Also via DesignBoom, news that a new 10 Corso Como shop will open in Seoul this March. Based in Milan, Corso Como is one of the coolest shops I've even been in, fusing an art gallery, book shop, restaurant, cafe and fashion department into one store. Let's hope they open one in NYC soon.
There's a great interview over at DesignBoom with Theseus Chan, founder and creative director of WERK magazine. Theseus also operates the CdG Guerilla Store in Singapore. One of my favorite magazines.
Thanks for the tip, P.
Nice throwback style from Visvim. Also, check John Jay's guest blog at NY Times for his conversation with Visvim founder Hiroki Nakamura.
I recently got inspired by my friend Putri to reorganize some of my art books by color. Besides making my bookshelf look very pleasing to the eye, it turns out that a color system is more common among designers than you might think. Check out this interesting article by a great designer Rob Giampetro.
I need more books. Especially those with a blue-greenish spine.
The boys over at YouWorkForThem drop a fun new typeface called Black Slabbath.
Another great project that has me optimistic for the future is Christian Prommer's Drumlesson. Well known for his work with Fauna Flash and Trüby Trio, Prommer has taken to reinterpreting electronic classics (along with some original tunes) in a jazz style. He won critics over quickly with his initial reworking of Derrick May's Detroit Techno classic "Strings of Life" and then recently delivered a full LP that touches on other great works from the likes of Masters at Work, Larry Heard, and Kraftwerk.
The most recent single, which is released soon via Sonar Kollektiv features a killer remix of one of the biggest dance tracks in recent history, AME's "Rej" from bad bwoy Peter Kruder.
It can definitely be said that its a strange time for music, and the music industry
Everything is being shaken up, and its interesting to see how things will land. The impact of the digital age is affecting labels and the music-sales machine in a profound way. Smaller label and distributors are now feeling that pressure the most. And at the end of the chain, the musicians and producers are now contemplating a future without music sales, and traditional label structures. At the same time, technology has also impacted the way music is being made, and given access to many more people. So you've got a lot more of it (good & bad) floating around.
Anyway, with that said, there is some really good stuff making its way through all the confusion.
Lately I've been inspired by a singer/songwriter/producer out of London called Leon King.
Channeling influences like Donny Hathaway, George Duke, Dilla and Dego, Leon is preparing some heavy soul music with his cohorts Codeine and Venom. Check the last two MFT/Shibuya FM shows for reference, and look out for more to come!
Fashion designer Giuliano Fujiwara's homage to hip hop, also courtesy of Diane's blog, A Shaded View on Fashion. Fresh.
Comme des Garcons will drop a new fragrance that evokes the smell of gold.
This is good news, because I'm honestly tired of using all my real gold. Here are some shots courtesy of Diane Pernet's blog from the CdG guerilla parfum shop that was open for 8 days in London.
Some people seem a bit underwhelmed by Apple's new releases from MacWorld 2008. But I think that's only because they've set the bar so high, that we've come to expect too much. I think the MacBook Air looks pretty good. But what's really nice is the custom super light weigh version of Myriad that they designed for it.
We decided to have a Rude/MFT power meeting this week at the highly authentic Japanese restaurant, Benihana. To help indoctrinate first-timer Khairi, we decided to tell them it was his birthday. If you can keep a straight face, they'll sing for you, bring desert with candles, and take a group photo. Not bad.
Another memorable highlight from the week was getting schooled in Rock Band by Billions McMillions.
I just got an amazing compilation on a house tip; the latest in the Soul Heaven series, mixed by Kenny Dope and Karizma. Lots of bangers, including Karizma's Bruk-It-Down mix of Taylor McFerrin, which has never officially seen the light of day. Highly recommended!
I just read that John Maeda, the influential MIT Media Lab guru, has been name the new president of the Rhode Island School of Design. Big move!
John is an amazing designer, writer, and thinker who has made great strides to unite art/design and technology. I was greatly influenced by him when I was in college.
Saturday is a London-based agency formed by two Swedes.
They are doing some very nice branding and advertising work.
They also designed this book that I recently picked up. A great resource for any designer.
A great shot of Leroy Burgess as captured by Dustin last night at APT.
It was a lot of fun, thanks for coming down Leroy -- let's do it again!
Glenn O'Brien possesses a timeless type of cool that is hard to find.
A writer, filmmaker, and OG 'tastemaker', Glenn has chronicled NYC's downtown scene since the mid 70s through his work with magazines like Interview, Rolling Stone, Oui, Artforum, New York and the Village Voice and with his public access show TV Party. He's also the man behind the cult film Downtown 81 that featured Jean Michael Basquiat and collaborated with Fabien Baron on many projects including the FBI-investigated Calvin Klein campaigns of the 90s and Madonna's 'Sex' book.
These days I keep up with him through his regular column/blog for GQ, The Style Guy. His writing has also recently appeared in Vanity Fair, Paper, Purple, Self Service, L'Uomo Vogue, and Another Magazine.
I also heard he's a fan of table tennis... We need to get him down to PT3.
Start off the '08 right by downloading the new MFT radio show for Shibuya FM.
Despite the industry crunch, there is some amazing music being made. Look out for Leon King out of London, and a new killer from Mark Pritchard's Harmonic 313. Also, Henrik Schwartz takes Omar and Stevie to Berlin and its sounding deep (thanks Dirk). I can't wait for Phil Asher's album on Archive... proper dancefloor.
DOWNLOAD MFT Radio 3 (zip file, 80mg)
Leon King - Digital Church (Venomz EQ - CDR
Unkown - Unknown - CDR
RH Factor - On The One (SA-RA remix) - Verve
Harmonic 313 - Word Games - Warp
Ta'raach - Untitled - Lovelution
Snowman - I Need U - CDR
Omar feat Stevie Wonder - Feeling Me, Feeling You (Henrik Schwartz remix) - CDR
Wahoo - Don't Take It Personal (Dixon edit) - Fine
Rednose Distrikt feat U-Gene - Not Today - Kindred Spirits
Phlash - Revolution Solution - Archive
Karizma - A Drumz Nightmare - CDR
Hudson People - Trip To Your Mind - Arision
Ease Out / Tuesday, January 8 at APT. Music at 10pm.
If you are in the NYC area next week, we have a really special surprise.
Leroy Burgess, the legendary producer and vocalist, will be joining us at APT for a new night. Leroy is behind some of our favorite club classics from the early 80s like 'Barely Breaking Even', and 'I Know You Will'.
He recorded under many guises (with fellow legends like Patrick Adams and the Aleems) such as Logg, Convertion, Intrigue, Dazzle and Universal Robot Band.
His first success came with the group Black Ivory in the 70s, but he later helped evolve the disco/boogie sound that has gained an hardcore underground following over the last two decades.
Check out the great Anthology on Soul Brother records, focusing both on his vocals (Vol. 1) and his productions (Vol. 2). Here's a little taste.
Tetsuro, the Big Bang and I will play some records as well... Come down and check it out, $5 with RSVP.
Simone got to sit down and talk about the good old days with Leroy.
