U N R U LY M U S I C M A G A Z I N E
THE HOBBY ISSUE:
SUCK ON MY HOBBY
DECEMBER 2010 J A N U A RY 2 0 1 1
WIN TICKETS TO TANLINES, TENNIS, MATTHEW DEAR AND MORE PLUS WIN A CINEVILLE PASS
PLUS: THE BEST HOBBYISTS EXPOSED M U S I C : TO P 1 0 O F 2 0 1 0 F O O D : B U S T I N ’ B U T T E R N U T S W W W. S U B B AC U LTCHA.NL
NEW MUSIC
www.converse.nl/mixtape 2
NEW MUSIC
Want a classic pair of Chuck Taylor All Star Oxford navy and a copy of The Converse Mixtape? See “free stuff” page in this publication.
CONTINUE 3
IT’S DECEMBER! MAKE A FRIEND A MEMBER IN DECEMBER SUBBACULTCHA! OFFERS A THREE-MONTH MEMBERSHIP YOU CAN GIVE TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, PETS AND LOVERS. With the three-month membership you give: • A monthly pass granting free access to all Subbacultcha Shows • home delivery of the monthly Subbacultcha Magazine • an exclusive Subbacultcha bag • include your personal note • and we even wrap it all Price: €15
Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl
The gift that keeps on giving
MODEST MOUSE
AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT By Daniëlle van Ark Photographer Daniëlle van Ark takes photos of musicians right after they’ve come off stage. Every month we publish one of her photos.
Isaac Brock 14 September, Williamsburg Waterfront, Brooklyn
THIS MONTH ‘There’s three versions of this story... my version, your version and the truth,’ I heard Khloe Kardashian say on the reality show The Kardashians while I was having coffee with my neighbours. They watch it every week, whether or not I am having coffee with them. They are entertained by it. They laugh about it, comment on it and think about it. They relate to it. My neighbours work hard – ‘two holidays a year.’ They pay taxes and, most importantly, they like The Kardashians. So why the fuck should they pay— with their tax money—for your highly-educated ass to go see a ballet or for us to make this magazine? Yeah yeah, I’m being cynical, but Khloe Kardashian is not as stupid as she looks.
ON THE COVER Tom Hair by Christopher Holloran
5
CONTENT
THE HOBBY ISSUE
EVERYONE HAS ONE, BUT NOT EVERYONE NEEDS ONE, ACCORDING TO OUR NEW GOVERNMENT. MAYBE THEY’RE RIGHT... MAYBE NOT.
Yes, we are all about unruly, independent, relentless, alternative, loud, beautiful, silent, disturbing, soothing and uncompromising music.
SUCK ON MY HOBBY
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PT. 2
on the one hand... page 20
on the other... page 23
TOP 10
AGENDA
of ‘10 page 34
This month’s must sees page 57
ART
FREE STUFF
Featured artist Christpher Holloran page 41
Win tickets to Tanlines, Tennis and win a pair of All Stars page 59
TOP 5/INBOX OFF THE RECORD MEMBERSHIP PAGES WE SAW YOU NEW MUSIC SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART TWO SIMPLY THE BEST FEATURED ARTIST
9 10 12 16 18 20 23 34 41
NEW RELEASES DVD FASHION FOOD 99 PROBLEMS SPEKKIE BIG AGENDA FREE STUFF AFTER MIDNIGHT
This month in Subbacultcha! magazine
...but we all have a hobby, right?
46 49 50 52 54 56 57 59 69
END 7
Slumbering with...
Prince Rama and Sun Araw
These are members of Prince Rama and Sun Araw slumbering on the eight-person bed in the Music Room at the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam. The photos were taken by Nick Helderman in the twilight before soundcheck.
1
Show: Prince Rama @ De Nieuwe Anita One of the best Subbacultcha shows this year. Amazing vibe, amazing songs, amazing crowd, and once we found the ‘Amazing Lights’ switch everything exploded. LSD is back.
2
Technology: Elevator We tried to haul 20 people up to our roof with an elevator so they could enjoy an exclusive Beach Fossils rooftop session. Tried... the elevator got stuck. It is safe to say that that was the most connected crowd we’ve seen so far.
TOP 5 Last month at our office These are five things that thrilled, chilled and excited us last month.
3
Art: Subbacultcha @ Museumnacht Have you ever tried to transform the tube-lit cafeteria of a museum into a happening hipster hole? We have... and it worked quite well.
4
Song: Guards - Resolution of one What a song! Trashy, controlled, warm and wild. And the way it opens up at 00:33... Waaahaaahhh!
5
Food: Taai Taai We bought five bags of Taai Taai to accompany the glühwein we served during the aforementioned Beach Fossils rooftop session. One bag got eaten right then. The other four lasted one office day. Dangerous... And you thought we were hipsters. Hildo Da’s een genereus aanbod, echt wel. Alleen moet ik het toch afslaan. (...) ik ben niet iemand die graag in de publiciteit, of in het middelpunt van de belangstelling wil staan. Niet zo heel erg, in het echt val ik errug tegen hoor! Dit was het antwoord van Hildo, op de vraag of hij in dit issue wilde staan. Hildo maakt de absoluut briljante website twolefthands.nl, waarop hij uitvoerig bericht over al
zijn hobbys en interesses. Internet zoals het bedoeld is! klik klik.
INBOX The stuff we get in our mailbox... day in day out. It never stops. Luckily. Submit: magazine@subbacultcha.nl
9
OFF THE RECORD: HEALTH
10
END 11
SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBERSHIP PAGES
FREE SHOWS IN DEC/JAN DAS RACIST • RUMOR 63 • SMALL BLACK • ALICE IN WONDERLAND (X-RATED) • AUSTRA • VONDELPARK • KLUB RADAR • TEENGIRL FANTASY • SUBBACULTCHA CHRISTMAS PARTY
THE SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES HOME DELIVERY OF OUR MONTHLY MAGAZINE A SUBBACULTCHA BAG
FREE ACCESS TO ALL SUBBACULTCHA! SHOWS
AND THAT’S NOT ALL
JOIN SUBBACULTCHA! AND GET
A ONE-MONTH CINEVILLE PASS
THE FIRST 10 NEW MEMBERS TO SUBSCRIBE BETWEEN 13 AND 20 DECEMBER RECEIVE A FREE CINEVILLE PASS. THE PASS GRANTS FREE ACCESS TO ALL FILMS IN THE 13 BEST CINEMAS IN AMSTERDAM. HOW SWEET IS THAT?
SIGN UP AT SUBBACULTCHA.NL. CLICK. CLICK. 12
€6
PER MONTH
SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBERSHIP PAGES BECOME A SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBER FOR €6 A MONTH AND GET FREE ACCESS TO ALL THESE SHOWS
Das Racist
DAS RACIST
7 Dec - Trouw, Amsterdam Starts 20.30 | €10 | Free for members ‘I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell…’ Have you recently found these catchy lines by Brooklyn-based freak-rock art-pop duo Das Racist looping in your head? We have, too. But what’s so special about a lucky hipster rap duo with an addictive hit? Dig deeper, because Das Racist’s funky beats and silly rhymes are actually quite brilliant. After the release of their first mixtape Shut up, Dude was followed by their latest, Sit Down, Man, Himanshu Suri, Victor Vazquez and hype man Ashok Kondabolu have proven to be about much more than just pizzas, tacos and beers (although we definitely enjoy that, too). They effortlessly weave complex social commentary and cultural references into hilarious, funky numbers.
RUMOR 63
FT PETRELLA, PUPILLO, PAND, VOLCANO THE BEAR + MORE 9 Dec - Various Locations, Utrecht Starts 20.30 | €15 | Free for members Utrecht’s Rumor 63 is described as a ‘festival for adventurous music,’ and it completely lives up to that, featuring a tasteful mix of talented artists and instruments. You’re in for a true treat. Experimental Italian composer Berio’s Sequenzas will be performed with trumpet, guitar, trombone and viola – and the necessary talent and technique. Then meditate with the sadistic, seductive trio Petrella, Pupillo, Pandi, which is inspired by Tibetan Buddhism and the practice of self-sacrifice. To add to the eclectic flavours of the festival, experience the avant-garde, absurdly witty and British (go figure) Volcano the Bear for a spectacular show.
CONTINUE 13
COMING SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBERSHIP PAGES UP AT BECOME A SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBER FOR €6 A MONTH SUBBAAND GET FREE ACCESS TO ALL THESE SHOWS CULTCHA!
SMALL BLACK
You can get access to these 18 Dec - De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam shows for free Starts 20.00 if you become a | €7 | Free for members Subbacultcha! Spacey and fuzzy Brooklyn-based indie member. pop band Small Black will be with us in the
fitting atmosphere of De Nieuwe Anita this Subscribe now month. you should be, too. After their and get And 20 eufirst EP seemed a bit wandering and alros worth of clothing at most incomplete, Small Black have solidiAmerican fied and focused their sound with their first Apparel full album New Chain, which was released See page 7 for in late October and on which they contindetails. ue with that lazy-Sunday-afternoon-in-Vondelpark head-high mood conveyed through dizzying synths and subtle, smooth vocals.
SUBBACULTCHA CHRISTMAS PARTY
23 Dec - De nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Starts 19.00 | €6 | Free for members Ho Ho Ho! This is the great Subbacultcha ‘Don’t-Spend-Your-Christmas-Alone’ Christmas Party. This is your last chance to score that stunning date for that ever-recurrent, not-so-stunning Christmas dinner. We will make sure to put on a night to remember. How about this: a screening of ‘The Office Christmas Special’, performances by Hospital Bombers and Spilt Milk, a Christmas story, ‘The Human Mistletoe’ and a live nativity scene. What more do you need? Yeah yeah, that date... work it baby!
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
AN X-RATED MUSICAL COMEDY 16 Jan - Melkweg Cinema, Amsterdam Starts 21.00 | €6 | Free for members Let’s rewind to the early ’70s – a time 14
where liberation and debauchery exploded, resulting in the creation of some of the most influential films to this day: The Godfather, A Clockwork Orange…, oh and, most importantly, Deep Throat – the first porn film to be released in mainstream cinema, triggering a worldwide phenomenon and spearheading the birth of the porn industry. Inspired by this cultural craze, Amsterdam Alternative Erotica Film Festival presents Porn Chic - screenings of the classics on original 35mm prints. In conjunction, join Subbacultcha at the first raunchy, musical porn film, Alice In Wonderland – An X-Rated Musical comedy. Who doesn’t love children’s fairy tales laced with music and sex?
AUSTRA
(IN COLLABORATION WITH KATAPULT) 12 Jan – Studio 80, Amsterdam Starts 23.00 | €6 | Free for members If you had to venture a guess as to the meaning of the word ‘austra’, you’d probably envision something cosmic, perhaps a distant nebula millions of light-years away. It’s fitting then that Austra’s first single ‘Beat and the Pulse’ sounds like a cosmonaut’s dance party, complete with pounding synth hooks, a buzzing bassline, and Katie Stelmanis’s beautiful operatic voice. What’s even more fitting is that Stelmanis and producer Maya Postepski formed Austra as a satellite project to their other band, Galaxy. Along with Dorian Wolf, these classically-trained musicians will take over Studio 80 on the second Wednesday of the new year.
Teengirl Fantasy
VONDELPARK
14 Jan – De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Starts 20.00 | €6 | Free for members Since earlier this year, a London-based artist is trying to break Amsterdam’s monopoly on Google search results for the city’s most famous green space – the Vondelpark. To him, the iconic name represents dubstep beats, old-school melodies, subdued vocals and a generally hazy atmosphere that could well be the soundtrack to a stroll through the park. How could we pass up the opportunity to have London’s Vondelpark test their mettle in the city of their namesake?
KLUB RADAR FT WOLF PEOPLE + K-X-P
MORE TBC 15 Jan – Tivoli, Utrecht Starts 21.00 | €10 | Free for Members Based on the quality of bands already employing the strategy, I have to assume that
having the word Wolf in their name automatically inspires bands to produce engaging riffs and psychedelia-inspired rock music. This rings especially true in the case of UK band Wolf People, touring in support of their progressive folk/psych rock inspired new album Steeple. They’ll be joined at Tivoli’s latest Klub Radar edition with the Nordic dark disco trio K-X-P, and others.
TEENGIRL FANTASY
(IN COLLABORATION WITH KATAPULT) 19 Jan – Studio 80, Amsterdam Starts 23.00 | €6 | Free for members The words ‘dreamy’ and ‘nostalgia’ get thrown around like LOL’s and BFF’s on a teenage girl’s facebook. I like to imagine that that’s what this American producing partnership had in mind when they chose to put a name to their percussive sampled experimentations. Originally from the US, Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss continue to build on the momentum of their TGIF EP in anticipation for their debut LP in early 2011. END 15
SUBBACULTCHA! MEMBERSHIP PAGES WE SAW YOU: SPOTTED AT SUBBACULTCHA What’s your favourite album and artist at the moment? How to Dress Well - Love Remains What’s your favourite album and artist ever? Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea Favourite song at the moment? Crystal Castles ft. Robert Smith - ‘Not in Love’ Best record store? Bittorrent (sorry) and after-show sales What was the first record that you bought? A best-of compilation of De Heideroosjes Guilty pleasures? Love/hate: Coldplay Which album is still on your ‘to buy’ list? Both Fuck Buttons albums Best movie soundtrack? Amélie. Also, Daft Punk’s soundtrack to TRON: Legacy is bound to be awesome Which famous artist did you fancy when you were young? The blonde and the redhead from the Spice Girls Which famous artist do you fancy right now? St. Vincent and all of the Broken Social Scene ladies are gorgeous. Best concert ever? Sigur Rós at Lowlands 2008 (I cried) Worst concert ever? Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), because of the horribly disrespectful audience Which music makes you fall asleep? Memory Tapes (in a good way) What do you listen to when you are on 16
your bike? LCD Soundsystem is my go-to pedalling soundtrack. Which music makes you cry? Sufjan Stevens What do you listen to when you are doing the dishes? Silence Which music do you say you like (for hipsters’ sake), but actually, you don’t? Anything I’ve seen on Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Music’ but haven’t actually listened to yet And when you have sex? Whatever’s on, as long as it’s not too intruding Which record do you regret buying? I blindly bought Tomorrow, in a Year by The Knife ft Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, because of the excellent preview track. The rest of the album turned out to be a touch too experimental What’s your first ever song-related memory? The first time I heard metal/hard rock (Metallica with ‘Unforgiven II’): I wanted more What music do you play on a beautiful Sunday morning? Beach House, M83 What kind of music did your parents listen to? Rolling Stones, Ramones, Beatles, Kate Bush Which record/album should not have been recorded? Tokyo Police Club’s EPs were so good that their two albums released after that are pretty meh in comparison Photo by Regina van der Kloet
‘ST. VINCENT AND ALL OF THE BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE LADIES ARE GORGEOUS’
Name & age: Bauke Karel, 26 Daytime job/study: student information science, part-time job as ‘internet application specialist’ Other interests: photography Place of Birth: Enkhuizen Spotted at: Museumnacht in Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam on 6 November. END 17
NEW MUSIC We make it our job to endlessly roam the beautiful internet and find the stuff that really matters. Behold the needles from the haystack. By Zofia Ciechowska
I HAD A DREAM. I SANK I HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT, I WAS READING THE NEW MUSIC COLUMN IN SUBBACULTCHA! MAGAZINE AND THE FIRST SENTENCE WAS: I HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT, I WAS READING THE NEW MUSIC COLUMN IN SUBBACULTCHA! MAGAZINE AND THE FIRST SENTENCE WAS: I HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT, I WAS READING THE NEW MUSIC COLUMN IN SUBBACULTCHA! MAGAZINE AND THE FIRST SENTENCE WAS.....
You can find all this marvellous new music in the weekly playlist, posted on our website every week, or on our weekly radio show on the great viva-radio. com
18
BEATY HEART
DEM HUNGER
What’s better than one drummer? Two. What’s better than two drummers? Beaty Heart. Whip out your loincloth before you listen to these guys. Unsurprisingly, London’s triple tom-tom team generates plenty of loud, loud rhythm. Far from sounding like a hipster samba class, Beaty Heart arrange layers of echoing monkey shriek vocals and delayed smudges of guitar and synth to amplify the woozy trance factor. www.myspace.com/beatyheart
DEM HUNGER has sewn together dead tissues, nerves and organs of weird-ass samples to create the scariest, most terrific audio-Frankenstein in the history of freaky musical shit. We don’t know this guy’s name, but according to MySpace you can probably catch him somewhere between the UK and Syria. Get hold of his latest creation Caveman Smack and feast on these omg-wtf-lol beats. www.myspace.com/hisorchestra
GIDGETSPARKS
icing rainbow-flavoured cupcakes. Start saving your pennies for the release of their album in early December on Berlin label Morr Music. www.myspace.com/pascalpinon
NEWN E W MUSIC M U S IC
NEDRY
Brooklyn’s Nina Palucci has a big blond mane, big lion balls and a big roar that rumbles across the internet. Her singy-rappy chants are a melting pot of stringycheese-thin-pizza, dinosaurs and dinner dates with lobsters. A good visual equivalent of her ridiculous audio creations would probably be her paper chop-croppaste-colour collages. Watch her latest video ‘Climbing This Shit’ directed by NY lit-boy Tao Lin, it features Nina climbing stuff. www.myspace.com/gidgetsparks
PASCAL PINON Though they’re amed after a Mexican two-headed freak-show performer from the 1900s, Pascal Pinon’s sound is far from grim. Let’s just say that on top of being only sixteen years old and having every musician’s coveted nationality (Icelandic, duh), these four girls make music that sounds like a geyser of kittens
This South-East London trio do that thing that makes your heart somersault into your throat and dive into your belly with their trippy deep bass explosions. Nedry score triple golden bonus points for having a mysteriously cool Japanese vocalist whose purrs and hums make walls crack. If you get the chance to see these three play live, you must go, they are excitingly good. But beware, their MySpace does not do them ANY justice, only the A42 track will do. www.myspace.com/nedrymakesmusic
SAUNA YOUTH Sometimes one hears the primordial call to dust off those old punk records and mosh around like a wild animal. Sauna Youth will make you want to do these nostalgic things with their Ramones drumbeats, shouty vocals and ragged riffs. Apart from the fact that their able hands pump out cannonades of punk, they make all their tapes by themselves and sell them for a fair price. Flip them over to the Bside and listen to recordings of their friends’ short stories. www.myspace.com/saunayouth
END 19
THE HOBBY ISSUE
SUCK ON MY HOBBY
A
few months ago, Geert Wilders called art a ‘leftwing hobby’. This kickstarted a political discussion resulting in tax increases and major cuts on art subsidies. At the Subbacultcha office, we spent about two weeks trying to come up with something sensible to say about it. We came
up with a lot; blessing in disguise, mentality problem, Calvinism, market economy, art vs. entertainment, who are ‘the people’, etc. etc. But the main conclusion we found during the relentless and very inspirational show of Les Savy Fav in Trouw on 19 November. So we simply decided to publish this photo. The answer is in there.
No words by Leon Caren and Bas Morsch. Photo by Nick Helderman 20
21
CONTINUE 21
22
THE HOBBY ISSUE
SUCK ON MY HOBBY — PART 2 —
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME THAN RIGHT NOW TO CREATE ART AND - MORE IMPORTANTLY CREATE A MARKET FOR IT.
T
here’s nothing wrong with hobbies. They help relieve the stress of everyday life and provide us with entertainment in these godless times of economic crisis and cultural animosity. Myself, I’ve never consciously had a hobby. Sure, I engage in a lot of activities that others might qualify as hobbies, but I’ve always had the naïve conviction that there should be no work-time and no play-time. There should be just one time and it’s called a lifetime. And while I am living that lifetime I am well aware that I’ve got no time to lose.
true colours. There has never been a better time than right now to create art and - more importantly - create a market for it. Digital communities are rising and the possibilities are endless. It simply starts with going out there and doing something. Start a fanzine or a blog, organise concerts, host your own art opening, show movies in your parents’ attic. Whatever!
On the following pages you’ll find some of the most dedicated, cuttingedge ‘hobbyists’ of our time. They’re taking pictures, making drawings, building instruments, drawing cartoons, making TV shows, writing stories, making illustrations, playing muSo let’s make magazines and photos sic and lots more. They are doing it! and films and paintings and posters And they live off it. Unfunded. Welland everything else that we consider fed and warm. Call it a hobby if you essential. Yes folks, it’s time for artists will. But this is our hobby and we in Holland to rise up and show their wouldn’t settle for less. Words by Leon Caren. Photos by Isolde Woudstra
CONTINUE 23
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART 2. CONTINUED
Yuri Landman Hobby: building odd guitars 24
PHOTOS BY ISOLDE WOUDSTRA
Jaap Scheeren Hobby: photography
CONTINUE 25
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART 2. CONTINUED
Marc van der Holst Hobby: drawing cartoons, writing poetry and writing songs 26
PHOTOS BY ISOLDE WOUDSTRA
Daniëlle van Ark Hobby: photography
CONTINUE 27
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART 2. CONTINUED
Martyn F Overweel Hobby: making illustrations 28
PHOTOS BY ISOLDE WOUDSTRA
Margot Ros and Maike Meijer (Toren C - VPRO) Hobby: making TV programmes
CONTINUE 29
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART 2. CONTINUED
SCRMN Hobby: painting 30
PHOTOS BY ISOLDE WOUDSTRA
zZz Hobby: making music
CONTINUE 31
SUCK ON MY HOBBY PART 2. CONTINUED
Cyrus Frisch Hobby: making films 32
PHOTOS BY ISOLDE WOUDSTRA
Nicole Martens Hobby: graphic design
END 33
THE HOBBY ISSUE: YEAR ROUND-UP
SIMPLY THE BEST MUSIC IS OUR HOBBY. IT IS OUR ART AND OUR ENTERTAINMENT. AND HELL, IT EVEN IS OUR WORK. SO WOULD IT BE OUR DUTY TO—DESPITE THE FACT THAT EVERYONE IS COMPILING HIT AND SHIT LISTS OF EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE THAT HAPPENED AND WAS HAPPENING IN 2010—GIVE YOU A TOP TEN OF OUR FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2010? YES! SORRY FOLKS... NOT VERY UNRULY, WE KNOW. BUT WE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THERE’S POWER IN MASS BEHAVIOUR. AND WE ALSO LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO THAT ‘IT AIN’T WHAT YOU DO, IT IS THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT.’ Words by Carly Blair 34
FUTURE ISLANDS
helped add some production sheen. Lewis skillfully blends a variety of ’80s influences, lovelorn sentiments, and a cinematic vibe into a distinctive and affecting end product. According to Lewis, ‘The whole record is about all the things I’ve forgotten, and tryBased on their inconsistent earlier re- ing to put them back together again, leases, I never expected anything from and taking one last look at them bethis post-wave trio to top the beautiful fore never looking at them again.’ 2009 Jones remix of ‘Little Dream- While Lewis may have already moved er’, but after shedding a band mem- on, I intend to relish this memento for ber, relocating, and signing to Thrill a while to come. Jockey, they seem to have realized the bar was raised. Throughout the album, NO AGE understated but emotive basslines and Everything in Between driving synths create a compellingly moody backdrop for charismatic frontman Samuel T. Herring’s alternately growling and crooning vocal histrionics. The resulting collection of sonic vignettes is the band’s most Two reasons why No Age made the focused work and one of 2010’s most top 10: 1) their show in Trouw was emotionally rewarding releases. our favorite show of the year, and every time we play the record, we’re reminded of how good it was; 2) album TWIN SHADOW opener ‘Life Prowler’ really sums up Forget (Terrible Records / 4AD) the year for me. It’s emotional, uplifting, and puts things in perspective. As soon as Dean Spunt starts singing ‘My life, my life, my life’ I think, 2010 was a pretty good year, wasn’t it? Add a Forget is the debut full-length from whole bunch of great noise pop, new waver George Lewis Jr. Most of soundscapes, and punk rock tracks to the album was originally recorded by the mix and you’ve got yourself one Lewis, but Grizzly Bear’s Chris Tay- of the best albums of the year. (Leon lor subsequently ‘discovered’ him and Caren) In Evening Air (Thrill Jockey)
CONTINUE 35
BEST OF 2010. CONTINUED
MARNIE STERN
WOMEN
self-titled (Kill Rock Stars)
Public Strain (Jagjaguwar)
Guitar goddess Marnie Stern taught herself how to shred, writes ridiculously self-affirming lyrics, and fingertaps like a machine. She’s joined here by the similarly tremendously talented Zach Hill and Women’s Matthew Flegel. As implied by the selftitle, her third full-length is a more personal and confident affair. Not surprisingly, Stern’s characteristically complex arrangements, metal-ly riffs and all that technical skill are impressive, but her vocals and some pretty irresistible hooks are the bones that give beautiful form to all that flexing muscle. Female guitar players are the new black, indeed!
This Calgary experimental post-punk quartet’s debut enchanted critics with its dissonant noise tamed by insidious pop melodies. On their sophomore follow-up, recorded during the dead of winter in Alberta, it sounds like rather than submitting to the surrounding oppressive darkness, they decided to put chains on the tires, plug full-spectrum lamps in, and take the bull by the horns. Most elements of their signature sound remain, but the overall focus is shifted from noise to structure. The end result doesn’t sound compromising, but rather more masterful and confident, like a band coming into their own.
Subbacultcha! office favourites Fabio Costa 1. El Guincho - Pop Negro / 2. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today / 3. Electric Wizard - Black Masses / 4. Tweak Bird - Tweak Bird / 5. My Disco - Little Joy / 6. Abe Vigoda - Crush / 7. The Glockenwise - Building Waves / 8. Wavves - King Of The Beach / 9. Long Way To Alaska - Eastriver / 10. PAUS - É Uma Água. Tibor Bijl 1. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt / 2. Women - Public Strain / 3. No Age - Everything In Between / 4. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts / 5. Beach House - Teen Dream / 6. Future Islands - In Evening Air / 7. Liars - Scissor / 8. Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils / 9. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 2 / 10. Cold Pumas - Beat Mystery/Party Drip 7’. Gert Verbeek 1. Brian Jonestown Massacre - Who Killed Sgt Pepper / 2. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma / 3. Holy Fuck – Latin / 4. Hype Williams – Untitled / 5. Sarah Kirkland Snider – Penelope / 6. Nina Nastasia – Outerlaster / 7. Onmutu Mechanicks – Nocturne / 8. Vex’d – Cloud Seed / 9. Working For A Nuclear Free City – Jojo Burger Tempest / 10. Susumu Yokota - Kaleidoscope Tess Renkens 1. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt / 2. Wild Nothing - Gemini / 3. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest / 4. Sun Airway - Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier / 5. Salem - King Night / 6. Tamaryn - The Waves / 7. Delorean - Subiza / 8. Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This / 9. Yeasayer - Odd Blood / 10. Phosphorescent - Here’s to Taking It Easy. Basje Boer 01. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today / 02. Sleigh Bells - Treats / 03. Fang Island - Fang Island / 04. 36
CRYSTAL CASTLES
BEACH FOSSILS
This polarizing Toronto-based duo blew up by offering an acerbic and distorted brand of chiptune/new rave/ whatevah on their also self-titled debut. Here they’ve taken the poppier approach of ‘Courtship Dating’ and run with it. Crystal Castles (2010) strikes a better balance between abrasive and pretty elements and sounds much more sophisticated than Crystal Castles (the other one, duh). The result is danceable and, remarkably, consistently solid - nearly every song sounds like a potential single. Plenty of reasons to root against them, but in this case the overdogs live up to the hype.
Brooklyn’s straightforwardly-named Beach Fossils make the kind of summery little nuggets of lo-fi nostalgia designed to float out of car windows on the drive to a beach party - and laptop speakers on afternoons you spend daydreaming about beach parties past. On their debut full-length, mastermind Dustin Payseur’s gloomy but affecting vocals are juxtaposed with cloudlessly jangly guitar melodies, resulting in one of the most consistently enjoyable Woodsist releases. Here, Beach Fossils ably captured the lo-fi zeitgeist, but also crafted an album that will sound timeless long after the trend dies down.
self-titled (Fiction)
self-titled (Woodsist)
Subbacultcha! office favourites Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts / 05. Wavves - King of the Beach / 06. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest / 07. Caribou - Swim / 08. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles / 09. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs / 10. Kiki - Dierenalbum. Bas Morsch 1. Future Islands - In Evening Air / 2. Marnie Stern - s/t / 3. Deerhunter - Halycon Digest / 4. How to dress well - Love Remains / 5. Avi Buffalo - s/t / 6. Wise Blood - `+` / 7. Women - Public Strain / 8. Washed Out - Life of Leisure / 9. No Age - Everything in Between / 10. Moon&Sun - The Wild Things Zofia Ciechowska 1. No Age - Everything In Between / 2. High Places - High Places vs. Mankind / 3. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II / 4. Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude / 5. Mi Ami - Steal Your Face / 6. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts / 7. Prince Rama - Shadow Temple / 8. Best Coast - Crazy For You / 9. alphabets - Whole Discography. Leon Caren 1. No Age - Everything in between / 2. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest / 3. Future Islands - In evening Air / 4. Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This / 5. Women - Public Strain / 6. Marnie Stern - s/t / 7. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today / 8. Holy Fuck - Latin / 9. Small Black New Chain / 10. Beach Fossils - s/t Carly Blair 1. Future Islands - In Evening Air / 2. Twin Shadow - Forget / 3. Owen Pallett - Heartland / 4. Crystal Castles - self-titled / 5. Menomena - Mines / 6. Deerhunter Halcyon Digest / 7. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening / 8. Ty Segall - Melted / 9. Sleigh Bells - Treats / 10. Cotton Jones - Tall Hours in the Glowstream
CONTINUE 37
BEST OF 2010. CONTINUED
CARIBOU
Swim (Merge / City Slang)
After having made a splash with his two previous Caribou releases, Dan Snaith gets the critics wet once again with Swim. Here, Snaith apparently wanted to make ‘dance music that sounds like it’s made out of water, rather than made out of metallic stuff like most dance music does.’ While that may be an overly abstract objective, the songs do have a certain lustrous, muffled softness around their edges. Snaith’s compositions are richly detailed and the production is as masterful as ever, making for bonafide dancefloor material despite the largely melancholic vibe.
DEERHUNTER Halcyon Digest (4AD)
This Atlanta quartet’s fourth fulllength was recorded quickly, as usual. The guitar squall and noisy atmospherics so prominent on previous releases have been set aside in favor of a more streamlined and instrumen38 END
tally diverse approach. A couple of songs drag, but as Cox notes on ‘Sailing’, you can’t take too long making up songs anyway, and why bother when almost everything you do is so effortlessly solid? The word ‘halycon’ can be used to evoke carefree and happy times past. With Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter capture the beauty and inherent sadness of nostalgia both sonically and lyrically, and masterfully so.
SMALL BLACK New Chain (Jagjaguwar)
These Brooklyn-based chillwavers recorded their debut full length in a sleepy Delaware suburb in an attempt to “take the excitement and stimulus of NYC to a place far from distractions, where it could be organized properly.” On New Chain, these guys do more than just sympathize with the plight of our attention-deficited generation: they satisfy our craving for variety with a record that is by turns bouncy and mellow, sparkly and scuzzy. While many of the ‘hypnagogic pop’ tropes that seemed so novel a year and a half ago now send chillwaves down my spine, Small Black is one of the few acts whose work retains a semblance of that summer ‘09 charm.
THE HOBBY ISSUE: YEAR ROUND-UP
BEST SUBBA SHOW? DD/MM/YYYY / TIMES NEW VIKING / TANLINES / HIGH PLACES / BEST COAST / MI AMI / THESE ARE POWERS / FILL OUT THE ON MENOMENA /POLL ARIEL PINK’S WWW.SUBBACULTCHA.NL/ HAUNTED GRAFFITI / BESTOF2010 A YEAR TORO Y AND MOIWIN / PALMBOMEN MEMBERSHIP / HARLEM / FUTURE ISLANDS / WOMEN / NEON INDIAN / THE FAIR OHS / NO AGE / PRINCE RAMA OR ONE OF THE OTHER 135 CONCERTS
END 39
Frans van Rijnsoever staat achter LnSaint Rob Langestraat staat achter Miktor & Molf wie volgt?
CHRISTOPHER HOLLORAN
Name Christopher Holloran Age 23 City of residence Englishman in Amsterdam Hobby, art or entertainment? Yow, good one. I suppose it’s all semantics; I guess you can consider a hobby as something you do aside from your ‘main’ line of work but really, this is all I do. A hobby for me is probably real work like making sandwiches or zoo keeping. More than anything, I’d say it’s entertainment but I think I’m just entertaining myself. Can you please draw us a self-portrait in 1 minute Sure. Website www.holzor.com On the following pages: I have scattered brain that wants to do this one minute and that the next so I find myself doing countless drawings, animations and short stories, just to release the pressure in my poor potato head. I like to draw and animate things with lots of little details because it’s so very therapeutic for me to draw smoke and people with large beards.
ART FEATURED ARTIST Every month we select an artist we think is worth your while This month it is Christopher Holloran
CONTINUE 41
FEATURED ARTIST: CHRISTOPHER HOLLORAN. CONTINUED
42
CONTINUE 43
FEATURED ARTIST: CHRISTOPHER HOLLORAN. CONTINUED
44
END 45
MUSIC NEW RELEASES These are the new releases that you can’t afford to miss By Carly Blair
GUARDS
Self-titled EP (3 Syllables Records)
Guards frontman Richie James Follin must be a pretty savvy guy. He founded the lamenamed band Willowz at age 19, but then rather nimbly got three of their songs on the soundtracks for Michel Gondry films. He wrote a few songs for a new project called Guards, but then, despite being an experienced and successful musician, kept his identity hush-hush while über-hip band Cults tweeted about guesting on an EP from this cool new band Guards as though Follin himself was neither related to a member nor an actual member of Cults (when in fact, he is both). He also recruited collaborators from big-name bands Chairlift and MGMT and enjoyed a swelling wave of hype, and then this one time at Band camp he released the whole thing for free. Happily, the result of all this, possibly strategic, manoeuvring is an effortless-sounding collection of exuberant lo-fi pop that promises bigger things to come.
WAR ON DRUGS Future Weather
Ok, I’ll go out and admit it - I like Bruce Springsteen. Especially his early stuff. And when I was about nine years old, his record Tunnel Of Love came out and we played it all the time back at my father’s house, providing the perfect soundtrack to my coming of age. And since I like the Boss, I like War On Drugs. They have the same rootsy, all-American nostalgic ‘ballad of the working man’ type sound that I really dig. Their new EP Future Weather is their most powerful release to date, featuring one of our favourite songs of 2010 (‘Coming Through’)
WEEKEND
Sports (Slumberland)
46
San Francisco trio Weekend are far from the only contemporary band channelling The Jesus and Mary Chain and Joy Division, but on their debut full-length they manage to assimilate and revitalise their in-
fluences better than many other no wave and/or shoegaze acolytes making music today. Punk-informed tempos and aggression make their particular brand of noise seem intrinsic rather than an homage or some kind of metaphorical affectation designed to counterbalance something wildly different (e.g. indifference or sweetness). Amid classes, dropping temperatures, and a seemingly never-ending string of grey days, I awoke from a coma summer, and the bracing sound of Sports made a fitting wake-up call.
MUSIC NEW RELEASES
OWEN PALLETT
A Swedish Love Story EP (Domino)
Named after the Swedish film of the same name (also featured this year in Summer Camp’s ‘Round the Moon’ video), this is a companion piece to Pallett’s wonderful quasi-concept album Heartland, which was released earlier this year. Pallett began performing as Final Fantasy with just a violin and a loop pedal, but since then his arrangements have become more fully orchestrated and broadened to include modern electronics. Like other artists exploring the intersection of indie pop and neoclassical music, technical skill is at the forefront and highminded lyrics abound. However, while the music of Andrew Bird can be playful for playfulness’ sake and that of Joanna Newsom grows evermore sprawling and self-indulgent, Pallett successfully balances a personal feel with a pop sensibility, and A Swedish Love Story is graceful, jaunty, delightfully complex and emotionally resonant.
EKLIN Onwa
Eklin’s well-recorded debut album Onwa is by far the best Dutch record of 2010. The album is perfectly balanced, combining atmospheric soundscapes, pulsating beats, dub-oriented grooves and mesmerising pop melodies. Michiel Klein and Co. have created a private little Eklin universe that grabs you from the moment the drums kick in on ‘De Woe’ and spits you out a mere 35 minutes later.
END 47
VANAF 13 JANUARI IN DE BIOSCOOP
TRASH HUMPERS
Harmony Korine, 2009 (Drag City, R0)
Alle films van Harmony Korine gaan over outsiders, (over)levend in een maatschappij waar je zelf liever geen deel van zou willen uitmaken. Gewapend met een haperende videocamera kunnen de vier titel-personages in Trash Humpers zonder tegenwerking in een wetteloze wereld hun ondeugden botvieren op levende en dode objecten. Met respect voor niets en niemand stropen de vier vuilbekkende vlegels buitenwijken en achterbuurten af, hun gezichten permanent verstopt achter identieke bejaardenmaskers. Luid gierend copuleren ze met afvalcontainers, brievenbussen en ander weerloos straatmeubilair. Als hen dat gaat vervelen, terroriseren ze ongeschoolden, alcoholisten en andere armoedzaaiers. Het plotloze filmverslag van hun wandaden is een fascinerend wanstaltige ode aan de kleine anarchisten die lachend ten onder gaan in Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) van Korine’s filmvriend Werner Herzog.
FILM DVDS TO SEE Door Gert Verbeek
VENGEANCE
Johnnie To, 2009 (Media Asia, R3)
De gelaatstrekken van de Franse rockster Johnny Hallyday zijn zo drastisch plastisch rechtgezet, dat het voor hem onmogelijk is emoties te tonen: een enkele frons kan al een scheur in zijn schedel veroorzaken. De onbewogen blik komt goed van pas in de rol van Costello. Na een aanslag op het gezin van zijn dochter (Sylvie Testud) gaat hij op haar aandringen in Hong Kong op zoek naar de daders. Costello loopt drie huurmoordenaars tegen het lijf, wint hun vertrouwen en vergezelt hen in een systematisch uitgevoerde klopjacht. Tijdens dit alles heeft hij te kampen met een tanend geheugen Ă la Christopher Nolans Memento. Vengeance gaat over familie en broederschap, eer en geweld, gelardeerd met pistoolballetten in picknickpark, trappenhuis en vuilnisveld, op elegante wijze vastgelegd door veteraan Johnnie To.
END 49
STRANGE FASHION: EPISODE NINE
Featured photographer: Olivia Bee. www.oliviabee.com Featured designer: And Beyond. www.andbeyond.nl 50
A fashion tale in ten episodes brought to you by Strange Boutique. The Strange Fashion series is centred around a few ground rules that our featured photographers have to follow. The rules: - No models - Use an existing interior (preferably in a living room) - Use a plant - No Photoshop - The shoot has to take place between noon and 6pm and has to make use of natural light sources whenever possible - The shoot has to feature the work of a Dutch designer, chosen by yours truly - No fur because no animal will be harmed during the making of this series. The result: 10 versions of the same photo.
END 51
WHAT’S COOKING? WE ARE COOKING FOR.... BELLE & SEBASTIAN By Zofia Ciechowska Photo by Basje Boer
BUTTERNUT & SEBASTIAN
Every month our very own Nigella Awesome does some imaginary cooking for a band she really really likes. Love does go through the stomach. We simply suggest... DO try this at home. It is worth it.
52
Butternut squash is probably the most versatile, pumpkin-like thing you can eat this winter. If you get tired of eating it, try fashioning a pair of clogs or a mini toboggan out of one. Belle and Sebastian’s upcoming album Write About Love is actually dedicated to this glorious fruitvegetable. No joke. The monkeys are breaking out the zoo for this cake, and it doesn’t even contain bananas.
Serves: Depends how you cut it. Ingredients: 1 small butternut squash 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ¾ tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) ½ cups brown sugar 2 eggs 1 handful of raisins A small knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped Powdered sugar or vanilla ice cream (optional)
WHAT’S COOKING? WE ARE COOKING FOR.... BELLE & SEBASTIAN
This is how we do: 1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Halve your squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place the squash halves, fleshy orange side up, in a baking tray. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. 2. Once cooled, use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the squash. Place the flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork. Use about a cup’s worth of the squash mash for the cake. 3. Now, turn the oven down to 160°C. 4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, baking soda and pepper. Set aside. 5. With a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, raisins and chopped ginger. 6. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, flex your muscles and stir. Add the cup of mashed squash. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture and stir until nice and smooth. Pour the batter into a buttered baking pan. Lick the spoon and bowl clean. 7. Bake the cake for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the centre comes out clean. Eat hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or leave to cool and dust with some powdered sugar!
END 53
99 PROBLEMS AND THE BITCH... ...KNOWS THE ANSWER
Door Brenda Bosma. Illustratie Martyn F Overweel Send your problems to 99 problems@ subbacultcha.nl
Lieve Bitch, Meestal ben ik erg gecharmeerd van al die leuke Subbacultcha-bandjes, maar soms vraag ik me af: wat is er zo sexy aan vals zingen? En ook, is het liefhebben van dissonante gitaarpartijen niet vaak alleen een modegril, een poging om erbij te horen? Ik hoor er niet bij, het doet pijn aan mijn oren. Is er iets mis met mij? Liefs van een Steenbokje Zolang ik mijn gratis Etnies nog niet binnen heb, spreek ik geen enkel kwaad woorden over Subbacultcha!-bands. Moet je niet gewoon dat steenbokkepruikje eens van je kruintje rukken? Enfin, wie weet geven ze binnenkort wel weer van die hippe koptelefoons weg. Kun je die op je hoofd zetten. Kusjes op je toet, B. Zeg Bitch, Ga je nog eens een keer iets fatsoenlijks schrijven of hoe zit dat? Over de zin van het leven bijvoorbeeld. Kijk, daar zou ik pas wat aan hebben! J-H te G.
54
Sorry, ik ben even in volle verbijstering over kunststof kozijnen met houtnerfstructuur. Misschien een andere keer. Groetjes, B.
Dear Bitch, Lately it seems that everything I want is so far out of reach. Am I betting on the wrong horses here? I’m a twenty-something aspiring filmmaker / ‘12 lattes, 13 accidents’-barista. My dearest, Hmm, maybe you should focus more on the ‘unwanting’. What might also help is to envision life as a film already made rather than … or wait, maybe envision it as a book that’s been written rather than one to be written. And/or the movie adaptation. That way you are less intensely struck by deception. Does that make any sense? Also, I’ll be happy to drink your little soy latte accidents! Hugs, B. Dear Bitch, You know how girls, like when they spend a lot of time together, they start to menstruate simultaneously? Do you think the same can be the case with your bowel movement? I’m an awful lot in sync with my boss’s and I can assure you: that’s no fun at all. Greets, an anonymous employee. Dear anonymous employee, about the fun part. How inti-
HOW INTIMATE IT MUST BE TO SMELL THE SWEET SMELL OF YOUR BOSS’S DEEPEST SECRETS. FOR SOME THIS CAN BE VERY EROTIC.
99 PROBLEMS AND THE BITCH... ...KNOWS THE ANSWER Stuur al je vragen, problemen en prangende kwesties naar 99problems@ subbacultcha.nl als jouw vraag een antwoord verdient verdien jij een good goodie. Send your problems to 99 problems@ subbacultcha.nl
mate it must be to smell the sweet smell of your boss’s deepest secrets. For some this can be very erotic. Maybe you should start enjoying your-
self. Determine the food that has been digested by the skid marks left behind in the pot. Indulge! Though I don’t hope you work at a cabbage factory.
END 55
SPEKKIE BIG
56
Door Marc van der Holst
AGENDA SPEND YOUR MONTH IN STYLE
Japanther play Paradiso, Amsterdam.
Highlights in December/January State X New Forms, Japanther, Best Coast and Holy Fuck Win tickets to Arcade, Tanlines, Tennis and more Plus win a pair of classic All Stars.
CONTINUE 57
AGENDA
Subbacultcha! Early Bird Tip
FOCUS
Live music and film: Flat
Earth Society plays Die Austerprinzessin Tuesday 14 December, 20.15, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Composer Peter Vermeersch—who produced Deus’ Worst Case Scenario— plays music to Die Austernprinzessin (1919), the famous silent movie by Ernst Lubitsch. See this show for only €10. Experience a great concert, check out the marvellous building and get a free drink on the side.
Early Birds Everyone under 30 for €10,- to Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ 58
Call het Muziekgebouw or buy tickets at the register 020-788 20 00 | www.muziekgebouw.nl
2X2 TICKETS
TANLINES 8 Dec – Paradiso, Amsterdam Brooklyn-based snip-and-sample meisters Jesse Cohen (Professor Murder) and Eric Emm (Don Caballero) bring their bouncy, electronic ‘side-project’ to town just in time. The layered, dusty and organic cut-and-pasted grooves could just be the necessary tonic to winter’s chilly grip. 3X2 TICKETS
MATTHEW DEAR 14 Dec – Trouw, Amsterdam Depending on who you ask, Matthew Dear is a DJ, a dance-music producer, an experimental pop artist and a bandleader. Or all of the above. Since his 2003 debut Leave Luck To Heaven, Dear has been distilling his dancefloor findings into a respected career. Due to this single-minded voyage, his latest record Black City finds him untethered and free to follow his unique vision. Expect an evening of eclectic and well thought out dancetunes ranging from minimal techno/pop fusion to much darker affairs. 5 TICKETS TO THE ARCADE GAME WORKSHOP
FR EE STFREE UF F STUFF Free tickets and goodies for you from us Every month we give away loads of tickets and good goodies. Don’t you just love us for that? To win, subscribe to the mailinglist at www.subbacultcha.nl. To become a full Subbacultcha! member, go to www.subbacultcha.nl and click join.
ARCADE 18 Dec - 20 Feb Mediamatic, This exhibition at Mediamatic promises to be memorable. The whole space will be turned into a video arcade! Vintage arcade games will mix seamlessly with interactive game installations, all selected by gamers, artists, interactive designers and programmers. We give a way 5 tickets to the Arcade Game Workshop. Simply hang on, let go and unleash the hobbyist inside. 4X2 TICKETS
TENNIS 8 Jan – Paradiso, Amsterdam Yearn for a simpler time when things were just a little slower? When doo-wah-doo meant something? Hell, it meant everything. Well, Tennis have just released Marathon, and each perfect lo-fi pop offering is a harkening back to an earlier time for pop songs. All finger-snapping and floating ooh-ooh-oohs and do-wah-diddys, it’s the perfect pop record for this post-post-ironic world we find ourselves in today. 3 PAIRS
CONVERSE ALL STARS - BLUE LOW TOP So if this is Wednesday it must be … the blue low tops! Core Red™ on Mondays, Classic Black™ on Tuesdays but what colour blue is Wednesdays? Nautical™? Cobalt™?
END 59
AGENDA SHOWS IN NOVEMBER
Holy Fuck
NIKOO 02 Dec - Effenaar, Eindhoven 11 Dec - Vera, Groningen On the heels of their fuzzy, melodic, six-song affair of an EP, Joep van Son’s homegrown noise-pop act Nikoo will be taking the stage in their hometown of Eindhoven, and then in Groningen a little more than a week later. SCRAM C BABY 03 Dec - Patronaat Cafe, Haarlem 19 Dec - Ekko, Utrecht 31 Dec - De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam These veterans of Dutch alternative music are coming up on their second decade of producing genrecrossing pieces of rock and punk melodies, embodied in their latest release Slow Mirror, Wicked Chair. If you’re looking for an exciting, unpredictable way to ring in the new year, experiencing Scram C Baby’s energetic live show in Amsterdam is a stellar option. AUTOLUX + TAMARYN 04 Dec - Paradiso, Amsterdam After giving fans six years to digest just how good their debut LP Future Perfect was, 2010 saw Autolux
finally release their follow-up, Tran sit Transit. In the meantime the trio opened for the likes of Thom Yorke and Nine Inch Nails while refining their spacious and at times haunting sound. San Francisco’s Tamaryn opens. RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE 04 Dec – Paradiso, Amsterdam The Toronto-based rock outfit bring their Rocky Mountains imagery and Neutral Milk Hotel-influenced folk rock to an intimate show in Paradiso’s basement. Autolux will be playing upstairs the same evening so it’s a good opportunity to kill two fantastic-sounding birds with one stone. HOLY FUCK 04 Dec - Melkweg, Amsterdam 05 Dec - Vera, Groningen Why programme electronic sounds into a keyboard when you can yank 35mm film reels through a synchronizer or shoot a toy gun into a bullhorn? The paradox of seeing a Holy Fuck show is that sometimes it’s tough to dance to their incredibly well-crafted dance tunes when you’re busy trying to figure out just how they’re making the sounds!
CONTINUE 61
DEC 2010 JAN/FEB 2011 CONCERTEN, CLUBAVONDEN, ETEN & MEER
03 JÄGERLAND TOUR JULIE DOIRON 04 RUMOR 63 09 WILDGROEI 09 THE TELLERS 17 SCRAM C BABY + 13 19 MURDER 22 OH NO OH MY 24 VRIJ/DEC ’10
MET O.A. DJ MEHDI
ZAT/DEC ’10
DON/DEC ’10
DON/DEC ’10
VRIJ/DEC ’10
+ AVANT LA LETTRE
ZON/DEC ’10
ZAT/JAN ’11
DON/FEB ’11
POPPODIUM EKKO BEMUURDE WEERD WZ 3 | 3513 BH UTRECHT | T +31 30 231 74 57 | WWW.EKKO.NL
AGENDA SHOWS IN NOVEMBER
The Pyramids (State X New Forms)
THE EX 02 Dec - Effenaar, Eindhoven 09 Dec - Tivoli, Utrecht 10 Dec - De Spot, Middelburg 11 Dec - Exit, Rotterdam 12 Dec - Paradiso, Amsterdam Dutch punk originators The Ex will be making the rounds of the Netherlands’ great cities in support of their latest experimental post-punk offering Catch My Show. Having begun as Holland’s answer to the punk movement of the 70’s, The Ex have become the epitome of ‘aging gracefully’, having incorporated eclectic sounds and influences into their ever-evolving musical output. TANLINES 08 Dec - Paradiso, Amsterdam FREE TICKETS. SEE PAGE 59
NY chaps Jesse and Eric ruled De Nieuw Anita in February of this year with their tropical viby vibes. One of the best shows of 2010.... you know with balloons and all, and dancing girls (and you know what happens when the girls dance, the guys dance). Now, the boys of summer are back. A couple of months older but hopefully not wiser. Go get some of that!
SKY LARKIN 09 Dec - Rotown, Rotterdam 12 Dec - Bitterzoet, Amsterdam Anchored by the charismatic Katie Harkin, this three-piece from Leeds comes as the latest offering in a spat of British bands who aren’t afraid to wear their American indie influences on their sleeve. They are touring in support of their most recent release, Kaliede. STATE X NEW FORMS 10 - 11 Dec - Paard van Troje, Den Haag State-X is Den Haag’s yearly feast of ‘avant-garde rock, cutting-edge electronics and nu-art’. In other words, out-there stuff. The great line-up is truly worth a visit to government town. The two-day festival hosts the edgiest acts from all over the globe; from Berlin to Warsaw, from Mongolia to Kenia. Highlights are dustep saviours Mount Kimbie, the reunion of 70s afro-spacers The Pyramids, King of dub Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Mongolian throatpunkers Hanggai and electro-accoustic whiz kid Thomas Ankersmit. Make no mistake, head down, and get your head up.
CONTINUE 63
DECEMBER WO 1 ZA 4 ZA 4 ZA 4 DI 7 VR 10 VR 10
ELECTRIC SIX / JACKDAW4 HOLY FUCK / APACHE BEAT MOSS / THE HORSE COMPANY ELECTROSWING SPECIAL @ GLOBAL CLIMAX AN PIERLÉ & WHITE VELVET BLAUDZUN / WOLFENDALE SONIC WARFARE :
DO 16 VR 17 VR 17 ZA 18 WO 22 MA 27
A NUMOON PREQUEL: STÖMA / CRAPPY DOG E.A. THE DRUMS/ TWO WOUNDED BIRDS / PATRICK CLEANDENIM KILL ALL HIPSTERS YELLE @ FOXES & WOLVES HANS TEEUWEN & THE PAINKILLERS COLD TURKEY- HITS BACK 2010 (DJ ARNOLD & KILL ALL HIPSTERS DJ-TEAM)
MOUNT KIMBIE / SCUBA (HOTFLUSH NIGHT / 4 YEAR BIRTHDAY BASH)
LET OP: DIT IS SLECHTS EEN SELECTIE UIT HET PROGRAMMA. KIJK VOOR HET VOLLEDIGE PROGRAMMA OP WWW.MELKWEG.NL
SONIC WARFARE – 4 YEAR BIRTHDAY BASH WITH MOUNT KIMBIE 10 Dec - Melkweg, Amsterdam Local dubstep label and promoters Sonic Warfare celebrate their four successful years with a little help from the Hotflush roster of electronic and dubstep artists including Mount Kimbie, Scuba, Sepalcure and George Fitzgerald. Mount Kimbie will look to build on the tempered, atmospheric electronica of their debut Crooks & Lovers in what will likely send Sonic Warfare off to a nice start in their fifth year. GONJASUFI 10 Dec - Paradiso, Amsterdam Yoga teacher-turned-rapper Sumach Ecks, otherwise known as Gonjasufi, will project his scrappy-voiced hip hop beats through the walls of Paradiso for a night in December. Gonjasufi’s spirituality and otherworldly fascinations pervade his debut album A Sufi and a Killer, which was promptly followed by remix LP The Caliph’s Tea Party. HANGGAI 11 Dec - Vera, Groningen 12 Dec - Patronaat, Haarlem With so many bands and trends in popular music, it’s difficult to avoid the clichéd classification that comes with professional musicians – unless, that is, you mix various genres of contemporary rock music with centuries-old Mongolian folk songs, which is precisely what the SinoMongolian band Hanggai do, and do well. BEST COAST 12 Dec - Bitterzoet, Amsterdam LA’s Best Coast exemplify everything that’s good about the prolific production of low-fi pop bands who’ve turned their Californian upbringings into both contemporary and vintage-influenced pop music. With ex-Vivian Girls drummer
Ali Koehler now firmly in tow, Best Coast frontwoman Beth Consentino looks to deliver the quaint lyrics and fuzzy magic of this year’s Crazy For You to the Bitterzoet.
AGENDA SHOWS IN NOVEMBER
MATTHEW DEAR 14 Dec - Trouw, Amsterdam FREE TICKETS. SEE PAGE 59
Break from easy listening by spinning Matthew Dear’s latest album, Black City, for a hot second. Challenging and gritty (kind of like you), dearest Matthew’s latest stuff has gotten darker. But don’t be shocked if he brings to the surface some of his earlier, brighter blends. Either way, you’ll hate how much you love the complex techno-pop twist, still raw and rough around the edges. DELOREAN 15 Dec - Paradiso, Amsterdam With a mesh of indie-rock with Balearic influences, synthpop quartet Delorean, released their third album, Subiza, this year. If your empty vintage wallet won’t send you clubbing in Barcelona this winter, let Delorean bring the Spanish nightlife to you instead. Rave on with modern, sunny club techno that’ll be sure to keep your body movin’. THE DRUMS 17 Dec - Melkweg, Amsterdam A couple of Brooklyn-based pretty boys with ’80s postpunk influences and a growing sea of fans. The Drums’ story isn’t uncommon - yes, we’ve heard it with The Strokes. But stacking a combo of appealing pop singles in their self-titled first album, frontman Jonathon Pierce keeps the Drums consistent in their nosurprise post-punk-pop. LOWER DENS 18 Dec - Vera, Groningen It’s no wonder that Jana Hunter’s smooth alto vocals and dark, dreamy guitar got her signed as the first artist on Devendra Ban-
CONTINUE 65
EEN SELECTIE UIT ONS PROGRAMMA:
05/12 08/12 11/12 18/12 12/01 13/01 14/01 22/01 02/02
HOLY FUCK LUCKY FONZ & DE FELLE KLEUREN HANGGAI LOWER DENS EUROSONIC EUROSONIC EUROSONIC THE SONNETS LA PEGATINA
Info & tickets: www.vera-groningen.nl
illustratie: Bert Scholten
hart’s then-new label and landed her collaborations with CocoRosie and others. Well, guess what? She’s back. This time, the Texasborn artist has formed a new wave band, Lower Dens, oozing with emotion through drums, dizzy guitar, humming bass and atmospheric vocals. ARCADE 18 Dec – 20 Feb - Mediamatic, Amsterdam FREE TICKETS. SEE PAGE 59
For all you gamers, Mediamatic Bank is transforming its space into a fantastic arcade exhibition this winter. Follow the evolution of the arcade game from the ol’ shooting galleries to the arcade as we know it today. Workshops from artists, gamers, producers, programmers, and interaction designers will take place. LOLA KITE, THE SECRET LOVE PARADE & PALMBOMEN 23 Dec - Rotown, Rotterdam With their debut album Lights due in January, Lola Kite’s colorful synthpop clashed with guitar psychedelic jamboree will have us give Animal Collective a break to enjoy our own Dutchified, danceable version. The ladies of Secret Love Parade will then swoon the crowd with dreamy beach pop followed by some chillwave of Palmbomen - the first Dutchman to sign with the hip and hyped French label Kitsune. TENNIS 08 Jan - Paradiso, Amsterdam FREE TICKETS. SEE PAGE 59
The concept of Tennis, a husband/ wife duo hailing from the mountains of Denver, is as sweet as the wifey’s voice of honey. While they were sailing for eight months across the North Atlantic, Patrick and Alaina documented their adventure through the birth of Tennis: bright guitar, sweet harmonies and an up-
lifting vibe. The sweethearts will release their first album for a fresh start in 2011.
AGENDA SHOWS IN NOVEMBER
SPACE SIREN 08 Jan - Vera, Groningen Don’t be deceived by the ambient vocals of Space Siren’s lead singer Gwendolien Dougles. The Dutch foursome toss you around turbulently with a rough determination in their layered guitars and psychedelic frenzies. Hang on tight, and hope for some mercy. EUROSONIC 12, 13 Jan - Groningen Europe’s fresh new talent in venues all throughout the city. A unique festival that’s sprouted from a cooperative effort between local music outlets, the festival stays true to its roots. Expect great bands like Gold Panda, Mount kimbie, Wolf People along with many other up- andcoming artists. JAPANTHER 13 Jan - Paradiso, Amsterdam Sweaty New York punk rockers, Japanther, are still living and breathing an era of music from over a decade back. Considering themselves ‘more of an art project than a band’, Japanther work with eclectic media: from contemporary art through puppet shows to synchronised swimming... what will they come up with next? Whatever it is, their live shows are a must. GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR 19 Jan - Paradiso, Amsterdam Yes, yes, it’s true. Canadian postrockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor are back on tour. These guys just keep going and going, not letting anything bring them down – not even being mistaken for terrorists in a desolate US town. Now the rebels are bringing their old experimental rock back around.
END 67
AFTER MIDNIGHT
Send photos to aftermidnight@ subbacultcha.nl Feel very free to involve romance, stupidity, sex, beauty, banality, poetry and debauchery... or heck! you can even get arty. As long as the photos are shot after midnight. If your photo gets published you win a pair of Etnies shoes This month’s photo was submitted by Kimberly van der Velden
END 69
COLOPHON Who we are and what we do
Subbacultcha! Magazine is lovingly and swiftly made at our office in Amsterdam. Da Costakade 150, 1053 XC Amsterdam, the Netherlands. www.subbacultcha.nl magazine@subbacultcha.nl
Printing: Drukkerij Slinger, Alkmaar
We are
To advertise in Subbacultcha! Magazine send an email to magazine@subbacultcha.nl.
Subbacultcha! in your store If you want your bar, venue, store or business to be on the distribution list, please send us an email. Advertising
Editors: Leon Caren and Bas Morsch A-listers: Amit Dey and Katja Pasinsky Editorial Assistants: Sarah Gehrke and Marie-Claire Melzer Design: Bas Morsch Interns: Fabio Costa, Tess Renkens and Loes Verputten Good Guy: Tibor Bijl Moneys: Brenda Bosma Contributors: DaniĂŤlle van Ark, Carly Blair, Basje Boer, Brenda Bosma, Suzanne de Bruin, Leon Caren, Zofia Ciechowska, Femke Dekker, Amit Dey, Sarah Gehrke, Nick Helderman, Marc van der Holst, Russell Joyce, Regina van der Kloet, Nicole Martens, MarieClaire Melzer, Bas Morsch, Martyn F Overweel, Katja Pasinsky, Gert Verbeek and Isolde Woudstra
70
Distribution: Amsterdam: Mourad Bahrouch, Tibor Bijl, Carly Blair, Luc Breukelman, Fabio Costa, Ana Crisostomo, Alice Driesen, Doris Driesen, Katharina Ebner, Carla Frederika, Bauke Karel, Patrick van der Klugt and Stefan Stasko. Utrecht: Thom van Hoek, Ludo Westerveld. Groningen: Hedwig Plomp. Rotterdam: Ruben Rietveld, Emine Yalcinkaya. Leeuwarden: Jan Pier Brands. Leiden: Anne Hillebrand. Almere: Remco Brinkhuis. Haarlem: Kunti Benson. Arnhem/Nijmegen: Alex Langedijk. Tilburg/Eindhoven: Kevin Jansen
Partners We thank Melkweg, Ekko, Tivoli, Patronaat, Etnies and Plato Memberships Become a member of Subbacultcha!. For only â‚Ź6 a month you get free access to all Subbacultcha! shows and the monthly magazine sent to your house. Plus, you get a fresh Subbacultcha! bag. Check the website to sign up. Free Tickets If you are subscribed to the mailing list it is possible to get into our great Magazine Parties for free. You can also win lots of free tickets every month. Get Involved Please feel free to email us, call us, drop by and send letters, drawings and photos. After midnight. Send us photos taken after midnight and win a pair of Etnies shoes (see p. 69).
SUBBACULTCHA! SHOWS IN DECEMBER / JANUARY 7 December DAS RACIST + DJ SANDEMAN Trouw, Amsterdam Starts 20.30 | €10 | Free for members
9 December RUMOR 63 Various Locations, Utrecht Starts 20.30 | €15 | Free for members
18 December SMALL BLACK + DJ DANCE, FLOOR De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Starts 20.00 | €7 | Free for members
16 December ALICE IN WONDERLAND – AN X-RATED MUSICAL COMEDY Melkweg Cinema, Amsterdam Starts 21:00 | €6 | Free for members
12 January AUSTRA Studio 80, Amsterdam Starts 23:00 | €6 | Free for members
14 January VONDELPARK De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam
AGENDA OVERVIEW OF ALL SUBBACULTCHA! SHOWS For a full programme description see page 13
Starts 20.00 | €6 | Free for members
15 January KLUB RADAR FT WOLF PEOPLE + K-X-P + MORE TBC Tivoli, Utrecht Starts 21.00 | €10 | Free for Members
19 January TEENGIRL FANTASY Studio 80, Amsterdam Starts 23.00 | €6 | Free for members
23 January Subbacultcha Christmas Party De nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Starts 19:00 | €6 | Free for members
Out now
The amazing new Eklin album Onwa is out now on Lowin We offer a free download for all Subbacultcha! members (valid till 31 December)
etniesshop.com facebook.com/etnies.europe