the lab magazine

MINKA SICKLINGER — PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARYA KOSILOVASPECIAL THANKS...

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:39:04 -0700

MINKA SICKLINGER

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARYA KOSILOVA
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT

Minka Sicklinger is an illustrator and tattoo artist based in New York City, known for her rare technical ability to create extremely detailed images on the skin. In this exclusive interview with The Lab Magazine, Minka opens up to us about her upbringing, her thoughts on the tattoo business, and her bizarre after-hours activities.

DARYA KOSILOVA—Where are you from?

MINKA SICKLINGER—I was born in Holland, and then I moved to Papua New Guinea for a while and then Australia – I grew up there. I left Australia when I was 26 years old, then I went to Costa Rica, then I lived in Mexico City, and then I ended up in New York.

DK—How did you find yourself ending up in New York?

MS—I’ve always wanted to come to New York since I was 16 years old. It was always where I was heading towards. Eventually I finally found my way here.

DK—Was there a reason why you were travelling so much?

MS—My parents were living in Papua New Guinea when I was conceived, and then, because I was her first child, my mother went back to Holland where she’s from to have me. We then went back to Papua New Guinea, and then my father got work in Australia so we went there, and I couldn’t wait to get out.

DK—What was it like growing up in Australia? Were you living in a smaller community?

MS—It was pretty boring. It was weird because I had a very European upbringing and so my house was full of European antiques and we celebrated Dutch Christmas, and I was fortunate enough to go to Holland once every two years or so to see my grandparents. We ate Dutch food and things like that so I never really felt connected to Australian culture, plus I suppose I always had an obsession with detail and I never found that there. Only in little pockets, but it wasn’t pervasive like it is here or Europe. I was always super hungry for that. And I don’t like the beach! So it was OK, but it was never enough, if that makes sense. I felt like there were whole parts of my brain that I wasn’t able to open.

DK—As a kid were you constantly drawing and making artwork?

MS—I drew a lot when I was young. I remember being five years old and going every Saturday to these drawing classes at the local art shop. My brother, who’s three years younger than me, had this awesome model train set and every Christmas we’d set it up going around the hallways; we’d make little landscapes, which would involve ripping up stacks of paper into little snowballs that we would make mounds out of – my poor mother would still be finding them six months later hidden in corners. I was always making things. And then I went to art school which killed every creative urge I’ve ever had.

Read the rest of the interview with Minka Sicklinger here.

THE LAB TV - EDDIE BERMAN - BLOOD & RAILS

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:23:00 -0700

THE LAB TV - EDDIE BERMAN - BLOOD & RAILS

THE LAB TV - GOLD & YOUTH - JEWEL — Director: Natalie Rae...

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:02:30 -0700

THE LAB TV - GOLD & YOUTH - JEWEL

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Director: Natalie Rae Robison
Exec Producers: Jeremy Power Regimbal, Justin Tyler Close
Producer: Erika Lobko
Starring: Wynn Holmes, Nico Archambault
Choreography: Street Parade
Featuring clothing by: MARKOOF
Styling: Avery Plewes
DP: Kelly Jeffrey
1st AC: Kiel Milligan
Make up: Sharon Yoo

ALASDAIR DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT — WORDS BY SARAH HERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY...

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:07:46 -0700

ALASDAIR DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT

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WORDS BY SARAH HERMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX COVO
STYLING BY MICHELLE CARIMPONG
GROOMING BY KATE ROMANOFF
MODEL: OPHELIE AT MARILYN AGENCY
ALL CLOTHING PROVIDED BY ALASDAIR

It’s taxing to pinpoint the culminating factors that serve up a classic piece of womenswear: enduring color palettes, the omission of pattern and posturing detail, bold shapes and angles that demand attention without distraction. Since the valiant birth of Alasdair, now in its third season, designer April Johnson’s work has embraced these traits, tousled them, and manifested them with grace. And for Autumn/Winter 2013 she has not disappointed, as each piece in the collection promises class with sublime assurance.

Emerging from over a decade-long stint as a stylist, working with publications that include Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and Rolling Stone, Johnson’s chic take on wearable pieces has stood out from the material mire. “As a stylist I was always challenged with finding well-fitting classic staples for clients and for myself,” Johnson said, as she explained how her original garments were made purely for herself, and then for friends, before striding down a commercial avenue.

Given that she began her career as a an accessories editor at Vogue, it’s hardly surprising that Johnson is a fan of black, navy and neutrals – the perfect shades to set off pops of color and shimmering add-ons. And as far as fabrics go, her attitude is effortless elegance. “I think silk is my favorite,” she said. “It is so wearable. My friends laugh when I say, ‘Just wash it!’ I guess I wash everything.” The importance of ease and wearability permeates through the cuts and curves of her garments – pantsuits and plunging necklines, which look equally at home on runway models and boardroom beauties as any laissez-faire ladies about town.

Her understanding of the needs of women and their wardrobes is both innate and learned from her years of servicing the stylish bluster of glossy pages and catwalks. And it has stood her in good stead, with Alasdair inviting wide eyes from Europe – the label dominated a Selfridges window display in London this April. “That was really lovely,” said Johnson. “It is so fantastic to see Alasdair cross the pond!” All that success hasn’t come by chance, but how does the work of a designer compare to the challenges of a stylist? “I feel like being successful at anything requires a great effort,” she said, “so I can’t really say which has been more challenging, but I do love a challenge!”

She may be up for anything when it comes to work, but where her wardrobe is concerned, the woman behind Alasdair is all about having a good time. And according to Johnson, so should you. “I enjoy my clothes,” she said. “I think everyone should own pieces that make them feel great and look effortlessly put together. Alasdair’s philosophy is, ‘Enjoy your clothes!’”

THE LAB TV - EDDIE BERMAN WITH LAURA MARLING - DANCING IN THE...

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:21:57 -0700

THE LAB TV - EDDIE BERMAN WITH LAURA MARLING - DANCING IN THE DARK

HIROYUKI HAMADA — INTERVIEWED BY ANNA GRIGGS Hiroykui Hamada is...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:36:00 -0700

HIROYUKI HAMADA

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INTERVIEWED BY ANNA GRIGGS

Hiroykui Hamada is a sculptor. Born in Tokyo, Japan, he now lives and works in East Hampton, New York with his wife and two children. He is represented in New York by Lori Bookstein Fine Art.

THE LAB MAGAZINE—When and how did you first begin to make artwork?

HIROYUKI HAMADA—I was already in college when I started. I liked making things as a kid but I guess I didn’t really know what “art” was. It’s sort of amazing that all the art classes that I had to take since I was in kindergarten failed me. Maybe visual art is not as narrowly defined as other forms of art. There might be more consensus in the difference between making some noise and writing a song, or between a description and a poem… Maybe I didn’t grow up with lots of visual art around me… So it was pretty shocking to see my college teacher take a piece of paper, make marks on it, and the whole thing started animating with a wholeness, like having a life. So that got me into making art. I switched my major from psychology to art.

TLM—You started out as a painter and now your work is mostly sculptures. How did your focus from one medium to another shift over time?

HH—It’s been a gradual change. Every time I make something it gives a momentum to a certain direction. For example, if I see variations in textures, that might make me interested in working with variations of the surface, eventually leading to a different shaped canvas or that could eventually lead to a 3D shape growing out of a 2D surface and so on. So it’s really not like one day I decided to become a sculptor and I started learning from scratch. By the time I knew I was becoming a sculptor I already had some tools around, although, there were bigger jumps that I had to take, like learning about materials, technical know-how, and so on. There are other ways to grow of course, but I think I could make sure that I was guided by what the work needed that way, not by some irrelevant external things.

TLM—What other kinds of evolution have you seen happening in your work? What prompted those shifts?

HH—Well, that’s a tough question because it pushes me to guess what works and what doesn’t work. My belief about art is that the essential mechanism of the particular art work is always hidden from the artists or the viewers. For example, we can build the base structure or the back ground using existing techniques – such as balancing elements, working with contrast, color schemes, symmetry, repetition, rhythm and so on – but none of these things have anything to do with the lasting quality which truly moves us. And I don’t even think about those things that much either. It’s the structure of elements put together in a certain way so that the result can guide us to feel some sort of a basic essence about who we are with all the unknown parts attached to it. It’s nothing we can really get to by a formula of any sort. I think that makes art so special to us. We can all tap into the unknown familiar place while also being who we are as humans.

Discover the complete feature here.

TOP LESS GAY LOVE TEKNO PARTY — INTERVIEWED BY SHAD PHOTOGRAPHY...

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:20:00 -0700

TOP LESS GAY LOVE TEKNO PARTY

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INTERVIEWED BY SHAD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN TYLER CLOSE
THANKS TO EAST VAN STUDIOS

Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party is a musical firecracker full of sensory delights. The vibrant assemble, home-grown in BC, Canada, known for their fantastical live shows and hypnotic DJ sets, are about to release their debut record with a big glittery bang.

Shad is a hip hop artist originally from Ontario, Canada, who is currently working on his fourth studio album Flying Colours.

SHAD—How did you meet and start to connect musically?

DONNÉ TORR—Mike, Lucas [Hamilton], and I met in uni and started a shitty but awesome band that played Lionel Richie and Jimmy Buffett covers. I then followed Mike to Glasgow and started another project. Glasgow held on to us for a bit but eventually we both settled back in Vancouver and started writing and recording music for what would soon become Top Less. We found the rest of the band at a garage sale one day in the suburbs.

S—You guys are a big collective on stage. How does your song writing process work?

DT—For half of our first record Mike or I would come to the band with a mostly finished song and then work the rest out with them. Now it seems that many of our new songs are written as a group in rehearsals and then finessed with Tommy Bahama massage oil in the studio.

S—Your work contains an interesting mix of fun as well as some subversive political undertones. How do you see the role of party and politics in your work and in art in general?

MIKE SHINDLER—This is a great question, Shad, and one we’ve never been asked. Top Less has always sort of straddled that line of being just crazy hedonistic and being something more subversive. I wouldn’t say we are necessarily political because we’ve always sort of kept that out of our song writing. I would say that we are all intuitively quite subversive and this comes out in the writing and the music and the performance. But at the same time we just want to let everything go and have a crazy party, and this is where the two sides meet; they’re not mutually exclusive. I think our feeling is that if everyone is able to let go of themselves, their egos, their vested interests in things for a few hours, and experience music in a completely free and open environment, then at best we’re opening some pathways in people’s hearts, and at worst we’re giving them a really loving sexy free time. I would say our shows and music are an acknowledgement of the absurdity of many aspects of human life and then lighting the wick and hoping for an explosion.

Read the complete interview here.

THE PRESETS — PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDAN MEADOWS The Presets are...

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:32:55 -0700

THE PRESETS

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDAN MEADOWS

The Presets are Australian electronic pairing Jules Hamilton and Kim Moyes. The duo met in the nineties while studying music in Sydney and have been collaborating as The Presets for over a decade. Their latest album Pacifica was released in 2012 and they are touring North America in May 2013.

JULES HAMILTON—I know you like burgers, in fact, I know you’re a burger fiend. What burger are you most looking forward to when you get back to the States?

KIM MOYES—I am! Although I’m trying to give them a rest. However I won’t be ignoring UBurger in Boston! I got turned on to them last time we where there, you didn’t come then but I’m going to drag you along this time.

JH—That sounds sweet. I would be so into that. There was a fresh taco place in Boston I remember too, near the gig. If we’re playing the same venue I’ll insist we grab a post-show taco too.

KM—I know you love your seasonal TV shows, are you going to get stuck into a series on this upcoming US tour?

JH—I was thinking I was going to doThe Sopranosagain or at least the first series. Every time I flick to an episode on re-run on TV, no matter which one, I can’t stop watching it. But more recently I’ve discovered this Scandinavian crime drama calledThe Killing. It’s super dark and spooky. I think that’ll be my bus/bunk time/solo Jules TV show for this tour. The one thing I think none of our crew is into (including us) isGame of Thrones. Should I grab that for everyone? I don’t know – I kinda don’t want to get into that – thoughts?

KM—I don’t mind. I’m sure a bit of mindless television could help pass the time on the bus. Perhaps that downtime could also be spent on furthering your education. Have you ever had any desire to go back to school and further your studies? If so, what are you interested in?

JH—Maybe. I’m looking into doing Spanish classes this year. Does that count? I actually have this reoccurring nightmare, where you and I are in our final year at university, and we have like three months to go, and I discover that there is a whole class I have not been attending all year. I realize I’ll never be able to make up the work in time so I’m suddenly looking at having to come back to school for another year to do one subject – but the problem is, we’re booked to do this world tour the following year, so basically I’m fucked. What’s your worst reoccurring nightmare?

KM—Spanish sounds good, pretty handy skill to have. Nightmare? I wouldn’t say it’s the worst or indeed even nightmarish but a few years ago I had a reoccurring dream that the back of my thighs were made of champignon mushrooms. I would scrape and scrape with my fingers until eventually I hit bone. More gross than anything really.

Discover the complete feature here.

SUUNS — INTERVIEWED BY JORY MACKAY PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANE AND...

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:01:54 -0700

SUUNS

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INTERVIEWED BY JORY MACKAY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANE AND JANE

After two years relentlessly touring North America and three trips overseas, Montreal-based Suuns have released the follow-up to their acclaimed debut, Zeroes QC. Bassist/keyboardist Max Henry spoke withThe Lab Magazine about inspiration, instrumentation, and the mystique behind Montreal.

THE LAB MAGAZINE—You were labeled Best Band of 2011 by NME. How did such a high level of initial praise affect the writing on the new album?

MAX HENRY—I would say not too much. That’s the kind of approach that can be pretty poisonous to the creative process. Of course it’s a tremendous honor. But we’ve tried to be casual about it.

TLM—Has the amount of time you’ve spent on the road over the past few years changed your sound? Did you think more about the live show when writing songs for your new album, Images du Futur?

MH—The live show has always been the primary consideration. We won’t put anything down that we can’t play live. It’s more of an ensemble that way; the albums stay more of an index. So the live tunes are always changing.

Find the entire SUUNS feature here.

NOELL S. OSZVALD — INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA Noell S....

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:50:00 -0700

NOELL S. OSZVALD

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INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA

Noell S. Oszvald is a self-taught photographer and visual artist from Budapest, Hungary. After becoming a Flickr sensation almost overnight for her deeply dark and sophisticated imagery, it came as a viral shock when this artist revealed that she has only been taking photographs for just over a year.

DARYA KOSILOVA—Hi Noell! Tell me a little bit about yourself.

NOELL S. OSZVALD—I’m a 22 year-old girl from Hungary. I was born in Budapest, the capital and currently living in a small town not so far from there.

DK—How long have you been taking photographs?

NSO—I’ve been taking photos and making photo manipulations for more than a year now.

DK—I feel like I’m in a lost memory or a dream when I look at your photographs. Where does the imagination for your images come from?

NSO—It comes from anywhere and anytime – mostly when I’m listening to music, watching films, or desperately trying to fall asleep at night.

DK—Tell me about the first significant memory that has shaped you as a person and an artist.

NSO—It’s interesting. I remember my very first memory; the first time I was aware of life around me. I was playing with my sister in the garden and I remember running towards her and suddenly becoming aware of my own existence.

Find the complete interview here.

RIIKKA SORMUNEN — INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA Riikka...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:27:00 -0700

RIIKKA SORMUNEN

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INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA

Riikka Sormunen is a Berlin-based artist and illustrator. With her amazing eye for detail and color, and a slight flare for dark comedy, Ms. Sormunen has landed herself projects including illustrating Big Mother #3 and being a contributor for The New York Times. She is represented by Napa Illustrations in Finland.

DARYA KOSILOVA—Riikka, do you remember the first drawing you ever made?

RIIKKA SORMUNEN—I don’t know about the very first one, but I’ve got a lot of early memories of drawing. I remember a time when I was drawing a girl’s face and leaning on top of the paper, trying to get her mouth just right. When I got up I saw that I had drawn two mouths, one on top the other. My arm had been covering the first one and somehow I’d managed to forget about it. I tried to erase the oil pastel but it only made it worse, like a bleeding wound on her chin… It was devastating.

DK—When you were a little girl, did you go through phases of drawing particular things or subject matter? For example, when I was little, I went through this weird phase where I would draw these giant hearts and inside I would draw their faces. Afterwards I would cut them out and play with them as if they were paper dolls.

RS—Sounds lovely! I just drew Disney princesses for a really long time and then when I was about 12 I moved on to drawing eyes. I guess that’s quite a common subject. All my school books and notebooks were filled with seductive, disembodied eyes and I even used to give these little tutorials to my friends on how to draw “perfect” eyelashes.

DK—Did you know that you were going to become an artist from an early age?

RS—I wouldn’t say that I knew before I was about 14, but I always just wanted to draw better.

DK—Your illustrations are full of vibrant colors, textures, lively personalities, and an incredible eye for detail. When you sit down to begin a drawing are all of these things already in your mind or does the drawing evolve as you begin from a central idea?

RS—A lot of the details are ready in my mind before I begin drawing, but I usually need to make a few sketches of the composition to see what works and what doesn’t. I can be relatively quick when there’s a deadline to meet, but it takes me forever these days to get any personal work done. I feel like I’ve got all the characters, stories, patterns, places and colors in separate queues, waiting their turn. Trying to choose the best combination can be frustrating at times, and I probably wouldn’t be able to finish anything if I didn’t make some compromises. My favorite part begins when the pencil sketch is finished and I can start coloring. Then it’s just a relaxing paint-by-numbers project.

Find the complete feature here.

STARS — WORDS BY COLTON D. EDDYPHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSE ENRIQUE...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:01:00 -0700

STARS

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WORDS BY COLTON D. EDDY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSE ENRIQUE MONTES HERNANDEZ
STYLING BY GINA BOURNE

With subtle thematic choices and narratives drawing from sounds of their eclectic bounty of formative noisemakers, Canadian indie-pop outfit Stars’ sound has developed into something that is not pastiche. The group has recently shifted toward a more playful feel with their seventh album The North, and have been warriors of the road ever since. For over 10 years, Stars have tickled that bone of familiarity with their well-mannered humor, musicianship, and cinematic production. And with an ongoing headline tour, an upcoming tour with Tegan and Sara, and their second Coachella appearance on the horizon, the notion of “slowing down” is not on the agenda. The Lab Magazine caught up with the band’s lead singer, Amy Millan, the morning after their thirteenth show in as many days. With her and bassist Evan Cranley’s two-year-old daughter waking beside her on the tour bus, she took time to reflect on the decade since the Arts & Crafts community formed and the impact that Stars’ soundtrack has set.

AMY MILLAN—Achoo!

THE LAB MAGAZINE—Well, good morning!

AM—Good morning! Sorry about that sneeze in your face.

TLM—That’s all right. Is that a trademark hello?

AM—I do tend to have sneezing attacks in the morning for some reason, but I don’t know if that’s print worthy.

TLM—How was the show last night?

AM—It was amazing actually. It was a rare occurrence where Evan [Cranley] crowd-surfed. There are not a lot of crowds of ours that get crowd-surfing going, but last night was one of those nights in Calgary.

TLM—Is that a special Calgary thing?

AM—It’s Calgary! It can be explosive and amazing. I mean, it just depends on the night and what’s happening. But it’s a rare thing for us for that to happen, but when it does, it just makes the night. It’s like breaking a string, it doesn’t happen often, but when it does it means things are exploding.

TLM—Has motherhood shifted that balance between off-stage and performance?

AM—Not to do with performance, no. There was a huge party on the bus last night. We, the family, take the back of the bus and we couldn’t hear it at all and missed the whole thing. I think the party part has maybe calmed down a little bit, but not the show aspect. The only reason we’re out here on the road sacrificing being at home is to be playing these shows. It’s one of the best parts of the day.

TLM—Have you noticed any change in your approach to songwriting?

AM—Not at all! It changes you in other ways. In terms of emotional change, anxiety shifts, the view of what’s important and what needs to get done because you have a mouth to feed. The creative process and the person that you are and always will be is the same, I think. For myself, anyway.

TLM—Speaking of anxiety, has there been a moment when you’re about to go on stage and the anxiety doesn’t come as it did before. Is there a fear that loss of anxiety might change the value of the work that you’re putting out?

AM—I don’t think anxiety helps creativity. I think it hinders it. So whatever anxiety I’ve been able to dissipate is only a good thing. It definitely isn’t gone all together. I fight a lot of anxiety and there’s a song on the record called Backlines about that exact thing.

TLM—How much do you feel a song is complete before it is performed? Or is a song ever complete?

AM—That’s an interesting question. It just changes like anything. It isn’t one thing at all times. Every night it should be a little bit different. One of my favorite singers of all time is Billie Holiday and she never sang a song the same way twice. In the folk tradition, they used to change lyrics when they covered other people’s songs. I like to do that with our own songs. I’ve been changing the lyrics to Midnight Cowardnow for the past three months, just to keep it alive and fresh. I think that what is more important is living in the moment.

TLM—When you hear one of your songs back, on the radio, does the song take on a different life?

AM—I think that when you hear your song on the radio, you’re so excited that you’re not in a judgmental frame of mind. So if I’ve ever heard it on the radio, in a restaurant or in a clothing store, it kind of makes my day ’cause I feel like I’m penetrating something. It’s rare that it happens. We’re not Rihanna or Coldplay; we’re not a mainstream band.

TLM—Still, Stars has albums that have been widely celebrated by many fans and critics alike – such as Set Yourself on Fire. What do you think that album had and have you tried to chase it?

AM—That’s so interesting, because I think in terms of the world of critics, that’s the one that penetrated. But on every album, we have these songs that live inside the heart of our fans. Fixed and DeadHearts from The Five Ghosts, My Favorite Book and Take Me to the Riot fromIn Our Bedroom After the War. These are songs that are massive parts of our show and that are huge hits in the lives of our audience. So we don’t look at it that way at all.

Find the rest of the interview and complete feature here.

THE LAB TV - KEMP AND EDEN

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:01:30 -0700

THE LAB TV - KEMP AND EDEN

SXSW WITH THE LAB WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY J JAMES JOINER — J...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:01:41 -0700

SXSW WITH THE LAB

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY J JAMES JOINER

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J James Joiner is a photographer specializing in music and lifestyle editorial.

What can be said about the late-winter musical Mecca that is South By Southwest you haven’t already heard a hundred times before? Sure, that’s a little clichéd, but it’s also apt, when you consider that according to the SXSW fact sheet, 3,200 members of the music media were in attendance. That’s a lot of stories, and doesn’t take into account that likely every other person there, musicians included, had some sort of online outlet they were posting to. The blogosphere is ubiquitous, to say the least.
Good thing I was there to take photos.

Find the complete story here.

KANDLE OSBORNE — With her doll-like semblance, former suburban...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:56:00 -0700

KANDLE OSBORNE

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With her doll-like semblance, former suburban competitive cheerleader Kandle Osborne embodies a dark astuteness through her metaphorical lyrics and haunting melodies. Hailing from a musical family (her father is Neil Osborne, lead singer of Canadian rock band, 5440), she came into her own last year with a critically acclaimed self-titled EP. Having been to Europe and back and performed at renowned festivals throughout the globe, this swamp-rock-songstress will be the one you’re glad to say you knew back in the day.

THE LAB MAGAZINE—Where are you right now?

KANDLE OSBORNE—I am back in Victoria [Canada], crammed in my parents basement rehearsing, and getting ready to head to Greenhouse Studios in a couple days. My guitar player Sam Goldberg just flew in and we’re spending full days working out the songs and taking breaks for home-cooked mom meals! My old man is producing the album, so things are going super smooth and it makes it really easy to speak your mind and get what you want from a producer when you’ve been getting what you want from him for 22 years!

TLM—You’re currently working on your first full-length album. What’s different about making this from the EP?

KO—The EP was done very unconventionally. I was in a bad place in life and had to move back in with my parents, and talked my dad into putting a couple hours a week into doing my first batch of solo songs, just to prove to myself that I could. It wasn’t until everything was practically done that I convinced Sammy to play some guitar on it. Now that we have become a band and have been touring with these new songs for the last year I feel really prepared and way more confident. Most of these songs have been written for over a year now so it’s incredibly satisfying that I will finally get to share them!

TLM—I find every songwriter writes a song they fall in love with – their own vain stroke of genius. What’s that for you and what does it mean?

KO—Hah! Love that question. I think my vain stroke of genius would have to be a song called Small. It’s a very strange, dark, and bluesy song driven by simple, honest, and sad lyrics about a deceitful relationship and how sticking around inevitably makes you feel very small. The song cruises along with a chain gang sound with no chorus, only a spooky instrumental breakdown. I’ve always been proud of making that weird little number work!

TLM—What’s your least favorite part of choosing to be a full-time musician as a career? Does anything feel inauthentic?

KO—So many least-fave parts! Where to begin?! Let’s start with being shockingly broke. It’s insanely frustrating when you are working really hard writing, performing, and promoting yourself and you can’t even afford to eat! Also I am constantly fearful of being judged or critiqued harshly, and find it very hard to just brush off negativity. Having said that, there is nothing I’d rather be doing!

TLM—You’re also a trained photographer. It seems a lot of musicians dabble in various artistic ventures outside of music – why do you think that is?

KO—I think that all forms of art are connected and anyone that is skilled in a specific art form is either drawn to or able to do more than one kind. Art evokes emotion and through emotion comes inspiration. When someone is inspired, any artistic venture is possible.

TLM—What is your favorite lyric and why?

KO—“To have ambition was my ambition,” from I Love A Man In Uniform by Gang of Four. Tis my favorite perhaps because it is all too relatable! It’s cheeky and true and, in my opinion, genius!

TLM—Give us your best tour story.

KO—Unfortunately, my best tour story is just plain gross. We were playing in Switzerland and I guess I was having a good time cause I got the spins and had to go back to the apartment. I got into bed and locked my bedroom door. About five minutes later I realized I was gonna be sick and when I ran to the door the whole knob came off and there was no way out! I circled around the room panicked until finding a ziplock bag. That bag and I spent quite a night together.

TLM—Whose career do you aspire to emulate and what legacy do you want to leave behind as an artist?

KO—I think all every musician ever wants is to be respected and consistent. If I had to choose one artist I think I would say PJ Harvey. She has gone through phases over a couple decades and experimented a lot, while producing absolutely stunning material.

TLM—When can we expect the next album?

KO—We are going to be releasing the first single in the summer and then the album in the fall!

More—

kandlemusic.com

THE LAB TV - FRITZ HAEG

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:31:00 -0700

THE LAB TV - FRITZ HAEG

THE LAB TV - THE LAST BOOKSTORE

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:30:47 -0700

THE LAB TV - THE LAST BOOKSTORE

HENRIK VIBSKOV DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS 2013 — PHOTOGRAPHY BY...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:01:13 -0800

HENRIK VIBSKOV DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS 2013

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SATY + PRATHA
STYLING BY MICHELLE CARIMPONG
GROOMING BY KERRIE JORDAN
MODEL: MAX VON ISSER AT FUSION MODELS

FIND THE COMPLETE EDITORIAL HERE.

BP LAVAL — INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA DARYA KOSILOVA—I want...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:14:00 -0800

BP LAVAL

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INTERVIEWED BY DARYA KOSILOVA

DARYA KOSILOVA—I want to start by addressing the fact that you have gone through a transformation as an artist from your previous body of work as I used to know it. Maybe you can start by telling me about how that happened?

BP LAVAL—It’s a reinvention really, right? For me the process has been that I’ve actually found myself in a situation where I took some time away from the art industry to reevaluate what I was doing. The previous works that I did were these kind of big minimalist landscapes that still follow me because I still have them out there and whatnot. I was in the bush for 12 years living in a cabin on the beach, dreaming into the horizon. I lived that for a long time and to paint those things was me processing what I was living like at the time. That meditative, dreamy aspect of being in the landscape and seeing through the mist of the ocean into the distance was very appealing to me. And the paintings were commercially very successful and at one point I just got to a point where I said, “If I draw another fucking horizon line I’m going to blow my brains out.” It became a job for me. It was making money and I was away from that environment and it just felt like I didn’t choose to be an artist to make money, I chose to be an artist to be able to explore life with an artist’s eyes. I was in a situation where I just stepped back a little and thought, “Well, what is really interesting to me? What’s around me?”
The process is a big thing for me. As a painter you are in your studio alone working alone for chunks of time. Like, for me, watching paint dry is a good time! I think it’s fun. I love the process of just finding an image in the canvas and bringing it out and making it into something. My question was “What am I responding to in the world?” and the world has changed a lot since I was doing those landscapes. We are bombarded with images all the time. We have images everywhere we go online and on our smart devices. So much of the imagery we’re experiencing right now is really violent, in the sense that the media brings the worst-case scenario stories into our living room every single fucking day. So you wake up in the morning, you go online, and you check up on the news and it’s the worst possible stories around the globe that you hear. All of those stories are in our psyche now, nonstop. I wanted to find a way of being able to respond to everything I’m surrounded by. And I wanted to find a way that I could do that quickly and capture an essence of what I’m feeling, what in fact we’re all feeling as we’re wired in today’s time.

DK—Looking at your new body of work there are certain voyeuristic qualities to it. Where the paintings are part textural and abstracted, where it’s not a direct clear image, but within the mark making you can definitely make out a thrash of sexuality and violence which I think kind of speaks, not just sexually, but as a whole to what you just said regarding being constantly bombarded with images. Why have you chosen to work with this theme of flesh, rawness, group sexuality? I have noticed a lot of your subjects are amidst an altar-like, sacrificial setting, or some kind of dark night-time park.

BL—Absolutely! That idea of contained space is interesting to me. For me it’s very theatrical; it’s almost a stage in a sense. There’s a painting where I have a woman sitting on this stage and there’s a guy standing beside her, looking at her, and it’s in a sports arena, in fact, a hockey arena, and in that painting there’s those cameras that we always see in the corners. The idea of privacy for example now is so blurred because we are constantly being filmed, constantly being watched. The voyeuristic aspect is really interesting to me because the distinction between you as a human being and you as being viewed in society is a very blurred thing. We’re constantly being viewed.
That sense of being viewed and that sense of being public and no longer private is really an interesting thing for me. The whole idea of where is the public, where is the private, has really blurred. For me the sexuality is just because it’s a part of my life; it’s a part of everybody’s life. The intensity of sexuality is a huge motivator and fabulous thing in the world. It turns into lots of negative aspects, but the underlying aspect of it is procreation and we’re genetically wired to procreate. The power of sexuality is strong in all of us and it’s fascinating, for example, take Hollywood and I think it was Jack Nicholson who said this: “You can slash a tit, and its PG, but show a tit and it’s R-rated.” We’re OK with extreme violence but we’re not OK with ourselves as being sexual. It’s definitely an aspect of the work.

Find the interview in its entirety here.

SOPHIE PARKER EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE LAB MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATOR...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:00:54 -0800

SOPHIE PARKER

EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE LAB MAGAZINE

ILLUSTRATOR SOPHIE PARKER CAPTURES AN ARRAY OF MOODS, MOVEMENT, AND MUSES FROM THE FALL 2013 COLLECTIONS ON DISPLAY AT LONDON FASHION WEEK, EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE LAB MAGAZINE. TO SEE MORE OF SOPHIE’S SUBLIME TOUCH VISIT WWW.SOPHIE-PARKER.COM.