COLLECTIVE 5 is a weekly photo project that is open to all photographers: amateur or pro. The project is featured on TOP 5, the photo-blog by Helena Maratheftis.

A COLLECTIVE 5 theme is announced every Friday, and readers are given one week to submit their photographs. The five photos that best fit the theme are published online the following Friday. There are some great contributions every week, but it would be great to see new people getting on board. Absolutely anyone can contribute, and everyone will be fully credited for their work.

SPONSOR

Seminal experimental pop band Devo is currently working on their next album, out in June, and, as always, they’re doing things a little differently. On Thursday, they’re inviting their fans to select which songs make the final cut, so you can play the role of demanding band producer and slice and dice their music in the process. Fun!

We love the look of these sneakers, which are the result of a collaboration between uber-hip jean line, Evisu Jeans, and cult phenom label, Common Projects. The line will consist two styles of leather, vulcanized sneakers, branded as a limited collaboration using Common Projects’ trademark foil heel stamp. Good for all happy feet.

Random collaborations always come as a pleasant surprise. This time New York-based graffiti artist KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) has joined forces with lavish beauty product manufacturer, Kiehl’s, in a bid to raise money for non-profit art initiative RxArt. KAWS’ design adorns an exclusive line of Kiehl’s skin moisturizers, with all proceeds benefiting RxArt’s mission to install art pieces in US hospitals.

Cosmonaut is a feature film project by Riot Cinema Collective and the first participatory film in Spanish cinema to date. The project uses the Internet collaboratively under free Creative Commons licences and, with the help of viewers, aims to create alternative finance, creation and distribution platforms for independent films. By inviting viewers to be a part of the production process of the film and give them access to all content created, Cosmonaut intends to engage the audience and jointly develop a closer and more transparent relationship.

SPONSOR

More often than not, internet-only hip hop mix tapes are released by wannabe rappers whose lyrics and delivery are derivative and uninspired, and who’ll never get enough weight behind them for a full length release. 24 year-old Washington MC Wale Folarin is different. Mixed by one of New York’s best hip hop DJs, Nick Catchdubs, and produced by 9th Wonder and Mark Ronson (who signed Wale in 2007 to his Allido label), his latest offering Back To The Feature solidifies Wale as a confident, engaging lyricist with a true talent for cross-genre appropriations.

A third of the way through ‘Back To…’, Wale recalls the hype surrounding his previous release, saying he never intended to make what critics named “the mix tape of the year … the monumental mix tape of the moment”, but just wanted to release his raps. By borrowing other musician’s tunes and making them his own, Wale’s post-modern approach celebrates the wonderful immediacy of online mix tape culture, being the best method for fans to access their favourite artists’ music as quickly as possible without costing anyone a cent.

After collaborations with Jean Grae and Lady Ga Ga, sponsorship deals with Nike, Stussy and 10 Deep, and praise from everyone Rolling Stone Magazine to The New York Times, Wale is one of the shining stars of contemporary independent hip hop whose talent and crossover appeal is sure to rocket him to superstardom.

This morning, Stereogum premiered the first slab of lo-fi gutter gospel from Vice Records super group The Almighty Defenders, a meeting of might between Atlanta garage goblins The Black Lips, Berlin-based soul punker King Khan, and Mr. BBQ himself, Mark Sultan. Conceived during the Lips’ Berlin exile (after their VBS documented ejection from India), the band’s self-titled debut is a madcap, liquor-drenched revival, a blissfully fucked up realization of one of garage rock’s most fitting collaborations. Bow Down And Die, the ‘booming, chivalrous third song’, is an off kilter, beer-swilling chant-along that borrows just as much from choral church music as it does from skuzzball rock n roll. We have the single available for free download via the Music Download section of the Lost At E Minor site [psst, it's in the third column]

Quiksilver’s Limited Collection, a premium extension of the main Quiksilver line featuring a collaboration with Disruptive Pattern Material and Hardy Blechman of Maharishi, debuted in Spring of 2007. The latest collection combines a sophisticated, minimalist aesthetic with nautical and military influences.

77 BOADRUM, directed by Jun Kawaguchi, documents the now-legendary 7/7/07 performance in Brooklyn, New York, by the iconic Japanese band The Boredoms, along with … wait for it … 77 guest drummers. We spoke with Kawaguchi and asked him how difficult it was getting the audio sounding right with so much percussion going on: ‘It was just like doing 7777 pieces of a puzzle! It was the hardest, but also the happiest time ever. I wanted to show this “once in a lifetime” event to everyone who could not be there. And I wanted to show everyone how The Boredoms is the most special group in the world’.

SPONSOR

The Suit Up exhibition comprises a number of artworks from various Australian street, comic, and illustration artists, each of whom has applied their unique style to that ubiquitous — yet, rarely tapped — canvas, the playing card. The designs have been produced as giclee prints, signed and numbered by the artists, and are limited to 10 prints of each design. Real-size decks of cards have also been produced for sale. The Suit Up crew is a close-knit group of predominantly Melbourne-based artists who are passionate about Australia’s ‘low-brow’ art scene, which is more collaborative and less ego-driven than much of the the high-brow art world. The exhibition runs between February 13 and 25.

In the Spring of 2006, a seven-year email correspondence culminated in the meeting of Luke Jackson and Magnus Börjeson. Jackson had long been a devoted fan of two of the Swedish musician’s former bands: Beagle and Favorita, and the two songwriters finally met in Paris where Börjeson was mid-tour playing in The Cardigans. By the end of the weekend, Jackson had accepted an invitation to record in Sweden, which he took up in January 2008. He set to work in the studio with Magnus on bass and Christoffer’s Brainpool bandmate Jens Jansson on drums. Upon his return to London, he sent the rough mixes of the songs to renowned London-based string arranger Robert Kirby (who has orchestrated works by Nick Drake, Elvis Costello, and Elton John). Kirby loved the songs and offered to write orchestrations for the album and accompany Jackson to Sweden to conduct the necessary recording sessions with nine players from Malmö’s Opera Orchestra. It is the collision of these two worlds which makes his album, And Then Some, so compelling. Densely layered guitars and vocal harmonies fuse with sweeping string lines, none of which ever draw the ear too far from what lies at the heart of Jackson’s music.

When I was a kid, I used to make all kinds of things out of cardboard boxes – tanks, cars, houses, robots, etc. The Box Doodle Project invites people to do it all over again, recycling cigarette packs, tissue boxes, emptied care packages, and all manner of cardboard containers into works of art.

Now, this is some funny stuff. Someone clearly found Wikipedia a little bit too tedious, a little bit humourless, and so created this breath of fresh air. It’s perhaps the most comprehensive database of bullshit available on the web; a valuable resource for vacuous conversation. Here’s a little excerpt of last week’s featured article, on the Golf War: ‘The Golf War is an ongoing military campaign which began on the 20 March 2003 with the multi-national coalition of the Allied nations who knew how to play golf (and therefore exempting Australia). Dwarfing most tours, the Golf War is the biggest and most controversial of golfing events. Prior to the war, Iraq’s alleged possesion of illegal clubs was claimed to pose a serious and imminent threat to Western national golfing laws.’ Oh, and apparently on this day in 1099, God passed the Enforced Hair Styling Act.

SPONSOR

Concept albums have always been a hit or miss affair, all too often to be taken with a pinch of salt. Some work brilliantly; many fall flat on their esoteric face. Dr John’s response to Hurricane Katrina is an intriguing album. Some is rousing, some depressing: it’s littered with political statements, perhaps too much at times but given it’s purpose the over-saturation isn’t surprising. In it, he teams up with ambassadors of blues such as Eric Clapton and Willie Nelson — artists who in the past have leant their name to issue-based music. You do get the feeling however that the collaborations are done for commercial appeal: there is something lacking from the original and distinctive Dr John. Regardless, its well worth a listen — there are very touching moments and solid protest songs to re-ignite in the world what three and a half years of other catastrophes may have covered up.

The Nobody Was Thirsty project is a collaboration between Ivan Kane’s Café W as charity — water — and Australia’s own denim label, Nobody. The campaign aims to sell a signature, not-for-profit T-shirt, with all donations helping to fund the world’s water crisis. The sale of one T-shirt alone can provide two people in Africa with clean drinking water for twenty years, something the majority of us take for granted.

See, a video like this would confuse the Pussycat Dolls. It is a super hot-sexy video. But alas, no one is wearing skin-tight black latex pants, or skin-tight pink latex tops. I imagine them screaming at the television ‘where is all the skin! Skin!’ All five (or is it six?) Pussycat Dolls aside, this pairing is super cool. I love that Jack White finally got to do a Bond theme, and I think he’s done a great job on Another Way To Die. I also hear that he is going to work with Miss Keys on her next album. But for now we must be satisfied with watching this video over, and over, and over again.

Multimedia art group Raqs Media Collective create striking installations dealing with their complex relationship to the changes happening in their home country of India. Their categorization based on national identity, however, would make them chafe, as they reject traditional notions of nation state. The main concept scrutinized by the group is modernity itself, and the so-called progress it embodies.

SPONSOR

I’ve just seen a fun Nokia clip about the making of a collaborative film to be directed by Spike Lee. The tagline is simple but direct: ‘For the people, by the people! No, we’re not establishing a democratic government, but talking about the latest Spike Lee film. Throw out the billion dollar Hollywood budget for production and do it all with your phone — special effects are definitely optional’. Intrigued? Check the site for details.

The Teddy Bear’s Picnic is a series of art works which place a sinister twist to popular fairytale characters. Within this world, Gretal discovers something more delicious than candy, Little Red Hiding Hood undergoes a ghastly transformation, and Repunzel uses her long, golden locks to commit atrocious acts. It is a world where button fetishes are contagious, childhood nursery rhymes are interwoven with macabre themes and happily ever after is anything but.

Based on the Teddy Bear’s Picnic series comes an exciting collaboration from the imagination of artist Lang Leav (Akina), and the talent of jeweller Zoe Sernack. The world of Akina lends a whimsical charm to the striking nature and popularity of Zoe’s work and the ZM925 collection. Born from this very special meeting are miniature works of art, tiny silver charms worn close to the hearts of fairy tale villains far and wide.

Each fairytale charm features a moveable head and comes tucked away in their own exquisite themed packaging, designed and handmade by Lang Leav.

There are 3 limited edition charms available including Little Miss Liliput, Little Red Riding Hood and Little Matchbox Girl, for $110 each.

Verbs, the second album from Portland band AU (pronounced ‘ay you’), is surprising, and excitingly ahead of its time. Moving through 20-person chorus cries, subtle lullabies, whispered melodies, and screeching and scratched guitars, you never know where the journey will end. Psche-folk, freak-folk, electro-folk-noise, or whatever you want to call it, AU’s genre sprawling music paves the way for a wider breadth of experimentation in folk-inspired electronic production. We interviewed the group’s front man and founder, multi-instrumentalist Lyke Wyland.

Why did you bring on a full band for this new album? ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a very generous and amazing community of players here in Portland. The first album was made while I was transitioning from my time as an art student in Boston to moving back to Portland and the project was pretty much a solo one. Once I was firmly back in Portland, Au became a live band. Everyone who took part in the album are great friends and collaborators in other settings. It was a celebration of sorts of the community here and my hope was to somehow document it’.

How did parenthetical girls, Sarah Winchester and Becky Dawson, become involved?
‘Sarah Winchester and I have been old friends from our time at the Massachussetts College of Art in Boston. She was actually the first person to teach me how to sing, as I would back her up on banjo and accordion. Becky Dawson is a relatively new friend and incredible collaborator that I met about a year ago after seeing one of her other bands, Ah Holly Family. I instantly fell in love with her voice and asked her if she’d like to sing with me. The Parenthetical Girls are good friends that we’ve toured with in the past and by far one of my favorite bands in Portland’.