Lost AT E Minor

WE'RE THINKING

Yann Gross’ photos of tattooed bikers, cowboys, drag races, and Confederate-flag-adorned trailer homes are unnerving documents of the American experience. But his subjects aren’t American, they’re residents of the Rhone Valley in Gross’ native Switzerland. Judging from his photos, Europeans don’t necessarily look down their noses at the U S of A. Some of them actually celebrate it, blemishes and all.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

A culmination of nearly four years of writing and recording, Omaha quintet, The Faint are preparing to release their fifth album, Fasciinatiion, on August 5 on the band’s own newly-formed label, blank.wav. Working without any time constraints, the songs went through many recorded incarnations before finding their final forms. The result is the best album in the band’s career, a record that is the purest culmination of The Faint’s brilliant musical instincts, ideas and aesthetic, with each member contributing equally to its creation.

Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.

WE'RE READING

We have a bunch of new playlists up on our sister site, My Secret Playlist, a music discovery website and weekly email publication in which we invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. Over the past few weeks, acts such as The B52s, Team Genius, Pivot, Jukebox the Ghost, Moby, Katy Perry, and the Dandy Warhols, among many others, have written about the music that inspires them. To sign-up to receive the weekly My Secret Playlist publication, just enter your email address into the website’s subscription box.

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Abounding with references to the natural world and its corresponding rhythms, Australian artist Eleanor Yap creates the most incredible tapestry-like drawings. Yap’s rorschach-styled images, through their soothing symmetry and allegiances to nature, really seem to put the mind at ease somehow, despite their intense density and lively colors. I must say I was truly disappointed in discovering that her online shop is at this time closed! Sigh.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

On my recent visit to Barcelona, my love for Animal Farm led me to the Plaça de Geroge Orwell. There I discovered Oviso. The tiny café features hand painted walls and low wooden benches, where inhabitants enjoy great coffee for €1 and discuss music, beer, photography and the hordes of tourists that bustle just beyond the quiet square.

WE'RE WEARING

We love the range of ultra-stylish ties created by New York-based designers, Ryan Sovereign and William Beck. They’re both graduates of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in Industrial Design and Sculpture respectively, and have been long time collaborators both musically and visually. Read more