the melting pot
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May 2011
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grae magazine. Publisher
Grae Editor in Chief
Natalie Zigdon content Editor
Sophie Lavac Contributors
Azura Skyler Blair Siebe Warmoeskerken Photographers
Fabio Gloor the treehouse
Austin Messick Cover
Julia Sonmi Heglund
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Find us online at GraeMagazine.com Please note all submissions to Grae Magazine are protected by copyright laws which belongs solely to the artist. If you would like to get in touch with any of the artists, please email us and we’ll gladly pass it along. Grae is always looking to expand our team. Whether you’re a photographer, writer, illustrator or designer, we want YOU to be apart of Grae. Email us at inspire@ graemagazine.com A Special thanks to Skyler Blair and Azura for a great interview. And a special thanks to Julia Sonmi Heglund for creating such an awesome cover. editor’s note. I’m Natalie and I am the creator & editor of Grae Magazine. Grae Magazine was created to uncover underground artists who have a passion for creating. If you’re new to Grae, make sure to check out our talented artists and their take on this world. Read each word with an open mind, lose yourself in our treehouse and indulge yourself in our Rorschach Art Gallery. If you aren’t new to Grae, welcome back. In this issue, we wanted to take you guys on a little trip around the world. We wanted to see the different ways each artist captures a place, different from the one we see around us. We wanted to fit as much culture as we could into the Melting Pot.
May 2011
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WE DREAM ABOUT SEEING THE REST OF THE WORLD BECAUSE THE WORLD WE LIVE IN LACKS THE CULTURE AND PASSION WE CONSTANTLY SEARCH FOR. THE WORD ‘TRAVELER’ GIVES US A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND A TITLE WE LIKE TO GIVE OURSELVES. WE FEEL THE NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY TRAVEL TO ANOTHER COUNTRY JUST SO WE AREN’T THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A WORLD DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN. WE USE THE TERM ‘I LEFT MY HEART IN...’ JUST TO FEEL LIKE WE’VE DONE SOMETHING WITH OUR LIVES. IT ISN’T WHERE YOU ARE GOING THAT SHOULD LET YOU LEAVE PIECES OF YOUR HEART... IT IS WHO YOU MEET AND WHAT CULTURE HAS AFFECTED YOUR SOUL. IT ISN’T ABOUT SEEING RUINS IN ITALY OR A POWERFUL SMILE ON A CHILD FROM AFRICA. IT IS ABOUT LEARNING WHAT THOSE RUINS WERE BEFORE THEY BECAME RUINS AND WHAT THAT CHILD HAS BEEN THROUGH YET ABLE TO WEAR A SMILE SO PROUDLY. WE DIDN’T WANT TO TAKE YOU AROUND THE WORLD JUST TO SAY YOU’VE SEEN IT ALL. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN FEEL IT. 8 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
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AZURA
WORDS BY SKYLER BLAIR PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOUSTON COSTA
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Can you explain what it’s like being in the group Azura and how you all came together? Being in Azura is like being with 5 goofy yet intelligent scatterbrains who somehow manage to write decent songs together. 4 of us went to the same high school in L.A., so by the time we were in college and wanted to start a band, it wasn’t too difficult to contact each other and organize a jam. At our first band practice ever, we attempted to play Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” and Coldplay’s “We Never Change”, and upon realizing that we weren’t doing any justice to these songs, we decided that we should probably stick to writing our own songs. Nonetheless, from day one we made it clear to each other that our absolute passion is making music, but above all, we’re a family. Our bond as friends, our respect for each other as people... that’s the priority. Nothing comes before that, not even the music. We are confident that we can make great songs as long as we maintain the strength of our friendships with one another. And yes, we are well aware that these notions of a band being a family are cliché. What motivates you to write and play music? Right now we’re mostly motivated by other people’s art in general, whether it’s an Arcade Fire song, a Darren Aronofsky film, or a Ray Bradbury novel. Our real-life experiences are pretty limited as of now because we’re a new band, and new bands only play in their local towns and sit in a tiny, window-less rehearsal room for months on end trying to write better songs. Eventually when we’re better at our craft, we’re going to get out there more, play in different countries, experience the wonders of being outside of our own little world, but until then we rely heavily on other art to inspire us. Tell us about your favorite song from the new release. Our favorite song on the EP is “Safe and Sound” because the very first lyric of the song is “Dinosaurs and evil fairies”. That has to be one of the best opening lines to a song ever!
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What was it like making your first EP? Was there anything that you weren’t expecting? Making our first EP was a smack in the face signifying that we need to write better songs altogether. When you’re in a studio for the first time as a band and you finally get to sit down and hear everyone’s parts clearly, from the way the vocal melodies mesh with guitar lines to the way the drums increase or decrease dynamic in certain areas of the song, you unexpectedly start to realize the difference between novice songwriting and great songwriting. We started to notice how a lot of the parts that we initially wrote in the rehearsal room aren’t quite fitting together like we thought they would, and we started to see the many flaws in our arrangements. At the same time we discovered some of our strengths and saw how capable we are of writing good songs in the future. We learned the importance of vocals and melody as a whole being the priority and the prominent attribute of any great song instead of just writing a bunch of individually cool parts and mashing them together. Although we’re not the best songwriters quite yet, we believe that we’re definitely moving along in the right direction after learning the lessons we did while making this EP. Would you say that your upcoming EP “Safe and Sound” has any common underlying motifs? For about 2 years in college, all we learned to do was recognize motifs in different texts and write a 5 page paper about it. So we’re pretty sure that we can come up with some sort of superficial analysis of the motifs that are present in our songs. Hmm.... Lyrically, the majority of our songs seem to unveil the thoughts of a stubborn yet innocently naïve young adult who is experiencing the tribulations of love, solitude, betrayal, spirituality, and many other of life’s most important lessons (I guarantee you that if this were used as a thesis statement for an essay, the essay would receive a C+ at the very most). All joking aside, we’re barely into
our 20’s, so there’s an unintentional theme of youth and youthful love in our songs no matter what we do, but there’s also a depth and profoundness to them. Our songs are emotionally intelligent and unintelligent at the same time, and it is that irony that sums up the reality of our youth.
currently writing have a more uptempo feel to them, so we advise anybody who is coming to our shows to not be afraid to dance! Oh, and we’re well-dressed. Just thought we’d add that in there.
What other artists does your group look toward for inspiration? Do you ever include covers of any songs in your sets? We first started playing music together due to our obsession with Radiohead and Coldplay. Since then we’ve expanded our influences to bands like Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, The Smiths, The Kinks, The White Stripes, The Strokes, M. Ward, Sigur Ros, and Grizzly Bear. We love and appreciate a lot of the classic bands during the era of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, but we’re currently more into contemporary acts, and we enjoy finding brand new artists who’ve just come onto the scene. We’ve done a cover of Muse’s “Hysteria” at a few of our shows, and we plan to cover Kings of Leon’s “Pyro” at our next show.
“OUR FAVORITE SONG ON THE EP IS ‘SAFE AND SOUND’ BECAUSE THE VERY FIRST LYRIC OF THE SONG IS ‘DINOSAURS AND EVIL FAIRIES’. THAT HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE BEST OPENING LINES TO A SONG EVER!” What would a person expect to see and hear at an Azura show? At our shows you can expect to feel like you’re going on an emotional ride but at the same time you can expect to dance with a sense of careless fun. A lot of our newer songs that we’re The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |13
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the treehouSe.
where imagination is created. 18 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
Moon shines our beacon of hope to endless freedom beyond this cerulean marble.
Silver ripples on shore, nature’s honest currency, her gift for our moments taken to marvel at her wonder.
Teeth of ocean animal bite hard on rock buffets, chip away sustenance to fuel unyielding power.
Beautiful beast froths foams at the mouth, captures the shore and my wonder.
Humbled I sit a speck in this great spinning ball of fire we call our universe, surrounded by individuals, artist brothers and sisters whose spirits dance inside them to sound freedom’s drums pound in the night to tap tap tapping of feet, create songs with their joy.
Overwhelmed with joy heart jumps, leaps to catch the moon.
Uncle Walt, hear me now! My cry to God and world alike!
Hear our human howls to smiling moon above Earth below, spirits within.
May we join you spirit Earth in perfect balance.
May we flow with you sweet summer winds.
May we kiss salty lips of goddess ocean waves, swim in resplendent depths of midnight sky, hike marshmallow cloud mountains above in the light of today.
Stare into the blazing eyes of God, above, below, within each soul, see the love that moves us all.
I am humbled by individual efforts of now, marvel at their love of moment. ‘Moonshine’ by Austin Messick The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |19
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“COOKIE SPLASH” By Siebe Warmoeskerken Based in The Netherlands devetpan.com
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What if you were told exactly when you were going to die. Would you use it to your advantage and conquer your fears because you knew nothing else can kill you? Would you make every single dream a reality because nothing should be stopping you now? Would you actually
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appreciate life and ‘seize the moment’ because you knew how much time you have left? Or would you constantly feel the complete opposite because every single day you’re a day closer to the day you die. I guess you’ll never know. -grae
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rorschach. dont see with your eyes, percieve with your mind. They reflect your own desires and fantasies right back at you. They are a stolen world in which you create the streets, the faces and the sky. These pictures will be whatever you want them to be. To me, art is exactly like a rorschach. There is simplicity in what you are looking at but it is your mind that creates a beyond ordinary place. Every month this section will be filled with brilliant artists who strive to have their art lose you into an entirely different world.When appreciating art, let your mind wander. Let your mind be free.
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Josh Liba - Japan 36 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
David Mor - Israel The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |37
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Josh Liba - Rome
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Josh Liba - Brooklyn
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Ariff Budiman - Bali
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Joanne Barby 44 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
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Josh Liba - San Francisco
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Thomas Innocenzi - Paris 48 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
Thomas Innocenzi - Italy The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |49
Melissa Cooke 50 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
Justyna Zdunczyk - Thailand
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Mieneke Andeweg-van Rijn - Tuscany
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Kimmo Savolainen - Venice
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Josh Liba - Italy
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Pamela Ross - New York
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Justyna Zdunczyk - Cambodia
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David Mor - Israel
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Martin Rak - Venice The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |63
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Josh Liba - Japan
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Mieneke vanRijn - Japan
66 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue Joanne Barby
Josh Liba - Mexico
Pamela Ross- New York
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Justin Kern - San Francisco
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Adam Burton - New Zealand
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Christian Bothner - Greece
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Josh Liba - New York
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Javier Corbo - Spain
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Boaz Rottem - Africa
Alex Glickman - Israel
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Boaz Rottem - Egypt
Boaz Rottem - Brazil
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Pamela Ross - New York
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Adam taylor - Australia
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second chance that enies us.� Paul Theroux The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |87
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David Mor - Israel
the melting pot.
food from around the world. The Labyrinth Issue | Grae Magazine |89
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Josh Liba - Gelato from Italy
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Don and Elaine - Gyro from Greece
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Robyn Lee - New York
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Helvetica - Sushi from Japan
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Nicole Nursen - Naan Bread from India
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Robyn Lee - Falafel from Israel
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Robyn Lee - Macaroons from Paris
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Robyn Lee - Tom Yum from Thailand
Robyn Lee - Italy
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Xochitl - In n Out Burger from California
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invisible light. photography by Fabio Gloor
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our five SenSeS issue coming June 2011 How does our five senses affect our art? We’re about to find out. There will be many challenges available for our artists so make sure to head to our Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/ graeonfacebook to keep up with the challenges we have created for this upcoming issue. You are welcome to send any art regardless of the theme to be featured in our Rorschach Gallery at inspire@graemagazine.com
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Contribute to grae. Rorschach. Want to have your art work featured in Grae? Send your art work to inspire [at] graemagazine.com. How do you know you’re qualified? Grae is searching for underground artists and people who simply have a passion to create. Whether it is a picture, a song, a canvas or a story. If you think your creations are creative and inspiring then you are more than qualified… you’re exactly what we’re looking for!
The TreehouSe. Consider yourself a writer? Send us a sample of your writing or a piece you wrote especially for Grae’s theme of the month and your work could be featured in our treehouse section. We only take fiction and creative writing. We’re not trying to sell anything or promote anyone in this section. The treehouse is all about writing with a twist. Show us your creative side by sending your work to inspire [at] graemagazine. com.
Featured InterviewS. Think you deserve a featured spread showcasing your art and your mind? So do we. Send us 3-4 photos of your artwork to inspire [at] graemagazine.com and we’ll answer back with the intriguing questions. You can get a featured spread with an interview by simply speaking up. How will we ever know you’re there unless you don’t use your voice? Don’t be shy. Feeling the opposite and think you know of the perfect artist to interview? Do your thing and send us the artwork and interview you’ve set up for them. We’ll be more than happy to feature you as the brilliant writer who found such an inspiring artist. Maybe you’re not a brilliant writer, just really good at asking questions. Hey, we’ll take it.
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Fabio Gloor
Thank you To ThoSe who live to create. azura
adam taylor
Josh liba
fabio gloor
david mor
Joanne Barby
brian scott
martin rak
ariff budiman
javier corbo
justin kern
boaz rottem
Thomas Innocenzi
alex glickman
Justyna Zdunczyk
helvetica
Kimmo Savolainen
robyn lee
adam burton
xochitl
Christian Bothner
Mieneke Andewegvan Rijn
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