December 21, 2007 | New Products | by Kenneth Yu |
Professional socialites aside, anyone who has traveled solo or rolled up to a party alone knows how daunting it can be to strike up a real conversation. Enter the HoboHookah, a pipe that turns liquor — and other types of bottles — into hookahs. Its inventors, two guys from America, both spent time living in the Middle East and picked up on the considerable hookah culture there. Upon returning to the US they decided to design a hookah to fit in with their western culture. And out popped the first hookah built to ‘travel far and party hard’. Read more
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August 23, 2007 | New Music | by Kenneth Yu |
Dating or married musician duos are always interesting beasts. Their intertwining affections and chemical reactions make for a potent alchemy of musical magic. Along the same vein of O-era Damien Rice and Lisa Hennigan, Glen Hansard (frontman of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova are the latest lovey-dovey couple with longings expressed in fingerpicked guitars and mourning cellos. Read more
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July 24, 2007 | New Illustration | by Kenneth Yu |
Shawn Kuruneru has a hair fetish. The Canadian-born artist’s illustrations of long, flowing, shampoo TVC-worthy, liquid-looking locks wrap around various portraits and situations, forming an intriguing mix of medieval folklore, nature and elements of the human form. Featured in publications like Tokion and Arkitip, this is the world’s first enactment of Rapunzel’s Freudian dreams.
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April 22, 2007 | New Music | by Kenneth Yu |
Epiphanies are wondrous things. Those little orgasmic sparks that ignite flames in the deepest recesses of one’s soul, etching burn marks that ensure one’s life is never quite the same again. The National is a living, breathing epiphany, playing a brand of guitar poetry of such heart-stopping beauty that the only way to react to it is to submit to its molding. That is why 2005’s Alligator coloured my lenses with delicious despair and melodious melancholy. That is why 2007’s Boxer will do the same thing. That is why spiritual arson will be the theme of my year thus far. Boxer will be released on 22 May. [see also The Paper Scissors]
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February 22, 2007 | New Music | by Kenneth Yu |
The twee Malaysian cover band, The Ferns’ debut album On Botany comprises of actual Astroturf glued on to cardboard, epitomising their quirky charming sound. Sweet dreamy melodies and the innocent coo of a falsetto play the role of rainforest oxygen to the weary trekker. It’s the aural equivalent of a gentle make-out session on the meadow, virgins frolicking in a virgin rainforest. Recently named as Rolling Stone’s Top 25 Best Bands on Myspace, this whiff of foliage will permeate 2007 on an international level, mark my words.
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February 10, 2007 | New Fashion | by Kenneth Yu |
Wabi-sabi, meaning ‘beauty in imperfection’ in Japanese, has been a trend in the fashion scene for quite a while, manifesting itself in the recent deconstruction craze and the love of all things handmade. However it has never been the domain of jewelry, where polished perfection has always been its defining quality. Till now, that is. Argentum, a Singaporean accessories label, produces intricately crafted jewellery pieces that drip with wabi-sabi. With an errant fray of a ribbon here and a metal mesh poking its head out there, it’s the ultimate ornamentation for urban tribes-people. [see also Lydia Holt]
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February 2, 2007 | New Fashion | by Kenneth Yu |
The whole electroclash-in-fashion trend was supposed to be a phenomenon that promised to revolutionise menswear. Alas, it has fizzled to a whimper. A mystery really, since electro acts like Ladytron and The Knife are still going strong. Well, in-season or not, fashion label Macabre makes really good stuff of that ilk. Combining cyberpunk with theatricality and androgyny, its designer costumes hint at a 25th century Phantom of the Opera performance. [see also Now You Own Us]
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January 30, 2007 | New Fashion | by Kenneth Yu |
pH suggests balance, the optimum level for the healthy cleansing of skin. In the same manner, fashion label pH by phillia incorporates that sense of purity in its creations. Monochromatic pastel colours, simple yet elegant cuts and Japanese embellishing mash together to form highly-wearable vintage offerings. [see also Bird]
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January 27, 2007 | New Fashion | by Kenneth Yu |
If the rumblings in the fashion underground about Athens-born designer Romina Karamanea are to be believed, she will soon be the darling of Anna Wintour and her cronies. Dubbed the ‘goddess of intellectual clothing’, it is not hard to see why. Cut and proportion are the leading elements in Romina’s work, where every billow, silhouette and stitch has purpose and place. She combines sensual sophistication with mystery to construct clothes like no other. [see also Master/Slave]
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January 24, 2007 | New Photography | by Kenneth Yu |
Loretta Lux is the hotshot millionaire artist you’ve probably never heard of. Her Village of the Damned-like photographed portraits of emotionless children are big sellers in the market. Given her fine art background, she shoots and composes her subjects like traditional portraits, then Photoshops every inch of life and warmth away. The result is empty, beady eyes staring back, ghosts in fleshly form, a beautiful style of artifice. [see also Simon Hoegsberg]
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January 20, 2007 | New Music | by Kenneth Yu |
For Malaysian band Furniture, there is a satisfaction found in becoming a soundtrack to some anonymous sci-fi romance held in the confines of space. On their debut album Twilight Chases the Sun, the four-piece post-rock outfit constructs romantic atmospherics with simple melodic distorted guitars and frontman Ronnie Khoo’s shimmering vocals layered upon a foundation of standard four-chord formations. The human intimacy is overwhelming, a series of ‘this-was-once-our-song’ Hallmark moments, bringing comfort to the loneliness of gazing into a starry, starry night. This is hipster music for lovelorn Trekkies. [see also Futon]
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January 16, 2007 | New Illustration | by Kenneth Yu |
Malaysian-based illustrator FY.Simone is currently attending CAHS and The College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has a unique fascination for ink and watercolour droplets, creating a trademark style of paint splatter juxtaposed with whimsical imagery and an experimental sensibility, the result being an oeuvre of mesmerising art. [see also Pok Pok Design]
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January 12, 2007 | Cool Travel | by Kenneth Yu |
There is not much difference between a futon and the music of part-Thai, part-English electro outfit Futon – both are made for mind-blowing sweaty one-night-stands. Futon is all about filthy electro grooves channeled with a God Save the Queen-era punk snarl and the glam level turned to 11, facilitating all manner of animalistic lovin’. With their recent stellar performance at Heineken Thirst Studio 2006 Malaysia and rapidly increasing international tour dates, this is a band that is not so much electroclash as it is a culture clash. [see also Steim]
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January 11, 2007 | New Illustration | by Kenneth Yu |
Since John Peel passed on in 2004, there hasn’t been a concerted effort to record live, exclusive, and reworked performances from up-and-coming bands in the vein of his famed sessions. Till now, that is. Daytrotter, founded by veteran independent music journalist Sean Moeller, attempts to fill that gap. Bands passing through on tour stop by the publication’s Illinois-based studios and lay down exclusive cuts to analogue tape. Existing installments include Bonnie Prince Billy, Mates of State and Annuals. Also, don’t miss illustrations by the underground’s finest and the ever-expanding cache of features and reviews. One of the most exciting developments in the online music world this nascent year. [illustrations by Peter Tucker]
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January 10, 2007 | Cool Travel | by Kenneth Yu |
Jean-Christian Bourcart is a photographer whose shoelaces other photographers are unable to untie. His specialty seems to be plunging into the heart of darkness, such as the Frankfurt brothels [Infertile Madonnas, above left] and the S&M and swinger clubs of New York & Paris [Forbidden City, above right], emerging with unparalleled images that are at once fantastical, haunting and mesmerising. His prolific collection of work expands magical realism from the realm of innocent wide-eyed children into that of depraved hedonistic adults. [see also Sex In Art]
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Alison Brady presents the human form as if it were either a strange plant or a plastic toy uncovered in a middle-American backyard. At once disturbing and whimsical, Brady’s images depict bodies ill-fitted to their environments, as if they were discarded, forgotten, or malfunctioning. Read more
‘I have been trying to go with my whims. Fuck it, let’s make an iPod album’. This statement from Team Genius leader Drew Hermiller was the jumping off point in the creation of the band’s debut self-titled full-length album, one of the most interesting and eclectic pop records of the year. ‘Basically it’s a reaction to the modern way music is consumed and listened to’, Hermiller says. ‘The idea of an album with a focused sound and a complete statement kind of gets lost now-a-days. Everyone shuffles around, so I thought “why not write an album that does the same thing?” Luckily, the band did an awesome job of keeping up with it’. Download a couple of free tracks off the album in our Music Download section [pssst, it's in the third column of the site]
New York-based Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu has been featured on Lost At E Minor several times over the past couple of years. I love the sense of drama her work conveys, the apparent colour clashes that somehow gel despite pre-existing rules about their compatibility. We checked in with her to see what she’s been up to of late: ‘I just came back from a week in Georgian Bay in Canada. No internet, no cell phone reception for a week. It was fantastic! Now I am getting ready for a group show at Visual Arts Gallery in New York that opens in September. I am creating two new 40” x 60” drawings. I’m also slowly refurbishing my website here and there’. Read more
Somewhere in the Grand Buenos Aires, specifically in the neighborhood of Marcos Paz, Argentina, we found the Boeing House, a typical two sided roof chalet into which some parts of a Boeing 747 were inserted. Read more
Produced by our talented friends over at Miami-based studio, Common Machine, this is the first installment of a new bi-monthly series of exclusive Lost At E Minor videos that they will be putting together for us. This one is on marionette maker, Pablo Cano, who uses ‘mundane objects to create magic on a string’. And he does. We hope you enjoy!
Rick Owen’s spring collection uses monochrome patterns to create a classic and chic silhouette. The layering, and oversized look, is perfectly tailored: big around the neck and tighter in the leg. Read more
On a recent trip to San Francisco, I was lucky enough to meet with John Trippe, the main man behind the popular arts based site, Fecal Face. Read more
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Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Illustrator Timothy Karpinski sews painted paper together to create his images, giving them a classic look. Read more
1970s and 80s Soviet Union buildings
Cambodian born photographer Frederic Chaubin is the editor of French magazine Citizen K. His photo series on bizarre buildings built in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 80s is absolutely fascinating. Read more
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
Cassettes Won’t Listen is the brainchild of New York-based, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jason Drake and is the latest of an abundance of musical monikers he has realised over the years. Small-Time Machine is Cassettes Wont Listen’s first-ever physical release and is available for US$23.70.
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