I feel sorry for this poor company that got the job of branding and selling Michael Owen. They made a 32 page brochure to showcase the flop of a footballer to clubs as relegated Newcastle try to flog him on. The whole brochure is here. It's just hilarious. The graphs look funny, as you see him slowly get less and less games, and less and less goals. He left Liverpool 'to win trophies', and sat on the bench for a year at Real Madrid whilst Liverpool won the Champion's League for the 5th time. HAHA. I'm sure Benitez will have received this leaflet in the post and laughed his head off. Newcastle paid seventeen million pounds for this joker, and then at least the same again on wages, I think you can see why they got relegated...
I just love these 'brand values'. I cringe both as a designer and a football fan.
Kate Moross is an awesome graphic designer/illustrator, I'm so envious of her.
She's only 22 but her CV is awesome. Bands she's designed logos and tshirts for include: La Roux, Metronomy, Mystery Jets, Heartsrevolution, Punks Jump Up, Zomby, The Teenagers and Midnight Juggernauts. Meanwhile she's had spreads and covers in Dazed & Confused, Vice, Don't Panic, War, Super Super and FACT. And then there's the work for big companies such as Ford, Sony, Lynx, Topshop and Cadbury. Argh it's all too good!
Kate Moross is art director for Simian Mobile Disco this year. With an album launching in the autumn and the duo playing at countless festivals this summer it's a massive oppurtunity, and from what I've seen so far she's on form.
London's most beautiful open-air cinema is back for 2009, as Film4 Summer Screen returns to the glorious Edmond J Safra Fountain Court at Somerset House.
Dodgy translation from Russian to English: "New track Calvin Harris from the future on August, 10th, 2009 album Ready For The Weekend was lit in very ridiculous advertising Coca-cola."
This is going to be the annual 'Calvin Harris tune of the summer', following in the footsteps of 'The Girls' and 'Dance Wiv Me'. The full track, aptly titled 'Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La', can be heard here.
Well it costs pounds actually. But now not very many of them. Thanks to IARTISTLONDON, you can now create your own world-famous artwork and it won't set you back a million quid like the originals would! They've created simple, all-in-one, collect-em-all, craft kits for you to emulate the likes of Banksy, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst!
iBanksyMachine £9.99 for 1 spray can and stencil set. "Bring BANKSY to your ends!"
iEmin £16.99 for a 2 person tent, a sewing kit and an assortment of coloured fabrics and threads. "Record all your lovers in a fun and freaky way!"
iHirst £49.99 for a plastic skull, 8,601 crystal beads and a bottle of glue. "Shock your friends and tell them you've made an original for £14m!"
Other artists included in the IARTISTLONDON DIY kits include Marc Quinn, Rachel Whiteread and William Eggleston. I wonder how many GCSE pieces there will be on these artist this year...
I've been watching the Confederations Cup the last few days and there's one thing that is just impossible to ignore. The South African football fans have a unique way of showing their support...
These horns are called 'vuvuzelas' and make an incredibly annoying whiney noise. They sound like the broken horn on the van in Little Miss Sunshine! They sound like a swarm of angry bees swarming around your head! They sound like 40,000 people slowly letting air out of balloons! They sound like an family of elephants all badly injured in poachers' traps!
It would be fine if they just sounded to celebrate goals, but they don't, they incessantly scream for 90+ minutes a match! It's soooooooo ANNOYING!!! Just watch this clip to get an idea of it...
How do they do that?! If I had a horn I couldn't blow it for an hour and a half in that heat! I'd hyperventilate!
I'm really not being a snob about this, I think it's great that FIFA have given South Africa the World Cup and I love everything else about the colourful football fans there, but I'm not the only one already complaining about 'the bloody horns'. A quick search on Google brings up:
"They are relentless!!"
"They are not football fans, they are kids with plastic toys!"
"This is the world's event, not South Africa's. And the rest of the world doesn't want its biggest football showcase to be destroyed by somebody else's 'local atmosphere'."
I hope they resolve this before the World Cup tournament next year or a lot of the audience will be watching with the sound off! I'd like to think that FIFA would ban them from the stadiums but in fact the South African Football Assocation designed them and hand them out at matches! The only option I can think of is that the BBC/Sky turn off their microphones facing the crowd and have a 'Press the red button to lose the horns' feature!
AntiVJ recently performed a piece in Breda cathedral in The Netherlands. They mapped out the centrepiece of the building, the massive organ with all it's pipes, and then projected light and footage onto it, with incredible effect. With a range of other lights and professional organist Gerard Maters, they managed to create an audiovisual spectacular that you just cannot take your eyes off.
It's a technique that AntiVJ are pioneering: saying VJing doesn't have to be about projecting a standard TV/cinema style rectangle of footage, but instead it can simply be about projecting light onto an object/volume/surface. They can highlight certain areas of their canvas and trick the eye into thinking the object itself is moving or changing. They can literally show places in a different light and make you look at buildings or rooms in ways you hadn't before.
As you can probably tell, it takes weeks of trial and error testing to set up such an event, let alone designing it, but it's definitely worth it. Their work was reviewed on Dutch national TV. Here's the clip. Some of it is Dutch, but some is English with Dutch subtitles.
Brilliant work, I can't wait to see what's next for them.
I've been desperately trying to find clips of the Eurovision 2009 graphics ever since the final, and have finally found one. They were designed by Red Square Productions (a company with apparently no internet presence) and each promo was played before each song as a sort of representation of each country. They all basically involve a combination of the country's architecture/famous sites/culture/dancing, all wrapped into a 2D/3D fly-through, that eventually appears to be a hat for the country's Miss World.
Here's Turkey's Promo in the first 30 seconds of this video:
It is awesome. I love it. The flowing colours that make the transition are taken from Russia's Eurovision sub-logo which represents a firebird, a probable reference to Russian folklore and the stories of prophetic bird people such as Gamayun, Alkonost and Sirin.
They didn't quite manage to follow it through with style in all the promos though. The titles for the programmes had an altogether different look, with 3D letters flying through Moscow and eventually spelling urmmm... Semilina? Well that's what the commentator read it as.
So they're not big on typography but they'd kept the idea of flying and flowing colours in a city. However, they'd just lost that pop-up style that I liked.
Pop up style has been used recently in the United States Of Tara titles, and in some Dispatches: Forgotten Children adverts, but both were made of illustrations, not quite the Eurovision photographs/footage fly-through look. It frustrates me that I can't find more of that look. I know one day I'm going to want to use it as a visual reference and then I'll be buggered. I want to see what they did for the UK promo too, I missed that, I think I was throwing up in a bucket at the thought of Andrew Lloyd Webber at that point...
On Saturday I went to the Egg for round 2 of The Bloody Beetroots. They absolutely smashed it, as did the rest of the supreme line-up: Joe And Will Ask?/Brodinski/Matt Walsh/Tomb Crew/Das Glow/Beni...
Joe And Will Ask? have just released this music video of one of their gigs...
It reminds me of this video by The Presets that came out two weeks ago. They're so huge in Australia it's crazy, I saw them in Bristol and there was about 25 people there! They must have been so bummed out about that gig haha...
Filming your gigs and then just using that as a music video is obviously becoming popular, probably a follow-up after the success of Justice's 'A Cross The Universe' and Soulwax's 'Part Of The Weekent Never Dies'. But none of the recent music videos have matched The Bloody Beetroots 'Cornelius' yet. It's mental, and that's pretty much what the two Egg gigs were like, only with less girls and more crime... They had a dude in the crowd filming on saturday, so maybe they're planning on using the same idea for another music video. Maybe they will have caught the guy who pickpocketed me on camera...
The latest compilation of bands signed to the Kitsuné label comes out today, and nicknamed 'The Lucky One' it is already set to be a good'un. I've been eagerly awaiting it as I absolutely loved the last 3 from Kitsuné and from them I heard some of my favourite tracks of the last few years for the first time.
These 5 spring to mind instantly: Quicksand - La Roux Hummer - Foals I Get Around (Midnight Juggernauts Remix) - Dragonette The Best Revenge - Fischerspooner To Yourself - David E. Sugar
The mixes always have a happy indie sound, with some cracking synth riffs and remixes that turn out to outlast the originals. And this one is no different. You know you're going to get an eclectic sound, and see some new names whilst some you already know well.
Kitsuné Maison 7 Tracklisting: 01. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB - Something Good Can Work 02. WE HAVE BAND - Time After Time 03. PHOENIX - Lisztomania (CLASSIXX Version) 04. CRYSTAL FIGHTERS - Xtatic Truth 05. THE GOLDEN FILTER - Favourite Things 06. LA ROUX - In For The Kill (LIFELIKE Remix) 07. BENI - Fringe Element (Short Like Me Edit) 08. autoKratz - Always More (Yuksek Remix) 09. 80 KIDZ - Miss Mars 10. JAMES YUILL - This Sweet Love (Prins Thomas Sneaky Edit) 11. MEN - Make It Reverse 12. CHEW LIPS - Solo 13. CHATEAU MARMONT - Beagle 14. HEARTSREVOLUTION - 薔薇と彼女の王子 15. DELPHIC - Counterpoint (Delphic’s En Route Mix) 16. ENCORE – 17. MAYBB - Touring In NY (Short Tour Edit) 18. RENAISSANCE MAN – Rythym 19. TANLINES – Bejan
I've already had a listen to the album a few times thanks to the legendary service that is Spotify. Kitsuné Maison 7 certainly starts out in a good mood with an upbeat track from Two Door Cinema Club named 'Something Good Can Work'. It's so happy it's almost pop - anyone can like this track. That could sound like it's mainstream bull but it's not, because it's Kitsuné. Kitsuné keep bands raw, and that's half the beauty of this first track, you can imagine the band is made up of some guys that went to your school or something.
The next notable kick comes from the Basque country with Crystal Fighters' building dance beat 'Xtatic Truth', a track that sounds like Gorillaz on speed. The tracks then proceed to build to an electro beat frenzy at Yuksek's remix of Autokratz, but it doesn't get good until the middle of the song in my opinion. It all breaks down to almost just vocals and a piano and then Yuksek's remix skills build it up and up before peaking at a pranging dirty electro guitar riff that reminds me of Justice. You have to remember, that the songs are left 'whole' so tracks such as this one are designed to be mixed in a DJ set and that's why it doesn't kick off until late. Sometimes I think Kitsuné Maisons should be mixtapes, but then again they are (at present) a record label not a club night.
There is a 3 song section later that I love on this compilation. The first of the treble is 'Make It Reverse' by The Men. It has everything I want from a Kitsuné song. Excitable drums, sounds that sound like they're coming from a Sega Megadrive, builds, drops and breaks. The female singer reminds me of La Roux, the drums remind me of Foals, both featured on Kitsune mixes. The following song from Delphic has an echoey electro feel that reminds me of some of Erol's remixes with a touch of Fred Falke. Is nice!
We then get some proper rave time from MAYBB - 'Touring In NY (Short Tour Edit)'. Noone quite knows who this is at the moment. There is no previous recordings under the name and some are suggesting it's a publicity stunt similar to what Fake Blood did. It's likely that it's Benny Benassi, as he's seen here dropping it in New York on YouTube and makes sense lettering-wise. MAYBB = May 2009 - Benny Benassi? Maybe Benny? Have I cracked the enigma? Only time will tell, but if anything is cracking, it's this tune.
Thing is, the beauty of Kitsuné Maisons is how everyone takes completely different reactions from it and likes different songs, so I don't really want to review it too much. Just get out there and buy it!
Well that site was made by an animator from Brighton who goes by the name of Cyriak. He's awesome, but quite deranged...
He mainly chops up celebrities and creates strange monsters that you might find in Sid's bedroom (the freaky kid in Toy Story!). The loops he creates make great visuals and he offers himself up for VJing, music videos, title sequences, whatever! Although they're incredibly simple they've certainly attracted him some attention!
This week conferences have been taking place in Los Angeles about the future of gaming. It's a chance for all the main worldwide brands and consoles to showcase what's coming up in the gaming world and I've picked a few things that have caught my eye.
Firstly this amazing trailer for 'Beatles Rockband'. Games such as Guitar Hero and Rockband are massive sellers but noone until now has managed to get the elusive signature of McCartney and co as far as getting a licence to use their music. It was reported that The Beatles office were holding out for a top class game to come their way, something special, preferably just for them, and I think they've got their way. Although this trailer is not a direct representation of the gameplay it is undoubtably a beautiful stylised intro animation.
Next is 'Pro Evo 2010'. Looks like it's going to Messi and Torres on the cover this year plus Barcelona and Liverpool will be licenced. Clearly a lot of work has gone into making the lighting better and the faces look brilliant. The lighting will apparently change throughout the match so evening kick offs in the summer will start with daylight and the sun will set across the game and the floodlights will get switched on etc. The shadows will even change as the shirt fabric moves and ripples. The shorts still look ridiculous though and don't ever sit on a thigh, I don't know what the issue is there. This obviously shows hardly anything about game play but a key feature that has been announced is to make the power gauge more reactive and effective. It will also be used in more ways than just charging kicks, you will be able to power up tactical moves too, which is unclear at the moment but is certainly a big change. Apparently penalty kicks are going to be sorted this time too.
This video is stunning, and you'd expect so. Gran Turismo 5 has been developing for over 5 years now and still isn't due until next year but this video is sure to keep most fans excited. It seems the Gran Turismo team have bought out gaming competitors over the rights to WRC and Nascar but that's not what I care about... It's the graphics! They are absolutely phenomenal! In the words of commentator Andy Gray "let the pictures tell you everything..."
Finally, a game that comes out today, Sims 3. I'm part excited, part gutted. The only reason I'm gutted is this could easily be the end of my real-life... This is clearly the best Sims game yet and they seem to have finally found the blending point between Sim City and Sims. In this threequel, Sims can roam the entire neighbourhood without cutting to loading screens so you really are living in a completely different scale. Previous games in the series had expansion pack after expansion pack, but this time round they've knitted it all into one. But that doesn't mean it's a comprimised medley, oh no no, this game balances everything extremely well and is still extremely easy to pick up. Since Maxis first developed the series they have sold over 100 million copies across the world. Virtual worlds taking over the planet scare me but then again, I am typing a blog about this, arghhhhhhh!!
Last summer I stayed at a place in Nice called 'Hi Hotel'. It is a truely unique hotel, beautifully designed by one of France's leading designers, Matali Crasset.
It is uber-cool. From 24 hour vjing, to entirely ecologically friendly food it is beautifully over the top and spectacularly designed. Each of the rooms are different and experiment with the way we live our lives, using bold bright colours and simplicity to explain the reasoning by each design. The one I stayed in was called 'Monospace' and was one open-plan room using the colours red, white and blue to divide up 'sleeping', 'working' and 'washing'. Bit weird at first, to be doing a poo next to your bed but it was kind of funny! Another room named 'Strates' divided up living vertically, so you had to climb up steps to use the loo or shower on a raised platform!
Other extras include a pool and water beds on the roof, a private section of Nice's beach just for the hotel, a sauna, a library plus monthly mixtapes from the in-house DJ.
Nice is a city full to the brim with posh hotels, a lot of them your classic, posh, chandeliers and red carpet types, and Hi Hotel is obviously a breath of fresh air. Reading reviews online has made me laugh how some people just didn't get it. They obviously just needed somewhere to stay and liked the look of Hi Hotel from the outside and expected it to be normal! Some people are fuming: "I had to have a bath in the middle of the room and all the water splashed onto the table and on my bed!!" Haha.
I think some people also felt pressured by it's coolness, but I personally just enjoyed it. Although I could have had organic cous cous I actually went for a box that had 'MEAT' written on it in highlighter. But that's just me. I'm still wowing about how cool that Heineken bottle is!
Fact is it's beautiful to look at, and beautiful to live in. If you have someone beautiful to go with you're sorted! :)
These dudes at Found Magazine find stuff, and compile it to make it interesting. Anything goes, from love letters to birthday cards to kids' homework to shopping lists to ticket stubs to telephone bills to doodles - anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. They've got a website and have released a few books, excellent reading-on-the-loo material. Here's some good examples:
WHaaaat?!
Okkkkk...
Awwwwwwwwh...
A lot of the best are notes to flat-mates. "I Lick My Cheese" is a fantastic book that has exactly that. Also, well worth a look.
