WE'RE SUPPORTING

Despite their tranquility and sparseness, there is an epic struggle between nature, death, religion, and the human need for a sense of permanence in French-Canadian photographer Annie-Eve Dumontier’s images. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

I’d never before seen a museum where the building itself is the attraction more so than what is exhibited inside. Built by Daniel Libeskind in 1999, the Jewish Museum in Berlin is worth a visit even if you are not an architecture fan. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

While I feel I am not alone in breathing a sigh of relief over this season’s purging of fluoro, in retrospect there was a lot to be learned from the experience: don’t wear all fluoro, or don’t wear fluoro at all. And we slowly trudged back to black, which, despite what other colors may think, will always be the new black. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Palpably somber, the beautiful work of Californian illustrator Jorge Mascarenas really lends the viewer a tangible means through which to wallow in quiet melancholy. Read more

WE'RE READING

We got the inside word from Josh Diamond of New York experimental group, Gang Gang Dance, on the music that is moving him right now and he started off by propping the beautiful Ryuichi Sakamoto track, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence: ‘It’s just an amazing piece of music — serene, austere (in a heavy, beautiful way), emotional, a great mix of electronic sounds, patient, and a wonderful melody, with a quality of yearning for a better place. Every time I listen to this song, it puts me in a trance’. Read the rest of Gang Gang Dance’s Secret Playlist.

History is the story of the winners, and western dominated culture recounts few triumphs from the east. Mongol is an effort to correct this balance, and the eastern influence is evident in much more than just the storyline. It is more like a fairy tale or legend handed down through generations, than based on fact, with mythical elements playing a major part, and the character’s motivations remaining simple. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

The song Blasphemous Rumours by Depeche Mode is just about the most dark, beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. There’s something very compelling about it all: it’s gloomy and depressing during the verses, but then this sexy, almost hypnotically melodic chorus bursts in out of nowhere. The song came out in 1984 and is reputedly based on a true story, with singer Dave Gahan concluding at the end of it all: ‘I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humour, and when I die, I expect to find Him laughing’. Brilliant.