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Candy The Spirit of Independents Issue. July / August 2005.
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“And never has a generation seemed so inspired” John C. Jay, Wieden + Kennedy Creative Director
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Candy
* “A PD-wha newsletter? Why can’t you just print it?” - Me Mum.
Front cover. New York taxi ride. Photographed by Aidan Kelly.
This page. An Angry man.
-----------------------Upfront. -----------------------Introduction. Aesthetic Apparatus. Aidan Kelly. Alistan Munroe. Angry. Backlash. Big Active. BrenB. The Chalets. Colonel Blimp. Deirdre O’Callaghan. Futura 2000. I Love Dust / Designed to help. Lydia Tobin. Neil O’Keeffe. Neosupervital. NeubauBerlin. Paul Regan. Pixelcorps / WARP. Prey Alone. Sally O’Sullivan. The Radiators (Plan 9). X*Rox Soundsystem. -----------------------Upcoming. -----------------------Watchlist. Sites for sore eyes. Sweet sounds. Competition. Submissions. Next issue. ------------------------
Candy is an bi-monthly independently produced digital magazine. All informations and visuals contained within this document remain the copyright of the creators, they are simply being shown for the purpose of presentation. Should any credits be wrong, please contact Candy and we’ll set it right next issue. © 2005 Me&Eye www.meandeye.com
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This issue is a celebration of some of the kind of people that, rather than sitting around having eternal pub conversations about why or how something needs to change, got stuck in and did it themselves. They’ve got off their arses, given their all, made their mistakes but generally (through luck and/or perspiration) won out.
Introduction.
Never has there been a more exciting time (I’ve asked me Dad) and these are some of the people that make it so. These people are the visionaries and their vision is inspirational. Originality is king and long may it rule!! Hope you enjoy. Richard richard.seabrooke@dynamo.ie Many thanks also to the 3 new contributors this issue: Paddy Fagan, Aidan Kelly & Graham Vard. Big Up!
Tom Yorke. Radiohead lead singer. Picture by Sally O’Sullivan.
Upfront.
Aesthetic Apparatus. www.aestheticapparatus.com http://www.foundation-gallery.org/current.html
One thing the Irish really love is their houses. We have one of the highest percentages of house owners in Europe so that’s a whole load of walls that need filling. Enter Aesthetic Apparatus. This crew of designers / printers have kept the art of gig posters alive and well and the results are both beautiful and breathtaking.
Each poster is designed and screenprinted specifically for gigs and then a limited edition of each poster is made available through their website. Not only are these essentials items of wall furniture but they’re as cheap as chips so why buy one when you could buy ten. No more excuses then for bare magnolia or woodchip walls y’hear!!
Test prints. Beautiful one-off prints made through overprinting the various graphics of other posters. Me wants!
Aidan Kelly. www.aidan-kelly.com Aidan’s work is also featured in the latest issue of online photography magazine Mooncruise at http://www.mooncruise.com
As mentioned in the last issue Candy got it’s sticky mitts on an original photo story by Aidan Kelly which we said we’d show you as soon as they came through. One issue later and the wait is over (we’re very impatient). But rather than rush straight in with an itchy trigger finger poised to fire right through get yourself comfortable, knock that phone off, grab a beer and soak up the fantastic results...
Alistan Munroe. www.alistanmunroe.com Order from Alistan Munroe Studio, 7 Crow Street, Dublin.
"MY TIES ARE NOT SHY" So quips designer and artist Alistan Munroe at the launch of new own name brand. Jumping ship from his usual orbit of cutting edge graphic design, Munroe has eschewed the usual path of designer extra curricular activity. Not for him a range of experimental but expensive glasswear, nor the draw of imposing but impractical luggage. Instead Munroe has cast his sharp eye to things sartorial and that much overlooked but perennial essential 'the necktie' But please don't expect a plump gold basket weave or an Indian madder when you finger Munroe's neckwear. For his first collection is an electric collision of fabrics, tones and patterns. Text by Patrick Cooney
Angry (Scott Burnett, Johnny Kelly and recent arrival Karl) are a true multimedia powerhouse. Working out of their studio in central Dublin they run a exceptionally cool clothing label stocked by only the best boutiques worldwide and sported by rock stars and celebrities alike (Jamie Oliver, Dermot Galvan & that girl on Saturday mornings on BBC if you will!), they’re involved in successful club nights including the Friday night “club-in-apub” that is Monkey Tennis, the legendary Highland Youth Club and a new monthly Pogo residency. Aswell as this the guys are renowned for their creative output under the moniker AAD where they throw their hands to projects as diverse as the nice folk in the Bangkok redlight district!!
Angry. www.angry-associates.com www.angryretail.com
From left. Dog, Scott & Johnny. (Karl isn’t in the pic coz his Mam wouldn’t let him out to play with the big boys!) Photo by Aidan Kelly.
What strikes you most when you see Angry’s work is they seem to have found the balance between satisfying the client from a commercial stance yet maintaining a creative intent, a rarity in Ireland. The coming months see the guys set up stall online as they launch their own e-tail site at www.angryretail.com This promises many a desirable temptation made by their own fair hands aswell as carefully chosen partners. Looks like the credit card could be in mortal danger.
10 questions for Angry...
01. So, what is Angry? Angry is basically a brand, a label, a place we can make our retail fantasies come true. We started out making t-shirts because it was the easiest thing for us to do, we've done some other bits and pieces of clothing, aswell as prints, notebooks and that sort of thing but really it's a platform for realising the ideas we have that would usually float around our heads and go nowhere, whether it's a short film, series of photographs, a book, pamphlet, sponsored swim, piece of art, whatever. 02. How and when did it come about? We [Johnny Kelly - Production / Scott Burnett Design] were working together in a Dublin design agency and we were a little bit at the end of our tether with the shackles we were finding ourselves constrained by. It was a bit like the story of Footloose. If they ever make the film of Angry it'll be a lot like that, small town rebellion, bad haircuts even worse dance moves but the whole strict school side of it will be the world of corporate design and the need to dance will be the need to get your ideas out to where people can attach themselves to it on an emotional level, either love it, hate it or blank it. I'm making it sound a lot more highbrow than Footloose but it'll be just as exciting I promise. 03. Why call it Angry? It was a studio joke that had us telling clients where to go when they called up and asked you to change the well set Caslon to 'squigly comic sans' because they'd asked their daughter if the design was any good and these were her suggestions..., so we thought it would be great to just get angry at clients and if we called the company Angry then they wouldn't be able to feign surprise because what did they expect.
Continued on next page...
The initial idea spilled over into pub conversations, getting more and more out of hand until we found ourselves with a piece of paper from the company registrations office naming us as directors of Angry. We said, ok lets do it, but if we're going to do it we should always try to make the stuff not very angry at all, more polite actually. Sometimes we forget that and end up drawing guns and skulls, but they're usually toy cowboy guns and skulls with lovehearts for eyes. We liked the idea that people would go...'fuct, pornstar, Angry.... hold on, where's the image of Tony Montana? what's with the fucking cup of tea! These bastards aren't fucking ANGRY, I've been lied to!!!!' but usually it's just...' so are you really Angry?' 04. Where do you get inspiration for your work? From the usual suspects really - Music, Art, Design, battleships, my skateboarding years, Johnny's wild years, our mothers, Tea... But we really get inspired when we take two disparate areas of inspiration and explore the void between them, like wrestling and gardening, either one on it's own, an endless source of inspiration, put them together, start to document the crumbs that fall therough the gaps and hey presto, a vaccine for all known allergies.
05. What differentiates you from others? Ah, that's a good question, it's the eternal search for creatives, probably for any small, or large company, in fact probably all human beings at one point or another - what makes us different and the answer is - probably not much - I think more and more, you're only as different as the obscureness of your references. I think the biggest differences can be in the way you run your company, for example we're big fans of Silas but it's the way they do things that I really love, their constant collaboration, their extended family way of doing things, that for me makes them unique and attractive whether or not I've seen similair graphics/garments/ideas somewhere else [and I'm not saying I have, just making the point] 06. What’s the future for Angry? Home farming I think, well maybe in a few years. Right now we're getting ready to launch the first full Angry collection, proper clothes and not just the odd and end that we've done in the past. We've got Male and Female ranges, interesting original prints, some pretty interesting garments and quite a bit of interesting graphics, so all in all, it should be interesting. We're also close to launching our online shop - www.angryretail.com we're so webretarded, I swear even my mum has started mocking us for not having a website! We're also moving into a new space with our good friends D.A.D.D.Y. which'll be great, we're growing our graphic design business Aad and within the year hopefully setting up a long standing idea we've had for a modular creative agency called Caravan, it's about time I stopped telling people about it and just got it going, a good idea is just a wasted opportunity if it's not put into practice.
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Angry again. Soaking up the attention. Photo by Aidan Kelly.
07. What / Who inspires you? Why? Who and What are pretty much interlinked. I'm really inspired when I see people create great things, movies, music, books, objects, quick witted comments, whatever it is really, just some nice creative process in motion is pretty tasty. There is a heirarchy to what inspires me though: At the top of the list it's anyone who has the balls to commit to their ideas with gusto, whether they're small, large, intricate or completely insane, I'm thinking particularily of Bill Drummond. Then there's people who dedicate their lives to a particular way of working or working-life like Michel Gondry, Brian Eno or Mark Gonzalez, it's more than just having a vision for them I think, Gondry and Eno are like a creative scientists and Gonzalez is like a beautiful free-floating creative hobo going from town to town, inspiring the inhabitants before moving on to the next one. Then it's seeing people close to me doing good shit, bands like Bell X1 and the Chalets, Dublin DJ's like Arveene, Eno and Nic James, the boys at DADDY. Wayne Daly, Johnny Kelly and the photographers I used to work with/for in London like Jason Tozer, Duncan Smith and Jon Minster. It's a very inspiring and encouraging thing to see your mates doing good things and getting credit when it's due. Then there's loads and loads of design stuff on an everyday level; Saul Bass, Lance Wyman, Paul Rand, GTF, MM, Elektrosmog in Switzerland, Brands like Silas, PAM, Vans, Filmmakers like Wes Anderson. I won't list them all here, that would probably send people to sleep.
08. What do you think of the state of Irish creativity? I think there are some amazing world class creatives here, there are also a lot of amazing Irish creatives living and working in the UK, Central Europe or the US. I think it can be very frustrating here if you're trying to produce work that's in any way challenging, progressive or different. There are very few outlets here for that sort of design, advertising, photography etc. Not being from Ireland [North East Scotland in effect] It's probably too easy for me to give out shit about things. The bottom line is there are some amazing people. 09. Do you reckon it’s easy to be successful in Ireland? Is there any / enough support? I personally think that there's not enough support, both in the areas of patrons or companies that champion good creativity and in the area of business start up help. It's funny, the creatives I know that are doing pretty well financially would probably say they'd like to be more creatively successful and the ones that are doing a lot of great work would probably like to be more financially successful. 10. What’s getting you excited at the moment? My sister just had twin girls, making me an uncle, which is a great thing. Looking forward to seeing the Angry SS06 collection. Record shopping always gets me going. That summer feeling. The curry house I can smell from my office window right now has me excited to the point of passing out.
Having pushed Scott on the date (he’s seemingly afraid of commitment!) I’ve been assured that www.angryretail.com is due to go online in the very near future so keep checking. Monkey Tennis takes place in Anseo on Wexford Street, Dublin every Friday night while the new monthly residency at POGO (at the POD, Harcourt Street, Dublin) continues on Saturday the 16th of July. Hurrah!
Animal feeding gloves. No more overfeeding, just use enough for the animal illustrated. Many awkward predicaments averted.
Angry tee & sweat.
Angry clothing season promotion images. Gun battle & hostage situation on the street of Dublin.
Angry clothing season promotion images. Let’s get physical.
Angry clothing season promotion images. Witness protection.
Some Aad marques.
WWW.ANGRY-ASSOCIATES.CO WWW. ANGRY-ASSOCIATES.COM
Flat Monkey Tennis flyers.
Made up Monkey Tennis flyers.
Aad music work for Bell X1 & The Chalets.
Aad book work. Corn Exchange brochure. L’Ecrivan Restaurant cookbook. Angry notebook. Co-Op magazine.
Backlash. www.backlash.ie
Flashback 2003: Dance had supposedly died but for Backlash that just meant people were tired. Tired of being charged a fortune into the same Dublin clubs to see the same superstar DJs, tired of the sleazy sameness of endless handbag US house nights, and tired of the reluctance of anyone to play music with style, of which there is always plenty, instead of the same old thing repeating itself. Dance music was changing and Backlash knew the chance was there to give Dublin a slice of Europe and the rest of the world. Backlash was created out of a lack of clubs that played the music the DJs wanted to hear a bigger audience who needed a new sound to get behind, a genre they could really call their own. Mixing up acts like The Pet Shop Boys, Bobby Orlando, Depeche Mode, The Human League, and Kraftwerk with the acts that have been influenced by them, Tiefschwarz, DJ T, Vitalic, the DFA, Tiga, the Glimmers, and Black Strobe along with more guitar based bands like The Rapture, !!!, Gang of Four, Mu and stars of the Belgian label Eskimo, music that for them is not some fad and they only try to appeal to like minded people
At first Backlash had crowds of 20 and 30 people, they’d even dance on the floor themselves to make it look busier! They knew this was the risk they took in doing something which had never been done in Dublin before, but they always believed in the music. But gradually and then suddenly, their little club grew into a sprawling monster. Compounded by quality sets from Philth & Jon Averill they built a following, joined by Chewy, Romo & recently the oddly monikered 'Funboy' who specializes in old italo-disco and rare electronic records. Now Wax is packed every week with the most enthusiastic crowd you'll come across in Dublin, Sometimes they have to laugh at how crazy it all is, it feels like Thursdays have never been so good! Unlike other nights in the city, their success has been built almost entirely on the abilities of their residents. New faces like Steve Reynolds and Romo have emerged as determined music obsessives who can rock the club ably. Philth, a resident at Influx in the sadly departed Tivoli, never ceases to amaze by just how crazy he makes the crowd go on a weekly basis. Then there’s Jon Averill who simply was a music fan with a big record collection who was persuaded to comedown and play, less than two years later he's supporting the likes of Tiga, Ivan Smaggee, Chicken Lips and Underworld to name a few.
Backlash is held every Thursday at Wax @ Spy, South William Street, Dublin. Jon Averill (top left) and the Backlash crew will be playing Electric Picnic & supporting Underworld this summer. To subscribe to their weekly mailout mail media@backlash.ie and you get exclusive subscriber only mixes from the residents and the likes of Optimo and Tim Sweeney from DFA.
Big Active. www.bigactive.com “Head, Heart & Hips : The Seductive World of Big Active” is available in Dublin through Urban Outfitters or internationally through www.magmabooks.com Big Active’s Gasbook is available at http://www.shift.jp.org/gas/ (As well as some of the world’s other premier league image makers)
Book cover & spreads.
One of the most respected design companies of the last 10 years, London’s Big Active agency is known and renowned worldwide for their creativity and diversity (They’ve even been the subjects of the revered Gasbook series of books). Whether it’s their music work for the likes of Goldfrapp, Ladytron, Sugababes and Basement Jaxx or their editorial design you never know what you’re going to get when the Big Active guy’s get stuck in but you know it’s going to be world class and, more than likely, award winning.
In recent years they’ve became even more prolific and morphed into an creative agency representing some of the best photographers and illustrators including Kam Tang, Kate Gibb, Daniel Stier, Pete Fowler, Vava Ribiero, Genevieve Gauckler and the mighty Will Sweeney. 2005 sees the release of a beautifully produced retrospective book entitled “Head, Heart & Hips : The Seductive World of Big Active” and is well worth your hard earned cash.
Simian sleeves. Bottom right gives a new meaning to Spring lamb.
Nova magazine. Revamped and relaunched a couple of years ago.
Another magazine.
Various Big Active sleeves. I’ll get a tissue.
Head Heart & Hips. Graphic design agency Big Active takes a seductive approach when presenting its work in a monograph. Liz Farrelly considers the achievements of the eclectic group.*
A new book hit the coffee table with quite a thud. Another trumpet-blowing design monograph, I thought. Opening the plain brown wrapper, I was pleasantly surprised, however, by the cover image of a couple of naked lovelies, looking very fleshy amid a sea of provocative lilies. It’s not your usual graphic design book cover, announcing what is by any standards a very out-there volume. Welcome to Head, Heart & Hips: The Seductive World of Big Active. Instead of the usual approach favoured by designers compiling books of ‘everything we’ve ever put on paper’, Big Active went for ‘what turns us on’, explains creative director Gerard Saint. ‘We wanted to do something new, with a wider remit than your average design book. We have never over-intellectualised what we do; we make images, and if they don’t stand up, they don’t work. So we thought of a phrase, ‘head, heart and hips’, which is all about passion, energy and seduction, because we want to draw the audience into our world. We liked the idea of doing something a bit sexy. We didn’t set out to shock, that’s just where we’re at. It’ll be interesting to watch people’s reactions.’ From its first set of business cards, which included one proclaiming ‘Fuck Off ’ reserved for ‘annoying photocopier salesmen’, to its unmistakable ‘couple embracing’ logo, reworked for the book’s cover as a homage to Prince’s Lovesexy album, Big Active has propagated a reputation as uncompromising and grown-up – but accessible – image-makers. It is as comfortable art directing groundbreaking consumer fashion magazines – Another, Nova, Scene – as it is creating brand identities for the music industry. Working with artists as diverse as Basement Jaxx, Simian, Goldfrapp and the Sugababes, this Wapping-based design studio has become one of London’s most highprofile groups since setting up in the early 1990s, and it has more strings to its bow than most. Of the three founding partners who met at college, Gerard Saint, Mark Watkins and Paul Hetherington, only Saint remains. He has been joined by personnel from a wide range of backgrounds, whose skills have repositioned Big Active as a one-stop creative agency representing both illustrators and photographers alongside their design and
art direction duties. Designers from the music industry, Mat Maitland and Richard Andrews, work with Greg Burne, Richard Newton and Bianca Redgrave, who come from music and photography management, and the world of fine art. ‘The agency evolved through friendships,’ explains Saint, recalling how the then fresh-from-college illustrator Jasper Goodall visited the studio, became a favoured collaborator and ‘didn’t want to go to a regular agent’. He was the first of what is a 17-strong – and growing – roster of artists. This big family of regular collaborators, some of whom work inhouse while others are dotted around the globe, deals with advertising, editorial and design clients as far afield as the US and Japan. ‘All our artists are different,’ explains Saint. ‘It makes the agency more interesting in the market place. They have individual voices but a collective attitude, whereas most agencies make the mistake of representing 20 illustrators who all do the same thing,’ he says. That stylistic diversity is beautifully showcased in Head, Heart & Hips. ‘Most people only know one part of what we do, so we wanted the book to be a glimpse into the complete world,’ explains Saint. ‘That’s why we started with an idea – the pleasure of seduction – and briefed the artists to respond in their own signature style.’ Kate Gibb’s ethereal screen prints seem gently nostalgic for past lovers, while Kristian Russell’s satin-slick show girls engage the viewer more directly. Jasper Goodall, arguably Big Active’s best-known illustrator, has contributed a portfolio of erotic, Aubrey Beardsley-inspired allegories, which are hardhittingly explicit yet delectable in their monochrome stylishness. Describing Big Active’s design approach as combining ‘a simple idea, strong aesthetic and personal intuition’, Saint cites the design atelier of Pushpin Studio set up by Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser and Edward Sorel as a blueprint: ‘Late 1960s New York was the most exciting time for design, it was more artisan. Pushpin’s integration of image and design was inspirational.’
That integration is evident in Maitland’s work. He is both a staffer and represented by Big Active; he makes images and art directs. For Basement Jaxx’s Rooty album campaign, Maitland art directed super-slick airbrush artist René Habermacher to create hyper-real portraits, while graffiti artist Rob Kidney was asked to deface the surfaces by adding handwritten type. For Alison Goldfrapp’s Black Cherry album campaign, Maitland applied his signature cut-up collage technique to Polly Borland’s photographs. Head, Heart & Hips may not be for the faint-hearted – it is provocative, but it stops short of being overtly gratuitous. And the work certainly stands up on its own. *This article was originally printed in Design Week on 10th March 2005 and posted on Big Active’s site where Candy came across it. It is used here purely for the purpose of illustration. Now, go buy the book, them guys need to eat!
The first time I saw this guy’s work was for Jerry Fish’s albums and singles and I was totally blown away by the originality of his work. A few years on and I recently happened to come across the site for BrenB (his “superhero” moniker he tells me) and it still doesn’t fail to impress.
BrenB. www.brenb.net
With skills honed from doing regular work for magazines like Dubliner magazine (Dublin’s Time Out), The Phoenix (Ireland’s political satire mag) and Toenail Clippings (his self-published comic anthology magazine), BrenB’s styles are as diverse and thought provoking as the characters he portrays. From the ‘Real Dubliners’ series to his ‘Love in Black & White’ illustrations this guy is definitely carving his own path.
Old DJ.
In the next year BrenB intends to see a HUGE comic strip through to fruition through Red Dog Design, publish 4 issues of anthology comic Toenail Clippings (which was nominated for an Alph-Art for Best New Comic at the International Comics Festival in France), continue working for Jerry Fish, write a regular strip called ‘Enforcing Justice’ for The Phoenix (It’s a superhero vigilante parody starring Justice Minister McDowell), aswell as continue his ‘Old Dublin’ strips to Dubliner (which he intends to turn into a 400-odd page behemoth book) and continue to contribute strips to European anthologies most recently to WarBurger, from Slovenia. If he gets all that done, maybe the superhero pseudonym isn’t that undeserved after all.
‘Real Dubliners’ strips.
Jerry Fish album and singles illustrations. For more information on Jerry Fish check http://www.jerry-fish.com/
The Chalets. www.thechalets.com
With current single Feel The Machine climbing high in the charts, and one foot firmly on the UK's stripey-tight ladder to indie stardom, The Chalets are beginning to gather the kind of momentum NASA scientists dream of emulating. Is it the hair, the three-chord trickery or the minimalist mayhem of their live show that sees them now rise above their peers? Let's face it; it's all of these things. Before The Chalets, it was cool (nay acceptable) to get up on stage looking like shit and then bash out some mediocrity... but, Holmes, the times they is a changin'. Dylan (drums), Enda (guitar, vox), Chris (bass, vox), Pony (vox, synths) and PeePee (vox, synths) have combined to create something that contains, dare we suggest, both style AND substance.
From 2003's Road Relish release Three Chord Song to 2004's Theme\Sexy Mistake single - the latter of which featured on an MTV ad etc - and finally to current cut Feel The Machine, all their tracks have been winners. Electro-tinged pop-rock ditties with an ample sprinkling of humour and tunefullness. What more could a body ask for? "We use our imagination", Dylan Chalet confessed in a recent interview as a means of explaining why his band stand out from the crowd so much. Live, this "imagination" sees the band switch from Grease-style call-and-response vocal hooks to filthy distorted rock-out jams... and all this going on while PeePee and Pony shimmy seductively in David Lych-ian nurse's uniforms. So with tunes, style and a strength of imagination usually reserved for pre-pubescant males, The Chalets look set for a stellar 2005. It's all too much, but just enough at the same time. Suggested further reading, listening, viewing: The Chalets' current single Feel The Machine out now on 7" and CD on Setanta. www.thechalets.com which is just wonderful for too many reasons to print here.
The Chalets. On the up!
Text by Paddy Fagan. Mail Paddy at patchesmedia@yahoo.com
This is the end frame of the fab video for “Feel the Machine”, the brand new single from The Chalets. Rather than spoil all the fun here best you get yourself over to their website to see it. It’s no wonder it’s on rotation on MTV. While you’re at it don’t forget to buy the single and let’s get them to number One. Let’s Rock! Produced by the crew at D.A.D.D.Y. www.teamdaddy.com and available to view at www.thechalets.com
Colonel Blimp. www.colonelblimp.com
Dirty Vegas. ‘Days go by’. Directed by Blue Source. One of my Top 5 videos of all time.
Colonel Blimp are a London based music video production company run by the brother and sister team of John and CJ Hassay with thoroughbred motion designers and artists including Lynn Fox, Pleix, Blue Source and Diamond Dogs on their books. While you may not immediately know the Colonel Blimp name, there’s no way that you could have escaped the work that they’re responsible for unless you live on an uninhabited island with no electricity, even then you’ve probably heard the rumblings. Almost every music video of merit and a whole lot more besides (like the amazing Audi ad spot by Pleix or the Bjork tour visuals by Lynn Fox) of the last couple of years has come from this stable of creativity. What’s more, with a spate of recent awards and rumblings of new signings it looks like the reign is set to continue.
01. Name, age and where are you originally from? My name is John Hassay, I'm 35 and I'm originally from Lurgan in Co. Armagh
10 questions for Colonel Blimp...
Bjork. “Unravel�. Directed by Lynn Fox.
02. What do you do and who do you do it for? I'm executive producer & managing director of a production company called Colonel Blimp were I represent directors that like making cool music videos for the likes of The Streets; Bjork; Kano; Fatboy Slim; Maximo Park; Will Young; Beni Benassi; New Order; Spiritualised; Bloc Party and The Cribs. I also run a video consulting company called New Selecta were I advise artists on who they should get to direct their videos if they want to make them cooler or more interesting. Best example of this is Basement Jaxx "Where's Your Head At?" 03. Where are you based? We are currently in Clerkenwell but moving back into Soho in 6 weeks - hurrah! 04. How did you get to do what you do? Nepotism. At university my flat mate owed our landlord so much rent he made him take a job with a local record company to pay off his debts. The label was called Loaded and Damian wanted to start his own and as he had no money he called it Skint. The landlord was Mr Norman Cook - AKA Fatboy Slim - and he wanted me to leave MTV and commission his videos. The rest is history! 05. Who do you work with? I tend to deal mainly with independent labels which means enlightened minds and no cocks from the marketing department coming up with stupid ideas or subverting good scripts. It also means they never have any money for the videos but I'd rather do cool stuff as you get better directors, do better work and can look at yourself in the mirror in the morning with a complete absence of guilt. At least from a work point of view.
The Cribs. “Mirror kisses”.
Babybird. “Out of sight”.
Babybird. “Out of sight”.
Director: Diamond Dogs.
Director: Blue Source.
Director: Blue Source.
The Streets. “Fit but you know it”.
Basement Jaxx. “Cish Cash”.
The Streets “Blinded by the lights”.
Director: Dougal Wilson.
Director: Pleix.
Director: Adam Smith.
06. What gets you out of bed in the morning? I fucking love my job how many people can say that? 07. Ambitions? Feature films. Obviously. Otherwise what's the point? 08. Highlights? Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" was pretty good fun and the Lynn Fox video for "Hayling" was very a special debut particularly as I wrote a letter to every London production company saying "sign these geniuses.'' There were no takers so Lynn Fox became Colonel Blimp's second signing and went straight into a big job with Bjork and haven't stopped working since. Best of all though is my partners Blue Source's video for Fatboy Slims "Bird of Prey". EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong did: it rained; the jets couldn't fly; the French crew shot all the Lear jet footage out of focus; the first editor had a meltdown and I had to replace him; we delivered a week late; then the client hated it and I thought the jig was up but we went on to win best new directors; best dance video and best commissioner at the Creative and Design Awards that year and decided to launch Colonel Blimp. We knew it could never get any more difficult than that. 09. Regrets? Professionally? I don't think there have been any mistakes I haven't learned from so not really. Personally? How long have you got? 10. Happiness is... Winning the Champions League! I like winning. Everything. Forever.
Deirdre O’Callaghan. www.deirdreocallaghan.co.uk “Hide That Can” is available online through http://www.trolleynet.com
Deirdre O'Callaghan was born in Cork in 1970 but now works out of London. She was Picture Editor of Dazed & Confused magazine between 1996-98 and aswell as Dazed her work has appeared in numerous publications including the Independent magazine, Q magazine, the Hot Press and Mojo. Deirdre has also been responsible for the much celebrated (and multi-award winning) book ‘Hide That Can’. “Hide That Can” is a testament to the culture of mutual support the men have developed in the face of these difficulties. Deirdre O'Callaghan's book is a moving and at times shocking documentary portrait of an Irish emigrant community in north London.
Girl on Grass. Moby. Justin from The Darkness.
The work was made over a three-year period in Arlington House in Camden Town, London. Arlington House is the largest hostel of its kind in Europe. It houses 400 men, half of whom are Irish. As O'Callaghan comments: "Although it was difficult at first to gain their trust, most of the men have welcomed me into their lives, giving me access to their personal stories and experiences. Most of these men went to London in the '40s and '50s to find employment, mainly on the building sites.” “They emigrated, not through choice, stayed though reluctant, and never returned out of pride." As well as portraying the everyday lives of the men, O'Callaghan also documents a group trip to Co. Clare, made with the help of the Aisling Project. For some, this was the first time they had returned home in over twenty years.
“Hide That Can”. Images courtesy of Big Active.
Futura 2000. www.futuralaboratories.com Futura merchandise can be found online at www.hanon-shop.com / www.wellgosh.com / www.rakuten.co.jp & www.dp-mhi.com
Futura 2000 was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1955. His real name is Benny Blanco (according to his website) or Lenny McGurr (according to an interview with the New York Times). As a boy, Futura enjoyed hanging out in the subway, and claims there were many others like him who felt at home there, too. At the time, there was no graffiti art as we know it today. There were taggers who wrote their tags as well as words such as "pray" all around town. When he saw tags on trains in 1971, though, it all clicked for him. "It makes perfect sense that the subway system would literally become the "vehicle," he later said in an interview. "It just happened, it invited it. Suddenly graffiti wasn't limited to tenement halls, school yard walls, and bathroom stalls. Graffiti had found the speed at which it needed to be seen." Futura saw the connection between this form of communication and speed. Subway graffiti kept in step with the quickened pace of information sharing. He started tagging trains, but, according to him, he didn't feel confident enough to do pieces on the outside of subway cars yet. As he put it: "What had started out as playing in subway tunnels had progressed into midnight forays deep in the interiors of the system." "My name just came to me one day, a combination of my favorite film, (2001 A Space Odyssey) by Stanley Kubrick, and the Futura typeface. Futura represented, obviously the future, and the 2000 was a projection of that thought." Futura 2000 was inspired by a Fall 1972 New York Magazine article which focused on graffiti. He showed it to his skeptical mom and even though she saw no art in graffiti, she allowed him to explore. As a result, Futura became one of the first graffiti artists who took the expression beyond tagging to the art as we know it.
Futura went on to become a hot commodity in the 80s when the commercial art world took an interest in exploiting graffiti. He was the rage of the East Village art scene along with Lee, Fab 5 Freddy and other artists, as well as becoming popular in Europe. Futura credits Europeans with embracing graffiti as an artform way before the American art establishment recognized it as valid folk art and fine art. Futura is known throughout the world as an abstract artist and has exhibited in cities such as Moscow, Seoul, Rome, Tokyo, Nairobi, Barcelona, Sydney, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, and Paris, just to name a few. In 1982, he put out a record with himself rhyming called "Futura 2000 and His Escapades" with music done by punk rock icons The Clash. This is now fairly rare but check Ebay. Unkle vs Futura vs Kubrick. ‘Never Never Land’ set. Sold out but I’ve seen sets vailable from www.slamcityskates.com or www.ebay.com
In the 90’s he found worldwide fame through his work with UNKLE. Futura has been responsible for the entire visual of UNKLE from it’s inception right up to now. He has been the visionary behind many jaw-dropping sleeves including UNKLE’s 2 albums (Psyence Fiction and Never Never Land), their singles and also their mixscape project Unklesounds which have to be seen and heard to be believed. In more recent times though Futura has carved his own path with many solo projects ranging from solo artist shows, a clothing range and a ongoing ‘iconography’ project which has many different guises. Over the next few pages you’ll get a sniff of the stuff that this guy is doing but from what I’m hearing there’s going to be a whole load of Futura coming our way very soon. I can’t wait. To get your hands on cds by UNKLE or Unklesounds (‘Big Brother is Watching You’ is a personal fave!) check out www.play.com
Surrender vs Unkle GoreTex jacket.
Futura Laboratories ‘Nosferatu’.
Surrender is a brand new label from James Lavelle of Mo Wax records. The jacket below is a limited edition style made by Goretex exclusively for Surrender! The collaboration is complete with the Unkle / MoWax / Futura camouflage and amazing attention to detail. Only about 70 of these have been produced so they’re rarer than chicken teeth and the cost of £500 (750e) reflects this. More information at www.hanon-shop.com
The latest toy project from Futura. Available in 7 standard variants (below) and an ultra limited Eric Siu version (next page). So...hard...to...resist. Available online at www.dp-mhi.com and www.wellgosh.com
Nosferatu. Eric Siu variant. Available from www.toytokyo.com and www.ningyoushi.com
At the beginning of this year, iLovedust, a small design company based in Southsea in England, came up with the idea of producing a book of graphic design, illustration and photography to raise money to help charities deal with the tsunami crisis in Asia. Immediately after they started communicating the project, they began receiving an exciting amount of positive feedback from designers and prospective partners who wanted to support the project. Today, this book idea has become a reality, mostly through the sweat of iLovedust!
I Love Dust / Designed to Help. www.ilovedust.com www.designedtohelp.com “A Book Designed To Help” (ISBN: 3-89955-077-3 ) is available through www.magmabooks.com or at www.amazon.co.uk aswell as regular bookstores like Waterstones. Get to it!
Renowned design publisher Die Gestalten Verlag (dgv) have published "A Book Designed To Help" also rowed in to publish it and make a vision a reality. It is a lavish production, though at a price of 27.99 GBP affordable, hardcover of 304 pages featuring around 1,000 artworks from over 240 contributors from around the world. "A Book Designed To Help". Book cover.
dgv was able to distill this inspiring selection from an overwhelming amount of generous submissions ensuring that, in addition to being for a good cause, the book is also a “must have” for a designoriented audience worldwide. Their substantial contributions have not only guaranteed a publication of the highest quality, but will also assure that as much money as possible will go directly to those vicitms who need it most. All profits from the sale of the book will go to respected worldwide charity organization CARE, who will use the funds to help the poorest communities recover from the tsunami disaster. To provide utmost transparency, a detailed account of all donations resulting from this project will be regularly updated at www.designedtohelp.com Let’s all call over to theirs for tea and to give them all a much deserved big pat on the back. Brilliant.
"A Book Designed To Help". Spreads.
Some other iLovedust work... How much do we want those trainers? Yum. Best you just get over to the site & enjoy all the work in it’s natural habitat.
Lydia Tobin. This issue’s OneToWatch!
Lydia Tobin is a young Irish fashion designer keen to establish herself in the hyper-competitive fashion industry. A native Dubliner, Lydia recently completed a BA in Fashion at the West Wales School of the Arts in Carmarthanshire, Wales. Last month Lydia's designs were on show at the London Fashion Graduate Week - which showcases the very best of UK graduate fashion. Lydia's collection consisted of seven garments which drew influence from North American Indian spirituality, customs and culture. Every design is crafted with sophistication and reflects a feminine temperament that is fundamental to her personality. Probably one of the most exiting Irish fashion prospects of the year and rumour has it that 'London's calling'. Watch this space folks!! Lydia can be contacted at lydiatobin@gmail.com Text by Graham Vard. Mail Graham at graham.vard@dynamo.ie
Neil O’Keeffe is one of Dublin’s most prolific freelance designers. Working for a wide range of corporate and cultural clients, Neil’s approach every time is exceptional in it’s creativity and meticulous in it’s execution. For a one man operation he’s made a fair impression on the streetscape of Dublin through his work for Nude organic restaurants, Blue Eriu cosmetic stores & Champion Sports stores which he has been the creative lead for about 5 years.
Neil O’Keeffe. www.nokdesign.com www.delicia.com
Hybrid magazine.
Not that that’s enough Neil is also involved in many projects in his (em?) spare time which he attacks with an unnerving energy including collaborative photography projects, cultural magazines, self-published comics and also thoughtprovoking promotional pieces (his Christmas cards are always classic). A true creative force.
Nude organic restaurants. Packaging & promotional posters.
Boylan & Balfe, professional makeup artists. Identity an promotional media. More information at www.boylanandbalfe.com
Q-Life magazine.
Delecia, a character created by Neil who has since found herself in a limited edition comic and also a dedicated website. More at www.delecia.com/
NeoSuperRecipe. ------------------------------------To make this electro-pop gem you will require:
Neosupervital. www.neosupervital.com
A liberal amount of lo-fi vocals. Four teaspoons of electronic influences. One synth-guitar. One pair of wrap-around shades. One tailored suit. A large collection of cheesey '80s records. Some wit (preferably dry, but the sarcastic variety may be used as a substitute) to season. ------------------------------------Cooking instructions: First take the lo-fi vocals, electro influences and '80s records and beat them together in a large bowl over a hot hot heat. When the mixture comes to the boil, pour into the suit and leave it to settle into its own groove. After one hour the mixture should have solidified into a retro-tinged pop pavlova.
Neosupervital.
Simply add the shades and synth-guitar for a little funk flavour and season with a liberal dose of your chosen wit. ------------------------------------For a true taste of NeoSuperBrillance visit www.neosupervital.com and download the techno troubadour's latest single “Rachel�, which has presently been garnering deservedly rave reviews. For the non-internet inclined (why are you here then?), catch the man live in Dublin's CrawDaddy on June 16. ------------------------------------Text by Paddy Fagan. Mail Paddy at patchesmedia@yahoo.com
The first time I seen anything by Berlin-based Neubau was the 'dsos1 : Designershock' book which they produced. This was a charity project which saw them produce limited edition fonts aswell as desktop patterns, icons, games and applications. While some of the fonts were instantly accessible, if you completed the games more fonts become unlocked. The book has since sold out but you may still find one on Ebay the odd time (get stalking).
NeubauBerlin. www.neubauberlin.com www.neubauladen.com www.neubauwelt.com “Neubau Welt” is available through www.magmabooks.com or at www.amazon.co.uk
Since then I can't seem to turn as they're everywhere due to their constant enormous yet consistent output. They're responsible for some of the most innovative print and multimedia work being done anywhere at the moment but they've also been involved in the brilliant “Design for Kids” (Victionary), “Type One” (DGV), “Iconography 2” (IDN) & “Building Letters” (in aid of Tsunami victims) books, contributed to numerous magazines internationally, launched their own sites (www.neubauberlin.com (portfolio), www.neubauladen.com (their soon-tobe-launched retail site)) and been working on their first solo book (Neubau Welt) which is being published by Die Gestalten Verlag this Summer.
NeubauBerlin. Staff shot.
“Neubau Welt” is a 21st century Letraset project that saw Neubau spend countless hours (http://www.neubauberlin.com/NBWMakingOf.html) drawing up thousands of vector illustrations of just about everything around them and a whole load more besides. These are then published in the book supported by a cd containing all the files for users to use for their projects. There's also some more of their own signature fonts for people to use and abuse at will once they've bought the book. Now that the book’s finally out, I reckon it’s best they get some sleep, they must be wrecked.
“Neubau Welt”. Book cover.
"NB-Weltmeister" team consisted of: Sereina Rothenberger (SWITZERLAND), Christoph Gruenberger (GERMANY), Claus Mayr (GERMANY), Mikkel Due Pedersen (NORWAY), Frederik Frede (GERMANY), Benjamin Metz (GERMANY), Joen Szmidt (SWEDEN) & Stefan Gandl (AUSTRIA).
“Neubau Welt”. Book spreads.
JPeople magazine. Front and back cover & spread.
Detroit Underground. 12 inch sleeve and vinyl. Available to buy at https://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/detund.html Download the supporting screensaver at http://www.neubauberlin.com/NBDETUND8330.html
Paul Regan. www.paulregan.com
A work colleague put me on to this Dublin based artist who does some of the most beautiful yet sinister screenprints around. Taking what seems to be old etchings and adapting them, Paul ends up with pieces that are extremely eary yet engaging. Not really images for the nursery but a worthy investment for any other wall of the house.
Pixelcorps. http://eclectronics.org/projects/videos/plaid.php Subscribe to Creative Review at http://www.mad.co.uk/publications/cr/
Over the last few month’s Creative Review magazine and WARP Records ran their second competition where they invited motion designers and animators from around the world to submit original works soundtracked by tracks from artists from the WARP label. Last year saw the mighty Geoff McFetridge and Pleix win out with some amazing work which has since been published and awarded internationally. This year it gets even better as an Irish company, Pixelcorps, was amongst the 10 companies commissioned by CR and WARP to produce a final piece for a track.
“The video is 'about' shopping and was shot around Dublin entirely using a digital SLR camera. I created a Jitter patch to process the stills and produce animated sequences based on the MIDI timeline of the track. The beauty of the MIDI timeline is that its not tied to a particular frame base: so it was easy to preview and build the sequences at a low frame rate and then output at 50 fps for interlaced TV. As the source material is all 2k frames I have created a HD (720p) version in windows media V9 format, Intrepid broadband users with 2Ghz+ windows.”
Taking the Pleix track ‘Caretstik’ Tim Redfern at Pixelcorps developed a piece of software to manipulate the image to the sound. Want to know more, here’s his explanation...
I don’t know about you but that doesn’t mean much to me, all I know is it’s brilliant! This video (and all the other winners will be featured on their DVD (available to subscribers) in May.
Plaid ‘Caretstik’.
& Speaking of WARP... Here’s some of the other releases tickling our fancy this issue.
Warp Vision. www.warprecords.com www.bleep.com
Warp Vision: The Videos 1989-2004 Their first-ever DVD collection, featuring the best of Warp promos from '89 to the present day that, with the exceptions of Autechre's 'Gantz_Graf' and Chris Cunningham's legendary videos, have never seen a DVD release until now. The disc includes work from Chris Cunningham, Alex Rutterford and David Slade alongside directors such as Lynn Fox, Pleix, Ed Holdsworth and Laurent Briet who, since their work for Warp, have become some of the hottest talents in the industry. In amongst the better-known videos are lost classics and rarelyseen gems from the likes of Seefeel, The Designers Republic, Sabres of Paradise, Jamie Lidell, John Callaghan and Jimi Tenor aswell as Dublin’s “local lads done good” Delicious 9 who’s video for Luke Vibert’s “I Love Acid” is featured. With deluxe packaging and menus by The Designers Republic, the DVD comes with a bonus audio CD featuring a one-hour super-evolved warpmix, edited and sequenced by Buddy Peace & 'ZILLA'.
WarpVision Tracklisting: ARTIST / SONG / DIRECTOR / YEAR Sweet Exorcist "Testone" Martin Wallace & Jarvis Cocker/1990 LFO "LFO" 1991 Nightmares on Wax "Aftermath" Jarvis Cocker/1991 Aphex Twin "On" Jarvis Cocker/1993 "I Smell Quality" David Slade/1994 LFO "Tied Up" David Slade/1994 Sabres of Paradise "Wilmot" Douglas Hart/1994 Seefeel "Fracture" Seefeel/1994 Aphex Twin "Donkey Rhubarb" David Slade/1995 Autechre "Second Bad Vilbel" Chris Cunningham/1995 Aphex Twin "Come To Daddy (Directors Cut)" Chris Cunningham/1997 Squarepusher "Come on My Selector" Chris Cunningham/1997 Jimi Tenor “Midsummers Night” Jimi Tenor and Sökö Kaukoranta/1998 Aphex Twin “Windowlicker” (Directors cut) Chris Cunningham/1999 Jimi Tenor ‘Total Devastation’ Jimi Tenor and Sökö Kaukoranta/1999 Broadcast "Papercuts" Barback/2000 Jamie Lidell "Daddys Car" Frederic D/2000 John Callaghan "I'm Not Comfortable Inside My Mind" John Callaghan / 2000 Anti-Pop Consortium "Perpendicular / Vector" by Caliber 16 (Markus Wambsganss)2001 Plaid "Eyen" Jean Luc Chansay/2001 Anti-Pop Consortium "Ghostlawns" Carlos Arias/2002 Autechre "Gantz_Graf" Alex Rutterford/2002 Aphex Twin "Nannou" Laurent Briet/2003 Chris Clark "Gob Coitus" Lynn Fox/2003 LFO "Freak (Directors Cut)" Daniel Levi/2003 Luke Vibert "I Love Acid" Delicious 9/2003 Mira Calix "Little Numba" (CR Vid) Daniele Lunghini/2003 Plaid "Itsu" (CR Vid) Pleix/2003 Prefuse 73 "Half Of What" (CR vid) Ed Holdsworth/2003 "Opto-Scientific" (Shown at Fondation Vasarely) tDR/2003 Beans "Mutescreamer" Adam Levite/2004 Jamie Lidell "The City" Frederic D/2004
Rubber Johnny & Paradise Lost 2. www.rubberjohnny.tv www.warpfilm.com
Rubber Johnny.
Paradise Lost.
Johnny is a hyperactive, shape-shifting mutant child, kept locked away in a basement. With only his feverish imagination and his terrified dog for company, he finds ways to amuse himself in the dark.
"Breathtakingly brilliant documentaries" - GQ
“Rubber Johnny” is the latest creation from the UK’s most imaginative filmmaker, Chris Cunningham. Featuring music by legendary electronic composer, Aphex Twin, this nightmarish and hallucinatory experimental short film is accompanied by 42 pages of drawings and photographs - Cunningham’s first published book of original artwork.
"Mesmerizing ... True crime reporting at its most bitterly revealing." -The New York Times "Gripping ... The best documentary of the year, maybe of the decade." -The New York Post "Stunning... A banner of tattered Americana artfully unfurled ... As good as nonfiction film gets." - The Los Angeles Times Warp Films new distribution label will release classic American documentaries “Paradise Lost and Revelations: Paradise Lost 2” by Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (the makers of Metallica: Some Kind of Monster). The much celebrated films, that feature a soundtrack by Metallica, tell the true story of one of the most notorious murder cases in US history, and the aftermath in which three teenagers were convicted of murder in - what some claimed – was an atmosphere of ‘Satanic Panic’. Fraught with innuendoes of devil worship, allegations of coerced confessions and emotionally charged statements, the case was one of the most sensational of recent times. Since screening in America the films have sparked an international movement to "Free the West Memphis Three" backed by Marilyn Manson, Winona Ryder and Tom Waits amongst others.
Both titles are available to buy at www.warprecords.com where purchasers get exclusive WARP goodies...
Prey Alone. www.saintandmather.com www.johnwalshmusic.com Saint&Mather are represented by William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills. Wonder if they’ve met Jason Priestly?
Prey Alone is not regarded as your typical Irish short film! In fact it doesn't even have a priest as one of the main or supporting characters. No panoramic vistas, no poverty, misery or guilt and it's not even set in the 1950's. Prey Alone is a high octane, ball busting, roaring screaming chase movie set somewhere in the near future in a generic city in the USA. It uses the latest digital film techniques but didn't cost a fortune to make. It is in fact the first digital home movie. None of the backgrounds even exist - they were all created in computers. 9 home computers that the directors hooked up together and arranged to operate like a high end digital TV post production system. It's a home movie! Prey Alone is almost entirely digitally created. In fact the only elements of live action in the movie are the actors and some hand props. Everything else was built in post production by the film makers. Writers / Directors Stephen St Leger (a TV commercials director) and James Mather (a director of photography) have worked as a team on hundreds of commercials and decided to extend this synergy to the hugely ambitious concept of directing a movie entirely shot on green screen and post produced by themselves. They incorporated the green screen technology and techniques they had experienced over the years shooting TV commercials and expanded it into a 15-minute high-energy nail biting drama with enormous effect. The real beauty of this movie is that it's not just an example of imaginative cinematic techniques, it has a powerful narrative with a thoroughly satisfying & clever twist in the tale that ties up all the loose ends and wraps up the experience with a big bow. A must see. Best get your coat?
Prey Alone. Stills.
Sally O’Sullivan. http://www.photoboxgallery.com/musicpix
Sally O'Sullivan is the official photographer for MCD, Ireland's largest concert promoter, so because of this she's been fortunate to shoot some of the biggest and interesting stars at some of the best gigs for the last few years. But rather than churn out humdrum editorial filler, Sally seems to have the knack of delivering world class shots on par with anything I’ve ever seen. With a keen eye and a hungry attitude she seems to always capture something special which give a sense of the energy of the event aswell of the participants. Recently she's been asked more and more to make her exceptional images available generally so she's hooked up with a website so as to allow people get their hands on something affordable but also that's a lot more unique than and that'll last a lot longer than the crappy bootleg tees or a rain/sweat-soaked programme. While there's only a small selection on the site at the moment if you mail her she’s sure to have something to suit from her huge archive.
Green Day.
Mick Jagger.
Bowie.
Iggy.
The Radiators (Plan 9). Check www.mcd.ie and www.ticketmaster.ie for tour dates.
One of the most exciting developments in Irish rock music lately has been the re-emergence of Dublin band The RADIATORS as a recording and performing force. In 2004, Philip Chevron, Pete Holidai and Steve Rapid, who formed the legendary Dublin punk pioneers in 1976, joined forces with former Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan and Those Handsome Devils drummer Johnny Bonnie to forge a dynamic new line-up and The Radiators (from Space) became The Radiators (Plan 9).
The new band made its live debut on June 16 and rocked the Oxegen Festival in Ireland soon after. They have since released a CD EP of new recordings and overseen the welcome reissue of their earlier work. A brand new Radiators album is planned this year and on June 24th at Dublin's Croke Park, the band opened for U2 on what was one of the city's greatest ever shows.
“But who prey tell are the Radiators?” I hear you ask. Well, click on and let’s get you educated...
Left to right: Johnny Bonnie Drums, Vocals Steve Rapid Synth, Percussion, Vocals Pete Holidai Lead Guitar, Vocals Cait O'Riordan Bass, Vocals Philip Chevron Guitar, Vocals
In early 1977, the Radiators' debut 45 "Television Screen" was the first Top 20 punk single anywhere in the world. Their first album TV Tube Heart served notice that beyond the fast-and-furious sound lay a couple of major songwriting talents in Philip Chevron and Pete Holidai. They left Dublin for a UK promotional trip and to take up Phil Lynnot's offer of a support spot on Thin Lizzy's 1977 UK tour. Naively perhaps, they thought they'd be back, but they never did return except, like so many emigrants before them, "for the Christmas". The Radiators (from Space) grew out of a succession of early 1970s garage bands formed by singer Steve Rapid and guitarist Holidai, notably Bent Fairy and The Punks and Greta Garbage and the Trashcans. With the advent of Chevron (guitar), and then Jimmy Crashe (drums) and Mark Megaray (bass), the first really consistent band emerged and soon made an impression on the then moribund Irish music scene. When Steve Rapid chose to stay behind and concentrate on building up that scene rather than move to London with the others, he soon showed he had not lost his aptitude for striking band names. He advised Dublin band The Hype to change their name to U2. Steve (aka Steve Averill) also designed the sleeve of the band's U23 EP and has remained involved in their design process ever since Within four months of their arrival in London, The Radiators (they symbolically dropped the "from Space" bit as soon as it became clear they were staying) were working on a new album in Soho with producer Tony Visconti. The resulting record Ghostown was a unique outpouring of love, frustration, anger and heartbreak. Visions of Dublin and Ireland trapped in a childhood jam-jar and unleashed in exile, as they had to be.
The sheer scale of the material could be seen when "Million Dollar Hero" became the great lost hit single, the late Agnes Bernelle performed "Kitty Ricketts" in her West End show and Christy Moore (and later Moving Hearts) adopted "Faithful Departed" as the perfect song with which to launch his own new vision of Irish music. Commercially though, the album bombed. It would be a few more years before Britain would be ready for a band who sought to express a new generation's view of Irishness. By then, Philip Chevron was himself a member of that band, The Pogues, going on to tour the world and sell millions of records, including the 1987 single "Fairytale Of New York" and, this year, the platinum The Ultimate Collection which includes a "live" CD recorded on one of the Pogues recent resurgent tours. Meanwhile, Pete Holidai joined Light A Big Fire before concentrating on nurturing new Irish talent as a teacher at BCFE, and as a record producer, for which he won the Hot Press/Smithwicks Award in 1991. But some music endures beyond its own time and in April this year, reviewing the Ghostown reissue, Brian Boyd in The Irish Times reminded his readers that "Musically, the album was audacious for its time; lyrically, it's never been bettered. Ghostown represents the first time in Irish cultural life that a rock music 33rpm could sit pretty alongside the country's literary and dramatic output......Quite simply: a monumental artistic achievement." The Radiators are delighted to be back, ready to chisel some more Rock into monuments!!
X*Rox Soundsystem. http://xerox003.valuehost.co.uk/
Originally know as Xerox Soundsystem (which seemed to annoy some small US company that makes copiers so they had to change it) these 2 guys (who go under the names Detboyear and Speakertreatz) have got the concept of beat butchery down so well Fred West is rumoured to be asking for tips. While the concept of bootlegging isn't new, the 21st century version isn't buying a poor copy of a gig on tape but rather taking 2 or more tracks and mashing them together to make it something even more powerful. Hell, it’s even doing cut-up videos to go along with the new mutant tracks!! Popularised by the likes of Soulwax and their 'As Heard on Radio Soulwax' sessions (you can download so their many commecially unreleased mixes off the likes of LimeWire or Acquisition) aswell as numerous online producers and groups, these guys are giving the others a run for their money. Having taking Ireland by storm, rocking everywhere from Backlash, Redbox and GPO in Galway, their ambition shows no signs of stopping as they've been featured on MTV's Mash programme many times and also are being booked to play at gigs and festivals internationally. One thing’s for sure, if these guys are around, you can be sure you're never far from a party.
Upcoming.
Watchlist.
Stussy turns 25... www.stussy.com
Sony premieres Playstation 3 (below) & Microsoft launches XBox 360Ëš. http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html
...and then goes and ruins it with a fight! http://www.freshjive.com/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/factsheet.htm
Some of the game previews at E3 are available to view on www.gametrailers.com so get searching!
Seems weird if all this is true... http://blog.stayfreemagazine.org/2005/04/stussy_cries_tr.html
...and also shows off a glimpse of the future! http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/movies/tile2.mpg
But what about PS9?... http://www.methodstudios.com/mot156
Sites for sore eyes.
A beautiful site for Penguin’s birthday series in all good bookshops now. I want them all! http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/happybirthdaypenguin/content.html
80’s ads. Nice hair... http://www.x-entertainment.com/downloads/
If everything goes to plan, Candy will be coming to you like this in 12 months time http://www.magwerk.com Or this... http://www.theroyalmagazine.com/
Nice clips site... The Levi’s bike one is beautiful. http://www.vilodex.com/
Or even this...
Recently released book where designers design poetry with interesting results. http://www.wig-01.com/graphicpoetry/
Beautiful film site. http://www.palindromes-movie.com/
Irish animator with a great sense of humour, hopefully we’ll get an interview for Issue 3! www.3dluvr.com Brilliant designer. http://damienpoulain.com/ Stuff to buy. http://thequietlife.com/# And while the card is out... http://www.busy-being.com/ Great skate mag designed by the people behind http://www.commonwealthstacks.com http://www.bailmag.com/ Great game designed by the wonderful people at Tado (www.tado.co.uk) who are already lined up for a profile in Issue 3. Yippee!! http://www.honda.co.uk/grrrgame/ Relive your childhood fantasies!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=99975&item=6526951008&rd=1
http://www.richcolour.com/mastermix/ The true star of Spongebob Squarepants. Go Hoff! http://www.davidhasselhoffonline.com/main.html
http://www.amateurprovokateur.com/designculture.html
If only technology was so simple... http://www.papierpixel.de/indexeng.html Lovely site for a brilliant graphic designer... http://www.directionsinwork.com/selected.html A fresh take on branding. http://www.brandinfection.com/ Brilliant US based illustrator who happened to design one of the most iconic toys of recent times, the Ad-At (pictured across), merging the Star Wars vehicle and an Adidas shelltoe. http://www.billmcmullen.com/ You want limited stuff, this is the holy grail!! http://www.beinghunted.com/ LCD Soundsystem were one of my highlights at Sonar to if you’re unaware of them, best you get the lowdown over at their label site. http://www.dfarecords.com David La Chappelle’s first feature film takes up from his documentary made a couple of years back based on the Krumpin’ dance craze in the States. This looks unbelievable. http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/rize/
Sweet sounds. What’s on the Candy iTunes at the moment!
M.I.A. “Arular” One of the highlights of Sonar this is as fresh as it gets. Hopefully someone is gonna bring her to our shores aoon. In the meantime, we have the constant rotation at clubs to thank for our fix. Get that booty shakin’ Unklesounds “Edit Music for a Film - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction” The latest mix project from the UNKLE crew comprising James Lavelle and Richard File. Inspired and constructed from film score samples, this 2 disk set takes the soundscaping idea to the next level. The Glimmers “Remixed, Re-Edited & Ph#cked Up” Belgium’s finest DJs are renamed from The Glimmer Twins and back to raise the roof. Have to say I’m a massive fam of these guys’ silky mixes. Anything is likely to get stuck in the mix and it generally works out, this mix particularly. Nost “Statuesque” & Live at www.undercurrent.ie Nost is the latest project from Dublin based David Donohoe and is some of the best electronic music being made at the moment. Taking both familiar and more obscure samples and going to town on them, David has come up with a sound that’s as fun as it is funky. Simply sublime. ‘Statuesque’ is available through www.amazon.co.uk or the good people at www.d1recordings.com While you’re at it, best you get your sticky mitts on the Undercurrent set at www.undercurrent.ie
Peaches “Peaches” If you know Peaches, then you know she ain’t the type of girl you’re going to be looking forward to introducing to your folks. On the other hand though, you do know when she’s about, then there’s gonna be a party. She’s rude, crude and downright good fun. In my opinion this is still her best album despite the more recent ‘Fatherf**ker’. Erol Alkan “A Bugged Out Mix” Saw Erol last year over in Galway in the GPO celebrating 110th Street’s birthday and I (aswell as the sweaty throngs) was blown away. This double CD is half what caused a ruption that night with brilliant selections for the dancefloor while the second CD is more a personal afterhours mix which gives an insight into Erol himself. Both are brilliant but The Concrete’s version of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ is unbelievable. John Mahon “A Bodytonic Mix” An exclusive mix from the one and only John Mahon, resident at the Friday night Dublin clubbing institution that is Bodytonic. This is house music with lots of latin and tribal influences. Who cares if the summer isn’t here, fire this up and it’ll be sunshine and sangrias all the way. Now, where did I put that sunscreen. http://72.10.47.60/audio/mixes/john_mahon_may_2005_128Kbps.mp3
IDI.
Recently I was elected to the council of the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) where I will be responsible for maintaining a voice for visual communications on the panel (better eat some mints). As part of my role I’ll be working on some pretty exciting projects including organising presentations by leading creatives, showcasing emerging talent through Candy and finally helping out on the Design Awards which are just about to be announced (oops, just did it!). These are the only all island awards devised to celebrate the excellent standard of design of all disciplines which is done on this fair rock we call home. If you would like any more information on the Awards please visit www.idi-design.ie or mail idi@indigo.ie, if you would like to know more on any of the other stuff or you would like to help out please feel free to mail me (‘specially if you’ve got a wedge of cash you could live without.).
Competition.
This issue’s competition is for an exclusive screenprint created by my own fair (farmer) hands. It measures 50cm x 50cm and fits perfectly in a Habitat frame so you’ve no excuse to not get it up on the wall, even if it is the toilet, spare room or utility room. There were only 10 of these prints even done in this colour (really weak arms y’see) so if you want to get your hands on a copy send me a mail answering this simple question and who knows, you can just cover that hole in the wall rather than having to fork out for a tube of Polyfilla. Q: Which famous shoe designer recently designed a shoehorn for Habitat as part of it’s Very Important Products series which also included an amazing 70’s disco inspired table by Daft Punk, champagne glasses by a freediver and (ahem!) some boxes for shoes by Linford Christie. Go Linford!!! (cough!)
Answers must be received by August 1st. After this time all correct contestants will be placed in the draw and the winner notified. Game On & Good Luck.
Submissions.
If you know of anyone doing something great or hell, if you’re doing it yourself, please get in touch and let’s tell the world. Candy is not designed to be one man’s warblings (this issue was a small step out of my comfort zone so heaven knows what Issue 3 will be like) but rather a forum for showcasing the very best in Irish and international creativity and culture so in our eyes the more the merrier!! “Many hands”, etc...
We have got some very exciting things already starting to take shape outside of the magazine which we’ll let you know about in due course but if you’re interested in getting involved or have any ideas or comments simply fire a mail through to richard.seabrooke@dynamo.ie and let’s get it on. Cool.
Architects, Artists, Bands, Cinematographers, Collectives, Designers, Directors, DJs, Entrepreneurs, Fanzine Producers, Fashion Designers, Festival Organisers, Illustrators, Interior Designers, Journalists, Magazine Publishers, Motion Designers & Producers, Multimedians, Musicians, New Business Developers, Photographers, Playwrights, Producers, Promoters, Publicists, Publishers, Representative Organisations, Retailers, Stylists, Theatre Groups, Venue Owners, Writers and You right there...
Next issue. The TechnoLogic Issue. Due to drop September 2005.
To subscribe simply send a mail to richard.seabrooke@dynamo.ie with the word “Subscribe” in the header. To unsubscribe mail me and I’ll ensure to unsubscribe as soon as my fat farmer hands will let me. Better still, have your people call my people, let’s “do” lunch where you give me an hour of your time in order to convince/bore you with why being part of this is good for the 2 of us. I’ll do a Powerpoint and everything!!! It’ll be dead exciting, I swear!!*... *Not really, it’ll be more like getting a hug from a big sweaty woolly jumper wearing person with stew breath at a country disco.
www.candyculture.net © 2005 Me&Eye www.meandeye.com
Candy is supported by IDI, the Institute for Designers in Ireland, of which Richard Seabrooke is a council member. For more information on IDI visit www.idi-design.ie
Until next time, Rock Hard!