The youthful bounce that characterizes his walking gait off and on the screen, masks an everlastingly tormented soul....He has been known to try on a suit as many as 50 times before making up his mind to accept it, and mornings he will tie and untie a dozen of his 150-odd cravats before settling on one for the day. He has killed dozens of publicity stills because of some near-invisible wrinkle in trousers or coat. He wears his toupee however only before the camera. L. Barnett / 1941
Monique K went to Bread & Butter. She bought this back from Berlin.
It was much heavier than she'd anticipated. I figured I'd relieve her of the burden for a minute when we met the other afternoon.
This is f'sure the sort of mag that'll rekindle (pun intended) your faith in print.
A brilliantly considered publication where each page & each spread not only holds its own as a piece of design but has the substance to match.
The theme of this issue is Youth.
In the hands of almost any other magazine the you'd be right to expect loads of Terry Richardson-eque party pics and current versions of heroin chic...
But in the hands of the Acne Paper crew, the subject of youth is treated to a rich variation of photographic styles and inspiring text.
Altho' I recommend you experience this publication in paper-form (pun almost unavoidable), you can view the whole magazine online @ acnepaper.com.
Altho it was recorded late 1990, I remember it as a long hot summer, seeing Marco and Femi sitting at the mixing consul in Paul Weller's Solid Bond Studios.
I remember not hearing anything at all 'til it came out.
It was probably against station regulations to play anything that long, but the week of it's release Patrick Forge played the Freedom Suite one evening on Kiss FM. The whole thing; uninterrupted.
It was hard to imagine that these two kids, guys I'd go clubbing with, hang out with, do parties with, discuss clothes with had created something so stunningly beautiful. But there it was.
And here it is.
Still sounds radical, still sounds uncompromising, still sounds as inspiring as it did when it was released twenty years ago this year.
It was A&Red by Gilles Petereson, Norman Jay and Paul Martin. Images by Chris Clunn. Sleeve design by Swifty. Guest appearances from MC Mell'O, IG Culture, Masta Ace and Outlaw Posse. Keys - Mick Talbot. Co production, Demus, Steve White and Maxton G Beesley Jnr drums, brass from Maceo, Fred and Pee Wee.
Talk about A-team.
Rumour has it the US label bosses didn't understand it. Thought it wasn't finished. Maybe they couldn't get their heads around the reduced production style; maybe they didn't like the social consciousness of the lyrics; maybe they didn't understand the racial make-up of the band (was it R&B, Hip Hop or Pop?). No one could question Carleen Anderson's' amazing vocals, surely?
Whatever the reason, only sussed underground heads and some college radio stations got switched on to the LP in the States. People like Maxwell, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Mary J and The Fugees would later build on the foundations laid by the Young Disciples and change the shape of R&B, Hip Hop and Pop for ever.
Like Marvin's What's Going On, Stevie's Songs In The Key of Life and Otis Blue, it's one of those LP's no collection is complete without.
Femi Williams and Marco Nelson are still two of the coolest, creatively influential people I know.
You can imagine the enormous queue and furore surrounding Odd Future's amazing one day pop up store at The Hideout today.
No such thing during their surprise detour down Brick Lane earlier this week, however.
The guys at BAPE UK have been Odd Future fans from time....
...so it's probably safe to say that at some point their impromptu visit to the Pirate Pop-Up Store must have resembled the inauguration of a mutual appreciation society.
There they are apres retail fest, already sporting some of their fresh BAPE purchases.
Looking at all those bags loaded with BBC, Ice Cream and of course BAPE product, their historic visit seems more reminiscent of a raid than a quite shopping spree.
Then again, why else would you go to a Pirate Store if not for an all out rampage?
Menswear fashion week, Capsule, Paris. There's my man from the Monitaly crew. Each season these guys turn up in Paris or Vegas or some such place and quietly but unquestionably show the majority of other brands how it should be done.
Thing is, they love Americana: it's obvious. But they're not tied to it like so many other heritage-inspired companies. Theirs is a non-exclusive love affair with Americana. They flirt with other looks, get involved with other styles - shamelessly, fearlessly, brilliantly.
This is one of their recent dangerous liaison; traditional African wax fabric mixed with soft shouldered suiting and bow tie. Two styles combined to create something radical and new; that's the Monitaly tradition, right there.
Fred Astaire, Never Knowingly Underdressed
