Lindstrom

Andy from Chicken Lips talks about The Emperor Machine

We checked in with Andy Meecham, one half of Staffordshire duo Chicken Lips, about his latest side project, The Emperor Machine and why he prefers using vintage equipment wherever he can: ‘I like the feel and touch of vintage equipment — if that doesn’t sound weird. I like the hands-on approach and get a lot of inspiration from buying new, old vintage equipment. I have nothing against computer software — it is getting to the stage now where you can’t tell the difference — but for me, it’s just not the way I prefer to work’. Read more

Oh boy, Donna Summer writes a Secret Playlist

What’s not to love? Moby told us this recently about the Donna Summer disco classic, I Feel Love: ‘This is the best electronic club song ever recorded. It breaks my heart to know that I’ll never write anything as good as I Feel Love. I always play it when I DJ, though not the remixes; the original version. I never play remixes. I saw Donna Summer perform once and I went backstage afterwards to say hello, terribly drunk and stumbling about. She was polite and friendly, but she must have been horrified at the sight of this scruffy drunk accosting her after her show. I found out later that she was a tea drinking Christian’. With that in mind, we asked the Queen of Disco to write us a Secret Playlist of her eight favourite songs right now. Which she did. Suprises? Well, how many people would have picked Barbara Streisland and Sting in the same set list. Check out what she had to say.

Heart music

Most of us know eating a balanced diet helps maintain a healthy heart, and that there’s nothing better than a romantic ballad to nourish blossoming love. But did you know blasting Beethoven might also help to keep your cardiovascular system in tune? New research suggests that music can directly trigger physiological changes that modulate blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. I’m definitely breathless after listening to Cyndi Lauper’s I Drove All Night, but that might be from dancing my rigorous jazz ballet routine, not necessarily from the emotion it engenders. Read more

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.