oa! What’s good? Chilling, smoking and watching Conan The Barbarian on Netflix—actually relaxing. How’s San Bernardino? Hot. The murder rate’s going up and they’re trying to rebuild downtown, but I don’t know how that’s going. When did you start rapping? At thirteen. What’s your creative process for new material? I just listen to the beat. If I don’t have a concept, I’ll just focus on writing the first verse, from there I’ll figure out the hook and last verse. Whenever I’m writing I try to dig real deep to find what I’m looking for. Sometimes this brings about memories I’ve locked away, but it’s good for the music and good for me. When all is said and done, this is my therapy. Has that changed for you with experience? Yeah, I used to just try to find a subject then just write about it. Now everything is based off of what I’m feeling and just being open. Have you changed? Yes, for the better. Now I’m more understanding of others, I appreciate everything that’s around me and I respect time. You recently released Intelligent Elegant Elephant: Humble Power, what was the inspiration behind the album?
Happiness. A lot happened that year, I got on Paid Dues and I got the cover of IE Weekly. It was a very good and happy year for me. The project was going to be called Hockey Masked Haitian and was going in an entirely different direction—I guess that just goes to show what happiness can do for you. What’s cracking with Dionysus Lifestyle? I took on this project in a different way than I normally go about my projects. I’m taking my time and actually focusing on showing my different sides during different times. I have a song called “Lusting For Athena”, which is about just wanting my girl. Then there’s “Party At The Moon Tower”, where I’m just indulging in my vices. I want to really show me—I don’t think people know the real me… When should we expect that to drop? Hopefully this fall, but I’m really taking my time with it. I’m going to drop stuff until then, but I’m really in love with this project, so I’m taking my time. Where does Dionysus Lifestyle differ from your past work? I’m really being open minded on this project. It’s like a mixture of my last three projects (Sounds Of A Monster, Beautiful Darkness and IEE: Humble Power), where I’m letting my emotions speak to me. Like I said before, I normally write off of subjects and concepts, but for this project I’m just letting go and letting my pen speak. Do have plans for any new videos?
Yeah, I have many plans. Just to give you an idea, I would like to do some conceptual visuals that accompany the song to combine and tell a story where it’s up to you, the viewer, how it’s interpreted. I don’t want to just stand in front of the camera and rap. What’s the main message that you trying to convey through your music? Be human. What’s the point, fight not to be human? Live, feel and do what’s right. When I did wrong, nothing went right. Where would you like to go through your music? With my music, I would like to be able to take care of my family and friends and give back to the community. Who are you trying to reach? I’m gonna be real, everybody. Why not? What makes it all worthwhile for you? Performing in front of real fans that actually get the music, understand it and know why I smile. How was your show with Action Bronson? It was a hard show because someone got booed before I went on and during the middle of my set the e quipment malfunctioned, but I won the crowd over through my accapellas and passion. At the end of my set people yelled out “Respect!” and someone yelled “I respect you for that.” What crews you repping? Black Cloud Music, BrickToYaFace.com, it’s The Common Ground and the Inland Empire (909, 951, 760).
Who all makes up Black Cloud Music? The CEO/producer: Jynxx, the emcee/producers: Curtiss King and Phantom Thrett, and the emcees: myself, Art Barz, Faimkills and David May. Do you have any sponsors? No, looking for some though… Where can we purchase your music? iTunes and Bandcamp. Do you have upcoming shows? I promote, book and run it’s The Common Ground every Sunday in Riverside and our DIY Music & Fashion Festival is coming up on September 8th at The Glasshouse in Pomona, CA. This is going to be a festival put together for local artists and clothing lines that are truly DIY (Do It Yourself) that you can’t afford to miss. Are you anywhere else in the matrix? I’m everywhere in the matrix—you can’t miss me. What’s next? Shows, music and tours. Everything. Any shout-outs? My granny, my great-grandmother who turns onehundred-and-twelve-years-old on September 8th (the day of our DIY fest), my boo-thang, Danielle, Black Cloud Music and everyone who has been supporting me from day one and believed in a fat kid, thank you.
arkus! How are you? As happy as can be. Where are you? In a 80s jogger suite. Who are you? A “permanent resident of New Zealand”, not a citizen. Who do you want be? A happy healthy person on planet earth. What is it you do? Answering questions. When’d you start? A few seconds ago. How’d you come up with the name Rainbowmonkey? I used to be really quick with name finding/choosing. Anything would be legitimate. I’m a big monkey fan— and who doesn’t like rainbows!? However, “The Rainbowmonkey” started out as a solo music project of mine rather than a design/art thing. What did you study in school? Communication design. Did you do well? I did alright, I think. How much of your work is planned out in advance vs. off the top of your head? Usually, I tend to have a pretty clear picture of what I want to do in my head. I’m not a fan of using
sketchbooks and tend to jump straight into it. However, some projects require experiments to develop the direction. Photo, video, design and music—which do you enjoy the most? I like working in a real environment with real stuff (people, props etc.) and I tend to try to get away from the computer as much as possible, since I’ve already spent too many years in front of it. Currently, I really enjoy photo and video more than traditional graphic design. Music-wise it’s more of the same. I used to produce all my music on the computer using virtual instruments. These days I enjoy hitting my drum kit, improvising on a shitty old organ and playing my guitar and cello. It’s more intuitive, instant and real. Does money make it all worthwhile? Which money? When’s enough, enough? When you see the shit through closed eyes. What’s your stance on technology? I like it when it’s clever, useful and economic. Have computers become integral to your creative process? There’s almost no way around computers — so yeah, but I don’t want the computer to be the driving force for my creativity. Who are you working with next?
I’ve got a few ideas for a sophisticated stage play and a stylized feature film. So I might be working with a few actors and performers and potentially some musicians, set-designers and fashion designers etc. What’s your greatest achievement? I’m pretty proud of the stage play we recently finished called Mr. Sackman. It involved a seven-piece band that played the soundtrack to the play live on stage! My wife and I had to direct around fifteen people, which was a bit of a mission. This was also the first time we had ever done such a thing, but it all worked out well and we enjoyed the process. Does music help? It does. Loud or soft? Whatever you require. What do you do for fun? Long bathing sessions, golfing and playing music. Long-term goals? I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy it, but I’m planning on becoming a credible filmmaker. Short-term? Eat well everyday. Does your work actually feel like work to you? Sometimes. Know any good jokes? I’m the worst joke rememberer and I’m not a
particularly good audience either. Even though I like comedy and I’m sometimes a clown—I’m just not a good joke teller. Who would you like to thank? My wife Karin for her positivity all the way through and for providing me with my everyday inspiration and support. And my parents for accepting what I do and allowing me freedom on my way. Where can we purchase your work? Nowhere specially, but my work has been featured in several international publications. Do you have upcoming shows or exhibitions? Mr. Sackman will be performed a few more times and I’m planning to keep on rocking the dual AV madness with Karin, which might be turned into a stage performance too. Are you anywhere else on da net? http://www.rainbowmonkey.de is my design home base, http://www.markushofko.com will be my rather arty page—hopefully finished soon, and http://www.piepaper.com is a magazine I run with a friend of mine. What’s next? See above. Any shout-outs? Cheers for having me!
aura! What up? Hello! I’m trying to come up with some ideas for a couple series I want to do and working on some collaborations. Both seem to be helping each other, which is always a good thing in my eyes. How’s Cardiff? I have mixed feelings about Cardiff. There’s lots to do here, but I don’t feel it’s right for me, I don’t feel at home here at all. I’d like to move to Bristol or London. I’m seeing a lot of birds and nature and stuff featured in your work, why? Simple answer, because I love nature! I’ve always been interested in animals, flowers and nature in general. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is I love about it, but I’m endlessly fascinated by so many aspects, like the way nature works, its natural colours and the patterns present in plants and animals… I could go on and on. So if there’s any way I can use that in my work, I’ll find a way.
What’s you favourite colour? It often changes, but it’s been purple for a long time! Though I have always loved green and turquoise. I just love colour a ridiculous amount. Where do you find the materials for your work? Mainly magazines... Like old fashion ones, National Geographic, plant catalogues and old books. Though I can’t stand the idea of cutting books up, so I always photocopy those. A lot of beautiful women, which is awesome, but where’s the dudes? I would like to use men more in my work, but seeing as most of my source material comes from fashion magazines and the like, they tend to have more pictures of women than men—which is a shame. It’s something that’s on my mind, so I’m making a conscious effort to use more males in my pieces. Wait, wait there’s a philosopher type dude in there… Who’s that?
I have no idea! He’s in a book I have of public domain images of men (mostly engravings, I think). I just liked his moustache! Where have you been? Nowhere in terms of being abroad, I don’t even have a passport! If I ever have any money that I could consider “spare”, I would like to get one so I can travel. Where would you like to go and with whom? I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil and Portugal, but I’d also love to go to Austria, Italy and Thailand. I would happily go anywhere with my boyfriend, but if I got a chance to go to any of those places and could only go by myself for some reason, I wouldn’t say no. I would much prefer to share my excitement, wonder and happiness with someone I love. Care to describe your outlook on life? Honestly I’ve always been quite pessimistic and cynical, but I’m not all doom and gloom! All in all, I would say I have an attitude of “Life is what you make of it.”
You could have a relatively happy and carefree life, or constantly be struggling, but if you see the good in the little things that’s what keeps you going—well at least for me anyway. Try your best to surround yourself with the people and things you love, it makes the bad times a bit more bearable. How much time do you invest into each piece? That really depends, but for the most part about an hour or so. Sometimes it can take a lot longer if I can’t decide on something, or sometimes I can get something done (minus the gluing) in about half an hour because everything comes together naturally. Do you ride bikes? I would if I had one! I can’t drive, so a bike would be wonderful. If you had to describe yourself with one word, what would that be? Curious. …Your work?
Hmm... Colourful. When did you start? Collages, a couple years ago in late ‘08, but I’ve been painting and drawing on and off since I was a child. Can you regularly recall the majority of your dreams? Yes! Dreaming has always been a big part of my life. I’m always so disappointed when I get awoken suddenly because I forget them. Or if I don’t dream, I feel like I’ve not slept properly. Does any one particular dream or nightmare of yours stand out from the others? Yes! I saw Dracula (or some version thereof) with my dad when I was about five or six-years-old and it gave me a nightmare that I’ll always remember. It was recurring for nearly a month! I didn’t get much sleep and it made me kind of ill. I also used to often have dreams I had telekinetic powers—so disappointed that I don’t really. How much of your time is spent procrastinating? Too much! I’m very easily distracted. Sometimes what
I’m doing or looking at will have some relevance, but who doesn’t like to watch films or just do something pointless every now and then? Where can we purchase your work? At http://society6.com/cardboardcities I’m considering making an Etsy to sell prints and originals too, but I’m not 100% sure yet—I’ll put a link on my site if I do. Do you have upcoming shows or exhibitions? Unfortunately no! I’d love to do something though… Are you anywhere else on this here Interweb? Yes, my website: http://www.cardboardcities.co.uk, Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardcities, Instagram and Twitter: @cardboardcities and Society6: http://society6.com/cardboardcities What’s next? Who knows!? The sky’s the limit! But I do have some collaborations lined up, so I’ll go from there.
artosz! How are you? Very well, thanks. It’s a very busy time for me and I’m grateful for that. What’s new in your neck of the woods? Well, for the first time I’m using a fully automatic camera in my art, so that’s a new experience. I’m fascinated with this new approach because of the touristic effect it adds to my photographs. What did you want to be as a child? When I was young I always liked adventure and travel. First, I wanted to be like Robinson Crusoe living on a deserted island. Then, I wanted to live the nomadic life of an old time merchant in the Sahara. Later, I saw myself sipping coffee in an espresso bar in Paris. I also always wanted to ride a yellow taxi in New York City. Luckily, I’ve had the privilege of realizing many of these dreams. Why photography?
Photography always came naturally to me. This is probably because my father was a great photographer and his work inspired my interest in the field. When did you first pick up the camera? When I was sixteen, I used my camera to communicate with the homeless people of my home city of Szczecin. I listened to their hardships and photographed them telling their stories. Importantly, I learned how to listen to people from this experience. Why haven’t’ you put it down? I have no idea. Perhaps I will put my camera down in the future and pick it up again at a later time. However, there are a lot of reasons why I haven’t stopped taking pictures. First of all, my art is a form of therapy—it’s a journey of self-exploration and my way of exploring the stories of the world. Through photography, I’m afforded the opportunity to exhibit the good and bad narratives in life in a factual and surreal way—I like that I’m not limited to reality.
Has much changed since then? Everything has changed completely. On many occasions I look at my photographs from two years ago and I ask myself, “What were you thinking!?” What did you learn in photography school? I learned how to avoid my landlord! Seriously though, I learned the most from my friends as we relaxed and spoke about art over drinks. School was an incredible time for me—I met a vast group of artists who differed in experience, style and opinions. What have you learned shooting on your own? I‘ve learned that I must be my own manager, PR person, editor, publisher and more. Working on my own is more difficult, but I love the flexibility. I can travel and live my life, while doing my art. Your current work is focused around American football, what led you in this direction? I’ve always been interested in sports. It gives you an awful lot of emotion, competition and struggle—while
providing brotherhood, cooperation and teamwork. I wanted to focus on emotions of that team. Who are these guys? The team is called “The Hussars” and come from Szczecin. For a while I hadn’t even realized we had this team. One day, I called the manager and asked if I could come to the game and take some pictures. The photos turned out so well that they then invited me to two further meetings and other photographers of the team began to imitate my style. Where did these shoots take place? I photographed three matches, two in Poland and one in Germany. What type of time frame are we talking about here? The first photo was taken in ‘08 and put to the side, I then returned in ‘11 and wrapped up shooting with the team earlier this year. Even though we only had three meetings and a lot of time has passed, all of the shots came out very well. It’s interesting to watch how the
team has changed, how new players have been added, how some players have been dropped and all the experience that has been gained by the team. How was their response to being photographed? While working, I tried to be invisible and to not disturb them while in the game. At the first match, I went to the locker room during a speech by the coach before the match. After the match, when they saw the pictures… Let’s just say that the next time, I was with them all the time. However, someone did point out to me that it would be a good idea to not take pictures after a loss, but there’s this tremendous discharge of emotions after losing a match—I found it too hard to resist. After all, these types of things are written into the risk of my profession. Why black & white for the series? For most of the shots I used an additional external flash to add drama to the situation, the time to focus on details, or to effectively use the movement of the
subject. This technique primarily works well with black & white and it suited me. Overall, how satisfied were you with the experience? All of the photographs were received very well and I’m happy to have accomplished just what I was trying to achieve through my photography of the team. Not to mention, there’s the satisfaction of knowing that the team was happy with photos. Have any of the guys received prints from the shoot? Yes, they’ve received the photos from me in some smaller resolutions for use in their promotional materials and on their website. Because they allowed me to “enter the game”, I thanked them by giving them access to my work. Does any particular pic stand out as a favorite from the series and why? I like portrait of the former coach of the team. With his clenched teeth and pissed face, it’s clear he’s looking to destroy the enemy. We can easily guess what he’s
thinking and feeling. Which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction? I’d have to say my Graffiti series stands out the most. During the shoot there was a lot of adrenaline—at any time the police could catch us. I loved this style of work, it forced me to further my thinking and as far as I’m concerned, more work equals more satisfaction. Who, what and where would you like to photograph next? I must feel the topic to get deep into it. My best photos, the ones I have won awards for and exhibited, I’ve done for myself, not for any commercial gig. I value this style of work, but it requires much effort and money. Sometimes I encounter the beginnings of my next collection by accident, sometimes someone will write to me, sometimes I will think of something. There is no rule. Where can we purchase your work?
Check out my page http://www.bartoszmatenko.com and write me an email. Do you have upcoming shows or exhibitions? A few days ago I had an exhibition in Krakow, Poland and then another in Israel. I also recently made an album with a friend, which will soon be released. Where else can we find you on the Interwebs? Check me on my fan page site: http://www.facebook.com/bartoszmatenko and if you’re interested in my current daily pictures, I invite you to check out my Tumblr: http://bartoszmatenko.tumblr.com/ What’s next? I’ve begun two new projects. The first is a collection of street photos from NYC and I’ve started a personal documentation of my stay here in the US. Keep an eye out…
ebastian! What’s shaking? Hi dude! Not much, just chilling after work. How’s Buenos Aires? Buenos Aires is nice—there are a lot of fun things to do! Who are you really? I’m a twenty-one-year-old graphic design student that loves what he’s doing. I live with my mother and recently I started working as a freelance designer here from home, so I have a lot of freedom and spare time. Do you have any regrets? I think everything in life has a reason to be, so whatever happens, happens. You just have to learn from it and keep living your life as you see fit. So no, no regrets. Why graphic design? As a child I was always a restless kid, I was always
doing different things. One of those things was drawing—I drew everywhere, all the time. When I finished high school, one of my friends told me “Why don’t you go with graphic design so you can become an illustrator someday?” So I did, I went for it and discovered a whole new world of design possibilities. I found graphic design and I fell in love with it. Name your all time favorite mistake? When I was like sixteen-years-old, I went to a party and got totally wasted. One of my friends took me from the party and sent me home in a taxi. Suddenly (or so it seemed) I was in the cab and one of my friends told me to jump out of it… Unfortunately I did and I woke up bruised from head to toe with a huge headache. What did you get out of it? That if you party hard, then you have to face the consequences—and that it’s not a good idea to get into a taxi with my friends. Who do you allow to tell you what to do?
Nobody. I hate when people do that. When did you start? I started studying about three years ago, before that I’d participated in lots of workshops and taken tons of art classes. What’s your creative process? First, I think of the concept and sketch a few things out—focusing on the morphologic side of the project. Then, I gather inspiration through various reference materials like images, films, music and nature. From there, I start sketching and developing the project— think type, colors and forms. I like to sketch things out and work with the computer. I feel that this technique gives a more personal and realistic approach to any project. Could you kill someone if you had to? No—but don’t touch my computer! What are you currently learning in school? I’ve been picking up a lot of new things such as how to start a project and all the searching and analysis of information that you have to do in order to have a concept. Then, in graphic design class, we’ve been learning how to actualize our ideas into design. Has it been worth the money? Gladly, I’ve been studying at a charge-free university, so I don’t have to pay, but it’s definitely been worth all the time and effort I’ve put into it.
Do it for the contacts, or the training? Always for the training. How soon before mankind moves to space? Give me a few months and a spaceship. What makes you laugh? Funny words. …Cry? Bad movies with good reviews. Does anyone in your life make you a better person? My mother, she’s the one I always ask for advice. How do you feel about your future? I don’t know, but hopefully fine! Where can we purchase your work? Nowhere yet… Where else can we find you on the Information Superhighway? http://www.flickr.com/photos/bosha-barrena and http://www.behance.net/SBarrena—my website’s coming soon… What’s next? Working on huge new project, hopefully I’ll finish it soon! Any shout-outs? Come to Buenos Aires! It’s a great place to be!
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Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché. Who are you? Jordan Miché. Emcee. I’m in a crew by the name of Fill in the Breaks, based out of Minneapolis, MN. Where do you live? Los Angeles, CA. I used to kick it on the muddy banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul/Minneapolis and drink Mississippi Mud, write lyrics and rock hip-hop venues out there. I decided I needed a change, so I moved out to Cali. So far the West Coast has been treating me well.
What do you do? Rock the mic. When did you start? At fourteen. How was your first show/performance? Good response, a lot of looks of surprise from the audience due to the content of the material. Apparently I don’t “look like an emcee”. I don’t understand what that’s supposed to mean, but the music speaks for itself. Whatever you’re saying in the microphone should be all that matters. Overall? Positive feedback and good vibes. What do you seek to gain from your work? Positive word of mouth. Relative vibes. Money’s cool, but it doesn’t change the music or who I am as an individual on this planet. What would like your audience to gain from your work? A smile. Life can still be amazing, even during these dark times. The sun still rises and sets. Every day’s a blessing, so be thankful you’re alive. BTW, remember that at the end of the day the picture that I paint is a form of artistic expression, I would hate to be misinterpreted and have somebody accidentally hurt themselves or others. Who or what are your biggest influences? Eyedea (RIP), Freestyle Fellowship, The Doors, Mike Patton, American Head Charge, Dog Fashion Disco,
Carnage the Executioner, Xcal, most of the Rhymesayers cats, Dez & Nobs, Kill the Vultures—I can’t begin to name them all. I have nothing but love for most hip-hop, especially in the underground and independent circles. What keeps you up at night? Lyrics. What’s next? New record dropping in the near future… If you go to http://www.fillinthebreaks.com/ or your local independent hip-hop record store, you can find out the news about us and when new material is going to be released. Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché Jordan Miché