Intrinsic Thought

''Eighty percent of the environmental impact of today's products, services and infrastructures is determined at the design stage. Design therefore has an enormous impact on resource efficiency in our economy, and can make a critical contribution in the transition to sustainability.'' John Thackara / Doors of Perception

Just completed an article for the sustainable focused design magazine Think. The subject matter was a Berlin based Israeli designer called Ronen Kadushin, whose timeless futuristic forms not only bare a sharp aesthetic but also provide a stern indication as to a potential future in design. He suggests that open sourcing design in the same way the information technology industry has done will enhance it's growth and development. You can read the article from Feb.2010 when Think issue 3 will be available online. Think is an original concept by Jacqueline Carlisle and its emergence from the USA comes at a relevant time what with the loss of ID magazine and the need for voices in the sustainable design debate.

'Flat Knot' design by Ronen Kadushin

Design of the Times

I recently had an article about design in Norway published on the popular architecture and design site Architonic. The article, entitled 'Beneath the Surface', was a reactionary piece to the growth in public attention the 100% Norway exhibition had brought 'Norwegian design'. While it is healthy for any burgeoning and young creative scene to receive public attention through press coverage, it is also important to provide critique and comment. This kind of realist guidance and opinion appears to have been missing from the many subsequent articles reporting on 'Norwegian design'. 'Beneath the Surface' does not laud any Norwegian designers, more it asks why something was made and what it means to people, not just designers. The article introduces socially aware design projects such as the 'Blanke Ark' polling box designed by the industrial designers Kadabra and graphics studio Blueroom. It also mentions some of the other exciting projects going on outside of Oslo that do not exist on a reputation of stylizing to sell.

'Ballot Box' design by Kadabra and Blueroom

Polka Odd font

'Polka Odd' - my first font! A couple of weeks ago I was asked by a web designer friend from Aberdeen to come up with an alphabet he could use for a new logo font. James Daniel goes under the alias of Robin Egg Blue in the web design game. When not serving people with an eye for good food at one of Aberdeen's finest eateries, Moonfish Cafe; R.E.B is completing web designs for clients such as film producers, furniture designers and restaurants. Robin Egg Blue has a contemporary style in a city which rarely does; he completes projects that have serious value with a smile. I aim to represent this serious but, approachable and fun image with some small playful creature details on big, bold and abstract forms. The animal features sometimes look like little feet, eyes and bites.

'Polka Odd' font design: by Alexander Horne (me)

DO(1)T!

One year ago this month I wanted to kick start something of a petit creative revolution in my home city, Aberdeen in Scotland. As it has been documented in the press recently, through the tribulations of the contemporary art center and Union Terrace Gardens project, despite hosting a fine art school and many aspiring young creatives Aberdeen is not quite the hub of creativity and culture as it could be. Compared to similar sized cities such as Bergen across the North Sea or Dundee down the road it is very slow to understand the support and encouragement required by young creatives, especially in such a tough economic climate as now. The petit creative revolution that is DO IT! is now one year old and we are ready to celebrate this Friday with two special guests with strong local links. The first guest, DJ Giles Walker is a resident dj at Snafu Club and an important local figure in the introduction and booking of new music and acts from around the UK and beyond. Our headline guest, Two Eyes, is a rare talent from Edinburgh who when not designing buildings, pulley systems or riding bikes up extremely challenging hills can be found secretly composing deep future music in his humble Leith flat. We have been lucky to export our own 'deen talents to cities such as Barcelona, Bergen and Helsinki this year so for this one year celebration if you are in town come and enjoy DO IT! in Aberdeen and support and celebrate with the local creatives that make this collective a vivrant force in Aberdeen and beyond.

Poster: by SIO.

Put a +47 on it

Earlier this week I arrived in Oslo on a permanent basis. I've spent most of the week wandering through the streets for inspiration and education when not on the serious business of finding work. Its a fairly compact city, taking under an hour to walk from East to West, but with more of a grubby urban cosmopolitan sprawl than any other Norwegian city I have so far seen. For all the grimey and alluring corners of this capital city though, it takes quite a trawl through the streets, patience and a local guide to find out places of interest that are worth checking out. The main hot spots (bars, galleries, cafes) are to be found in the Grünerløkka and Grønland districts in the East. The center on the other hand is a bit of a commercial disaster.

I'm working on an article for Architonic magazine at the moment that discusses the underside of the coverage the 100% Norway exhibition has been receiving in the design press recently. Now I am based in Oslo it has been revealing to see many more projects that have not received as much clamor as those involved in the 100% exhibition, but have more long term aims at their core. One of those projects is not so much a place for high profile product design but, a fringe building (off the beaten track) that houses different studios and one main organization that conducts and consults in projects between art and architecture. 0047, housed in a former dairy factory in Grønland, to me could be anywhere; Barcelona, Sao Palo, Berlin, New York. It is representative of the cross-disciplinary movements seen throughout the world today in arts and science, technology and craft. There are several other such places in Norway, Transplant where i worked and a creative space just outside Ålesund, but i am mostly looking forward to what is happening in this city and forthcoming projects from groups such as 0047 amongst others.

Photo: early 0047 project covered by D2 magazine.

DOing IT! craft style

Had a couple of weeks back in the UK before I return to Norway for la vie Oslo so suggested to my DO IT! collaborator Sio that I could design this months poster. It was also to be the first time I was DJing in Scotland since January earlier this year and had booked Brian D'Souza to come up North for a live set and Oslo based French designer and VJ Julie Arrive to do visuals alongside our residents. Regarding the poster; problems arose when I remembered the baggage handlers with idle hands that had left me with one mac charger less while returning from Sonar festival, Barcelona this year. With no workmates to borrow from and a distinct lack of mac shops or anywhere with a mac charger in Aberdeen I had to knock together a 100% craft poster with the aide of hands, pen, paper and scalpel. Came out quite nice in the end and I actually really enjoyed being away from my computer for those few days. Going to be working a lot more with hand illustration and collage on a couple of artsy projects coming up so keep an eye out. Also worth noting is the expansion of our DO IT! brand to Oslo where we will continue to host artsy guests from around Norway, Scotland and beyond. DO IT!

Poster: by Alexander Horne (me!).

Ekko Fest 2009

Finally got round to writing a review for Resident Advisor from Bergen's Ekko Fest this year. The line-up was a great example of how smaller and more compact festivals can pick an astute and interesting line-up without the commercial constraints inflicted upon larger festivals. Suffering from a spot of Norsk swine flu and some sad news from back home detracted from my full enjoyment of the event but, some lager beverage medicine and good company made sure the stellar line-up was enjoyed as best possible. Losing it to Clark's delicate thrasing and merging of light and folksy sounds with crashing breakbeat and electronic noise was by far the highlight. Best new find of the three day festival was definately Velferd, who played a nicely executed live set that took in twisted disco and house sounds amongst many subtle layers. He is in fact also a member of the the band The New Wine from Bergen, who have been getting lots of attention in Norway this past year and will undoubtedly prop up elsewhere soon. Check them out here.

Photo: Clark rocking the Studio room at USF Verftet by Julie Arrive.

Full Pupp Label Night - Resident Advisor article

New article just up on Resident Advisor from an Oslo trip I made a few weeks ago. Was in town to check out the nightclub Bla and, perhaps of deeper significance, label night of Cosmic Disco don Prins Thomas. Last time I caught this guy playing was in Barcelona a few years ago at a more house music oriented venue called Sala BeCool. That particualr night in Bcn the only people on the dancefloor not willing Norway's Prins to crank up the bpm's to a more familiar and fast speed was a defiant James 'Global Souljah' Barrie, myself and my friend Andy. This time in Oslo the crowd was a bit more clued up and patient, bar a few drunken Nordic types. Check out the full article and by all means leave some words here.

Sessioned Out

The culmination of four Transplant Sessions witnessed the idyllic settings of Transplant transported to a wider audience and through a larger platform earlier this month. On the 22nd August the Transplant Sessions was hosted by Landmark, Bergen Kunsthall for a showcase of Nordic-themed electronic music and visual talent. DJ and Transplant Sessions coordinator Uraki Riddim curated an evening worth of musical and visual performances featuring acts from France and Scotland to local Bergen acts on the up and established. DJ Asel started the evening with a finely woven set of electronic music from near and far and following a light and occasionally indie and ambient stream. His record selection was complemented perfectly by the breathtaking landscaped visuals of vj Birk (from local night VJ picks the DJ) who combined three projectors seamlessly to make a whole wall of imagery that sucked onlookers in to another place. I followed on from Asel with some chopped up beats through to nu-disco and house before going back to back with Slabs of the Tabernacle's talented resident Brian D'Souza prior to his live set. We were guided visually by Oslo based French designer vj Julie Arrive whose cinematic borrowed and occasionally cheeky work added a click and a clack to the bang bang of the music. Brian's live set took in a wide selection of influences from afrobeat, italo to house and techno and kicked off a host of revelers to shake and move on the dance floor. To take things up to top kilter, and close the night, Nabovarsel resident Sanhueza and Tobii live made sure nobody left the dance floor with a latin wrapped mix of house that took in tribal, deep and electronica edges. Keep an ear out for these guys!

There will be some podcasts and video footage available by the end of this week courtesy of Brian D'Souza and visual artist Ling Lee. Meantime, if you happen to be in Norway this September get yourself over to Bergen for one of the most interesting and welcoming compact electronic music festivals in Europe - Ekko Fest. Amongst those playing is a relative homecoming gig for Royksopp, there first in Bergen for almost ten years, Bergen's new house sensation Tobii live and the spaced out acid disco of US based Nite Jewell. You can check the full line-up and order tickets here. For UK based music afficionados be sure to get up North to Aberdeen for DO IT!'s October session at Cellar bar which will include the UK debut of Brian D'Souza's new live work, myself and vj Julie Arrive.

Sub-Urban Dexterity

Last week at Landmark, Bergen Kunsthall rocked! Over 200 heads were in attendance to see a line-up that wouldn't have been out of place as a mini festival. The roster included some spectacular landscaped visuals by VJ picks The DJ's vj Birk, Ekko Fest organizer DJ Asel, myself (DJ Uraki Riddim) accompanied by Julie Arrive's visuals, an exclusive debut for Brian D'Souza's new live work and a Norge treat in the form of Nabovarsel starlets Sanhueza and Tobii live. Big thanks to those who performed and attended. Check out some pics from the party below;

Photos: (from top: dj Asel & vj Birk, Uraki Riddim, Brian D'Souza & vj Julie Arrive, Sanhueza & Tobii live) by Ed Barber.

Lähdemmekö nyt!?

Just got back from a 48 hour express trip to Helsinki with 4/5 of the DO IT! collective where we performed for the Cheap Tricks night at a former tram factory turned cultural center called Korjaamo. Cheap Tricks is one of a plethora of lo-fi and independent nights sprouting out through Helsinki with a mixture of young and old, girls and boys stearing them all. Cheap Tricks is the work of busy Helsinki-ite Lani Nordlund, who while studying in Helsinki manages to run this electronica themed club night (Cheap Tricks) and a more indie and band friendly night called Säpinää at the same time. Helsinki was cool, more so thanks to our tram active and bar alert host, and threw up some very interesting new music acts and moods.

The city in general had a strange mixed feeling between Soviet Eastern Bloc and little traces of distant Swedish rule hidden amongst the abstract blocks. I aim to be back to visit Finland and Helsinki soon when I will be able to write more in detail. Meantime, Helsinki's answer to Glasgow's Jackmaster (so called busiest man in music) Lauri Soini should be the first port of call for music reference in Finland's capital. With hands in many pies, as a live act, dj, promoter, producer and director of progamming for the uber swish Nolla bar it wouldn't go amiss to check out some of the many traces of his work. Lani's tip for a local band Fotoshop weren't hard to leave on at a high volume and we will be hoping to bring them over to an Aberdeen DO IT! night at some point soon alongside some of the other interesting acts we met and listened to. A couple of exciting and better known acts we came across in this Scandic/Soviet middle patch were the Cure-esque Villa Nah, the bizzarely titled and tropically charged Le Corps Mince de Francoise and last but possibly most bizzarely the genre defying Jaakko Eino Kalevi. Special thanks to our host Lani Nordlund, photographer Juho Lähdesmäki and Vixen Vj Paula!

Poster: by Cheap Tricks graphic designer Johannes Pokkinen.

CHΞ▲P TR!CKS ♥ DO IT!

Some photos from our recent trip to Finland's capital. We have some exciting collaborations coming up with Finland and Norway regarding bringing acts to our DO IT! residency every second Friday of the month at Cellar Bar 35, Aberdeen. You can read more and follow the DO IT! group on facebook here.
Photos: (from top: surprised guest, Introvert live, djs Uraki Riddim & White Chocolate, vjs M.O.C. & Ben) by Juho Lähdesmäk.

Islands in Space

Photos from a recent jaunt around the west coast of Norway that featured Bergen and Stavanger. Arrived in Stavanger just in time for the end of a food festival called Gladmat (happy food). Was also lucky to catch a pre-NuMusic party with DJs from Stavanger, Oslo and London playing in a tent at Gladmat and later on Cafe Resept. Ironic that the best food all weekend was a 'big fat burger' from a cafe across from the graff shop at the top of a wee hill, at the back of the city, and not the actual food fest. Buttered'n'herbed New Jersey potatoes, juicy and well packed patty with blazing sun on the terrace followed by some rolling in the grass. dulce!

Photos by Alexander Horne and Julie Arrive.

Out The Box

Passing through a wet and drenched Bergen amidst a brief sojourn through the West Coast of Norway brought up the discovery of some new cultural pearls recently. Originally planning to cover Berghain resident Len Faki's gig at the underground cave-like Teknikerkroen club in Bergen, plans had to change at the last minute due to Faki's postponement of the performance to a later date (supposedly he had a bigger gig!). A detour, arguably for the better, introduced a long running and classy soulful night in Bergen and the opportunity to visit one of Norway's youngest and most exciting societal hubs, Stavanger.

The Grand Terminus Hotel is something of a Bergen gem, combing classic Nouveau and Deco styles with a soft yet prominent vein of contemporary urban chic running underneath. The 1920s hotel is smack bang in the center of Bergen and due to it's geographical proximity to a grave yard, often is referred to as the funeral hotel. Sitting directly opposite Bergen's quaint train station and in front of a grave yard though only adds to this places charm and the feeling of a plethora of hidden stories. If a director could best capture the mood of this interesting corner of Bergen, and in particular the aura of the building, it would be fitting to suggest someone of Jim Jarmusch's style would fit. Black and white flooring, deep wooden whisky bar and high ceilings make this a place of class and what no better music to stem a night of music from for such a venue as jazz. In Grand Terminus the jazz is served cort and without the ZZs in the form of Jassbox. Long running and deeply funky, this night serves a potent start to an evening and draws a crowd as diverse as up and coming electro producers to fashion designers and fat beardy men (well dressed though). Hats off to organizers Espen Horne and Åse Langesæter who manage to bring in a melting pot of local and national djs every session with sounds from hip-hop, soul, funk and swing - all with a jazzy evening fresh vibe!

Photo: dj Fusa at Jassbox, Grand Terminus 24/7/09 by Julie Arrive.

Sonar 2009

The only downturn going on in Barcelona from June 17th - 21st this year was a void of early risers missing out on hotel breakfasts. Perhaps that was an isolated experience for myself and my traveling companion but, what was prevalent at Sonar festival this year was that not only were the huge number of attendees, 3 day passes and Saturday Day sold out, but the curiosity and hunger of those in attendance. Over the past few years of this festival, an occasionally disjointed roster has often attracted a more laid back, diverse and interesting crowd to Sonar by Day. Sonar Night though, seemed to lure a louder, beer swilling and toxic mix that were more intent on hunting down the most repetitive, recognizable or 'banging' beats on showcase that particular evening way out In Fira 2, Hospitalet. Sonar 2009 however, was quite contrary.

A festival that many see has one of the most influential brands in electronic music today. The organizers have been steadily building strong relationships with other global electronic music channels such as the always compelling Red Bull Music Academy and, fast becoming a leader in the breaking of new underground music worldwide, club and BBC radio DJ Mary Anne Hobbs. Indeed the latter connection with BBC has even grown to include another stage during Sonar Day featuring BBC radio DJ Huw Stephens and several introduced acts. Alongside these newly established partners, stalwarts of electronic music and Sonar veterans (Hawtin, Mills, Garnier and Carl Craig), fresh beatmaking talent and many bands convened to make this one of the most fluent and well blended Sonar's I have witnessed. For such a large festival and with a global reputation, the music selection and event organization is always going to be a tight rope of opinions and critique. For really to the point up to date line-ups it would be much easier and self-satisfying for electronic music enthusiasts to check out smaller and younger festivals such as Italy's Dissonanze, Norway's NuMusic and even the only comparable North American counterpart Mutek, held in Montreal. However, what Sonar holds over these other festivals is a consistent mix between new and old, underground, uncovered and well-known acts. A healthy move toward a more band friendly festival was also a real feather in the hat for Sonar this year. Having been trumped, in many critics opinions, by fellow Barcelonian festival Primavera Sound in terms of quality and depth of the line-up and perceived 'coolness' of the crowd this year spelled out a strong comeback for a date that crosses all electronic music enthusiasts minds come mid June every year.

In terms of the actual festival, a mixture of classic acts making comebacks (Grace Jones and Orbital), genre defying experimental acts (Animal Collective, Fever Ray, Crystal Castles) and a strong showing from what we now generally call the 'Beat Generation' was solidified by a plethora of off Sonar events. Strangely these off events seemed to actually compliment the core festival as opposed to detract from it. Pick of the bunch probably being Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder night taking on local Barcelona night Plat Du Jour (ran by the former organizers of Friends and Family). Our very own DO IT! collective also had a night on that you can read about below.

Sonar highlights were witnessing a room fill to the bassy wobbles and wibbles of the ever charming Vienna based Dorian Concept and courtesy of his Korg machines, keyboards and at one stage shoe. You can watch some highlights here. Fever Ray had a very stylish yet brief set taking influence from the Gothic and Futurist fashions du jour at the moment. Glasgow's Rustie put in a very strong performance mixing wonky, r'n'b and rave inspired breaks to a rather limp crowd, showing he has a lot more than just exciting production in the armoury. But, festival highlight was undoubtedly the performance that was but never was. Crystal Castles and Alice Glass in particular normally pack a punch or two musically wherever they perform but, after numerous sound problems I don't think anyone expected Glass to layout a security guard with a fist after failing on first attempt with the biggest drum on stage. Check here for THE highlight of Sonar this year. Thanks to Delia Dumitrescu for the photos, who I met mid Dorian Concept. You can check out her latest blog entries and photos via her site here.

Photo: Muhsinah (USA) live during Sonar Day by Delia Larisa Dumitrescu.

DO IT!!! Barcaloca

A big thanks to all the good people who made it down to an intimate and perfect Sonar aperitivo DO IT! night at Marula Cafe in Barcelona. Numbers hit around the 100 mark and those in attendance managed to catch a great variety of DJ sets. From Sunday Joints Roger C's eclectism of afro bass and other various treats, some rare latin and salsa cuts from the man Timber through to some fantastic wu womping funky and fresh beats outta New Zealand via Brazil courtesy of Bobby Brazuka. A special shout of appreciation to Marula's Antonio and Nuggets Club's Mighty C-Zar who got us through the first DO IT! in Spain. We're scheduled to travel to and play in Helsinki and Bergen next on a Nordic swoop and in the company of Glasgow's Brian De Souza so look out!

Poster: by Alexander Horne (me!).

Scratch It!

Having provided a platform for collaboration between Finnish VJs the Vixen VJs and myself, DJ Uraki Riddim, for the first Transplant Session we decided to go for a similar music and visual combination for Session # 2. Instead of a typical VJ and DJ set-up however, we took influence from an era of hip-hop that produced movements of not only music but dance, art and fashion. Our second session explored the history of the 'Scratch' and intended to reinterpret it's raw essence in a new format. Scratching in a musical sense, is the expression and manipulation of records to make new sounds and rhythms. It is an aspect of turntabilsm, performance DJing, and one of hip-hop's art forms. Other hip-hop art forms include break dancing, street art and MCing. Regular jam sessions brought these four art forms together and it is in this spirit that designer, artist and my work colleague Jan Brauer and I came together to create the 'Scratch' themed night that included an exclusive showing of Doug Pray's excellent documentary film 'Scratch' and first public showcase of Jan Brauer utilizing his scratch board technique live while I spun some classic and new hip-hop, electronica and dub beats.

Hailing originally from near Leipzig and following a working period in New York, Brauer moved to Dale I Sunnfjord on the west coast of Norway to work with Ralston&Bau design studio and Trasnplant's innovation and design center. For the duration of his stay he has attentively developed a unique scratch board technique to further communicate his deep, twisted and occasionally wicked humorous illustrative style. You can check out some images of the stunning final scratch board piece from this night and some of his other work's here. Brauer is also part of a mobile, playful and provocative graphic collective named Gono Gono and you can check out some of their works here.
Photo: Jan Brauer at work during Transplant Sessions #2 by Leon Vaarheim.

FIXed

I was in Bergen a few weeks ago for The Fix party at USF Verftet, created by the people behind Ekkofest as part of Bergenfest. It was a strong line-up (featuring acts like Flying Lotus and Gang Gang Dance) for such a compact event and I was impressed enough by the party to write an article for Resident Advisor magazine.

Bergen is quite a small sized city compared to similar central European destinations but, it makes up for this with a core of cultural and nightlife activity from the heart of the city. While the venue for The Fix was a little away from the center, toward the end of the port, the walk was only about 15 minutes long from the main buss station. The actual venue, USF Verftet, is a former Sardine factory and provided an interesting array of cavernous passageways to mostly low ceiling rooms. Other places worth checking out in Bergen include Cafe Opera where you can enjoy a coffee while people watching during the day and get down to some of the cities finest djs every Friday and Saturday. I'll be back to Bergen soon, where I hope to find out a lot more about the city, it's people and it's artsy goings on. Until then I'd recommend booking a trip for September's Ekkofest which, promises to bring an exciting batch of electronic acts to a charming, cute and compact city.
Photo: Gang Gang Dance at The Fix by Asle.

The Fix - Resident Advisor article

I just got an article about The Fix party in Bergen published on Resident Advisor. You can read the review and leave any comments here. Resident Advisor have a couple of interesting parties coming up during Sonar week (June 18th - 21st) in Barcelona including acts like micro house pioneer Akufen alongside recent RA podcast contributers Thomas Brinkmann and Jus-Ed. The first part of the party is an invite only pool party but, things will heat up and open up regarding the door policy in the evening when RA takeover the newly refurbished Boulevard Culture Club, formerly Fellini. As well as some great parties it will be a great week for new music from the past year and an exciting look into the future so expect some exotic photos of long nights, short days and words about what went down pronto.

Today

"Everything is fluid. Styles change, materials change but, people don't"
Paula Scher, designer and Pentagram director

Nordic Visions

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Finland's Vixen vjs as part of a new venture in Norway by the name of Transplant Sessions. I spun records as part of the DO IT! collective, under my dj guise Uraki Riddim, and organized the event at Transplant's innovation and design center in Dale I Sunnfjord on the West coast of Norway. Transplant Sessions is a platform for electronic music and visual talent from Nordic countries to showcase themselves through live performance and documentation of their work online. Transplant Sessions' first guest, Badass Bambi from Vixen vjs, represented Finland and on the night provided a beautiful, colourful and abstract re-interpretation of the Transplant venue's idyllic surrounding landscape.

Vixen vjs are originally from Tampere, said to be Finland's equivalent to Manchester, where they have been performing with the local Plauge dj collective at their Off The Hook club night and their very own Pikku Sisko Disko parties (little Sister disco). Vixens are two female vjs, Pony Revenger and Badass Bambi aka Video-Jukka-Paula aka artist Paula Lehtonen. Their attitude and style is unique but, also representative of a significant number of smaller DIY club nights and parties sprouting up throughout the world. It was a pleasure working with the Vixens and it is certain that DO IT! and Vixen vjs will be colloborating again at some point later this year when their busy schedule allows. Before Vixens bring their visual venom to Scottish shores, or wherever else a future colaboration takes form, check out Paula Lehtonen's own personal artistic output on her website here.

....

The softened reflections that come from loss with a sensation of hollow numbness. Your good will and warm nature was infectious at every event, gathering or get together we had. The memories were golden. May you rest in the peace.

Fresh buds from LALAland

There has been much talk recently of something of a significant and sustained wave of culture and artsy goings-on hitting sunny California and in particular LA. Wether the West Coast of the United States has finally put their dukes up to face the East, and mainly New York, for more than a couple of bouts of culture bragging rights is yet to be seen. What is apparent and much to the joy of music-hungry enthusiasts the world over is the vast quantity and depth of beat-making talent flowing out from Arnie's backyard. These producers/musicians are not only putting exciting new sounds at the forefront of listener's minds but, they are doing so with an armada of illustrators, graphic designers, publications and record labels collectively and through frequent collaborations.

This movement or attitude is of course not exclusively an LA or San Francisco thing, as similar music and art hooks up can be seen from Glasgow to Vilnius , Tokyo to Amsterdam, Vigo in Spain and many more. The matter of fact though is that for something some have tagged as a 'post Dilla' sound, for want of calling it something, has found the greatest and richest source of output from Los Angeles, California. Over the coming weeks two highly anticipated albums straight outta this LA vortex of creativity are ready to drop. The producers are Matthew David and Teebs, and you can catch them live on Mary Anne Hobbs excellent Radio 1 Breezeblock show from the 7th April and 24th March respectively.

Itch magazine article

Just got an article entitled 'No Time For Pie' published in ITCH magazine. It's an attempt to examine the significance of the current economic situation to the creative industries with some conclusions. Click on one of the links to check it out.

How it is...

I aspire to do but, often find myself stumbling over an urgency to inform... this blog combines those and provides an insight and instigator for those who share perpetual interests with an incessant hunger for cultures nou.

I aim to provide interviews, articles, doodles and photos from the boundless and global worlds of design, beats, artsy things and thoughts. Peace + enjoy NEW INK!

Alexander Horne