I recently got my hands on a copy of the New Teen Dream album by the Baltimore-based duo Beach House. This is the third album by Beach House and it's packed full of dreamy sounding rhymes and vocals. Scally and Legrand have created a well arranged and constructed sound of droning melodies and waverly vocals to carry you through each song. This album is full of sounds that can be seen as dreamy like the use of vintage organs and the arpeggiating piano.
This album was produced by Chris Coady, who has worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Blonde Redhead, and was recorded in a converted church in upstate New York — appropriately named Dreamland. So I have a feeling that maybe the name Dream in the album title had some influences from the sound of the album and the location of where it was recorded. Either way this is a must have album.
If you like the album or want to check them out. Then if you live in Florida your in luck. They will be playing two shows in Florida with Vampire Weekend. One in Orlando on Oct 11th at the Hard Rock Cafe and then Oct 12th at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg.
Debbie Carlos who is a photographer from Chicago has an interesting collections of animals. In this collection which she calls "Human Nature". She took pictures of animals that were on display at Chicago's Field Museum. She wanted to capture the natural environment where the animals, long dead, are themselves placed and positioned in scenes that recreate their habitat. These images she captured of the life-like death of the creatures has a murky quality of lighting and has dark desaturated tones that gives these images a very dark vintage feel. I like her point of view on the reasoning why she took these photo's. She states that the images convey a sensuality and romanticism at odds with the sense of stagnant death that lingers in the cracked skin of 100-year-old taxidermied animals and birds strung up as though in flight with fishing line. Inside the museum, nature is labeled, classified, and static, turned into an object of knowledge. These photos attempt to capture the mystery and romance of this very pursuit—the sincerity of the scientific endeavor, the pathos of its visible failure, and the beauty of the attempt to engage with nature. If you have time check out her site and also her blog.
We as a society sometimes forget that on a daily basis we are being watched. Whether were walking around the city or sitting in our cars at a red light. We are being watched. So Thomas voor 't Hekke and Bas van Oerle started the project called "panoptICONS" which addresses the fact that you are constantly being watched by surveillance cameras in the city. Their are so many cameras that most times we never think anything about it. We become unaware and that is where this projects concept came into play. To represent this, camera birds - city birds with cameras instead of heads were placed throughout the city to make us aware of their presence. In addition, a camera bird in captivity was displayed to show the feeding process and to make the everyday breach of our privacy more personal and tangible.
panoptICONS is a project by Thomas voor 't Hekke and Bas van Oerle who work together by the name of 'Helden'. Music: Amon Tobin - Easy Muffin
Marek Rytych Architekt is the one who designed the “Open Air Sculpture” house in the suburbs of Warsaw, Poland. This home is full of different elements that pull all together to make a unique modern home yet with a loft living kind of feel. The designers from looking at their site are specialized in industrial design and you can tell from the materials and textures used throughout the home.
The exterior of the home is an eye catcher for sure with its geometrical shapes apparently abundant on this home. The use of different elevations on the porches and stepping stones gives the home more depth and character. The interior of the home is open with only miniumal separations from other rooms in the home. It's structured on the inside to feel like your in an industrial type loft with a modern look. There are so many pictures of this amazing house so if you want to see more pictures check out Marek Rytych Architekt site.
Alex Varanese, who is from the San Francisco area caught my attention with his stylish design and typography use. Plus, I'm sucker for vintage urban cultural design. Alex also has a knack for designing custom typography which you can actually see in most of his works. I'd have to say, I'm impressed with the color palette choices and each one of his designs pops out with their own unique style. It's also quite amusing to read some of his thoughts on his designs. So below are some of his works and if you're interested he also has some iphone wallpapers that you can download for FREE to give your iphone style. If you want to keep up with his work then follow him on twitter.
In the world of art and design a big demand and merge of sustainable design has come into play. Many artists are now being cautious on materials they use for environmental purposes. One of these eco-conscious artists is Kiel Johnson who is a famous American-based painter and sculptor. In one of his collections he uses cardboard to create a range of camera that includes SLRs, Polaroid cameras, point and shoot cameras, twin lens cameras and the retro 8mm camera. After viewing these piece of art I can see why Kiel has been recognized on a lot of his works which have been showcased in public and private collections. I can only image the detail and time it took for him to just create one of these cameras and the fact that he is being eco-conscious gives him two thumbs up. If you want to check out more photo's of the cameras check out his site.
Sometimes all it takes is one song to capture your ear and your hooked. That one song that did it for me was "Green" by Brendan James. Brendan James is a singer/songwriter with a stripped-down sound to showcase his emotionally resonant voice and expressive piano playing. Not only will his piano ballads capture your attention but his lyrical insights well put you in a thought of emotional ponder.
James who released his first acclaimed album The Day Is Brave in 2008 is about to release a NEW self title album on September 7th. Unlike his first album which is full of unforgettable melodies with a elegant and earthy tone. The new album will be a little different than the first. James wanted to change things up and play around with different styles on the new album. He added a lot of musical textures like strings, synths and drum loops to a couple of the tracks but don't you worry though his vocals and piano which are his staples will take the for front.
If you want to check out Brendan perform live then you have a chance. He will be giving fans the opportunity to win tickets to his shows from September 7th through October 1st. Log into Twitter at BrendanJamesLive.PromoJam.com to see the dates and tweet for a chance to win tickets. Winners will be chosen on September 6th.
You can also pre-order the new album on iTunes, and look for the record in stores on September 7th. Visit BrendanJames.com for all the latest information.
William O'Briend Jr. designed what he calls the Allandale House. It a unique triangular cabin that was constructed for an idiosyncratic connoisseur. This is a modern version of a forest cabin based on an extruded A-frame. The design use of the A-frame is well used in this home. The large window in the front provides a beautiful view while still providing some excellent natural light to the interior of the cabin. This home does have a second floor and it was made possible due to the wider A-frame in the back. The house links three horizontal extrusions of “leaning,” or asymmetrical A-frames. The skinny A-frame on the western side contains the library, wine cellar and garage. The wide A-frame in the center of the house is dedicated to two floors of bedrooms and bathrooms. This is quite a cabin to say the least. It was well designed to meet the modern age but also it used geometrical angles to give it a more unique look.
TELEPHONEME is a new film from MK12: it's a hybrid live-action/animated piece about language working as a double agent, carrying a hidden meaning with it for reasons unknown. They got the idea after discovering an educational film from the 60's, titled The Alphabet Conspiracy. In the production notes they took the original soundtrack from the 60's movie and remixed it into a slightly darker version of itself, which they stated it became the foundation for the new film TELEPHONEME. This short film uses cues from The Alphabet Conspiracy as well as other educational films from back in the day. It has some awkward editing and absurd premises that fit the genre of the past. The color palette choice in this film was simple and deliberate, and they also used a technique to split out different colors like red, green, and blue to superimpose these colors throughout the film, but they also moved independently of one another, creating different transitional and graphic effects.
Side Note: If you like the font that they used in the film. Then check out the website where you can download MK12_Chadwick font for free.
I recently got my hands on a copy of the New Teen Dream album by the Baltimore-based duo Beach House. This is the third album by Beach House and it's packed full of dreamy sounding rhymes and vocals. Scally and Legrand have created a well arranged and constructed sound of droning melodies and waverly vocals to carry you through each song. This album is full of sounds that can be seen as dreamy like the use of vintage organs and the arpeggiating piano.
