The aesthetics of Lightspeed Champion
As head honcho of my band The Paper Scissors, I am in charge of many things both musical and menial, and then also the aesthetic and web aspects — artwork, blogs, and the whole identity of the band. Bands these days have to offer more than just a product, a CD, a clip and then a live show. There are people that have really embraced the change of the industry, not just the over talked MP3 killing the record industry debate, but the interactivity and dialogue that artists now have with their audience, through the web. One artist who I discovered recently and who epitomizes this is Lightspeed Champion, the solo project of Devonte Haynes, an English singer-songwriter. He plays very melodic pop with elaborate arrangements — Elton John meets Fleetwood Mac with a Jarvis Cocker-like vocal twang. Lightspeed Champion (named after a comic he drew as a kid) is a far jump from his previous job as guitarist with cult London screamos Testicicles. I think a lot of his appeal can be attributed to his aesthetic. He has impressive press shots with his ever present thick rimmed glasses, random animals, ten minute videos, and a blog where he writes and uploads photos and videos every day. There is a thick tapestry that shapes a cult of personality around him. He talks candidly about his friends and his life on his blog; taking in celebrities (doing songs with Klaxons, Patrick Wolf, playing Strokes songs with The Arctic Monkeys), parties, the DVDs that he’s watching, and so on. From the outside, it seems that he is a super connected, prolific, slightly narcissistic, yet brilliant artist who is fully embracing the web and shaping the aesthetic of his music. All of this with only one single lifted so far from his debut album.
Listen to the Lightspeed Champion song, Waiting Game.
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Also by JAI PYNE
TV On The Radio’s Dear Science
It was a privilege being able to sit down and listen to TV On The Radio’s album Dear Science from start to finish. An added bonus was the fact that I’ve been in the America for a month — the album sums up the atmosphere I have witnessed in the US: tension, money, a bigger gap between rich and poor than I’ve ever seen, a never ending far away war, and some vague hints at political hope. From the inset, TV On The Radio get bad ass on you, combining their trademark layers of barber shop vocals with criss-crossing handclaps over doomsday synth pads and screaming guitars on Halfway Home, which is like a grown up cousin of Wolf Like Me from their 2006 LP Cookie Mountain, easing you into the fact that beyond this point they are going to erase everything you thought you knew about TVOTR. But you should have expected that anyway.
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We love the work of Canadian-born, New York raised illustrator, Benjamin Marra. We asked him about it recently. Read more
The strategy based architectural firm Popular Architecture has created a scheme that takes on the spread of cities. Based on the estimation that London will need to provide housing for 100,000 new people each year up until 2016, this building houses 100,000 in one hit. Read more
Much2Much is an exquisite ‘bourgeoise punk’ jewellery line crafted with unlikely bits and bobs. Read more
Our online store has been kicking along nicely for a while now, featuring prints by Andy Smith [pictured], tees by Das Monk and jewellery by This Charming Man to name a few. We have visitors from all across the globe and some of our pieces have been racing out the virtual door faster than we imagined possible. Aw, shucks! Now it’s your turn. If you design, create, or distribute products and artwork that fits with our style, and you’d like to see your goodies stocked on our shelves in time for Christmas, drop us a note introducing yourself and we’ll take it from there. Psst … we’re planning some Christmas gift ideas and subscriber offers too. We reckon you’ll like them.
As someone who thinks more about traveling than actually gets to do it [damn, it should really be the other way around], it was good to come across the latest batch of Wallpaper* city guides the other day. Living vicariously through the pages of the Berlin edition at least made my next choice of holiday destination that much easier. Read more
There was a time, many moons ago, when I would only listen to bands off New Zealand’s Flying Nun label. Yup, I would strap myself into a comfy chair, put my headphones on and, armed with a chunk of chocolate coated Peanut Slab and a can of L&P, soak up album after album of wonderfully self-indulgent low-fi melancholy. Read more
Cloud Control have just unravelled a newly recorded track, Gold Canary, from their forthcoming 2010 album. It’s straight up pastoral Blue Mountains goodness. I actually heard it live earlier this year and it sounded quite rad.
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Baltimore company Charm City Cakes produces the most innovative wedding and party cakes on the market. Inspiration for these creative bakers comes from everywhere: art, fabric, furniture, architecture, landscapes, science, and music, and each cake is individually designed to match your personality, and the theme of the occasion you are celebrating. Don’t miss these cakey engineering masterpieces. Read more
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Creative advertising packaging
Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Printed on premium 100 percent combed cotton 150 gsm shirt, this Three Wise Robots graphic t shirt out of New Zealand label is damn soft and comfy. We have it for sale in the Lost At E Minor online store. Read more
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Tom Wade said | 29 January, 2008
His album was sitting pretty between Radiohead and Amy Winehouse in the iTunes UK charts earlier this week. He must be quite pleased with that. On some of the tracks on the album his voice sounds just like an English Murray Lightburn (The Dears).