pk14
New Music /

PK14

The underground music scene in Beijing produces a lot of derivative and half-assed bands, but PK14 are great by any standards. The quartet, most of whom hails from the southern city of Nanjing (although drummer Jonathan Leijonhufvud is a Swedish national), plays catchy, charging postpunk in the vain of Television and Gang of Four. Their off-kilter beats, smart lyrics (which, unlike most other new Chinese bands, are in Mandarin), and blazing guitar parts earned them the distinction of being one of Time magazine’s 5 Asian Acts to Watch in 2008. The band was recently in Sweden recording their fourth album, which is due to be released any day now.

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Hailing from Queens, NY, The Shivers recently released their latest record, More, via Silence Breaks. The New York cult favorites will be guest writing for Lost at Minor all week.

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Noise musician and sound artist Randy Yau

I really wish noise musician/sound artist Randy Yau would do more stuff. His performance of the above piece in Beijing back in about 2003 or so really ripped my face off. It was awesome.

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A history of Chinese rock music

My old colleague and fellow expat in Beijing, Jon Campbell, has been documenting, promoting, and participating in the Chinese rock scene for years. He’s since moved back to his native Canada, but he just wrote a pretty great history of Chinese rock music as it reflected and changed along with societal shifts in the Middle Kingdom.

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Egg-style House by Dai Haifei

Not willing to pay high Beijing rent, recent architecture school graduate Dai Haifei designed a cool-looking ‘egg house’ to sleep in outside of his studio. It smacks a bit of publicity stunt, but it’s actually a cool design that re-envisions how people might utilize urban space in the future. Read more

Also by GERRY MAK

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Iron Sky

Nazis, who have colonized the dark side of the moon since their defeat in WWII, have decided to re-invade Earth in the upcoming comedic action/sci-fi/steampunk-ish film Iron Sky. Laibach did the soundtrack. Who’s stoked? I’m stoked.

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Runny Nose Soap Shower Gel Dispenser

Let your inner Pee-Wee Herman shine with this ridiculous and gross ‘runny nose’ soap and shower gel dispenser.

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20-foot-tall Inflatable Self-Portrait by Takashi Murakami

Taking the idea of an ‘inflated ego’ to the next level, Takashi Murakami created this 20-foot-tall inflatable self-portrait for his solo show, Murakami-Ego, in Doha, Qatar.

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Sculptor and conceptual artist Romy Scheroder transforms chairs into distorted surreal artwork that totally bends your spacial perception. Her awesome work is currently on display at the Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial at Wave Hill until September 5. Read more

There is something almost apocalyptic about the intense black and white decimated, chaotic landscapes that French artist Didier Blondeau lovingly depicts.

The issue of abortion has hardly ever been represented so honestly by a movie. Knocked Up and Juno gave the pro-choice movement a boost, and of those two, only Juno came close to confronting the issue. In the Princess of Nebraska, the main character suffers through indecision, naivety and turmoil that seem much closer to reality. Read more

This is the greatest invention. Ever. Commuters in South Korea can now do their grocery shopping whilst waiting for the train to arrive using their mobile phone to scan the QR codes of the virtual goodies they want. The order is then delivered direct to their doorstep the next day. Amazing! Sure beats moaning about the crowds, delays, smells, noises … Read more

I’ve been a big fan of Michelle Vandermeer’s work since I came across her Mini Majellen zines at this year’s Sydney Writers Festival. Describing herself as a doer — as in one of those people who are always doing or making something — Michelle’s work, which includes book binding, illustration, jewelery making and her zines, stems from an internal creative springboard and a double degree in architecture and graphic design. Her work is smart and succinct. Read more

Wolf and Cub are back with a brand new single and after listening to it, I feel like I should be out in the streets, warning my neighbours of the apocalypse. The song is huge, forceful, damming and painfully exciting. Joel Byrne’s half-drawl, half-howl proclaims the end, while (in true Wolf and Cub) the drums are epic and unsettling. And then, that moment, the bass against the fading echoes. My heart broke and my brain exploded. It’s too much to take. This band will be the death of me.

Arosha Taglia is a contemporary jewelry designer from Italy. His beautiful jewelry ranges from sterling silver to 18k gold. Not only does he have incredible items already made for sale on his Etsy page, but he does custom orders as well for a truly one-of-a-kind piece.

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Joe Kievitt

It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more

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Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork

Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more

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Francoise Nielly’s Yellow series

Parisian visual artist Francoise Nielly brings technicolour to the forefront in her latest series, Yellow. Featuring thick impasto palette knife strokes and trippy neon hues, Nielly captures the vulnerable expressions of her muses to a tee. Read more

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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

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Disorder Disorder in Sydney

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

Using Kyoko Hashimoto’s popular design, these acrylic earrings are made with unique hand formed sterling silver sleepers that make them light enough for everyday wear. Part of Kyoko’s collection, I Blame the Uni, (pronounced ‘oo-nee’, the Japanese name for sea urchin) and inspired by her experiences in the underground club scene of Tokyo. 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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