Lost AT E Minor

Firekites, from small town Australia (Newcastle to be exact), are my new musical obsession, and have been since early yesterday when their song Autumn Story randomly burst into my headphones and latched itself deep into my inner ear iPod. I wish they’d been around when I last lived in Sydney; it would have been well worth the two hour drive north to see them play. The whole album (The Bowery) is beautiful, but this song especially rings out with poignancy. I love the subtle sound of the fingers sliding across the guitar frets, the gently whispered vocals, which hint at secrets and cheeky serenades, and the sense of soulful introspection that tangles itself elegantly amongst its minor chord tapestry.

[audio:AutumnStory.mp3]

Wow, here’s some work that just made my Friday all the sweeter. Finnish artist Ville Savimaa creates the most clean, beautiful, and bizarre images, filled with chunky, abstract characters and creatures, as if viewed through an old fashioned grainy, black and white lens. It feels a lot like the trippiest noir film you never saw. Even when colour occasionally comes into the mix, Savimaa manages to gracefully maintain that sculptural sensibility, leaving the viewer feeling as suspended as the characters themselves. Read more

Wow! So whilst Australia is quickly becoming known for its Ed Banger-styled modular stream of music, there is a little known Brisbane artist called Yeo Choong who is just insanely talented. His music is full of summer fun and Kanye West-Phoenix influences. Take my word on it, this is going to be Australia’s next answer to Sam Sparro, Mika or even Jamie Lidel, and he is only 21 years-old.

Despite years of experience in the creative arts fields, Erica Weiner is a self-taught craftswoman. Read more

DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.

The Australian film collective behind the sci-fi spoof, The Time That Time Forgot, perfectly capture the look and feel of awkward, low-budget rip-offs from the ’70s – the psychedelic lighting, bad dubbing, and amazing hair. One almost wishes Italian Spiderman was for real.

With literally almost half its population immigrants, Queens is the best borough for food in NYC. Between Thai food in Woodside and any ethnic food you’ve ever imagined in Jackson Heights, all foodies worth their salt make regular pilgrimages on the 7 train. If you find yourself at the end of the line in Flushing, check out Little Pepper on Roosevelt. Read more