wandered off. He also has a touch of the smug about him, which on occasion, makes you want to beat his face in with a stick. “Have you heard of The Low Anthem?” he asked, eyebrows raised high over flabby red cheek bones. “Nope” I responded, already feeling the sickness of ignorance. “Really?” he asked with faux-shock “I’m surprised actually” No you aren’t Tom. Not one bit. You asked that question with the precise hope I hadn’t heard of them, just so you could thrown it in my face you fucking shit. We all sat back as Tom pawed at my Mac keyboard like a horny bear searching for a lover. “Listen to this” he said, and after briefly touching his crotch, selected a song called “To Ohio” and sat back in his chair.

or three and a half minutes a room made up of entirely drunk, mostly stupid people sat in complete silence. Ben Knox Miller’s voice spoke with a wonderfully subtle timbre as each word seemed to ask the permission of the acoustic guitar before gently interrupting it. The organ, combined with the painstakingly layered harmonies and richness of yet more acoustic guitar during the huge chorus stunned the room into a somber submission. The song ended and still no one spoke. After a gap of about ten seconds that felt like ten years I broke the silence with a reluctant white flag, “Well done Tom”

walked up to the small backstage room with some caution. Ben had also refused to have his picture taken, which, as I had shown up with a photographer and three or four cameras, had made things slightly awkward. We sit down and exchange some pleasantries. I asked him if he felt the new record, featuring far higher production values than the original, was a departure from their distinctly lo-fi offering ‘What The Crow Brings’. He answered slightly defensively “I don’t think it got any less DIY really, you know we still have our hands involved in all the same things we used to it’s just before we only had like one microphone. The new record is done with the same sort of idea. We went to a building that we found inspiring and worked like a pack of ants preparing and furnishing and running all the electrical and all the different things and set up this building as a temporary recording studio. It used to be a pasta sauce factory”

wonder if the title ‘Oh My God Charlie Darwin’ was a deliberate juxtaposition. “Yes. It’s hard too talk specifically about that... but it’s not an accident” I was surprised by his cageyness. “it’s just that the more say that something has one specific interpretation you eliminate all the other ones that exist”

ask him why the band were always absent in their music videos, does it not help with promotion if people know what you look like? “We’re not interested in having ourselves

in the video, you know strutting about trying to you know...come down the street in some leather jackets or whatever. You wouldn’t have a Lady Gaga song and then say there was anything that wasn’t referential back to her, so she belongs in that video. But do we belong in Charlie Darwin? I don’t think so, it’s not a song about us” Would he say then that one of the differences between pop music and folk music is that in folk music the artist is not necessarily the protagonist? “Yeah there’s a distinction that’s pretty useful, the artist could be the protagonist but there’s also a lot of different ways the artist’s that I love have put their own slant on the idea of themselves as protagonist”

ask him what the band have been up to on tour and a wry smile creeps across his face “Ah” he says “a political question” I smiled “Well you refused to answer my Darwin question, I thought I might be able to drag something out of you with some good old fashioned Smash Hits crap”

hereas I am usually cautious to overtly recommend anything to anyone, should you find yourself in a CD shop over the coming months I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of “Oh my God, Charlie Darwin” It is a lesson in songwriting, a beautiful thing forged from the rich history of American music. It is a study in production, bearing all the classic hallmarks of a selfmade record. It is quite simply a delight

Issue 3 // 2011

words

Amy Lavelle

Illustration

Tom Forman

Everything about The Moons suggests that their gig tonight at Concorde 2 should be attended by girls with beehives in shift dresses while hordes of Mods and Rockers do battle on the pavement outside. There should at least be a classic Vespa somewhere in sight. No such luck. They do, however, have the hair cuts and the dapper threads. The Moons are the retro five piece whose sound is an update on old style rock reminiscent of the days of the Kinks and The Who. If you haven’t yet discovered them, now is your grace period to go get yourself acquainted.

Weller’s not only leant the band his moral support, but appeared on their first album, and now the big news is that he’s to appear once again on album number two. “Paul Weller is singing one of our songs on the next album and it sounds wicked so there you go. That’s a nice bit of gossip I think.” Nor is this the only buzz currently surrounding their new album; they’re pretty excited that it will be produced by none other than Edwyn Collins. “Edwyn collects a lot of vintage microphones and he’s got loads of vintage equipment,” Tom says, “so it’s going to be an authentic kind of old sound mixed with the new song writing stuff. It’s gonna be great to use all the proper old gear that we would dream about owning.” They’re more than just a vintage flash back though; while they may take inspiration from days gone by, their sound is a fresh, current take on what’s gone before.“Our songs are always based on older styles but I think they’re very contemporary as well. It’s just out of fashion to everyone else who’s into big trainers and electronica.”

Despite this outfit being fairly fresh faced, you may recognise some of its members (or failing that, at least the people they play with); front man Andy Crofts formed The Moons after his band The On Offs stopped being on, and is a permanent fixture in Paul Weller’s set, while guitarist James Bagshaw plays for the Lightning Seeds. Then there’s the fact that one ex band member is now is a part of Ellie Goulding’s line up. “He spontaneously combusted and then re appeared in Ellie Goulding’s band.” Rest assured, however, that The Moons are top priority for the remaining members, as Andy tells me. “At the end of the day, as a fan of Paul Weller, to be offered to join his band, it’s just like a dream come true. Moons is number one, but I’m loyal to Paul as well because he’s helped us loads in the way that he’s given us studio time, supported us and championed us, if you know what I mean.”

Judging by the reception the band has been facing so far, Collins and Weller are backing a winner. “A mini riot is the best way to put it.” Andy explains. “We played headlining, made it the busiest night they’ve had it in ages, little shits, paying their wages, helping the cleaners out at the end of the night… But we hadn’t even finished the set and they turned the light on halfway through the song. I was saying, ‘turn that fucking light off!’ like you don’t turn it on while we’re playing, do you, cheeky shits. Then the bouncer came up, trying to grab our gear off us.” “Yeah words were said and I think a lava lamp got switched off,” Tom interjects. “All hell broke loose. It was a good gig though, so fair play,” Andy finishes. If you unfortunately missed this, to mark the end of studio time, the band will be taking off on a number of tour dates, so, for the true Moons experience, catch them when they come to town near you

Issue 3 // 2011 words

Amy Lavelle Illustration

Sally Renshaw

There is an air of Romanticism about the fresh faced youngsters that are The Crookes. Maybe this is due to the very English-quaint press photos, which feature them sitting on a wall, or leaning against a wall or standing next to a wall in a stream. Or maybe because they quote their inspiration as everything from “Inky writs on bus stops to some of the works of D.H. Lawrence to films with Jean Seberg in.” Whatever; they’re poets, or so one could be led to believe as they spout lyrics like “She wed, heartache and apathy in her bed”. In other words, they perfectly encapsulate that collection of English Lit students living in a bohemian town somewhere in Sheffield. Whether this is intentional or not, the town seems to have gone a long way to shaping the band’s image.

For starters, all Romanticised image and blazer wearing aside, there’s their name. I’m curious as to whether, had they met in Twatt in Scotland (yes I did do some research into ‘curious’ town names before this interview), they might have opted for something else.

the CD rack next to The Arctic Monkeys. Something they see as an inevitability they’re not entirely resigned to.

“Is that a real place? Good work finding if it is! Even though we are fairly well educated 22 year olds I still find the word Twatt written down funny. I expect we probably would have gone with something else. I think in choosing a name you should select one that doesn’t need to be spelt out every time you say it. A mistake we have been rueing since we first started.”

Location and convenience aside, this comparison isn’t an entirely logical one; The Crookes are a much softer, sweeter, middle class sounding lot who revel in ah woos and la la la’s. They’ve already garnered support of some familiar names. Today’s chat takes place on the same day as early days supporter Steve Lamacq gives their new single ‘Godless Girl’ radio time. “To have a DJ who you have listened to and respected since knowing how to work a radio even play one of your songs is

Then there’s the fact that they will invariably be mentioned in the same breath as/filed in

“If you are in a band from Sheffield and play a guitar then you will inevitably be lumped in with the Arctic Monkeys.”

amazing, but to have the support he has given us is really brilliant.” But the crucial decision of exactly where you file them in your collection can wait unttil March, when their LP is set to be released. “Hopefully it has the potential to make you smile and cry in equal measure.” What with this, their touring plans and the creation of multiple Twitter accounts, the boys have big plans for the year ahead. “World domination ideally. Though I would definitely settle for people buying our record and actually making enough money so as to allow me to stop selling my possessions.” And of course:“Daniel would like to finish his novel about a failed magician.” Good luck to you, chaps

Issue 3 // 2011

words

Amy Lavelle Illustration

Tom Forman

Issue 3 // 2011

“ It’s one of the big problems with society today.” Coming from the mouth of Scroobius Pip, these words are enough to incite fear in the hearts of corporate evils everywhere; Nestle, Coca Cola and The NME have all been condemned in the Commandments according to Pip. In an interview, this is bound to lead to lead to some juicy insight, right? So what is it he’s referring to? Hint: it’s not the Tory government, the failing education system or the screwed economy (although all these issues were discussed in the interview). Nope. It’s VAT. “Jaffa Cakes you pay VAT on but digestives you don’t,” dan le sac weighs in, “’cause one’s a biscuit and one’s a cake. Cakes are a luxury and biscuits are a necessity.” “I know that Jaffa cakes were the ones who made them put specific limitations and rulings on what is a cake and what is a biscuit,” Pip adds, “a biscuit when it goes bad it goes soft, whereas cake when it goes bad it goes hard. So that is legally the difference between a cake and a biscuit.” Holed up before their Brighton gig, the hip hop duo are making their last rounds of grotty dressing rooms for a while. After four years spent on the road, they now plan to have eight months off before their next UK date; with stripped down plans for the festival season, this will be the longest time off that they’ve had in a while. Course, with le sac doing remixes for the likes of The Maccabees and Sage Francis and Pip working on his own solo projects, this isn’t a holiday. Pip: I’m working on a little solo EP in between. Sac: It follows the plight of milkmen around the UK, because it’s a dying art. It’s a very poignant five track EP. Pip: I can’t get a paper delivered around my way. Went to my local place and was like ‘I want a paper delivered’ but it was like 3 days a week and he was like ‘Nah I cant be bothered with that. If you want it all week I’ll do it, but if not I can’t be bothered.’ So now I don’t get a paper. Mug. I’m going to write an EP about paper men and how lazy they are. But that’s not Pip’s only side project currently on the go. All those who appreciated his illustrated written word in graphic novel ‘Poetry in (E)motion’ can now hope for more of the same.

Sac: His nude calendar. Pip: Yes my nude calendar, where I’ve got different artists to interpret my naked forms in their own ways. So that’s cool. A lot of pastels… I’m working on a longer story, possibly a novel… But that isn’t a current project. What is a current project is album three. So are there any corporate entities on the hit list for their third album? It’s not their way to plan these things out. Sac: See what they get up to. It’s all down to them really. Pip: There’s time for someone to rise above the swamp of bad companies and really stand out to take a beating from us. Sac: They must be quaking in their boots. Pip: They must be. There must be a lot of companies in fear of catching my eye. Sac: And I’m sitting here with a pair of Nikes on. Like nine people died to make my trainers. Pip: They were idiots though, all nine of them. I remember them guys. Sac: Yeah they were all fools. Pip: Those nine guys. I hated them. They were all paper delivery guys. Sac: Arseholes. Who couldn’t get work delivering papers because they were too picky so they went to China to work in a sweat shop. Pip: Swines. Sac: Bastards. May that be a warning to all fat cats and corporate bastards (and small business news agents and paper boys working on minimum wage of course). Ah, dan le sac and Scroobius Pip, how you will be missed on this touring embargo. Hurry back, please

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What is in a middle name? Is using your middle initial a sign of importance or pretentions? While the ’90s had the double barrelled surname, these days it seems like if you don’t have a middle name you have been cheated by your parents out of a birthright and you should simply stick a generic letter in there and hope for the best. After all, even Homer Simpson spent an episode tracking down the name behind his J. (It was Jay, in case you missed that episode.) And if my brother has two middle names and I only have one, does that mean my parents love him more than me? Sitting in the press tent at Bestival, it’s probably for the best that I did not pose these questions to David E. Sugar: poster child for the importance of the middle initial. I mean, he’s only been enjoying the accolade of the fine new talent on the electronic music scene since he first emerged on it. He’s got some impressive labels under his belt, too: singer; songwriter; musician; producer to name a few, plus he can do some wicked cool things to a Nintendo Game Boy (and that doesn’t mean completing Super Mario Bros in a day). And speaking of labels, he’s also the latest signing to Rob Da Bank’s label Sunday Best. “It’s sort of a perfect fit for us really. We spent a long time being cornered by larger labels, big labels and stuff like that. I never felt comfortable with a lot of it and Rob is one of the first people who was really touting my stuff and was a big fan… It just made sense.” Originally making waves as one of the early names to be experimenting with chiptune, with the music remaining underground and only recently hitting the mainstream, a lot of Sugars’ back catalogue has only recently started reaching a wider audience. “More recently people are becoming more aware of the stuff I was doing back then, partly because the sound at the time, it was quite ahead of its

Issue 3 // 2011

“More recently people are becoming more aware of the stuff I was doing back then... it was quite ahead of its time.”

time. It’s become a bit more understood and known now it’s been made famous by certain things. So people are a bit more aware of it.” The multifaceted man’s debut album ‘Memory Store’ was released in November, and he’s already working on the next. “I’m writing the second with any spare time I have.” Spare time must be fleeting as, to add to everything else, Sugar’s working on some other side projects, which begs the question: does he ever sleep? “I’ve also got another kind of side project called ‘Wish’, which is a kind of pet project that I’ve been working on for a little bit, and I’m going to release some stuff off of that soon which is sort of crowd rock inspired dance music. And it’s pure dance music but basically it’s me making introspective music and trying to sneak it on to the dance floor. So hopefully that will work.” Friends such as Joe from Hot Chip are also helping pedal some of his other work, including the techno/dub step style album he’s had lying around. “I did a mix of SL2 ‘On A Ragga Tip’ in a kind of dub step style which I did a while ago, which I have a whole album of but I don’t know what to do with it. I keep forgetting about it and then I get reminded occasionally and some of my friends who run this label, Greco-Roman Sound System, have been putting out loads of stuff and I gave them a copy.” And he dressed up like a knight for Bestival. Which he was unfortunately not wearing for this interview. Shame

words

Amy Lavelle photography

Christopher George Sims styling

Sara Darling Illustration

Anton Weflö

Issue 3 // 2011

In July 2010 Mount Kimbie, aka Dom Marker and Kai Campos, released their debut LP Crooks and Lovers - a visionary record which blends electronica, dubstep, hip hop and indie into an atmospheric masterpiece. The albumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique arrangement of sounds, styles and moods has won them fans from all sorts of musical backgrounds and their live show have become one of the most talked about performances of 2010.

Issue 3 // 2011 I caught up with Dom, one half of Mount Kimbie on the first leg of their UK tour at Jam. Dom currently lives in Brighton, making this something of a homecoming show.

How did your gig in Brighton go? Was it nice for you to perform back on home turf? Yeah it was a great show. It was the first on our UK tour and we did a lot of preparation for it with stage plot and how the show would sound. It was fun being back home I always love playing in Brighton. I hadn’t actually heard of Jam before and neither had any of my friends, it’s a great little venue, and refreshing when we get to play small and intimate shows, I think we both prefer them.

Who do you listen to that inspires you both, who do you tip as hot right now!? Tame Impala, we listen to their album Innerspeaker A LOT. It is so catchy and I love the recording of the drums and vocals and guitar and just all of it!! James Blake, pretty standard next few levels up from anything I’ve heard before. His album will sell lots of records, and with good reason! Teebs and Shlohmo, saw them both at Decibel Festival in Seattle, check them out, they blew my mind in the states.

I’d be interested to hear what you get up to in the studio to get your unique sound. I’ve heard stories of Burial sampling staplers and putting them in his tracks, do you do any of that? To a certain extent we do try and get as creative as possible in our respective studios but we use field recordings very rarely, just when it feels right to. We both have pretty basic setups, a PC or Macbook, a couple of pieces of hardware, good monitors and FruityLoops.

You’ve got quite a tour planned, where are you looking forward to playing the most and why?? I can’t wait to be back in the USA. We had so much fun out there and I find it incredibly inspiring in every sense of the word. It feels so far removed from home but still has many similarities, it is a strange place. Can’t wait to get back to Norway and Sweden either, naturally beautiful, clean etc.

You’ve reached similar success to the likes of Joy Orbison, Pariah, James Blake and you’re all in your early twenties – what’s your key to success? We are lucky that labels are so open minded with their output nowadays. I guess aside from that, being honest and staying on whatever path feels right to you in terms of musical direction. People like Shackleton have moved out to Berlin. Does it ever interest you to live in another country to develop your sound? Yes it is something we are considering, I mean it makes sense, we struggle to find studio space anywhere in London that isn’t ludicrously expensive. I am fortunate in that I live in Brighton because I really don’t like the craziness and extra costs of London at all. I find that Europe is just nicer on the eye, cheaper, more relaxed etc. The annoying thing is that Scandinavia is my favourite part of the world so far and that’s even more expensive than London!! Clean alpine air though!

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Bee Adamic Illustration

Miriam Ampersand

Do you have a pre gig rituals? If I have my iPod on me I try to listen to Denise Williams – Free before shows, usually drowned out by the front of house system! It gives me a sense of calm. Jump up and down in the style of a boxer that knows he will probably lose his next fight. You did quite a few festivals this year – which was your favourite? Bestival. We played it really well, the crowd was huge and reacted brilliantly. I always think back to that night before shows and it gets me up for it.

In my opinion, Mount Kimbie have set a high watermark for electronic music in 2010 – the question is, who will be able to keep up? 63

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Once upon a time Sunday Girl was simply a Blondie song and Jade Williams was an anonymous girl working in a pet shop every Sunday with people who couldn’t remember her name. Thus Sunday Girl was born. Now she’s being heralded as the new Ellie Goulding, making a name for herself going under her old alias. Ironic, isn’t it? My how things have changed. It must be tough for a gal trying to make it as a singer/songwriter/synth type when every other girl out there with a penchant for electro pop is doing the exact same thing (and you can find interviews with them in back issues of Spindle). “There’re so many girls out there, so it’s really hard to actually make a dent.” While at some point the winds will likely change again and we’ll be talking about girls who take their cues from The Runaways and The Slits, for now the muses are smiling on the chicks on keys. Sunday Girl is another pretty face in a world awash with like minded and sounding pop sweethearts. In this world, all that you can do is get your EP remixed by a big shot producer (Diplo, thank you) and find another one to help you out with your upcoming debut album (Tim Elliot, you say? Of Ladyhawke and Kylie? Atta girl).

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Amy Lavelle photography

Sam Hiscox

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Maria Sagun

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“There’re so many girls out there, so it’s really hard to actually make a dent.” But Williams has been the darling of both music and fashion blogs alike for a while.

So what is it about Sunday Girl? EP ‘Four Floors’ is getting a lot of attention (a large focus being on Diplo’s remix) and then there’s FenechSoler’s remix of ‘Self Control’; but all that’s saying is that her honeyed tones do well when they’re being digitally blended in a studio somewhere. In truth, Sunday Girl lends a sweet voice to tunes that are catchy, if a little samey and a tad ho hum. She’s not the next Mariah, but she’s got talent. And it’s not like vocal mediocrity has stopped some of her counterparts. That being said, she’s not just another lacklustre pop diva to be with a pretty voice. Ooh no. Combining her background of art and design with a “little niggling feeling” that her destiny involved more than playing with puppies, Williams is showing some media savvy, managing her own wardrobe for her press photos with her trademark “Parisian, masculine, tailored” style (think Coco Chanel and Daphne Guinness) and designing all her own accompanying artwork for her singles and upcoming album.

And chances are, if you weren’t following her progress around the festivals to listen to her sing, you may just have been interested to hear her festival fashion tips she was expounding on her blog and on her column on Msn.com’s style and lifestyle section. Nor is she limited to commenting on other people’s choices. Turns out, she’s a dab hand with DIY fashion too, embroidering her own Miu Miu inspired collars. “I always wear shirts and when Miu Miu did those little collars I thought that was such a good idea and I like doing that.” That and she used to fancy Rolf Harris. “I really did…” I mean, that’s something that makes a girl stand out, right? And now she’s handily got herself a gig supporting Ellie Goulding on her tour. “She’s done really, really well… I really hope I can next year do what she’s done.” I’d bet on it. Under the guise of Sunday Girl, Jade Williams will be anonymous no more. Watch out, Goulding. You’ve got some serious competition with this one

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Archie Bronson outfit: the bluesy rock trio won the attention of Domino Records big boss man Laurence Bell when they played his local, released two albums, ‘Fur’ and ‘Derdang Derdang’ to noisy critical acclaim, rocked out on stage with a big plastic goose and then won The Times/The South Bank Breakthrough Award. Then, the hoopla generated by each album release quieted down again and the trio would go back to playing for their loyal fan base. Somehow, they never quite seemed to permeate the levels of commercial success enjoyed by so many of their peers on the Domino roster. This went on for four years, following the release of ‘Derdang Derdang’, without a whisper of a new album, until 2010 when they came out with ‘Coconut’. Up whirred the hype machine into effect once again. What took them so long?

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Amy Lavelle

“I suppose the actual recording took longer than it could have because we wanted to push ourselves further. We were morphing a little which takes time. At least, it takes time to get your head around what you’re doing and then to adjust it to suit - so we created our own pressure in that way. Also the time between albums seems longer viewed on paper, whereas actually the process was quite continual our end; you just have to factor in touring, writing, touring, time off, writing, abandoning some previous writing, recording, time off, re-recording, mixing, other people’s schedules, release schedules etc.”

Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand have? What was it that led those St. Martins students to protest their very gig? Well, okay, their intense study schedules and dislike of distractions, for the last one. Breaking their own sound as something entirely distinct from many other bands of the moment, ABO have perhaps gained a reputation as being an unapproachable listen: the smash of guitars, often unintelligible lyrics and a distinct nihilism running through their music’s veins doesn’t speak to the easy listeners’ ears. And what is it behind that nihilism?

“Not sure the answer to that is entirely clear (even) to us Out came ‘Coconut’ and “Larg ely th e and hard to distil here in a up went the raucous hoorah words. How about: the for Archie Bronson Outfit fuck ups in life; few past and the present and once again. Working with a combination the future.” producer Tim Goldsworthy, of DFA Records, the band of magnifying, Course, the source of their went down a different path e s c a p i n g creative inspiration may to the last two albums a clue… “Largely the due to “a combination of and re-shaping provide fuck ups in life; a combination a general group wish to them.” of magnifying, escaping and slip into new territories and re-shaping them.” some new tricks taught to us by our producer, Now, with a fourth album on the mend, fans Tim.” And judging by the burr of scuzzy can be reassured it won’t be another long guitars, the echoed slur of lyrics and the wait before their next hit. “It’s shaping up psychedelic overhaul of their sound, this song wise. We’ve been whittling the tapes path was probably multicoloured and wavy down (we have a habit of making many and doused in acid. It was an album which cassette tapes of jams and ideas that we was alternatively lauded as their best to date then wade through) and are now honing and and dismissed as a fuzzy and directionless crafting them somewhat.” attempt to do something a bit different. Or as they put it: “it felt like an album that divided We will, though, have to wait to see which opinion a bit, which I think is fair enough.” direction the band will go down for the next instalment of their diverse discography, and the But what is it that makes Archie Bronson response it receives. Maybe the fourth album Outfit divide opinion so and never quite make will be the one for Archie Bronson Outfit it in the way that bands such as the Arctic

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Philip Dennis

Issue 3 // 2011

Their debut album ‘Sunshine Hit Me’ earned them a Mercury Prize Award nomination and the following two albums, ‘Free The Bees’ and ‘Octupus’ were released to critical acclaim, as well as providing wonderful soundtracks to car adverts. But it’s been a whole three years since The Bees released ‘Octopus’, which begs the question, what the bloody hell have they been doing since 2007? Working on album number four, of course. My God the pressure was on. Or so you’d think, with many arguing that ‘Octopus’ was the band’s finest album to date. But, instead, chatting over drinks two days after the release of latest album ‘Every Step’s A Yes’, The Bees insist that they didn’t feel the pressure; they were just taking their time. “We started recording it as soon as we’d finished our last record, ‘Octopus’, which was in 2007 and we only finished it a couple of days before we had to really.” Of course, with the album already receiving the Time Playlist’s ‘Album of the Week’ accolade, they have every reason to be content. “We had a peak at trying to do this ourselves, releasing our own record, but it’s definitely the job of a record level to do it properly.” It seems that you can’t read (or, for that matter, write) an article on The Bees without mentioning the fact that the Isle of Wight is the band’s creative hub (‘hive’ if you will) in the same breath, and of course it’s common knowledge that ‘Sunshine Hit Me’ was pieced together

in the humble surroundings of Paul Butler’s garden shed. So it would be only natural to assume that this was once again their creative base for album four and it was in their home town of Ventnor that the past few years have been spent, maybe in another shed; especially given that the band have at least musically gone back to their roots with ‘Every Step’s A Yes’. “It’s a bit like going back to square one; in vibe it’s quite similar to our first record.”

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Amy Lavelle Illustration

Sarah Dennis

But if you thought that, then you’d be wrong, ’cause of course this album saw the band take a break from tradition, and by now Paul Butler’s trip has been fairly well documented. Deep in the heart of the Amazon, armed with just “a pair of pants and a stick” (sorry, there aren’t any photos) Butler, under the supervision of local shamen, experimented with the effects of the plant medicine ayahuasca. “It was a lovely experience in the culture of that part of the world and working with the plant doctors, that are genius people, that are selfless. And it was a very profound healing experience. I’ll be gong back. For sure.” Now now, let’s not write this off as just one big drug trip (he didn’t like that the NME did that). In fact, Butler, one on a list of artists to be trying the drug of late, described the experience as “a perfect prelude to recording an album” that essentially reverts back to the style of their first album. “It’s quite dreamy. Psychedelic and dreamy.” And now they’re back they’re making up for lost time. Paul Weller’s invited them to support him on tour and they have their own set of dates as well. They even have plans (or at least high hopes) to finally be making that long awaited trip across the pond. “It’s not happening at the moment but that’s a major goal of ours, definitely… It’s a bit silly that we’ve never been really.” Their slew of tour dates and promises for a number of appearances during the festival season, though, means that they’ll be sticking around for a while. “It’s nice to be back.”

“We had a peak at trying to do this ourselves, releasing our own record, but it’s definitely the job of a record level to do it properly.”

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Les Savy Fav. Pron.: lay sah-vee fahv. They don’t speak French either, apparently. 15 years since the original line up formed and the New York based Les Savy Fav are still best known for their debauchery that descends as soon as they step on stage. Against a backdrop of attractive, groomed and straight faced men, hammering out their punk/indie/experimental/noise rock (define as wish), stalks Tim Harrington. He would be the big, hairy, often naked guy who has a propensity to wander off into the crowd, strip down to nothing and crowd surf; now there’s a visual. That is if hasn’t isn’t riding the crowd on a giant inflatable or a La-Z Boy, as guitarist Seth Jabour tells me. “Most of our contemporaries don’t put themselves in such peril as Tim is known to do… Tim was out in the audience and the next thing we knew he took some kid’s BMX bike and was waving at us on stage.” Those dynamics may change when it comes to translating their performance into a studio take but the result is no less exhilarating, as their five studio albums testify to. “We’re not ones to compartmentalise what we do but when we make a studio record the idea is that we want the songs to be the best representation of what they are and to sound good… Tim can’t be Tim Harrington stage persona in the studio when he’s trying to get himself to perform a song that he expects people to go back and listen to over and over and over again.”

But with latest album ‘Root For Ruin’ came all the drama of a digital leak and some music theft, tut tut. The leak necessitated a drastic change of plans for the band. “We had to push up our original release date to counter the leak. We kept our physical release date but the digital date got bumped up ’cause once the album leaked we couldn’t just sit on it for a whole month and release it to the world like ‘ta-da!’ And everyone’s like, ‘Yeah I already got this. Who cares?’” Disappointing but not all that surprising, the band were pretty good sports about the whole situation, and instead delivered their own slap on the wrists for those illegal downloaders. “Tim set up a Twitter account that would follow people tweeting about ‘Root For Ruin’ before it was up for purchase. Some people sort of perceived that as being a witch hunt but you have to have a sense of humour. We put it out there like ‘we know that you downloaded our record for free and that obviously has repercussions on the band and the label.” And with bassist Syd Butler also owning the label, the leak hit them doubly hard. Those who felt the belated pangs of conscious were even given the chance to alleviate their guilt, though, by making a redemptive donation.

Issue 3 // 2011 “We set up a PayPal account and I have no idea how much people donated, or what they donated, or even where the donations went!”

“Shut up! Did he really? Tim has a way of shitting when he gets on the twitter page.” Oh, bubble burst…

Though the Twitter campaign (‘witch hunt’, whatever…) may not have won them more fans, they have at least one new fan expressing some Les Savy Fav lovin’. That fan? None other than Justin Bieber. Or J Dawg, as the band’s retweet so amiably called him. Er, right, Seth?

“I don’t know, I think it’d be fucking cool if Justin Bieber tweeted about Les Savy Fav.” 2011 will see Les Savy Fav taking to the road and becoming a major fixture on the gig circuit, with plans to cover Europe and Australia. Which is handy because when it comes to Tim Harrington, it just has to be seen. “Let’s get out there and make our presence known.”

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Amy Lavelle Illustration

Kev Gahan

Issue 3 // 2011

The Here and Now Tour: an institution whose annual line ups read like a who’s who of the 80s, that provides an excuse for all those who were old enough to crimp their own hair in the 80s to don shoulder pads and leg warmers and bop around in person to those pop heroes that once blasted from the headphones of their Walkmans. Who better, then, to headline their 10th anniversary tour than the pop legend Boy George?

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Amy Lavelle

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Peter James Field

are you? He was good) I boldly through myself into the interview. Boy, was that was a mistake. Sp. You’ve been reaching out to George Michael during his time in prison. Has his time away brought back memories of your own incarceration? B.G. To be honest with you, I’ve kind of forgotten about it. I know that when I was away it was really good getting letters from people, it was really important to get support from people.

We’ve all heard the stories of his public tantrums, spats with other celebs and, at times, bitchy nature; scratch slightly below those layers of makeup and there’s a seedier undertone ripe with rumours of rent boys and his recent jail time. (I probably should have taken more notice of this.) But now, approaching 50, another side of the formidable star is being revealed. Post addiction and with a new interest in yoga, assertions of a new, clean, softer and wiser Boy George are making the rounds.

Sp. Your differences in the past have been no secret but this means the hatchet’s buried between you two.

So, nervous and slightly giddy but buoyed by the recent abundance of candid interviews splashed over the internet, plus the sparkling rapport established with first question (how

B.G. It was great, yeah, it was really good, but... Hold on a sec... *click*.

B.G. Long time ago. Long time ago... That was all sorted out years ago. (Laughs) I mean I don’t understand why you’re asking me these questions really. Sp. So after everything that’s happened, how did it feel to get such a great reception at Glastonbury?

Sp. Er... Hello...?

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“ To me the whole punk ethic is that anything goes. It’s not a sound punk; it’s an ethos.” Ask a band about their on stage nightmares and you’ll usually get told of broken equipment and occasionally over eager fans storming the stage. Maybe an incident of mid gig spewing, if you’re in the right interview. But this is the Dub Pistols and Barry Ashworth’s done everything on stage from snapping his leg to knocking himself out on a crash barrier only to be hauled back on stage by security and landing arse up with his trousers down. And his off stage infamy is even more faithfully documented. “I had loads of gear on me and a friend put me in a wheelchair… I was flicking a bean up in my mouth, doing a wheelie, landing and doing a line on the middle of the fucking table.” This in Ibiza airport in front of throngs of journalists and airport security. “But that’s just the life we led.” So when getting ready to meet the legendary geezer before a Brighton gig, I have no idea what I’m in for. But, whether it’s because he’s separated from the rest of the Pistols or simply because he’s still only a pint or so in, the Ashworth I meet looks reassuringly far from taking another mid interview public leak.

Over the past 14 years, the Dub Pistols have earned themselves notoriety and a strong and loyal fan base, despite the fact that they have always refused to conform to any one genre and have expressed a ‘distaste’ for the mainstream. Like that time Ashworth said the worst thing to happen would be Radio One liking one of their songs. When I ask why: “These are drunken rants.” Shall I get you another drink? “I’ll get one now. I think radio one is what radio one is. I think their daytime playlist is just disgusting. Simple as that. Ninety percent of the music on there is absolute rubbish.” And don’t get him started on the shows that churn out the musical wannabes. “I hate the X Factor full stop… Louis Walsh and all that vocal training that they do, and just doing covers of absolute fucking gabba.” But, with Dub Pistols announcing that their music is to feature on a new PC football game, I’m curious that, for a band so averse to the mainstream, they don’t have an issue with using their music for soundtracks. But Ashworth points out that this doesn’t involve a conflict of opinion for them.

“ We’ve had music on FIFA , we’ve had music on Tony Hawks. Most people know us from Tony hawks one of the first games. Cyclone was a big hit because of Tony Hawks. I don’t mind music on games , I’m alright. And we’ve done a lot of films as well. And now days as a band that’s a big source of income as well so I haven’t got a problem with that.” Whatever; their particular brand of bloody chaos on stage, off and in the studio has worked for the past 14 years, and with the new album in the making, Ashworth promises, “much of the same… This one, we’ve gone back a little bit rawer and I’ve been trying to aim the songs more for live than necessarily for the album… So similar sort of sound, but what is our sound I don’t know.”

Instead, he soberly assures me that he’s left a lot of that infamy in his past.

“ As much as my behaviours been well documented I’ve never wanted to advertise it. I’m lucky. I’ve been lucky.” Words

Amy Lavelle illustration

Steven Silverwood

Issue 3 // 2011

Spanish film-maker Pedro Almodóvar is something of a rarity in the modern film industry; he shuns modish epic CGI-laden popcorn movies in favour of intimate character dramas; his love stories are less boy-meets-girl than transsexual-meets-nun; his characters and their surroundings are quintessentially Spanish yet hark back to the American film-noirs of the 1940s; and though his films are critically lauded and commercially successful worldwide, he has always resisted the siren call of Hollywood. It is tempting to theorise that Almodóvar’s decision not to come to America was less about personal integrity than it was about simple logistics. How on Earth would a director whose subject matter revolved so closely around drugs, homosexuality, promiscuity, prostitution, AIDS and death have a hope of working within the hopelessly vanilla studio system in the US? Take for instance ‘All About My Mother’. Referencing as it does such classic theatrical melodramas as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘All About Eve’, at first glance this film may seem like an archetypal backstage chamber piece; however, Almodóvar quickly casts this notion aside as he introduces us to a veteran lesbian actress embroiled in an affair with a heroin-addicted ingénue; a hard-as-nails transsexual with a heart of gold, desperately trying to get off the street; and a kindly novice nun who it transpires has AIDS and is pregnant with a transsexual’s baby. Now, edgy as Tennessee Williams was, I doubt he would have written any of that into ‘Streetcar’. That is not to say that Almodóvar has ever resorted to cheap gimmickry or controversy merely for the sake of it; as he says himself, ‘the

characters in my films are assassins, rapists and so on, but I don’t treat them as criminals; I talk about their humanity.’ Undoubtedly, his films are populated with vividly drawn characters, and his skill is to make seemingly detestable individuals into people that the audience genuinely cares about – this is why throughout ‘Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!’ we find ourselves rooting for the deranged Ricky, who has brutally kidnapped and held a movie actress hostage, or why in ‘Volver’ we are so elated that the homicidal Grandmother, Irene, who murdered her husband and faked her own death years before, finally gets the chance to reconcile with her daughter.

“The characters in my films are assassins, rapists and so on, but I don’t treat them as criminals; I talk about their humanity.” Indeed, strong female characters are central to all of Almodóvar’s films. He regularly works with a ‘stock’ of long-time collaborators such as Carmen Maura, Lolas León, Victoria Abril and Penelope Cruz. These thoroughly modern women are typical of post-Franco Spain; they are feisty, forthright and fiery yet still feminine,

sexy and Earthy. He celebrates not only their beauty, but also their power, strength and resilience; and in a reversal of contemporary narratives in film, the men are left on the periphery and are found to be largely disposable. Yet his audience is not restricted to women or homosexuals; they are much too hybrid to be just one thing or the other. Almodóvar’s films are an intriguing amalgam of male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, European and American, classic and modern. The archetypal melodramatic and noir-esque stories of theatre and cinema are utilized to create plot, yet the settings of Madrid and La Mancha, wherein characters regularly attend mass and are often to be found munching chorizo and tortillas, are quintessentially Spanish. So we are kept hooked by Almodóvar’s canny knack of never delivering quite what his audience expects. He is at once an auteur yet none of his two films are the same. His next feature, for example, is a psychological revenge thriller starring Antonio Banderas. It is natural to fantasise about the kind of movies he could make in Hollywood, but for now, I think we are all more than happy to sit back and see just what he will produce next in his native Spain

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Thomas Dearnley-Davison Illustration

Ruth Ferrier

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Thomas Dearnley-Davison Illustration

Rachel Williams

Issue 3 // 2011

It sounds unlikely that a petite American actress could become an icon of the French New Wave film-making movement of the 1950s and 1960s; but Iowa-born Jean Seberg became just that after starring in Jean-Luc Godard’s landmark feature ‘A Bout De Souffle’. Released in 1960, ‘A Bout De Souffle’ (known internationally as ‘Breathless’) was an international success and brought the style of the auteurs of the Nouvelle Vague to the wider attention of the world. The Nouvelle Vague began as a form of the Peter Sellers comedy ‘The Mouse That Roared’ gave rebellion. In the austerity following World War II, French her a modicum of success, she then decided to move to film-making was limited, conformist and for the large part France with then-husband Francois Moreuil. It was through utilised the rigidly traditional formulae of French classical her husband’s friendship with Godard and Truffaut that cinema. By the 1950’s, young film-makers such as she was cast in ‘Breathless’, and although nervous about Godard and Francois Truffaut took the initiative and began Godard’s shooting style, ‘Breathless’ was a critical and producing films on miniscule budgets. The crews were commercial success around the world. made up of friends and family, equipment was begged, Jean-Luc Godard continued to make films borrowed or stolen, and scenes were shot in each other’s that over the course of the 1960s became increasingly political houses or even places of work. With no money to pay for in nature. He dealt with the Algerian war of independence in filming permits on the streets of Paris, scenes would have ‘Le Petit Soldat’ (1962), and showcased his Marxist ideology to be constructed and shot surreptitiously, adding to the in ‘Tout Va Bien’ (1972), which concerned a worker’s strike. fresh, spontaneous feeling of these films. The film’s star, Jane Fonda, said the script read like a ‘polemic’ Certainly what marked these films apart and when she tried to back out of the film, she was threatened and what continues to make them fascinating for with violence. No stranger to controversy, Godard audiences is their youthfulness and free-spirited has also been accused of anti-semitism over the approach to the world; both in their production When she became years but continues to work actively to this day. pregnant in 1970, and within the narratives themselves. So, in Jean Seberg’s story does not the FBI spread the end so well. After splitting from Moreuil, Jean ‘Breathless’, written by Truffaut and directed rumour that the by Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo plays Michel, Seberg married Romain Gary in 1962. Though child was the result she did occasionally return to work in Hollywood, a louche young thief that models himself on Humphrey Bogart. He meets Patricia, played of an affair with a most notably in the 1969 musical-Western Panther member. ‘Paint Your Wagon’ and the 1970 disaster by Seberg, an American student in Paris who wanders through traffic on the Champs-Elysee epic ‘Airport’, the bulk of her work remained in selling newspapers to commuters. Their love affair, conducted European films. She, too, became politically active in the late in bars and hotel rooms, and their impulsive plan to evade the 1960s, working closely with the Black Panther party, which police and escape to Italy provide the main thrust of the plot. resulted in an FBI smear campaign against her. When she But it is the use of long-takes, improvised dialogue, rat-nibbled became pregnant in 1970, the FBI spread the rumour that hair and ever-so chic cigarette smoking that has enraptured the child was the result of an affair with a Panther member. audiences for over fifty years. It is, in a word, very French. The stress of this scandal caused her to attempt to take her Seberg was sceptical during production own life; as a result, her daughter died two days after being whether anyone would see the film at all; this is perhaps born. Seberg continued to attempt suicide throughout the understandable in the context of her career up until that point. 70s, finally succeeding in August 1979 – though the actual As an unknown, she was cast from 18,000 hopefuls to play circumstances of her death are surrounded in mystery and the eponymous heroine of Otto Preminger’s ‘Saint Joan’, the ‘suicide’ verdict continues to be questioned. which then bombed at the box-office and was savaged by So instead let us remember the youthful, the critics – many laying the blame at Seberg’s door. Hers and radical, the free-spirit of the Nouvelle Vague; go and watch Preminger’s next collaboration, ‘Bonjour Tristesse’, received ‘Breathless’ and let the characters skip down the streets of much the same reception, and although her participation in Paris and straight into your heart

Issue 3 // 2011

Esteli is a town in Nicaragua that sits on the PanAmerican Highway. Drive North along this road and you can get within reach of Hollywood. But for over 50 years Hollywood and the world of cinema have been reaching Esteli thanks to it’s remarkable and extremely rare single screen cinema, Cine Esteli. Like many countries in Latin America, Nicaragua has its problems, socially, politically and economically. The consequences of post-colonialism and a century of dictatorships, revolutions, wars, and earthquakes have taken their toll. Nicaragua is a recovering economy and still has major issues with poverty and unemployment. However, in recent years Nicaragua has been stable and prospering. Tourism is now the second biggest industry and its economy is growing.

In this large scheme of things, a small single screen cinema in a provincial town may seem of little of importance. But despite how grueling much of the last century was in Nicaragua, Cine Esteli remains, and perhaps that is why it is important. Owned by local businessmen and located in a prominent position in the town next to the Central Park, they showcase a wide range of films (from small Latin American productions to big Hollywood blockbusters) and exhibit them to the local audience, making Cine Esteli a valuable asset to its community. But this cinema is in desperate times. A lack of funding has left it in a state of almost disrepair (an ancient soviet projector and painfully hard un-upholstered flap seats are just a two of the more superficial problems that need addressing). As if struggling through in its current condition wasn’t bad enough, the cinema is also under threat from a supermarket chain that is eyeing up the site of Cine Esteli’s prominent central location. Whilst the owners of the cinema and the people of Esteli are trying to keep the cinema going, so is a small charity organization based in Brighton. The ‘Save Cine Esteli’ campaign was started by Jon Barrenechea, general manager of The Duke of York’s Picture House cinema in Brighton. Jon spent much of his youth in Esteli and the cinema has personal connections with him, ‘It was an oasis of cinema in the desert of an impoverished troubled country’. To raise money for the cause The Duke’s has held special screenings of films such as Cinema Paradiso (Guiseppe Tornatore, 1988), The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971), and Walker (Alex Cox, 1987), a remarkable movie by maverick film maker Alex Cox, based on the bizarre true story of American explorer William Walker, who in the 1850’s led an expedition to Nicaragua that resulted in him declaring himself the countries

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“

I t was an oasis of cinema in the desert of an impoverished troubled country”

president. The film unfolds as a haunting reminder of the continuing questionability of US foreign policy in the modern age. Alex Cox is also a patron of Cine Esteli and strongly supports the cause; ‘I support all struggling local cinemas the world over… I think what’s interesting and good about the Cine Esteli and other cinemas like it is that they continue to exist! And so watching films remains, at least for now, a communal experience’. Other high profile patrons include director Ken Loach and actor Robert Carlyle who made the film Carla’s Song in Nicaragua in the 1990’s. Carla’s Song is lined up to be screened as a fundraiser with Ken Loach in attendance, as is The Player (Robert Altman, 1992) with actress Greta Scacchi (also a patron of Cine Esteli) in taking part in a Q&A session. Meanwhile Nicaragua itself has recently found itself back on the movie-making map. La Yuma (Florence Jaugey, 2009) is the first film to be shot in Nicaragua since Carla’s Song. The film follows Yuma (a remarkable debut performance from Alma Blanco) a young woman growing up in slum in Managua who has higher aspirations to become a champion boxer and fight her way out of her impoverished life. Although the premise of La Yuma may sound clichéd and generic, the film is in fact a refreshing, honest and surprising take on the preconceptions of impoverished communities and Nicaragua as a country, its society and it’s landscape. Fusing together aspects of classic drama storytelling with a clear desire to show many aspects of Nicaraguan life and culture with a heavy emphasis on music (literally everything from traditional Mariachi folk songs to Hip-Hop to Heavy Metal to Disco) and youth. La Yuma is not only a great film in it own right, it may also serve as great gateway of other creative outpourings from Nicaragua which as this film shows has a lot to offer.

La Yuma has proved very popular in Nicaragua and the whole Latin American region, it has also been playing well at film festivals world wide, including to a packed house at The Duke of York’s for the 2010 Cine City film festival. Saving a small cinema and the success of one small film are perhaps causes and success that may seem to have little consequence when looking at the whole host of problems that still hang heavy on a country and the community of Esteli. But perhaps it is these very things, like cinema, that can genuinely make a difference to peoples lives; ‘when dealing with poor countries, everyone always focuses on the negative, starvation, war, etc – these places also have communities of people that need culture and entertainment just like we do. This is a chance to make a difference.’ (Jon Barrenechea) Cinema and movies are important to all types of people all over the world and shared communal experiences are an integral part of people’s lives wherever you are. Culture, art and entertainment are the key things that make life what it is and also so is being able to actively take part and create such things. Saving a place like Cine Esteli may only seem like a small achievement but the repercussions could be, like film itself, gloriously limitless. More info on ‘Save Cine Esteli’ screenings can be found on the Duke of York’s Website: www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Duke_Of_Yorks Search ‘Cine Esteli’ on facebook, ‘join’ and ‘like’ and encourage your friends to do the same, go to the fundraiser screenings and see some great films. If you like films this is a great opportunity to directly help other people who feel the same, but don’t have the cultural infrastructure

words

Toby King Illustration

Aurélien Arnaud

Issue 3 // 2011

The concept of 'international’ film and filmmaking is a difficult one

to define. An over simplistic and inaccurate way is to claim that

any film outside of Hollywood and the major production companies

is 'international’, or 'foreign’ or

'other language’. Therefore, clumsily

labelling them as 'international’ films. But couldn’t Hollywood productions themselves be considered as ‘international’ cinema? After all it’s these films that have had the highest world wide grossing figures. Toy Story 3, Avatar, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Harry Potter movies etc. These are the most successful selling films worldwide, and they are all fresh out of Hollywood. Perhaps it is these films that really speak to the whole world and successfully project the feelings and desires of the whole population whilst filling the unquenchable thirst of entertainment for the masses?

Perhaps there is an argument to be made with this point (after you get past the monopoly that Hollywood productions have on the world-wide theatrical market). But no, the term ‘international’ remains a reference to the ‘other’, a concept of something outside of the mainstream, and rightly or wrongly the term ‘international film’ will sit nicely side by side with other over simplified labels such as ‘art house’ and ‘indie’. This is in part due to the increasing rise of film festivals throughout the world, that show an impressive array of films from all parts of the globe that actively promote the idea of ‘international’ film, and succeed in promoting films from many countries to many other territories world wide. This recent resurgence of international film festivals showcasing an alternative to Hollywood cinema is blurring the lines as to what is a ‘Hollywood’ Movie, an ‘international’ movie and ‘art-house’ movie and so on. If the term ‘international’ film is hard to define and perhaps even paradoxical in its various possible definitions, then discussing international film makers must be just as complex? Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron makes for an interesting study in this concept. His career has taken in much of the above suggestions on what could be called ‘international’ film. From small movies in Mexico, to relatively modest Hollywood productions (The Little Princess, 1995, Great

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a real international film maker Expectations, 1998), back to Mexico for a personal project that helped spearhead a new movement in Latin American film (Y Tu Mama Tambien, 2001) to one of the biggest movie franchises of all time Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004), and an ever continuing selection of films and film styles, shot in various parts of the world. Including, Children of Men (2006), a future dystopian thriller set in England, a short film for the compilation Paris, je’taime (2006) (a love story set in Paris, as the title suggests), and two short international socio-political documentaries, The Possibility of Hope and The Shock Doctrine (2007). Not to mention the whole host of other projects he has co-written and produced, including films by his successful contemporaries, such as producer on Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006), Rudo y Cursi (Carlos Cuaron, 2009) and Biutiful (Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (2010). His latest feature is, perhaps fittingly, set in outer space, Gravity (due out in late 2011 early 2012). This indeed can be seen as a resume of a truly ‘international’ filmmaker. Jason Wood is a film writer and cinema programmer. He (literally) wrote the book on Mexican cinema. In ‘The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema’ (Faber & Faber, 2006), he writes “He (Cuaron) is able to make films that in terms of subject and style can be appreciated by audiences worldwide. He is also a filmmaker with a visual style that often transcends his subject matter and which can also bring greater interest to franchise pictures.”

This idea that Cuaron’s use of subject and style as a device to give his films an ‘international’ element is a very significant point when looking at his body of work. Although there are a variety of styles, genres, stories, and locations in his films there are similar themes running through his repertoire. Such as “...a recurring interest in the tricky transition from adolescence to adulthood...” (JW). This concept is looked at in several ways in Cuaron’s films. From the young girl in abandoned in a boarding house in A Little Princess, to teenagers on a road trip through Mexico with an alluring older woman, dealing with growing up and sexual promiscuity in Y Tu Mama Tambien, to the trails and tribulations of young wizards in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and all the metaphors and parallels that go with the Harry Potter phenomenon). These are three very different films that are on the surface about very different things. Story and narrative wise they are very different and are arguably aimed at very different audiences. But like all good stories, the audience is required to read between the lines to find more meaning and depth, they are about more than simply what happens in the allocated running time. The reoccurring theme of the “transition from adolescence to adulthood” is an idea that can take on many guises and interpretations, and it is indeed a theme that is essential to the human condition and is relatable to people all over the world. Each of these films is a

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Toby King thanks

Jason Wood and Eleanor King Illustration

Lauren Hutchinson

Issue 3 // 2011

showcase for his style of photography and filmmaking. The combination of styles, settings and stories to act as a vehicle for the films plot, in conjuncture with the meditation on bigger themes are key to Cuaron’s work and make him stand out as a filmmaker. There are also other themes reoccurring in his films. “Cuaron is interested in change, in both a social and political sense, and how the ineptitude of governing bodies and presiding ideologies impacts upon society and the lives of everyday people.” (JW) This as a theme is extremely prevalent in Children Of Men, set in the near future where humans are inexplicably incapable of reproducing. Britain is one of the few remaining ‘civilized’ nations, yet the country remains in disrepair. The government’s stance on illegal immigrants is shown in horrific brutality, the town of Bexhill in Sussex has become a poverty stricken militarized refugee camp (and people thought it was bad now!) The clamp down and control the government has over the population is clear metaphor for contemporary politics and events happening involving asylum seekers and immigrants all over the world. The Harry Potter franchise also has socio-political under current for Cuaron, “Guantanamo is not that different from Azkaban. There are Dementors there too.” (Alfonso Cuaron) Perhaps his most direct comments on society and government are in Y Tu Mama Tambien (from an original screenplay her wrote with his brother). Most notably from the presence and dialogue of the omniscient narrator, who describes along the journey the fate of all the people the protagonists meet along the way. Such as the fate of the fisherman (‘Chuy’) whom they meet when they reach their beach destination. The narrator describes how shortly after their encounter he has to quit his third generation fishing life due new hotel resorts being built in the wildlife preserve he has lived in his whole life. He ends up working as a janitor in one of the hotels and as the narrators says in simplistic tragedy “... he will never fish again”. This is one example of a characters life journey from many in the film that covers a large cross section of the Mexican population. Even the demographic of the characters in the car Tenoch (Diego Luna) is the son of high profile Mexican politician, whilst his best friend Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) is from a single parent working class background and Luisa (Maribel Verdu) is the mature Spanish immigrant, relatively lonesome in her adopted country. Through this literal,

metaphysical and actual vehicle, Y Tu Mama Tambien combines large themes of change, politics, ideology, society and individual issues such as adolescence and personal journeys to create an interesting tableau of contemporary Mexican life, but as mentioned, the themes Cuaron displays are bigger than a country, they are concepts and ideas that the whole world understands and relates to. In this case Cuaron has displayed them through a personal prism, projecting his own musings on these matters using his own worldly aware and artistic fingerprint. The themes and ideas projected are the real heart and soul of these films, yet they work best when combined with a thorough understanding of film as a medium and technical tool, an aspect of cinema that Cuaron excels at. As great auteurs do, Cuaron employs certain visual styles, lighting techniques (bleached out color palettes) and camera movements (long continuous takes (there are remarkable examples of these especially the chase scene filmed from inside the car in Children of Men)) to give life to his universal narratives, and he creates a world with ideas and themes that resonate with the viewer beyond immediate escapism. The reason why people enjoy and connect with certain films and stories so much is because the ideas and themes contained resonate with a viewer on some level other than immediate gratification. The situations, stories and characters are a vehicle for these more powerful elements. These other elements, this deeper understanding of what the stories are really about are what gives Cuaron’s films more gravitas than many others. His body of work when looked at individually and as a whole, display an ambition to attain a higher meaning, yet still deliver film as entertainment to a mass audience. These are surly characteristics of cinema and film being truly international. “Remember what Claude Chabrol said: ‘There is no wave, there is only the ocean.’ I am not purely interested in ‘Mexican cinema’, I am interested in cinema. And when you start using words like ‘wave’, it’s a way of creating an identity for certain films, but it also becomes as aspect of marketing. You know the common identity of the films people are describing as part of this ‘Mexican wave’ is that they are from Mexico, but the only other thing they have in common is that they are cinema. And it is the reason these films are seen everywhere and why they have been embraced everywhere.” Alfonso Cuaron

Issue 3 // 2011

"Guantanamo is not that different from Azkaban. There are Dementors there too.â&#x20AC;?

Issue 3 // 2011

On a clear October morning, street artist Eelus is painting under the baking heat of the great African sun. He is a long way from the comforts of his South East England home. Biting insects surround him; he is hot, thirsty and extremely frustrated. He is the first to curate the soon to be annual Wide Open Walls project.

words

Nos Gbadamosi photography

Wide Open Walls

Illustration

Joel Wells

“Art Safari” as the project’s been dubbed started with an idea, 1000 cans of spray paint, eight artists, two weeks and the vision to transform the remote Gambian village of Kubuneh into an open-air contemporary art gallery. It aims to eliminate poverty by encouraging sustainable tourism. The idea being that tourists will come to view the artworks painted around the compound walls, trees and boats around the village. It is the brain child of Lawrence Williams, an expat, who together with his uncle owns and runs tourist lodges in the area. And getting Eelus behind the project proved a feat. The street-artist was discovered by graffiti legends Banksy and Ben Eine ten

years ago, and broke Banksy’s record for fastest selling print after he was signed to printmakers Pictures on Walls. He convinced seven other visionary artists to step out of their comfort zones. This being Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, Xenz, Mysterious Al, John and Mike – better known as Broken Crow, and Eine. But as with all great ideas nothing ever goes as planned. In fact, 40 minutes before he was due to board the plane, Eine sent a text saying he couldn’t come. “It was a shock and a big shame, but we just got on with it. The real shame was that we had a lot of other artists in mind who would have loved to take part and have that free ticket so the chance was taken away from them” says Eelus.

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One artist that did board his flight was New-York-based stencil artist Logan Hicks. Despite hearing stories about a friend’s friend who had gotten kidnapped in Cape Town and forced to wire money, he thought he’d give it a try. “When I heard about Gambia and saw how close it is to Sierra Leone, I thought it was the same there. It wasn’t.” says Logan. “I got the feeling that the villagers were happy to have us because we were trying to give them something, instead of take something,” he adds. The team faced many challenges in Gambia, due to the poor organisations associated with any trial project. They became quickly frustrated with Lawrence having too many jobs; he was organiser, resort co-owner and one-half of street art duo Bushdwellers.

Issue 3 // 2011 “Things like not having proper equipment, proper transportations to the villages, food, water, and a general urgency to get things done all contributed towards low artist moral,” says Logan. But the uncompromising climate became their biggest challenge. “The environment was so difficult to work in, the heat was relentless, some of the walls were in terrible condition and very hard to paint on,” says Eelus. Timekeeping also caused major rifts. The team’s eagerness to get things done at appointed times clashed with the locals more relaxed attitudes. “It’s not a very-proactive country,” says Eelus.

“The paint we used will help protect the walls from the elements.”

Fans also blogged that the spray cans used weren’t in keeping with the environment, but Eelus insists a happy medium was achieved, since the walls of the houses were painted in crude paint made from oyster shells that didn’t last long under the heat and rain storms. “The paint we used will help protect the walls from the elements,” says Eelus. “We were also painting with brushes, and bucket paint so it wasn’t purely spray paint,” he adds noting that the organisers plan to recycle the cans. Eelus is adamant tourists will go and see the artworks but hopes any money made goes to the right places. And under home comforts both artists feel changed by the experience. When tirelessly working in his studio, Logan will keep in mind the people he met. “Going over there, and seeing those kids without any comforts that I have, and seeing them happy, it just makes me remember that I am not saving the world, I am just trying to make a few marks on it,” explains Logan. “I really hope that our trip brings attention to Gambia and encourages people to go. It’s a beautiful country to visit, it’s just a terrible country to paint in 100° heat,” he adds. Next year, the project will involve local artists; we look forward to the results

Issue 3 // 2011 For more infoâ&#x20AC;Ś Eelus www.eelus.com Logan Hicks www.workhorsevisuals.com Facebook Search Wide Open Walls - Gambia

Issue 3 // 2011 It’s hard to understand how something as abstract as a colour or the curve of a line can reflect the characteristics of a culture. Yet when we look at graphic design we can quite easily recognise a region of the world, if not the country or city where it was made. We can even pin point the time period, as the style seems to display the values of the age, whether that be reserved and formal or poetically expressive. We can only speculate as to why different countries find different arrangements pleasing to the eye. It could be that the amount of free space we like in design relates to how much personal space we allow in our culture. The degrees of the angles or the smoothness of a curve could be traces left by a traditional dance or the horizon line of the landscape. The colours could have been lifted from each country’s plants and flowers or show the historical wealth from a time when certain pigments were exclusive. The likelihood is that each country’s design is influenced by their national idiosyncrasies: one country’s climate may play a higher role in people’s lives than the class system would in another. For this reason an outside perspective is too blinkered to capture the concept of cultural influence as a whole, so we have borrowed a few different pairs of eyes to flesh out our international picture. We have asked graphic designers from many corners of the globe to reflect on the personal experience of their culture and to identify what may have filtered down onto their page or screen. We have entered globalisation through the back door, to catch a glimpse of the intricacies that make this world so rich. Enjoy.

words

Kathryn Evans

Illustration

Sarah Ferrari

PetPunk // Lithuania –

How would you describe your country and the people that live there?

A small green land near the Baltic Sea. Lithuanians are simple, but stubborn and persistent. We were the last pagan nation in Europe, refusing Christianity for a very long time. We were the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane. We were the first to get independence from the Soviet Union. These things make us proud. How has your culture/country influenced your style?

Our nations cultural heritage has a big impact on our work: Pagan fairytales, children book illustrators, our childhood experience of living both in the Soviet Union’s Socialism and Western capitalism.

Children fairytale books by Lithuanian illustrators such as Stasys Eidrigevicˇius, Algirdas Steponavicˇius, Birute˙ Žilyt. They were something very different to everything else that was being published in the Soviet Union. With dark stories and surreal images, they were the first experiences of strong literature for every Lithuanian child. It has influenced our themes and visual aesthetics until today. We were growing up in a Soviet environment and then in the 90’s Lithuania got independence. Capitalism stood on us with all its weight, but our society was not ready for that and the market filled-up with cheap goods from china. The culture coming from the west was so rich, colourful and attractive, that it absolutely drowned everything local that we had before. So you can imagine what was happening in our childish heads. We got the experience of two very different visual aesthetics, and that is probably why collage and a mixture of different techniques, medias and styles is very natural for us. Globalisation can be very harmful to cultural identities, with everything becoming more and more similar. One can hardly separate works made by European, Asian or American designers. That’s why our aim is to stay true to ourselves and try to refuse strong influence from other cultures. We want to stay authentic and original www.petpunk.com

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Delaware // Japan â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

How would you describe your country/culture?

Japan... tofu, yuba, soba... delicious food. Japan... Mt. Fuji, stone garden... beautiful landscape. Japan... ukiyoe, haiku, sum ... great old art. Do you identify with your country?

NO! NO! NO!

I am not Japanese. You are not English. We are human beings! COCA-CORAN! How has your country/culture influenced your style?

I feel that I am more affected by bad Japan than good Japan. NO IMAGINATION NO CHALLENGE NO ORIGINALITY NO OPINION NO RESPECT NO ADULT NO CHILD... Repulsion is creative www.delaware.gr.jp

Below left: Delaware record Below right: Sadahiro Kazunori piece

Sadahiro Kazunori // Japan â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

How would you describe your country/culture?

In the past, we lived in houses with floor mats made of woven rice straws. We used to have big families, more recently they became nuclear families and now people are more individual. We have spent a very long time in cycles of war and peace, but our country has gradually settled. In the past the arts consisted of traditional dance, poetry, literature and crafts, but today it is more focused on film, music, and Manga. Although in the past Japanese organizations and groups were strong-willed and conservative, after the rise of the internet, new groups with similar aims and interests were born, such as volunteer, NPO, and Otaku. Each group crosses the old organizations and groups to get connected, and have started to reform society. Japan has an abundance of mountains and oceans, with four beautiful seasons. Like people from most other countries, Japanese people have a good relationship with nature. Most of us are Buddhists and some are Shintoists. As Buddhists we have respect for our ancestors. Most people in Japan are busy as we think a busy life is beautiful and we think that life is busy because society needs us, which is a good thing. Japanese people are modest about themselves and others, which has both good and bad aspects. How has your country/culture influenced your style?

The rise of the Internet has made us reconsider the value we put on things, such as sense of touch, smell, heat and weight, but has also shown that existence cannot be expressed in digital media. In my work, I put more value on raw materials than processed ones, on blank and residual spaces than substances, and on white over any other colours.

Japanese people are delicately sensitive to five senses (input), good at making small things (output), and put more value on others than ourselves (mind). These are all necessary for my design work and have influenced me www.sadahirokazunori.com

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Apfel Zet // Germany –

How would you describe Germany and its people?

Germans are very protestant and serious, their work is very important to them and they try to do things in the proper way. This can mean they get panicked very easily when things are not going too well. So, in the last 120 years Germany has become highly industrialised, especially in Berlin, which quickly grew to become the biggest industrialised city of Europe in the twenties. These chaotic conditions were excentuated by the First World War, producing a lot of fear as well as ideas of how to correct the new situation. One new direction was the design school Bauhaus, another was the crank philosophy of the National Socialists. Both ideologies were very different, but both tried to straighten up the chaos, making simple what had became too complex. They acknowledged the fear of the people, while putting down all the decadent and shallow ornamentation to reach the pure and simple truth lying below. After the Second World War, the whole world was lost and unstable, and the drive to adjust to the confusion became a common goal, leading to the design school Ulm, the Swiss typography and the international style. For German people it was no longer easy to identify themselves with their country, with nobody wanting to look back and deal with the past. To this day it remains an obstacle for designers, architects and clients in Germany – everything must be modern and moving forward. How has your country/culture influenced your work?

We take our work very seriously, like typical Germans, but also don’t want to be stereotypically German (which in itself is very German). We want to be fearless in embracing the present day, breaking the rules of modernism, still dogmas of German thinking, by using ornaments, mixing up different styles, looking backwards, and copying our design-heroes.

I grew up in Berlin in the seventies and early eighties, the changing point between modernism and postmodernism. The failings of the modernist movement became evident: squatters tried to save the last old buildings and fought on the street with the police, the problems in the new built suburban towns became obvious and designers started to rethink their positions as all the rules seemed too strict and too boring. The wide spectrum of changes this country has gone through is at the heart of our design and is rich grounds for inspiration www.apfelzet.de

Toan Vuhuu // France (via Germany) –

How would you describe your country and the people that live there?

French people are really attached to their history, culture and traditions. They are proud and known for their food, art and buildings, but always with a nostalgic touch. I wouldn’t say that it is the most contemporary country I know. References from history are omnipresent and only in the last couple of years are the French discovering new contemporary ways of thinking and working. When I first came to Paris, graphic design was very decorative, the use of white space made clients afraid. Graphic design had to be attractive with a nice image that is nice to see, concept and function came second. How has your culture/country influenced your style?

First of all, I would have to ask myself, which country should I identify with. It could be Vietnam, as my father is Vietnamese, or it could be England because my mother is English, but I spent a long time in Germany, where I grew up and started studying. Now, after 10 years in France, I don’t really feel German anymore, neither French. I would say I’m an “electron libre” and world citizen. In the beginning, my way of working was very minimal. My first aim was to reduce the design to its essential elements, which would best communicate the message. Every extra element was then questioned for its necessity; accumulation and repetition was not allowed. But in France I learned to use graphics and images for the pure pleasure of seeing them, with no need to justify them in terms of functionality. I’m definitely more influenced by the German culture. Germans are pragmatic people. The Bauhaus had a big influence on German graphic design: simplified forms, rationality and functionality as key. “Form follows function” is maybe my first paradigm, but now I also introduce some free elements that work more on an emotional level. Working in another country was the best thing for my professional career. I met and worked with a lot of people from around the world, which let me discover their ways of thinking and working. As a creative person I need to discover things and always be curious. I admire the way Japanese designers are working with nature and animals in their posters; Swiss designers, how straight to the point their typography is; how geometric, colourful and fun Dutch designers are. My list could be endless and I think design gets influenced by the cultures you admire the most www.toanvuhuu.com

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Project Graphics // Kosovo –

How would you describe your country and the people that live there?

Kosovo is a changing country in which the greyness of the urban landscape goes together with the vibrant, bright optimism of the young generations. This makes Prishtina and the other Kosovo cities lively and dynamic centres, much more than an external observer would ever imagine. The beautiful natural sites surrounding the biggest cities, gives them a broad spectrum of colours and lights and is a source of inspiration for those who try to rethink the urban environment. Visually we will describe our country in three points: Urban environment / GRAYNESS Young People / LIGHTS Landscape/rural / COLOUR The social realism of the urban environment surrounded by new informal buildings still expresses the greyness mood, which is then dominated by young optimistic people who are trying to leave the past behind, and are looking with optimism into the European future. Another face of the country can be described as peaceful and colourful fields/mountains waiting to meet the bright and to get a place in the big picture of our country. How has your culture/country influenced your style?

Above: Apfel Zet poster Below left: Toan Vuhuu record cover Below right: Project Graphics poster

Our designs reflect the bright colours of the Kosovo landscape and the happiness of people inside the urban spaces. These concepts are reached by visualising the purity of forms, by simplifying design and reaching a balance of space with beautiful results that emphasize the main idea.

The initial influences came from the dynamics of city life and the expanding electronic music scene in our country after the war. Flyers and posters were required for the growing electronic party scene, and that’s how we got involved as young and aspiring designers. The freedom of expression and experimentation, which this art form presented, drove us deeper into the graphic design industry... Our traditional culture didn’t influence our creativity at all. Our approach to design expresses the desire to refresh the greyness that surrounds the urban environment; changing the colours we use, to reflect the feeling of new trends. With our cultural bright posters we create the reference points for people in urban areas, and we try to make their daily life filled with enjoyment... www.projectgraphics.eu

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Spindle hits London: hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we got up to for our pop up fashion and art sale in december, and more recently our AW11 London fashion week party in association with OMFG.

Issue 3 // 2011