A Sunday Lost...

This Sunday I stumbled upon a medium sized gem of a pub, after taking the scenic route post breakfast at Dalston Lane Cafe (seems to have escaped the attention of the masses - i.e. good food, no queuing for a table). Pembury Tavern is has been open since 2006, so not exactly quick off the mark by any counts, what I liked especially was the 8% cider (Millwhites Dabinett's) after four pints I was loving life... so much so I managed to make it home and pass out, waking six hours later to the dark of the night and the slightly depressing Glastonbury highlights courtesy of the BBC. Internally the pub is quite spacious, high ceilings, with an assortment of seating and decorated with a beer mat boarder which proudly ran around the whole pub. The food menu covered the usual far, however with extra consideration given to the vegetarians (and vegans) with dishes including the Haloumi Jalfrezi (interesting, may work) and other such delights. At £2.80 a pint I shall be returning...

Back from the East

It is with a heavy heart and weary head I boarded the plane at Krakow for my journey back to London, within three hours I had touched down on UK soil. Greeted me was the rush hour sea of heads ploughing straight for the platform I had just left at Victoria Station. After running out of GBP (still have pockets full of various European currency Lats, Litas, Zolts...) I had to 'jump' the tube/overground back to Dalston. Felt a naughty freedom as I sneeked through the barrier at Dalston Junction, out onto the hot streets and to my doorstep. My return was softened by the trip to Tayyabs, although dissappointingly the service had subsided somewhat as the phrase 'victim of their own success' was banded round the table. We ate our Karachi curries (fish for me) in haste and left as the waiter was cleaning up and resetting before we'd even finished paying. It wasn't so great to be home, the holiday blues were kicking in fast.

Don't Wait Animate...

The band from London who wouldn't look out of place in a Benetton advert Don't Wait Animate meet up with us at The Haggerston to discuss why exactly they have decided to merge two genres of music together. They talk candidly to Dazed about their love for computer game soundtracks, their unhealthy obsession with Streets of Rage 2 and why to show appreciation for their music you should dance or punch someone in the face... don't worry they aren't violent, just enthusiastic, well meaning folk, whatever you do though, don't save over their computer game positions...

Dazed Digital: You describe your sound as 'Strumstep', what exactly does that mean and where did the phrase come from?
Don’t Wait Animate: One of our fans came up to us quite inebriated one night after our set and screamed at us "strumstep" stupefied, we accepted the term. It is a response to the sound and atmosphere we create using a live band we merge dubstep with indie, borrowing the beats, the breaks and wobble bass from dubstep. However much we are influenced by dubstep we still retain indie sensibilities, an indie heart if you like, most of the recorded tracks retain that kind of vibe.

DD: What problems do you face in terms of not quite belonging to either musical genres, is their love from both sides?
Don’t Wait Animate: The main problem is getting booked! Promoters don't know where to put us because our live set is so different to our recorded songs. We have been placed alongside many different musicians, with a varying degree of success, regardless of response we are able to feed off the crowd - if they hate us we want to play to them more! Our live performances are appreciated by both our indie contingency, and our dubstep connoisseurs, which are particularly into the tracks we haven't laid down - they tend to work better live.

DD: Do you feel there has been an influx in groups who take reference from a hybrid of sounds to create their own musical genre?
Don’t Wait Animate: It's happening more and more, peoples tastes are so diverse now. The question; 'what sort of music are you into'? Is a taboo nowadays and is punishable by public thrashing. It's a postmodernist world, form and genre are dying a slow death.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Liam's Pretty Green

Spring, 1994 as I sat in an empty park playing truant from school, listening to Oasis on repeat on my walkman, little did I know I would one day get the opportunity to own my very own piece of Liam Gallagher clothing. The new range, Pretty Green, designed by Liam features, tees, jumpers and parkas, is inspired by the film Quadrophenia and the 'mod' movement in particular.

The range went on sale to registered members this morning and due to the overload of people trying to access the site it crashed, reportedly in excess of 100,000 customers. Dazed have an exclusive first access to the video for the range, which also debuts Liam's solo track Mystery Man. You can also access a different edit on YouTube here.

Below are some of our favourite Liam quotes from both videos. To coin Mr Gallagher himself... enjoy it you fuckers! Follow this link for rest of the Dazed Digital article.

Acrylics RISE for Dazed Digital

If you cut certain sections of the Acrylics music and looped them together, you would be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a relaxation type given to you by some well-meaning relative. The band certainly does nothing to discourage their slightly skewed interpretation of ‘cool’. Contemplative slow-burning candy garage and seductive vocals provide a reflective airy 80s filmic feel. Further complimented by graphics delivered with an irony that only New Yorkers seem to perfect. You can read the rest of the interview here.

A new vocation... ?

Before Tracy Emin came along with her unmade bed, their was Cynthia Plaster Caster who found fame in the 60s by casting the dicks of famous rock stars. She would get her friend 'Diane' to suck them off before taking the mould using dental plaster so that their glories were available for eternal appreciation. She casted Jimi Hendrix, Bob Henrit of the Kinks, Ricky Fataar of The Beach Boys and David Yow of the Jesus Lizzard to name but a few. In 2000 she moved over to breasts and has cast Karen O and Peaches... Perhaps my new job should involve casting breasts, I think it would be great fun, rock stars dicks aren't too appealing though... think of all the germs they harbour.