It looks like we're going on a trip, maybe to India ? Did Donatella ( Versace ) and Neil Barrett inspired themselves for some pieces of their collection from an Indian Costum called "Kurta Churidar", a long shirt that they wear on a pants ? Or is it an hommage to the Yves Saint Laurent Safari style ? It's anyway a lot of beige and kaki. John Richmond: A collection for the strong guys ? Kaki and military prints. But also a lot of red and pink. 80's are fashion ? Sequins ! But the 90's too. So much white ! So we already know what the trends for the next summer are... + Don't forget to pull your pants up to your ankle and don't throw away your jean with an hole on it.
Yves Saint Laurent and the girls ( watch out the vest )
Jesus Luz with greasing hair, beefy in a boxer short, looking like he would go out of Madonna's hotel room; elegant wearing a sequin vest and a bow tie, ready to take mama out for dinner( Dolce & Gabbana )
Men wearing other men ( Jil Sandler )
An hommage to the bad boys with a Marlon Brando T-shirt( Dolce & Gabbana )
A lot of ready-made suit with a preference for Zegna's collection ( Ermenegildo Zegna, Armani) and some trench coat ( Missoni, Burberry )....
Rene Hallen ( Germany) and Radka Leitmeritz ( Czech Republik ) are working together in Paris since 2000. Their work is mostly inspired by film director like Cronenberg, Lynch... and appeared in magazine like Vogue, Citizen K, Style, ect...and big campaigns like for Adidas with David Beckham. They are represented by galleries in Paris, Berlin and Prague and exhibited all over the world.
Fashion
"Come and play with us "
"Under Water" pictures from http://www.schierke.com/ and http://www.galeriephilippechaume.com
The berlinale 2009 is just over and P.Diddy presented his film, Notorious, about the life of Christopher Wallace, better known as Notorious B.I.G. I am not a film critic but i was enthusiasmed about the film. There are some clichés, of course, but I liked it. Maybe because I recognized myself in Notorious when I saw that everybody was laughing about the big child with the big glasses that I also was ;) Just kidding. The film described the life of Notorious from his early age to his death in 1997 mentionning his difficulf chilhood, his beginning carreer, the way he transformed the nice Kimberly Denise Jones into Lil'Kim ( clichés, but i loved it ), his relationship with Faith Evans with all their troubles, the death of 2Pac and his own death... Well, his whole life but unfortunately not enough about the West Coast, East Coast rivalry. Because before Notorious first album, "Ready to die " seen as a new wave in the Hip Hop Scene, most of the Hip Hop Music and the most successful of it was produced by the artists of the West Coast... And that was a reason of the clash.
Anyway, this film is a good reason to go back in time and listen to what Notorious leave us from the 90's.
Notorious first single :
Lil'kim, produced by Notorious. This is a song she made later, but i post it because it's very trashy and i want to share with you a song that I like to listen to again and again.
"Hit Em Up", 2 Pac This song refers to the West Coast/ East Coast rivalry and is a provocation as 2Pac claimed in it, that he has sex with Notorious BIG's wife, Faith Evans.
"I'll be missing you", Puff Daddy feat Faith Evans. A song dedicated to Notorious' memory
I have always wanted to be a journalist when i was a little girl. And today i can say i am a kind of journalist...An amator of course and probably the only one getting her interview via myspace, but well why not. First they are a lot of bad journalist asking bad questions, and second everybody is doing everything on the internet ourdays, from finding a boyfriend to shop for new clothes. I asked a band called, " We have band" to answer some questions and they nicely accepted. They already having a big success in tour in Europa ( check on their myspace they do have some other dates in France, Germany, Neederlands and Uk the next month ) and will soon be in tour in the USA.
http://www.myspace.com/wehaveband
I've read that you're a band coming from London and that you define it as a Disco Rock Trio. So, if Disco are you more Donna Summer or Gloria Gaynor ?
Well we have to say first of all that actually we didn't call ourselves a disco rock trio! We don't mind the description but it was a journalist that said it and now everybody repeats it and says we said it! Its strange to watch how this happens. I think if we had to be disco though we'd go for ESG or something from Micheal Jackon's Off The Wall Album.
If rock, are you more Ramones or Rolling Stones?
Lets say we had an affair with both and we don't know who the father is.
All of you worked for EMI before, quit the job and decided to have a band. What gave you the will to start making music?
It was a very strange thing for us, we just fell into making music. We actually started before we left our jobs but then the chance to leave came up and we took it and that gave us the time to really work on our music. Thomas and Dede are married and we are all very very close friends so things happened so naturally. We would meet up at Tom and Dede's, have dinner and then make a song. There were no plans to play live but then after a few months we decided we would try and about 3 minutes after we came off stage from our first gig a girl came up and offered us 2 other shows, one of which became of our first ever festival show. Things continued like this and its really the same now, we take it step by step.
About your song, Why did you choose to cover West End Girl from the Pet Shop Boys ? Any particular relation to this song?
We were asked by an organisation called Buffetlibre (www. buffetlibredjs. net) to do a cover and we had time so we thought why not. We were planning to do Automatic by The Pointer Sisters but then Tom heard West End Girls playing somewhere and said we should do that. We all love the song. Its really a timeless classic. We also wanted to do a song we could play live too, its really fun to play.
We Have Band was looking for a label , Did you find one now?
The label thing is funny. These days you can do so much of the work yourself, especially in the early days, so its hrad to know when and even if you need a label. We feel quite relaxed about finding a one. We do want to release our album this year and we want to find it a good home but we really want it to be the right home. We want our label to love what we do as much as we do. There's no point other wise.
The all press is comparing you to the best of New Young Pony Club and Hot Chip. Most of the artist ourdays tell that they do not listen to actual music and don't like to be compared to other bands. What are you thinking about these comparaison and what are your influence?
We listen to lots of music all the time. Comparisons are natural and we dont really mind but its a shame when people project ideas onto you and think that you want to sound like something or someone. But you know its the same as the "disco rock trio" thing, people just repeat what they read or heard somewhere else. I really dont think that we sound so much like anyone we're compared to that would mean by coincidence everyone was saying the same thing. The New Young Pony Club comparison is a bit strange because none of us really know much of them. Hot Chip we are all fans of. And with them, they're really mixing a lot of styles which makes them hard to classify and you get the feeling that makes them feel very free. We cant really classify ourselves either and we like it so we feel something in common there.
Could you give us a song that you like more as your own song?
Probably not actually. That has to be a good thing!
A band that we should hear in 2009?
Plugs. They're great and we'll be touring with them later this year. There album should come soon too.
The worst come back these last years?
We've not been paying attention.
Where did you have your best concert?
We had a great show early on in London in a place called The Lock Tavern (thiis was one of the ones the girl offered us at our first show). Its tiny and they're not using many mics because there's no need with the size of the room. The atmosphere was amazing. Transmusicales in Rennes was great. We loved Berlin at a place called Scala and also we recently went to Bucharest in Romania, that was a lovely night.
The craziest thing that happened to you as band?
Forming the band.
Where would you take us to party?
Our house.
Wanna make a small playlist for Bric à Brac?
Yes.
Plugs - Imaginary Freind Micachu - Golden Phone Animal Collective - My Girls Bjork - Enjoy The Rapture - Open Up You Heart Talking Heads - Listening Wind Of Montreal - An Eluardian Instance
Fashion, fashion, everybody is talking about fashion the last days.
Since 2 years now, it's twice a year a fashionweek in Berlin, like in New York, Paris and Milan presenting the work of german designer like Kilian Kerner, Berhard Willhelm, Leyla Piedayesh ( Lala Berlin), Michalsky... but also international fashionbrands. And like everywhere where a fashionweek is, the whole city is taking in the fashion world because of all the exhibition, temporary showrooms, and aftershow parties... and finally the "come together " fashionweek closing party in HBC - presenting concerts, exhibitions and DJset in one building. And it was a fashion explosion!
From the singer of "Paris suit yourself" who looked like Tricky doing a perfect crazy punk rock show - to the two guys who looked like just coming out from a Grandmasterflash music video back in the 80's.
vendredi 30 janvier 2009
Dear reader, i was not already too lazy to write my blog but i was in Paris for a few days doing some exams for the uni. Now that i'm back without problem ( i didn't missed my fly this time and didn't try to come back in Berlin with hitchiking... ) i will regulary post some new stuff.
So i already talked enough about myself, let's talk about music.
I was surfing on pitchfork.tv a video music channel dedicated to documenting independant music and was very enthusiastic about a band called the Clips.
They are coming from Canada and just released their first Album called Matterhorn.
Well, that 's Gainsbourg words, I just come back from the Gainsbourg exhibition at the Cité de la Musique in Paris and i can just recommend you to go there if you are or if you plan to go to Paris before the 15th of March.
For the other i will write a short feedback of who Gainsbourg was.
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg in 1928 in Paris wanted to be painter but he was out for the art market und burned most of his paintings in 1953 and started to sing and play piano in the clubs.
Gainsbourg music life can be divided in 4 parts.
The first one from 1958 until 1969, the Blue Period. He is singing about women, the disapointment of love and the fact that men and women cannot talk to another.
But he will be best known in 1958 with the song " Le poinçoneur des Lilas " wich refers to the man who checks the ticket at the underground station : Porte des Lilas, in Paris. He is singing about the repetitive and boring work, of the frustration of the workman.
To have an idea, i translate some parts, it's like : At the end of the station I see a boat who is coming to take me out of here but the boat leaves and i stay here making small holes...
Small holes, always small holes it's to get crazy, it's to take a gun...
The Idol from 1965 to 1969 is the second period. He wrote songs for others, like Poupée de Cire, Poupée de son for France Gall or or Brigitte Bardot with who he had an affair, " Harley Davidson", "Bonnie and Clyde", "Contact" ( for the fashionistas, you should watch the videoclip, Brigitte Bardot is all in Paco Rabanne ), and "Comic Strip" ( my favourite one ), songs refering to the pop art and the invasion of the American Culture in France.
In 1969, he meets, Jane Birkin, the London girl who played in the famous film, Blow Up, that's the beginning of the "Décadanse" Period she sings like Brigitte Bardot did before, the song "Je t'aime moi non plus" and became his Muse. He will during this period write for her 6 albums, soundtracks for erotic films, make some uderground film and an controversial album, Rock around the bunker refering to the Nazi Germany and the World War 2.
In his last period, Ecco Homo, beginning 1979 he will introduce reggae beats in his song and record an Electro Funk album called " Love on the boat".
The famous french hymne, " La Marseillaise" by Gainsbourg with Reggae beats: "Aux armes et caetera" :
