Lost AT E Minor

Illustration / Drawing to a whole

November 30, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

There’s nothing better than a well-written blog - that introspective slither of someone else’s world - and I’ve been enjoying reading the Lady Cracker one over the past few days. It’s a nice mix of quirky lists and biting social commentary all wrapped up in the poetic ambiguity of Lady Cracker’s random musings. Another site I love is Cool Hunting, a New York based portal into everything hip and happening. They source out the hottest new products and deliver them deliciously in the form of a well taken snap and a short written tease. Always worth a good look, especially to catch the next wave of designer gadget goodies. Away from the net, there’s an Australian produced magazine called Dumbo-Feather - Pass It On which is doing interesting things with its content and design. With its thick paper stock and anti-commercial approach, the magazine more resembles a book, taking a nice swipe at the throwaway mantras of the mainstream publishing houses with it’s left-of-centre editorial. The current issue includes an excerpt from Lost At E Minor in which I discussed a dream that I had as part of a larger feature on dream analysis and the whole thing has been very nicely presented by the Saatchi design team. There’s more information at the Dumbo Feather website.

Music / A lil’ ray of something

November 30, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Hailing from Budapest, Erik Sumo (aka Ambrus Tovishazi) has managed to avoid the proliferation of like-sounding acts that have dominated the American and UK markets over the past few decades. As a result, this debut album is far removed from musical trends and gimmicks. Instead it is a whirlpool of ideas and sketches, a rambling, expansive recording full of quirky instrumental hooks and subtle melodic twists. It takes its inspiration from a range of genres including break beat, old school funk and soul, acoustic nu folk and left-of-centre film soundtracks. It’s cinematic in parts, the ambitious arrangements swathed in deep layers of abstract noise.

Music / Things that go ‘ah’

November 30, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

In the wake of a flood of experimental Canadian acts such as Set Fire With Flames and Stars, comes a number of bands that are crossing over from their underground roots and into the mainstream without compromising their integrity in any way. Not since the days of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and co. has so many talented artists burst out of the one closeted environment. This album from Bell Orchestra is an eclectic offering from two of the Arcade Fire members - Richard Reed Parry and Sarah Neufeld - which liberally traverses that fine line between pop greatness and kitsch cool. Featuring a vast array of instrumentation (including string, bells and … stethoscopes) Recording A Tape The Colour Of The Light is clever, animated and refreshingly unique. We have five copies to give away courtesy of Shock Records to emailers with the three greatest Canadian exports.

Illustration / True colours

November 30, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

I travel light. choose to do so because I hate clutter of any kind. Physical, mental, emotional … spare me the excess baggage. But allow me to wallow in it from time to time. Heck, I’m only human. Where others seek material ‘wellness’, I’m desperately trying to get rid of whatever meagre assets I’ve accumulated. Read more

Illustration / Wake me up lo go

November 23, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

First off, a big heads up to the talented folk at Melbourne-based design studio, Urchin Associates, who have created a new logo for Lost At E Minor which I think really captures the spirit of the newsletter. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Urchin on a number of projects over the years and they’ve always been an absolute joy to work with. Ok, onto other things and I’ve been checking out a few cool links during the week. One is for Manolo Campion, a New York-based fashion photographer who creates a wonderful sense of calmness and serenity with his shots whilst never stripping the subjects of their inherent sense of vulnerability. Another nice photography site is that of Californian Joe Koller who has a diverse array of coastal-themed work up on his website. I also got word during the week of a New York-based art magazine called Art Asia Pacific which features some beautiful illustrations and paintings alongside a pile of interesting cultural tidbits. Their latest issue (#46) is out now in hard-copy form, but the website also has all sorts of tasty snippets. As does the website of German illustrator and animator Craig Robinson. There’s a mixed bag of treats up there, from random articles he’s written to a series of his clever animated creations.

Illustration / Tomorrow comes today

November 23, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

Just a quick reminder to those living in sunny Sydney that Resfest kicks off on December 1st, showcasing works from a number of internationally renowned directors, designers and animators. Some of the things worth checking out include a directorial retrospective of Scandinavian advertising collective Traktor, the most awarded commercial directors ever; two Australian shorts - Lucky by Nash Edgerton and It’s Like That, directed and animated by the Southern Ladies Animation Group; and the latest works by Designers Republic, Nakd and Zeitguised. It all takes place at Newtown’s Dendy Cinema until December 6th and there’s more at the Res Fest website. There’s some nice illustration work on Kiersten Essenpreis’ You Fail website. Love the interface too. Good to see something a little different as your first point of contact. I also really like the work of GusFink whose random sketches may have all the naivety of an early childhood scrawl but there’s something utterly compelling about them all the same. Another illustrator to check out is Californian Alika Cooper who has such a unique and definable style. Her work is somewhat eerie and full of pathos; minimal and clean yet beautifully coloured.

Music / Move like this

November 23, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Dub Club features deep and gritty beats from the cutting room floor of the DubClub, that long-time advocate of everything dreadlocked and bass heavy. This compilation has been spliced together by Gu-mix and Makossa and features some of the hotter names of the genre right now including Stereotyp, OMFO, and Hubert Tubbs. It’s fittingly eclectic, skirting that waterthin perimeter between reggae and drum & bass, but never drifting too far away from its roots. At times the flow seems a little lost, especially around the tail-end of songs, but the rest of the mix is solid, reaffirming the strength of the nu-dub revival. Also recommended is Akron Family’s self-titled album, a precocious release from these New York wunderkids, which flits dramatically from introspective folk to broken beats with barely pause for breath. This album is somewhat manic, and entirely devoid of structure, yet it’s entirely compelling throughout.

Photography / Ying

November 23, 2005 | Photography | by Zolton |

Some nice work from Australian based photographer, Ying: ‘Photography began as a way for me to glorify everything that was beautiful and worthy of appreciation in a fast-food world where everyone is too busy climbing the social and economic ladder to truly marvel at the world around them. They are my tribute to the poignancy of life. I feel like I need to take photographs because ever since I picked up a camera, the world has become a richer place, filled with all kinds of things worth recording and remembering. The same way that science answers the questions of how and why things work to me, photography answers the more philosophical questions about life, social and cultural norms and the essence of what makes us human, with our varied emotive responses and our sense of what is beautiful and appreciated. In the pursuit of answering these massive questions through photography, my audience is also invited to ponder these same issues when they consider my photographs. I want my images to tell half a story and inspire the viewer to continue the rest of the story to make it their own. They are designed to set the scene and then to encourage the viewer to add flourishes of their own imaginations to create a fuller and more personal experience’.

Music / A treat for ya ears

November 16, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Animal Collective create music that challenges you to think differently about your immediate surrounds. It’s a big statement, I know, but really, when you listen to the warm electro-pop which saturates this album, it’s surprisingly easy to detach yourself from the immediacy of the moment and instead be transported front and centre to the polite mosh of one of their New York gigs. Feels follows on from where last year’s Sung Tongs left off. It’s an album borne of experiences and emotions, each song dragged kicking and screaming from the deepest recesses of the idea well and molded with intricate precision by producer Scott Colbourne. This is a very ‘real’ album, full of leftfield melodic tangents and unexpected instrumental touches, every bit as commanding as we’ve come to expect.

Art / Ben Frost

November 16, 2005 | Art | by Zolton |

An exhibition of new works from local artist, Ben Frost, kicked off last week at Sydney’s Helen Gory Gallery. The show, entitled Rainbow’s End, ‘explores themes of alienation, dispossession, and perversity that exist behind the facade of contemporary western society. By subverting mainstream iconography from the advertising, entertainment and political spectrum he creates a visual and conceptual framework that is bold, confronting and often controversial’. As Frost himself notes: ‘They say that at the end of the rainbow there is a pot of gold - a utopia of happiness, prosperity and beauty. But what if it is really an apocalyptic end time - an orgy of decadence, consumption and convenience that is as deliciously loathsome as it is irresistibly inviting?’. It runs until December 3 and there’s more information at the Helen Gory website.

Music / Two shakes and a spin

November 9, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Hailing from London, Belasco are a throwback to the strident guitar pop of the late-1980s. Main man Tim Brownlow takes a Grant Lee Buffalo approach to both his compositions and his production allowing jangly acoustic guitars to dominate a decidedly trebly mix. Their debut album, Knowing Everyone’s Okay, is full of anthemic choruses, Brownlow’s Brett Anderson-like vocals adding wonderfully emotive elements. Belasco have been around in one guise or another for over five years now and are a darker counterpoint to many of their more commercially successful contemporaries. Knowing Everyone’s Okay sits uneasily on the ear, the ever-shifting dynamics most clearly revealed on the standout track, ‘Man’, which builds from an inauspicious opening to its classic pop conclusion. The strong songwriting and honest performance ensures that this is an album that grows more endearing with each new listen.

Illustration / Me plus one

November 9, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

I got sent a couple of very cool links during the week including one for the Images in The Sky project whereby 200 random images were taken off the Internet, placed inside helium balloons, then released into the London sky a month or so ago. The idea is that, as some of these balloons ultimately return back to Earth (or at least to the craggy atmosphere of a far flung planet), their progress will be tracked by its finders who can log onto a website and report their discovery before sending them skywards again. Interesting stuff. Read more about it on the Images In The Sky website. Another fun site is Weebls-Stuff which contains the slightly creepy but brilliantly conceived Salad Fingers animation featuring music from Aphex Twin interspersed amongst some wickedly twisted plots. Do a search for Salad Fingers in the Weebls-Stuff search bar. On a different note, there’s some very nice work up on the Kustaasaksi website. It’s full of ornate illustrative creations with strong thematic imagery. Meanwhile, anyone looking for a quick fix of online computer game action should head straight for the FreeArcade website. More than enough colourful distractions to send us back to our insolent adolescence.