Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

Lord Scrummage

Detroit is fast becoming a city with a reputation for being one of the most dangerous metropolises in America and a population that has been decreasing every year since 1960. Strange then to hear such fun, bubbly, electronic music, such as the kind Lord Scrummage (part of the art collective Scrummage University) makes.

Vladislav Delay’s Secret Playlist

Helsinki electronic producer Vladislav Delay has recorded for three of Europe’s most challenging labels: Chain Reaction, Mille Plateaux, and Max.Ernst. He grew up trained in jazz and still counts Philly Joe Jones — the drummer for the first Miles Davis Quintet — as one of his prime influences. His album Tummaa is out on The Leaf Label and features contributions from Craig Armstrong and Lucio Capece. We checked in with him to get a rundown on the sounds that inspired his latest recording: ‘Juan MacLean’s One Day is a strong and brave dance-pop. Not usually my cup of tea, but this track is quite interesting. I’ve also been listening to The Cool Kids’ Basement Party [audio below], a nice club groove, showing something new in the Hip Hop vein, which is always welcome’. Read the rest of Vladislav Delay’s Secret Playlist

Whitest Boy Alive

Whitest Boy Alive follow their own rules: no overdubs, no FX, and the music is always recorded live in one take. Fronted by Erlend Øye (of Kings Of Convenience notoriety), the Berlin collective produce a distinctive blend of minimalist melodies and pillowy grooves. And on the eleven tracks that constitute their new album, Rules, they convey one polite directive: please, move your body. We have their latest single, Island [listen below], available for free download in the Music Download section of the Lost At E Minor site [pssst, it's in the third column], along with new releases by Vic Chestnutt, Winter Gloves, and Cut Off Your Hands.

James Mackay’s Even Though I’m Free I Am Not

Award-winning photojournalist James Mackay’s latest project comes at a time when the world’s eyes are fixed on Burma and the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. By photographing former political prisoners displaying the names of their colleagues and friends who remain behind bars, Even Though I’m Free I Am Not exposes the enduring pain faced by Burma’s opposition movement. Over 2,100 activists, journalists, lawyers and politicians languish in prisons across the country, and on Friday Aung San Suu Kyi will likely join them. Read more

Secret Supper Clubs

The blind date of the food world has finally arrived, and it’s proving more palatable than the awkwardness of an evening spent in superficial conversation. Secret Supper clubs are springing up in the backstreets of London: what are attics and living rooms by day get converted into makeshift restaurants catering for an evening of surprise tastes and conversations. Read more

Adam Farlie

Young British designer Adam Farlie takes a leftfield approach to how people experience interaction with objects, often taking everyday items and toying with their potential to harbour deeper meaning and greater usage than first perceived. He transforms a bed into a ‘vessel that captures and contains the audio-memories of past occupiers through sound’, allowing those who lie on the bed to recall past intimcaties or conversations from years ago, while his take on a chest of drawers’ purpose of holding records of people is similarly intriguing.