Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Todd awesome

As you are probably aware, Todd James is one of my all time favourties EVER...and hes been busy dropping nuggets of gold...

evidence 1- new mass appeal cover


evidence 2- a photoshoot for a magazine (bpm?) where he designed it then they brough it to life



evidence 1 + 2 = AWESOME

Paris Paris

Gonna be amazing....

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Liar Liar Sleeves on fire

The Liars...one of the best bands out there do a small chate with the regular heat bringers THE FADER about their visual output....check it here

Has this been done to death yet?

even though, i like ...

Sede

Sede magazine is a fantastic bi-monthly magazine from Argentina that definitly deserves you shifting some paypal cash their way in exchange for their greatness...quality text + quality art = Sede... get get!

Sede magazine


Saturday, August 25, 2007

10x QUESTIONS - MARCUS OAKLEY

After a hiatus of ages, its time for me to roll out another 10xquestions small natter to someone whose work I like, and this time its Londons Marcus Oakley.
His last show at the Old Shoreditch station was so good i said to my girlfriend 'i feel sorry for whoever is going on next'... (NB - it was me up next in an unexpected twist of fate). The reason i loved it was that it was a much needed changein London from all the other shows on at the moment...shows where you hear about the price tags before you actually see the show, you see the queue for the limited-edition-direct-to-ebay prints before you even get inside the space..the shows where the main attraction to 95% of the crowds is what free beer is on offer...
I enjoy many shows in London, but going to Marcus Oakleys opening was a breath of fresh air...a show where the walls were crammed with amazing work, of the highest quality, full of ideas and personality, which is diffrent from turning up to a show and seeing another cheap shot of blairbushthemonarchywariniraqdisneybigcoporations. The works were taped to the wall, so obviously things wern't for sale, which said to me that the reason he did the show was becaue he wanted to show his art and do a good show, not because he had to pay his managers rent or something...if this is making me sound like a hater to everyartist who makes a living or who has shown in the last year or two -sorry, im not hating, im just saying, seeing marcus last show was kinda like going to the cinema a bunch of times and seeing big blockbusters all the time (which are great), but then suddenly out of nowhere comes this little independent film that just containt so much goodness it just hits you harder than expected.
This write up is waffling and makes it sound like Mr Oakley is some underground artist. Hes not. Hes been around killing it for years, and i genuinly have been a big big big fan since i saw his early work in Lodown under the 'mr werewolf' guise...i better shut up now becuase hell run me over on his bike next time i see him, for being over the top....ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great honour to present...MARCUS OAKLEY!


1.Hello Marcus, how would you describe your work to a blind person?

Well I could say that my work feels a liitle like warmth of the sun,tastes like a braeburn apple, smells like freshly cut grass and err sounds like a sleeping hedgehog.

2.You were part of the fantastic moving units ( aka 'other side of urethane') collective that ran some legendary shows and really offered early exposure to now established skate artists...it seems quiet now, has it died down? How do you feel about artists you championed like french and stefan marx making it in the art world, and do you think there is a new generation of artists in Europe? anyone we should look out for? and wasn't there a book published? where the fuck do you get that from!

The Side Effects of Urethane does still exist, but it has been a few years since we last organized an exhibition, the last project I worked was the aalto sculpture in helsinki at the kisma in 2005. I don't honestly know how much we have helped out artists like french and stefan marx as those guys have the skills to pay the bills...erm...yeah anyway, I'm just happy they took part in the exhibitions. Regarding a book well we have had discussions about a book, last year pointer footwear did publish a small book which featured some of the artists we have showcased since 2001 --- SEE LAST DILLY BLOG POST

hmmmm...There are always lots of great generations of artists coming up....errrrrrrr.... check out one of my past students

Matthew Horse



3.What phase brian wilson would you be if you had to be him- preppy in the early days / mental pet sounds / current phoenix of the flames or other?

My favourite phase of brain is of brian in the 1970's, even though he was chubby I just think he and the rest of the beach boys looked cool. And the music was awesome favourites of mine from the 1970's are surfs up, holland and love you. The music of brian wilson and beach boys has influenced my work hugely I think most days I will listen to some beach boys. anyway thanks brian, I went to see brian once years ago in long island I could see brian and the ocean it was amazing and I think I cried a little.







4.Radio 4, what is your favourite programme to listen to?

Good good old radio, Its part of my morning ritual of having my breakfast and listening to radio 4 ,womens hours is always fascinating, and the radio plays are so crap but good at the same time, I always imagine the person making the all the sounds effects...what a great job to have.....

5.Is it true your giving up skating for cycling?

This is not true, but I don't really ride a skateboard anymore and I do enjoy riding a bicyle,

6.If you were king of the world for the day, what would you decree.

Free bicylces



7.Whats the most shameful thing you have ever done?

This is a tricky one....I don't think I have done anything shameful, maybe I have done lots of shameful things but didn't really realize it at the time?

8.Whats the proudest thing youve done?

Another tricky one......errrrr? Considering I do it find rather difficult to play the guitar and sing at the same time I did feel slightly proud-ish last year when I played live for the first time and people actually clapped after my performance.



9. What would be your dream project to work on?

I think something related to cycling or just something where you could do what you like, but what ever it was would have some kind of positive effect.

10.your constantly working, on commissions, shows etc...whats next ?

well apart from doing a zine for you,I'm about to start on a animal character related to the letter Z for this project
Animal Alphabet




Thats his brief 10 Questions...THANKS MARCUS!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Printed matter

Amongst the madness of last week (putting the show up and everything), i still managed to cop some great great printed matter, which of course follows shortly....
1-Erosies 'Zap the scribble face'
A zine that contains sketches of faces that Erosie drew while channel surfing his TV. The zine really shows Erosies great hand and pencil skills, putting so much personality in each face, its a real beacon of goodness to all the mediocre/shit stuff thats floating around at the moment.This zine is honestly one of my favorite zines i have got recently, super good stuff - but its Erosie! what else would it be other than fucking great?
PS if you like Erosie theres a real nice canvas in my lil group show...and watch out for E's upcoming dreambags show - now THATs gonna be show of the year




2-The Pointer Art Collective (featuring The Side Effects of Urethane, The Blank Tape Spillage Fete, Saving up to Become An Octopus & Awaken! Slumber Maps & Giffle)
First up thank you Marcus for hooking me up with this. This is a really really amazing collection of books brought from the Pointer shoes crew. Pacakaged in a lovely card die cut sleeve, the moment you pick this up you really can feel the quality. This is one of those cases where the saying ' dont judge a book by its cover' is a load of rubbish, because in this case the cover is fucking nice.
Inside is four small books reflecting some of Pointers favourite inspirations and friends, and every title is amazing (im running out of words for very good - can you tell?), but the one that i was anxious to see was the Effects of Urethane and i wasnt dissapointed. TSEOU (to cut it short) has been a bit of an inspiration for me, and this book is a great taster for all the great and inspiring work they have done (bring on the big tome!). The other titles are new to me, but were lovely surprises and there really wasnt a weak link in the whole pacakage. I dont know where you can pick this up but if i were you i would definitly put on my sherlock holmes hat and get out there and track it down!








Riel website

The internet just got some new goodness points from the addition of Sara Riels website. Some nice stuff and more to come - go check it out!

Monday, August 20, 2007

DILLY PRESENTS ANOTHER GROUP SHOW

So the show is up.
GO SEE IT!
There is still stuff to go up, and it seems like itll be a constantly evolving show, but make sure you catch it before it comes down.
Full pictures will be put up on the website soon (www.ledilly.com), but the opening night was fun - real good turnout, loud music (from pysch to dancehall), interested people in the work (a rare thing nowadays, most are there for the free booze), good times, a few fights,pervy old men (not me!), strange drunk dudes...as i said good times!

BIG THANKS to Vickie, Nick and all at jagbags empire. Sam, my family for taking over the house with Frenchs pictures of gnarlness, Queenie for last minute hanging excellence, Tom Ganf, MEDS, CHUM101, POWER BASTARD for DJING. EVERY PERSON WHO CAME OUT TO PARTY, everyone who has seen it and liked it (DOUBLE POINTS FOR SPREADING THE WORD) and most importantly for this quickly organised show ALL THE ARTISTS WHO SENT WORK. BLIND FAITH SOMETIMES FALLS FLAT, BUT EVERYONE WHO SENT STUFF, YOU MADE THIS SHOW HAPPEN, NOT ME. THANK YOU.

THIS WASNT BUSY COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE SPACE - INSIDE AND OUTSIDE = RAMMED...AWESOME!



THE CINEMA OF JR

IM WORRIED ABOUT CHUM101S 7"COLLECTION

Acne Owl

All round dude Dscreet has gone and done the new Kid Acne vid...check it out

Rough Pete

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

LISTEN UP LONDON

OK LONDON - THIS THURSDAY
OLD SHOREDITCH STATION
1 KINGSLAND ROAD
OPENING PARTY FOR A SMALL GROUP SHOW IVE CURATED - 'ANOTHER GROUP SHOW'
9PM-1AM
EVERYONES INVITED
DJS - CHUM101 (ISAW),PMH (ME), POWERBASTARD AND MED DAMON (AYCE)

COME ALONG!

TELL YOUR FRIENDS

PS theres another show at the Leonard St Gallery that night with Bast and Hecox...go there first, get those free cocktails then come to mine and party hard

Field Report: Field Day

OK lets get it out the way..the queues for booze and toilets were bad, really bad...but fucking hell they always are at festivals! at least these toilets arent coated in shit like Glastonbury. Relax everyone! Field Day was AWESOME!

Billed as Londons Pysch day out, i was instantly there...however long shaggy beards and homemade shoes were outnumbered by crystal castles and ed banger tees...but when Justice is on the lineup, you know the score already. The only pysch garage of that ilk was when i heard was Pyschotic Reaction as i walked in (instantly turning me in a happy punter)
Amazing weather. Great atmosphere. Great site (nice and small but not too crowded). Nice people around. Amazing music...what more do you need really?

As with most festivals, you go in with the intent on seeing specific bands and you arrange a schedule to catch them. For me it was four tet, caribou, liars and battles. As soon as i got in and found out i missed Caribou (this was like 2.30pm) the old zen buddist mindstate kicked in - relax, your at a festival, youll be lucky if you catch one band!

The timeslots were half an hour long, which worried me at first, but one of the good things about this is that it means the bands dont mess around too much by trying to be comics (hello the aliens!) and instead they play nonstop bangers... i do like long sets at festivals but the field day system wasnt too bad. So i caught The Aliens (always good), bats for lashes (wannabe bjork tag definitly didnt go away live), dude from Super Furry Animals (on at the wrong time), Erol Alkan (always get the kids dancing), Archie Bronson Outfit (great!), Mystery Jets (no dad and pot banging but my Twickenham homies were actually good), 1990s (Yummy Fur i miss you!), Fridge (OK)....but i wanted to see so many more, but you know what its like when your with mates.... the Headliners Justice played their 'first live set' in London...actually its their third, but hey, dont tell the kids...and it didnt blow me away like i expected, gotta be honest, perhaps it was the toned down soundsystem?...but thats OK because earlier on i had a very very amazing experiance by Justice that kicked me hard and made everything else anticlimatic....

I was whispered by a friend in the loop that Justice would be doing a secret dj gig at the myspace bus (ZEITGEIST!) so i was lucky enough to get on with my mates...and they only let 30 people on. Now imagine that, an old routemaster bus, with Justice Djing for you and 29 other people...fucking insanity. The bus wobbled,and Justice literally played everything and the kitchen fridge (in this case M People 'moving on up'!), and i would say its one of the best dj experiances ive had. Last time i saw them play in an 'intimate' venue was bloggers delights first night, but i was tooooo fucked that night that i cant remember a thing...but this time it was double awesome. It came to a stop 45 minutes in when the bus caught fire. no shit, it was awesome!



Those that slept on buying tickets or waited to be put on the list (one of my friends had to queue an hour and a half on the list) but didnt get the hook up...do yourself a favour and get tickets the moment they go on sale next year, because you missed a great fucking day out...queues or no queues. I would easily say Field Day was one of the best musical events/gigs i have attended in london and ive been to a fucking lot!

PS organisers next year - double toilets and bars, let people bring water in and dont be miserly and charge for programmes - its a fucking low punch(even Glasto dont do that)...im sure people dont mind a sponsor if they know who they're seeing on the stages...and where was the wellie boot throwing?

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sigur Ros tour film dropping soon
I gotta say that the DOP (Director of Photography) should get a medal, because it looks amazing, and usually tour films are shot like a piece of shit on a string...like this gem

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Y'all so stupid!

Great animation series from Devin Flynn...for fans of adult swim, paper rad madness, crank yankers etc...
Y'ALL SO STUPID

AT LAST!

Everyone,lets be honest.
Michel Gondry and Mos Def are amazing but both really havent fulfilled their potential of amazingness in cinema yet...really...i mean they havent truly clicked so far. Tell me im wrong. You cant.
Mos Def is one of the most charismatic people out there, and as soon as he said he was gonna focus on movies, i thought it would be a quick rise to the top...but hes stalled (16 blocks? italian job?)...
Michel Gondry. Flashes of his genius, but nothing thats caught the world on fire (being niche and true to yourself is good and all, but his videos seems to flow much better than his films). And i tend to think he tries to heard when hes making a film, it sometimes seems overthought out sometimes, and the films are never a great package, just some great moments / ideas..
But for these two, things are about to change...

Be Kind Rewind.

Jack Black & Mos Def...what a fucking dream paring (unless you hate the Jack Black). It so works.
Michel Gondry with a film that doesnt feel as forced as his previous efforts. It feels like his video work - instant, childlike, fun..and the film ends up looking like a goodie.

PS Yes it does look a bit twee cheese but fuck it! looks watchable to me!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Printed round up...

More Printed goodness thats come my way that i wanted to share with you...
1.Bones Stones Glory by Lewis
The latest installment of Lewis' always awesome photozines. These are his photojournals and unlike the hipster cliches of modern photojournalism (which is what we are sadly overexposed to), Lewis' work is something else...in this case minimalist images that stay with you longer than most other photo zines ive seen recently.
I genuinly can't wait for the next one!




2. Monster Children
Ahhhh the latest issue from the Australian Kings.
OK so i blog for them (when i can)..but this magazine is honestly really,really, really ESSENTIAL...and not just because I like and know them, or that it has a great travis millard cover or that it features his work or the fact that the magazine has been taken over by Girl Skateboards Artdump (which always equals greatness)...its not just because of the page 33 stunner (though its def. a strong contender!)...no, the reason its is fucking ESSENTIAL is because it comes with a DVD...but my god what a DVD!
The DVD features some stussy world tour documentaries (kaws,mr cartoon...), some great skate films, unreleased Spike Jonze videos, shorts on the artists shown at Monster Childrens gallery - French, Stefan Marx, Espo...good huh? yeah, but that aint it...no ...its because...IT FEATURES HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT!
Now this film is worth buying a million copies of Monster Children magazine for, because it is simply one of the greatest documentaries EVER MADE.
During stoner converstaions ive had, when i have been asked 'if you could travel back in time, where would you go?'..ive always replied in a heartbeat 'Filming Heavy Metal Parking Lot'...its just the absolute shit....and for those of you clueless to it, its a documentary recording the crowd before a classic Judas Priest gig in the eighties and it is just the definition of metal bro cool...words fail me..
rating? a millionbillion outta five...its that great.
(FAO Monster Children - guys, the mags awesome, but you just destroyed any magazine freebie ever by giving away this dvd)








3.FREE LONDON PAPER
LOOK AT THAT...HAHAHAHAHAHA...TO BE BANNED FROM LONDON! THE WHOLE OF LONDON!....AMAZING...