If you want to be destructive, you better be creative at it. This may sound to some of you like an oxymoron, but it’s apparently not. I love these beautifully executed hate mail postcards by Mr Bingo for the very fact that he’s managed to turn something so negative into something that is fun.

He explains on his website how the project itself came to life: ‘Last year I sent a postcard to a stranger called Jonathan Hopkins. It said on it “F*ck you Jonathan, f*ck you and f*ck your sh*t legs”. People seemed to be into it so I opened a service on my website, inviting strangers to pay me in return for an offensive postcard addressed to them (or whoever they ordered it for).I persevered with the project and now with over 400 ‘Hate Mails’ under my belt’.

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Some songs bump into your life at a very peculiar moment, expressing something that you might not be ready to admit to yourself at the time but resonating with you on a deeper level all the same. Avoiding a Fight is one of those tunes.

It was written and self-recorded a few years back by Ben Mason, a versatile singer-songwriter from Australia. I was happy to learn that Mason has picked it up recently again for a remix and a very lovely video, which was shot in the streets of Melbourne. Avoiding a Fight will be part of the upcoming album, Holes and Corners, to be released in July.

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Despite the significant increase of mobile devices with camera functions, the good ol’ polaroid is still around and hasn’t lost a punce of its charme. Bastian Kalous, from Germany, experiments with expired polaroid film and has created an impressive body of work over the past few years. His subjects are typically mysterious landscape scenes wiith lonely passengers.

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I recently stumbled across the work of Riccardo Guasto. He is a talented artist from Italy who also goes by the pseudonym, RIK. His works seem inspired by modernist painters, an era in art which I love, hence my obsession. If I had the money, I would love to empty his online shop and plaster my apartment with his posters.

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Wendel Patrick is making a name for himself as a producer, fusing different elements of jazz, electronica and Hip Hop to create lush musical collages. In this video, he reworks DJ Premiere’s instrumental track from Nas’ classic Illmatic in his studio without the use of samples. Most brilliant.

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After what has been reported in European media as the darkest winter for the past seventy years, I feel like every fiber of my body is craving light and warmth. The perfect remedy: the new album from Los Angeles buzz band, West Indian Girl. Shangri La is an ecclectic mix of musical influences, perfectly capturing sunny Californian dreams.

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If you’re a fan of great songwriting and intimate performances, then the London-based Mahogany blog is your new Shangri La. What began as a side project in 2009 for creator Mark Murdoch has now evolved into one of the most prolific music blogs around, with more than 270 videos so far online and a staff of nearly 10 continuously contributing to the channel.

The mission statement is as simple as it is convincing: ‘delivering great music to your eyes and ears, as often as possible’.

‘We have filmed many highly established acts so far, but our main concern is the music. We feature acts that we would want to be watching online ourselves and that seems to chime with our followers,” explains Murdoch. And we agree. So far, there isn’t one video that isn’t amazing: whether it’s established artists such as Fink and Bahamas or complete newcomers, it’s all good. It’s great to totally trust a blog and know that you will always enjoy what you are about to see.

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‘Woah!’ That was the exact thought that popped into my mind when I heard the first sequences of John Grant’s Pale Green Ghosts. Definitely not the type of music you would expect from the former frontman of the Czars, but ingenious all the same. Pale Green Ghosts could best be filed as dark minimal electronica, borrowing a bit from 80s bands like Human League, too. The album has just been released. I guess it’s a must have for me.

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DJ Hiatus and Shura from London have done it again. They just released another of those lovely chill-out tunes that make you immediately switch into groovy relax-mode, the right kind of tune for any roadtrip. The track is accompanied by an equally enchanting stop-motion video directed by Tom Jobbins: Who would have thought that you could tell a cute lovestory with nothing but triangles?

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You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine is the debut album by Melbourne singer/songwriter Ainslie Wills (released on 4 March). Delivering on the promise of the 2010 EP, Somebody For Everyone, and recent appetisers such as Lemon Japan and Fighting Kind, You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine is just as charming as we hoped it to be: a 12-track album full of textured, atmospheric storytelling.

Lost At E Minor is currently hooked on Weighing the Promises, the single to promote the release. So we decided to speak with Ainslie via email. She is currently preparing for a lengthy tour of Australia, but we managed to get hold of her just before she departed.

LAEM: Ainslie, first of all, congratulations on a great first album! You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine is a pretty impressive piece: ‘arresting, melodic, and full of charm’, just as it says in your press pack. I must say, I really admire it for the fact that you’ve already managed to establish some sort of signature style, without limiting yourself too much in your creative expression, performance and songwriting.

AW: Hello there! Thanks for the congrats on the album. It’s been a long time coming so it feels good to get the music out there and to be talking about it to Lost At E Minor!

How would you describe an Ainslie Wills song to someone who has just woken up from a coma or a lengthy jail term and never heard your stuff before? Is there any element or sound that would NEVER, EVER appear in an Ainslie Wills song?

AW: Ok, so, if someone had indeed just woken up from a coma, not having heard my music before, and a genre title is what they needed, I would say Neo Folk Rock. But most people don’t really have any idea of genres and there is so much crossover anyway. I would then proceed with: ‘have you heard of Fiona Apple? Or Feist? Do you like melodies? Atmospheric music? I would also probably accentuate the fact that lyrics are somewhat secondary to my music and that I prefer to tell the moods through sonic textures. I would absolutely never have flute in a song. Flutey-toot = NO!

Your love of music: were you born with it or raised into it? Can you tell us a bit more about your musical background?
AW: I was fortunate to grow up in a house filled with music – my parents’ records, tapes and CDs that my brothers and sisters would play. Also, having an acoustic piano in the house meant that I would spend hours figuring out the chords to songs that I liked, mostly trying to sound like Tori Amos. One of my earliest memories of playing piano was when my aunty was visiting one time and she taught me how to play Memory from Cats. I didn’t read music at that stage, but would watch and learn by ear. My grandfather on my mother’s side, Cecil B. Luckman, was musical. He used to write songs and play piano music during the silent movies of the 1920s. I think my appreciation or ‘ear’ for music is in the genes, but it is something that has been nurtured via my upbringing thanks to my amazing parents.

Do you have a patented Ainslie Wills songwriting process, and if so, how does it go? Do you have any methods for breaking out of the mold?

AW: Hmm, my songwriting process changes all the time but I generally start the process with a bass line or a chord progression that evokes the kind of mood I’m trying to express. Sometimes I’m just searching for sounds that I like. I usually try to finish the basic form of the piece in one go, as starting and stopping can mean lots of unfinished ideas. Once I am happy with the sonic landscape and have recorded the skeleton of the idea, I then ‘jam’ lyrics over the top. At the start, unless I have something very specific to say, I just wing it.

So sometimes the phrases come out like ‘eeeyeo notsofa at alloc’ – complete and utter nonsense but this way I can figure out what sounds fit over the chords and then sometimes stumble across lines that do make sense. I then work an rework the idea, always recording every step of the process.

What role do collaborations play in your songwriting?

AW: Writing for my album was the first time I was able to collude with another creative being, Lawrence Folvig, in the songwriting process. Lawrence guided the sonic landscape and textures and I would dictate the melody. It was good for both of us to learn to work together but most of the time we stuck to our own creative processes and then put our ideas together.

Speaking of fruitful and inspiring collaborations, I noticed your music videos were all directed by Jem Selig Freeman. How come?

Jem is a close friend of both Lawrence and myself, so I would have to say the main reason that we have worked together on more than one occasion is because it is utterly enjoyable for both parties. At least, I hope it is. I think that to delve into unchartered creative territories with other people requires trust and that is exactly what we have. That, and a mutual respect for each other’s artistry. When we have broached ideas for video projects, it has always felt very organic. We may have loose ideas at the beginning that, when workshopped over time, end up exceeding our expectations.

How important are visuals to what you do?

AW: Visuals are very important in what I do, but more so in the way in which I use visuals to centre myself in a live performance setting. Each song has a very specific scene that I revisit in my head each time I sing the song. That way I feel I am able to channel a certain type of energy.

With the album being out on March 4, an extensive tour throughout Australia is already scheduled. Are there any plans for coming over to Europe or the US? If you could choose a city/destination in which to perform at least once in your life, where would that be and why?

AW: I have only travelled overseas once and that was in 2009 for a leisurely trip to Europe. I never got to Germany, so I would love to tick that off. I have always wanted to go back over to play some shows. Lawrence and I are hoping to travel later in the year. But nothing is set in concrete yet. I would absolutely love to perform in Paris at the Olympia, purely because of the breadth of artists it has housed: Edith Piaf, Jeff Buckley, the Doors, Led Zeppelin and PJ Harvey, to name a few.

I’ve recently stumbled across your covers of other songs: Terence Trent D’Arby, Grizzly Bear, Johnny Cash, Radiohead – the list of artists is quite eclectic. If given the chance to reverse the situation, who would you love to hear covering your songs and why?

AW: Good question. Hmm, I would love to hear what Radiohead would do to my songs. They have such a unique signature style, borrowing elements from so many different musical cultures yet maintaining a focused sound. It would also be good to hear my songs done in a simplified way, melodically and instrumentally. I tend to lean towards sweeping melodies and harmonies with lots of layers, so it’d be interesting to see what a band like the xx would do.

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One of the downsides of modern performance oriented societies surely is a concerning increase of burnout syndrome cases. Wolfgang Stiller from Germany has come up with a sculpture series that illustrates the impact of the disease on the human soul quite literally. His burnt down matchstickmen communicate the exhaustion and desperation like no other series I have seen before.

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Look twice, these are not photographs, no, these are photorealistic oil paintings by Karen Woods. The acclaimed artist from Seattle describes her works as follows: ‘For some time now I have chronicled my journey by painting what I experience while driving around the city. I paint—in the realist tradition—from photographs taken at intersections and on the road, when I’ve been struck by the beauty in the ordinariness of my commute. For myself, the reward lies in capturing and expanding the space, time, and movement of a moment in everyday life, and to reveal its accompanying emotional weight: its anticipation, reflection, isolation, longing, and transcendence’.

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Not sure whether to read a book or inspect some art for inspiration? Russell Cobb, a celebrated illustrator based in the UK, offers a creative compromise: experimenting with canvases, he has come up with a colorful and striking ‘book painting series which is just lovely.

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Who amongst you is still shooting analog photos or have heaps of film lying around at home? The Lomography Society has invented the Smartphone Film Scanner to scan, edit, print and share all 35mm films. It fits into any rucksack and comes with a specific smartphone app to edit the photos on the go. That sounds like a must-have tool for analog junkies who enjoy living in the 21st century.

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I have an obsession with underwater photography (I even run a Tumblr on the subject). So I’m always on the look-out for cool material to post there. Recently, I came across a music video that featured a pretty girl turning into a water siren.

The clip for Thora Fisher’s Drown involves a piano that ends up completely submerged in the water. And, as I also have an obsession with beautiful pianos, I couldn’t help but wonder about the poor, innocent instrument’s wellbeing. Is there something like rehab for musical instruments that have been abused in exotic music video shoots? If so, can you let me know, so I can contact the director, Burke Heffner, and tell him what to do with the doubtlessly soggy piano in question.

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At first sight, Canadian photographer François Brunelle’s pictures appear like conventional family portraits. But it’s all the more astonishing that the people you see on his photos don’t even know each other.

The collection, entitled I’m not a look-alike!, features a range of unrelated individuals from North American and European backgrounds, side by side. The project is ongoing and runs until next year. If you happen to have a doppelganger and wish to be included in the project, contact Brunnelle.

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There is hardly a record so desperately awaited by me as the debut album of Melbourne talent, Ainslie Wills. With the outtake, Fighting Kind, she literally blew me away earlier this year. Her latest single, Lemon Japan, has the same evergreen quality. She offers it as a free download to her newsletter subscribers. The full album will be titled You Go Your Way I’ll Go Mine.

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Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison are a creative couple who have been in the art world for nearly a decade creating unique images by combining photography, collage, painting, sculpture, and performance elements. The use of color and movement in their works almost always appears in an abstract way; proportions and space are oftenwise twisted depending on their image composition. I am a particular fan of their recent ‘gray dawn’ series.

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Laurindo Feliciano is a Brazillian collage artist currently residing in Paris. Inspired by his own collection of vintage books, magazines, postcards and letters, he has created an impressive amount of beautiful works in the last ten years. All of his collages and posters share a certain nostalgic flair and a great passion for surrealism.

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Move On is a currently released road movie starring Danish superstar and former 007 villian, Mads Mikkelsen. Shot and put together by director Asgar Leth, the project is quite unique as it was inspired and filmed in collaboration with movie fans from all over Europe.

People from more than eight countries were invited to apply for little film roles online or contribute to the project by sending in their music and photo ideas. The result is an entertaining, yet still very professional looking flick about a spy who has seen better days (Mikkelsen) and accepts one last mission: the delivery of an ominous suitacse. ‘Life is for sharing’ was the claim for the project and consequently people can now watch it for free on YouTube or via the Move-On website. What a cool idea to bring film fans across nations together and give them the opportunity to make a dream come true!

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