Luke Steele

Empire of the Sun is way more visually challenging than sonically, but that has nothing to do with quality of either. After releasing some of the best pop pearls of the last decade illustrated by videos as colorful and trippy as they could be – and let’s not forget they also had an iPod game and a Selfridge’s window exhibition – they managed to get even weirder on the stage.

Like a high bugdet of Montreal, dancers, a supporting band and Luke Steele get really theatrical when bringing the debut album to the stage; but the Oscar for the biggest WTF moments have to be the videos that are played in the background. Creator of the videos, Australian designer Michael Blanche uploaded some of the video art to his Vimeo account and we chose the best ones. If you don’t like gig spoilers (does this even actually really exist?) don’t play the videos below.

Empire of the Sun’s next gig will be at Brazil’s best musical festival, Planeta Terra, which is also brining the likes of Yeasayer, Of Montreal, Passion Pit, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Hot Chip, Mika, Phoenix, Girl Talk and some other bands. The event will be happening on 20^th of November.

Via

Hiya // Sani (and Little Crumb)

photograph by yours truly

Say hello to Sandra Dieckmann, the artist extraordinaire who is not only responsible for our newest background, but also made our super slick flier for the opening edition of our new party, BLOGWARS!

Born in Germany in 1983, Sani moved to London in 2002 in search of new adventures and further education. This is where our paths collided (and I believe, will be forever intertwined somewhat) in the fateful location fondly known as MildenHell.

But before all this, growing up in a tiny village in Germany surrounded by nature influenced Sani's work a lot. She believes that her versatile approach to creating images stems from her childhood. “My head is full of stories and creatures and conversations. I can’t be any other way. Sometimes I think it is the way I was allowed to be free without fear so early on that ignited this dreaminess. I explored the woods, spent loads of time reading, drawing, and just making things. I just don't think I ever stopped.”

After starting out studying Fashion Design, Sani made the switch to Illustration and Graphics where she graduated with first class honours from the University of Westminster; even getting a children's book published that she wrote and illustrated herself as a result (that's it below), entitled The Bumble Bear and the Grizzly Bee.

The Bumble Bear and the Grizzly Bee by Sandra Dieckmann

She's also devised and is curating two illustration projects, which are both now open for submissions.

Check them out: Haus Stories and If I Was You

How and when did you know you were going to be an illustrator?

I guess I am an illustrator because people have to classify people. I'd still make images if there was no such term. All I'm saying is that it's how I am, a part of me the way I progress information. I'm not a brand. I'm not designed. I don't draw to be someone. I'm that person already. I see myself as a story teller, an entertainer and an artist in the general sense. I'm also a human being, a thinker, a friend, a moaner, an animal lover, part of nature, mad, sad. Aren't we all and can we not all create?

What have been are your biggest influences?

Everything around me. The green trees, the flowers that are out now, the streets, peoples faces, the sky and London life. Rubbish on the floor and stains on the asphalt, things that no one else has time to look at any more. Then there is my love and my cat Little Crumb and my friends and other creatives that I’m connected to.

And anything by David Attenborough. Nature books and google images searches for animals!

Touching and watching animals and the natural world. I have a new book 'Baby Animals' they are amazing! Bus dreaming! Music! I think that is only the beginning! These questions are not fair - you don't want to read 10,000 words!

Who would love to work for or collaborate with?

Anyone that is honest, driven, open that has time for the world and not just themselves.

People with open eyes. People that make eye contact and that aren't scared to tell a long story.

People that can say 'Not so good' when asked 'how are you?'.

I'm working on a collaboration with Jamie Mills at the moment. He is amazing and we are very similar in many ways I think. We haven't given too much away yet about the project. It involves animals and nature and drawing of course. Maybe a charity as well!

Eric Carle is a genius. Love to talk to him. He's actually got a blog. It's lovely listening to someone's voice that has so many creative years behind him.

What did you dream about last night?

I dreamed about the search for the perfect dog. I worked at a fruit stall in a market that was run by the Chinese mafia. I had a top floor flat in a Mediterranean country. The doors wouldn't shut and there was a person in a hoodie in the flat that had no face and was constanly laying in the middle of the room that I was in, so I had to keep step over him. My mother's ghost was in the flat but I never really saw her - but she comforted me. I never found the perfect dog in the end.

Favourite medium?

My head, my eyes and anything that fits into my hands.

I've been fairly inundated with fabulous fashion films of late; and this latest one from Kenneth Anger for Missoni just about tops the list.

By sheer coincidence last week, we had actually just had a mini-marathon of films by Anger, going through some of his back catalogue of works, including (but not limited to; the following were my favourite ones): Lucifer Rising, Scorpio Rising, Invocation of My Demon Brother (which includes a soundtrack by Mick Jagger), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome and Kustom Kar Kommando.

Anger's work for Missoni features his lush, hedonistic colour palette combined with his propensity for layering moving images on top of moving images, interjected by occult symbolism. Powerful and beautiful (though the models involved do, at some points, manage to remind me that despite Anger, it IS an ad campaign for F/W 2010/11), it shows that Anger has still got it. Watch the vid below before going and watching his body of work, seriously:

Hiya

London-towners Man Like Me are back with their thoroughly London style and sound on their latest track, 'Lovestruck', a totally hit worthy (like RADIO hit worthy) track, off their latest EP, Lovestruck. With help from design duo Jiggery Pokery, the trio get all cardboard cut-outy with a rather brilliant (and mathematically precise) set to werk themselves around.

According to props and accessories designer Fred Butler (remember that telephone hat that Gags wore in 'Telephone'? That was Fred Butler), 'Lovestruck' was inspired by a kitsch pop-up Valentine card the Jiggery Pokery girls found in India, which they then reproduced on a life-sized scale. Here's the Carmen Miranda-ish headdress Butler made for the shoot:

The set depicts a tropical Miami sunset card, an abstract London Underground tube train scene made from panels of different clashing tube fabric patterns and a lonely-hearts card, based on the 'Lovestruck' section of the London Lite. Check it:

BONUS: There's something so 50's about oldie but goodie bonus track 'Party'. The thing about Man Like Me is that each and every track of theirs has buckets and buckets of their special swagger.

Hiya Pictureplane

One of my sporadic faves, Pictureplane, has just launched a new collabo with none other than London young gun (and of initial new rave, Klaxons type fame) Kate Moross, releasing a 12", a tshirt AND a video (an experiment done with video alchemist Hans Lo and graphic designer Jack Featherstone) via Moross' own Isomorphs label called 'True Ruin Light Body'. This Moross and Pictureplane collabo has a slight whiff of Cassette Playa but surely that's never a bad thing. Check it, here's the tshirt Moross did:

It's all based on Travis Egedy's (yep that's Pictureplane's real person name) obsession with symbology and the occult. And here's what the vinyl looks like:

And here, my friends, is a 16 minute long mix from Pictureplane called 'True Ruin', and it opens with my jam, 'Cyclical Cyclical':

HIYA FERRY // BLOOD

This isn't the first time our artist of the month has popped up on this blog. We've previously spoken to him in regards (amongst other things) to his latest musical project, Celestial Bodies; but Ferry Gouw the name is perhaps less well known as his works. You might not even realise how much he has permeated your cultural consciousness until I reel off the highlights of his portfolio - of which there are many - or even until you check out some of our favourites of his works below.

Ferry Gouw has brought to visual life the musical works of the likes of Lightspeed Champion, Vampire Weekend, Emmy The Great, Celestial Bodies, Tom Vek, Simian Mobile Disco, Bloc Party and Major Lazer; not to mention all the others he has created imagery for. 

So after his warm and open responses to our last interview questions, and even rustling up an image just for us, we dared to hope that this cult-figure-in-the-making might just do our background for this month. AND HE DID! Thanks Ferry!

Hiya Louise

self portrait by Louise Pomeroy

We've dropped hints about her before. Amongst other things, The xx commissioned her to draw portraits of them, remember? And now, with our newest background, and the latest addition to our esteemed alumni of artists who have contributed to this website's appearance is the superbly talented Louise Pomeroy!

What I love most about London based Louise's incredibly graphic work is that it reminds me of Roald Dahl's eerily twisted tales: they're a little bit disturbing because they unflinchingly explose/explore/exploit the foibles and feebles of people rendered in razor sharp wit. They cause you to laugh aloud until you kind of stop short when you realise they cut fairly close to the bone. Brilliant.

Louise is a Kingston University graduate where already she won the D&AD Newblood award for her book of ilustrated short stories entitled 'I Married A Toyboy Convict'. After that, it was onto doing a huge vintage Suzuki motorbike piece for the Suzuki showroom in London. And from there it was history. Louise works on lots of magazine editorial illustration but also unleashing her skillz on walls, galleries, shops and showroom spaces.

Let's take a closer look at Louise and her work, shall we?

How and when did you know you were going to be an illustrator?

At school I was known for being good at two things, drawing and running. By the age of 13 I'd given up running in favor of Playstation but drawing is something I will always love and be excited by.

What have been/are your biggest influences?

Probably comics although to be honest 90% of what I see in shops I don't really like. I read The Beano obsessively when I was a kid and then when I got older got more into alternative/underground. Notably stuff by Jason Lutes, Phoebe Gloeckner, Robert Crumb, the Hernandez Brothers. I also really love Shary Boyle who does drawings but also amazing twisted ceramic figures.
18th and 19th century anatomical/medical illustration has been a big influence. Back then it was factual but also quite surreal in that you would have the body lifting its skin up and smiling whilst showing the viewer its organs.

Who would love to work for or collaborate with?

I'm just started on an animation with a couple of film makers called The Double, Moving image is something I'd really like to get involved with. I'm starting to do screen printing again as well, making a book or magazine of printed work with some other illustrators would be interesting.

What did you dream about last night?

I can't remember, all I remember is being awake with crippling period pains! Recently I've had quite a lot of dreams about people breaking into my house after someone tried to break in last month whilst I was in. Not fun.

Favourite medium?

Black ink and a fine paintbrush. And 0.05 pens.

Keep up with Louise over at her BLOG. She's also got a new tshirt coming out for the collection at SuperSuperficial, an independent company based in London who work with illustrators, screen printing runs of their designs, so watch out for that.

Bonjour Garance

Whether she's anti or pro fat people aside, everybody loves a bit of Garance Doré; or at the very least, enjoys her flirty illustrations of the women, both real and imagined. And her eye for capturing stylish denizens tottering upon cobbled streets around the world has netted her campaigns and applause beyond the interwebs. It's old news that Garance and fashion blogdom's leading man, The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman are an item. The duo can be found flitting from stylish city to stylish city, documenting what they see there; and so too looms the next visit from the couple to Australian shores for Australian Fashion Week courtesy of major mall chain, Westfield. And for that, here's a selection of Garance's illustration for you to peruse:

And one of Garance's latest triumphs, a special edition cover of Elle magazine, depicting Demi Moore:

Check some more of her work in the gallery, compiled over at My Modern Met >>

GALLERY