Find the golden fox...

Is it just me, or is 2009 going to be an amazing year in music? In a bit more than a week in the of life of this blog I think I've already written "this is one of my favorite songs/bands/projects" about a thousand times. And you know what? Here I go again... The Golden Filter were always an adored project. From the moment of their disco rollers to their current golden fox days, I've been following them and they are yet to disappoint me.

And now, to put my love to the test, they have released three different versions of their remix for Polly Scattergood's 'Please Don't Touch': dub, vocal and pop.  And what can I say? It's The Golden Filter's best remix to date - better than their work on Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy and Peter Bjorn and John (although their rework on this one is more like a cover).

It is epic. It starts off sounding like a space odyssey, coming in with some reverb vocals and builds to a classic space disco sound full of cold synths and groovy bass. But it's not everything. Some 'Love Lockdown'-ish drums will beat you like a gorilla and here is where the song finally shows it's full potential.  The pop mix, in other hand, makes you want to listen to Lykke Li's debut again and again.

The band is currently on their American tour with the Australian duo The Presets. ME.SO.JEALOUS. Oh and I really think you should also check Misses Polly Scattergood's debut. A bit of sweet dramatic music is always welcome around here.

Charlie Le Mindu. Hair Designer (beyond) Extraordinaire. Photography by Kim Jakobsen To. Styling by Jamie Bull. Make Up by Thomas De Kluyver. Model: Nicolette

Charlie Le Mindu, l'enfant terrible and hair maverick, is proudly releasing his lookbook into the wild! Having just showed the first ever (and hotly anticipated) hair collection during London Fashion Week AW 09/10 to much acclaim, his hype is justified.

Hailing from Bordeaux in France, Charlie made a name in Berlin cutting hair in nightclubs before moving to London about a year ago. It's been up and up ever since.

Charlie is doing some amazing things. Besides his London Fashion Week success, he's just finished doing the hair on a limited edition number of Barbie Dolls dressed in Roksanda Ilincic and Danielle Scutt for Barbie's 50th Anniversary (Barb's being tricked out in loads of different designer clothes) to be sold at Colette in Paris and Dover Street Market in London. Charlie has collaborated with designers as well as beauty edited for various magazines. He was named in last year's Guardian Summer Cool List (no. 22), he's been featured in Vice Magazine, Vogue Russia and Diane Pernet (A Shaded View on Fashion) mentioned that she loved the show we did at the last London Fashion Week besides a load of other press both online and print; not to mention the hair styling he's done for magazines like i-D and SuperSuper.

But let's drop some names like bricks shall we? He caresses the tresses of people like Carrie Cassette Playa, Joe Mount of Metronomy, Peaches (as in the Teaches of - not Geldof), Kap Bambino (who also did the wicked soundtrack for the show), Bloc Party, Angie Reed and Cobra Killer to name a few; and even makes wigs for the tabloid tranny Jodie Harsh and the B52s on their recent tour (and he's also responsible for my cold left ear in the London winter, having shaved the left side of my head).

Charlie doing hair in the club

He's just finished up being featured in Peaches' upcoming single Talk To Me amongst other bands (including hair for Metronomy's next vid)...AND Charlie's collection is available for viewing at Blow PR's press days from the 1st - 3rd of April. For more information please contact Lisa@blow.co.uk

GALLERY

Jack Blue Eyes

Some years ago - before he had any proper single releases - I had a serious crush on Mr. Jack Peñate. I think it's due to the charming combination of his blue eyes, his dancing-front-man-with-a-guitar stage persona and, of course, his lovely summer-y music. Then Matinee came out and although I could've been more impressed with him, I still enjoyed the album and listened to it a lot.

After a few years on hiatus, he was supposed to make his comeback through Norman Cook's The Brighton Port Authority but his single wasn't featured on the album - which was odd. But now, he's finally back and with a smoking hot video for 'Tonight's Today' directed by Alma Harel (Partizan). The single has been out since December but was officially released today with remixes from Julianna Barwick, Leo Zero and Micky Moonlight in two versions.

 'Tonight's Today' was produced by Paul Epworth and shows a different side of Jack. There is a Caribbean Parade feeling about the song, that sets it apart from the rest of it's contemporaries. It's not only beautiful but also an instant classic - I can't wait to listen to his new album.

Emma Bell - AW//09. Stylist: Alexis Knox. Photographer: Thom Will. Hair Director: Charlie Le Mindu. Make-Up: Michelle Webb.

For Emma Bell's AW 09 collection she declared "I'm saving dogs." (Her latest collection was partly inspired by her personal ethics on animal cruelty). Besides saving dogs though, she's also been saving London Fashion Week from totally losing it's sense of humour and fun with her boldy printed and sweetly coloured collection, full of sparkle and verve.

I adore the quilted iridescent play armour, with blunt cones capping the shoulders; and the faces on the chest of some of the dresses, and the gingerbread chainmail is just plain old fun, innit. And what I enjoy most is the whole hearted and almost childish abandon with which she presents her designs.

Not for the faint hearted, Emma Bell's flamboyant collections are made up of wearable pieces of art and craft. Without any hipster aftertaste, Emma Bell's creations are a dive into an parallel world where fairytales abound and everything is more colourful than it has any normal right to be. Bell produces clothing that brings to mind the kind of childhood fantasies that we all grow out of but should never forget about. Go check out the rest of her collection at her myspace.

GALLERY

Yep, we're still with Frankmusik who's still wandering around the UK. We DO have goodies to give away at the end of the series to the fifteenth (15th) person who answers our question about the videos correctly via a comment on the final video post...So for your chance to win, WATCH, LISTEN and LEARRRRRRRN.

And so Vince's life affirming journey continues....

Nearly there, only four days to goooo...

Jeremy Shaw, the dancer.

For those who don't know, Circlesquare is Canadian Jeremy Shaw who now lives in Berlin. He has just released his second album Songs About Dancing and Drugs and became an instant hit with the fashionistas around the world being the soundtrack of catwalks from Italy (Gianfranco Ferré in Milan) to Brazil (Ellus in São Paulo).

If you are wondering why, it's probably because you have never heard his music. It's ambient music with a sex appeal - or minimal filled with emotion. With his strong and calm bass lines, pulsing beats and sensual vocals he creates his own world that is mostly about Dancing and Drugs - hence why his album is named such.

His comeback single is called 'Dancers' and the video was directed by Bienvenido Cruz and is based on the Robert Longo's Men In the Cities from 1979 - who I believe was also the inspiration of Maxïmo Park's singles and album debut. There is also an EP with remixes of techno producers Konrad Black and Mathew Jonson along with Valerie's superstars Russ Chimes vs Anoraak combining their 80's vibe into one great remix.

I've already twitted how much I adore the new direction that the skinny neo-goth lads from The Horrors are taking, but haven't yet posted about it here. So let's ignore that I'm a bit late with it and instead, let's be thankful that the 'Sea Within a Sea' is a timeless piece of modern music that has gone way beyond their whole back catalog to date. It's actually quite a big deal to make an epic 8 minute comeback single that grabs and holds your attention the whole way through because it manages to keep evolving; from the start sounding like any other '60s garage music with synths reminiscent of Portishead.

That new influence was, of course, added by Geoff Barrow from Portishead, who took over production duties of The Horrors' new album Primary Colours, planning to be released on the 4th of May via XL Recordings. And in order to celebrate that, the band is giving away the new single for free on their official site. But wait! There's more. They've also created an amazing video clip directed by Douglas Hart from Jesus and Mary Chain; who also did videos for My Bloody Valentine, Libertines, Paul Weller and Primal Scream.

Check back later to read about The Horror's Tom Furse and Rhys Webb's side project called Spider and the Flies; currently another favourite of mine.

The Invisible

If you're like me, you have bands that you want to keep a secret. No, it's not because you're ashamed of liking them; but because they're 'your' bands. The ones that get you. The ones that say what you want and need to hear - the kind of music that is a comforting presence when you have a sad day. And even though you think the world would be a better place with them reverberating through more sound systems and speakers, you want the imaginary heart-to-your-ears exclusivity thing to keep happening; to keep them invisible to all but you.

So it's with great regret that I'm going to annouce that The Invisible's debut is probably the best debut album of the year. It's epic, refined, spooky, really personal and sometimes even danceable. The Invisble mix the deepest and most dense parts of bands like Radiohead, The Dears and TV on the Radio with their own great personality; making this album one that you can't help but connect with in a range of emotional ways - even down to your weirdest and ugly feelings.

Unfortunately I haven't read much about them - it's actually not easy to google "The Invisible". I know they're a trio (Dave Okumu, Tom Herbert and Leo Taylor), one of them has a long beard, they don't like being compared to TV on the Radio all the time, and they have an extra member when they do live gigs (Pete Hanson on keyboards).  

Their first single is called 'London Girl' and has this white funk/DFA disco feeling about it. With a great bass line and a sexy atmosphere it makes you want to dance but not in the most obivious ways. Think Whitest Boy Alive's bass together with Junior Boys style synths with a sexier attitude.

'London Girl' has a beautiful arty black and white video that has been floating around since January and like any other great modern single it has lots of remixes: Hot Chip's Joe, Dananananaykroyd 's singer Calum S. Gunn under the name of Cereal, Dolby Anol (who also features one member of Dananananaykroyd) hit them up with two different remixes, and Nightmoves contributes too. So check all this stuff below and make The Invisible be part of your life too.

The Invisible's self-titled album is out now through Accidental.

PS. Christel has actually already interviewed the boys back in August 2008. Check it here ('SUP Mag).