Rush Hour Records
Amsterdam’s Rush Hour Records celebrated its 10 year anniversary recently. We caught up with co-owner and operator Christiaan Macdonald: When the shop started, was there a gap in the market that you were trying to fill? ‘The store opened in October 1997. The dance music scene has always been a relatively big one in The Netherlands, but was growing ever commercial. In five years we went from being a pioneering techno country [early nineties] to a trend following country [late nineties]. As a result, a lot of the stores who used to supply good music from the States changed their music policy and started focusing on their own, more commercial releases. We started the store to step into that void and offer the music that they didn’t supply any longer’. Did the Rush Hour label develop naturally from the store? ‘The store was the first step, the rest of the business grew from there — the distribution, the label, the parties, everything. The store was like honey to bees for like-minded people. Lots of music loving people were attracted to the store, including people who ran record labels, artists, and club owners. The store became a hang out, where people could share ideas and it still is. The store is the window of our company, without it we could not exist. The label started in 1999, after we had set up the distribution and selling other labels abroad. The ethos of the label is the same as for the store. In fact everything we do is to create a platform for music we love. Over the years, this platform has been more defined, resulting in three labels: Rush Hour for electronic dance music, Kindred Spirits for singer-songwriter and jazz, and Angst for bands that produce anything loud!’ [read more of this interview]
Also by RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
It is too easy to liken Emma Langridge’s work to that of Sol LeWitt, Bridget Riley, and other post ’50s Minimalist artists. But her imagery is not as exacting. Although her approach is mathematical, and sometimes as clinical, she relishes the accident as a progression of the creative process. Langridge abandons the canvas, preferring to work on the harder surfaces of board and aluminium. She meticulously layers the already primed surface with masking tape, on which she rules rows and rows of parallel lines that are scored with a scalpel. Alternate strips are removed, and the stenciled surface is re-painted and left to dry. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Just over a year ago, I decided to draw one illustration a day and post it online for a year. I did it initially to practice and to develop. I completed the project last month and I’m really proud of myself for achieving what I had hoped. I feel like an illustrator now. It goes to show what can be done with a bit of focus and an Internet connection. Read more
A lot of people have asked us where the name Lost At E Minor comes from and what the phrase implies. Well, several years ago I came across a compilation of obscure electro music called Famous When Dead, which is off the commendably experimental German label, Playhouse. One of the tracks on the album was by the production duo, Light Fantastic, and was titled Lost At C Minor. Read more
I spent the formative first six years of my life in Wellington, New Zealand, a beautiful windswept city framed by a magnificent harbour in one direction and a stunning collection of green, rolling hills in the other. It was here, on a return visit many years later and deep amongst the clipped accents and ruddy faces of the weather-beaten locals, that I stumbled upon the vast catalogue of the then Dunedin based record label Flying Nun. And what a roster of acts they housed — The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, Tall Dwarfs, The Verlaines, and my favourite guitar-pop band, Straitjacket Fits. Read more
A Dutch insurance company recently launched a pretty creative ad campaign that was put on the backs of buses in Amsterdam, making them look like they were actually moving backwards.
There are few more joys an artist has in life than coming across great resources for inspiration. Lately I’ve been studying typography, the meaning of words, and then something as simple as trying to find all the ’7 letter words’ I can so that it might fit into my latest musings. Read more
Pre-eminent Norwegian Viking metal band Enslaved has evolved over the years from a straight-forward black metal band into a moody, post-rock outfit without completely abandoning their roots. Their last few albums have seen a shift towards English lyrics, sweeping and majestic instrumentals, and diverse influences — everything from Pink Floyd and ’70s prog and psych rock to ’80s goth and shoegaze pop. Read more
As if this season’s dresses weren’t delightful enough, here’s another reason to liquidate some stock and ruin your credit rating. First Prada and James Jean, now the top end retailer, Nordstrom: the exploration of art by fashion is long overdue, but well worth the wait. The Nordstrom campaign brings together three great things: the Cuban illustrator Ruben Toledo, the fashion photographer Ruven Afanador and the elvin Jenny Sweeny. Just looking at it makes me want to wrap myself in Cavalli and paint my walls bone shell white.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
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
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.
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
We love the re-Issue of the original Raised by Wolves and Furni digital watch collaboration, which comes with a built-in phone book, stopwatch, countdown timer and multiple alarm features with melody setting. 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]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
