Former Dior Homme creative director, and responsible for the famous skinny black suit / white shirt / black tie silhouette that became synonymous with the brand and of those in the UK indie scene who so regularly sported the look – most famously including friend and muse, Peter Doherty – Frenchman Hedi Slimane also has a keen ear for upcoming talent. And, there’s no hotter an upcoming talent in the UK right now than Manc kids – and we quite literally mean kids – Egyptian Hip Hop…..
New bands, future collectors items and must-be-seen-at gigs, we offer our readers the lowdown on influential international music trends and ‘next-big-thing’ artists.
Egyptian Hip Hop by Hedi Slimane
the UK's hottest new band by fashion's most rock n' roll son.....
August 11th, 2010
Aeroplane Late July Mix
suitably dirty disco whets our appetite for forthcoming album....
August 10th, 2010
Famed for their much-loved mixes, chock full of wonderfully sleazy disco house and an abundance of first rate remixes, Belgian duo Aeroplane were riding high when invited by “a panel of industry experts” – or perhaps just Pete Tong – to be Radio One’s 500th Essential Mix DJs. Strange then that at this stage they should choose to split…. or maybe not. For since then, Vito DeLuca – who retained the name – has been doing his best to make it look like he’s simply shed some excess baggage. Claiming that he “wrote and played every instrument” on the forthcoming album – of which the brilliant ‘We Can’t Fly’ is an enticing taster of – and continuing their trend for regular, and brilliant, mixes, it sounds like Vito is set to become one of dance music’s biggest names. Expect to hear lots of music journalists bandying around names like Giorgio Moroder and Studio 54. Expect to don some rather big shades and wig out…..
Late July Mix
We Can’t Fly
Robyn: Hang With Me Video
beautiful tour video for Swedish postrel's massive new tune....
July 26th, 2010
We’re in love with Sweden’s finest cred-pop superstar, but then who isn’t? Nobody delivers a more potent mix of infectious hooks, effortless cool and utterly perfect pop masterpieces, and the lead single from the second of her trio of album releases this year – the full version of the utterly magnificent ‘Hang With Me’ – is no different. Just released is this hugely charming tour video that laughs in the face of those commercial pop hand puppets and their glossy, big-budget promos by elegantly weaving together tour footage to deliver three and a half minutes of video that’s as infectious and effortlessly cool as the lady herself…..
Skream: Listenin’ To The Records On My Wall
rare animation technique used in Garden of Eden based promo....
July 14th, 2010
Anyone with the remotest interest in electronic music will be eagerly anticipating the forthcoming release of Skream’s long-awaited second album, Outside The Box. This, the lead single, firmly stamps a mark on his new, more epic sound, an intriguing progression from the dubstep that he more or less single-handedly brought overground – first into the dance music arena with his 2005 classic ‘Midnight Request Line’ then into the mainstream last year with his iconic La Roux remix. If this along with some of the other snippets we’ve heard of the album so far are anything to go by, then lazy TV producers will be filing the record alongside DJ Shadow and The xx for all those moody montages and drama series trailers.
Continue reading for the full uncut video (semi nsfw) and making of documentary…..
For anyone with more than a passing interest in electronic music, the sound of your summer may, again, be dominated by one man. With the forthcoming release of his second album, Outside The Box, Skream is getting ready for imminent festival appearances with ‘dubstep’ cohorts Benga and Artwork as the electronic supergroup, Magnetic Man. If this absolutely stonking 7 minutes of ‘insert-inevitable-new-genre-here’ is anything to go by then it’s clear that 3 of the biggest names in dubstep are intent on shaking off the shackles that wobble-addicts like Rusko have placed on the genre and, in the process, create a moment-defining new club sound that – along with their Sunday night headline slot at Glastonbury – could well see the boys from Croydon become dance music’s most influential force.
Magnetic Man: MAD
Photo courtesy of g.crizzle
Working music bloggers, journalists and A&R men into somewhat of a sticky mess at the moment are a young pop band with more than a knowing knack for causing a stir, with their refusal to commit to interviews, photoshoots of them as a gang of balaclava clad revolutionaries and tales of winding up London’s preying record labels by supplying misinformation to their chief A&R scouts. Their method of releasing music has also been somewhat unconventional – a sabotaged MySpace page had previously redirected to their World Unite page, which until recently was a labyrinth of propaganda imagery with hidden downloads, and their debut EP, released in a hand-made edition of 14, retailed – to the exploited few – at an astonishing £50.
Seemingly influenced by fellow Scot, Hudson Mohawke, Edinburgh’s offensively young Unicorn Kid is evolving his 8-bit hyper-pop into an altogether more decidedly serious, post-dubstep sound that puts him alongside the likes of Starkey and Ikonika as one of the most progressive electronic producers of the year…. his outstanding remix of Gorillaz’ De La Soul/Gruff Rhys collaboration, ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ along with his brilliant debut single for Ministry of Sound, ‘Dreamcatcher’ [below] are testament to this bold claim….
The Rolling Stones ‘Plundered My Soul’
'Record Store Day' highlight receives inspired video....
April 23rd, 2010
Throwing up considerably more highlights than usual – a new track from Blur amongst those – this year’s ‘Record Store Day’ also saw a 7″ release of ‘Plundered My Soul’, a lost track from the Stones’ 1972 classic ‘Exile On Main St.’… If you’re a fan, as we most certainly are, of said ‘72 classic, then you’ll be far from disappointed with this typically laid back, raw blues. Equally brilliant is the accompanying video, courtesy of Jonas Odell (Nexus Productions / FilmTecknarna), that uses the album’s iconic cover as a basis for a beautiful vintage footage montage… presenting the Stones at their most unnervingly cool…..
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from The Import
We caught up with New York based artist Devin McGrath who, in his beautifully crafted, unique style, bashes out darkly inspirational artworks with an enviable ease……
Clean and crisp, thoughtful illustration is a strong presence in the delightful portfolio of Welsh, Manchester based graduate Gareth Hughes.....
They love fellow Bristolian Banksy – in no small part due to making them a lot of money – but rate Tracy Emin as “nonsensical shit”. Here's our studio spotlight on Taxi Studio.....
The Dead Photos is an inspiring collection of macabre, touching, humorous and enlightening images that offer a delicate insight into the fragility of human life.
Half English half Japanese, London-based Jiro Bevis knocks out record covers, club flyers and editorial pieces with a ridiculously cool, 1980s retro vibe to them....
It’s great to see a company have a strong visual identity running throughout their brand – and that’s just what Stockholm based Bedow Creative have achieved for Sweden’s largest organic grocery store, Eat! Ekoaffären.
Founded by the rather talented duo of Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton, Tappin Gofton is a London-based studio that knock out some wonderfully distinctive work
We asked the Portland studio some questions, which they blindly ignored – instead providing us with a delightful insight into their wonderfully twisted minds. Enjoy…..
Decidedly Brazilian, thanks to it’s colour and vibrancy, Rubens LP’s style is the perfect accompaniment to summer – and anyone who uses bulldogs in their work is sure to receive high precedence with us…..
Rolling out across Europe in coming weeks is this, rather difficult to watch, advert for Sony’s new range of 3D TVs – courtesy of Sexy Beast director Jonathan Glazer....
Devin McGrath
Gareth Hughes
Taxi Studio
The Dead Photos
Jiro Bevis
Eat! Brand Identity
Tappin Gofton
The Official Manufacturing Company
Rubens LP
Sony 3D TV Advert
