WE'RE SUPPORTING

Walton Ford’s huge, intricate watercolors and prints inspired by John James Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, Vietnamese folk tales, and Benjamin Franklin’s letters boggle the mind with their scale and detail. Ford depicts very subtly anthropomorphic animals that hint at parables, jokes, and metaphors. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Mozzarella is the new sushi in New York since the opening of Obikà (pronounced Oh-bee-KA), Manhattan’s first mozzarella bar, at 590 Madison Avenue. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

For an industry that spends so much time fratenising with musicians, few designers ever admit to being primarily influenced by the music industry itself. Electronic Poet are an exception. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

I must be the only cat in Brooklyn not sporting any ink. Yup, the streets are lined with people rocking all manner of tattoos, some kitsch, some serious, some that probably should have stayed inside the mind of their creators. If I were to get some work done, I’d probably go to Yannou who takes a playful approach to the art of body re-styling. 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.

Improv Everywhere strikes again with a spontaneous musical in a Los Angeles mall. Wireless microphones hooked up to the mall’s PA system ensured the feeding masses didn’t slip into Cinnabon-induced comas until after the show was over. Note especially the angry dude in sunglasses at about 2:51 — apparently he thinks nothing can ever top Rent.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

So 2008 brings its first great album of the year, the self-titled release from Susanne Sundfør, put out on a small label — Your Favourite Music — and a totally unsettling and challenging listen. Read more