Saturday at the BBC
October 16, 2011
Yesterday Jess from Roamkix and I headed down to the Balham Bowls Club (sorry, not the television network!) for The Vintage Event. Since their first event in August, they’ve commandeered the upstairs of the pub too so we were sure to take a good nose around.
The day was a little quieter than usual, though we still had a great time. Between nattering to our neighbours and trying our hardest to resist the temptation of both delicious homemade cakes and truly beautiful dresses, we sold a few pieces to some very happy customers.
Here’s a little glimpse into the day, with a snapshot of the absolutely gorgeous polka dot dress I bought from Pippa and Me – I simply fell in love with it.
Jess and I are planning a few more sales (need to make up for the splurge!) so be sure to stay tuned right here where you’ll be first to know the details.
Today’s pick from Roamkix
October 12, 2011
Daisy Print Floral Vintage Dress
…available to buy this Saturday at the Vintage Event, Balham (or if you can’t wait, here!)
Summer must be almost in full bloom as the next instalment of Cavo Paradiso’s compilations has landed on my desk. Each year, the Mykonos-based club have a knack for releasing their disc ahead of the silly season, a wise move, though not as wise as choosing a hot property star to mix it. This year it’s Circo Loco resident Davide Squillace that’s in the mix on Cavo Paradiso 11, ‘Reconstructions’.
So what’s Squillace got up his sleeve then? It all kicks off with Bruno Pronsato’s ‘Anybody But You’ and its chiming notes and gradual built. It’s a slow start, but one that’s worth the wait. A chugging, steady beat continues through the next three tunes (Steven Cock’s ‘Sweet Beat Drop’ – with indeed, a pretty nice boom to it – Miguel Toro and Argenis Brito’s ‘Sweet Spot’, and Pawel’s ‘Panamerican’ remixed by Onsulade). Interrupting the build, it’s Seuil & Dop’s ‘Prostitute’ and Dead Seal’s ‘Kookoo Mind’ that take the mix off the boil for me. While Squillace’s selection of Kookoo Mind gives great example of why he was quickly recruited as a Circo Loco resident, I’ve never been a huge fan of vocals and these two tracks just miss the mark for me. However, the silver lining is that Squillace’s mixing continues to be a tight as it comes.
In contradiction to my dislike of vocals, Catz ‘N’ Dogs’ ‘Relaxation Is A Skill’ (featured towards the end of the mix) is the exception. It’s catchy, it’s cool, it’s the perfect vocal-laced track to slot in. “Inhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three – exhale.” The lyrics are near addictive. It’s between this track the final selection of Isolée’s Taktell that seals Reconstructions as on the money. Isolée (aka Rajko Müller) is a master of micro house and Taktell is warm, industrial, off-tune and just the right amount of unnerving and uplifting all at the same time. The result? The perfect ending to yet another great output from Cavo Paradiso. Roll on summer!
Anybody But You – Bruno Ponsato
Sweet Spot – Miguel Toro & Argenis Brito
Panamerican – Pawell (Yoruba Soul remix by Onsulade)
Prostitute – Seuil & Dop (Visionquest remix)
Kookoo Mind – Dead Seal (Dead Seal Stripped Down mix)
Caporale – Santos
Relaxation is a Skill – Catz ‘N’ Dogs
Who Made Up The Rules – Agaric
Zoo Look – Holdin’ On
May 6, 2011
Alexander Warren, Samson King and Craig Watkins are the trio of talented boys behind UK-based ‘Zoo Look’. A friend over at Defected Records was kind enough to send me their most recent EP this morning, released on Tenth Circle.
It’s a cool little track with a clap of the hands-style bassline and you can’t help but appreciate its warming build. All in all, a good little summer warm-up tune. Perfect timing seeing as it’s FRIDAY and the sunshine is set to return—enjoy.
The Papered Parlour presents: It’s Your Write!
April 8, 2011
I went to the writing event last night which turned out to be a silly amount of fun. It actually wasn’t a writing event at all; more a creative gathering of minds, so-to-speak. It was called ‘It’s Your Write!’ and run by The Papered Parlour. Alongside live screen-printing (supply your own slogan, they’ll do the printing) lots of hand-crafted goodies were for sale including some amazing cushions embroidered by skill-learning in-mates. I have my eye on one inscribed with ‘I started off with nothin’ and I still got most of it left’, though at £65, it will have to wait for now.
The highlight of the night came in the form of the ‘Help! You’re creating a monster!’ workshop that I knew I wanted to attend before arriving. With no idea what to expect, I grabbed my friend and roped her into it too who proclaimed “I’m not joining in, I’m just going to listen!” We both ended up creating a ‘Monster’ in conjunction with about 15 other people using similes and metaphors. Our own creature was illustrated on the spot, exactly to our descriptions. Once our monster had all his legs, arms and a wiggly tail, we had to ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ to describe his / her personality and take a vote on his name. The winning name? ‘Grunk’. See pictures…
The workshop was run by a collective named Ministry Of Stories, a team made up of volunteers who help 8-18 year olds in London better their writing skills through creative writing and collaborative thinking. Based on my experience, I’ve already signed up to volunteer (hopefully once monthly on Saturdays). Such an inspiring mission I can’t help but think I wish I’d thought of myself – such an amazing way to kick-start creativity!
Vijai’s first style stalker
April 8, 2011
What’s Vijai wearing today?
April 7, 2011
What’s Vijai wearing today?
April 6, 2011
Meet Vijai. He’s the Eco Office’s planner who’s just as flamboyant as his clothes are.
From now on, we’ll share his outfit with you daily…stay tuned!
A lesson on the classics
December 7, 2010
On a dark Sunday night in the deepest depths of suburban London, something completely untowards occurred—Soldiersailor, for a good couple of hours, swapped techno for classical music. You heard it here first!
I’m a little red-faced to say that it was the This Is England television series that brought the phenomenal Nightbook, by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, to my attention. Incidentally, it’s also been given another whirl on the more recent drama series Any Human Heart.
Upon delving a little further into the world of the classics, I discovered a whole host of piano-based tracks that I instantly loved. I’ve always been such a big fan of the ivory keys, from playing as a child, to being naturally drawn towards house music featuring the beautifully haunting notes and now it seems, at the very least, I may have just discovered a whole new way to spend Sundays…
Plug in and go: how to write like a hippy on speed
September 5, 2010
It’s been rather crazy in both the Eco Office and at home of late so to make sure everything gets done by its deadline, I’ve been using my usual trick of plugging myself into my earphones and typing like a hippy on speed.
Along the way I’ve made a few discoveries that are simply too good not to share. So here the are…enjoy.
Burial and Four Tet – Moth.
Radio Slave – I Don’t Need a Cure for This.
Technicolour & Komatic – Skyline Boulevard (Technique Dub).
Bassfort – Dixtrit (Jimpster Remix).
