These are five records I designed the album covers of this year. They are Choca Alazaba’s ‘Reverse Bad Energy’ / The New Earth Group Prouctions, Benjamin Herman’s ‘Blue Sky Blonde / DOX Records (which became the best selling jazz record of the year thank you very much), Sir Ian’s ‘Apathology’ / Dying Giraffe Recordings, Rosa Ensemble’s ‘No Ark Dead Eel’ / Dying Giraffe Recordings and Hidde van Schie’s musical alias The 21st Century’s ‘Nocturnal Tellurian’. The last three are to be offically released in 2010 but they’re already done and sent out to be reviewed, so here’s a sneak peak anyway.
I’d like to say they’re my Album Top 5 of the Year, but that would be too much of a coincidence. They are, however, great records all five of ’em! So be on the lookout! Suus and I also did the design for the new The New Earth Group album ‘Eurafricarabia’ this year, which is to be released february 20 in Rotown (Rotterdam) and will be released through Excelsior Recordings.
I suppose this is my last post for the year, so I leave you all with the almost genuine dutch fireworks slogan: ‘You are a cunt, if you with fireworks stunt!’ and hopefully see you all in 2010!
Quite some time ago I posted something about an amazing song and music video I had seen when I had stayed in with the flu and instead of working had been watching tv for one or two days. The song was Arctic Monkeys’ I bet you look good on the dancefloor and I remember my friend —and quite the music buff— Niels Post commenting ‘I don’t get it, it’s just four blokes on a stage’ to that post. But it was exactly that, or the way they pulled that combined with a greedy look of ambition in their singers eyes, what I had liked so much about them. (plus they reminded me somewhat of The Feelies, which is always a good thing).
Couple of years later, a couple of days ago, photographer and friend Pim Top showed me this new A.M. video to their new song ‘Cornerstone’. Now I had not really been following the career of the monkeys, occasionally I had heard some of their albums because Joep Jacobs played those albums like there was no tomorrow, here in the old studio, but I had only found their sound ‘way too ADD’ for me.
This new song Cornerstone however, got me as psyched as the time I first saw ‘I bet you look…’. And the video’s just beautiful. Lots of lo-budget stuff is just lame, art school, fashionist thrash, this thing now really underlines the notion of ‘less is more’ as gestures and motions become truly meaningful, in a vivid manner inclusive to the most vulnerable irony or sleaziest, foulest romantic lyricism.
Yes jongens! Burton’s making it, Depps’s the Mad Hatter, Fry the Cheshire Cat… Alice is back! If you don’t know what I’m talking about try reading Lewis Carroll’s novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (usually bound together) and find out why it’s always good to follow the white rabbit. Here’s a trailer for an earlier film version that, as I remember correct, pretty much rocked my world when I first saw it back in the early eighties (them walking talking playing cards especially swept me away). Enjoy!
Come smell the otters defining Dutch ‘plank culture’ in the brand new mama exhibition 720°, on display from june 26th – august 9th.
Featuring ‘12’, a documentary film on the original Fret Click and its illustruous pack of sjambeks, by Gyz La Rivière and a video installation on Louisa Menke.
26 June 2009 – 09 August 2009
Opening: Friday 26 June 19:00 – 23:00
Artistic team: Gyz La Rivière (NL), Florian Waldvogel (DE), Louisa Menke (NL)
Curator: Gyz La Rivière
19:00 World Premiere ‘12’ at the Cinerama movie-theater 20:15 Opening 720° at showroom mama (But you can also go there from 19:00) 23:00 Afterparty at De Unie (€ 2,50)
