FACT
With distribution as far-reaching as Japan, Australia, Spain and the UK, bi-monthly magazine FACT has been covering the best in music and art since 2003 – and best of all, it’s free. We spoke to editor, Sean Bidder: ‘We were, and still are, in love with magazines — and looked back to two particular periods for inspiration – what we considered to be the “golden age” of magazine publishing in the 1930s, when art and lifestyle magazines were beautifully produced products, and to the thrilling, vital and independent DIY fanzine culture that first sprung up in the 1960s’. ‘Unlike the mass of PR-led, celebrity-orientated news-stand titles, these magazines felt, and still feel, genuinely special, a mix of opinionated and informed writing about the broader margins of popular culture, and great, original artwork, with high production values: things you want to keep and collect rather than dispose. Our remit is simple enough, we want to champion great new music and those artists who are making it’.
Also by NATALIE LIECHTI
Current UK beat-boxing champ, Beardyman, recently kept impatient crowds entertained between sets at London’s Lovebox Weekender. We spoke to the Brighton resident about his offbeat style: ‘I’ve been doing it since I was a baby, but I never knew it was called beat-boxing. I thought it was just a habit, like biting your nails, and people were always telling me to stop. Being a good beat-boxer is a mixture between being a good DJ, a cheesy street magician and a vocal athlete’.
Sydney-based artist, James Jirat Patradoon on his career defining moment: ‘If I could trace my artistic inspiration back to one event, it would have to be the Neo Tokyo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2001. I had never seen art like that before; I didn’t know you could be so playful with it. I vividly remember the Yoshitomo Nara sculptures made out of bandages, and Kenji Yanobe’s atom suit and Godzilla/Astro Boy sculptures that blew bubbles. It was just so fun. I think because a lot of Japanese art contains references to pop culture, it’s more accessible for audiences. They aren’t so intimidated by it because it can be quite light-hearted but still have a serious undertone to it’.
A haven for all things creative,
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For the longest time I was an enormous admirer of the loopy, distinct line drawings of Brooklyn-illustrator Matt Hollister. Having seemingly lost track of his work for a couple of years (who knows how that manages to happen), I was shocked to stumble across his work yet again recently while perusing the New York Times. I had to check out his website immediately, and from there I wandered into his blog. The best part was that you could almost watch a new style emerge chronologically, beginning with the old drawings and then a small experiment, a mono print and then, more and more, mono prints and experiments, less and less loopy drawings. Even the subject matter seems to have changed and become much quirkier to accommodate the new style. I’m certainly feeling that staying abreast of Hollister’s work should now prove pretty inescapable.
Dutch designer Sam van Veluw’s P-Tree is a pretty awesome alternative to standard port-o-potties. On top of that, it allows men to tap fulfill the primal urge to pee on trees without any of the mess. Too bad there’s no female version.
I ran a series of 80s nights in New York last year — showing cult 80s movies and playing classic cuts from that era of kitsch and spice — purely so I could spin After The Fire’s Der Kommissar over and over. Yessir, this was the future of music in 1983. Pity no one was listening.
This water theatre by the British architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw of Grimshaw Architects, takes the form of a vertical seawater greenhouse, with the evaporators and condensers stacked vertically to maximise yield. The structure is not only a visible engine of sustainability but is also a large theatre auditorium. Read more
Christopher Knowles’ blog is a haven for all things not Lady Gaga. Read more
We featured red hot Brooklyn band Yeasayer on Lost At E Minor a few months back, so we thought it was time we checked in with keyboardist-sampler, Chris Keating. Read more
Omar Seluj [pronounced Oh-ma Sir-luge] is a boutique sunglasses operation created by two Sydney guys who wanted to craft original designs in limited numbers for the sunglasses aficionado. The result is the debut range consisting of two styles in three different colours. All Omar Seluj sunnies are hand-crafted acetate, have spring hinges and boast UV 400 lenses. There are only 100 pairs of each colour. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Inspired by the unique digital clock apps created by the designer, Sean Zoega, the i-toc watch is a colorful physical manifestation of digital ideas featuring bespoke two-disc Japan quartz movement. The outer gradient displays the minutes while the inner gradient shows the hours. The rings interact, creating an ever-changing pattern of design and colour. We have them for sale in our online store. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
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