Superlative Conspiracy No. 3

TRAVEL SMART THE SUPE RLAT IVE JOURN EY

S POEK MATH A MB O MIS S ING H OME

No.3 SUMMER 2012

C H A D R O B E RT S O N LI VE S I N LAYE R S

LYO N E A S Y T O VI SI T H A R D T O LE AVE

SUPERLATIVE CONSPIRACY KI M MATULO VA SHO T BY RI CKY POWE LL

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WORDS FROM ABOVE

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One thing we always keep coming back to is the idea of good people doing great things together. May it be drinking beers and telling each other stories that makes sense to no one but yourself, starting a band and making music for the world to see or simply gather you, your friends and the creatives around you to make something that no one expects - it’s all good. The thing is: when people come together and exchange ideas things happen.

A time of the year when gatherings of people increase is the summer. We’re finally not forced to spend all the time indoors [if you happen to live in a northern country, such as for example Sweden] and can actually roam the streets in search of activities to take part in, live things to see and more people to have eye contact with. We love summer. It’s the season when we tend to come to life and become more vivid, if that’s a simple enough conclusion - and that is what we hereby encourage you to do too.

With this we’re introducing the Superlative Conspiracy No.3 - the summer issue of this publication/collection of peoples creativity/words and thoughts or what you refer to it as. This issue, with beautiful WeActivist Kim Matulova on the cover, includes a lot of what we we hope to serve as entertainment and inspiration. Music features includes Millencolin, Spoek Mathambo and Pusha T, the voices section has contributors such as Eugene Kan, Tabatha McGurr and Arnaud Delecolle, a skate story by French Fred, a look into a weekend by Ray Barbee, photographs by Kenneth Capello, Matthew Salacuse and Chris Mosier. Words, music, the internet, photographs, arts and more is all collected here and we hope you like it.

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CONT RIBUT ORS

V OIC E No . 1 TA B ATH A MC G U R R

VO I C E N o. 2 TONY ARCABASCIO

VO I C E N o. 3 A R N A U D D E LE C O LLE

V O I CE N o. 4 E UGE N E KAN

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NE TWO RK P EOPLE O NLINE

MU S IC S POEK MATH A MB O

MUSIC M I LLE N C O LI N

A RT C H A D R O B E RT S O N

CO VE R K I M M AT ULO VA

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FASHIO N SUMMER 2012 DRIFT AWAY

L IF ES TY L E TR AV EL S MA RT TH E S U PER L ATIV E J OU R NEY [ PA RT 2]

LI FE S T YLE MISSION TIME FR E D M O RTA G N E

LI FE S T YLE FA I R P LAY R AY B A R B E E

P HO T O S

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I NSPIRATION G AL L E RY STE IN SLAND BERLINE R

C ITY G U IDE LY ON

LO C AT I O N S CHAMBERS BY RZA LA U N C H E VE N T [ PA R I S ] FT. P U S H A T

R E LE A S E E LE Y K I S H I M O T O MARACA

CONTRIBUTORS

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TABATHA MCGURR - A freelance writer/blogger hailing from and currently living in Brooklyn, New York, with her boyfriend and dog Coco.

She’s been the resident scribe for Married to the Mob’s 6-year old blog, while recently doing daily posts for Animal New York and a weekly advice column at Complex. mttmnyc.com/blog

TONY ARCABASCIO - Both my parents came to NYC from Italy, had me in 1970, and I’ve lived here in NY my whole life. I’ve done everything from working in a pizzeria, to dancing at parties and clubs for cash. In 1995 I started working in the magazine industry, made a couple of great friends, and founded the collective brand ‘ALIFE’ with them in 1999. In 2006 I became a daddy and started a new business, Tony Arcabascio Inc. Basically, I just try to work on cool shit with cool people... My plan for life. tonyarcabascio.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

ARNAUD DELECOLLE - Arnaud Delecolle is the co-founder of New York Art Department, a New York City-based cultural content provider and creative agency and is the co-owner of The Hole Shop on the Bowery. He was born in Lille, northern France, to a family of artistic merchants and footwear designers and manufacturers. At the age of eight, he moved to Brazil and later attended a Quaker boarding school in Poughkeepsie, New York. He has studied theater in Paris, aviation in Florida, German and beer in Germany, marketing and journalism in North Carolina, before ending up in New York, where he co-founded the pioneering and influential downtown cultural collective Alife in 1999. newyorkartdepartment.org

EUGENE KAN - Nobody ever thought it would work out like this. Eugene Kan didn’t have an inkling of entering the publishing industry yet some how found himself in the middle of one of the internet’s most popular and influential fashion and culture blogs. A laissez-faire attitude had him essentially cruise through school with little afterthought about the future.

Playing soccer/football (depending on your part of the world) was the main concern, but even then he wasn’t the next Iker Casillas in the making either. A short stop in Hong Kong’s 1st division was probably an indication of his skill level with one season enough to realize that he was faced with returning to Canada and essentially starting back at square one. But a hobby had the potential to expand into greater opportunities. Given all the free time in a new city, a large chunk of Eugene’s time was spent checking out the latest sneakers on the once fabled sneaker street in Mong Kok and the various reseller shops that littered the vertical strip malls across Kowloon and Hong Kong. This interest would manifest itself in a role as a writer at local online sneaker retailer and blog Kix-Files. This would help pave the way for a step up at Hypebeast. At the time, Hypebeast was very much in its infancy as it slowly found its bearings in a world less unaccustomed to blogs and more focused on forums.

As a freelance contributor at Hypebeast he eventually made the step up and came on board as Hypebeast’s first ever editor. Since then it’s been a whirlwind experience watching a humble platform become a household name in the landscape of fashion, design, art and culture. A culmination of over five years of work has seen Hypebeast reach 3 million unique readers and garner over 20 million hits a month making it one of the most important cultural drivers on the internet today. hypebeast.com

CONTRIBUTORS

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FRED MORTAGNE - Frenchfred first stepped on a skateboard when he was a round 8, which takes us some 29 years ago! Even before he picked up a video camera, back in the early 90’s he was already very sensitive to skateboarding videos and how they were filmed. He was crazy about skateboarding and the videos, dying of impatience for the new videos to come out on VHS every couple moths or so, in an era free of the internet. He naturally came to make videos himself, also ‘cause he knew he’d never be pro or sponsored as a skateboarder!!!! He started filming in his hometown of Lyon in France around 1993, boosting the local scene, which saw many talents emerged, and put Lyon on the map. His hard work lead him to film top professionals in California and around the world, and brought him recognition and respect in the world of skateboarding.

Some 10 years after pushing a camcorder recording button for the first time, he started pressing the trigger of a Nikon FM2 photo camera, exploring the possibilities of skateboards esthetics combined to strong geometrical compositions. His unique style was awarded in 2007 with best photo of the year at the first Redbull Illume photography competition. Fred works a freelancer for all the major skateboard companies and magazines. frenchfred.com Youtube.com/bloodyfrenchfred wesc.com/weactivist/frenchfred

RAY BARBEE - With a skateboarding legacy that stretches back to the 1980s, Ray Barbee has been doing things right for decades. From the time Barbee broke out on the scene in the ’88 Powell-Peralta classic, “Public Domain” street skating would never be the same. Style matters and Barbee has it to spare. Ray has also been able to translate the creative energy he pours into his skating into other endeavors as well; on a guitar he is as smooth as he is on a board. Pushing into his third decade on board, Barbee is as smooth as ever: a no-comply, a 360 flip or a solid frontside heel, if Ray’s doing it, it’s sure to come out classic... wesc.com/weactivist/ray-barbee

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CONTRIBUTORS

CHAD ROBERTSON - Los Angeles artist, Chad Robertson, has developed a unique painting style that gained critical acclaim by combining digital, video and print photograhy into a multi-layered oil painting. These works capture ‘the moments between the moments’ in our daily lives by merging dozens of images onto one canvas. He credits his painting techniques to many visual artists such as Lucien Freud, Lari Pittman, Willem DeKooning and Paul Chan.

Robertson, a graduate of Otis/Parsons Art Institute, is represented by Western Project in Los Angeles. He has shown nationally and internationally from Seattle to New York and London, Stockholm to Munich. His work has been featured numerous times in the press including the LA Times as well as Anthem Magazine and Flaunt, to name a few. He is currently working and living in Los Angeles. chadrobertson.com wesc.com/weactivist/chad-robertson

ANTON RENBORG - I grew up in Örebro, a small town on the flatland of Sweden. My parents were both hard working people, but very different.

My mother was all about ballet and horses, talking about movement and grace, while my dad reached for his guitar, good times and a drink, whenever the chance was there. I guess I became a mix of all that.

My life has been a rollercoaster but with needed stops for reflection and personal work: recordings and touring with bands, traveling with my boards, walking down runways to pay my bills, writing stories from various scenes of the world, being behind the camera, being in front of the camera, studies - always a little bit of “everything”.

For the past ten years, I’ve been able to title myself as a photographer.

And in the recent years I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really interesting characters and brands. Working with the WeActivists and their wide range of knowledge, understanding and each individuals distinctive sense of the moment, has been a pleasure, one of it’s kind... www.antonrenborg.se www.bloodandco.com

TABATHA MCGURR

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NYC NAIL SALONS - THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY...

PHOTO BY TABATHA MCGURR

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ail salons in NYC are like pizza places - there’s the really primo spots that use only the freshest ingredients and have the most welcoming decor, and then there’s the shitty dollar slice joints that, regardless of a regretful feeling afterwards, still get the job done.

And while throwing down a little extra money never hurt either, just like with pizzerias, it’s not so much about paying more than just knowing where to go in the first place. I’ve seen it all in these 21 years though, from spots with roaches on the floor to $100 + joints that leave your nails looking like artwork. Here’s a little breakdown of some of the best and worst I’ve experienced thus far...

NAIL PLUS, 991 MANHATTAN AVE, GREENPOINT- The first time I ever got my nails done was around the age of 13 for my JHS prom and graduation, at some shitty place near Eastern District high in Brooklyn. Although it was a terrible tip job (acrylic way too thick, nails way too wide) I remember being completely enamored with the whole process and technique ever since. The plastic fakes they glued on, the way they molded the powder on top, the electric drills, it was all so fun to watch! After that I started going to Nail Plus in Greenpoint, just a few blocks from my childhood home. They offered a fairly priced mani/pedi duo, plus introduced me to my first ever eyebrow waxing - a major turning point in any young shorty’s life.

My only beef with this spot was that there was always some homegirl taking her lunch break when I came in, and the stench of steamed bok choy soup is certainly less than lovely.

EVERYONE’S NAIL SALON, 99 CLINTON ST, LES- I haven’t been here in forever, but it’s my go-to spot anytime I need airbrush work.

They’ve got an incredible arsenal of stencils - anything from unicorns to playboy bunnies

- and you’re always guaranteed some LES realness anytime you’re up in there. In fact, I got jumped by a crew of kids right outside just a few years back. This is also one of those spots where you might be a customer, but you’re definitely not always right. The technicians here are all seasoned old ladies who talk shit to the girl on their right about you in Chinese while simultaneously watching Asian soap operas.

Gotta love it!

NY STAR NAILS, 237 SOUTH 4TH ST, WILLIAMSBURG- For friendly service and the works for cheap, this spot will definitely hook you up. Only problem is that it’s a local watering hole for all types of neighborhood youngins, and while that’s usually fun for entertainment purposes, it can be a bit much when you’re trying to relax and luxuriate. Last time I stopped in, this one chick was getting a manicure while her entourage of 5 classmates hung around to rambunctiously rehash the days events. At one point she even had a dude run next door for some chicken and plantains, which he proceeded to spoon-feed her as a timid technician continued to work away on her fingers.

in. The renovated salon is small and cozy, but super tastefully decorated and stocked with all sorts of awesome products, like that speciality Minx foil bitches are so crazy about. The wax itself wasn’t all that great, but that’s only because I’m so spoiled by my go-to waxing esthetician Sofia, at Le Cachet in Midtown.

PRIMP & POLISH, 189 GRAND ST, WILLIAMSBURG- Just about every girl living in the Williamsburg area goes to this place, even myself who lives in Bed-Stuy. They just do everything right - from the spa-like decor, to the endless selection of OPI and Chanel polishes, to the knowledgeable staff, and even down to the choice of music. They’re awesome when it comes to gel and glitter gradation, just call ahead of time to make an appointment or you might get screwed. Plus they’ve got another great sister salon located just a bit further south, Nail Essence, where I’ve been going religiously these last two months.

MILLENIUM NAILS, 185 HAVEMEYER ST, WILLIAMSBURG- Right around the corner from NY Star Nails, this used to be a favorite of mine until one fateful day when I asked them to remove an acrylic nail set. Normally this is done by an alternation of soaking and cutting, but they just chose to jam a metrocard under each nail until it popped off. Extremely unpleasant stuff...

HELLO BEAUTIFUL, 218 BEDFORD AVE, WILLIAMSBURG- If you’re one of those girls obsessed with Japanese nail art (3D teddy bears, giant sculpted bows, chains hanging from your pinkie) then look no further than Hello Beautiful, home of resident NY nail Goddess, Naomi. Hailing from Japan with quite a portfolio under her belt, she’s requested to do events and celebrities on the regular. Probably the most expensive on the roster, but for a 100% authentically original and kawaii nail job, she’s one of the best there is. Appointments a must!

POLISH BAR OF BROOKLYN, 470 MYRTLE AVE, CLINTON HILL- Being that I live in BedStuy, this is definitely one of the best places to get pampered in the area. They invited me to come in and review their manicure/waxing service several years back, and the whole experience was a pleasure from the moment I walked

AA NAIL SPA INC, 279 BROADWAY, WILLIAMSBURG- Finally, AA’s not necessarily a charming place to get dolled up, but it’s right under the JMZ Marcy stop and it’s convenient location makes for lots of soliciting visitors.

Need new sock packs or the latest blockbuster bootleg? Come here.

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VOICE No.1

MANICURE BY NAIL ESSENCE, 100% NATURAL BABY BROOKLYN, NY 2012

TONY ARCABASCIO

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REMEMBER? PHOTO BY JENNIFER ARCABASCIO

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was trying to think back as far as I could the other day. Did you ever try to do that? Think back to the years before you started school or your first years of elementary? Let’s say, before you where 7 or 8? It’s hard, right?

And then it hit me... almost everything I say and do right now with my kids (that’s not videotaped) may be lost forever. Yes,..

I understand that all of it is super crucial in molding them into the young adults and grownups they will eventually become, but will they remember how I’d sit with them at least once a day to draw or color with these cool colored pencils I buy them each year for Christmas from Japan? Or how we’d sneak toys into church to play with when the priest bored us? And how we planted an actual apple seed from an apple that we thought was delicious, in hopes of growing an actual tree to put in Nonna & Nonno’s backyard (which, by the way, has been actually growing for over 2 years now in our apartment and we water and talk to weekly)? If their brain works anything like mine– no, they won’t remember most of these things or actual moments. Like going to central park zoo in their strollers on the subway to go see mom’s favorite, Gus the polar bear. Or all their kick-ass birthday parties my wife and I make happen for them each year, since they where born.

I consider myself a smart guy who has a good memory and did great all my life on tests (straight A student) and in jobs due to my memorization skills, yet no matter how hard I think back, except for an instance here or there, I come up blank before I was like 7 years old or so. And i’m just picking 7 as a random age, but in reality, I don’t even know if i remember that much shit from then either. I moved from queens when I was 5 years old, so i’ve been using that as a benchmark for myself. I’ve tried to

remember anything that happened prior to me moving out into the suburbs. I can remember a time when I was around 3, hiding from my mom in our apartment before going to the store, and she thought I went outside so she locked the apartment door and left to run after me, as I screamed from the closed window up above, watching her looking for me down below on the street, in a panic. (when I recently asked my mom, she didn’t remember). I also recall the time when I wiped dog shit, that I stepped in with my new sneakers, all down this older kids leg who lived on my block because he was being a fucken dick, laughing at me, when I was 4. And I remember my older brother running outside to get Mr. Softee ice-cream from the ice-cream truck with money from my dad, and him returning with 2 cones, but with his ice-cream being in the shape of a seal (which I later found out he had licked into that shape on the way up the flight of stairs to the apartment to tease me) and me crying about it. And I remember leaving my first apartment and rolling up to a new house in Long Island when I was 5, and a couple of other things in between, but that’s pretty much it.

the other day (younger than me), I realized they don’t remember much either (except for one chick who says she remembers every little thing, and must have special fucken powers).

I don’t want people reading this to think that maybe it’s some psychological issue or some bad upbringing that’s making me repress my memories. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. My parents were Italian immigrants who came here with nothing. It was all about family, and I had the best childhood any kid could ever ask for. I was loved and comfortable, and will never have any fucked up stories about my parents or siblings to tell if I ever make it rich and famous. So we can cross that off the list as to reasons why. But I do think that maybe my age mixed in with the partying i’ve done over the years may have something to do with it. How can it not, right? Then after asking a couple of random people who came through the office

Maybe she’s right. Maybe if I had a different type of job that was more 9 to 5 and didn’t require me to think about shit when I was home, things from my youth would still have room to live up there. Or maybe if I moved out of the city and wasn’t bombarded with shit on a daily, there would be more room for memories to breath. Or maybe when I’m older and retired and have less on my mind, some distant moments will come back to me. Maybe I just need to slow shit down in life to remember life?

Still searching for an answer on a walk to school the other morning with my oldest daughter, Viva, I said to her, “When dad tries to remember all the special little things i did at your age with my mom and dad, I can’t. Do you think you’re going to remember?” She said, “Well probably just a little bit.” I asked, “Like what will you remember?” She said, “I think i’ll remember walking to school with you and mom, like right now?” I said, “But do you think you will remember the first time you snapped your fingers, or the first time you whistled?” She said, “Yeah.”

I said, “But how come dad can’t remember?”

And she said, “Maybe because people are all different.” And I said, “But since we’re family and dad helped make you and we’re made the same, why would we have different brains?”

And her exact words were, “I don’t know why, but maybe your brain is bigger and you have a lot more stuff in it, and you keep forgetting because yours has a lot more stuff to do?”

A 5 year old gave me my answer on a 2 minute walk to kindergarden. This may not be the scientific answer some of you out there were looking for, but it works for me.

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VOICE No.2

WAKE-UP AND DRAW MORNING DRAWING SESSION W/VIVA & TJ 7AM DEC 11 2011

ARNAUD DELECOLLE

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EVERYTHING I KNOW I KNOW FROM KNOWING NOTHING AND OTHER EARLY LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM JOURNALISM PHOTO BY DIDIER DELECOLLE

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ome 18 years ago Jack Hyde, a beloved Fashion Institute of Technology journalism professor, taught me that the key to being a good reporter is to know nothing.

It’s great advice. The way to get the most information out of anyone is to act unknowledgeable about the topic at hand.

Taking on that role invites people to speak more and being clueless encourages questions that someone with experience would normally not ask and a truth that insiders may rather leave unspoken. Not knowing what you’re talking about allows topics, issues and concepts to be addressed in novel ways.

An important element of success when being ignorant and on a discovery assignment is curiosity. Who? What? Where? When? How? …Why? When you’re ignorant and naive, there are no dumb questions. You’re there to learn and curious novice is a great receptor of information. Including false information. So fact checking is essential. Where naiveté allows for flights of imagination and creativity, fact checking brings you down to earth. Sometimes fact checking is as rewarding as the result you were hoping for in a health check up. Sometimes it’s the opposite and romanticized ideas are quickly iced by the truth.

Before Jack Hyde became a professor at FIT, he was editor for Fairchild Publications’ now-defunct men’s fashion business paper DNR. (DNR is the Adam to WWD’s Eve: Women’s Wear Daily, Fairchild’s fashion industry publication of record, began as small section in the Daily News Record.) As a Professor, he prided himself in launching students’ careers and in my case made it his mission that I follow in his footsteps.

After encouraging me to a failed bid for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the school’s paper, he

landed me an editorial internship at Sportswear International Magazine, a trade publication in New York’s garment district. There I would meet some of the most important people in my life. It was 1993.

Although I was often given varying temporary responsibilities, my assigned areas of focus as a fashion industry reporter were menswear, retail and marketing. I spent the next 5 years traveling the world learning the ins-and-outs of the men’s casual fashion industry.

At “Sportswear” my fact-checking diligence was quickly put to the test and after a couple of mistakes, my first editor, Mary McGuinness (coincidentally also a Jack Hyde pupil), patiently taught me never to assume anything: “To assume” she said, “makes an ASS out of U and ME.” I never forgot this but I can’t say I always lived by it. Some of the greatest mistakes I made in life were built on assumptions motivated by self-indulgent wishful thinking. The lesson is: Always fact-check. Or don’t publish it. And always verify your sources… And here’s another useful cliché: “Hope is not a strategy.”

I know this last one is associated with partisan politics but you better believe it.

Sportswear’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief was Michael Belluomo. Mike was one of the most well liked New York fashion industry insiders of his generation. A Vietnam veteran born and raised in the Bronx, he was a tall man with an unmistakable nonchalant yet imposing leanedback swagger. He wore black alligator cowboy boots to match his daily all-black outfit and he is the only person I know who favored a different brand of cigarettes for daytime (Winstons) and another for nighttime (Marlboros). A voracious reader, by the time his staff walked in to work in the morning, he’d already read and clipped all the important dailies. Almost every

weekday, at around 5:30, his “garmento” buddies—industry heavy-hitters—would stroll in to discuss business and play a few games of pool.

When covered up, the pool table doubled as a ping-pong table that, in turn, when covered, served as the fashion department’s temporary sample depository. But at around 5PM, when Michael casually walked in with a glass of Scotch on the rocks in his hand, everyone knew it was time to clear everything off the table.

Whereas Professor Hyde impressed on me the tenets of proper journalism, Michael taught me that no one–not even him–could tell me that the way I wrote was wrong. He championed self-expression. Not only was his inexperienced staff’s creative point of view vital to the magazine but I believe that one of Michael’s biggest rewards was to witness and be part of these very young people’s individual take on the world. He didn’t always agree with everyone’s ideas, but he encouraged everyone’s individuality.

I feel that we were all in awe of Michael. We were all his kids and he believed in us all. I think we were all a little scared of him, but mostly we were all just grateful for the opportunity he’d given us to be ourselves and have a voice. But where Michael gave us freedom of expression he expected hard work, respect and loyalty in return. You failed to deliver on any of those and you were out.

What Jack Hyde and Michael Belluomo taught me in journalism class and in the editorial department stayed with me. Today, looking back, as I start a new chapter in life and a new business, I remind myself these lessons: look at everything with a new-comer’s point of view, humble and curious; don’t assume anything, fact check; welcome new ideas and champion individuality; be respectful and honorable... and a new personal favorite for 2012: Pull triggers.

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VOICE No.3

TONY, ROB AND I BUILDING ALIFE, SEPTEMBER 1999 WE USED TO SAY WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WE WERE DOING AND WE WEREN’T LYING

EUGENE KAN

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THE IRREVERSIBLE CHANGE OF THE INTERNET PHOTO BY EUGENE KAN

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belong to a unique generation that has grown up both offline and online. One that knows the feel and sound of pencil to paper opposed to the clicking and tapping of a word processor. We know the world of being unplugged and the world of hyper connectivity. This duality offers a better understanding of what’s before us and instills a greater and more analytical understanding of the effects the internet has had on our lifestyles.

The internet has often championed knowledge and the easy dissemination of information.

While few will dispute this, the effect of this instantaneous satiation is something less readily assessed. I can’t help but wonder about the hyper-focal lives lived by our internet-less predecessors. Look at your parents for instance who grew up in a time without the internet. One was likely to settle into a particular field that would play it out over the course of their lifetime. This lack of opportunity in experimentation was due to the fact that there wasn’t a platform to draw you into other interests that could spawn a different chapter in your life. This kept one on a singular path immune to tangents.

A point that drove this home was upon signing up to yet another social media platform. Out of probably 50 different possibilities, I rarely thought twice about clicking before arriving at a good 75% or more so-called “interests.”

It dawned on me that this constant thirst for knowledge had made me an interest whore of sorts with the internet able to fulfill my demands. While it’s less about collecting interests and more about a genuine desire to find out all there is to know about the plethora of topics - both pertinent and trivial out there - this could at times become counterproductive. It’s a no brainer that the information thanks to the internet is limitless, yet with every video and

blog created there is still only 24 hours in a day.

The economics of time versus information are something that we cannot do away with, yet we continue to increase our consumption leaving many overwhelmed and in dire need of “media diets.”

As a by-product of all the media around, our attention is continually under attack. Our media devices are constantly bombarding us with notifications and focus is compromised. While there lies several generations of well-established experts who may be more immune to the onslaught of attention-robbing media due to their upbringing outside of our digital playground, I wonder what this bodes for the future generations. Every kid born within the last few years will have grown up right in the thick of things with mountains of information and media vying for a set of eyes. I have a theory that the absolute level of expertise will perhaps not advance at the same pace as it has in the past. No longer are people devoting years of their lives to one subject matter but rather having multiple interests each taking a bit of the overall pie.

Hypebeast in itself is a good representation of this. Diversity has become an underlying style trend that is indicative of our current fashion landscape. While Hypebeast’s beginnings were very much rooted in streetwear and sneakers, we’ve successfully shown that the world of high, contemporary and street fashion can all coexist peacefully. Throw in ample amounts of art, design and general lifestyle news and you’ll find a very well-rounded platform that offers the opportunity for new discovery with every published post.

Back to the previous topic, experts that don’t spend a good chunk of their time online (an increasing rarity) due to generational disinterest in the internet will be a thing of the past. I see the

term experts being thrown around liberally, yet so will people embodying the term “jack of all trades.” We’ve seen it a lot already, few people ever subsist with just one job title. More than ever we’re afforded many avenues of exploration. It comes into question whether somebody with the internet could make more substantial advances in their respective field thanks to the availability of information. Will collective crowd sourcing versus diminishing attention spans create a less focused approach to an expert’s craft? I am inclined to say that it will be increasingly harder to devote all your time to one topic.

In the past, print magazines resided very much as a one-trick pony. Yet for a website like Hypebeast, a print magazine and retail are mediums that are no longer unexpected. Coming from a generation that lives more so on the digital side than the analog side, I am looking for new things to fascinate me and I’ve been able to explore this via Hypebeast to great reward. This desire is one shared by not only myself but I’m sure my peers who have all created multiple outlets through both tangible and intangible product.

Despite spreading ourselves thin and lacking direction, I find it more rewarding than the monotony of dedicating a lifetime to only a handful of interests. The democratization of the internet has allowed us to try so many things we couldn’t in previous lifetimes. Anybody who wants to try or understand anything has been granted that privilege and you’re more likely to try out several different things that may represent your true calling. While I’ve conceded the demise of the so-called expert in favor of the jack of all trades, I’m curious to see is the place in society otakus (a Japanese term for those with obsessive interests) and those with abilities to hyper focus will occupy. Attention will soon be a trait... or should I say skill... in high demand.

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VOICE No.4

SHAM SHUI PO KOWLOON, HONG KONG

BABIES AREN’T MADE ON THE INTERNET

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WORDS BY DANIELLE KRASSE ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELIAS GILLBERG

The internet is a fantastic invention, we’re not ones to argue with that. But with the increased number of social media and networking sites it sometimes appears as if people are no longer interested in actual socializing and meetings - adopting an online persona and identity and connecting with people via the internet, remaining there and not leaving that safe zone to actually interact in real life. There’s no harm in that, one might think, but perhaps it is time to leave the computers and go back out on the streets again - meet people, see people, do things - should we?

NEJRA VAN ZALK, associate professor in psychology and with numerous theses’ about human interaction and youth is the person we ask about this - and in true form we did this interview over the internet. Why break a habit.

In the past years much of our social interaction has happened online Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more - and the way we communicate with each other has changed dramatically. We upload, share, chat, type and don’t talk. How has this new type of interaction and communication affected youth?

NEJRA VAN ZALK: I would say it has affected everyone in many different ways, not only youth. But for youth in particular, it is easier than ever before to stay in touch with others, find new friends, get romantically involved, etc. This freedom comes with a price, though, as many people don’t know how to handle the pressure of always having to be available for communication. And because these types of social interactions constantly change due to new ways of interacting, it’s hard to know what effect it will have on people in the long run. Then there’s the issue of genuineness: are the people we spend so much time interacting with online truly friends, or are these interactions shallow and will result in nothing?

Research shows that for young people they actually are perceived as real, and online friends can provide equal (or even more) support as having friends in the “real life”. This is a new way of interacting with others, where proximity to other people (which has traditionally been important for getting new friends, for example), isn’t as important as it used to be. So the Internet has changed and keeps changing the way we define friendships, and through that also ourselves.

From a psychological point of view, how does this affect the persona and self - or does it at all?

Well, it depends on what you mean by “persona”. If you mean whether it can affect our personalities, then sure – depending on who you are to begin with. For people who have problems with communication offline, or in the “real world” as it’s sometimes called, online communication can make an improvement for their personality. My research focuses on adolescents with social anxiety – or what is usually know as shyness in everyday terms. For shy adolescents, meeting and talking with unknown people online can improve social skills and attribute to less depression over time. But for people who are already very extrovert, or open and communicative, research shows that talking with unknown people online leads to more depression and worse adjustment.

Generally speaking, any new communication media that has been introduced for the past 100 years, such as the telephone, the television, etc., has radically changed the way we think and behave – at least in the beginning. It does seem, however, that once people embrace these new media and learn how to “handle” them, they lose their effect on us and become means to an end. Back in the 80’s, a lot of parents were watching their kids talk on the phone for hours and were worried that the kids they would never leave their rooms again and become idiots. Seen in hindsight, though, these behaviors appear quite tame compared to kids with

their thumbs on their phones during most of their waking hours. Were we damaged from excessively talking on the phone in the 80’s? And will the kids today be damaged for life from not interacting with other as much as we think they should? I hope not.

One thing about the online social networks and the profile and image you create for yourself is that it does not always correlate with who you are in real life. Basically, you create your ideal self. The when ‘entering’ real social situations, are there any problematic situations that can occur?

What research shows is that, again, this depends on who you are. For people with very low self-esteem in real life, creating someone better or cooler than their real selves online can boost confidence, which surely isn’t a bad thing. But some studies do show that if people do this excessively, it can have negative consequences for their self-image over time.

When the online is so much better than the offline reality, people risk getting depressed because the reality never exceeds their expectations.

So I guess you could say that, as with everything in life, people should practice moderation when being online – and for some people this is more difficult than for others.

So everything to be made with moderation will maintain the levels of normality basically. However, how does online communication and this created self-image affect people with common personal traits such as shyness or social passiveness?

Shyness, as I study it, is a temperamental or a personality trait, defined by anxiety in new social situations and with new people. Most of us can feel shy (if we for example have to give a speech in front of a lot of people), but for some people it’s a defining feature. Shy people, and shy adolescents in particular, can have a lot of problems communicating with others. These problems are not because they don’t want to communicate, however – as shyness is not the same as introversion. The problems arise because they don’t feel comfortable meeting new people and interacting with them. For shy people, communicating with others online, where they don’t necessarily have to reveal their true identity, has been found to have positive effects for their self-esteem and emotional adjustment. This has led me into questioning whether the problems really lies with shyness, or whether it is connected with Western society’s expectations of how we “should” behave. Shyness was, after all, not really considered a problem 100 years ago.

Wide spread negativity and cruelty is not uncommon online - you feel protected and a security in the false anonymity that the internet is [you can always find people via their IP addresses, thank god] but is that a trend that might decrease in popularity once people get more experienced in online communication and interaction you think?

This is a good question that I don’t think you can get a straightforward

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answer to. Like I mentioned before, I think people in general need some time to “break in” any new social media, and after a while it becomes more seamlessly integrated in our lives. Perhaps we could draw a parallel between the prank calls we used to make on the phone in our childhood (at least I did!), and pranks people play on each other online today. Even though our childhood prank calls weren’t as bad as say posting nude pictures of someone online without their consent, there is still an element of anonymity in both that is fascinating. Research does show that online and offline problem behaviors tend to correspond. So people who bully others offline, for example, also tend to become cyberbullies. The same is true for the reverse: those who don’t bully others offline tend not to bully online either. These are, of course, general tendencies, and there are always exceptions to the rule. Generally speaking, just like the prank calls in the 80’s, I think some of the negative tendencies of today’s online communication will decrease in time, once people adapt to the new way of thinking about this technology. But people with issues will still have those issues whether it’s online or offline.

interacting online without losing ourselves in the process. But essentially it all boils down to one simple Pearl Jam quote, really: “It’s evolution, baby”.

Evolution and new inventions that affects and changes behaviour, creating new social standards and ways of interacting can and most likely will edit how we live our lives. The transition from living life out on the streets vs. spending increasing amounts of time in front of your tech device has without a doubt happened but we do sincerely hope that people will still find it interesting to interact human to human, in the flesh, no matter of software updates, iOS or new social media sites. And according to Nejra there’s no need for concern or worries. Evolution won’t come to a halt due to Facebook. Babies will still be made. Thank god for that.

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If I’m a teen and want to be socially adapt and accepted - what should I do?

I have a wonderful cousin who just turned 18. I was thinking about what to buy her as a present, and I came over a bracelet that said “Why change? The world worships the original”. I couldn’t think of anything better to tell her, really. I know it sounds like a cliché, or something that an adult might say to a kid, but it’s quite wise. We try so hard to be someone else, yet the people we most look up to are those who are unique. So to a teen, I’d say – don’t bother with trying to be universally accepted, ‘cause you never will be. Surround yourself with people who love you and accept you for who you are, and you’ll be much better off.

A while back Frank Ocean, a guy we like, posted a quote on his Tumblr stating that “The Internet made fame whack… and anonymity cool.” which basically sums up a good and extremely relevant point: in a time and age when you can always be traced, found and visible, is anonymity and the opposite of fame the new desirable, the new thing to work towards? We might be out on a limb here - but it’s something we’ve been discussing - what is fame in a time and day when everybody’s famous [online]?

There’s definitely something to that. We’re so overwhelmed by ideas of celebrity nowadays, that fame as a concept is starting to lose its significance. When people got famous 100 years ago, it was most likely for their achievements in science, music, or some other craft - so fame equaled accomplishments, or triumphs, or success in some kind of endeavor.

Some people got infamous because of bad things they did or were part of, but there was a distinction between famous and infamous. This distinction is definitely blurred today. Today, people can enter a house and do crazy things while inside, and it makes them famous. I’m not judging anything or anyone, but I definitely think that this will result in a new idea of fame in the future, and perhaps this process has already started.

Perhaps fame will be synonymous with mystery, or enigma. It already is for some people (think Greta Garbo). But like any concept, really, the requirements for fame are probably due to change.

If, to summarize the above and general perception of where youth is heading in terms of online communication, what would you say?

I think one could compare online communication today with setting out on a space ship toward unknown destinations in the universe. It’s a huge adventure, and nobody knows how it will end. And there will always be complications and frustration, but it will eventually make us stronger and more interesting in the end. Hopefully we will learn to handle new ways of

According to her twitter account (@theserenader), Nejra Van Zalk is a musician, researcher in psychology, lover of tea, and proud shower cap user. She got her Ph.D. in psychology back in 2009, and the same year she debuted with the album “In Hindsight” (Bonnier Music). She has since shared her time conducting research about social anxiety in adolescence at Örebro University, as well as writing and recording music. In 2011 she was granted 4.6 million SEK by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research to focus her research in the next four years on how the Internet affects the development of shyness for young people. During that same year, she released the EP “Commonplace Heroes” (Cut The Power Productions), followed by performances on TV4 and P4 Musikplats Stockholm. Nejra is currently working on an upcoming album to be released in the near future.

SPOEK MATHAMBO: NO MORE ASSUMPTIONS

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WORDS BY SARAH CLAIRE PICTON PHOTOS BY SEAN METELERKAMP

Rapper, dancer, DJ, dreamer, illustrator and graphic artist: this is what Nthato Mokgata aka Spoek Mathambo told me back in an interview in 2009. Fast-forward three years, to the 29th of March 2012, a super burnt-out Spoek has just got back from the U.S., where he touring for his second studio album titled Father Creeper. Sick from being on the road, he’s on a short break in Malmö, Sweden before heading back to his hometown, Jo’burg. I chat to Spoek about the demise of techno-township, reaching for the future and having fun.

What are you all about?

SPOEK MATHAMBO: Exploring, learning and following instincts, connecting with other artists and moving forward. So for the most part, I don’t know who I am, or who I’ll be in four months I was watching Idiot Abroad 2 last night, and Karl says if he was a superhero he would be Bullshit Man, able to identify anyone who is bullshitting.

What’s the most bullshit you’ve ever heard?

Not sure, I always hear a lot. All of the time. People saying things are hard or difficult or impossible - I hate that. I think culture/the past and education are to blame for most social situations... they are contextual factors that affect us all. I still don’t think things are impossible...

Are there any words you could share with artists out there that don’t have the luxuries/access to tools that many others do?

1) Focus on what makes you unique. 2) Explore and expand on that. 3) Try study marketing.

Township tech – can you tell me some pivotal experiences you’ve had in townships and how it has it influenced your music?

Township tech doesn’t mean anything anymore. The term’s been hijacked to nothingness. It in no way describes what I do.

What do you do?

I am a young musician exploring musicianship. The form is of little significance; I’m interested in exploring different themes that may require different forms. And - as I’m young - a baby, a huge part of all of this is learning and exploring, travelling and losing, winning and whining... That is what I do. I make music.

Glitch-rap, indie-electro, tech-house – categories and styles of music are merged together all the time these days. People have often referred to your music as African Chic.

I try make the very music that I should be making as a 26-year-old South African who has a wealth of influences from all over the world, from all times. I am always looking for new information. I have never seen my music described as african chic. And I certainly would never do so. Maybe because I don’t know what that means. The term chic is somewhat vomit-worthy - unless Niles Rodgers is playing guitar.

You intimidate me somewhat. I see you as an extraordinarily confident, self-assured person who has their shit together.

I am a nobody from Johannesburg who is simply trying to realise some ideas with friends and family and foes. It’s an entire crop of us, a huge family that spans the globe making music together, reaching for the future and having fun.

You seem to be very grounded in yours beliefs.

Don’t assume all that stuff, we’ll get along better. I’m exactly as you are.

Not grounded and trying to have my stuff together.

You dress way better.

That’s my dad’s doing not mine, blame your parents.

‘Father Creeper’ - you spent some time back home working on this album? Was Jo’burg something you’ve addressed in the album?

Hmm... I am Johannesburg in a lot of senses; a hodgepodge of energies and identities, huge spaces between people with only highways to link us, claustrophobic closeness in a bustling city, living closely in communities, learning to overcome fear and living despite a sense of danger.

Johannesburg is in all my work. Also its energy and progress - it is the only place in South Africa that I have seen where black people are moving towards reclaiming the country, and can’t be intimidated out of it. It gives us hope. And I don’t mean in a political sense - I mean in the most important sense - the socio-economic. I think the dream of Jozi maboneng is exciting for people. From what I feel, when I speak to people who speak about Jozi, is that it’s full of raw energy - it’s real, not pretty often, but it doesn’t hide its flaws, if that makes sense.

And these socio-economic issues are addressed in your album.

Johannesburg is big, so some of it can hide... Behind giant walls. In country clubs. In gated communities. In malls. In catholic schools’ netball teams. The city centre though, cannot hide from itself, which I have enjoyed.

Do you feel at home anywhere else in the world? Many refer Jo’burg as South Africa’s New York for example.

No, I have good friends in New York... but I hate the city. Too hectic, it’s a meatgrinder. I feel at home wherever I have family. In Johannesburg.

Polokwane. Malmö in Sweden. In Västerås... lots of places.

You talked about your dad being the reason for your crazy-cool dress sense. Any other family members who have inspired you along the way?

All of them. My one gran teaches me hard work, humility and the importance of being a good host. She’s turning 100 in a week and is so strong.

An inspiration in everything. My other gran inspired me to pursue music.

My niece teaches me the importance of exploration, and reminds me of the sweetness of naivety. My brother always teaches me the importance of passion, dreaming and how, no matter how long it takes, success is eminent.

My mom inspires me in terms of relating to people and how to commu-

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nicate, she’s generally the nicest person I know. My wife gives me great perspective on things; she is a real calming voice. My sisters are both incredibly hard working and passionate people, so that encourages me in what I do. They don’t quit and keep rising.

humanity still exists. This is a little something I learnt when catching up with Spoek in March 2012. Was I completely off topic? Maybe. But shit, I wasn’t looking for a press release. Go to Google if you want the tour dates.

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How have you remained humble?

The world is big and once you get out there, there are constant reminders that you are an insignificant spec on the buttcheeks of eternity. We do hard work in order only to increase our circumference - but it takes a lot to be any bigger than a pimple. You have to continue working hard and keep a purity of vision; all of the rest of it is rubbish. And once you let the rubbish cloud your vision, you’re lost in trying to maintain celebrity as opposed to becoming as great as the initial ideas you might have had had hinted toward.

Are there any places you would still love to visit - I mean you are touring a lot. But the world is a big place, as you said.

I actually haven’t seen very much of anything, despite travelling a lot. I want to see all of Africa. I’ve only seen a spec of Kenya whilst producing for the Kenyan pop group, Sauti Sol. I want to see Asia, which I haven’t. I had great experiences in Russia in 2001 - I would like to see more of that, although people say it’s gotten a lot rougher.

Which comes first – music or language?

I think music definitely predates language. They’re kind of tangled for me, although it is easier to write non-lyrical music for me right now, just to compose and arrange sounds, I’m finding a lot of pleasure in that. But I know it’d be a lazy copout to do an instrumental album next.

Did you guys have fun working on the video for the track ‘Let Them Talk’?

The team was really big. Sanele Cele - a designer from Durban-based label called Temprecha did a lot of the set design and styling and made some new pieces, a great DOP called Jimmy worked on it, my best friend Lebogang Rasethaba was DOP as well, my manager worked on a ton of production duties... some friends of mine from New York were visiting, Cerebral Vortex, so I roped him in. There were some great dancers... a phenomenal actress called Portia stared in it... loved it all! Was super fun...Justin (McGee) didn’t do anything crazy.

I enjoyed writing the treatment and seeing it all come to life. I want to work on a short film with some of that team... something kind of removed from the music.

Let’s take it back a little. To the mid ’90s. You started rapping when you were 10, do you remember any the first raps you did?

I don’t remember my childhood raps... it was a long time ago. I have books at my mom’s house, filled with old raps though. My old styles were pretty dense - more so than now. I guess that’s more when I was 14 and 15.

Top local artists at the moment?

My favourite acts are DJ Sdunkero, BFG, The Frown and Dirty Paraffin.

Dinner’s calling, I gotta’ go. Thanks for the interview.

Jozi isn’t dressed pretty. Stripped naked and fleshy. Filth and beauty find an uncanny harmony in one another. Jo’burg has many stories to tell, with streets full of storytellers. Beats and words invade her concrete spaces and offer sanctuary. The air is not stale - things move forward. Here,

spoekmathambo.com soundcloud.com/spoekmathambo Twitter @spoek_mathambo subpop.com/artists/spoek_mathambo Facebook.com/spoekmathambo

THE 20 YEAR OLD MILLENCOLIN

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WORDS BY DANIELLE KRASSE PHOTOS BY ERIK OHLSSON

Summer is the season of festivals, music and general well being in huge parts of the world - and Millencolin knows this more than most. They have been touring the world for years and have now taken the next step in the music evolution - creating their own festival to celebrate their 20th anniversary. We sent the guys some questions to find out more about what they’re up to and hear about what’s next.

Hi Guys! How have you been?

MILLENCOLIN: Hey! We finished a big world tour of our ten year old album Pennybridge Pioneers in december which was awesome! We first played a show with all the songs from that album from first to last at a special gig in our hometown. Clips came out on YouTube and our fans really wanted us to take that album, which is one of our most popular and best selling releases, on tour. We asked our agent to book some shows and all of a sudden it turned into an over a year long world tour.

Millencolin celebrates it’s 20th Anniversary this year which is incredible, congratulations! How did you first get started together?

Yup, time flies. We all met at a skatepark in our hometown back in the late eighties when we were really young kids. After a couple of years everybody who skated started to play punk music. Back then we all played in different constellations of bands mostly singing in Swedish, but in 1992 we started this band where we tried to play Californian punkrock which we named Millencolin.

How has the years and time together affected your music [the development of the band and music]?

We pretty much learned how to play our instruments and write songs when we formed the band. We are still learning but I thing there have been some improvement since our first recording! In our earlier recordings we really tried to sound like the American bands which influenced us. It wasn’t until around 2000 I think we found our own direction and sound.

What’s your best memory from the years together?

Being the first non American band signed to Epitaph by Brett Gurewitz was a big moment for us. Selling two gold albums in Australia. Receiving some awards. But I guess just hanging out partying on the bus after a great show while traveling to the next city beats the most!

You’re also out touring a lot - which is the best memory from the tours, gigs and shows?

The first tours we did in the US and Australia were big adventures. Long tours in vans and sleeping on peoples floors or in the van every night.

Touring is much more comfortable these days, but looking back at it now those years were awesome. We’ve done some crazy shows over the years. We’ve played the Warped Tour in the US three times and those tours were super fun. Rock Am Ring this summer in front of 70 000 people was amazing too.

What are you guys planning for the future?

We just recorded a bunch of new songs. Two of them are for a record we release together with a DVD in the end of may. The cd also got 12 tracks which are b-sides from singles and other exclusive songs from the last

ten years. The DVD is a behind the scenes film I directed of never before shown old footage from the Pennybridge Pioneers recording and video shoots mixed with live footage from our last tour.

You also have a festival this summer - do you what to tell us more about that?

Yeah, we wanted to do something special to celebrate this 20 year thing so why not putting up our own two day festival! We got some great bands we played with over the years and bands we really like playing and we are going to close booth nights playing two different sets of songs from our whole career. WeSC and Junkyard are putting up a skateboard contest and demo and there will be a big party tent with lot’s of bars. It’s going to be the best weekend! Read more about the festival at millencolin20year.se It’s 8-9th of June in Örebro, Sweden by the way.

For anyone who wants to start with music, what would your advice be?

Have fun, record your music a lot, work really hard in getting it out there and try to get as many shows as you can. In the end the music and being creative is what makes you happy. Sometimes bands today tend to look more for fame and fortune than the actual love for the music. We’ve always done what felt right for us and for the fun of it. Also the hard work have always been fun and felt right. The rest will hopefully follow if you’re creative and love what you do!

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millencolin.com wesc.com/weactivist/millencolin Twitter @Millencolin Facebook.com/millencolinofficial

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VISUAL SONGS OF LIFE

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OPENING WORDS BY CLIFF BENJAMIN PHOTO BY GROVE PASHLEY

Looking to create a ‘visual piece of music’, Robertson uses imagery from his travels around the globe, a picture from the news that caught his attention, old photographs, etc. He writes: The images become the words of a lyric or the sentence. It sets the scenario for the viewer to put together a story, but it’s important that it is their story. Robertson holds up a ‘mirror’ of events and objects in the world around us; layering political events, natural disasters, intimate physicality and the minutia of life. He presents a cacophony of experience as a frozen moment, as to witness; capturing the notion of evolving histories, and the ever changing, growing and moving world around us. Influenced by De Kooning and Rauschenberg’s ideas of ‘all-overness’, and particularly Rauschenberg’s abandonment of pictorial hierarchy, Robertson treats his images equally, employing a similar layering and patterning to imply the interconnectedness of events occurring. It is a conceptual as well as philosophical view: no hierarchy equals all happening, all together. the multiple layers of consciousness existing, and the simultaneity of the internal and external worlds. As Rauschenberg’s later works developed analogies between visual arts and music, Robertson’s narratives are visual songs of contemporary life: operatic, reflective and universal.

You create works of art that are different from anything we’ve ever seen.

Can you explain a bit about the technique you use?

CHAD ROBERTSON: Thanks! My technique starts in the computer. I collect all sorts of images. My own photos from travels or just daily life, photos from news stories, I might read something that interests me and I’ll research it looking for visual imagery, and randomly from all sorts of sources from the internet. From there I start juxtaposing images together building implied narratives, the piece grows organically as I add and subtract things. There is no set purpose to try and communicate a message.

They do have a narrative in an abstract way and are meant to be openly interpreted. It is important for me that the viewer walks away with his/her own story, I’m not interested in some contrived meaning or message to preach. When I feel the elements that I am using exhibit a compelling thoughtful feeling I take it to canvas and begin to paint. The piece again will go through more changes adding more things or extracting them depending on how it looks on a large scale canvas.

How has your style and technique changed since you first started out?

Quite a bit actually. When I first started I was much more into painting the figure. I used to set up a video camera and interview my subjects from there I would go through the film frame for frame on the computer picking apart individual moments, I would take these and start layering them building these multi faceted portraits that literally vibrated. The one thing that has been constant with my work then till now would be the use of transparent layering.

And how/what is the art scene like today?

To me it’s quite diverse and global now. I work in LA and there is a set “scene” here if you want to call it that but due to online art sites like artnet.com or Saatchi.com and all the international high end art fairs that happen all over the world it all seems like one global village now. A merging of all sorts of schools of thought.

The inspirations for a painting can rarely come from one thing - where do you find yours?

I pretty much answered that above. It comes from everywhere I am constantly looking grabbing all sorts of things, attitudes, events that I can roll up onto canvas.

You also travel a lot.

Yeah travel is incredibly important to me. I wish I could get out more.

With travel I am able to break out of a provincial state of mind and soak in other cultures, shoot pictures that are very different then my own surroundings and mix them up in my paintings bringing a wider pictorial vocabulary to the works. Things that I experienced physically. That is very important to the mix.

What is the process like when you create a piece of art?

In a nutshell, gather compelling arresting imagery, get a desired look built in the computer, take that to the canvas and then expand in paint until I have a piece that I feel is solid.

Do you have any favorites amongst your own catalogue?

Well I was really happy with my last show which was here at Western Project this past September. Most of that I think will be exhibited with this article.

In your studio in Silverlake, what are the main things you need to make a day complete and a piece come together [the chair, the music, the chickens..]?

All of the above! I have an amazing work space separate from my house and a yard full of roaming chickens which if I leave my door open will come in for a visit now and then! My old chair that I have had for 30 years since I was a kid to help think in and then just great music going and about 4 coffees! That is the start of a successful day!

Any last words to the readers - upcoming projects, inspiration etcetera?

Well I just finished my show here, I leave for India in two days and I will have amazing photographs from that that will propel me into a new body of work which will be probably shown in NYC tentatively in late 2013...

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chadrobertson.com wesc.com/weactivist/chad-robertson

ARTIST IN STUDIO LOS ANGELES 2012

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THE ELUSIVE KIM MATULOVA

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WORDS BY MIA WALLACE PHOTOS BY RICKY POWELL

Growing up amongst the 90s Downtown NY art scene, Kim Matulova was always one of those familiar faces that I remember seeing from childhood. In a time when the crews were mostly populated by male graff heads, skateboarders, and other random derels, she’d be like that rare angelic face amongst the crowd to momentarily distract you from the rawness of it all. However there’s more to Kim than just good hair, great genes, and fantastic joint-rolling abilities. The half-American half-Slovak Long Island native is also a model, actress, WeSC activist, DJ, rap-enthusiast, and jewelry designer, all conveniently wrapped in one beautifully unsuspecting package.

And though I’ve personally known Kim for a long time, there’s still so much about her life that I was completely clueless about until we got a chance to sit down and talk. So last week - equipped with my list of questions and an iPad - we met up at a mutual friend’s house, burned one, and turned on the recorder to have a totally frank, freestyle type of interview.

Born as the only child of a single Mom hailing from Czechoslovakia, Kim’s always had an extremely close relationship with her Mother. “My Mom is awesome, she lived this amazing rock & roll life. She was on the cover of a Thin Lizzy album...she hung out with Lou Reed in drag, babysat for Mama Cass’s daughter. Her story and legacy are really special to me”.

After coming to New York City as a refugee in the mid 60s, she landed a job as a civil engineer designing highways, at a time when most women in the office workplace were secretaries. Kim’s Mom gave all that up and eventually moved to Long Island once she became pregnant, an environment she felt better suited for properly raising her daughter. With Pops out of the picture, Ms. Matulova refused to let Kim feel neglected within the dynamic of her single-parent home, hence working hard and taking on jobs that allowed the two to stay close constantly. Growing up Out there exposed Kim to a paradox of worlds, the simple and humble local upbringing vs. - super luxurious estates of the elite who summered there.

But it was ultimately during that exposure to the upper crust Hamptons

lifestyle that she was first presented an opportunity to model, something her slightly overprotective Mother worried about.

“My Mom worked for Karin Gewirtz, a famous prima ballerina who danced with Balanchine, she was very good friends with The Photographer Arthur Elgort. He was at their house for a pool party, and I was really young - like 6 or something, maybe even 4. He took pictures of me - just being a kid - and then called my Mom a couple years later saying he was doing a shoot in the Hamptons for Vogue Bambini, asking to put me in it”. Fearing that her innocent young daughter might not be ready for the intensity of the modeling industry, Kim’s Mother was reluctant at first, but finally gave in. “She kind of had me living in a very sheltered vegetarian world” laughs Kim, to which she adds that she’s been raised veggie since birth. She confessed to trying meat a couple of times throughout her life, once with filet mignon and another with fried chicken during a childhood KFC commercial, but otherwise she’s an avid believer in a vegetarian

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Raw food lifestyle. After a while though, her Mother finally began opening up more about the idea of Kim modeling. “My Mom also styled for J Crew, that was one of her jobs when I was 7. I was on the cover of the catalogue along side Mathew Barney, those pics and my Vogue Bambini cover got me into Ford (age 9) and I started coming into the city, to their old office, which was by the 59th Street Bridge. You’d walk in and Eileen Ford would be hanging around in the building”.

“My Mom raised me and that’s my ride or die bitch”. I asked if the lack of a relationship with her father affects her outlook on men now, an inevitability in most single-parent households. “It definitely affects me. Having a Dad and a brother is the most amazing thing because you kind of already have the male relationship established”. She just sees it as another obstacle that helped shape and strengthen her character today though. “I guess that’s also another reason I like to be friends with the boys.” Stating that she, “makes guys her competition, not other girls”.

“MY MOM RAISED ME AND THAT’S MY RIDE OR DIE BITCH.” After a long stint in child-modeling where she appeared in everything from Children’s Place ads to Baby Sitters Club book covers, Kim slowly started making the progression from Ford kids to their teen division.

Becoming a well-known face of the original dELiA*s catalogues. It was also just about the time when she began crushing on some of the boys in the local graff and skate scene, like childhood sweetheart Dash. “He was the one who taught me and helped develop my handstyle. I wrote Star when I was fourteen, and he showed me how to write my S and my R - and when she’d come into the city Dash would take her around with his friends bombing - right about when Kim’s Mom was letting her head to Manhattan on her own for castings.

“I was going on my castings and I was super dorked the fuck out, in like high-waist khaki bell bottoms and my Mom’s old rock & roll shirts and my long board. I’d go and skate Union Square, but it was really Harold (Hunter) who I first took me under the wing. He came up to me when I was sitting on the steps and was like oh hey what’s up, I’m Harold - and I knew who he was since Kids came out around 2 years before. He put me onto everybody, he was just like - roll with us”.

Kim and Harold immediately formed somewhat of a brother/sister bond, but regardless of his approval, a male-dominated skate scene was still no easy place for a young, Sag Harbor cutie to infiltrate. “He invited me into the pack... but yeah, those boys were tough. I was a super Tomboy - I didn’t dress cute, I didn’t wear makeup - but they were actually pretty sweet to me most of the time”.

Alas, it’s been a long time since that whole Downtown skateboarding era was in it’s prime. The Lafayette Street most of us native New Yorkers remember from the early 90s is now just another one of the city’s most lucrative tourist strips, rampant with expensive denim billboards and tenthousand-dollar-a-month storefronts. Gone are the few goofy decks and small selections of locally printed box logo tees, now replaced by special artist-editions and $500 collector jackets. It’s simply not the same world it once was, for better or worse. Thinking back on it with a nostalgic smirk, Kim admits that “nothing compares to back then. I’m getting over

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it a little bit - like this past summer was the first time I started listening to new music. French Montana and La Musica de Harry Fraud ignited that excitement for New York in me again. Before that I didn’t really listen to anything new... I was pretty much stuck in 1997. I’m really keen about trying to tighten the filter on New York - keep it local, because I don’t want locals to leave”.

After her arrival onto the Downtown scene, Kim’s desire to model started to grow into a desire to act - Although she’d always had a passion for acting and drama, it wasn’t until about seventeen that Kim really got that chance, however accidentally it happened. “When I was seventeen my Mom’s friend John Reynolds who is a publicist put a picture of me on Page Six and hyped up something about me moving from Ford’s baby division to their women’s division. So the director of Black & White, James Toback, saw it and called my agency like, I wanna meet with her”.

At the time Kim was going through somewhat of a rebellious phase - toting around 40oz’s, skipping castings, dreaming of being on the cover of Thrasher magazine - but she went in to meet Toback anyway. “Our first meeting was super weird. He was so terrifying...he told me some stories where I walked out of there thinking what do I do, do I call the cops and tell them what this man just told me?” She pauses a moment to laugh.

“I guess I was just a kid and he wanted to shock me. But apparently the meeting went well and he kept calling me back”. At the time living abroad in London for modeling, Ford called her to come home to New York to shoot the film - a fluke, like Kim says. “After that I did something with John Leguizamo, Two years later. He had me come in and audition for his first film that he wrote and directed. It was cool when I got that role because they had me read for the character of a Spanish girl from Queens I was like, how am I gonna do this? ” At the time she was living in Sunset Park, Brooklyn with her boyfriend - a local Blood. “So I had a girl from my boyfriends block braid my hair...I had these acid washed tight jeans with a little pink top and clear sunglasses - JLO’d out to the hilt - and I came in with my gum snappin’”. Apparently she played the part so perfectly that the casting directors found her and the main character too similar, so they had her come back as a timid Eastern European model instead. “So then I switched it up with a little Jill Stuart dress, had my hair blown out straight, and came in really sweet with no makeup on. And when I met John on set he came up to me like you know you were so convincing in the auditions, I couldn’t believe that it was the same person when I saw the tapes. It’s like they’re my internal characters, I was just being me”.

“I WAS GOING ON MY CASTINGS AND I WAS SUPER DORKED THE FUCK OUT, IN LIKE HIGH-WAIST KHAKI BELL BOTTOMS AND MY MOM’S OLD ROCK & ROLL SHIRTS AND MY LONG BOARD.” Another major supporter and Downtown icon that Kim befriended over the years is legendary NY photographer Ricky Powell, the West Village’s infamously Funky Uncle. “Of course I’d known his name from the Beastie Boys - homeboy, throw in the towel, your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell - but I was walking on Bleecker and he came up to me like take my number, I think you’re a great gal and wrote his number on one of his postcards”. From there the two clicked instantly, and when it came time

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for Ricky to have a show out in Japan, he had Kim come on board as his resident DJ. “I was DJing at that time and he was like I want you to see the world, you’re my Faye Dunaway of hip-hop. But he was ever the gentleman, and we went to Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo”.

Kim has also had a few TV roles here and there, like on HBO’s Bored to Death and Royal Pains on the USA network. And most recently a starring role in Nemo Librizzi’s upcoming film A Night at the Opera, co-starring Paz de la Huerta, scored by the RZA, and executive produced by Jim Jarmusch. But although she’s comfortable in front of the camera, she still feels like she’d like to cultivate her craft in school and more classes. “I’m going back to school this year, actually for multiple things... ultimately I wanna get my certification in the holistic medicine and nutritional health.

And I’ve been wanting to go to a music tech school because I’m dying to learn how to do this shit myself”. After acting, music is probably Kim’s second biggest passion, an obsession that really took off in high school.

“I PRACTICE A LOT IN THE SUBWAY OR ON THE STREET - I’M LIKE THAT CRAZY CHICK STANDING THERE JUST RAPPING TO MYSELF. EVERYBODY LOOKS AT ME STRANGE BUT IT’S MY WAY OF GETTING OVER PUBLIC FEAR.” “My house in high school was right across from the school itself, so everyone would come to my Mom’s at lunch. The boys would come over, and there was this clique that would rap. At the time I was super HippyDippy listening to the Grateful Dead, but I started getting into their hip hop shit, and when they’d leave I’d write rhymes”. She takes a second to think back on her ninth and tenth grade composition notebooks, filled with endearing bar after bar of naively thrown together lyrics and verses, distant traces of youthful angst on paper. “It’s like graffiti - you just keep practicing and your style develops. But it was like a secret thing, I never told them I was into it. Then around 96/97, I got into hip-hop hard.

Somebody had left a mixtape at my house that had Tupac, Lil’ Kim, and Biggie on it and that was it - once I heard Kim rapping I was hooked”.

That said, there’s still a bit of reluctance on Kim’s part to open up about and share her music more. “I’m confident with it, but I’m actually more confident around strangers then people that I know. I feel like people that I know, who don’t know me really well sometimes get a little bit shocked or weirded out. I practice a lot in the subway or on the street - I’m like that crazy chick standing there just rapping to myself. Everybody looks at me strange but it’s my way of getting over public fear”. Most recently, Kim’s been spotted having a brief cameo in the A$AP Rocky video for Wassup, what she calls another ‘random fluke’ in her life. After meeting Rocky and his crew at a Black Scale x Deadline event where they asked her to possibly get involved with a future video, she kind of scoffed the idea until they reached out to her a second time several weeks later. Now she credits them for making some of the best new music out these days, especially on the New York front.

Stylistically speaking, she may claim to have been a complete dork during adolescence, but Kim’s steez these days is incredibly one of a kind - what I’d describe as a combination of Aaliyah’s sexy Tomboy vibe paired with a tinge of 90s Kate Moss chic. Ever since childhood, I always

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remember being in awe of her seemingly effortless beauty - she’d be able to make shit work that other girls could simply never pull off. About six years ago we worked on a Married to the Mob shoot together, and homegirl was straight up rocking a belly chain that connected to her neck with a nameplate - how many Sag Harbor girls do you know who rock that? As it turns out though, she’s picked up jewelry design as another budding hobby throughout the years. “I have a small collection of pieces that I made, but they are mostly custom pieces and small runs. The metals I work with are precious. I don’t want to make plated shit, I wanna make fine jewelry that’s all I’m interested in”. When I asked who or what inspired her to actually start creating, she says that Russ Karablin, owner of SSUR was originally the one to push her in that direction. When his store first came on the map and Kim frequently hung out there, the backroom was a hangout notorious for artistic pow-wows and derelict selfexpression. “We’d just get creative back there sometimes. I was playing with molding clays and making little fake nameplates out of it, and he said dude, you should totally get into making jewelry”. She then spent a small amount of time working in Manhattans Jewelry district before helping assist local jeweler Gabriel Urist, shortly before attempting a nixed deal of her own with a luxury lingerie brand. “They turned out to be so shady. They basically asked me to come on to design their jewelry, and then I showed them my rings and they got really fucking hyped. We were talking about contracts and huge orders and it got really exciting - and then I started to get a bad feeling”. After fixating on a specific claw-style gold ring, the company began trying to take photos of the jewelry with intentions of possibly reproducing the pieces as their own, leaving Kim out of the deal. She’s not sour about it though. Learning that sometimes it’s just better to leave the big retailers out and do it on your own.

These days Kim is living on the Lower East Side with her, long time Love, boyfriend, director Jason Goldwatch. The two have traveled the world together taking pictures and shooting hip hop videos, prompting her to pick up a camera of her own. Kim and Jason showed together at MILK Gallery this past December for Ricky Powell’s All-Star classic group photo show.

All along putting a lot of emphasis on other personal projects as well, like her secret Goddess cult collection. “It includes my jewelry, silk scarves, and some clothing - it’s a secret though, so I can’t reveal much more”.

She’s also in the process of filming a documentary about gentrification, a plague on all native NYers in these last couple decades. “I’m in school learning film editing right now – I can’t wait around for other people’s help anymore - as soon as I master Final Cut pro, I’m going to drop my own bombs”. And the same goes for her music, a passion she’d been rather shy about until recently. “Been working on my music forever waiting to reveal that to the world. Starting with my first self-directed and edited video of a song fully written and produced by myself. Other than that...just keeping up a vigilance of knowledge”. For more Kimka goodness and to stay tuned on her future endeavors, peep her blog Mass Gangster Glory.

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DRIFT AWAY PHOTOS BY ANTON RENBORG STYLED BY MARIA ‘DECIDA’ WAHLBERG

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FASHION

[ FOR MORE PRODUCT INFO GO TO WWW.WeSC.COM ]

TRAVEL SMART WeSC + smart : THE SUPERLATIVE JOURNEY [PART 2] PHOTOS BY VISUAL COOKS

LIFESTYLE

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[ NEW YORK CITY ]

[ ROME ]

[ LOS ANGELES ]

[ STOCKHOLM ]

[ BERLIN ]

[ LAS VEGAS ]

[ PARIS ]

[ SEE THE FULL STORY AT WWW.WeSC.COM ]

MISSION TIME PHOTOS & WORDS BY FRED MORTAGNE

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LIFESTYLE

Some places on earth have a special energy. It’s there and you can’t explain it. Some other places don’t have any sort of vibration, and some others have some terrible and scary ones.

But Montréal is beyond a doubt laying over a knob of positive energy and its people are submerged with it. Despite freezing their asses off during the harsh winters, they contribute of spreading this warm energy around, just like little transmitters. Temporary visitors turn into little antennas, getting hooked on this vibrant force, enjoying an unforgettable life experience, so strong it will forever turn them into addicts of this city and its people, making them to want to go back whenever possible. My girlfriend Stephanie is one of these persons.

She spent some time in Montréal in the past. She always wanted to go back, to get her fix of good vibes. In the summer of 2008, she planned a couple months adventure there. There wasn’t much plan, other than hanging out with friends, making some art and hanging it on the street’s brick walls, enjoying the special summer vibe...

I joined her for the last 3 weeks. My adventure didn’t start well. I brought in some bad energy from home, which would temporarily prevent me from turning into a little antenna to catch the good vibes. Traveling in air conditioned trains and planes for 10 hours being all wet is not a good thing. My traveling journey was hell. It started pouring down right as I walked out of my house, and my heavy bags didn’t stop me from being all soaked up. Once landed, my body wasn’t so stoked. Energy levels were low, and my receptors were on strike for grabbing pieces of the Montreal energy. I could see it, I could sense it, but it couldn’t just fill me up and cure me from the AC and wetness bad combo.

I went there without much plans either. The main goal was too hang out with my girl and spend some good times. Nothing extravagant, just enjoying the good and easy life. We did some night missions pasting up her art in the streets, sipping coffees and chomping on cakes on cool terraces, enjoying the shade of the powerful street vegetation, ruining our lungs running after a ball on improvised soccer fields, enjoying heavy “grasses matinées”, shooting photos, cooking, napping, swimming… biking around, and stuff like that. It took some time to my body to get back to normal. On a skateboard side, I was enjoying the simple fact of just cruising around the streets.

But I also brought up from France some wet ideas in my soaked up luggage. I had a feeling it could be a good idea to try to shoot skate pictures at the Montréal olympic stadium. I didn’t know much about this place , if it was skateable, if it was a bust… all I knew is that it had that very special photogenic architectural style… looking like a huge white space ship, a very trippy design from the 70’s. It’ curvy shapes letting you imagine the wildest skate spots…

Hooking up with skateboarders is never a hard task no matter where you go. I knew only one local and he was in town. Mister Alex Gavin, that I had met years before on skateboard contests circuits… he was no exception of being filled up with the city’s energy. It can sometimes look like people are on drugs! Maybe they get it from the local speciality called the poutine (french fries covered up with cheddar and barbecue sauce!!!).

Or maybe not at all… who knows.

I was confirmed that the stadium was actually great for skateboarding,

hosting various spots, including the ultra famous Big-O. Yeah of course.

I knew that but forgot it in the mysteries of my memory. I was waiting to go there like a kid waits for Xmas. I was first teased up with some other spots, but I had only one thing in mind really.

The olympic stadium experience day finally came. The colored metro took us there, and I was instantly blown away. It went beyond all my wildest photographer expectations. Boys were on fire, and the spots were just asking for being raped. It was just one of these days you know, in the good way. It was insane, my camera was running wild, my eyes where full of stars, tricks were going down and down and down… and nothing went wrong. We were all super happy. That day will remain in my life the day I shot the biggest amount of pictures I am super proud of. It was one of the proofs there’s something very special going on in Montréal, and I was enjoying the great consequences of that feeling I had back home about this spaceship place.

Alex showed me one weird spot next to the stadium under a bridge. It was super cool, but what a mission, because you would have to climb up the bridge pillar to skate. We would have to come back because the afternoon was already dying.

We came couple days later. It was more of a mission than we thought.

The way up was extra steep and slippy, because it was covered up with pigeon poo. Nice one! Few different unsuccessful attempts lead to the one and only technique. Alex turned into gloves an extra pair of socks he had in his backpack, which would give him some extra grip. He took a shoe lace to tied up his skateboard around his back. It was scary to look at him making his way up. I snapped a picture just in case. It turned out pretty good. That photo even made it to the top 50 finalists of the last Redbull Illume photo competition. Glad I fired the trigger at that time, and that Alex was being super brave, and motivated to skate and capture it on photographic film. This session was the last of an epic time. I can even say I shot more pics in 2 days than in the prior 4 months!

The only regret I had in Montréal, was that the city didn’t bless our ears with the usual treatment of its incredibly creative, influencial and essential music scene. Seeing artists like Arcade Fire, Patrick Watson, Godpseed You Black Emperor!, Lhasa de Sela, Leonard Cohen or Clues (ex-Unicorns)…. would have been the icing on the cake, but no no no, nothing like this happened, what a pity. So my girl and I kept on sipping coffees and eating cakes, and filling our bodies and minds with all that great energy. Viva Montréal!

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[OPENING,PREVIOUS,& NEXT SPREAD] ALEX GAVIN [OPPOSITE] ALEX GAVIN W/CLIMBING SOCKS ALL MONTRéAL, 2008

FAIR PLAY A PHOTO ESSAY PHOTOS & WORDS BY RAY BARBEE

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LIFESTYLE

I’ve always been intrigued with different kinds of cultures - I’m very curious in what they’re all about. Every year in the city of Costa Mesa, CA there is a fair that comes to town. For one month people from all over southern California come to experience all it has to offer. The amusement park rides, rodeos, concerts, arts & crafts, petting zoos, demolition derbies, various games, and tons and tons of different types of foods.

Actually, food is the main attraction. One Sunday I grabbed my camera and spent an evening walking around the fair grounds. Through my camera’s view finder I peeked into a very unique culture and learned that they love their Twinkies and candy bars deep fried, their meat by the pounds, and go crazy over 80’s cover bands... along with many other things, of course.

PHOTOS

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DANNY BOY O’CONNOR SLAINE A.K.A. CAPTAIN AMERICA FROM LA COKA NOSTRA LIVE ON STAGE IN GERMANY 2009

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ROB CRISTOFARO R©B’S DESK GAME. COME TEST! ©2009, MIXED MEDIA

PHOTOS

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BRENT KERR BROKEN DOWN AND HANGING OUT.

PHOTOS

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KENNETH CAPPELLO LATE 90S / EARLY 2000 AT SNOWMANS APT ON AVENUE C COUNTING MONEY, GETTING READY FOR THE LONG NIGHT AHEAD.

PHOTOS

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CHERYL DUNN I HAPPENED UPON THIS TOMBSTONE IN A NEW ENGLAND CEMETERY. ALONG SIDE IT WAS ANOTHER SQUARE ONE THAT SAID “RIGHT ON”. THIS IS REAL. AND THIS IS AWESOME...

PHOTOS

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CHRIS SHONTING THIS IS A PHOTO OF HELLBUTCHER, LEAD SINGER OF THE SWEDISH BLACK METAL GROUP NIFELHEIM. I TOOK THIS IN BERGEN, NORWAY IN THE SUMMER OF 2011 AT THE HOLE IN THE SKY FESTIVAL. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ENERGY LIKE THIS ON STAGE. AS I WAS SHOOTING I KEPT FINDING MYSELF LEANING BACK ON MY HEELS TO AVOID EATING A RUSTY NAIL SANDWICH. HAILS!

PHOTOS

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CHRIS MOSIER RUNNING BOY... EAST RIVER PARK NYC 2011 I SPENT MY YOUTH RUNNING, AND LIKE FOREST GUMP IT GOT ME OUT OF THE SOUTH.. THIS KID WAS DOING INTERVAL TRAINING IN THE PARK... SUPER DISCIPLINED.. IT BROUGHT ME BACK.

PHOTOS

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MATTHEW SALACUSE I TOOK THIS SHOT IN LA AT A ‘CEREBRAL BALLZY’ CONCERT. THEIR SHOWS CAN GET PRETTY MESSY WITH THE SINGER REGULARLY THROWING UP ON STAGE. THIS KID ATTEMPTED TO STAGE DIVE, BUT THE LANDING WAS A FAILURE. THE CROWD PARTED AND HE FELL HEAD FIRST ON TO THE FLOOR. HE SPLIT HIS HEAD PRETTY GOOD AND THIS SHOT WAS TAKEN AS HE WAITED FOR AN AMBULANCE.

PHOTOS

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CRAIG WETHERBY AS A YOUNG KID GROWING UP, THIS WAS ALWAYS A LANDMARK OF FUN AND GOOD MEMORIES FOR ME. ITS ALWAYS NICE TO GET ON BIKES WITH A CREW AND HEAD OUT TO CONEY ISLAND. ON A RECENT MISSION WE STOPPED UNDER THE PARACHUTE JUMP AT THE OLD STEEPLECHASE PARK TO GET OUR HEADS RIGHT SO I SHOT THIS TO REMIND ME OF HOW GOOD LIFE CAN BE... BROOKLYN 2011

PHOTOS

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ALEX CORPORAN JASON DILL HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE I KNOW, I’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME CHATTING IT UP WITH HIM. HE CRACKS ME UP. I ALWAYS TRIP OUT THAT HE’S SUCH A RIPPER ON HIS BOARD AND HAS IDEAS FOR DAYS.

PHOTOS

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CLINT PETERSON THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN ON THE BEACH IN BERLIN. WE WERE GETTING TAN HAVING SOME DRINKS SO I WHIPPED OUT THE CAMERA. WE TOOK IT TO THE LIMIT THAT DAY. ON THE TRAIN RIDE BACK TWO STREET PERFORMERS PLAYED “I WILL SURVIVE”. IT GETS A LITTLE BLURRY AFTER THAT, BUT IF I HAD TO GUESS I’D SAY WE DRANK SCHOFFEN HAUFER TILL THE SUN CAME UP.

PHOTOS

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MICHAEL ANDRÉ BRANDT ‘A PORTRAIT, FIVE MINUTES BEFORE’ SADANJI ICHIKAWA (THE FOURTH), KABUKI ACTOR / KABUKI-ZA, TOKYO, 2007

GALLERY STEINSLAND BERLINER

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WORDS BY JEANETTE STEINSLAND / GSB [CURATOR / DIRECTOR] PHOTO BY FINSTA

“We get inspiration from meetings and collaborations.

We believe that meetings and associations create a kind of kinship. Those who work and build things together, transcending boundaries and creating new synergies and opportunities. The more meetings you experience, the more whole you become.”

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INSPIRATION

LYON [FRANCE] WORDS BY MAUDE PAVAGEAU PHOTOS BY LOIC BENOIT / VINCENT JUGNET ‘BIST’

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CITY GUIDE

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Lyon [France] - It does not exist, travellers who come to Lyon and don’t want to return to the city again. Although the city is highly connected to the rest of Europe, there is no need to go elsewhere when being here. The colored Saône banks, opposite the immensity of Rhône banks, crossed by the energetic peninsula all defines its’ singular geographical structure - add to that

the many famous monuments from all époques!

Lyon also has a unique and famous gastronomic environment - your taste buds will delight with all meals served, in typical restaurants named “Bouchon Lyonnais”... Lyon is however not only about sightseeing and eating - the nightlife is also very well renowned including

one of the best electronic festivals in Europe: “Nuits Sonorees”. Other activities that also defines Lyon are skateboard, vintage, very rich regarding art, culture and historical heritage.

Definitively, it is hard to leave this powerful city!

CITY GUIDE

RESTAURANTS Butcher 30 Rue Lanterne 69001 Lyon +33 950 76 46 82 Léon de Lyon 1 Rue Pleney 69001 Lyon +33 472 10 11 12 Magalie et Martin 11 Rue Augustins 69001 Lyon +33 472 00 88 01 NIGHTTIME Le Voxx 1 Rue d’Algérie 69001 Lyon +33 478 28 33 87 L’Antiquaire 20 Rue Hippolyte Flandrin 69001 Lyon +33 472 26 18 07 Soda Bar 7 Rue Martinière 69001 Lyon +33 478 39 06 66 Broc’ Bar 20 Rue Lanterne 69001 Lyon +33 478 30 82 61 DV1 6 Rue Roger Violi 69001 Lyon, +33 472 07 72 62

LOREAK MENDIAN

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Ambassade 4 Rue Stella 69002 Lyon +33 478 42 23 23

Nuits Sonores Annual music festival [electronic] www.nuits-sonores.com

La Plateforme 4 Quai Victor Augagneur 69003 Lyon +33 437 40 13 93

SHOPS

La Marquise 20 Quai Victor Augagneur 69003 Lyon +33 472 61 92 92

WeSC Lyon 9 Rue d’Algérie, 69001 Lyon +33 4 78 72 46 57 www.wesclyon.fr Chez Jules Boulangerie 7 Rue Octavio Mey, 69005 Lyon +33 478 28 67 85

CULTURE [+ EVENTS] Musée Gadagne 1 Place du Petit Collège 69005 Lyon +33 478 42 03 61 Lorenzetti Gallery 1 rue Louis Vitet, Place Sathonay 69001 Lyon +33 478 39 16 82

Dope 10 Rue d’Algérie, 69001 Lyon +33 478 28 33 78 Loreak Mendian 10 Rue d’Algérie, 69001 Lyon +33 478 23 26 77 Nyack 7 Rue Auguste Comte, 69002 Lyon +33 437 57 53 26

Datta (library) 10 Rue du Griffon 69001 Lyon +33 4 82 33 68 62

Pop and Shoes 6 Rue Chavanne, 69001 Lyon +33 478 61 10 07

La Biennale de Lyon Annual festival of modern art & dance www.labiennaledelyon.com

Shoes Gallery 15 B Rue Algérie, 69001 Lyon +33 964 36 20 74

Les Nuits de Fourvière Annual music festival [rock, pop, & jazz] www.nuitsdefourviere.com

Wall Street 6 Rue Neuve, 69002 Lyon +33 478 39 38 40 Sample Lyon 4 Rue Terme, 69001 Lyon

POP & SHOES

NYAK

CITY GUIDE

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TOP TO BOTTOM: LÉON DE LYON, MAGALIE ET MARTIN, NUITS SONORES

TOP TO BOTTOM: SHOES GALLERY, BUTCHER, WALL STREET

TOP TO BOTTOM: MUSÉE GADAGNE RESTAURANT, SAMPLE LYON, CHEZ JULES BOULANGERIE

LOCATIONS

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On March 10, WeSC and RZA celebrated the launch of the Chambers by RZA in Paris! The night included a special performance by Pusha T, DJ sets by DJ Prince Charles, Arthur King and DJ Weedim and an impressive crew of family, peoples and friends showed up, including Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Shyne, and many more.. [photos: LaGoutte]

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LOCATIONS FOR MORE ON ‘CHAMBERS BY RZA’ & TO FOLLOW RZA: wesc.com/chambersbyrza facebook.com/RZAWU twitter.com/RZA iTunes: RZA’s World App

LOCATIONS

PUSHA T. HE MAKES IT SOUND SO EASY...

Some people have it, others don’t. Pusha T definitely has the skill, talent, albums, awards and history to prove it. We caught up with Pusha in Paris - where he did a special performance at the WeSC x RZA: Chambers by RZA Paris launch party - to ask him about what’s been, what’s to come and why the best producers in the world are queuing up to work with him.

How did you get started making music?

PUSHA T: I started just following under my brothers wing - as far as rapping goes. From there I picked up on the craft from him. I was really good friends with Pharrell Williams, from the Neptunes, and he was a fan of my brother as a rapper so those two hooked up, started making music together and I came in soon after.

You make it sound very easy?

Yeah, that’s really what it was, it wasn’t like…I wasn’t involved as an artist back then, it was really just my brother and Pharrell at the time.

So you and your brother then started Clipse together and Pharrell was producing that?

Yes, Pharrell and Chad were producing all the albums.

Can we expect any more albums from Clipse?

There’s definitely going to be one more album, I believe so.

How come you decided to go solo?

My brother wanted to put out a book and he sort of made the decision for me because he wasn’t ready to start working on the next album, so it was like “alright, let’s just go ahead and do it”.

You released your first solo mixtape this fall, titled “Fear of God”. And I wanted to ask you about that title.

Fear of God: it started as my way of saying that the competition was, you know, afraid of me and it ended up being one of those things where me being a solo artist was a bit scary so it sort of backfired on myself.

When listening to the mixtape it doesn’t sound like you were scared at all though. Not a bit. You also have a lot of good people on it.

Yeah I had a lot of strong features, a lot of good people on it - you know, I just felt it was one of those things were I should do as much different as a solo artist then what I’ve done with the Clipse - and one of those things was that I’ve never really worked with other rappers before. I mean not to that extent - I had never had a whole lot of rapper friends and so on and so forth and if I did, it was really just genuine relationships where I would see them and be like “ your stuff is dope” - they’d think I was dope or whatever and even if we didn’t work together the relationship was probably just a cool and cordial one. And never any pressure. So by the time I asked these guys for a verse or whatever they were really just like “yeah of course” and just did it. I think it showed people that “wow, I didn’t know he messes with that guy and they’re cool and how did they just do a record like that”. It was no money or anything so it worked out well [laughs].

All the super producers are attracted to you and to work with you - Pharrell, Kanye and now maybe RZA. Yeah hopefully man, me and RZA should definitely do something - I’m such a fan of the work he’s done, his catalogue is incredible and he’s worked with some of my favorite artists.

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So why do you think these guys have this mad appeal towards you and to work with you?

I think something that we created as a group with the Clipse was the fact that you could make hard records that still crossed genres, crossed barriers. I think that before the Clipse, hard records always had to be really dark and muddy, there was like a muddy sound and aesthetic to them, and I don’t know but maybe because the production team were where they were, meaning the Neptunes when we came out, I got away with saying a lot of things that normally would go on a soundbed that doesn’t let that many people hear it. But those guys were just so hot and good at the time that I got to say these things - and the beat was so infectious that before people even realized what I was saying they were just in trance. And then they realized but before that it had already reached a lot of people - and I think that’s what set the tone for records being street but still having that appeal that hits more than just that bottom underground fanbase.

You’re surrounded by this group of people that are the best in the world at what they do but who’s your dream person to work with?

There’s not much that I think I haven’t accomplished - as far as working with an artist, I mean I got to go to the dead people. To work with Big would have been the biggest thing ever, that would have been the biggest accomplishment or the one thing that I’ll never get to do but I wish I could. I’ve now been on the same song as Jay Z you know, and that’s cool. Just being a part of that discography is pretty good.

What should we expect from the next album?

I just want to show a different side, I feel like everybody’s knowing me for the mixtape stuff and the street records but I feel it’s now that they get fully produced music and songs and things of that nature from me. Still have the edge to it but it’s just more formatted. When I’m with producers I take on a student role versus when I’m doing a mixtape - then I just pick beats that I like. It’s not based off of what’s the best record, what could be the best, it’s often just how I feel in the moment. When I’m being produced by a producer I really sit back and listen and whatever they think - I trust their judgement. I tempt it, I try it, you know what I’m saying? It’s one of those things where it’s like a learning process for me. That’s what you pay them for.

Those guys are who they are for a reason - there’s not many super producers in the game. A lot of beat makers, a lot of producers and then there’s a few super producers - they come with the vision, the everything: they hear it, they see the whole song before the lyrics are written to it and when they have that type of vision, you have to take on the identity of the student and really just listen. And the best of the best people do that.

I’ve watched it with other artist and producer collaborations - the super producers are like maestros to the music, they make it happen.

This mindset of Pusha T is probably what has made him be what he is today - the humbleness and intelligence paired with creativity, mad skills and an attitude that just makes him being, well him. And that’s all it needs to be. He makes excellence seem and sound so easy.

Pusha T’s first solo album is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2012.

We’re definitely looking forward to it.

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LOCATIONS

RELEASE

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RELEASE

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WeSC & ELEY KISHIMOTO TAKE ONE THING YOU LOVE. THEN ADD ONE MORE THING YOU ABSOLUTELY ADORE. COMBINE THEM AND YOU HAVE THE FUSION OF TWO COMPONENTS THAT EACH HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES AND EXCELLENT FEATURES, NOW BLENDED TOGETHER TO CREATE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAN EXPECTED. THIS IS WHAT WESC AND ELEY KISHIMOTO PRESENT FOR SPRING 2012.

ELEY KISHIMOTO – MASTERS OF PRINTS, PLAYFUL DESIGN UNDER A FASHION UMBRELLA. WeSC – STREETFASHION BRAND AND INTELLECTUAL SLACKERS WITH A LOVE FOR MUSIC. TOGETHER, WE PRESENT THE AMAZING, ALL OVER-PRINTED BLACK AND WHITE ELEY KISHIMOTO & WESC HEADPHONE! LIVING FOR THE MAXIM “PRINT THE WORLD” ELEY KISHIMOTO HAVE GAINED A REPUTATION FOR INCISIVE AND INTELLIGENT PRINT DESIGN WITH THEIR CRAFTSMANSHIP GRACING CATWALKS WORLDWIDE, WITH EACH NEW DESIGN CHALLENGE ADDING YET ANOTHER INTRIGUING TWIST TO THE CONTINUING STORY OF THE SHAPESHIFTERS OF THE PRINT WORLD. WESC AND ELEY KISHIMOTOS COLLABORATION FOR SPRING 2012 COMBINES THE BEST OF THE TWO WORLDS AND PRESENTS AN EXCELLENT HEADPHONE, THE MARACA, THAT IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS FUNCTIONAL – THE PERFECT BLEND BETWEEN FASHION AND MUSIC!

ELEY KISHIMOTO MARACA

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It all comes together and contributes to make WeSC the brand for intellectual slackers, creatives and supporters of streetfashion.

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