Lost AT E Minor

Music / Souls She Said

May 31, 2007 | Music | by Casper Johansson |

There’s something really acerbic and unpolished about the sound of duo Souls She Said. It’s caustic and incendiary. ‘These unwilling but unrelenting mercenaries, whose real names and identities have been changed to protect the guilty, exist only to the outside world as an innocuously mild-mannered side project, but in reality have greatly impacted the catalysts for change towards what will eventually come to be known as the final evolutionary link for all mankind’. Indeed.

Listen to the Souls She Said track, Sunken City.

Places / Hitotoki

May 31, 2007 | Places | by Andy |

Hitotoki is a beautifully presented series of ‘Tokyo stories from curious outsiders’. Read more

Art / Ry Fyan

May 31, 2007 | Art | by Zolton |

There’s a nice write-up on Ry Fyan’s artwork on The Proposition Gallery website. ‘In an age ruled by branding, advertising, the internet and Photoshop-ed perfection at the click of a mouse, Fyan’s intricate landscapes, abstractions and occasional journeys into installation are physical antitheses to current media obsession’.

May 31, 2007 | Music | by Kate Barnett |

If you haven’t heard the Peter Bjorn and John song Young Folks you’ve been under a rock. Or at least somewhere far away from the radio, which is lucky for you because I’m well over it. However, I do like this cover. Kentucky-born New York performer and sound engineer Dawn Landes has recorded a version with a genuine bluegrass band from Austin and the results have been floating around the internet for the last few weeks. Don’t be scared by some intense banjo in the beginning though. [see also Feist takes the bus]

Music / The Shivers

May 31, 2007 | Music | by Kate Barnett |

I listen to a lot of music online these days. I know it’s good if a couple of weeks later I remember the band’s name and I’ve bothered to download it. There isn’t much info about The Shivers other than the members seem to come and go and the tracks are beautifully melancholic. Get ready to weep.

Listen to The Shivers track, Beauty.

Photography / Ninth Floor

May 31, 2007 | Photography | by Zolton |

Jessica Dimmocks’s gritty photo essay, Ninth Floor, captures ‘heroin addicts living in a Manhattan apartment building in a surprising, powerful, and intimate way. The photographs brilliantly capture the chaotic atmosphere of human lives spinning out of control. Her contemporary visual language coupled with a strong narrative approach compels the viewer to understanding and to care’. [see also Bronwyn Hyde]

Fashion / Uniqlo

May 30, 2007 | Fashion | by Kate Barnett |

I’m not one of those ‘I’ll buy one in every colour!’ shoppers. But the other day I bought more than one thing in several colours from my new favourite money sucker, and Japan’s most popular apparel retailer, UNIQLO. The company embraces the clean, cool simplicity of Japanese design in a massive collection comparable to Gap and American Apparel. There’s an astonishing amount of styles, celebrity endorsements, and fusion lines by world-class designers, including a new range of limited edition tees documented by well known snapper, Terry Richardson.

Events / Mekanism and Zimmermann

May 30, 2007 | Events | by Zolton |

Skatedeck company Mekanism’s collaboration with German painter Peter Zimmermann has led to the creation of 50 unique skateboards painted using epoxy resin. For those in Berlin, the boards will be displayed from June 1st to July 28th at Galerie Michael Janssen, Kochstrase 60.

Art / 337 Project

May 30, 2007 | Art | by Andy |

The 337 Project involved 144 street artists bringing all 42 rooms and every exterior surface of a soon to be demolished building in Salt Lake City to life, albeit briefly. Once it’s demolished, will the owners of the new condominiums care about the artworks ever so fleetingly impressed upon the land? Perhaps if they were to see Rich Leg’s amazing flickr set taken during his visit to the building they might spare the artists a thought. [see also 11 Spring Street]

Trends / The Living Tower

May 29, 2007 | Trends | by Snell |

Combining residential space and farming in an urban tower, the French architectural firm atelier soa architectes have taken the vertical farm to the next level. The Vertical Farm Project — headed by Dr Dickson Despommier from the Environmental Health Science department at Columbia University — lists this as one of their most promising prototypes for a solution to feeding the world’s growing population, especially necessary given that it is estimated that by 2050, 80% of the earth’s population will be living in urban centres. [see also Dongtan Eco-city]

Art / Guan Zeju

May 29, 2007 | Art | by Zolton |

Our friends over at Sex In Art have posted a stunning work by Chinese artist Guan Zeju. There’s such a subtlety and depth of sensuality about her portraits. Truly beautiful. [see also Sex In Art]

Trends / Paul Rand

May 29, 2007 | Trends | by Andy |

The late Brooklyn-born graphic designer Paul Rand was labeled ‘the greatest living graphic designer’ by Steve Jobs in 1996, shortly prior to Rand’s passing. Best known for compelling logo designs and corporate identities, many of which are still in use today, Rand summarises the purpose of a logo in two short sentences. ‘A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies’. For further reading Chanpory Rith over at Lifeclever has captured some of the best written and visual content from Rand’s book Design, Form and Chaos. Timeless. [see also Urchin Associates]

Music / Tigercity interview

May 29, 2007 | Music | by Zolton |

We interviewed Joel, the bassplayer with our new favourite band Tigercity. I said on Lost At E Minor your music is like a cross between Steely Dan and Bee Gees. Fair call? ‘Influences from both bands are definitely in there, but I wouldn’t say that covers it. We’re proud to say it’s hard to pin down Tigercity’s sound with a two band referrence, and I think thats a result of a natural creative flow we’ve found recently. That being said, we’re not preaching some sort of intense originality and really don’t want to come off as pretentious. We’re just trying to write good songs and have fun with it’. As a fellow Brooklyner, how dynamic is the music scene in the Borough? It seems like everyone is playing in band, has a housemate who plays in a band, or at least regularly watches a friends band play. ‘Everyone I know in Brooklyn, and in New York in general, are really supportive of their friend’s bands — whether they play or not — and it’s been an amazing experience learning about the networks of music players and music lovers in this area. I think its unfair to a lot of artists to talk about New York music with sweeping generalizations based on blog reviews or label signings, especially to the crews who don’t care about the industry and take pride in their outsider approach to making music’. Your arcade game publicity pic is fun. [Brooklyn bar and arcad room] Barcade anyone? ‘Yes, Barcade is the jam. Best game in there is Star Wars’. [see also Erland Oye]

Trends / Wormfarming

May 29, 2007 | Trends | by Snell |

In Australia, over half of the household material that ends up at the tip is organic waste. Read more

Art / James Jean revisited

May 28, 2007 | Art | by Zolton |

Los Angeles based artist James Jean has a swag of awards under his belt, including the ‘gold Medal Society of Illustrators LA 2001, Eisner Award Best Cover Artist 2004 - 2006, Harvey Award Best Cover Artist 2005, 2006, American Illustration 22, 23, 25, and Society of Illustrators 45, 46, 47′. It’s not hard to see why. His work is almost biblical in its imagery, alluding to this classicism in its damp colours and allegorical themes. [see more work by James Jean]