Who's Jack Magazine October 2011 by Who's Jack

WHO’S JACK

OCT/11

/ ISSUE 53 . OCT / 2011

FOR THE REST OF US A new era of Jack is coming…

Over the past few months we’ve been secretly tucked away at Who’s Jack HQ making some pretty exciting plots and plans for the future of Who’s Jack magazine and our online platforms. We can now reveal the results of our planning are three exciting new aspects that we’ll soon be launching under the Who’s Jack umbrella. The first of which is a brand new logo which you can already see on the front of this issue. Secondly, our existing website www.whosjack.org has been having something of a make over recently and we’ll be bringing you the new, improved, better-than-ever-before website in a matter of weeks. The site will not only look all sparkly and new it’ll also have a number of key differences and new features which we hope you’re going to love and that will help you feel an even bigger part of the Who’s Jack community. Lastly, we will also be launching a new website, WJTV, which will host video content from all the same subjects that we already cover within the magazine and online. Expect interviews, documentaries, behind the scenes footage from some of the cities biggest events, tour diaries, scripted programs and loads, loads more. If you like the sound of all of this, and we really hope you do, email us at whosjack@gmail.com to be in with the chance to be sent a special preview log-on so that you can trial the new sites and let us know what you think before they’ve even gone live.

FASHION

MUSIC

8. Fashion For The Boys The Chunky Knit 10. The Great Outdoors Men and Women’s wear fashion story 20. Jack Loves Daks 22. Hannah Warner The Jewellery Designer making a statement 24. Jack Loves Bitching and Junkfood 25. Get That Look The Hunter Gatherer 26. Back To School Women’s wear fashion story 40. Fashion Pick Of The Month

42. Introducing To Kill A King 43. Review One Liners 44. Bluey Robinson The boy making all the right moves 49. Kyla La Grange Gearing up for the big time 52. Dave’s Band Picks 54. Grouplove A speedy interview and review with the band 56. Music Pick Of The Month

FILM

ART & DESIGN

58. Mark’s October Film Round Up The films you want to spend your money on this month 62. Kill ‘em All, Let God Sort Them Out A look at how the movies would deal with the riots 65. World Cinema Horror Mark takes a look at what’s scaring the rest of the world. 68. I Am Jack’s Game Of Life, 24 Frames A Second Our new monthly feature piece from those boys over at Heyuguys. 70. Film Pick of The Month

72. The Process Kelly McCallum : taxidery with jewels 74. Art Spotter The Ohako Exhibition 76. The Process Emma Hack 78. Camberwell Post Grad Show Round Up 78. Art Pick Of The Month

LIFE & LONDON 82. Beauty : Halloween Looks for those that want to go a little further than a mask and a cape 86. Meet The Locals Chateau Roux 88. Esme Riley Hello/Goodbye 89. Perks and Perils : Tamlin Magee 90. London’s Intimate Bars 92. Life and London Pick Of The Month

/ TEAM JACK / CONTRIBUTORS

Editor : Louise O-F louise@whos-jack.co.uk

Dept Editor : Laura Hills laura@whos-jack.co.uk

Film : Mark Williams mark@whos-jack.co.uk

Contributor: Jon Lyus

Contributor: Amie Corry

Contributor : Joe West

Music : James Lynch james@whos-jack.co.uk

Film Online : Matt Hamm matt@whos-jack.co.uk

Layout: Jack Walker

Stylist: Rickardo Maxwell

Dating : Georgina Childs

Make Up: Luke Stephens

Music : Charlie Allen

Styling : Faye Heran faye@whos-jack.co.uk

Art: Eleanor Davidson

Styling : Jo Bevis jackstylist@gmail.com

Music: Rory Broadfoot

Columnist : Tamlin Magee

Columnist: Esme Riley

Potographer : Harriet Turney

Contributor music : David Macnamara www.andeveryonesadj.com

Contributor : Matt Bass

Photographer : Tracer Ital

Photographer: James Lincoln

Photographer: Barry Macdonald

/ THE CREDIT STUFF

/ HOW TO GET INVOLVED

/ ABOUT

Cover Image : Tracer Ital Want to see your work in Jack? Contributions : contributions.jack@googlemail.com The Jack-Father : Edward Fitzpatrick //

Whether you are a band, a brand, a designer or simply want to tell us about something, get in touch. General enquiries can be sent to: press@whos-jack.co.uk, contributions can be sent to: contributions.jack@googlemail.com, finally, advertising enquiries can be sent to: magazine@whos-jack.co.uk.

Who’s Jack Magazine is part of a range of platforms that all come under the company Who’s Jack Ltd. This is the magazine and it is a monthly glossy both in print and online that covers art, fashion, film, music and general London and life. We aim to be attainable just as much as we are aspirational and never to talk down to our reader, you. We are what you’ve been waiting for.

Who’s Jack Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part with out the permission of Who’s Jack. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the opinions of Who’s Jack. Who’s Jack Ltd can not be held responsible for any breach of copyright arising from any material supplied. Who’s Jack, 93 Barker Drive, Camden, London, NW1 0JG

Who’s Jack also likes a good collaboration, event or campaign. We can work with you or for you. Get in touch.

Jack Loves You More.

jack / STOCKISTS NORTH

WEST

Camden Blues Kitchen: 111 - 113 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN www.theblueskitchen.com The Old Queens Head: 44 Essex Road, Islington, N1 8LN www.theoldqueenshead.com The Hawley Arms: 2 Castlehaven Road, NW1 8QU www.thehawleyarms.co.uk The Lexington: 96-98 Pentonville Road, N1 9JB www.thelexington.co.uk The Keston Lodge: 131 Upper Street, N1 1QP www.kestonlodge.com The Lock Tavern: 35 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AJ www.lock-tavern.co.uk Shock and Soul: 46 Essex Road, Islington, N1 8LN www.shockandsoul.co.uk The Westbury: 34 Kilburn High Street, NW6 5UA www.westburybar.com Rokit: 225 Camden HIgh Street, NW1 7BU www.rokit.co.uk LCB Surf Store : 23 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 7RU www.lcbsurfstore.co.uk Edinboro Castle: 57 Mornington Terrace, NW1 7RU www.edinborocastlepub.co.uk Joy: 21-22 Upper Street, N1 0PQ www.joythestore.com

Rough Trade: 130 Talbot Road, W11 1JA www.roughtrade.com The Electric Brasserie: 191 Portobello Road, W11 2ED www.electricbrasserie.com Mau Mau Bar: 265 Portobello Road, W11 1LR www.myspace.com/maumaubar Portobello Music: 13 Allsaints Road, W11 1HA www.portobellomusic.net Smash: 268 Portobello Road www.sandmcafe.co.uk Defectors Weld : 170 Uxbridge Road, W12 8AA www.defectors-weld.com Size? - (in London stores): 200 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11 1LB www.size.co.uk

SOUTH Bar Story: 213 Blenheim Grove, Peckham, SE15 4QL Bullfrog: 20 Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BJ www.bullfrogs.co.uk The Rest Is Noise: 442 Brixton Road, Brixton, SW9 8EJ www.therestisnoisebrixton.com Joy: Clapham Junction Station, SW11 1RU www.joythestore.com Banquet Records: 52 Eden Street, Kingston, KT1 1EE www.banquetrecords.com

EAST Paper Dress: 114-116 Curtain Road, EC2A 3AY www.paperdressboutique.blogspot.com Vintage Store: 182 Brick Lane, E1 6SA The Lazy Ones: 102m Sclater Street, E1 6HR www.thelazyones.blogspot.com Beyond Retro: 110-112 Cheshire Street, E2 6EJ 58-59 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JY www.beyondretro.com The Book Club: 100 Lenard Street, EC2A 4RH www.wearetbc.com Beyond Retro: 110-112 Cheshire Street, E2 6EJ 58-59 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JY www.beyondretro.com Behave: 14 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR LCB Surf Store: 121 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 7DG www.lcbsurfstore.co.uk Rough Trade East: Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL www.roughtrade.com The Victoria: 110 Grove Road, Mile End, E3 5TH www.thevictoriae3.com Junk: Old Truman Brewery, Grey Eagle Street, E1 6QL Elbow Rooms: 97-113 Curtain Road, EC2A 3BS theelbowroom.co.uk Bar Music Hall: 134 Curtain Road, EC2A 3AR www.barmusichall.co.uk Rokit: 101 Brick Lane, E1 6SE www.rokit.co.uk Rough Trade: Old Truman Brewery, Grey Eagle Street, E1 6QL www.roughtrade.com Absolute Vintage: 15 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR www.absolutevintage.co.uk GShock Shop: Old Truman Brewery, Grey Eagle Street, E1 6QL www.g-shock.co.uk Smiths of Smithfield: 67-77 Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk (weekends only)

CENTRAL Beyond the Valley: 2 Newburgh Street, W1F 7RD www.beyondthevalley.com 55 DSL: 10A Newburgh St, W1F 7RN www.55dsl.com Chateau Roux: 17 Newburgh Street, W1F 7RZ www.chateauroux.co.uk Tatty Devine: 44 Monmouth Street, WC2H 9EP www.tattydevine.com The Sun and 13 Cantons: 21 Great Pulteney Street, W1F 9NG Candy Cakes: Monmouth Street, WC2H 9EP www.candycakes.com Size? - (in London stores): Carnaby Street, Soho, W1F 7DW www.size.co.uk Size? - (in London stores): 37a Neal Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9PR www.size.co.uk Fopp: 1 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LL www.foppreturns.com Mint: 20 Earlham Street, WC2 H9LN www.mintvintage.co.uk Sanctum Hotel: 20 Warwick Street Soho, W1B 5NF www.sanctumsoho.com The Hospital Club: 24 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9HQ www.thehospitalclub.com Beyond Retro: 58-59 Great Malborough Street, W1F 7JY www.beyondretro.com Sanctum Hotel: 20 Warwick Street, W1B 5NF www.sanctumsoho.com Joy: 1620170 Wardour Street, W1F8AB www.joythestore.com Volcom: 7 Earlham Street, WC2 9LL www.volcom.com Joy: 11 The Market Building, Covent Garden www.joythestore.com Rokit: 42 Shelton Street, WC2 9HZ www.rokit.co.uk Wesc: 53 Neal Street, WC2H 9PR wesc.com Miyson: 3 Lowndes Court, off Carnaby, W1F 7HD www.miyson.com

Also with online orders of Urban Outfitters : www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk See an up to the minute list of stockists online, if you would like to stock Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jack contact: press@whos-jack.co.uk All stockists have magazines delivered once a month in the first week of each month. We would advise getting to stockists early as they go quick.

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FASHION.

James Lynch

Chunky knits and patterned pullovers

James tries to dress the male and this month gets all warm and comfy with chunky cardigans and thick tops.

It’s nearing that time of year now when summer is dwindling at the back of the collective memory and all that the last rays of warm sunlight are illuminating is the falling copper leaves of autumn. And as I loose myself within pretentious imagery, we men need to start thinking about wrapping up that bit warmer as the nights draw in and pub gardens become desolate wastelands once again.

Hitting the high street is the easiest way to get hold of your knitwear, although ASOS has pretty much the epitome of the style in the luxurious shape of the Sloyd Graphic Cardigan by relatively new French brand Eleven Paris. The cardigan is a thick knit woollen affair with a long silhouette in a striking white with contrast buttons and a bold red and black Fair Isle pattern across the chest.

Luckily there is one recurring male fashion trend that has all the answers in some comfy and convenient packages. The chunky knit cardigan and jumper is back again like a faithful old friend or the new football season. So relax and recline and enjoy its comforting company.

Back on the streets and All Saints stock an expectedly muted range for your choosing and instead of going for patterns they have concentrated on cable knit designs and heavy knits in grey, black and navy. The Lander cardigan and Vargan crew knit are perfect examples of this understated approach. And I never thought that I would say this but River Island have a massive and varied collection that includes thick Fairisle jumpers and chunky shawl neck cardigans in browns and mustards with wooden buttons or duffle coat-like peg fastenings. Whatever you choose, your chunky knit cardigan or jumper gives you instant warmth and satisfaction, doubling up well as a duvet on a cold and lonely night bus home.

Whether to opt for a cardigan or a pullover version is nothing more than personal preference but as a guide, cardigans are generally more formal when worn with a shirt, whereas the jumper remains casual at almost all times. Again, the design and colour are up to you, but I would recommend definitely having a basic black or grey chunky knit to wear regularly and a more colourful, cream and patterned cardigan to wear out and about and when you want to fool people into thinking that it’s finally Christmas. And that’s a fair warning to heed because you don’t want to look like carol singers on the front of a Christmas card, so try not to wear any other thickly knitted clothing or even hats when you venture into the wintery wilderness in your chunky knit. One other thing I must also say is to steer clear of overlong cardigans with belts because, a) you don’t want to look like you forgot to take your dressing gown off before you left the house and, b) you don’t want to look like Starsky or Hutch.

But the chunky knit is not just yours to snuggle up into when you are drunk and sleepy, desperately trying to stay conscious before you reach your stop, it is also for others to snuggle into, for there is nothing nicer or warmer than hugging your way into a good knit. So, be a good boyfriend/friend/lover/ confidante and start giving those chunky hugs out. You’ll thank me when you’re not sad and alone over the coming depressing and wintry months.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Photographer: David Stewart Photographer’s assistant: Stylist: Sarita Morales Stylist assistant: Grace Elliffe Hair and Make up: Cat Silliman using Bare Essentials Models: Thomas and Kate @ mandpmodels.com Thomas Red trousers, £34, Topman Brogues, £32, New Look Check shirt, £26, Topman Black jumper, £100, Fred Perry Belt models own Kate: Double breast blazer, £70, River Island White shirt, £25.99, Zara Black skinny trousers, £70, American Apparel Brogues, £65, Office

Check shirt, £26, Topman Braces, £10 Urban Outfitters Jeans, £19, Rokit

Thomas Acid wash jacket, £45, Topman Patterned polo, £16, Beyond Retro Kate Red check shirt, £25, Miss Selfridge Black longline blazer, £48, Miss Selfridge

Thomas As before Kate Shirt, ÂŁ125, Richard Nicholl for Fred Perry

Thomas Jacket, £35, Rokit Trousers, £57, American Apparel Shoes, £54, River Island Kate Cream blouse, £130, Richard Nicholl for Fred Perry Black leather skirt, £25, Rokit Socks, £5, American Apparel Loafers, £19.99, New Look

Thomas: Parka, £65, Topman Check shirt, £18, Rokit Teal cardigan, £40, Topman Jeans, £19, Rokit

Thomas Clothing as before Bag, £129, River Island Boots, £90, Dr Martens Kate Stripe skirt, £18, River Island Leather jacket, £55, Dorothy Perkins Roll neck, £12.99, New Look Socks, £5, American Apparel Loafers, £19.99, New Look

JACK Loves

aks have chosen models, Jeremy Young and Laurent Albucher to show off their fall 2011 collection. DAKS Simpson, as it was originally known began life in London in 1894 when Simeon Simpson established his bespoke tailoring business. In 1932, by the time of Simpson’s death he was the largest manufacturer of top quality men’s clothes in Britain and was exporting his product to most parts of the world. You may look at Daks and think it an old fashioned brand but after Alec Simpson took over the company after his fathers death it has been revolutionary, creating self supporting slacks and opening department stores (Simpsons opened on Piccadilly) and this is why we love the brand..

s k Da

Choosing two models of the moment is always going to help but Daks new collection matches smart with casual pretty well and creates looks that even if you can’t afford the Daks price tag you can try for yourself elsewhere. Suits and large chunky scarfs, big socks and boots over looser fitting trousers and the odd nice accent of tweed and diamond jumper. Hair has been styled smart but with a tussle which is much like the collection, smart, but easily worn day to day. www.shoponline.daks.com

What first gave you an interest in Jewellery? After school I went travelling for about a year starting in Asia and finishing in South America. I always loved jewellery but then I started to notice all the different types and designs whether it be gemstones and metal work found in Thailand or organic materials such as strings, seeds and coconut shells used in Brazil. When I return I went to Wimbeldon art school to foundation where I specialized in Jewellery design before doing a design and make degree at London metropolitan.

My surroundings, different cultures from travelling, as well as natural/organic things, such as skulls,bones and coral inspire my work. I try to incorporate these aspects into my style to create wearable pieces that are bold and individual .

I will give you a favourite piece from each collection as they are all so different. From my Skull & Bone collection, which is very raw and rocky and I love the recreation of some of the animal skulls in metal with all their textures and detail. The lizard skull ring in black rhodium with ruby eyes is a personal favourite. It can be worn both casually in the day and also be a statement piece for evening wear. The coral collection, I love the Amber nugget… its size and bold textures and nuggety shape in gold always makes a great statement piece for any look. The Eygptian Collection, The circle ring… it is plain, simple and like a curved signet ring to me. I wear this a lot and like to stack it up with other rings of different shapes and sizes on one finger. The Ancient tribe collection, Caged finger ring is great as it covers the whole finger with a hinge at the back allowing your finger to bend. It s a simple yet very effective design.

What kind of person do you design for? I make sure that I design for a range of people as I keep each collection full of different styles whether it be large bold pieces or more delicate items depending on what people prefer personally themselves this way my work can appeal to a wider audience. I myself mix both delicate and bold pieces together and am a fan of both so I like to create both.

You feature a lot of strong women in your shoots for the line.. discuss The face of my brand is Mila de Wit (who features in both my lookbooks so far) She is a great friend and I felt her look worked well with my designs. Charlotte Carter Allen, another great friend worked So

I think simplicity in design helps with this a lot. The size can be dominating so I incorporate just small areas of delicate engraving, or a small cluster of coloured gemstones, or a rough verses smooth contrasting element. Detail like this creates individuality to the piece and brings femininity to them also. I also think that the way the jewellery is worn is a key factor, whether as a bold individual statement piece or whether stacking them with the same piece in a different colour (gold, black and silver is my trademark) or different pieces from the collection.

Skulls and teeth are very popular currently in Jewellery design, why do you think that is?

WAR

What is your favourite piece you have made so far?

What is the key to keeping jewellery fierce and chunky but still feminine?

The skull and bone/ Rock and roll look is very dominant in fashion and has been now for a while. This is the only jewellery collection I have created where I have followed a current trend and it has been very successful. Many jewelers have followed this trend and this is why many skulls and teeth are in current designs.

What is your next collection going to be based around I have many ideas for new collections… its just a case of which one I decide to do first!!!! It will most probably be based on a place that I have been or involve uncut stones…watch this space!!!

What is next for the brand?

HANNAH WARNER

What inspires you for your collections?

well for the Ancient Tribe collection shoot, looking so fierce and matching the boldness of the pieces. I feel that displaying the work powerfully on the girls is important in displaying the jewellery as I want people to see how strong the pieces can look when worn which is a key selling factor.

I will create a new collection of jewellery by the end of the year. I aim for more worldwide stockists also. Separate to my jewellery ,I am working on a jewellery/clothing/household décor range with 2 friends Jamie Strachan and Behati Prinsloo in new York which we hope to release also by the end of the year. I am also collaborating with make up artist Holly silius on a range of metal fingernails inspired by nature and eyelashes which also will soon be ready to release.

g n i h c t Bi and Food k n Ju

itching and Junkfood have had a meteoric rise since we first clapped eyes on their part customised part vintage wear last year. One minute we had samples being dropped off to us by the owners themselves for shoots and the next minute we were walking around the Urban Outfitters press day being introduced to one of their new exciting brands - Bitching and Junkfood. The brand was started by Kath(Australian) and Marion(Irish) in 2009 as an online store with the two girls based in East London’s Netil House. They swiftly found their niche in sub-culture fashion and carved out two separate labels from under the Bitching and Junkfood banner: Remade by bitchingandjunkfood.com : ‘A reworked vintage label taking trend direction from fashion scooped from the streets around their London Fields studio. The label is now stocked in several major designer department stores internationally including Urban Outfitters.’ Two Weeks : ‘An avant garde fashion and accessories label launched at off-schedule at London Fashion Week AW10, stocked in concept stores and high end boutiques globally.’ The girls are now working on collaboration projects and also do styling for up and coming music artists. Clothes are very much affordable and never made to a large quantity so you won’t bump into anyone on the street wearing something similar. So now that we’ve told you all about them get to their website. www.bitchingandjunkfood.com

JACK Loves

Timberland Hiker Boot atmos Exclusive A Timberland is surely necessary for trekking through forest and marsh so why not buy these exclusive Timberland collaborations?

This aptly named, Hunter Trucker Jacket is from a collection for Autumn Winter from Levis and Filson. The look is slightly military without being overly so and multiple pockets, as our fashion writer James will tell you are always a bonus. www.eu.levi.com A knitted hat is as crucial as the beard. We have opted for a brighter colour as a lot of this trend is olive greens and khakis. www.openingceremony.us

TAD rucksack Every man needs a decent camo rucksack no? Well here is the ideal to aspire to, the Triple Aught Design Fast Pack EDC. www.tripleaughtdesign.com

GET THAT LOOK

HUNTER GATHERER

s we have been saying time and time again online there is only one look worth going for this winter if you are a male and that is the Hunter Gatherer. To be a Hunter Gatherer means you are very masculine, possibly with a job like a lumber jack or a bear baiter. You will be wearing wool, leather and waterproof waxed cotton. Above all you will have a large scarf and or boots and a beard.

25 You can’t get much manlier than Four Stroke Jeans. Every single model in their look book has a beard, a truck, a welding irons and or a motor-cycle, slightly less woodland here though, go down this route if you want to channel more of an urban huntsman. Also take note of the beard, the beard is oh so very important. www.4strokejeans.com

ASOS maxi skirt £65

If you can’t avoid having to work in the city rather than in the open outdoors but still want to channel your inner man then opt for something like the above. Earthy coloured shirts teamed with a lightweight but heavy duty parka should work a treat. Nanamica Fall/Winter 2011

Bape (A Bathing Ape) have these 1st Camo Leather Gloves also available in navy or coffee camo options www.bape. com

Go to Oki-Ni to find these army green loose fit trousers by Chronicles of Never. www.oki-ni. com

BACK TO SCHOOL

Photographer: Kate Tomlinson Model lizzie Tovell at tess management Stylist - Aartthie Mahakuperan make up : Niamh Quinn Coat â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Topshop

Green Blazer – Rokit Blouse – Urban outfitters Shorts – Beyond Retro Socks – H&M Loafers – Asos

Shirt – American Apparell Trousers – Asos Boots – Beyond Retro

Baseball jacket – topshop Trousers – Asos

Navy Jumper – topshop Shirt – Zara Grey trousers – Aquascutum Patent Boots – Topshop Satchel – Aquascutum

Jacket – Barbour Blouse – Zara Red Jumper – American Apparel Jeans – Topshop Satchel – Urban Outfitters Shoes – Beyond Retro

White polo – Zara Blue jumper – Aquascutum Shorts – Topshop Wine Boots – Kurt Geiger

Blue check blazer – Rokit Jeans – Urban Outfitters Brougues – Urban Outfitters Shirt – American Apparel

P I C K OF THE MONTH

J Brand and Christopher Kane It was music to our fashionable ears when we heard that Christopher Kane would be teaming up with US jean super giants J Brand for a brand new collection of jeans. The Resort collection will feature tangerine, lime green and bubble gum pink flares, jackets and knee length shorts as well as some more demur black and white options. They will be hitting stores soon so keep your eyes peeled.

FASHION

Viktor & Rolf Launch New Book

Topman Launches Fragrances and Grooming Range

Fashion supremos Viktor and Rolf will this month release a new book, a collection of 12 fairy tales illustrated by the designers. Each story features a different character each of which with their own avant-garde style and promises to be a great keep sake for all fashion lovers.

Not content with being one of the best retailers for affordable men’s fashion Topman are now hell bent on dominating the male cosmetic market too with the launch of their new grooming and fragrance range. Parfum No.16 and Parfum No.27 have been created by Azzi Glasser aka Agent Provocateurs signature scent maker and they’re now available from the Topman on Oxford Street as well as in Selfridges department stores. Head to www.topman.com for more information.

Converse Launch Suede Version In what appears to be a bid to move away from the high school prepyness we’ve come to expect from Converse the brand have announced they will be releasing a new suede version of their First Strong model. Gone are the right colours we’re used to and in are the more muted browns and cement shades like these two in the picture. The shoes are made from a heavy suede upper as well as a ‘drop-in construction sole’ although we’re not entirely sure what that means so we suggest you just head to www.converse. co.uk to check them out for yourself.

Topman Launches Fragrances and Grooming Range It’s not a long ting, it’s a BOOM ting With a current flare for all things NAIL orientated, the fashion-world phrase ‘accessories dahhhling’ has taken on a whole new meaning. Our humble nails, those things that we were actually born with, are the new PERFECT accessory to any outfit. Who’s Jack introduce to you BOOM Nails, bringing in a whole new era of nail-art-fashion. Emma Zentner, a North London lady, with a graphics degree and an incredibly steady hand, has embarked on a journey into the nail art world. A hobby, but one which she is incredibly talented at, Emma’s nail art is rivalling even the most well known manicurists, such as WAH nails. With clients such as Eliza Doolittle, and an ethic that NOTHING is too tricky to put on nails, Emma is as cool as a cucumber, and has a professional flare to match.

JOBS

Swatch Continue their colourful and novel new ranges with these new touch screen watches. The watches come in a number of colours with additional colour touch displays. The collection is called Swatch Touch and each watch in the range has a big screen with LCD dials and a touch sensitive zone instead of push buttons. The watches are large and toy like taking the design route from urban rythems and electric sounds as well as skate and snow boarders.

Assistant Buyer – Menswear high street brands To be responsible for supporting the Buyer with range building and product development. Apply via www.fashionpersonnel.co.uk eCommerce Production Intern – Myla London Help with the running of the fashion site on a day to day basis by adding new product and optimising the site for SEO and general admin. Apply to ecommerce@myla.com

Music.

I am… Ralph Pelleymounter I grew up in… my childhood My childhood was mainly…

shire

in York-

The three words I’d use to describe my music are… Loud then quiet I mainly write about…

mostly stories about people I know or would like to know or scare me a little bit

My big break in music came when… we were playing a residence in Ronnie scots: ‘Tv nights’ which led fortunately to management and then a record deal

I’ve been writing songs since I…

was

The best review I could read about my music is… a picture representation of us

riding a comet

The biggest lesson I’ve ever learnt is…

it came as quite as quite a shock when I learnt snails in bradford have started riding old men. Whether this be for sport or a mating ritual I’m not sure but for more information you can find it here among other ramblings www.pinkertonsofengland.tumblr.com

The first song I wrote was about… I

My motto is… it’s nice to be important but it’s important to be nice.

I find inspiration from… HBO

You can next come and see me live in London at…

think it was a song entitled shit floats

I would describe fans of my music as…

discerning champions of new music or some such thing.

In the next few months I will mainly…

The one thing you need to know about me is… all on this page I couldn’t make music without…

be on tour

You will like my music if you…

discerning champion of new music

are a

You wont like my music if you… are not a discerning champion of new music

www.myspace.com/tokillakinguk Image : Cat Stevens

I or U

INTRODUCING To Kill A King

BIN: Kreayshawn Gucci Gucci

As if one Cher Lloyd wasn’t bad enough, it seems that she has a stateside sister in California’s Kreayshawn: another over-styled and undernourished, ‘swagger’-obsessed hipster rap wannabe with a nasal delivery and penchant for oversized gold jewellery. Gucci Gucci is her attempt at sending up the shallow, plastic girls glamourised in Hip Hop and RnB but ends up as a massive lesson in hypocrisy and questionable S.T.Is, ‘Got the swag and it’s pumpin’ out my ovaries.’ (That’s an actual lyric.) www.kreayshawn.tumblr.com

BIN: One Direction What Makes You Beautiful

The beautiful little boys of One Direction have inevitably been sullied and manipulated by the hungry hands of the corporate music industry and been groomed and grown from a cute but promising young ragtag harmony group with an interesting range of cover versions (Kids In America, anyone?!) into a vapid collection of Next wearing, uninspired tween pop-mongers who will be the topic of every 13 year-olds Facebook chat until another Rebecca Black comes along. www.onedirectionmusic.com

BURN: DOM Family Of Love EP

Despite their convoluted history and subsequent secrecy, whimsical synth lovers DOM managed to get themselves signed up by Astralwerks, joining the ranks of Kylie, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, but despite being friends with the big boys now, they haven’t left behind the dreamy soundscapes of previous releases but have expanded things, taking inspiration from 80s pop and apparently Mariah Carey but with the five tracks coming to rest somewhere just on the good side of cheesy. www.wearedom.com

Music Review One Liners

James Lynch

BURN: Marcus Foster I Was Broken

This heavily string laden and overly emotional ballad from folk crooner Marcus Foster wouldn’t be out of place being trumpeted from Gary Barlow’s Mancunian mouth hole but it’s Foster’s heartfelt, raspy and raw voice that turns this from just another elder statesman boy band album filler to something quite affecting, so it’s unsurprising that he has helped out on the Twilight soundtracks and been compared to Rod Stewart, minus the leopard print leggings and mullet… for now. www.myspace.com/marcusfoster

BOOM: Spankrock Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar

Despite the rather bleak message they are delivering, XXXChange and MC Spankrock still bring the raucous party on their second album as they charge head first into a 13-track mess of fuzz-laden, genre blending beats and sharp, fast lyrical nonsense smattered with filth and profanity. With help from Boys Noize Mark Ronson, Diplo and Santigold, Spankrock are most definitely back, so get your dirty high-tops on and hit the club ‘cos shit’s about to go down! www.spankrock.net

BOOM: Blood Orange Coastal Grooves

Blood Orange is the new solo project of one Dev Hynes, previously the guitarist of Test Icicles and more recently the winsome wordsmith known as Lightspeed Champion, Hynes has proven that he is capable of reinventing himself at will, like a cool black Madonna but without the questionable taste in leotards, Coastal Grooves comes after his relocation to Brooklyn and has a definite taste of American synth pop and surf rock to it but still lets Hynes’ delicate song writing shine through. www.myspace.com/bloodorangeforever

NT YO WE WA

Think you know a fair bit about music? Don’t really know anything other than that you love it? Well we want your mix tapes. 6 tracks, a sentence in explanation for each and a title is all you need to send us. Tracks either need to be all sound Cloud searchable or all You Tube searchable. One or the other. Our favourites will go online each Thursday as a new regular ready for the new website launch. Email mixtapes to : contributions.jack@gmail.com

Bluey Robinson words : Laura Hills | images : Jim Lincoln | styling: Sarita Morales

There’s been a dull hype around Bluey Robinson for some time now. I say dull, not because his talent isn’t bright enough to make it something more but because for a singer with so many fans, both in the industry and out of it, he deserves a lot more. Having previously worked with the likes of Labrinth, toured with Tinie Tempah and Justin Bieber (don’t judge him on that one just yet) and counts the likes of Ed Sheeran and Willow Smith as his friends you’d expect a lot more people to know a lot more about him.

When we meet Bluey (yes that is his real name) in East London for our photo shoot and interview his manager Zeus explains more, ‘we didn’t want to over expose him too early on. He’s been getting a lot of attention but that’s because he hasn’t been thrown in people’s faces. He’s the type of artist people discover and that means he’ll be around for a lot longer,’ he tells me as Bluey poses like a

pro in front of the camera. Born in Sweden but raised in London Bluey grew up listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marin Gaye and The Jackson 5 and with a passion for acting – he’s previously starred as Simba in the West End version of The Lion King and played Billy Jackson in EastEnders for one episode – it stands to good reason that the showbiz industry would eventually

welcome him to their helm. We caught up with the man himself shortly before the release of his second single, Coming Back on 30th October to discuss acting, becoming a Youtube hit how he overcame his doubts about signing to a major record label… ‘I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know that this was what I wanted to do,’ smiles Bluey in response to a question

about why he first got in to music. ‘I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember and no one has ever told me that I’m not good at it so I guess I knew that one day I could make a future out of music,’ he says. Growing up in various areas of South and North London with his Swedish mother and British born father, Bluey would listen to Motown tracks including songs by The Jackson 5, a band that would later

inspire him to get in to the music industry. ‘Michael Jackson was my inspiration, I wanted to be just like him… I still do,’ he tells me. ‘As I got a bit older I started listening to slightly rockier stuff like Muse, Queen and The Beatles but I’ve always had a love for that old school sound and I think you can hear that in the music I’m making today. It’s kind of pop music over the top of an old school vibe… Whatever that means!’

Before setting out on the road to becoming a musician it looked as if acting might have ended up being his career of choice. After taking dance classes during his lunch breaks at school Bluey ended up auditioning for the role of the young Simba in the (then new) West End production of The Lion King. He found himself getting down to the last audition but narrowly missing out to someone with more experience.

‘While I was at the audition my mum got chatting to a lady whose sister ran an acting school and a talent agency. I ended up going to some of her classes and she took me on as a client,’ says Bluey. What followed were several auditions, an appearance in EastEnders and finally bagging the role he’d started out wanting when The Lion King found itself recasting. ‘I’ve always loved acting, I was constantly playing lead parts in school productions but music is where my real passion lies and acting just didn’t give me the same thrill so I told my agent I was quitting to concentrate on my singing career and I haven’t looked back since.’ Now aged 23 Bluey is beginning to make waves in his own right as a singer. Having previously been a member of a band at school Bluey decided to go it alone as a solo singer, ‘I was devastated when my band broke up,’ he says. ‘I even had a bit of a cry. But in hindsight it was probably a blessing in disguise because it forced me to do it on my own, it was like fate or something because I had no other choice but to try and make it as a solo singer.’ After a gentle push from a family friend to start writing his own songs – ‘My mum’s friend asked me why I didn’t write any of my own songs and I didn’t have an answer so the next day I picked up a pen and wrote my very first song’ – it wasn’t too long before he started to gain the attention of producers who wanted to work with him. Working with a producer who went under the name of HeatWave Productions Bluey would jump on the bus at weekends to record songs at the producers house in Bow. ‘We ended up releasing a few of the songs we made on MSN and by Bluetoothing them to random people’s phones and I found I was getting a really good reaction which was amazing. Then I met my manager Zeus and began to really work hard at making it at a musician,’ says Bluey. ‘It’s funny, I’ve always had this enormous self belief that music was what I was meant to do and so it was never an option to not make it in this industry.’ At the time Bluey was hanging out with his, then unheard of group of friends also hoping to get in to the industry, the likes of Ed Sheeran, Labrinth and Yasmin, and just like a lot of them he used the internet as a tool to generate hype around him and his music. ‘I began filming videos of myself singing on tube platforms and on trains in London, Paris and New York and uploaded them to Youtube. After a while people began to pick up on them and that’s when things started changing for me,’ he remembers. ‘I tried to make the videos a bit more fun that the types of things other people were doing and it got A&Rs and a few industry types talking. I kept the amount of live shows I was doing to a minimum too so that when I did perform there was more of a

buzz around me and eventually I began having meetings with record labels and I ended up singing to Sony Records in April 2010.’ Despite the fact he is now signed to one of the world’s biggest labels Bluey was originally skeptical about signing to anyone at all. ‘I had it in my head that all record labels were shady and I used to be quite adamant that I’d never sign to one but when I was offered the deal with Sony it was too good to be true, I’d already built myself up a solid fan base and proved to myself that I could get my records played on stations like Kiss and 1Xtra so the time felt right,’ he says. ‘I am so proud to see the people I grew up with musically doing well for themselves too, it’s nice that it’s happened to us all at pretty much the same time. I went to Ed’s [Sheeran] album launch the other day and it was such a good feeling to see him doing so well for himself. I think we’re proving just how important it is for an artist to build up a name for themselves before getting signed. Labels have become much

‘I think we’re proving just how important it is for an artist to build up a name for themselves before getting signed’

lazier and they can’t afford to put as much money in to acts as they used to so when they sign you they don’t want to have to work too hard on you. It makes you less of a risk if you already have material and a stable fan base behind you.’ Since signing on the dotted line at Sony Records Bluey has released his first single, Showgirl and gone on the road supporting both Tinie Tempah and the American teen-sensation everyone loves to hate (unless you’re a prepubescent girl) Justin Bieber. ‘Initially I was really worried that people would look down on me for going on the Justin Bieber tour,’ he says. ‘It’s fashionable to hate him but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that offered me to play on the stages of the biggest venues in Europe. Who would say no to that?’ The exposure opened him up to a whole new level of fans with people taking to his Twitter and Facebook pages to share their thoughts on his performance (all positive before you wonder) he also made himself a few celebrity fans in the form of Will Smith and his family. ‘Willow Smith was also on the tour so I met Will and Jada Pinkett Smith backstage a few times. They’re really lovely and I still speak to Willow and her cousin – who was one of the backing dancers – from time to time. Willow became like a little sister to me when we were on tour,’ says Bluey.

To be coming out now at a time when the music market is saturated by male musicians from both here in the UK and the States means that Bluey has his work cut out to get himself noticed. So what does he thing is the key to being a success? ‘Writing songs that have longevity,’ he says. ‘And I think I’ve worked out the formula to making songs last a long time. You need to be honest then people can relate to it. It’s funny though, sometimes I’m a bit too sentimental over the concepts of my songs because I want it to mean the same thing to me as it does to the people who hear it but that isn’t always the case. I definitely think I’m getting better at writing songs now though but I’m still trying to work out how to write a song that will end up being a classic. I’ll get there in the end though.’ And with the persistence and drive this young singer seems to have, I imagine he probably will. Songs – A lot of my songs mean a different thing to me than they do to the people who hear them. Sometimes I’m a bit sentimental about the concepts and they can end up meaning a lot to me but for some reason that’s not always how the masses hear them. I write about girls and relationships, of course I do, but some of the songs on the album are things I think about like the 4th dimension and other mad concepts and other bits are just about the feeling of being happy and being out with my friends. I like to make people happy and make music that makes them want to dance and feel good and to do that you don’t constantly have to be deep you can brighten peoples moods with catchy lyrics that they can sing along to with their friends. Logevity comes from writing something that’s honest. There’s definitely a formula to writing a song that could be a classic but I’m still learning what that is. You never really know what will touch people. There’s some songs I’ve recorded and not been that happy with but I’ll put them out and a whole bunch of people will tell me that it’s their favourite song. I’m still learning, hopefully one day I’ll work that out. The type of music I’ve made has changed over the years. I used to sing lots of RnB soul and when I went solo in the beginning I was very much RnB, not because that’s what I wanted to do necessarily but that’s what people expected from me so I did it but I quickly got board because it was the same concepts over and over again. So I started delving into old school sounds and things that made me happy and that’s where I found my sound that I then mused with a more modern sound. Really and truly though I want to be a chamillion, I want to be able to change with whatever music I want to make, jump in to any genre and fit because to stay singing one

type of music is really boring to me. I just want to be free, you know? The album is pretty much finished, I have 12 tracks right now that I feel really good about but I have to run it past my management and label and stuff first because now I’m signed everyone has to have an input. I;ve been working on it for 3 years, I started it with Labrinth and it’s come a long way. I feel really happy about it. I’m excited man. I moved to London when I was 3 months old, my mum’s Swedish by dad’s from Trinidad but born in England. I’ve been singing most of my life and was always really in to Motown so that influences my music. As I got older I got in to slightly rockier stuff like Muse, Queen, The Beatles so my tastes are quite varied so my musics influenced by all of that stuff. My music has quite an old school feel to it, whatever that really means, kind of retro but I try to make the kind of music I would like to hear on the radio. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know this was what I wanted to do. I’ve been singing since the age of three and no

ones ever told me that I’m not good so I guess I always thought that one day I could make a career out of it. I’ve had a belief in myself from really early on that music is what I should be doing. I started writing songs in a funny way when I was younger with my sister that we’d make up dances to then show my mum but after that I didn’t start writing again until I was about 15 when one of my mum’s friends, who knew I enjoyed singing, asked me why I didn’t write my own songs. I didn’t have an answer so the next day I picked up a pen and started writing what would turn out to be my first song, It’s Over. Shortly after that I started a group with some of my friends from school and we’d write together and practice together all the time. I was always in school plays, I played the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, I was one of the T Birds in Grease and I played the boxer in Bugsy Malone so I was always performing in some way or another. When my group broke up I had no choice but to go solo, it was like fate or something. Things can be quite long when you’re

signed, people take forever to make decisions and one big thing I’ve learnt is you really have to push the label to do something with you because a lot of time artists get signed then shelved because the label can’t work out what to do with them. You have to make them work for you and want to do something because you’re about to blow up. Most of my friends now are involved in the industry in some way but we were all up and coming at the same time. So people like Labrinth, Master Shortie, Ed Sheeran, Yasmin they’re all people I’ve been friends with for a good four years but it wasn’t like any of them were in a position to give me any advise because they weren’t signed themselves. It’s wicked that we’ve all come out around the same time. I was at Ed’s album launch last night and it’s such a nice feeling that we’ve all built it up together. Collabs – I’m looking to do something with Ed when the time is right, I’d like to work with Dot Rotton, I think he’s sick and I’d like to do something with him one day. I’ll always work with Labrinth because I think he’s a genious.

KYLA LA GRANGE words : Laura Hills | images : Harriet Turney

When I meet Kyla La Grange at the Patisserie Valerie in Oxford Street she’s feeling a little under the weather. Wrapped up in a winter coat (even though it’s a relatively sunny day) and with a chunky scarf around her neck she sips on a cup of tea as she tells me how she’s stressing out that she won’t be better in time for one of the busiest weeks in her career so far, a week that includes a performance for Vogue magazine’s Fashion Night Out event (which saw Bond Street being closed off for her live outdoor performance), a performance at Bestival, interviews and of course a photo shoot with Who’s Jack magazine.

‘It’s been a crazy few months,’ she tells me. ‘I’ve been working on finishing off my first album, doing as many live shows as I can and still trying to find time to relax and see my friends.’ At 25 years old Kyla has recently moved back in to her parents Watford home – ‘I tried living further in to London but I got a bit bored of it and so I decided to move back home for a while’ – a home where she spent many of her younger years furiously penning songs as a way to let out the emotions she was feeling at the time. ‘Music has always been a big release for me, it’s the way I let out my feelings and emotions so that they don’t overwhelm me. Even if I write a song that no one ever hears that’s OK with me because I always manage to get something out of each song I write. Each one is a bit of catharsis for me,’ says Kyla. Unlike many other singers we’ve interviewed in the past who will have us believe that music is the only career they’ve ever considered Kyla had a more sensible approach. Heading off to Cambridge University after school and working a variety of bit-jobs to earn herself some money including behind a bar, as a secretary and as a charity worker collection money on the streets. ‘It wasn’t always my plan to make singing my career. To start with I never thought I was good enough. I’ve never really had that cold ambition or drive that some people have. When I was younger I was interested in so many things that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as my career,’ explains Kyla. ‘I grew up in Watford, it’s hardly the most creative place so there wasn’t really any opportunities to play live music nights or to push myself musically. However I moved away to for Uni everything changed. University was like a fresh break for me, a time to push my music further

and to perform in front of people, I had a new confidence because I was performing in front of people I’d never met before.’ The more live music nights she played, the more attention she was getting and soon she built herself up a solid group of music makers, lovers and insiders. ‘When I left Uni and was trying to work out what to do next it suddenly dawned on me just how much time I actually spent writing or performing music and it was at that point that I decided to give it a go.’ Still working part time to bring in extra cash Kyla began booking studio time and working with a range of producers on some official tracks. ‘Whenever new singers ask me for advise I always say that the best thing to do is just to play as many gigs as possible. I’ve met so many great people at live music nights including producers who have been happy to work with me for free just because they like the music I’m making. I’m not going to lie, I’ve played some pretty awful gigs in my life, the worst ones being the ones I’ve played in local pubs, full of lads who aren’t there to watch me sing but because they want to get drunk but even the bad gigs are worth playing because if you make even one extra fan out of it then it’s worth it.’ Today Kyla has built herself up a steady and every growing fan base, putting the fear in to more established female singers who are being forced to look over their shoulders with every new song Kyla releases. She’s also won fans in the music press too with the likes of The Guardian describing her music as music ‘that makes your heart swell’ and theregoesthefear.com praising her ‘infectious beats and hauntingly beautiful vocals’, however it hasn’t always been praise and sold out gigs for Kyla. ‘I’ve written a lot of bad tracks in my

time,’ she laughs. ‘I remember recording my first demo and being really proud of myself but then having no idea what to do with it. Luckily I was coming out at a time when Myspace could still help musicians so I sent it round to anyone I thought would listen including other musicians, record labels, A&Rs literally anyone. Gradually people started coming back to me but they all came back to the same point, I’d only recorded two songs that were actually worth people’s time listening to. A lot of people in the music industry talk a lot of shit but the best advise I’ve ever been given was to go home, carry on writing and start making music that were good enough to release and so I did just that and I’m so glad I did because it really helped me craft my sound.’ Despite initial interest from some big name record labels Kyla has stuck to her guns and released all her music through independent labels, most recently pushing singles and her new album through Chess Club Records after meeting the labels co-founder Will at a music night. ‘I used to see him at lots of different gigs so we got to know each other that way and he asked me to release some tracks with them. I don’t have a lot of respect for the way major record labels do things so Chess Club is the perfect place for me. I’d much rather go through an independent because they nurture an artists creativity. I honestly think that if you can build up a fan base on your own or with a smaller label behind you, you end up in a much, much better position as an artist.’ Although there is an obvious new-found interest in Kyla which has only grown following a string of successful festival performances this summer Kyla says she’s scared of getting caught up in the

hype that can so easily encase a new singer. ‘I’ve had a lot of nice press from people like Vogue, The Guardian and The Independent which is great but I’m very wary about getting too excited by it. I think it’s very easy for there to be too much hype around a new artist and when that happens people can become bored of them very easily and I don’t want that to happen to me,’ explains Kyla. ‘The only thing I let myself get truly excited by is when people come up to me after shows and tell me that my songs mean something to them. That’s what matters to me.’ Writing songs that document the lows of relationships is Kyla’s area of specialty, songs like her last single Been Better in which she sings of being influenced by a former lover, a theme that will continue it’s way on to

her new album which is due for release in early 2012. ‘I only know how to write a song when I’m sad or torn between two situations, that’s the only time I can find the inspiration to write.

inspiration for a song walking down the street before and when that happens I stand in a corner and sing the idea into my phone. I must look absolutely mental to other people.’

I sometimes think I should write about something that’s more important than me and my relationships but I honestly don’t know how to,’ she says. The result of which is an album crammed with songs about relationship break ups and the uncertainty of beginning a new one.

Now the album is nearing completion what can people expect from it? ‘The other stuff I’ve released is a pretty good bench mark for what the album will sound like, I’m excited to get it out there and see what people think but unlike a lot of artists I don’t really have a master plan of how I want the next stage of my career to play out. If I did I think I’d go mad. I’m just going to keep playing around with the music, sit back and hope something good happens next.’

‘The albums written about two people in particular and most of the tracks were written in my bedroom, late at night when something or someone has upset me. I know that makes me sound like an emotional teenager but it’s true, if I get an idea I have to write it down. I’ve found

DAVE’s Band Picks

(terrible title for a column.) words: David Macnamara

Eagulls

I’ve had Eagulls on the blog a few times in the past, their debut single Council Flat Blues was a feedback tinged, punk stompalong that owed as much to every band that ever crawled from under the pavement of the Meat-packing district and stepped sheepishly into the sunlight, as it did to, well......The Libertines. Possessed was a track that came out a few weeks ago, and it’s got a bit of The Buzzcocks about it, but also reminds me of Interpol, without of course, the general disdain and ill-feeling I normally reserve for that band. It’s British rock guitar music that you sit and listen to and think “....I could do that.” before you quickly realise it takes a little bit more, to be that little bit good. Leeds is proving to be a bit of hotbed and Eagulls are the fire.....that is keeping that bed....erm....warm? Check out Eagulls at www.soundcloud.com/eagulls

IceAge

IceAge put out a record last week and it’s basically just been a procession of 9’s, 4 stars and 2 thumbs up ever since then. Coming over to this land, from Copenhagen, stealing our hearts and cheating us out of our benefits, these Danes make a racket, and judging by the pictures on their blog, like to fuck themselves up on stage too. But, and this goes for Eagulls too, who they tour with this month, while it’s all well and good being a “punk” do they mean it? What is their message? If it’s nihilism and the rest, then maybe we’ve heard it all before, but if they’ve got something real to say, and can find the right way to say it then we might just have here something really special. The world needs something now to make the angry, yet inspired, rather than angry and dressed in new sportswear. www.iceagecopenhagen.blogspot.com

Fear Of Men

If you left a guitar, a bass and a set of drums on a desert island, with 3 boys and a girl stranded, no matter what nationality they were, the sounds they would make would sound something like Fear Of Men. Given that exact equation, this is simply the best possible result. It’s airy, teenage, dreamy, ambitious, melodic and is the result of the same beautiful union that has happened in garages and in common rooms the world over for the last 75 years. I mean try your best not to imagine this island paradise descending into some kind of horrific, rape-y Lord Of The Flies experiment gone wrong, and just bask in the wonder of a bass line, playing kiss chase with a snare and high hat, while FoM’s singer coos in the background. And I should also point out, there’s 2 girls in the band, but you all knew that, didn’t you? Oh look they are on Bandcamp! www.fearofmen.bandcamp.com

Friends

Have you looked at E4 lately? It’s just the test card….. nothing more. Basically since they stopped showing 6 idiots, with perfect teeth, whinge about their perfect lives, they’ve got nothing! Well fret not dear reader, because not only will this joke be repeated like so many other terrible US sitcoms, but also the band Friends are here to fill the void. Their second single I’m His Girl is funkily bassline’d, sexily vocalised, and literally makes me want to thrust my pelvic muscles. Repeatedly. That’s some potent gear right there. Hailing from Brooklyn, there’s a surprise, all 5 of these people are 7 times cooler than your best friend. With nicknames like ‘Are there more drink tickets’, No Rules’ and ‘I’ll be in the greenroom,’ it sounds like they know how to rock the shit out of ……well shit. That, I applaud. It’s something that I feel doesn’t get done nearly enough these days. www.afriendszone.com

Gigs This Month Kyla La Grange 13.10.11 : Hoxton Bar And Kitchen

To Kill A King

Zulu Winter

Zulu Winter are a band that nominally comes in 5 separate pieces. They rest their heads in the East of London town, and they are about to release their debut single Never Leave on Double Denim Records on the 7th day of November. It’s a slice of Doctor Who-meets The Klaxons sort of thing that basically will make the world sit up and pay notice. As introductions go, it’s pretty much like your daughter bringing her new boyfriend home and finding out it’s actually me. Yes, *that* impressive. Of the other tracks that they have floating around that internet thingy, Silver Tongue is very much in the same vein as Never Leave, but slightly more dreamy, and a bit more direct. Still excellent, in fact I nearly prefer it. It’s times like these when you think to yourself “…fuck, I’m going to love this band, until the day I die.” I’ll let you tell your daughter that it’s never going to work out. Sadface :-( www.soundcloud.com/zulu-winter

09.10.11 : The Jericho, Oxford 10.10.11 : Rescue Rooms, Nottingham 11.10.11 : Night and Day Cafe, Manchester 12.10.11 : Oran Mor, Glasgow 14.10.11 : HMV Institute, Birmingham 15.10.11 : The Fleece, Bristol

Eagulls 22.10.11 : SWN Festival, Cardiff

Zulu Winter 22.10.11 : SWN Festival, Cardiff 01.11.11 : CAMP Basement, London 12.11.11 : Constellations Festival, Leeds 24.11.11 : Brixton Academy, London w/ Friendly Fires

Random Impulse 06.10.11 : 02 Academy, Sheffield 11.10.11 : 02 Academy, Birmingham 27.10.11 : 02 Academy Islington 12.11.11 : O2 Academy Leicester

Marcus Foster

astions

Now that Frank Carter is no longer of Gallows, will they be as vital again? Is there a gap in the market for an angry bunch of kids to step in and take over the mosh-pits of the UK. This band is called Bastions, and I reckon they might just be the answer you head-bangin’ mo’ fo’s have been asking. They may be a bit heavier than the normal fare, but then again just what the hell is normal fare on these pages? An alternative hardcore 4 piece from Wales, described by someone who knows a thing or two about these things as “...The most evil band in the UK, bar none. The band everyone is too scared to take out.” They rock harder than cooled molten magna, the kind of band that makes you want to punch stuff. Hard. Right in the face. Repeatedly. Check out more from Bastions at www.facebook.com/bstns

07.10.11 : The Leadmill, Sheffield 08.10.11 : O2 ABC Glasgow 09.10.11 : Manchester Academy 3, Manchester 11.10.11 : Concorde 2, Brighton 13.10.11 : O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London 19.10.11 : O2 Academy Oxford

Benjamin Francis Leftwich 01.10.11 : Leadmill, Sheffield 03.10.11 : Arts Centre, Norwich 04.10.11 : Glee Club, Nottingham

WEBSITES To Kill A King : www.myspace.com/tokillakinguk Bluey Robinson : www.blueyrobinson.com Kyla La Grange : www.kylalagrange.com Grouplove : www.grouplovemusic.com

Group Love words : Joss Meek | images : Ben Quinton

Staring into each others eyes whilst jumping around like ecstatic children and head banging excessively, Grouplove’s Hannah and Christian are on stage at XOYO, East London, sound checking for the launch event for Never Trust A Happy Song, the bands debut album. Around a couple, whose love constantly leaks into the atmosphere affecting and encouraging the positive energy of the room, are three other equally passionate band members: Sean, Andrew and Ryan. Andrew is sporting a paisley blazer and an enormous grin. Sean, the only Brit in the otherwise all American ensemble, is wearing a large rimmed black hat, swaying with his bass and ever so often, leaping into the air in excitement as the music reaches its climax.

Ryan, who appears to wear the trousers in the band, is banging away at the drums so violently that his tongue keeps appearing and looking as though it could touch his nose. He has a look of hunger in his eye – a shining desire to make every song sound it’s absolute best. ‘Lost in the music’ is a phrase that can certainly be applied to this particular band. So much so in fact, that during the gig, Ryan breaks straight through his snare drum and has to repair it on stage, mid set, while his band mates strike up an impromptu acoustic number, with solely French lyrics. Whacky, unpredictable, fanatical and euphoric, this is Grouplove.

The band’s love for their music is overwhelmingly obvious. Anyone can see that they have an incredibly strong friendship, governed by loyalty and passion and their live performance reflects this. They adore what they are doing and every one of their songs sends them all into a fit of hair whipping, grinning, ecstasy. Their publicist tells me she believes that Grouplove ‘make sense’ live. When people see them perform, ‘it all becomes clear.’ Who’s Jack set out to find this clarity. Who are Grouplove? After watching a supremely energetic and impressive, guitar-ridden sound check, I was introduced to the band, all of

who were smiling and bouncing off the walls with excitement at the impending live show. Ryan was leading the group, making decisions on when and where to have their photograph taken. He held an air of both power and knowledge that allowed the rest of the band to trust him completely. Sean volunteered to talk to Who’s Jack. Walking outside the venue so that he could smoke a cigarette, we stood under a nearby shop front for shelter from the rain. He immediately tells me something that seems to prey on his mind telling me that Grouplove are sometimes frustrated by their status as a ‘Californian happy

band.’ The album title reflects this frustration, Never Trust A Happy Song suggests that this band have a darker side; they’re not what they seem. This certainly came across while talking to Sean. My assumptions of a somewhat cheesy ‘happy’ American band, who defined themselves as a ‘friendship’ and nothing more, were proved wrong by Sean’s down to earth, realistic and frankly endearing conversation. ‘We like to describe ourselves as best friends skydiving. That’s a phrase that was coined recently’, he tells me. This couldn’t ring more true; I recall the childlike energy of the band on stage during their sound check. ‘Never trust a happy song is kind of tongue in cheek. We want to show everyone there’s more to us than they think.’ Sheltering from the incessant rain in the dark, grey evening of our English Summer, Sean began to tell me how amazing it was to be able to create music outdoors in Greece, where the band met. ‘You can walk around – it changes your thought process.’ He did, however, acknowledge that ‘some bands come from the back end of nowhere, where there’s f*ck all to do. That’s also inspiring. It creates a bit of angst in your music – something we hope we’ve still got in our own tunes.’ Creating music in both LA and Greece was a completely different experience and when asked, the band found it hard to pick which location inspired them the most. One thing is certain: they don’t want to be a band that 53 creates only happy music. They want to enjoy every moment of what they play and they want to look and feel their happiest. But they also want their audience to seek the hidden subtleties of angst. They want us to understand their opinions on the harsh realities of the world, which are hidden beneath their happy-go-lucky exterior. Grouplove are heavily influenced by 90’s music: Nirvana and The Pixies to name a few. But bands such as The Beatles and Neil Young also affect their creative process. These influences really solidify the constant battle Grouplove seems to have over their desire for a balance between angst and happiness. Perhaps the band are somewhat confused, or for want of a better and fairer description, free and unrestricted, in their musical beliefs. Maintaining that every song had a totally different approach and sound, and yet still holds onto their overall ‘Grouplove’ sound, one starts to wonder whether the Group Love friendship is what really drives their musical process. Sean confirms: ‘We’re heavily influenced by our friendship. We want every song to sound different but we also want it to sound like Grouplove and for people to recognise that it’s us on the radio.’ Their recognisable sound is further echoed in their unique videos. Having made only three videos so far, the band has chosen the same director: Jordan

Bahat, a childhood friend of Ryan’s. The band play a large role in the creative process of their videos and Hannah has ‘a lot to do with making costumes.’ One of their most striking videos is Colours, a miniature film of excitement and tension, whereby Hannah and Christian’s love is almost screaming to the viewers, without ever actually being confirmed. I questioned Sean on whether the band were intentionally trying to make the couple’s love an enormous part of their bands presence. He simply replied: ‘I don’t know, it’s not intentional, it’s unavoidable. All I know is Grouplove would be a funny name if it was just four guys!’ Of course, they realise that the concept of Grouplove only truly works because Hannah is standing at the front of the stage and enveloping both the band and the crowd in a strong, sexualized female presence. Dressed head to toe black, see-through lace, and sporting a gold leotard beneath, Hannah dances, simultaneously hypnotizing the audience with her (yes we’re going to say it), incredibly peachy derrière! Playing live is obviously a favourite past time for such an energetic band. Sean tells us that they’ve played in London a few times before and as such, the UK has become like home to the whole band having previously played at the Camden Barfly, KOKO, and even Shepherds Bush

Hannah is standing at the front of the stage and enveloping both the band and the crowd in a strong, sexualized female presence. Empire, Sean was ecstatic to return to his hometown for the XOYO gig. ‘London’s really like home for all of us. England is the first country that really took notice of us and [British label] Chess Club Records are the first label we released anything through so we love playing here. We love it here in general! We love LA too but London can sometimes be quite like LA.’ Sean continued to reminisce about his time as a Londoner, living in Shepherds Bush and working behind the bar at the Empire. Little did he know that years later, he would be performing on the stage he had so desperately coveted while pouring pints of Red Stripe for punters. Grouplove are especially relevant on the festival scene. Their energy is perfect for a sunny afternoon at Glastonbury and they, like most people, believe that Glastonbury is the best festival in the world: ‘Not necessarily for the music, just for the fact that it’s a whole world of it’s own, with little villages!’ Indeed festival

success seems to have driven the band so far in their career. Without having released their debut album, they’ve already played all over Europe and America, featuring on the lineup for festivals such as Reading and Leeds, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands. The crowds are devouring every moment of Grouplove’s live shows, singing the lyrics to their songs as if they were already veterans on the music scene. We asked Sean what his favourite colour was but restricted his choice to the lyrics of ‘Colours’, ‘Black, Green, Brown, Blue, Yellow, Violets, Red?’ He immediately told us that Black was his choice but he wouldn’t dream of trying to answer for the rest of his fellow band mates. ‘I would never second guess those guys.’ The band is so close and yet, they’re individuals, each with an obviously unique and solid personality. The strength of their music appears to have been created by an astounding level of perfection. They’re friends but individuals, happy but troubled, British and American. This allows them to be loved by their fans, in much the same way as they love each other. Those in the front row were looking at Hannah and Christian with absolute admiration, singing every word and smiling constantly. So the fans already love them, they love each other and the music, but do they know what love is? We put Sean on the spot and asked for his definition. After a 55 lot of ‘uhming and ahhing’, he quietly revealed: ‘Errr, love is what your own definition is. Love is…. within.’ Who’s Jack responded with ‘Love is indefinable’, to which he gratefully said: ‘ I like that, see, you guys answered it much better than I could.’ Who’s Jack wanted to know what was next for Grouplove, a band who have already climbed onto the top rungs of the music industry even though they’ve yet to release their first record. With the album now released in both the UK and America, where do they hope to go from here? With a cheeky grin on his face and a quick tip of his hat, Sean eagerly told us: ‘We just want to get bigger and better. We’ve played more festivals than we ever thought we’d be able to. We’ve had a taste of it this year and next year we want to creep up the line up, maybe headline – who knows! We’re just going to keep going and keep enjoying what we’re doing.’ It is obvious that Group Love will continue as long as their love and friendship continues. Without the passion, without the energy, they won’t work. If that day ever comes, it will be because they’ve completed what they set out to achieve. ‘Suddenly a light appears inside my brain’ and it all becomes clear. Group Love make sense because they are indefinable.

P I C K OF THE MONTH MUSIC

Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Daughter On Tour We were pretty excited when we learnt that singer/ song writer Daughter (who we tipped as one of London’s best new acts to watch back in February) is heading out on the road this October as the support act for Benjamin Francis Leftwich. You can catch them playing the Union Chapel on 26th October. Head to www.myspace.com/ohdaughter to check out more music and to buy your tickets. You wont regret it.

PIAS Fundraiser At Favela Chic On 5 October Favela Chic will be holding a fundraising evening to make money for the main warehouse of the PIAS distribution group which was burned down during the riots which took place across the Capital in August. The night has been organised by the musician and producer DJ Richard Norris and will include performances from Ashley Beedle, Ross Allen, Pete Herbert and Justin Robertson. You can buy your tickets in advance from www.ticketweb.com.

Gruff Rhys Celebrates Tour With New App

Acts Announced For Bugged Out Weekender It might not be taking place until next January but the headline acts for the 17th Bugged Out Weekender have been announced. The event, which takes place at the Butlins Resort in Bognor Regis will include performances from Diplo, SBTRKT, Simian Mobile Disco, Chase & Status and Joy Orbison as well as several other cracking names. Tickets are already on sale from www.buggedout.net.

The former Super Furry Animals singer is heading out on a UK tour this month and to celebrate he’s released a brand new iPhone app. Taking inspiration from his new single, Whale Trail, the app sees players controlling a whale (named Willow) as he/she flies through the sky collecting colours and points. The app is voiced by Rhys himself. You can catch his live show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 12th October and you can download the app from www.gruffrhys.com.

Soulwaxmas 2011 Extra Date Soulwax/2manydjs have announced another date for their Soulwaxmas event this December.

Facebook Gets Musical For anyone who has been hiding under a rock for the last month it has been announced that Facebook will now team up with a number of partners to stream music on the social network. Spotify, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Deezer, MOG, Rdio, Rhapsody and Vevoare all involved in the merge as well as Ticketmaster, StubHub and Eventbrite when it comes to ticketing, yep, Facebook’s there too.

JOBS

The DJs will play Brixton Academy on the 17th December due to huge demand for tickets. This will be their fifth annual Soulwaxmas which has quickly become a staple for both London and European club and events calendars. The other date is Friday 16th December which runs from 9pm-3am with tickets on sale now here setting you back £26.50 a head. If you want more Soulwax then we will remind you of Radio Soulwax which launched earlier this summer after 2 years of development. You can get Radio Soulwax as an app or online which provided 24 new and exclusive themed albums, each containing a one hour mix of exclusive and uniquely created audio and visual content. It’s so good in fact that it has been nominated for two awards at this years BT Digital Music Awards.

Head of Singing and Music – The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Seeking an experienced part-time Head of Singing and Music for leading, organising, developing and implementing the work of the Singing and Music Department in line with the Academy’s artistic vision. Email your CV to hr@lamda.org.uk. Controller - BBC Radio 1 & 1 Xtra Looking for an outstanding and inspirational leader with a passion to maintain and build their reputation for quality and creativity. Apply via www.bbc.co.uk/careers.

FILM.

We Need To Talk About Kevin

FILM OCTOBER Any month in which a film is out that features the actor Peter Mullan is probably going to be a good month. And so it is with some joy that we enter leafy October, during which the Paddy Considine directed Tyrannosaur is available for your viewing pleasure. You might know Peter Mullan from NEDS, or you might know him from Children of Men, as the unhinged guard Syd. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been in a lot of other good films and TV too. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your go-toguy if you need an angry Scotsman these days it seems. We like him.

words : Mark Williams

e also like film festivals

and it feels like a while since we’ve swung the spotlight on a such an

Cowboys and Aliens

event, so do take a look at the website for the BFI London Film Festival 2011 (www.bfi.org.uk/lff), which runs from 12th - 27th October and will be showcasing the best in world cinema, new British cinema, emerging film making talent... well actually they showcase quite a lot of good

In A Better World

stuff really.

So, without further ado, let’s dive head first into October’s cinematic delights like overexcited children diving into a pit of brightly coloured plastic balls. But play nicely or it will all end in tears.

Midnight in Paris (7th Oct) www.sonyclassics.com/midnightinparis

Tyrannosaur (7th Oct) www.film4.com/minisite/tyrannosaur

driver in a particularly poor province on the border of China,

Woody Allen is back as director of his 41st film in a whimsical story of an engaged couple who are visiting Paris. The couple are played by Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams, as Gil and Inez, and they are in Paris with Inez’s parents.

From veteran director Woody Allen, to debut director Paddy Considine, a man who is best known as an actor from his Shane Meadows collaborations, such as Dead Man’s Shoes and his recent role in Submarine. Considine has gone behind the camera this time to direct Peter Mullan as Joseph, a man whose life seems to be stuck in a cycle of self destructive rage.

North Korea and Russia. Such a job is not conducive to saving the kind of money he needs to get to his wife in South Korea. He plays Mah-Jong for money to try and raise some extra cash, but only gets himself into further debt, at which point crime boss Myun-ga who offers him a way to make the money he needs.

Gil is a frustrated writer who dreams of writing the kind of novel that Ernest Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald would have written in their Parisian days. To find inspiration he likes to go off walking the streets of Paris on his own at night, but when he does this with increasing regularity, returning with implausible stories of where he’s been, his fiancée starts to become concerned. The cast includes Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen and even France’s first lady, Carla Bruni, as a museum guide. To elaborate too much on the characters played by Brody and Bates would give too much of the plot away, so suffice to say that Midnight in Paris is a beautiful and imaginative work from a director who shows few signs of slowing down in his autumn years.

Joseph meets a Christian charity shop worker called Hannah who provides a calming influence on him. A relationship develops between the two, but as things progress it turns out that Hannah has some fairly major skeletons in her closet too. Expect a powerful social drama, and an examination of the potentially devastating effects of uncontrolled human rage. The Yellow Sea (21st Oct) www.imdb. com/title/tt1230385 The Yellow Sea is a South Korean thriller, in which a man named Gu-nam is in desperate need of money, so that he can travel to see his wife, whom he hasn’t heard from in six months. The problem is that he scrapes a meagre living as a cab

A contract killing, for money. South Korean films that make it into UK cinemas rarely disappoint and The Yellow Sea looks like a moody, well put-together crime-doesn’t-pay story. POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (14th Oct) www.sonyclassics.com/pomwonderfulpresentsthegreatestmovieeversold Ever been watching a film and found yourself wondering whether the barrage of not-so-subtle product placement is really necessary? One of the last Brosnan Bond films, The World Is Not Enough, is one that sticks in the memory as pretty relentless in its needless close ups of expensive watches and car badges. But it’s not just the Americans, the recent Swedish Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Super 8

The Salt Of Life

61 trilogy was at it too. Every time someone opened up their macbook, there was the Apple logo staring you in the face. Morgan Spurlock is clearly a man who has had his fill of this kind of advertising in films and TV shows, and so has decided to make a documentary about it. But this documentary about advertising and product placement is going to be entirely funded by advertising and product placement. Hence the film is sponsored by the juice company POM Wonderful (among a host of other American brand names). We join Morgan as he amiably goes about the business of drumming up commercial support for the film, having meetings with suited advertising executives and even promising someone on the phone that he could add nudity to the film if it will get their sponsorship dollars rolling in! We Need To Talk About Kevin (21st Oct) www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460 Starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly as the parents of the titular Kevin, this is a tense melodrama, told from the perspective of a mother who is recounting the life of her son, leading up

to him shooting fellow students in a high-school massacre. With the knowledge of what he has already done in mind, we are given a detailed portrait of a troubled child who becomes a sociopathic adolescent, and shows little remorse for any of the actions he takes in life which impact upon others. Tilda Swinton’s performance is of the kind of calibre that we, the audience, have almost come to expect from her over the years. It says a lot about her ability as an actress that we almost take for granted now that she will be great in virtually anything we see her in. Thinking about it, she’s like the anti-Danny Dyer. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (26th Oct) www.us.movie.tintin.com One of Belgium’s most famous exports, the young TinTin gets an animated outing at the cinema this month, courtesy of Steven Spielberg. Except it’s not straightforward animation, it’s that clever motion-capture one where they get real people to do some acting, running, jumping and such, and then they animate over the top of it.

The storyline is primarily a good old-fashioned treasure-hunt, and TinTin is played by Jamie Bell, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost playing Thompson and Thompson, the clueless twin detectives. This is a big-budget, 3D, family friendly spectacular, so if you have any whippersnappers in need of an afternoon’s entertainment, TinTin ought to keep ‘em quiet for a couple of hours. The Help (28th Oct) www.thehelpmovie.com Set in 1960s Mississippi, The Help follows a young white woman named Skeeter Phelan who, through her friendship with two black maids, begins a secret writing project which questions the archaic, segregationist views of many of the townsfolk. Some winning performances underline a poignant story of changing times coupled with the slower to change attitudes of certain members of society.

While London burned for a second night we watched The Last Boy Scout in the flat words: Joe West | image : Sarah Penney

The previous evening had been spent hunched forward on the sofa, absorbing the horrors of the riots via the detached vulgarity of rolling news. I shouted advice at the talking heads and listened as they deciphered the localised chaos. It felt like a general election night, with commentators knitting a narrative and interviewing nervous politicians while the nation stayed up far past its bed time to observe. That week my mind transferred the mild stress of the events to my gut, forming a figurative ligature that noosed around some vital tubing, with each new report of violence a tug to tighten it. Unexpected pangs of guilt and other congested emotions fluttered bird-like inside me. Tony Scott and Bruce Willis did their best to argue that there are some worlds in which the bad guys are bad, the good guys good and the contorted complexity of the middle ground non-existent. They were not convincing in early August 2011. What galled me most were not the anarchic scenes themselves but the flurry of messages gleefully flashed on Facebook from vague Uni acquaintances and school friends who in a different generation I would have lost touch with years ago. An alarming number insisted that they could solve the problems with nothing but an AK-47 and a sense of righteous indignation. Words like ‘chav’ and ‘scum’ rolled with ease from the digital mouthpiece of social media, used mostly by relatively affluent people living miles from the white-hot core of the action. I could imagine the spittle gathering in the corners of their mouths as they typed, unaware that their anger was mingling with and becoming distorted by carnal glee at the apparent breakdown of socially acceptable behaviour that might legitimise their desires to murder someone from the working classes. My tolerance snapped and I did all I could,

unfriending six people in one indignant purge. I think that showed them. The ulcerous conundrum I’ve been tonguing ever since centres around the public reaction to the riots, not their cause. This is because the latter is a lattice that can’t be unpicked without flirting with hypocrisy. The former is much easier to discuss because it deals with fundamental questions such as what should you do if your community or family is threatened or, perhaps more importantly, how do you act if the institutions built to protect us are seemingly incapable of perpetuating peace and order? There are some who insist on looking to pop culture as a motivation for the looting, so why not examine cinema and see whether the regular promotion of vigilante justice on the silver screen is an equal and opposite force in modern society? Why not indeed. Let’s give it a go. There are almost too many movie vigilantes to count. Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Mad Max in Mad Max, and that racist bloke with broken glasses in Falling Down. But British cinema has had its own loose cannons rolling dangerously about on the deck and dealing with issues closer to home. Two years ago Michael Caine starred in Harry Brown, a film that was heralded as the UK’s answer to Gran Torino. In it Caine plays the title role, an ex-Royal Marine living on a South London council estate which has become an intimidating, violent place. Roaming youth gangs own the streets and you can’t venture into an underpass without risking a mugging or worse. Brown is an ageing widower, meandering directionless in the final years of his life and taking small comfort from his one living friend, Leonard. Leonard’s death at the hands of youngsters followed by an impotent investigation attempt by the police causes

Brown to seek vengeance in his own way. He falls back on his army training and beings killing pimps, drug dealers and miscreants. His actions encourage the police to get heavy-handed in their crime prevention tactics because they believe they are dealing with heightened gang violence, not an old man slaughtering his way towards primal justice. The neighbourhood descends into an antiauthoritarian riot during the film’s climax, creating an atmosphere that is eerily prescient of August’s events. The police continue to show their incompetence in dealing with the 63 disturbances and Harry Brown is ultimately vindicated in his one-man mission against the uneducated gangster oiks. By the film’s conclusion he is able to stumble unscathed into the underpass of the future like a wrinkly cowboy. And all it took for him to regain his confidence was a spot of assassination. The problem with Harry Brown is that it presents an entirely uncomplicated world view. There is very obviously a divide between the older, ‘better’ generation as represented by Brown, who benefitted from a character-forming experience in the army, and the younger, ‘worse’ generation who roam the streets on scooters, devoid of empathy for the people they intimidate, injure and kill. It takes a totalitarian approach to solving social unrest and neglects to hold responsible its protagonist for his own unlawful actions which are as violent, torturous and demonic as those of the people he persecutes. The only excuse given is that the police cannot intervene in any meaningful way, thus necessitating Brown’s rampage. However, the rozzers are presented as ill-equipped to the point of total implausibility, pushing Harry Brown further into the realm of idiotic revenge fantasy also occupied by the likes of Nick Love’s Outlaw.

BER

OCTO

Brown could just go around gunning down every single first born hooded youth like some kind of cockney King Herod, but it wouldn’t work as a movie. This damages any legitimate, relevant statement it might otherwise make. Of course what Harry Brown ultimately reveals itself to be is not a film bent on making a political comment but rather an above-average thriller which operates along established narrative lines. The crime problem it depicts is not one endemic within modern society, but rather has its source within a single king pin controlling the neighbourhood. This is necessary as it is the only way the film can come to a satisfying conclusion in an hour and 40 minutes. Of course Brown could just go around gunning down every single first born hooded youth like some kind of cockney King Herod, but it wouldn’t work as a movie. It’s just a shame that the impact of references to happy slapping, rioting and police inadequacies is sacrificed to ensure commercial viability and narrative conclusiveness. The ideal counterpoint to Harry Brown is Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes. It too features an ex-military protagonist with a score to settle, but this time the setting is a small town in the Peak District, not an urban tower block. Paddy Considine plays Richard, an army veteran returned from an unnamed war to take revenge on a group of drug dealing men who terrorised his disabled younger brother Anthony. What marks Richard’s vigilantism out is that he takes no real relish in exacting his vengeance. Harry Brown has a world to improve and a system to set right, but Richard is driven to kill despite the fact that his brother was a ‘fucking embarrassment’ to him. Here the vigilante is a grotesque monster of a man, battered into shape by armed conflict and returned to rural England where his murderous skills make it impossible for him to reintegrate with a society that disgusts him. It’s a kitchen sink thriller, if such a thing exists, with dialogue that manages to deal with the idiosyncrasies of normal life yet exude an undercurrent of menace. It’s almost Pintereqsue in the combination of humour, mundane domesticity and uncanny animalistic savagery.

While forms of established authority are often the subject of contempt in other vigilante flicks, Dead Man’s Shoes has a distinct lack of law enforcement. Instead the responsibilities of care and protection exist within the social group that faces Richard’s wrath. Anthony’s tormenters were a family of friends with a complex hierarchy based on bullying and an income sourced from drugs. They neglected their obligations towards Anthony, which Richard perceives as having violated a code that runs deeper than the legal system can account for. The message that Dead Man’s Shoes leaves us with is that is no difference in actively participating in wanton acts of cruelty and passively allowing them to occur. Richard’s final victim, a family man who did not prevent Anthony’s poor treatment, is not killed but is instead forced to confront the monster which his inaction created and slay it. Richard is the most self-aware vigilante of the bunch, accepting that his actions are selfish, brutish and illegitimate. Thus the film concludes that both the revenger and the revengees are in the wrong. What distances real life vigilantes who emerged during the riots from their movie counterparts is that there was no individual striking out alone for a cause. Instead we had mob mentality, thinly veiled nationalism and collective bravery, or more accurately bravado, counterbalancing solo cowardice. This echoes almost exactly the motivations behind the rioters themselves. The one figure who took a movie vigilante-like stance was Tariq Jahan, a man who acted alone and stood up for his principles, succeeding in getting his message across where the police might have failed. Less than 24 hours after his son was murdered in a hit and run during the riots in Birmingham he was on national news appealing for calm, doing much to douse the flames of tension. It’s not a story that’s sexy or violent enough for the cinema. But it is as visceral and affecting as any Oscar-worthy performance.

DVD ses a e l e R

Rastamouse: The Crucial Plan & Other Stories (3rd Oct)

OK, so this is a kid’s cartoon, but Rastamouse is genius, and I wish there had been Rastamouse when I was 10.

The Insatiable Moon (3rd Oct)

Low-budget tale from New Zealand of a man named Arthur who believes he is the son of God.

Senna (10th Oct)

Powerful documentary about the life of Formula One driver Ayrton Senna

Tree of Life (31st Oct)

Palm d’Or prize winner starring Brad Bitt and Sean Penn

X-Men: First Class (31st Oct)

Goes back to the beginnings of the X-Men, for some Cold War mutant action. words : Mark Williams

65 BOO! Ha, got you. You were totally scared. However, if it takes more than the word ‘boo’ printed on the pages of a magazine to frighten you, you’re in luck, because October is the month of Halloween. Since man could first tell a scary story around the camp fire, we have all enjoyed tales of the spooky, the gruesome and the downright horrible. Some more than others admittedly. I once had a housemate who couldn’t watch a particular scene in The Muppets Christmas Carol because it was too scary for her. Different strokes for different folks eh? Anyway, one of the best things you can do at Halloween is watch something a bit unsettling with some friends to see who’s a screamer and who is the one you’ll want to rely on when the zombies take over. So here’s a round up of ten top-notch, chilling horror films from around the world. >>>

Let The Right One In (2008, Sweden) One of the best and most subtle horrors of recent years, Let The Right One In is the story of Oskar, a 12 year old boy, who is bullied at school. A girl called Eli moves into the flat next door who is the same age as Oskar and they become friends. Or at least she appears to be the same age as Oskar, but in reality she is a bit older, as vampires tend to be. Luckily, Let The Right One In got in there with its adolescent vampire story just before Robert Pattison and his pals began the over-saturation of bloodsuckers at the cinema. It was, however, given a very swift Hollywood remake, called Let Me In, which was, to all intents and purposes a shot-for-shot re-hash and exercise in complete pointlessness.

Audition (1999, Japan) it’s not going to make anyone throw their popcorn ten feet in the air and scream in fright, but Nosferatu is an entertaining oldie nonetheless.

We Are What We Are (2010, Mexico) When a family of cannibals living in an impoverished area of Mexico lose their father, who up until now has been the main hunter-gatherer, they must learn to feed themselves. As cannibals it’s not really possible to just pop down the road to Sainsbury’s and grab a corpse out of the freezer section, so instead, the three children come to the conclusion that they must learn to hunt for themselves.

Nosferatu (1922, Germany)

Ring (1998, Japan)

Nosferatu was made nearly 90 years ago, but is still an incredibly iconic rendition of the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The only reason it was not called Dracula is because the film studio could not get the rights to the book at the time. It is not only a great early example of the traditional horror film, but also a seminal film of the German Expressionist movement.

Japan went through a real horror hey-day in the late nineties and early noughties, and Ring is perhaps one of the best remembered of a fine crop, for those who have seen it. In Ring, a videotape is discovered that will cause the viewer to die within seven days of watching it. (That’s nothing, if you ever see Johnny English you’ll haemorrhage inside and die before the film even ends). Kids are found dead with their faces frozen in abject terror, and reporter Reiko Asakawa investigates the curse, only to find herself with seven days to live.

Made during the silent film era, its star is Max Schreck as Count Orlok, who creeps and glides his way menacingly about the place. OK, so by modern horror standards,

Directed by the not too far from legendary Takashi Miike, Audition is a really creepy, gets-under-your-skin chiller that will leave you shuddering at the phrase ‘kiri kiri kiri kiri.’ Ryo Ishibashi is a middle-aged man who has lost his wife. A film producer friend of his suggests that they should find him a new girlfriend by holding a film audition for young female actresses. Obviously not telling the actresses that they are in fact auditioning for the chance to be wooed by a slightly creepy divorcee, who clearly didn’t think speed dating might have been a better first step. The chosen woman of Ryo’s dreams gradually becomes the woman of his nightmares though. After all, her flat is furnished with only a phone and a sack containing a man with no tongue or feet. Not exactly something you’d find in the Ideal Homes exhibition.

words : Mark Williams

Rec (2007, Spain)

Wolf Creek (2005, Australia)

A very nasty infection in a Spanish apartment block is the order of the day in Rec. The film itself came out of nowhere in much the same manner as many of its infected inhabitants, and makes for a nerve-jangling roller-coaster of a movie. Like most horror films, this is definitely best watched with friends, with the lights off and the curtains closed.

Enough to make anyone think twice before setting out on a road trip across the Australian outback. Three backpackers find that their car won’t start after they’ve been to visit a crater, but luckily a weirdo in a pickup truck is able to lend a hand and tow them back to his remote, arse-end of nowhere abode. Wolf Creek is an intensely horrible film in places, and certainly has an element of Texas Chainsaw Massacre about it. Perhaps if Crocodile Dundee had the murderous tendencies of Leatherface...

Black Sheep (2007, New Zealand) More of a horror-comedy, than a straightforward horror, Black Sheep involves a farmer who has genetically engineered a new breed of sheep which is going to make him rich. However, there have been a few wrong’uns bred along the way to success, and it is one of these wrong’uns that gets out and spreads the disease among the other sheep. Imagine a zombie infection film where the zombies are sheep and you’re getting there.

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, South Korea) A chilling, family-based tale, based on the Korean folk tale ‘Janghwa Hongryeon jeon’, in which two daughters who endure a cruel and wicked stepmother. Su-mi and Su-yeon are the two daughters here, one of which is leading the hostilities against their stepmother Eun-joo, while the other begins to suspect her sister might have a hint of the supernatural about her.

Twists in the story and an ever-present sense of the unknown make for a exciting scare-fest.

Scanners (1981, Canada) Our Canadian offering to the horror canon comes from the master of body-horror, David Cronenberg. Scanners are 67 telekenetic beings who have learnt to read peoples minds, but the Scanners is best known in film-geek circles for containing the first full-on exploding head-shot! Which is an accolade certainly worthy of mention, although why did it take until 1981 to see a person’s head get blown up on screen? If this is sort of question one asks oneself of an evening, then you’ve probably seen too many horror films already, and now that you’ve reached the end of this article, you should go and watch something light and fluffy with CGI talking animals to redress the balance of your mind.

ith Ridley Scott making a movie based on the board game Monopoly and Rhianna turning some big guns on invading aliens in the forthcoming Battleship! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to play a game of Fantasy Filmmaking and I take as my theme - Stupid Board Games Movies.

I AM JACKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GAME OF LIFE

24 FRAMES

A SECOND

Some popular table top pastimes are well suited to a big screen adaptation; Trivial Pursuit in the style of a classic comedy caper featuring an all-star cast dashing around the world solving riddles would have legs, Buckaroo on the other hand should be shot.

Would you pay to see Spielberg pull the Mouse Trap? Or Tom Cruise race the Domino Rally? Would you want to watch Judi Dench and Seth Rogen suffer the wrath of the Hungry, Hungry Hippos? Would you watch any of these? And be careful how you answer - they could be coming to a screen near you soon. Guess Who? Gunned down by a mystery assailant the beauty queen Legs Manoeuvre whispers an enigmatic code word ‘Theora’ before dying. This code word leads detectives to uncover a network of shadow assassins, 24 names, 24 faces. It could be any of them - but only one shot Legs to death in the face. Recently bereaved widow and crack detective Alexa Christopher throws herself into the case, and quickly gets results. Trace DNA confirms the assailant is male. That’s 12 faces wiped off the board instantly. 12 innocent faces, 12 guilty as hell. As the mystery assassin strikes two more times Alexa (Naomi Watts) scouts the crime scene and discovers an ivory beard comb at one and a bloodied glasses case at the other. More faces are eliminated, narrowing down her list of suspects with every kill. Suddenly she is pulled from the case as the Chief (Ving Rhames) claims she’s getting too close, trying to avenge her husband’s death. Bristling with conflicting emotions, Alexa must find a way to eliminate every possible assassin and face the murderer once and for all in the ultimate game of deduction and skill. For kids. Legs Manoeuvre will be played by Molly Ringwald. The Family Chess A grand saga of a family riding the wave of industrial revolution and ruin in Nineteenth century England. Split in two factions by the villainous twins Rook and Knight, this saga of familial manoeuvring and social penetration sprawls across an entire century. Opposing the dark machinations of Rook and Knight the

ostracised family members work together to bring down their carefully constructed plan of attack. The resulting battle, played out in the courts and parlours of society’s finest, has consequences which rip through the patchwork of the English countryside, and will have reverberations for generations of The Family Chess. And for us all. Starring Peter Weller as Verheoven Chess, the dark patriarch - ‘Your move, creep.’ Christian Bale as the villainous Rook - ‘I’ve taken your Bishop! He and I are done. Professionally.’ Colin Farrell as Knight - ‘You are ALL pawns in my game. A-ha ha ha ha! A-ha ha ha ha! Etc’ Monopoly Roll the dice, make your play, take a chance...with death. Paul Bettany and Simon Callow are the famous Twain and Son, a father and son haberdashers in London’s glorious Mayfair. They celebrate their success in winning the contract to make the Queen’s socks with a jolly trip to the West End. In high spirits they are lured to a dive bar in darkest Chinatown and are there joined by a mysterious blonde, Community Chest, who plies them with copious amounts of Earl Grey tea laced with the darkest of rums. In their jubilation the father and son team slowly drift into unconsciousness to the rousing chorus of cheers from well wishers. Waking the next morning on a wall in the Old Kent Road Bettany’s Clift Twain has no memory of how he arrived there. A picture of his father tied to a huge iron over an enormous ironing board is pinned to his lapel with the message Somewhere, In London.... Thus begins the journey of Clift Twain to rescue his father, arriving at Whitechapel to find a man willing to be bribed into revealing the location of the Angel in Islington, Twain arrives there to find another clue and so on. It is a heart-stopping journey of discovery and deceit through the treacherous streets of

London as Clint races to save his father and somehow scrape together the £200 ransom money. David Fincher’s Snakes and Ladders Shock and Horror on The Stock Exchange! The oldest Bank in , AVBBI, suffers an extremely hostile takeover and the offices and corridors become battlegrounds for new and old staff. Determined to secure the most influential positions the seditious new board sack the CEO and demote his board members to the lower floors. Turmoil! Outrage! Yikes! Enter Emily Farley, a plucky young banker with a string of unsuccessful relationships and lacklustre jobs behind her, determined to make a fresh start in AVBBI. On her first day she is singled out by the new order as a beacon of new blood in the organisation. Invited to lunch by the new CEO she climbs the corporate ladder extremely quickly, and is offered a string of new jobs and positions. Only when her competitors start to disappear in the most mysterious of circumstance does she begin to suspect all is not quite right. Teaming up with a young ex-board member (now a security guard) Emily spies on a late night board meeting and discovers to her horror that the new owners of AVBBI are an alien conglomerate planning the Earth’s destruction. When they are alone the Board members rip off their human masks to reveal serpentine features and slither and snarl as they plot to downsize the human race, with no chance of an outplacement programme. Emily must use her childhood kung fu training to overcome the hordes of corporate snakes and take back the financial reins from these evil bad aliens. Emily and Security Guy must kick outside the box to save themselves and the world and us and then the world again. Blimey. The ultimate Credit Crunch! The ultimate game of Tower Defence! Work is a game, whose rules have just been changed. With Will Ferrel and Andie MacDowell.

words : Jon Lyus www.heyuguys.co.uk

P I C K OF THE MONTH

THE GOOD

NEWS

Get ready to be scared again: It’s Halloween this month so it makes sense that there will be at least one really scary release this month and our favourite comes in the form of Paranormal 3. For a film franchise that doesn’t really differ in story line we’re surprised that it can keep scaring us. But it does. Every time.

FILM

BFI Film Festival

The 55th BFI Film Festival kicks off this month with it’s usual host of screenings, events and film A listers. Running from 12 – 27 October the festival will include screenings of George Clooneys latest film The Ides of March as well as 10 screenings of live action and animated shorts, most of which will be presented by their directors, cast members and crews. If you want to get in on the action head to Film on the Square which will be playing some of the most anticipated titles from around the world at the Vue cinema in the West End. Also keep an eye on the Who’s Jack website as we’ll have writers down there the whole time and we’ll also be announcing details of a special event we’ll be putting on with film website Heyuguys and Jameson Whiskey. www.bfi.org.uk/lff

The Future According To Films

The London based design company Tremulant have come up with a pretty cool infographic that tells us what will happen in the future if the predictions made in films are correct. Over 70 films have been used to make the time line which includes things such as in 2017 we can expect everybody to have remote control bodies (as seen in Surrogate) and by the time 2033 comes about we will have run out of water and kangaroos will be able to talk (as seen in Tank Girl). It’s pretty funny stuff and makes for scary reading if even half of these predictions are true. Head to www.tremulantdesign.tumblr.com to check it out for yourself.

The Swell Season finally arrives: For those of you who don’t remember there was a film released in 2007 called Once which followed the story of two unnamed musicians, it received huge recognition and proved to be a hit on the film festival circuit. This month a documentary called The Swell Season will be released which documents the real life relationship of the two musicians who go under the name The Swell Season for their performances. If the trailers anything to go by it’ll be a lovely watch. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters Makes Its Return: 80s classic Ghostbusters is due to make its return to the big screen this month with special screenings taking place at cinemas across the UK. Relive the story of three University psychologists who lose their research grant and decide to start their own company called Ghost Busters.

THE BAD In Time’s Delayed Release: Ever since it’s amazing first trailer landed online we’ve been looking forward to seeing In Time however now the films release looks like it will be delayed following a law suit which has been filed by author and screenwriter Harlan Ellison. Ellison is claiming that the film, which stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, is a copy of his story, ‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman. Either way we hope they sort it out quickly so we can get back to looking forward to its release. Friends, The Rip Off Is Back: Given the recent flop that was Scream 5 Courtney Cox and David Arquette have been scrabbling around for something to make them some extra dollar and they seem to have found it in the new comedy series they are working on, Ten Years. Ten Years will following the ‘highs and lows’ of a group of friends over a 10 year period. Sounds exactly like a poor mans version of Friends to us. Footloose The Remake: It wasn’t a brilliant film the first time around so why a rehashed version made for the 2011 audience will be any better we’re not quite sure. In short we shant be wasting our money in bothering to find out.

Jurassic Park Returns Everyone’s favourite dinosaur film Jurassic Park has been given a bit of a revamp having been re-mastered for it’s Blu-Ray DVD launch on 24 October. Before then by way of celebration for the new release the trilogy is being shown at selected cinemas across the UK reminding us that great films don’t need any 3D or SFX effects to still be really bloody good.

JOBS

TV Producer – International Design and Production Agency Looking for producers to join the busy TV department to work closely with account teams producing and delivering TV commercials to global markets. Apply at www.jobs.guardian.co.uk Producer/Interviewer – Vox Pops International Looking for someone to manage client projects on a day to day basis including taking briefs, interviewing consumers, filming and selecting clips and quotes for final edits. Apply at info@voxpops.com

ART.

ss : e c o r The P McCallum Kelly

I have always had a fascination with the natural world. As a child, I would collect insects and snakes - I even had a pet crawfish that my mother helped me catch on a fishing trip to [insert place], at the same time we caught leeches for my brother (he kept them in a jar in his room, and we would feed them cubes of beef).

Whilst in grade school, my class went on trips to Norm Elder’s house. Norm Elder was the celebrated Canadian explorer with a passion for exotic animals – his house was a shrine to thousands of objects collected from his travels as well as home to a number of exotic animals (both alive and stuffed). These trips affected me very deeply and I believe that they were significant in helping to foster my interests in taxidermy and the natural world at quite a young age. As an artist, my process of working isn’t something that is formulaic, as each piece that I conceive of will inevitably have its own requirements and processes that are needed to create it. Much of my creative process comes from my collections. I have been collecting oddities including, but not limited to, taxidermy for at least 10 years now. I will find something that I find interesting or unusual and will buy

it. I have had pieces in my studio and my house for years before deciding what I want to do to transform it and incorporate it into my work. But there are also, conversely, objects that I come across when I know instantly what I want to do with them. Recently, I have even conceived a story that I wanted to tell or a feeling that I have wanted to create before going out and searching for the right animal to accomplish that. Hopefully this will come through when people look at the art at my exhibition Plumage & Paradise at Shizaru. At the end of the day, regardless of which process I use to come up with a narrative, I feel like the basis of my practice is that of a storyteller, although not in the traditional sense. I use a combination of found objects and precious metals as well as pearls, gemstones and leathers

to create situations that are both powerful and ambiguous, asking my viewer to fill in the blanks with their own tales. With Plumage & Paradise I hope to challenge conceptions of the idyllic through a series of pieces that explore ornamental trappings and intangible notions of the afterlife. I am not interested in sharing my experiences with people but more to create objects that have the power of drawing stories out of people, of evoking personal memories and emotions in an interactive way – visitors to the exhibition at Shizaru are invited to participate in a story that embraces outward presentation, display and attraction (as illustrated in the ‘plumage’ of the birds with their ornamental saddles) as well as taking them on a darker, subjective journey to hidden internal landscapes that challenge initial perceptions.’ www.kellymccallum.com

Ohako Exhibition

TER T O P ART S Davidson r Eleano

Taekwondo, sushi, Yohji Yamamoto, thundersticks, Sony, tea, Hello Kitty, rice, Comme des Garcons, Pokemon, bonzai trees, Nintendo, toilet paper, wheelbarrows, MP3 players and Jackie Chan. All have come from Central Asia, or more specifically, China, Korea and Japan, and all of which have come to have a huge influence in Britain. Especially Jackie Chan. It is surprising then, that it is only in the last ten years that we have seen a rise in contemporary asian art within the British art market. Galleries such Hanmi Gallery, based in London and Seoul, specialise in contemporary Korean art and use London as a platform to showcase Korean art, raising its international

profile. This demonstrates a recognition of the need to promote Asian art to the West. Making up for lost time, Asian art is developing its reputation at an ever increasing rate, its acceptance being confirmed by Ai Weiwei’s success at the Tate Modern last year with his sunflower seeds. Specialist galleries such as Hanmi Gallery have popped up all over London exhibiting exclusively contemporary asian work, giving it its own platform to showcase the talents of this lesser known artistic region. What appears to set contemporary Asian art apart from its western equivalents is the evident pride in the heritage,

craftsmanship and skill of their predecessors. Unlike contemporary western art which makes all attempts to distance itself from artistic movements of the past, with works that break as many conventional boundaries as possible, Asian art has embraced tradition to create an ancient/contemporary hybrid. The effect is foreign yet familiar. The ICN Gallery, which opened last month is one such gallery dedicated to Asian art. Its opening show ‘Ohako’ embodies this combination of old and new, using the traditional form of the Japanese tea box as a starting point for artists to manipulate and create something new. Translating as ‘one’s best skill’, the ‘Ohako’ show

comprises of thirty participating artists who were invited to demonstrate their skills in varying artforms including manga art, textiles and architecture and transform the traditional tea box into an innovative expression of creativity. The results are rich in variety - Ruisuke Fukahori’s Real? Goldfish demonstrates an ancient craft of painting, the degree of illusion is such that questions of perception, expectations and reality are all addressed. Kazushi Kobayashi creates his work from paper cut and folded into three-dimensional forms to question the transience of life and the prevalence of mythical stories. He previously worked at Issey Miyake’s design studio and the influence of innovative design and reinterpretation of form shines through in

his work. The ICN as an establishment demonstrates the combination of old and new as much as the work it houses. Situated in the cultural hub of Shoreditch, the ICN aims to present Asian art in the forthcoming, innovative environment that it deserves and will show a wide range of art from traditional craft to Pop art. Equally, the ICN also celebrates the sense of Asian tradition, with an authentic Japanese cafe attached offering a wide selection of Shizuoka teas, with regular masterclasses on tea culture by a tea specialist. Why it has taken so long for Asian art to make a mark on the British art scene is unknown, but its recent acceleration dem-

onstrates its potential, perhaps to the extent of Japanese fashion in its respective realm, proven by the success of Yohji Yamamoto’s show at the V&A over the summer. The key seems to be its roots in heritage which give it substance, an element which is sometimes lacking in western contemporary art. The reinterpretation and manipulation of tradition creates something logical and natural, new and exciting.

What: Ohako Exhibition Where: The ICN Gallery, 96 Leonard Street London EC2A 4RH Running until: 17th October www.icn-global.com

: ocess r P e Th ack H a m Em My art-works symbolise femininity and strength and being ‘at one’ with nature and our environment through the eye-catching art of painting my muse into wallpaper design and hand painted canvas. I create my art works over 8-15 hours as my model stands in front of the canvas or Florence Broadhurst Wallpaper designs. The camera is set up approximately 5 metres from the model and is my main viewpoint and reference for the ‘blend’. I start at the shoulders and use them as my first reference. I then follow down the arms and interior torso, finishing on the face. I don’t use projection or stencils as I work completely freehand, I prefer this result due to the artwork retaining its own quirks and feel, it creates movement on the body, rather than a very flat look. There is minimal retouching, you can see the paint strokes and slight cracking from movement, which I really love and proves the artwork genuine. I choose models that have a soft face and optimistic personality. This is really important for me as the works are very demanding and the model is feeling mostly pain by the time I start shooting the final result. I started photographing my own works in the beginning of 2008, this is an very satisfying process for me, I don’t see myself as a photographer, this is just a means to the end art-work, I am a mulit-media artist, the concept and final visual is what I am focussing on, rather than any part of the artwork. I am really enjoying the canvas painting process, especially with the new works from my ‘Utopia Collection’; there is a certain sense of freedom with this style. I choose to use animals and birds within my works, most are alive and being held, I have started working with taxidermy for my very small birds as they are difficult to hold in large studios (they get lost in the rafters!). The deer in my new collection is also taxidermy as they are very flighty. I am very aware that the animal or bird featured should be comfortable with the process, it is important to me and the message I feel I am projecting, that they are not harmed in any way. I am so inspired by Dali, I love the way his artwork translated in so many ways from art to the commercial side of Vogue covers and jewellery, I hope that my art can inspire in a similar way. Other inspirations are nature and the sea, I find ideas come so freely when you can just stop and immerse yourself in nature. Other cultures are also an inspiration and fashion, I love the amazing prints and shapes that are currently on trend, so beautiful. I am really excited to be exhibiting my work at Art London with Rebecca Hossack Gallery, my dreams are coming true after a lot of hard work as well as fun! www.emmahackartist.com

words: Amie Corry

Young and Talented

CAMBERWELL COLLEGE OF ART POSTGRADUATE SHOW Amie Corry trotts down to the Camberwell College of Art Postgraduate Show to find out what this years graduates have to offer the art world. What she found was very promising indeed.

Venturing into the chaos of any graduate show, it is often easy to feel disorientated by the maze of mixed mediums, lights, sounds and the odd dash of pretension. This year’s Camberwell postgraduate show, however, was visually accosting in the way that fresh, new and uninhibited artists excel at and displayed a wealth of exciting talent. The work was enjoyably inversive: in one room a ‘feminist disco’ raged defiantly despite a distinct lack of ravers, a series of plaster black balloons were skillfully attached to the ceiling of the cubicles in the female toilet, half way down a seemingly innocuous corridor I became aware of a disturbing laughter which I was relieved to attribute to Alexander Small’s sound installations, and not my inner monologue. In another area ensnared within Sara Willett’s pitch-black installation strewn with a cobweb of rope two American students were to be found trying desperately to look intellectually absorbed, as opposed to lost. A student show always provides a welcome counterpoint to the moneyed exhibitions of the commercial or publicly funded galleries. The strong pieces stand out all the more defiantly, and the lack of slick curation lends a dangerous (literally in some cases) and exciting feel to proceedings. For example Willett’s installation retains a sense of integrity perhaps lacking in Anthony Gormley’s debilitating Blind Light because there are no restrictions or limits, no health and safety attendants in American Apparel t-shirts overseeing proceedings. Instead you feel genuinely awkward and incapacitated and the work serves to do what good art should, take you outside of yourself for a minute or two. There were a couple of predictable digs at the Olympics, one even managing to involve an obligatory McDonalds reference. The sad decline of genuinely meaningful student protest means that these stabs at political subversion are often the less interesting works. Regardless of the validity of the criticism, it is difficult to look meaningfully at an Olympics logo emblazoned with the golden M’s and feel that it says anything particularly new or

interesting about consumerist society or capitalism. That is not to say it’s not important for students to retain a means of expressing protestation at society’s pitfalls through art, it’s just hard to do it really convincingly. That aside, choosing four highlights, taken from a broad spectrum of the disciplines on offer, proved pleasantly challenging.

enc C l l i W

Cenci’s work is that ever-elusive thing; extremely conceptual student work, which manages to be both intelligent and witty and avoids the honey trap of pretension. His work is a jumble of different sculptures, paintings and installations structured as a visual joke. Cenci states his work has, ‘been inspired by the absurdity of attempting to induce sublime experience and (has) often been highly repetitive, banal and ultimately impossible to realise.’ It is conceptually academic. He draws upon the postmodernist absorption with the sublime and the seeming clash between our reasonable reaction on encountering a sublime scene, which understands it is finite, and the inevitable subjective emotion which persuades that the scene viewed is actually infinite. As such, attempting to reproduce the sublime will lead to failure, an expression of this concern being minimalism. His Big Bang is a dodgy office fan rippling a wall of metal plaques more reminiscent of a 70s disco than the creation of our universe. My favourite piece, The Ark, is a small slightly sad wobbling box, which looks suspiciously like it might produce an irritable Psammead at any moment. The budget look of some of the work is clearly part of the carefully crafted joke.

Cenci lampoons a grand canon of artists who have failed to recognize the pitfalls of attempting to reproduce sublime experience. Gormley’s Event Horizon gets a nod, as does Friedrich’s romantic Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (aka. the pickled shark) is reduced to a polystyrene tower entitled, The Conceptual Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Lit from within, it smokes gently in a mildly alarming manner. Whilst this was undoubtedly intentional, the general look of the work encouraged a perceivable sense that this might have been a health and safety oversight, further adding to the humour of it all. Cenci’s criticism of the art world’s heroes/villains comes across as light-hearted and explorative, as opposed to bitter and scathing. Both Hirst and Gormley’s projects were undeniably colossal to the point of the conceptually unthinkable. The seeming logistical impossibility of preserving a tiger shark in a tank of formaldehyde proved no obstacle to Hirst’s ambition and Gormley succeeded in altering the landscape, if temporarily, of one of the world’s oldest cities. To my mind, Cenci is not ridiculing these grand efforts with contempt but instead endeavouring to discern where we can go from here. The work is witty and iconoclastic without being condescending. www.willcenci.com

De’ y o l l e h Ot tle r a H a Souz

Othello De’Souza-Hartley’s photographic work immediately stands out as being both beautifully executed and conceptually current. His project takes masculinity as its subject; questioning what it is today, and how men perceive their own sense of

pou

lip i h P e mon

Si masculinity. The visual answers seem to point to a latent crisis of identity. Phase one is a series of portraits of seminude males, all of whom exude an air of strange vulnerability. The artist explained that he didn’t want his subjects to pose, that they were supposed to be completely natural. The results, however, are affected: a man posing as a man standing naturally. In this vision, masculinity has become self-conscious and insecure. The second phase of the project is a close up film of a series of entertainingly awkward male subjects charged with just sitting. Their extreme discomfort, masquerading as boredom, at being asked to sit without purpose under observation is touchingly amusing. The final phase is the most compelling, comprising a series of self-portraits, the settings being areas of unadulterated urban masculinity: a barbers and a mechanic’s garage. The naked figure curled on the floor is shocking and strangely feminine surrounded by the machinations of a male world.

mass manufactured products unfashionably unaware of climate change. This coupled with a recession attitude to DIY has seen a renaissance in pottery, homemade furniture and knitting amongst others. No longer relegated to the favourite universal pastime of great aunts, the website Stitch ‘n Bitch now lists a worldwide canon of trendy knitting groups. That is not to say crafts are any longer equated with the cheap or unstylish. Next week marks the second London Design Festival’s Contemporary Craft Fair (Old Spitalfields Market, 22-28 September, londondesignfestival.com). The V & A’s current Power of Making (www.vam.ac.uk) show in partnership with the Crafts Council claims to encourage visitors to ‘consider the process of making, not just the results,’ and when amongst the results are to be found a life-size crocheted bear and a ceramic eye patch, one is perhaps reminded that the tendency towards the madcap is not entirely obsolete in the world of craft.

This beautifully executed vision of masculine identity as in crisis is taken from a heterosexual standpoint. The choice of the barber shop and the garage, both evoking cross-generational, family-run patriarchal arenas as settings for the artist to express his discomfort and insecurity about his male identity. However, the work should be seen as part of a broader artistic movement to explore the concept of gender as a construct (the group show, Transgression, at Vyner Street being an excellent example.) As a photographer who’s worked widely in the fashion industry, De Souza-Hartley is evidently extremely capable, but there is also a quiet thoughtfulness to these pieces which encourage the images to stay with you in a manner which marks him out as a strong artistic talent. www.othellodesouzahartley.com

As such, I was interested to see what the show would have to offer in this arena. Thankfully, Patel’s work clearly exemplifies the new design orientated direction craft has taken. It is a clean and visually stunning ode to traditional Indian making skills, the result of which turns out to be surprisingly modern. Patel’s work is satisfyingly neat and of an extremely high finish. He has taken Indian marriage as the inspiration for the table and chairs which constitute his piece. Craft in India is far more than an aesthetic pursuit, it can be religious and spiritual and Patel’s work is an expression of this. Intricate henna patterns adorn the table which is split at one end to create a splay of wood reminiscent of a turban. The chairs are woven with a deep vermillion, the traditional colour used to decorate a bride’s forehead, and groom’s turban. All materials used are inevitably eco friendly. It is not a functional furniture unit by any stretch. However, it is easy to see how the polished but unformulaic style could be readily translated into a Habitat (or equivalent… RIP) friendly formula. That is not to demean its artistic merit, but to place it within an ever-flourishing market which is making increasing room for ‘craft designs.’ www.arpanasti.com

Pate n a p r A

Patel describes himself as a ‘craft designer,’ and his work struck me as symptomatic of the increasing appreciation of crafts as an adjacent, rather than inferior, art form to fine art and design. From the shadows of a dodgily crocheted tea cosy, London has embraced crafts. Perhaps an inevitable by-product of the increasing distaste for

Often a pleasant but slightly uninspiring area of a graduate show, the standard of the Illustration work at Camberwell this year was unusually high. As always the prevalence of aesthetically pleasing drawings, allowed a welcome respite after the battering of the sometimes exhausting ambitions of the Fine Art students. Yet there was substance as well as style. Amongst the most promising were Simone Philippou’s fanciful woodcuts. Philippou’s woodcut and screen print illustrations relay the story of a friendship formed between a lonely schoolgirl and a flamingo, against the backdrop of a Cypriot salt lake apparently famed for its migrating birds. The little blonde heroine finds solace from the disappointments of life as an outsider through flamingo shaped escapism. The traditional printmaking technique of woodblock printing is central to the charm of the images, facilitating the distinctive pallet of muted colours and 79 the expressiveness of the simple, though incredibly labour intensive, images. Throughout, Philippou incorporates a narrative of Greek text, interwoven with the imagery so that it appears less as foreign words, and more as a magical expression of some otherworldly communication. Whilst her work would make beautiful gift cards, it also has a deeper and potentially darker edge, in which singing frogs, neverending flocks of flamingos, lonely children, and a gentleman surrounded by hoards of personified glasses in a print entitled Take a Good Look at Yourself all rub shoulders. She would make an excellent children’s illustrator. The greatest of whom, Quentin Blake and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things are) amongst others, tap into a strange, dark area of the child psyche largely misunderstood by adults. Playing on the fantastical fears, dreams and insecurities of the young, Philippou’s images are both distinctive and poignant and deserve recognition. www.simonepea.com

P I C K OF THE MONTH ART

Frieze Art Fair Is Back

Islington Contemporary Art & Design Fair 2011 Continuing the fair theme this month the Islington Contemporary Art & Design be taking place throughout October and will act as a place for artists and designers to display and sell their work. Featuring work from photographers, illustrators, product designers, fashion designers and many more creative types the fair is bound to offer up something for everyone. Head to www.icadf.com for a full schedule of events.

Keen readers of Who’s Jack Online will remember that we were down at the Frieze Art Fair last year covering all the best goings on and this year will be no different. Kicking off on 13th October and running through until 16th Frieze will feature 170 of the most exciting, contemporary art galleries in the world as well as talks, specially commissioned artist projects and an artist led education schedule. Frieze takes place in Regents Park and you can get your tickets from www.friezeartfair.com.

We love Nedko Solakov

Deborah Turbeville At Donna Karan This month the infamous fashion designer Donna Karan will be showing a selection of photographs by the hugely influential fashion photographer Deborah Turbeville. Turbeville’s work has been praised for bridging the gap between commercial fashion and fine art photography and her work will be celebrated when a book of her peices entitled The Fashion Pictures is released by Rizzoli this month. Head to Donna Karan, 46 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2YW to check out the images.

JOBS

For some reason this Bulgarian born artist has so far passed us by until recently when we stumbled across him while reading about a retrospective that is being held of his work at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham. Solakov’s simple humour and love of writing strange things in even stranger places has gained our respect as one artist that we’re going to have our eye firmly on in the future.

Garrett And His Windoodles Another artist to be found in strange places is Garrett who has decided windows have been over looked. He has started a windoodles projects that is pretty self explanatory, doodles on windows that interact with the view outside. www.windoodles.tumblr. com

General Manager – Apiary Studios A part time position in a studio and exhibition space in Shoreditch. Email info@apiarystudios.org Art Editor – Net-a-porter.com Seeking a talented and inspiring Art Editor to oversee the increasing output of Marketing and Promotional material produced. Apply at www.changeworkknow.co.uk

LONDON.

-UP : MAKE ephens St Luke

So this month, it’s Halloween and we have come up with a couple of looks for the guys and ghouls who want to go the extra mile and dress up good. BAFTA nominated make-up artist Kate Benton, who has worked on such films as Clash of the Titans, Children of Men, and Love Actually, showed us how to achieve a horrifying zombie look. Kate met us at her shop in West London, PAM (Precious About Makeup), where there is a veritable treasure trove of all the products you will need for this look.

Something Wicked...

images : Jay McLaughlin make up : Kate Benton

First of all you need to take all the natural, healthy, colour out of the face. Kate used the Death Base from Ben Nye in Death Grey, £10.95, with a sponge. Avoid going round the eye area. You’ll get to that in a minute. Then Kate used a little bit of Pros aide, £11.75, to add a dead skin like texture around the lip area. You can also use eyelash glue Duo Adhesive, £9.95, for a similar effect. Just rub a small amount on, wait a bit, then rub it slightly until it peels.

Apply some loose skin with liquid latex. Attach with some lash glue, and paint it with some fake blood with the ProBlood Dripper £5.50. For that extra realistic look of skin texture, paint onto an orange, wait for it to dry then peel it off for realistic ‘pores’. Put this anywhere on the face, or on the neck for extra scare appeal. Finally, using the Ben Nye Death Wheel £16.50, paint on some popping veins around the temple and the neck using light feathery strokes with a small brush. Dab the base you first used over the top to make it look as if it’s under the skin.

Kate then used the Ben Nye Bruise Wheel, £11.25 lightly ‘Anywhere where there’s an orifice!’ around the nose and around the eyes. Kate’s tip is to stick to the reddy, purple hues to really make it look gory. Use an old lipstick, or eyeshadow to pop out the decay if you like. Keep going until you’re happy it looks sufficiently deathly! You can, at this stage also crunch up some Rice Krispies and attach that to the face with some eyelash glue for extra gory texture.

Finally, pop some Zombie contact lenses in (available from www.youknowit.com) and check your self out!

Model: Vesa Perakyla PAM is at 6-7 Goldhawk Mews Shepherds Bush, London ,W12 8PA. You can mail order on 0208 740 0808

We have a great look for the ladies too for Halloween. If you want to go that extra mile, and dress pretty (scary?) I have come up with a really easy look for you on our gorgeous model Jess.

Prime the face first as you won’t be using a powder and you’ll want it to stay on all night! I used Laura Mercier Oil Free Primer, £28, after Jess’ Moisturiser. A great matte formula, ideal for skin that is prone to shine, and really keeps the base in place. Use a pale base for a slightly deathly glow. I used M.A.C Full Coverage Foundation, £22. I mixed the white with one that was closer to her actual skin tone. I also mixed in the M.A.C Strobe Cream £12 for an alien like iridescent texture to the skin.

The Vamp...

Then I started on Jess’ eyes. I used the Urban Decay Primer Potion for Eyes, £12 this will ensure that the eye make-up doesn’t sweat off! I took the Barry M Liquid Liner in Black, £4.79, using it off the back of my hand with a small synthetic brush to paint carefully over the eyelid, all over the eyebrow, and into the corner of the eye in small strokes. Make sure all the eye is covered in a thick black coat. Now the fun bit! I took some black lace in a floral design, and cut around it to create some really strong shapes. Plan out where you want these to go on the face before so you know roughly how it will look. I painted some Eyelash glue Duo Adhesive, £9.95, onto the back of the lace, and using them like the pieces of a jigsaw, placed them onto the face as a pattern. Take a step back and look at it, and decide how much, and how far you want to go.

Once you have finished the lace application, use a lipliner in a dark red cherry and colour all over the lip, I used the Sleek MakeUp lip pencil in Ruby, £2.59. Then I used the Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Resolute £17.50 all over the lip, working it into the lipliner to give them a metallic shine. Use the Make Up Academy Professional 3 in 1 Contour Pen in Black £1.50, to line the rim of the undereye, and in the waterline.

Now for the final touches. I re-applied M.A.C Strobe Cream on the high points of the face to re-enforce that supernatural shine to the skin. I then applied two coats of Givenchy Phenomen’eyes mascara, £20. Finally, I painted Jess’ nails in Revoln’s Facets of Fuschia, £6.49 a glittery sequinned purple. for Stockists: 0800 085 2716.

Model:Jess Piani Make Up : Luke Stephens

MEET THE

LOCALS London is obviously full of creatives, business men and women, shop owners, students and more all doing their bit to bring a little something extra to our capital by way of their chosen trades. This month we speak to the two designers behind Clothing brand Chateau Roux.

Who is Chateau Roux? We are a small independent contemporary street brand, born and based in Soho.

When did you start Chateau Roux ? Chateau Roux was created in 2006 and began life as an on-line Soho inspired and hand printed t-shirt label. We opened our first store in 2008 on Newburgh Street, further sewing our seed into the London fashion and music culture.

What is the ethos behind the brand ? Chateau Roux is a people inspired fashion brand that takes the obvious out of assumption and puts the ironic into iconic. Fusing bold geometrics with the chemistry of monochrome’s, our use of colour encourages natural expressions of style. With an emphasis on connecting cool with commercial viability, we deliver quality product made from the best fabrics, in Europe’s best factories.

collection hit the stores, with exposure through some of the UK’s best retailers and our own online, we are gonna look sick!! We see ourselves playing a key role in the resurgence and movement towards a more sophisticated urban fashion trend, that compliments the work wear and heritage styling that you are seeing everywhere at the minute. We also have a very exciting new project under our umbrella called ‘carve paths’, where we support creative talent that is in sync with our brand.... watch out for a collaboration with a new London footwear label and LCF graduate, WISE aka Tim Gleig.

If you were doing something else what would it be? Busting our balls trying to create a cool t-shirt label.

Sum up CR in one sentence.

Why Soho?

Bumbaclaat rastafahri boomting shizzleness.... blap blap!!

Soho is an incredible and eclectic part of London in which you can’t help but be influenced and inspired by it’s people and places. There’s the obvious draw of East London, but we stick to our roots and stay in Soho, quite simply put.... Soho is still the coolest and most original aspect of London’s fashion and music culture, it’s never been stronger.... Soho doesn’t try, it just is!!

www.chateauroux.co.uk images : Ben Quinton

What do you enjoy most about being an independent? Doing what we want.... and when we want to do it.

What’s coming up for the brand next year? Spring summer 2011 will see our first full

HELLO / GOODBYE I’m still deciding whether I think it’s rude to kiss someone when you first meet them.

After all, you’re complete strangers and a little bit of your saliva is transferred onto their skin in greeting. God only knows where that cheek’s been. Or, perhaps more importantly, where the stranger’s lips have been. Not to mention the awkwardness that can arise from a smacker on the cheek. You know what I’m talking about – when you go in for an innocent peck and it leads to a kiss on the lips because you’ve both dived for the same side. This kind of boo-boo occurs all the time. (Well, I hope it’s not just me?) And you spend the next few minutes/hours/days cringing about the moment you pashed your future potential boss, wishing you’d gone with the safe option – the handshake. I like a handshake – I think it helps you tell a lot about a person. If someone gives a firm tug, I’m impressed. It exudes confidence, ability and self-assurance. There’s nothing worse than a man with a limp handshake… OK, so there are a lot of things less desirable in the opposite sex (sloppy kisser, crap hair, fake tan), but a limpo is up there. I sat down to watch a television programme the other day that features a man meeting a long line of women for the first time, in quick succession. For me, it was one of the most awkward pieces of TV I’ve ever viewed. It opened up so many opportunities for me to cower behind my hands, peeping through my fingers, feeling embarrassed for the people on-screen who’d volunteered to put themselves up to this awful situation. Many of the females weren’t sure whether to go for the kiss, or just a hug, or even a handshake. They were keen to impress the guy and get noticed, which even lead one of them to kiss him on the lips. This is just crossing way too many social boundaries and is totally inappropriate. And I could tell he felt it too. Those excruciating 10 minutes saw way too many clashed heads and tangled hands for my liking. One of the girls even demanded he pick her up and carry her. Get out. (FYI: He did it. Idiot). And it’s these kind of situations that prompt me to believe we need rules when it comes to introductory greetings. This vagueness just isn’t working for me. I don’t want to dread parties through worry I’ll go for a kiss when all they want is a handshake. I reckon Germany’s got the right idea. Of course the Germans have a plan, why wouldn’t they? So efficient it’s unhealthy. The country’s national etiquette group Knigge Society has

decided greeting colleagues with a kiss is too uncomfortable (agreed) and has demanded it’s abandoned and replaced with a handshake and – get this – a 60cm ‘social distance zone’. ‘People say that kissing is not typical German behaviour. It has come from places like Italy, France and South America, and belongs in a specific cultural context,’ says Hans-Michael Klein, who’s chairman of the group. ‘We have to protect people who don’t want to be kissed.’ ‘Protect’ is perhaps a little excessive. And a social distance zone sounds a little silly to me. This brings me on to wonder which culture has it best when it comes to the hello-goodbye rigmarole. ‘Cos the Germans obviously don’t think it’s them. The Chinese enjoy a gentle nod or bow - but then is it difficult to know when to do a nod and when to bow? I imagine the nod/bow dilemma to be similar to our hug/kiss/handshake issue. In the Phillipines they apparently engage in a limp handshake. Disappointing (See earlier para). What’s the point? Too girly and pathetic, the men may as well demand they’re called Shirley upon meeting. Indonesians greet with ‘Selamat,’ which means peace - lovely. Though can you imagine two big muscly British rugby boys meeting for the first time and saying peace? Thought not. The Inuits take intimacy to a new level with their nose rubbing. Cute in a you’re-my-boyfriend-and-I-love-you-somuch way, NOT in a hello-I-don’t-know-you-but-you-appearto-have-a-lump-of-snot-on-the-end-of-your-schnoz way. And in Polynesia, rumour has it you take your friends hands and use them to stroke your face. Wouldn’t fancy this much. For starters, my skin’s way too sensitive to have any old mitt caressing it. Especially if said mitt is cracked and horrible. Now from what I’ve written, you’re bound to have the wrong impression of me. I promise I’m not a socially awkward person. It’s just that knowing I have to enter a social situation where there are lots of people to meet, or leave a party when I know I have to say goodbye to everyone, makes me wriggle with unease. I’d much rather avoid the whole thing, slipping in unnoticed and leaving without a trace, instead texting my goodbyes, making some excuse of how I had to rush home. And this, I guess, is why I’m a writer. Because I’m signing off now, and the only thing I have to worry about is how to end my column. One simple line, followed by a full stop, will do. Oh, the joy of words.

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HALLOWEEN

Some people say swearing takes away from your character. These people

It seems that without a doubt zombies are going to be the fashionable way to go when dressing for Halloween this year. If you want to get involved but don’t want to look like a dick dressing like a zombie on your tod then go to one of the events below to meet fellow un-deads and celebrate the night the dead walk the earth.

The Buried Alive Halloween Ball, London Bridge Where better to frighten yourself silly this Halloween than amongst the tomb stones of London Bridge? The Buried Alive Halloween Ball is taking place on 27th October to raise money for The London Bridge Experience Foundation and will include a banquet, unlimited bar, performers and cabaret plus loads more still to be announced. The theme for the night is The Deadly Seduction of The Orient so get thinking about your outfit now. www.buriedaliveball.com

are c*nts. Cursing is an age old thing and self censorship on something that is essentially, well, words, is unreasonable. OK, I’m not saying run through a playground yelling FUCKBITCH at the top of your lungs during your lunch hour, and it’s probably not a great idea to call grandma a dickhead, but I love swearing and I never claimed to be big and clever. It’s actually a complex issue that linguists like to argue about, according to the minimal amount of research I’ve put together mostly from my imagination. Origins of words, taboo, etc. etc. so keep in mind I’m not planning on breaking any new ground here. I’m in two minds about swearing all the time. The weighty connotations of saying ‘fuck’ in a public forum means the word still delivers when you need it most. For example, watching the Sopranos for ten minutes, it begins to lose its meaning and is the equivalent of repeating any word over and over until it starts sounding like gibberish and you begin to think you’re not speaking any language at all. It’s still fun though. Cursing can be like comedy glue that joins sentences together, like a punctuation mark punching above its weight, stringing conversation on just as normal but with comedic pauses replaced by funny sounds. But if you hold off, and I mean really, really hold on until you need to shout ‘cunt!’. well, that’s like vomiting a juggernaut made of surprise. You really can’t ignore it.

2.8 Hours Later Turns London Zombie A new Halloween past time has emerged in the form of the 2.8 Hours Later event taking over London between the 27th-29th October. As the sun sets on London town 2.8 Hours Later will immerse visitors in a zombie like game where they will find themselves trapped in a zombie infested zone having to get to Resistance HQ whilst all the time being chased by blood sucking zombies! If you make it then you’ll find a zombie disco to end the night complete with DJ’s, zombie shoot em up and a nerve relaxing bar. www.2.8hourslater.com

There are times when only swearing will do. I recently had a conversation with an Aussie who, to my surprise, refuted the myth I’d heard that it’s OK to greet friends with ‘G’day, cunt!’ Which, by the way, made me totally re-think my move to Sydney.

& PERILS PERKS

Tamlin Mcgee

He didn’t like the idea of cursing, and that’s fine, but I argued that if something is well and truly shit, nothing else will do. Sure, you could get wordy with in-depth descriptions of faecal matter, but what kind of freak are you? Just say shit. It’s shit. In before ‘Hurrr, like your column.’ That’s bad heckling. Clean comedy is all well and good. People like Mitch Hedberg proved that it’s possible to speak in inoffensive and surreal non-sequiturs, but even he dropped the F-bomb a bunch of times. I can’t help but feel like I’d have preferred Tommy Cooper if he was Tommy Motherfucking Cooper. He’ll always be Tommy Motherfucking Cooper to me anyway. Still if taboo wasn’t there it would become too everyday, like the way saying bloody is to us now. Basically down the line our fuckings and shits are going to be just that. If you punctuated with ‘bloody’ constantly you’d rightly be thought of us a boring as fuck prude, or alternatively, that one really cool guy from East Is East who was great until he started beating on his wife. Who knows, in 500 years we’ll need to invent some kind of hard to pronounce but verbally aggressive superswear just to keep going, and I can’t think of one. It would take a far greater mind than mine to come up with that. Chaucer, Shakespear and James Joyce are to thank for leveraging the cuss word, and any twat could tell you I’m none of the above. I didn’t even spell fucking Shakespeare right, for fuck’s sake.

London’s intimate cocktail bars

THOSE SMALL COSY PLACES PERFECT FOR THE EVENING Rebecca Rutt In London life can be rather claustrophobic and now and again you need to schedule in time to sit back and relax, preferably with a cocktail or two. There are thousands of bars across the city and if you want to find somewhere to get away from the 24/7 buzz there are plenty of places hidden among the more obvious choices. Stumbling across a bar where you can catch up with friends or a loved one in an intimate atmosphere over cocktails is rewarding – but can be tricky especially if you’re in a new area. Luckily we’ve done the legwork and here we’ve compiled our favourite intimate cocktail bars - get out of the rush and enjoy.

The Whistling Shop www.whistlingshop.com Worship Street, EC2A 2DU Step into this bar and you will feel like you’ve fallen back in time by 100 years. It’s situated in-between the City and Shoreditch and looks a bit like a stage set from Oliver. The cocktail list is impressive and the Victorian-inspired décor is charming. Each of the cocktails has been lovingly created and the bar’s description of a ‘fairground ride of cocktail imbibation’ fits perfectly. .

The Drift www.thedriftbar.co.uk Heron Tower, EC2N 4AY A beautiful antidote to the suits of the City, The Drift is an ideal way to spend a quite night away from the bustle of Liverpool Street. Sitting upstairs in this quirky bar you can enjoy your own mixology session and the trained staff use a fusion of food and alcohol to create some slightly strange but heavenly tasting cocktails. Each are served in vintage glasses of different shapes and sizes and the bar is unlike anything else you’ll find in this area.

The Grand Imperial www.grandimperiallondon.com 101 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 0SJ If you find yourself in Victoria and in need of a quiet drink the bar hidden in this grandiose hotel is the ideal place. The cocktails are vast and you can try almost any alcohol from any country in the world. The hotel ships in ingredients from around the globe and it feels a world away from the crazed bustle of the area it’s located in.

Nightjar www.barnightjar.com 129 City Road, EC1V 1JB Another Shoreditch haunt hidden away from the over-crowded touristy bars of Hoxton Square. It’s a place reserved for Londoners who want a quite night out and you should book if you’re going over the weekend as along with the zainy cocktails comes spectacular live music. Make sure you try the prohibition cocktail or if you prefer something lighter the signature cocktails are a good option.

The Dorchester www.thedorchester.com Park Lane, W1K 1QA Within the hotel complex the bar serves up a wide array of cocktails, many made with original ingredients from when the hotel was first built and as you step through the door you will feel a hundred miles away from anything you left outside. The location epitomizes intimacy however you will pay for the luxury as the drinks are not cheap. Make sure you try one of the bars specialty mojitos – served in an authentic butternut squash skin

The Lonsdale www.thelonsdale.co.uk 48 Lonsdale Road, W11 2DE If you’re bored of sangria and realize cosmopolitans are better off left in the last decade the Lonsdale is for you. It’s a bar for serious cocktail lovers as it says – ‘Drinks will come and go, but a great drink will stay with you forever.’ Authentic cocktails dating back to the 16th century can be found among the menus but if you’re nice to the bar staff they’ll be more than happy to create you something unique.

Bourne & Hollingsworth www.bourneandhollingsworth.com 28 Rathbone Place, W1T 1JF Head downstairs to this basement cocktail bar and you’ll feel more like your walking into someone’s living room than a bar. The place is covered with an eclectic collection of retro and new pieces and for those of you who live for tea the specialty teatime cocktails are served in pretty tea cups and saucers.

P I C K OF THE MONTH LONDON & LIFESTYLE

ere at Jack HQ we do like to

keep you updated with what’s new and what’s great in London. This month we have a little collection of both hidden jems and pop up events for you in and around the city so that you know what you can get up to this month.

COCKTAIL WEEK ROUND UP

ctober is all about

London Cocktail Week, kicking off on 7th October and running through until 16th October some of London’s best bars, hotels and shops will be opening their doors to put on both free and paid for cocktail themed events. From mastclasses to tastings and tours we’ve listed our pick of the best bits. For more information or to buy tickets to the events head to www.diffordsguide.com/london-cocktailweek

Museum of Cocktails, The Savoy, all week From limited edition bottles to glassware and cocktail memorabilia this miniature museum is celebrating all things cocktail. There will also be a brand new menu brought in to the hotels American Bar featuring drinks made with Bacardi Superior Rum, Bombay Sapphire gin and Martini vermouth. Free.

Zenna Gin Masterclass, Zenna Bar on Dean Street, 14th October between 5-7pm This gin cocktail master class with Bombay Sapphire will teach you about all the different methods to making a cocktail including presentation, aroma, taste and garnishes. You’ll be taught to make a classic cocktail as well as one of your own creations. Tickets cost £30.

Rum Trail, Trailer Happiness on Portobello Road, 9th October between 6-8pm Go on a cocktail safari with Havana Club who will take you on a walking tour of five bars around the Notting Hill area each serving a different type of Havana Club cocktail. You’ll learn about the history of the brand as well as about the bars, bartenders and cocktails. There will then be food and a bit of a party at the last venue. Tickets cost £35.

Dramatic Whisky, Albannach on Trafalgar Square 6.30-8pm The founder of Dramatic Whisky, Mark Thomson will be hosting an evening of whisky and chocolate tasting. You’ll get to try six different malt whiskies as well as luxury chocolates made by the London chocolatier Paul A Young. Tickets cost £35.

Beginners Guide To Cocktails, Covent Garden Cocktail Club, 15th October between 4-6pm The ultimate beginners cocktail making class will teach you how to make your favourite classic cocktails behind the bar with some of London’s best bartenders. Tickets cost £30.

The Brompton Bar and Grill has all the menu delights one would expect from a Knightsbridge grill. Pigeon, venison, steak and veal are all on the menu. We sit down at our table in the center of a busy and bustling room and choose the steak tartare and pigeon to start followed by rump steak and veal. The steak tartare is as it should be with sour dough bread in a perfect round on the plate with just enough caper and vinaigrette included to make it perfectly sharp. The veal is done to a T , pink and juicy with a side of one of the best creamed spinach we have probably ever tried (and that is a firm favourite side). The staff are very attentive and the head waiter has no problems accommodating us in a restaurant that is clearly over booked. Having said this it would be a good idea to call in advance if you are planning a visit as even on a week day the place fills up with ease. Must be all the meat. The Brompton Bar and Grill 243 Brompton Road London SW3 2EP www.bromptonbarandgrill.com

When we first heard about a restaurant that combines two of our favourite things – Chinese food and karaoke – we knew we had to check it out. Nestled in the heart of China Town the Royal Dragon serves up authentic Chinese cuisine and also offers an after-dinner sing along in their upstairs karaoke rooms. Open 7 days a week until 3am the restaurant is quickly becoming one of the areas most popular restaurants and it’s not hard to see why. When we visited we started with the aromatic duck and pancakes before moving on to a main course of lemon chicken and prawns in black bean sauce. The portions were generous, easy to share with fellow diners and were served up in a modern and very friendly setting. The waiters were more than happy to help with any questions we had about the menu and we were super impressed by their range of cocktails, not something we’d normally expect from a Chinese restaurant. Well worth a visit especially if it’s late at night, after a few drinks and all you want is some good food and the chance to belt out your favourite tunes. Royal Dragon 30 Gerrard Street, W1D 6JS www.rdklondon.co.uk

The Chiswell Street Dining Rooms is situated in the heart of the city, just a short walk from Old Street and Moorgate stations so it stands to good reason that during our visit, on a busy Thursday night, it was packed with suited city types enjoying an after work drink. The bar at the front of the restaurants offers a nice place to pop in for either a quick drink or a pre-dinner cocktail and had an impressive drinks list. After an aperitif we moved to the restaurant which serves contemporary British food which has been carefully sourced and cooked according to the season from breakfast through to dinner time. The food was very well presented while the waiting staff were quick, helpful and attentive. We opted for starters of Potted Morecombe Bay shrimps and Diver caught Isle of Man king scallops before moving on to mains of Native Scottish lobster and king prawn risotto and Roast rump of West Devon lamb but were so full up by the delicious first two courses and cocktails that we 93 were too full to enjoy any of their extensive list of deserts. A great hidden gem in an area that is saturated with chain restaurants and bars. The Chiswell Street Dining Room 56 Chiswell Street, EC1Y 4SA www.chiswellstreetdining.com

Comedy: Close Up The English Launderette : Pop Up Supper Club The English Launderette has landed at 18 Hewett Street and will be with us until the 10th October. From the people and the success of the DFC Taco Shack and Homeslice Pizza comes a more gourmet experience lasting for 8 days and serving a re-imagined Best of British menu. The people behind Rock Lobsta and Disco Bistro are giving a nod to the past and a

wink to the present with a 6 course tasting menu as well as a coin op bar and Lily Vanilli’s dessert trolley every night. Tickets are £49 for a 6 course meal, a ‘glass of juice’ (?!) and a curated selection of natural wines. www.englishlaunderette.co.uk The English Launderette Open from 6pm 1st October – 10th October 2011 (Closed 5th October) 18 Hewett Street, London, EC2A 3NN

This month Time Out are launching a new series of comedy gigs called Comedy: Close Up. The idea is that the gigs will be intimate and will feature some of the biggest names on the comedy circuit. Kicking off the season on 3rd October will be Ardal O’Hanlon (aka Dougal McGuire from Father Ted) who will be performing at The Charring Cross Theatre. Head to www.timeout.com/london to buy your tickets.

THE END Carry on at www.whosjack.org www.twitter.com/whosjackmag www.facebook.com/whosjackmag