We chatted to the Italian based Brit who orchestrates Milan’s “Punks Wear Prada” club night and discovered that Italian inspiration, collaborations and the collision of music and fashion is as organic as mixing two tracks.
Archive for May, 2009
Despite a lukewarm critical reception to her debut album, Scarlett Johansson is not giving up on that whole music career thing quite yet.
Its been announced that Johansson has recorded a sophomore album titled “Break Up” with musician Pete Yorn. The album was recorded in 2006 prior to her debut LP of Tom Waits covers “Anywhere I Lay My Head” and is slated for a September release.
It is said to be inspired by Serge Gainsbourg’s 1960s recordings with Brigitte Bardot and according to USA Today, Johansson recorded her vocals parts in just two afternoon sessions.
You can listen to snippets of the album here then let us know whether Scar Jo’s raspy voice should stick to delivering lines or if she does indeed posses the vocal chops to forge a music career. On first listens we’ll go with the former. Sorry Scar Jo you know we love you but seriously, we haven’t been this underwhelmed since The Other Boleyn Girl and that had Natalie Portman.
Jarvis Cocker and Wes Anderson - a match made in tweed-attired Bourgeois heaven are set to join forces in an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The Times Online reports: “Anderson has created a role for Cocker in his forthcoming, stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox. “Petey” is a mandolin-strumming puppet who looks and sounds like his real-life counterpart. Cocker and Anderson have written a song for the film — “a little hoedown number”, says Cocker, who also wrote music for and had a cameo role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. “I did a narration bit at the start of Mr Fox, too, but they showed that to test audiences in the US and they were very bamboozled. So I’ve ended up on the cutting-room floor. I tried to enunciate clearly!””
An anthropomorphic Jarvis Cocker puppet? Hells yes! But even with that The Fantastic Mr. Fox can only ever hope to be the second most anticipated children’s book adaptation helmed by a cult director this year. Am I right, or am I right?
Inspired by desert dreaming, drifters and bad trips, the new range from Australian T-Shirt label Das Monk will have you packing some peyote, heading to the outback, and howling at the moon.
Collaborating with international artists such as Zach Johnsen (US), Tim Laing (UK), Evan Meister (US) and Keenan Marshall Keller (US) head designer Marc Hendrick has crafted mesmerizing prints that blur the line between hallucinogenic daydream and cosmic nightmare. The acid ice cream tee in particular looks strangely appetizing.
Hamuburg duo “Hey Today!” have crafted monster remixes for the likes of Digitalism, Shazam, and Zombie Nation. But with Wednesday’s release of their Wonderman EP (Bang Gang 12″), the German producers reverse the trend and provide the source material instead of tweaking it. The EP offers remixes from Institubes wunderkind Bobmo and filter house robots Van She Tech, the latter of which you can download below courtesy of Bang Gang 12″.
Tracklist is as follows (it’s reassuring that Bang Gang still love a lowbrow pun).
Side A
A1. KICKTRO
A2. IF I WAS WONDERMAN
Side B
B1. WONDERMAN
B2. IF I WAS WONDERMAN
(Bobmo Remix)
Bone-Us Tracks
IF I WAS WONDERMAN
(Radio Edit)
IF I WAS WONDERMAN
(Van She Tech Remix)
Pedestrian caught up with Wayne Cooper at the ABSOLUT Gallery to talk inspiration, supermodels and icons while finding out who his ideal collaborator would be - Paris Hilton. We joke not.
What do Ben Lee, Eskimo Joe, Missy Higgins, Evermore, Toni Collette, Shihad and The Sleepy Jackson have in common with Bob Dylan? Not songwriting ability that’s for damn sure.
No dis to the aforementioned acts, but c’mon we’re talking about Bob Dylan here! No, the answer is they’ve all entrusted the visual representation of their tracks to Australian writer/editor/director/actor/stuntman Nash Edgerton. In the clip for Dylan’s new single “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” Edgerton more than references Tarantino’s Kill Bill (in particular the fight between Beatrix and Elle in Bud’s trailer) by pitting two lovers/haters against each other for some close quarters domestic violence. Visceral? Yes - so don’t click through unless you’re into stunts as much as Nash is.
The prodigious creative force that is Kitsune have released a collaborative video for Classixx’s “I’ll Get You” enlisting none other than Mr. Party himself Mark “The Cobrasnake” Hunter to film the clip.
Unsurprisingly Hunter takes a nubile brunette (bicycle-riding, denim cutoff sporting) and follows her as she frolics on the beach. Not exactly groundbreaking but anything that reminds us of what sunshine feels like is a good thing.
Kitsune and The Cobrasnake present Classixx feat. Jeppe - “I’ll Get You”
In other Kitsune news, the fashion arm of the pop culture behemoth have released a lookbook and accompanying behind-the-scenes video for their Fall Winter 09 range. Taking inspiration from The Graduate’s Ben Braddock (my favourite Dustin Hoffman role) designer Masaya Kuroki offers sharp androgynous attire that would look equally at home on Jarvis Cocker, your uni Professor or your intellectually intimidating Proust reading girlfriend. Never thought I’d say this but I want a mustard suit jacket - here’s to you Mrs. Robinson.
Via Refinery 29
First offered as a free download earlier this year, “1901″ the first single from Phoenix’s forthcoming ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ LP has amassed a serious amount of plays on my Ipod and soundtracked many a Sunday jogging housecleaning sleep in session.
Continuing their idiosyncratic approach to promotion, the Parisian pop aficionados have also released a film clip for “1901″ produced in conjunction with Dazed Digital, or as they explain “To celebrate the album launch, Dazed Digital commissioned emerging video directors, Bogstandard to make a video for their song, ‘1901’”. The end result is your standard performance clip as viewed through the eyes of an epileptic with Rorschach shutter shades. After watching it my eyes kind of hurt. My ears however have no such complaints.
The first incarnation of former Pedestrian employee Shane Brouwer’s 8-bit ElectroWars video game was a lot like swine flu. Viral and highly bloggable. Hopefully you’ll find v2.0 harder, better, faster and more addictive. Game on y’all.
