Lost AT E Minor

Art / Watching the wheels

December 21, 2005 | Art | by Zolton |

The feature artist this week is Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame who, prior to becoming a bonafide rock star, studied at the Art Center of Design in Pasadena, California. His latest side project is the hip hop group Fort Minor (which includes collaborations with Common, Black Thought of the Roots, Kenna, John Legend and Styles of Beyond) but he has also recently taken part in the Munny project with Kid Robot, did a Remix shoe design with DC and all the artwork for Linkin Park’s Reanimation album. His colourful artworks seem a world away from the rather dark music that he’s become synonymous with. Elsewhere, Sydney collective Space 3 have just launched a new 200-page hardcover visual history covering performances, music, installation, and exhibitions in every conceivable medium. There’s more at the Space 3 website. Speaking of which, there’s some nice illustrations on Emerson Calderon’s website. And I also got word during the week that This Is Not A Magazine has published a new anthology of time-based artworks by artists working in and around the internet today. There’s more information on that project, and others that they’re involved in, at their website.

Music / Shades of sound

December 21, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

A chaotic explosion of guitar heavy noise and barely audible vocals kicks off this release from the always-interesting Sub Pop label in Seattle. The five-piece Constantines are a curious mob - a bit like the Birthday Party minus the tortured genius - their sound as raw and unpolished as one could imagine, but hardly lacking in originality. On Shine A Light there are long instrumental intros; fiercely distorted guitar hooks; and a cracking drum kit, all wrapped up in a strong pop feel that permeates even the harshest moments. The odd time signatures - ‘Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)’ - and the menacingly basslines only adds to the general sense of sonic unease that the Constantines create, best reflected in the feedback driven ‘Young Lions’, as good a song as anything that underground and indie radio have flogged over the past few years.

Music / Another thing

December 21, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

The strong late 60s early 70s country/soul feel on this album from Johnny Society filters through the instrumentation, into the analogue sounding nature of the recording, and even onto the cover art itself which projects a band very much in the mold of predecessors such as The Band and The Doobie Brothers. Life Behind 21^st Century Walls is a solid album, a song-first recording which throws open the doors to a sonic realm in which keyboards, lightly strummed acoustic guitars and, more significantly, lush vocal harmonies take precedence. Tracks like ‘Trust’ and ‘Get Off My Farm’ have that anthemic feel to them - you can almost imagine sitting on a veranda in twenty years time loosely picking out their chord progressions, such is the universally friendly nature of their arrangements. And this approach is symbolic of how the rest of this album unfolds.

Photography / Tell me lies

December 21, 2005 | Photography | by Zolton |

Some nice portrait work from New Zealand-based photographer, Jaxon Laidlaw, whose work was recently featured in Auckland lifestyle magazine, Metro. It’s good to see new Kiwi talent kicking through into the mainstream.

Illustration / Mind of a machine

December 14, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

Ah, sleep of the damned. That messy, unsettled phase where your mind races at the speed of light and everything in life seems that little bit more complicated. Yes, ‘twisting and turning’, you evil companions to a hot summer’s night, how I could do without you. Read more

Art / Home entertainment

December 14, 2005 | Art | by Zolton |

I got a couple of great blog tips during the week. One rallies on the concept of the city - in both a real and a metaphysical sense - looking at all those things that we take for granted: the slithers of imperfections, such as cracks in the sidewalk, that gives each urban environment its own distinct flavour. The writer explores what it all means by placing it in a broader intellectual context, which may sound very heavy, but it’s actually very interesting. The other blog is written by a girl living in Tanzania and provides a series of lists in which random things - from gossip, to monkeys, to the beach - are given a lengthy analysis and then a rating out of ten. It’s all very entertaining. Another site worth spending some time on is David Firth’s Fat Pie, home to his disturbingly brilliant animated cartoons amongst a series of equally creative and bizarre work. His mind functions in mysterious ways. Half his luck. Incidentally, the featured artist this week is Catherine Ryan, whose work has been exhibited in the Hang Gallery and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as well as being included in Douglas Bullis’ book, 100 Artists of the West Coast.

Music / Haven’t you heard?

December 14, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Coco Rosie have been lumped into that broad nu-folk category alongside stars of the revival such as Devendra Barnhart and Vashti Bunyan. But really their music is far removed from the simple acoustic melodies of many of these contemporaries. Instead the New York based duo create thickly textured music where the subtleties of the arrangements are buried under layers of ‘found’ sound and hazy harmonies. It’s intricate and lush, the grating sonic blips which were such a part of the earlier recordings, less prominent on their latest album, Noah’s Ark. Instead it’s full of vitriolic lyrics, scattered instrumental breaks and off-kilter melodies which hover delicately between greatness and obscurity. We have five copies of this album to giveaway thanks to Inertia to random entries with two things they’d take with them on a modern day Noah’s Ark. Get in touch with us at lostineminor.com.

Photography / Clifford Smith

December 14, 2005 | Photography | by Zolton |

A couple of photos from Moscow-based photographer and art criticism student, Clifford Smith. His work has a wonderful sense of space and framing. It’s moody, subtle yet evocative, especially in the warm colours he captures.

Events / Anything could happen

December 7, 2005 | Events | by Zolton |

No I don’t dance. But heck I was tempted the other night. I was at a Foo Fighters gig, deep amongst the sweat-ridden bowels of a 20,000 strong crowd, with a mind-blowing laser show flashing above me and a band on stage so in the zone it was mesmerising. Read more

Music / This wonderwall

December 4, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

Bjork is surely the most creative mainstream artist in contemporary music. She shifts sonic territory with remarkable grace, rarely disappointing, always challenging.
So it is with Medulla, a stunning album which places the spotlight firmly on a voice that’s unique and compelling. Medulla is Bjork’s grand opera - a series of barely instrumentalised songs which rely more on the beatboxing of Rahzel than on any definable musical accompaniment. Instead Bjork, in conjunction with the Icelandic Choir, weaves a rich tapestry of vocal harmonies in which voices flit in and out across twisted melodic lines. The simple beauty of songs like ‘Vokuro’ and ‘Submarine’ are offset by the more complicated arrangements of ‘Where Is The Line’. And at the heart of it all is an artist who seeks to redefine the boundaries of popular music. This is a breathtaking album that does more to reinvigorate jaded ears than a thousand Hives clones.

Music / You want it

December 4, 2005 | Music | by Zolton |

The debut album from Australian singer-songwriter Jack Ladder is full of arching melodies which wander off on tangents only to return again under the full weight of a series of timeless chorus structures. Ladder’s great strength lies in his capacity to conjure complex melodic lines out of well-worn progressions. This is an album full of slow-builders, all of which utilize simple acoustic riffs to carry the somewhat melancholic tone. It’s very beautiful; and just left-of-centre enough to embed itself inside your head then play strange games with your ability to whistle a tune. Not Worth Waiting For is disarmingly honest, in keeping with Ladder’s lyrical capacity to strip himself bare with each new song (and there’s 22 of them on this album), metaphorically speaking of course. Though stranger things have happened in the recording studio. Thanks to Spunk we have five copies to giveaway to random email entries with suggestions on what you’d like to use a Ladder to look down on right now.

Illustration / Catherine LePage

December 4, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

Catherine LePage was born in Quebec City where she studied Graphic Design. In 1998, she spent one year at the Ecole Superieure des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg in France and studied illustration. She then returned to Quebec, where she still lives today, and worked as a graphic designer for several years before deciding to stay home and concentrate on illustration. She’s now represented by Anna Goodson Management. Her work suggests that she’s a sensitive artist who creates simple, expressive characters and plays liberally with textures, colours, and patterns. It’s all very serene, though busy enough to hint at the rich layers that seep through every one of her works.

Illustration / Fork songs

December 4, 2005 | Illustration | by Zolton |

Feature artist, Vicky Woodgate studied at Chelsea School of Art in London and graduated in 1990 with a BA in Graphics and Illustration. She has since gone onto a very diverse career: ‘I have worked for the past twelve years as a freelance scenic artist and illustrator’, she says, ‘working for Warner Brothers in Germany, Legoland in Bavaria, Universal Studios in Spain and painting a decorative ceiling for the King of Jordan in Amman. I set up a company in 2000 in scenic services but left last year to pursue full-time illustration from a nice flat in Valencia, Spain with two cats on my lap instead of ice in my paint bucket! Exploring the full potential of digital artwork big and small’. You can check out more of her work at Vicky Woodgate’s website. Meanwhile, an interesting public space project is kicking off in Australia during 2006. Toilet Doors: Illustrated Poem Posters will commission Australian poets and visual designers to create original poem posters for exhibition on the back of toilet doors nationally and to also be displayed in Qantas domestic terminals and Greater Union cinemas. For more information, go to the Red Room Company website.