Mr B obviously had a few cans of paint kicking around after his refurbishment of the Bristol Museum. This piece is one of several that have gone up recently (thanks to the ever informative Urban Art Association for the tip-off). This work is clearly playing around with the commercialisation of street-art and the lack of bite in today’s social revolutionaries. We aren’t going to get drawn into the big ‘is Bansky’s work art and what legacy does it have if any’ debate. Well actually we are. In our view, anyone who has succeeded in connecting art to a larger audience is clearly a big asset to this countries culture. He’s kind of a Tony Hart figure for the next generation. Man, we’d love to interview this dude.
Since stumbling across It’s The Motherfucking Remix: Volume 2, I’ve always looked out for The Rub. Consisting of DJ Ayres, DJ Eleven and Cosmo Baker, they have impeccable taste and the golden touch when it comes to putting a mix, of hip hop, disco, 80s, reggae, funk, house and electronica, together. Check out their ambitious and excellent A History of Hip-Hop mix series. Each mix in the series covers a different year with track selections revolving around bangers released during said year. That’s this weeks soundtrack sorted then.
Graphic designer/artist Gareth Bayliss has just released his Peace logo as a t-shirt in collaboration with Australian art facilitators Teeluxe. The artwork has been screaming ‘put me on a t-shirt’ ever since we first saw it, so it’s great news that it’s out there.
Gareth has worked on music packaging for a wide array of artists and record labels, his rather impressive roll call includes Mo’Wax, Dizzee Rascal, Illicit Records and Deadly Avenger. Check out his work at his new streamlined site or (shameless plug alert) for a more in-depth insight into his creative approach, his time working at Mo’Wax with Ben Drury and the ‘don’t sweat the mad design technique’ behind the artwork for The Rapture’s Echoes LP, purchase a copy of Bonafide issue 02. Peace.
Original thinker Kool Keith is at again, this time finding a solution to the annoying habit of family and friends ransacking your fridge of all the nice stuff. Keith’s tip? Buy lots of bland and unappealing food and drink and then train yourself to like it. The result will be a fridge that, as no visitor will ever be helping themselves to a midnight snack, remains full. An interesting concept and a great way to save pennies in these tough times.
Keith is ace and had the (unfortunate) distinction of being the first person Bonafide ever interviewed face-to-face. Although that interview won’t be winning any awards – indeed the NUJ would probably hold it up as an example of how not to conduct an interview – we are proud that our first foray into the journalism game involved speaking to a true hip-hop legend. Check out issue 01 to read Bonafide’s first ever scoop!
Lancaster’s Storey Gallery have an interesting show on at the moment. With the exhibition room looking very much pre-opening night – the space is consumed by scaffolding and neglected packaging (all pieces of art incidentally) – you get the impression that it won’t allow the viewer to engage in the usual ’serious art viewing pose’ we all engage in. Instead the audience will get snapshots of the images and end up craning their necks to get a proper look. Strange Days and Some Flowers includes work by Dan Baldwin, Don Brown, Laura Ford and John Stark amongst others. Having spent my university days in Lancaster, it’s good to see the cities art scene representing.
DJ Kentaro will be bugging out Liverpool tonight as he starts off a round of UK gigs. His tour of duty will end with a face-off against the legendary DJ Krush. Anyone interested in seeing these two DJ heavyweights collide should head to Koko, London, on 3rd October; everyone in the vicinity of NW1 brace yourselves for impact! Excellent promotional artwork provided by the super talented Grampian Mountains.
Following on from the excellent Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. video comes news on a forthcoming release by Foreign Beggars, who starred in that jaw dropping piece of creativity. Currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to their new, fantastically entitled United Colours of Beggattron LP, this blog lifts the lid on the making of the lead single Contact. A welcome return for Metropolis, Orifice Vulgatron and DJ Nonames… as the names suggest nothing is ever quite as it seems.
This week brought to you courtesy of super tight, super funk outfit, Breakestra. In advance of the release of their new LP Dusk Til Dawn, that is scheduled for release later this month,this lil’ taster is is entitled Breakestra Classics (mixed by Music Man Miles) and does exactly what it says on the tin. Track-listing as follows:
1. INTRO
2. BREAKESTRA SUITE #1 (DJ Azzurro & Kiyo)
3. GETCHO SOUL TOGETHA
4. LIL’ OL MONEY MAKER
5. FUNKY SOUL (Live In L.A., 2000)
6. GETTIN’ TO IT
7. DON’T NEED A DANCE
8. SEE SAWNG
9. TAKE MY TIME feat. Choklate
10. FAMILY RAP feat. DJ DUSK (Z Trip Scratch Edit)
11. SHOW N’ PROVE
12. A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
Kid Koala, uber turntablist famed for his fantastic jazz routine and graphic novels, has just released his new collaborative album The Slew:100%as a free download. Never one to rest on his laurels or stick to a tried and tested formula, The Slew was produced in conjunction with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, previously the rhythm section in rock outfit Wolfmother, and is an exploration of the psychedelic. Featuring drums, bass/keys and a mere six turntables, the set is seventy minutes of raw guitar cuts and heavy beats. The free release is the calling card for the forthcoming North American tour (this Sept and October) that will see the album performed live in its entirety.
It’s another sound-system banger! We will hopefully be featuring an interview with the curators of the Home Grown exhibition shortly, but in the meantime we thought we would wet your appetite and post this up. Some of you may have seen this image before (it features in the packaging for DJ Milo’s The Wild Bunch: Story Of a Soundsystem) and I am sure you will agree that it is iconic. Featuring the pioneering Wild Bunch crew, who evolved into Massive Attack, this shot by Beezer captures the energy, talent and DIY attitude of a movement that spawned the Bristol Blues.
