Saturday 29 August 2009

First LDN anniversary.

This weekend I celebrate my first year of living in London (and successfully making the deadline of the JCE magazine plus an unexpected tax return)! Education, independance, jobs that don't involve endless hours of nothingness and naive prospects, new insights, lots of laughter, input rewarded and no more being taken for granted. For all this I also have my friends and family to thank for, here and abroad, so thanks for your support and advice :) It's been an intense but blessed year and how else to mark the occasion than in London style. So yesterday, in spirit of reviving the passions and loving and doing as I please to the max I put on a 2004 drum&slag outfit for old time's sake and went to the Playaz Carnival Special with mutual eager mate. Amongst others Ed Rush, DJ Hype, Andy C, Grooverider, Fabio, Marcus Intalex, D-Bridge, Spectresoul, Stamina MC, Noisia, Fierce, Calyx and Prolyx were there to grace us with their presence. In spite of being too drunk, being groped by overconfident strangers too many times and getting too lost on several occasions I tried to capture the night as best as I could. It's possibly the most random and insignificant series I ever did haha. The night ended somewhere in the morning in the park by the Thames where we were joined by our new saviour with whom we had the most verifying conversation on fruit and safety in London. Good times. Next up is 2 days of Notting Hill Carnival with hopefully better photographs to follow. London I heart you. Yours truly x

























Saturday 15 August 2009

Visual overflow.

After I woke up last thursday morning with a fossilized brain in a cantankerous mood I puked my guts out and expected to stay in bed with bottles of water and and a pile of magazines for at least 36 hours. Instead another lavish visual weekend was about to commence. First off I saw Coco Before Chanel at the Ritzy, a film I've wanted to see for a while. I thought it was ok, but can't recommend it to anyone who's not really interested enough in Chanel's life and work. It's easy to recognize how her early life has driven her to become the fashion pioneer that has inspired millions of us, and Tatou was a too easy pick for the lead role, being the talented petite fransaize that she is. But the storyline itself has too many little sub-plots going on that lack development and tension building. Also Chanel's affair with Capel is not convincing enough. Shame on you, Anne Fontaine. You have not stirred my emotions which is really not such a difficult task to do. You get one chance to make a portrait La Chanel and you fuck it up. Putain. I'm loving that poster though.







It's good to know people who have friends who know people that can get you backstage at musical events. I was taken to an opera festival in Hammersmith that offered contemporary experimental pieces in progress ranging from individual 5 minute lasting lighthearted intermezzos on location to heavier 1 hour lasting pieces. Amongst the highlights of the festival were 'Ride' by Osmat Schmool. This is a developing part of 'Drive Ride Walk', it's about love and the familiar movements in the lives of a group of young Londoners. 'Wallen', co-created an performed by brother and sister Errolyn and Byron Wallen. This very personal piece that brings together genres like classical and jazz is performed against a backdrop of images that takes the audience on a journey to Belize (their country of origin), London and New York; crucial marking places in the Wallens personal and professional lives. Their unconventional upbringing forced them to re-define and challenge notions of belonging, distance and boundaries, which makes for beautiful music. Another very intense interesting piece in progress that definitely has the potential to evoke obscure emotions was 'As I Have Now Memoyre' by Nicholas Brown. It concerns the relationship between the condition of the body and the sounds it produces. This project examines the effect of physiological changes upon a singer's psychology over the course of many years. It involves installations and the audience is free to roam around amongst the props. Very liberating! I had the freedom to take photographs and stage photography was something I'd never really done before, so forgive the amateurism ;)



















And after that there were the substance fuelled semiotic discussions about 'Gayniggers from outer Space'...



and 'Salo, or the 120 days of Sodom'. That film still sends shivers down my spine but I can't get enough of Pasolini.





Speaking of perversity, check out this exciting blog I found. The author of the essay 'Horror Pangyric' (good read) speaks of a book called 'The Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz'

"This thing," I thought to myself, "out-Burroughs Burroughs." It did something I did not think possible: it carried the Boschian method of Naked Lunch to a new extreme, and it did that with exceedingly controversial subject matter. I almost didn't know what to make of it. Was this book an explosive new entry in the contemporary literary game? Or the feverish rapture of some British mind fucked up by the Blitz?

A novel that out-Burroughs Burroughs eh? That's a mouthfull... x

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Hardcore never dies.



My cuz Alex and his 4 year old juggernaut stephdaughter Christel minutes before her first oldskool gabber rave. :D

Saturday 8 August 2009

Killing your darlings.

A new photo/graphic project in progress about the body, shape & transformation. Click here for more work. Sale & Cole thanks for your help!





and then you should listen to this, definitely the dopest track on Sine Tempus. I know, this Goldie fixation is getting well out of hand. But just do it, listen to it already, it'll make your acne vanish. Also watch part 2 of Classic Goldie!

Thursday 6 August 2009

Tuesday 4 August 2009

www.boyalatumahina.com is dead. Long live CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/BOYA


click on image to redirect to website.

Monday 3 August 2009

BBC Proms - Evolution! Goldie

Last saturday Goldie's 'Sine Tempore' (BBC commission: world premiere) was featured in the BBC Maestro series at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The piece combines the same vocals and drums he played at Metalheadz in 1996, only 10 times slower and aided by the London Philharmonic Choir. And having been smitten with both drum&bass and classical music for many a year, my likkle heart went bonkers when I heard it. And this is a fucking awesome photograph.

*Watch Goldie compose his piece in Classic Goldie on BBC iPlayer now (if you're in the UK :) Available untill August 14.*


Photograph © The London Paper

Saturday 1 August 2009

My kosher internship.

For those of you who didn't know yet, about a month ago I got offered a work placement at the a Jewish Newspaper ;) (And recently got offered an extension :) I'm one of the very few Gentiles working here but am treated very well and I'm learning lots, design wise and Jew wise. It's a good place to be at, a very warm and gentle distraction from the recent emotional pains that I've had to go through, to say the least. I was invited here to do the layout of their seasonal promotional magazine (read: articles and features on loads of expensive Jew&Gentile fashion/lifestyle brands that no-one can afford-at the moment) but often also work on their weekly newspaper (which can be quite stressful but is challenging and exciting all the same.)
What is involved is a lot of photo-selection and editing, structure layout design, application design, up to 11 hour work days, a proper London boy style chief editor with a "fucking" tick who talks a lot to himself in unfinished sentences which is always super helpful, a New York creative director with a lot of baggage, Jews with a lot of "Oye's" and hand gestures, loads of (kosher) food and quiet Friday afternoons as a lot of them go home early for Shabbat. (The fact that I sometimes see people standing by the trafficlights waiting for someone to push the button on Saturday finally made sense as I got told Jew's aren't allowed to do a lot of things including operating machines during Shabbat, which almost made me fall into a laughing fit.)
They take their safety quite serious, being Jews and all. I can't stand outside smoking without Ken the doorman screeching some warning about how it's a no stopping zone through the megaphones at some cabdriver who's trying to turn his cab around. With a huge sign with thei name of the paper hanging outside the building they may as well have a huge fuckoff sign hanging at the front door that says 'Loads of JEWS up in here if you would like to commit a terrorist attack'.


Ps. To the International Homies with Broad Shoulders League, those of you who did know but hadn't seen the photographs yet, thanks for all your rooting and support :) Much Love.

31/07/09, 18:30, High Holborn, The Staple Inn Buildings Courtyard, Bench 1.



DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: See them leaves?

BNZL: What about em?

DPH: They're magnificent, well greener than last week.

BNZL: Emo.

DPH: Piss off, they look fit, don't you see it?

BNZL: Haha fit leaves? Fuck off. Would you like another cigarette?

DPH: I'm serious.

BNZL: What man?

DMH:They will look fit to you sooner or later,
probably sooner than you think.


BNZL: Haha.

DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: ...

BNZL: ... :)

DPH: ... :)

Fanzine II.

They ended up in the Wonder Room in Selfridges. A massive thanks to everyone who bought one, backorder copies are on their way! 1<3>




CSM BAGD Show.

For everyone who's missed the show due to heavy drinking, catching planes, losing their ostercards, etc ;) x