Today’s bloggin best…
- RJD2 invented a wireless MPC sampler. The Daily Swarm
- Jay-Z’s new concert film for vodka fans only. Nah Right
- Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth has a new art book. The Tripwire
- Animal Collective show at Guggenheim was “creepy” and “awkward.” Self-Titled
- Dakota Fanning sings “Cherry Bomb” with Kristen Stewart for new Runaways biopic. Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul
- 69-year-old grandma is my new favorite DJ. Mixmag
On the historic night when Barack Obama was elected as the first African American President of the United States, while people flooded the streets from Harlam to Hollywood, my particular neighborhood was subdued. And it wasn’t because I dwell in a particularly Republican enclave. In fact, my local stretch of Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood is known as boys town. We’re as liberal as you can get in these parts. But along with Obama’s victory came news that Proposition 8 had effected a ban on gay marriage in California. A sobering reminder that as much reason as their was to celebrate, there was still work to be done. Read the full story
Hervé, aka Joshua Harvey, is a UK-based producer and DJ with a penchant for mixing in a darker, more noir-ish side of jazz with the hip-hop beats he’s accrued and perfected over years of working with several different artists. Hervé also had a knack for finding new ways to make his live DJ attract a youthful, more rave-oriented audience, and set about remixing and/or producing everyone from MSTRKRFT to DJ Switch to The Prodigy to Kid Sister. All the hard work paid off when a lot of those artists began pimping his name all around the world, only helping to spread what would soon become a reputation throughout the rock world as one of the best producers and DJs to work with. Through his latest production and DJ artistry, he’s been working with some of today’s biggest acts like Shiny Toy Guns and genre stalwarts such as The Chemical Brothers. Here’s a little peek at his unique approach to producing on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
Today’s bloggin’ best…
- Remember yesterday’s 12-hour radio mix by Autechre? Download it here. Percussionlab
- But will it decipher lyrics? YouTube announces automatic captioning for videos. Boing Boing
- PETA thinks Matthew Herbert is a pig. Stereogum
- LCD Soundsystem officially announces third album. XLR8R
- Jay-Z’s DJ dropped a mixtape. Hypebeast
- Avatar blue-babe Zoe Saldana hates the word “ethnic.” Complex
Fashion Institute of Technology’s Tokyo Fashion Festa: A Fashion Show of Rarely Seen Lolita, Gothic Lolita, and Tokyo Girls’ Styles marked the last show of my New York Fashion Week experience. Designed as preview of FIT’s upcoming exhibition, Japan Fashion Now, it was a mix of short film, live fashion & musical performances which caused me to turn to my companion and say, “I feel really… foreign!” Japan is known for its extremely individual take on fashion and style, and Tokyo Fashion Festa really gave its attendees an undiluted taste of the country’s amazing street style. This truly unique event was invitation only, and the guests descended on FIT’s auditorium dressed to the nines. New York-based fans of the Gothic Lolita style sat front and center, all frilly underskirts and miniature top hats. The mainstream press, who had also been invited (and relegated to seats on the left-hand side) didn’t know what to think! We were treated to a variety of looks from designers such as Alice and the Pirates, Amy’s Love, Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Black Peace Now, Mielette Tautou and Madame-Killer. The show was accompanied by musical performances from visual-kei group VY, wearing h.NAOTO. The ensembles were amazing, frivolous, fun & totally over-the-top — the perfect antidote to what we’d seen for most of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week!
Valerie Steele, the director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT said, “The Tokyo fashion scene is very exciting. Japanese subculture and street styles, such as the Gothic Lolita look, are attracting more and more attention in the West, so we wanted to be sure to include them in The Museum at FIT’s upcoming exhibition, Japan Fashion Now, which opens on September 17. In the meantime, we’re delighted to give New Yorkers a preview with a live fashion show. Tokyo Fashion Festa will feature some of Japan’s most famous Lolita brands, as well as Gyaru (Girl) styles, which are also extremely popular on the streets of Japan. It is a special pleasure to have Madame-Killer debut their line in the U.S. at this fashion show.”
Words by Gala Darling
Deerhunter‘s one of those acts that could be either hit or miss for me. I feel like I should hate them, and part of me leans in that direction, but they’re also one of the better in the expanding legions of laid-back indie folky bands that are all over the place nowadays. There’s a sort of sprawling, progressive nature to their sweeping arpeggios and power chords — the closest the band seems to be able to get to, uh, aggro, I guess. This is really more for fans of The Lovemakers and The Daysleepers, etc. Maybe Hammock. Point being: there’s something uniquely unsettling, aggressive…yet chill, relaxed, perfect for those lazy hazy days of summer, or days in general, where you just, y’know, don’t want to do anything. Then again, perhaps they’re just better left to explain it themselves on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
Today’s blogging best…
Band of Horses have new album, long limbs. NME
Fans sue rapper over shooting in da club. AOL
Guru survived heart attack, now things get ugly. Nah Right
Michigan Dems are fighting over musician pay? Billboard
Sandwiches named for Wilco songs, yummy. Pitchfork
Just a few more hours to download the new song by Hole. NobodysDaughter
Spring is on its way — not that you would know it on the East Coast — and so is Alice In Wonderland, Tim Burton’s latest masterpiece. While it may just seem like a simple movie release, it definitely isn’t. It’s going to be a key influence throughout the year in the world of fashion. We’re already seeing allusions to Wonderland style, from cropped White Rabbit-esque jackets to fob watches and super-feminine, tulle skirts. Believe me when I say that you’ll be seeing a lot more of this surreal and psychedelic-but-demure aesthetic! So when I saw Girly Girl Shoes‘ latest releases — a collection of crystal-embellished ballet flats in bright candy colors as well as some daring metallic heels, I knew they were perfectly on-trend. I had a quick chat with Nicole Woo, the designer of Girly Girl Shoes, to see where she gets her inspiration, who she designs for, and what’s next…
If you dabble in the DJ or remix trade at all, you’ve probably heard of Mix Master Mike – he’s one of those musicians who maintains a spiritual outlook on his craft but also a very down-to-earth personality, one that obviously attracted the Boys to him and paved the way for classics like Hello Nasty and To the Five Boroughs. I caught up with Mix Master Mike as he was waiting to take over the Red Bull 3-Style at the Playhouse in Hollywood, a DJ showdown between some of the country’s best and brightest aspiring Mix Masters like Morse Code and Cheapshot. Mike approaches the craft as someone with a creative and open mind — he’s kind of like Jackson Pollack splattering oils on an unfurled canvas that just seems to keep going. But there’s a method to his madness, and his outlook on life was inspirational. Regardless of how you feel about MMM, DJing, or The Beastie Boys, this should be an inspiring read for artists of all kinds who want to expand and explore their craft. And that to survive, practicing 100,000 hours isn’t always enough– it’s a never-ending process of exploration and expansion.
In 2004, James Yancy (aka J Dilla) moved from Detroit, the city of his birth, to Los Angeles, the place he would call home until his death in 2006. Already a famed producer of chart topping hip-hop acts such as Common, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Pharcyde, Jay Dee reinvented himself and his sound in Los Angeles, striving for a rawer style that departed from his neo-soul roots.
Four years after his untimely passing, Dilla reputation has only grown. Last month, to commemorate what would have been his 36th birthday, legendary Los Angeles street wear company Stüssy held Dilla Day events across North America, celebrating the release of their limited edition tee shirt produced in collaboration with Stones Throw and the Dilla estate. The company also produced a mini-documentary focused on Dilla’s “second act” that took place in Los Angeles, and the connections he made with the city. Chinashop spoke with the creator of the three-part web series Adam Jay Weissman to learn more about this reverent project. Read the full story