Life With My Mistress

A little story as told through my cat... Alan

"Oh, you know what it's like, I'm feeling a bit housebound today, had a bit of a night on the town last night... thought I'd go out for a bit and ended up looking for worms with this local wolf cub I know. 'She' let me in at 5 in the morning but not after I had a yowling fit for half an hour. I'm a bit of loner really, quite happy with my own company, swiping at other cats on the block, staring out the window or having a lounge at the bottom of that Princess Julia's bed. I'm about 5 years old, in my prime so to speak, a pretty boy even if I do say so myself. I like things done my way, I like routine, a bit of a stretch and a sneaky claw on 'her' handbag. There's nothing I like more than a staring match with 'her', I always win, ha! 'That'll teach you', I think looking away pretending to look bored.  I'm quite a fussy eater and a big fan of gloopy food. 

I get up when 'she' gets up and make 'her' run down the stairs to feed me, with my bottom in the air and my extra long tail wagging furiously I give 'her' a look of hungry distain. Oh no, Why oh why is 'she' trying to pick me up, 'she' knows I hate it and I'm not very partial to a lap either, 'she knows that too. I prefer to sit by her side and every now and again put a paw up to get attention. That's me all over, I like a bit of a chin tickle and head pamper, that really brings the purring on and I feel all loved up. Talking about love, there's a favourite fake fur coat of 'hers' I absolutely adore, 'she' calls it Beryl, who ever heard of someone naming a coat! But when I see Beryl I come over all passionate and I have to start padding it. Oh no, 'she's' coming in for a cat kiss, she better not try and get that lippy on my pristine coat, I've just had a clean and I really don't appreciate all my cleaning activities going to waste. 

What the hell is 'she' doing now? 'God all those fumes', spraying her hair with that stuff can't be healthy, 'Pah! I'm going to have to leave the room now... Is it dinner time again? Must be, I'm ravenous!"

Printed in iD mag this month

http://i-donline.com/

'IN THE NAME OF REINVENTION'

So you've got the band, settled on a name, rehearsed a 'tight' set, now for the gigs...  the rock 'n' roll dream is hard work when you're starting out but the truth is there's a sense of excitement and optimism, the feeling this really could be it! Doubling up as roadies, dragging equipment across town and then performing, trying to get a free drink out of the promoter, wondering where all your fans are and getting paid tuppence on a school night in any small venue anywhere in the world seems like a thankless task when you're bottom of the bill and you may have travelled miles in the pouring rain to get there. Gigging is one way of building up a fan base and gaining some attention from the countless reviewers and blogs out there, but then there's also the route of the studio band. This still involves forming bonds with fellow band mates and learning to get along. Not wishing to put a dampner on things but the enevitable fall out sometimes seems part and parcel of the deal, getting over artistic differences and the disastrous girlfriend/boyfriend swapping mix ups, this is traditionaly where things can mess up, keeping a band ticking over seems to a breeding ground for all sorts of conflict and misunderstanding's. (Count these moments as research and possible material for future songs.) And actually that's part of the adventure in a sense. As with any artistic medium of self expression elements of life's little drama's are unavoidable and infact necessary if you want to develop anything of substance.

The writing is on the wall, or rather it's in a song, a recorded moment, the moment you've been waiting for, planning for, putting all your energy into. You may have been practising guitar since you were two years old, singing, writing and performing since you were five but that doesn't necessarily guarantee fame and fortune will come knocking at your door. Being in a band is no easy thing, firstly you've got to find the right line-up. This can take years, perhaps you all met at school so you're learning as you go along. Once you've found some er, reasonably reliable members and got the sound you want the key point in the situation is that people really, really like you, relate and buy your stuff. After the initial splash, things die down, being flavor of the month can be more of a hinderance in the long term, we're all grabbing on to the next big thing happy in the knowledge our little discoveries are getting the recognition they deserve. But after all the hoo ha has died down if you've hit the right spot at the right time you'll be moving onto the next level, a single, an album and a support slot with your fave heroes on a grand tour. Generally if you find yourself on an eternal pub/club circuit above and beyond 2 years it's presumed you've missed the windows of golden opportunity, the A & R's aren't biting, the labels aren't signing and the press have lost interest, but on the plus side you've gained cult status with loyal followers and actually have got time to really hone your sound, image and continue exploring your music whether you evolve into a new set up or continue under your initial moniker. 

It's at this stage you may be well thinking of a reinvention, a name change and a new line up. Bowie did it in the late 60's and reinvented himself from hippie David Jones and became glamster Ziggy Stardust. Infact, now I'm thinking of it Rod the mod Stewart of The Small Faces became an instant mainstream star when he went solo. Even if you don't change your name there's no reason to move into different styles of music when planning your next album. Ballads, who said ballads? Bryan Ferry has,  Bjork, Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop all have dabbled in an eclectic mix of genré bending. 

In the last few years we've seen a great shift of young bands evolve into fully fledged bona fide stars, they've come from a so called underground scene that grew across the UK.  The Horrors, a huge success story are into third album, whilst O Children, S.C.U.M., Factory Floor, Bo Ningen are either debuting albums or preparing for various tours and festivals over the coming Summer season and beyond. So what about the ones disbanded. Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump suddenly decided to call it quits when it seemed they were tipped for the top, they cited various reasons for the split saying, 'Knowing who your friends are definitely keeps your bullshit detectors working. It's also really important not to take yourself too seriously 100 % of the time. Once you stop enjoying making music with your band mates, its game over. Be honest with yourself and just have the time of your life!'. Neils Children became quite cultish, but decided enough was enough, Drop Five is the next phase in lead singer John Lingers vision, he reveals,  'I feel that the reasons for forming a band are different with each one, but I'd like to assume that a common reason is for the love of music. When we started Neils Children in 1999 we were 3 young kids from the suburbs who were removed enough from the London band scene (such as it was at the time) to create a unique sound of our own. The fomative stages of the band band weren't difficult; we were so passionate about what we did that we felt we had a right to be playing what we did.' He goes on to add, 'Eventually, last year to be excact, Brandon [Jacobs] and myself decided to call the end to Neils Children mainly due to the fact that we felt we had done all we had to offer, and secondly because we felt it constrictive to the vision we wanted to pursue.' He further explains the ethos and passion for music making, 'We formed our new group, The Drop Five, with long term friends/relations Bonnie and Paul from Electricity In Our Homes and my DJ pal Eli. We want to put some passion and soul back into British pop music, and for those questioning the progression please understand that, like anything, people need to move forward and it is the drive for progression that moves people through life.'

'There were only four months between the last Black Wire show and Lord Auch's debut. Having kept Danny from Black Wire on drums and only adding Liam Wade on guitar it was easy to get things moving fast. Such was the turn-over of bands during Black Wire's 5 years, it really felt like this needed to be the case. The race to release more material before you are deleted from musical history. Fortunately we we did a deal with Young and Lost club immediately after our debut show and my paranoia could take a breather. The 'ex-Black Wire' leg-up helped fight our corner enormously during the release of our first single. in the press, on the radio and even helped bend the ears of a few promoters; although the low fee's took a while to re-adjust to! Throughout the release of our second single the association started to annoy a little and when we released our E.P. '...to the Shithouse' (my proudest moment!) became quite depressing. Our Debut Album 'Goat Song Rave' came out in 2011, 4 years since Black Wire split up.' 

Out of Black Wire came Lord Auch, Simon MaCabe explains, 'After a period of very little going on, Black Wire were experiencing a second wind when I made my decision to leave. We had a 2nd album written and a European tour with the Klaxons on the cards. We'd also recently moved to London and everything seemed a lot easier. Gig offers were rolling in and the fee's were the best we'd ever had. Personally though I was not so optimistic. When writing a song for Black Wire the focus was on the listener and all my latest demo's were very personal and essentially I wanted to sing them.' That seemed the turning point...

Spin off projects also abound, what do you do when you're not touring or recording. Farris from The Horrors has come up with Cats Eyes, his band mates Rhys Webb and Thom Furse created analogue synth project Spider And The Flies.  Brandon Jacobs from Drop Five continues his endevours with Good Night And I Wish, a personal project he embraced whilst being in Neils Children. Others go on the experimental remix route... tackling and exploring others peoples music with a blue print of their own.

It must seem disheartening when things don't quite go according to plan or when you you see your mates bands suddenly taking off. But it really doesn't matter if things don't happen quite as rapidly a you first imagined, infact allowing things to take their course and develop is also a bonus, personally I really do believe if you want something enough it will happen. 

Words Princess Julia

Lucas Nascimento - Rising Star Of Knitwear

This week I got to spend some time with a certain Lucas Nascimento. Since meeting him in the mid 2000's at the very start of his knitwear career Brazilian born Lucas had his dreams set on creative ideas. With his signature tresses of bountiful hair and a personal style that cut a dash on the burgeoning East London scene he was often photographed being somewhat of a style icon himself. Originally inspired by his mother who taught him the basics of knitting with needles he enrolled at LCF and from then on devoted his time to exploring the many variants of yarn, shape and construction.

Lucas Nascimento

Personally I'm fascinated by knitwear being taught by my own grandmother so our friendship often included discussion on various stitches and construct. Lucas has rather wonderfully taken things further with contemporary methods, building pieces with an eye that takes inspiration from many sources. His pieces are luxuriant, flattering and artful. The resulting effect of of subtle pattern and texture often exudes a 3D effect created using yarn in dynamic ways.

With no particular muse in mind Nascimento's women are those who have a strong personal style, an eye for finish with something a bit extra thrown into the equation. After cutting his teeth in Brazils fashion week for 3 seasons Nascimento decided to take the plunge here in London and applied to the British Fashion Councils NEWGEN sponsored by Top Shop. This season saw Lucas present his first LFW collection.  

So much has been going on for Lucas this season, taking his collection to the BFC Paris showroom and next week New York, with reviews in Dazed Digital and Vogue Daily plus numerous influential fashion bloggers excited about his debut. Lucas Nascimento is a name to remember, personally I'm so proud to be his friend and and watch him create and develop such fantastic pieces.

 A few of the latest looks go to www.lucasnascimento.com  for the full collection.

Good News Disco Lovers

Hot off the press the latest from Disco Discharge, four brand new compilations 'Disco Exotica', 'Midnight Shift, 'American Hot' and 'Europa' lovingly researched by one Brighton based Mr. Pinks aka Dave Ackerman. These compilations are a true labor of love... Looking down the set list there's a good few time honored classics, 'Dirty Talk' by Klein & MBO, haven't heard that for a while and here we have the full 8 minutes version. Bette Midler 'Hurricane', Flirtations 'Earthquake', Lipstique 'At The Discotheque' - it goes on and on... Lime is on there with 'Wake Dream', Boys Town Gang 'Dance Trance' 14.24 sublime minutes, Fancy 'Slice Me Nice', Taco 'Puttin' On The Ritz. Alright I'm not going to name all of them but if you're like me you need this latest set. 

                                                        

Out on Harmless Records via Demon Music.... the same as for this 'must have' disco lovers compilation out in April, PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL CLASSICS: THE TOM MOULTON REMIXES... Four cd set with classy remixes from legend Tom Moulton one of the originators of the disco round extended remix. Including 7 'lost' tracks, you know the hard to find kind type plus The Jones Girls 'Nights Over Egypt', The Three Degrees 'Year Of Decision' and 'Dirty Ol Man', 'Back Stabbers' by The O'Jays to name but a few. 

The man himself Tom Moulton in his prime.

And the cover...

Absolutely Loved James Long A/W 2012

Inspired by Amanda Lear, a little bit of Nico and a touch of Russian Rooftops, what a fabulously swishy collection Mr James Long turned out as part of Fashion East's platform for designers. Loved the hair as well - big flossed up mounds of bouffant. Sitting inbetween Julie Verhoeven and Hamish Bowles who took notes in the form of sketches Long's combination of fancy knits, gilt fringing and glitzy silhouettes was a hit.

'He Gave Me Blue Roses...

Life! (Vicariously)', Meadham Kirchhoff presented their 2012 Fall show the other afternoon and what a moment of exhilaration it was. Self confessed fans of the 80's their 'take' took nods towards clubland legends of yore, Leigh Bowery, Rachel Auburn, Trojan and Michael Clark. Music supplied by Taboo DJ Jeffrey Hinton (Roxy and Abba), attitude from dancer and choreographer Les Child, (strident glitter). The mood was UP for this one and everyone walked out with a smile on their face. 

The collection itself was a combustion of colour, fabric and shape.  Piled on to the hilt, yards of swathes and drapes, pattern clashes, faux fur topped off with wigage and painted faces. 

Film of the Meadham Kirchhoff moment.

Attention to detail is what Meadham Kirchoff are know for, the moment I received the invite I knew I was in for something a bit different. In the goodie bag a thankyou note, nail covers, chocolate designed by themselves plus a bottle of perfume.

The invite.

An optimistic collection 'Integral force to the whole gorge'. (Les Child)

John Maybury In Conversation

John Maybury in conversation with ICA Director Gregor Muir recently revealed his ongoing fascination with with his own creative energies and those around him. A life full of enquiry John was brought up in North London where upon leaving home he quickly became part of the emerging scene of the mid 70's, a small Punk collective of artists, musicians, designers and activists who pursued a DIY ethos. Inspiring for a young boy fresh out of the drudgery of his Enfield school St Ignatious, John was very much a core member. I met John officially in 1977 having seen him around and about, we've remained firm friends through 4 decades. Even then his proactive and outspoken sensibilities gave him an aura that drew attention to his pursuits. Meeting Derek Jarman proved pivotal to the young Maybury who was then thought he set on a career path as a painter. Asked by Jarman to assist with his film Jubilee who wanted a real punk involved, John became intrigued with the possibility of film.



Throughout this talk John engaged us with a series of film extracts, his own and work that has inspired him over the years. Both Jarman and Kenneth Anger played a part in the technique John developed in his own 'art house' shorts. Working on super 8, (readily available and cheap), one of John's first exhibitions was indeed at the ICA of 1982 under the moniker 'The New Romantics', a collective show of young artists on the scene, (John's preferred the title 'Neuro Mantics' which he later put to use). It is with a quizzical eyebrow that John discusses his fascination with fame and the sense of 'underground' creative culture of the time. And indeed it was a thing we all realized, the fame game was easily obtainable and many of our mutual friends were becoming successful in their chosen fields, Andy Warhol's prediction of 'Everyone will be famous 15 minutes' ironically has become true.



John talks about the social consciousness of the 80's, the AID's epidemic and casualties of drug abuse that took many of our friends. A fact that has led him to retrieve archive film in order to remember and pay homage to some of the people that have played a great part in John's life.



Enquiring and pondering over technology both then and now, he adapted chroma key and worked with  every scrap of creative media available to him. Cashing in on the pop video explosion of the 80's with videos for Neneh Cherry, Sinead O'Connor, Marc Almond and Boy George he recycled sets from his commercial work for his personal work. With his usual enthusiasm today he extols on the virtues of the world of apps, reediting film on his i-phone.



By the end of the 90's John first full length film 'Love Is The Devil' was released. Roping in friends, namely the Young British Artist's of the day, he got them to re-enact various scenes. Initially he cast Malcolm McDowell as Francis Bacon, it all fell through and the part went to Derek Jacobi, John tells how the scene where George Dyer (played by Daniel Craig) falls through the ceiling upon first meeting Francis Bacon is infact completely fictional but has been cited as fact by leading art historians. For your information they apparently met in a pub.
Realizing an ambition to explore further the medium of the feature film he went on to create The Jacket and most recently The Edge Of Love. Further to which he tells us about an Italian TV series 'Rome', where as a director he is enjoying the seemingly limitless budgets.
Summing up a creative life in the space of 40 minutes is really not long enough and John's engaging repartee throws up some amusing situations that are both insightful and refreshingly honest.