Duffy
Musically, Duffy, fits loosely into the ‘soul’ bracket, although the diverse talent strutting across her work makes it hard to truly categorise. Comparisons are most commonly drawn with Dusty Springfield: her voice is distinctive and astonishingly powerful, soaring out of the speakers and injecting the listener with a sense of nostalgia and longing. This is in part driven by the lo-fi production — courtesy of ex-Suede guitarist, Bernard Butler — which gives a timeless quality to the 23-year-old Welsh singer-songwriter’s music that both harks back to the pre-rock era, and yet feels perfectly at home in 2008. Rockferry [above], her first single, is laden with imagery and atmosphere. The song centres on the hackneyed story of broken love — incorporating elements of folk, country, blues and soul — yet is delivered in a mature and distinguished fashion: incredibly haunting yet lasting, and likely to stay in your head for a good while after.
Also by FRANCIS ANDREWS
Irina Werning’s Back to the Future photo series
Argentine photographer Irina Werning has complied this beautiful and poignant collection of portraits of adults re-enacting images of themselves as kids. From what I gather, she has asked people to submit photographs of themselves and then returned with them to these same spots at the same times in their lives. She’ll take this project round the world, from Baghdad to Eurodisney, and is looking for willing participants. Read more
Bug fighting in South East Asia
Of all the little idiosyncratic activities I’ve come across since living in Southeast Asia, this nears the favourite. The bug fights are held in a cemetery about half an hour outside of Chiang Mai late in the year when the stags are at their randiest. It pulls an impressive crowd who bet some hefty dollars on the winner, claimed by the beetle who throws its opponent off the revolving log and struts (or crawls) to victory. Read more
What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner
All hail the magic 8-ball of cooking; the answer to those painful moments of indecision that plague every shopper at around 6pm on a hectic Monday evening. It’s not the nagging voice that questions every decision you make, but the blunt, obnoxious hollering of an online Gordon Ramsay. The kitchen abides.
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My work lies somewhere between image making and image manipulation, combining digital elements with traditional processes. Influenced by a love of paper, collage, pattern and texture, my work combines a passion for all things colourful and unusual. Read more
In case you need yet another appendage to poke at your technology, conceptual inventor/designer Dominic Wilcox created this Finger-Nose stylus for touch screens.
I’m really excited about the Melbourne band Plug-in City. They remind me of Belle & Sebastian, The Kooks and Cut Copy all in one. What more can us New Yorkers ask for?
Canadian designer Michael Surtees takes pictures of the same patch of sky every day as seen from his Manhattan apartment. Read more
Rack is a quarterly bilingual magazine, published in English and Chinese, and geared towards Asian influenced global youth culture. Read more
Ian Brown has never been a man to look back. Formerly the lead singer of the Stones Roses – an eclectically talented group that never quite reached full potential – he has since carved out a successful solo career, moving well beyond the poppy melodrama of Fools Gold and into a more left-field sonic terrain. Read more
When my uber-creative and slightly eccentric twin brother announced one day that chainmail would be making a return, it only confirmed that he’d missed out on the fashion genes. But after checking out the fingerless chainmail glove in Toby Jones’ new collection — My hands are tied — it now appears he had a legitimate vision. Working a look straight out of a Mad Max scene, Jones’ designs will have us accessorizing in true post-apocalyptic style, using everyday objects as adornment. But you don’t need to be cruising around town in a black Interceptor to appreciate them. Be your own character with chain swinging padlocks and multi-purpose shoelaces. It’s about time you got your hands into something different.
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Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
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
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Now this is fun. This 3D watch dial actually jumps to life. The dial is a modern version of the 19th century art form of lithophanes: carved porcelain sheets that, when lit, deliver astoundingly detailed images. When the pusher is activated, the dial springs to life in 3D, with an LED light and afterglow effect. Read more
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