The creative process is riddled with unexplainable moments, this scene from Mad Men captures the frustration of losing an idea to that moment of genius where one piece of inspiration sparks another.
Category Archives: Culture
Gandhi on the tube
It was the end of a really busy and I was making my way home when I saw this poster on the tube.
It made me smile and contemplate for a moment. It’s a simple intervention that gives a fleeting distraction from the chaos of the usual peak time tube journey. The quotes are also announced by London Underground staff either on the train or the platform. I haven’t experienced this myself but you can see a video on the BBC News website. What I like about the concept by Jeremy Deller is that its simple and it has humor and these two ingredients can make a profound difference to everyday life when you find them in unexpected places.
Francis Alÿs at the Tate Modern
‘A Story of Deception‘ at the Tate Modern is a comprehensive exhibition of work by artist Francis Alÿs. What I like about Alÿs’s work is how each of his actions have an underlying social and political motive but are carried out with humour and a sense of absurdity.
The exhibition is inspiring, surprising, funny and at times it seems totally implausible that someone would do the things that Alÿ’s manages to carry out. ‘Re-enactments‘ is the work that springs to mind. Here Alÿs buys a gun and walks down the street to see how long it will take for something to happen and after about 11 minutes he is arrested. Somehow he manages to convince the Mexican police to re-enact the whole thing.
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Rafael Ortega Re-enactments Mexico City, 2000
The work ‘When Faith Moves Mountains‘ is particularly poignant. The video is a documentary of how 500 volunteers took part in the act of shovelling a sand dune and displacing it by a few centimeters. It’s both futile and heroic and watching the spectacle is inspiring. For me it was interesting to hear how the students interpreted their involvement with the work and the concept. They describe many facets of Alys motivation behind the work such as the politics, its social element and how it will live on as legend passed down in an oral tradition.
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Cuauhtémoc Medina and Rafael Ortega When Faith Moves Mountains (Cuando la fe mueve montañas) Lima, 2002
There is almost something very Monty Python in the work ‘Sometimes Doing Something Leads to Nothing‘ where Alÿs pushes a block of ice along the streets of Mexico City until it melts to nothing.
Another one of my favourites in the exhibition is ‘Rehearsal‘. In this performance Alÿs drives a red VW Beetle up and down a road accompanied to the soundtrack of a brass band rehearsing on his stereo.
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Rafael Ortega Rehearsal I (El Ensayo) Tijuana, 1999-2001
‘Tornado‘ captures the essence of the exhibition well, its humorous and unbelievable at the same time. Watch carefully as the artist runs after a tornado with the intention to be smothered by it.
Witty advertising
A nice dig at the iPhone 4 on the back of the Evening Standard.
The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own
The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own is a new work by Michael Rakowitz being exhibited at the Tate Modern. Rakowitz is an artist that operates as a ‘cultural archaeologist, uncovering an unexpected network of connections between historical fact and fantasy’. The exhibition is presented as a series of interwoven hand drawn images and written narratives, accompanied by various paraphernalia such as film, posters, fantasy novels and magazines.
Man on the Moon, Part I 2009 Pencil on vellum
The exhibition depicts the links between Saddam Hussein and western popular culture with strong references to Stars Wars and WWF. The project centres around the Swords of Qadisiyyah monument in central Baghdad, otherwise known as the Victory Arch. Through the exhibition there are multiple references to the victory arch such as a Star Wars poster of Darth Vader holding light sabers above his head and photographs of the american military posturing in front of it.
Michael Rakowitz at Lombard-Freid projects by russo!
In another aspect of the exhibition Rakowitz illustrates a conceivable story of the influence of Stars Wars on Uday, one of Saddam’s sons. In this narrative that begins with Uday watching Stars Wars at the age of 15, Uday in charge of a paramilitary of 40,000 presents his father with a prototype of the defining element of his soldiers uniform – a helmet which is an exact replica of Darth Vader’s. Its incredible how surreal and uncanny it is and a cabinet with the helmets side by side show how similar they are in reality.
The artist also explores how the world of WWF wrestling portrayed a strange, almost mind twisting take on Middle Eastern politics. In the build up of coalition forces in 1990 Sargent Slaughter, a patriotic marine turns against America and becomes an Iraqi sympathiser forming a ‘the triangle of terror’ tag-team with his Iraqi manager General Adnan and the wrestler Colonel Mustafa. They lose against Hulk Hogan in a stadium full of his patriotic flag waving fans. At the end of the first Gulf War Sargent Slaughter returns to his pro-american persona. Similary General Adnan took on multiple personas, as better storylines mean attendance in the world of WWF. After being told he looked like a native American he became Billy White Wolf and then after moving to London he became an eccentric, oil rich Arabian Sheikh. Rakowitz gives a curious narrative into the short time General Adnan spent in Iraq, under the presidents orders, to promote wrestling in the country that eventually ends with him leaving the country covertly due to his popularity.
The telescope in the final room is a neat and humorous reflection on the many references to science fiction and space that are touched on. But I don’t want to give too much away, because there is a real sense discovery as you explore and move through exhibition
The narratives that Rakowitz presents in all its forms are engaging and curious, its an exhibition that is intriguing throughout, with plenty of humour and a darkside that will make you say out loud ‘that can’t be true’.
The exhibition is on at the Tate Modern Level 2 gallery until 3rd May.
British hip hop
In the last decade there were a string of inspiring and amazing records to emerge from the British hip hop scene. The evolution of the music and the lyrics of the rappers in the last ten years is in many ways a reflection of how British society is changing. It taps into the veins of contemporary British culture and providing the soundtrack to urban youth.
The Unknown - Mark B & Blade
Towards the end of 2009 most of the key music websites such as the NME, Guardian, Pitchfork, DrowndInSound published their top albums of the decade, listing bands such as Radiohead and Arcade Fire to The Strokes and Bon Iver. However in all the articles and features that were published, not one mentioned the British hip hop scene. This lack of recognition has always perplexed those in the scene, even more so when tracks by Roots Manuva, Speech Debelle, The Nextmen, Yungun and Mr Thing have so much commercial potential. But in many ways its not surprising, traditionally British hip hop has been perceived as the poorer cousin to its American counterpart and unfashionable compared to the music of the moment.
In the last 10 years british rap music has grown, matured and developed its own distinct identity. What makes artists like Braintax and Skinnyman so compelling is the combination of musical experimentation with lyrics that address social and political issues that are so relavent to the day and age in which we live in.
Council Estate of Mind - Skinnyman
Council Estate of Mind is an epic, a social commentary that portrays the reality of working class inner city life. Tracks are interspersed with samples from Made In Britain, a film about a 16 year old skin head played by Tim Roth and his constant confrontations with authority figures. The samples set the scene for the lyrics that deal with the themes of education, the system, prison and living life on the street. In contrast Panorama by Braintax is a wake up call that attacks American policies towards the Middle East, greedy politicians and bankers (and this was before the banking crisis and the expenses scandal).
Lyrics aside the music itself has been inspiring. Funk and soul influences and samples combined with heavy, raw beats are the most consistent sounds, but the diversity of styles encompasses the deep, dark bassiness of Roots Manuva, the cinematic soundscapes of Lewis Parker and futuristic funk, drum ‘n’ bass and dancehall rhythms of New Flesh.
Masquerades & Silhouettes - Lewis Parker
Although there was a lack of commercial success, overall the last decade was a good time for UK hip hop, the artists such as Chester P, Dj Louis Slipperz, Skinnyman, Braintax, Jehst, Roots Manuva, Dubbledge, Lewis Parker, The Nextmen (and the list goes) have all produced amazing albums. Looking back its interesting to reflect how in 2001 Mark B & Blade released the acclaimed album ‘The Unknown‘ which was a call to arms to everyone in the scene to be innovative, stand out and original and kick back against a music industry only interested in the latest fad. Then at the other end of the decade Speech Debelle won the Mercury Prize which, even though it was a for a short while, helped to boost the profile of UK hip hop. In terms of british urban music, grime has the most attention at the moment and perhaps its popularity in the charts and coverage in the press (particulary in the fashion press) makes its difficult for British hip hop to compete for the attention and money from the labels to get promoted. Anyhow, what artists like Dizzee, The Streets, Speech Debelle, Roots Manuva and others prove is that innovative urban music can get the recognition and attention of the public, press and record labels. The diversity of British hip hop shows that its an evolving sound encompassing different influences from garage, soul, funk, drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, thats what makes it so distinct and gives it that UK flavour. Hopefully in this decade it will get the recognition it deserves.
Here’s a list of eleven albums (in no particular order) that convey some of the best to come out of the scene in the last ten years and a good starting place to explore. The links take you to Last.fm so you can listen to individual tracks.
1. Brand New Second Hand – Roots Manuva
2. Panorama – Braintax
3. Council Estate of Mind – Skinnyman
4. Falling Down – Jehst
5. The Unknown – Mark B and Blade
6. The Richest Man in Babylon – Dubbledge
7. 10 Bag Volume 2 – Dj Louis Slipperz
8. Countryman – Skitz
9. New Mic Order – Task Force
10. Masquerades & Silhouettes – Lewis Parker
11. From the Ashes – Chester P
Daytrotter
The web is saturated with music websites and its becoming increasingly more and more difficult to find something that is distinctive and inspiring. Daytrotter however manages to stand out in this crowded area of the web, it’s unique and fresh and spending time on the site will introduce your ears to some new music or alternative versions of songs you may be familiar with.
The use of illustrations rather than photo’s gives Daytrotter a down to earth bohemian feel. This aesthetic sets a tone that permeates throughout the site and expresses the sentiment of what Daytrotter is trying to achieve – ‘to give you something that you truly have never heard’. And what is really very cool about the whole premise of Daytrotter is that songs are recorded live and straight to tape without being tinkered with, in a couple of hours in a simple studio in Rock Island, Illinois. This attitude very much borrows from the legacy of John Peel and his legendary Peel Sessions, its rare to find a group of passionate individuals that are wiling to make such a concerted effort to champion underground music in such an accessible way.
Bon Iver
Other features of Daytrotter include the random tunes pop-up radio, useful if you are not sure what to listen to and an iPhone app that extends the experience of the website. On artist pages there are commentaries from the band on the songs they have chosen to play. One of my favourite descriptions is of the song Lump Sum by Bon Iver, I like the idea that there was an accidental randomness from the equipment the band were using that contributed to the overall feel of the song.
The Bon Iver tracks on the website are good a example of how a live session offers an opportunity for artists to experiment and try a different interpretation of their music, and for the listener I think the following comment sums up the sentiment I’m trying to get across perfectly:
“I’ve listened to these songs i dont know how many times.. & hearing them here makes them new all over.. Beautiful…” – demedicis | Sunday, December 06, 2009 | 10:50 am
It’s a shame that there isn’t a British equivalent, it feels like it could be an opportunity for Rough Trade as they already host regular live music in their shops on Talbot road and the Truman Brewery. In the UK, the diversity and breadth of the music scene makes for a compelling soundtrack to the time in which we are living in. Creating an archive of this music and contextualising it against a backdrop of social and political issues from the moment would provide an interesting historical perspective. Imagine a Daytrotter equivalent in every country and you would have an archive of music that provides a rich global overview of movements, trends and influences.
The philosophy of Daytrotter “to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line” is what makes it so important. So much music is available both legally and illegally, its too easy to access new stuff but what is more difficult to obtain is music that captures a moment and the raw energy of the artist, along with the feedback and fuziness from the amp and the accidents and mistakes that make the sound feel alive.
New Yeasayer single
Yeasayer by micn2sugars
Absolutely awesome new single by Yeasayer and you can download it free from their website.
After hearing this I’m really looking forward to their new album in February. They have definitely evolved their sound, it’s a little bit more poppy, very catchy and anthemic. I remember seeing them play at Koko just over a year and half ago and they put on a great live show, especially when they played their stand out tracks 2080 and Sunrise. From that gig you got a sense that the band were still working out their sound and experimenting which is why I found them compelling so it will be really interesting to see where the new album will take them.
