These things come in two's

For those of you in Bristol at a loose end, well you better head down to Photographique Baldwin Street, quickly, the People and Places exhibition closes today. It features the work of two Bristol boys, Kai Murphy and Luke Vagnolini, one half centers on the streets of Bristol, cleverly shot with thoughtful composition and the other on a trip to India. Do not fear though the Indian shots are not your usual run of the mill hypercolour fodder, the films used are often expired and have been donated, found lying around junk shops.






For the London based people:

I was also blown away by the 'happy accidents' images posted from Matt Stuart's show at KK Outlet, Hoxton Square, London, the exhibition runs until the 26th February - i'll be sure to check them out when I'm down next. I love the swan skip, fantastic!

Take me to the Chapel

Lewis has formed a band, it's pretty good, the first single they released covered/robbed the lyrics from Dream a Little Dream (a beautiful song from the 30's) which shouldn't be tinkered with, but hey, he's my mate and he did an alright job. The second single is out now, Oh Maybe I, it's much more interesting, projecting internal confusion over the messiness of love. I wrote an article on the band for Dazed Digital, you can check it here.

The new track is available to buy as a limited edition, with individual Polaroids taken by the band along the tour, each with its own number and title. Tour dates can be found here.

The single available to buy from the 22nd February.

Crack Party

Bristol isn't the centre of the universe as far a media is concerned, yet it still capable of withstanding one or two good publications. One of those is a self-starter, created about oooh six months ago, by Thomas Frost and Jake Applebee ambiguously entitled Crack. The magazine covers all manner of subjects with a focus on art and music, each issue features illustrations, live reviews, interviews aiming to unearth Bristol's rather plentiful talents*. * Disclaimer - it does feature artists outside of Bristol too, but only if they are really good.

You can download a copy of issue four by clicking on this link.



Saturday was issue IV party time, with a celebration hosted by the Crack duo and one of their Ma's, we headed up the hill with bicycle to the Square Club in Clifton, notably one of the few private members clubs in Bristol (nice choice of venue boys). Inside we were greeted with a rather attractive and excitable crowd, primed for fun. The venue was intimate indeed, erring on the overfull, yet maintaining its composure. Jonquil were the headliners for the night, an impressive five piece from Oxford with a relaxed and rather poetic delivery; complimented by an excellent sound, big up to the tech guy!


Afterwards we headed to the Skins party for Toddla T, yah, dancehall, yah, bashment, and unsuprisingly he'd gone a little dubstep for the evening - you never know what tune-age you're gonna get from that dude. Highly entertaining nonetheless, we jiggled around like idiots, fitting in rather well with the under 21's. FUN. It was my first and noteably my last Skins party attendance, still its always good to see what the fuss is about. Sick and screaming probably?

Children take the lead

The two films I watched yesterday were both told through the eyes of children. First was Treeless Mountain a Korean film which charts the demise of two little girl's (Bin and Yin) worlds as there mother abandons them with there alcoholic aunt as sh goes in search of the girls father. Eventually they wind up on a farm with there grandparents slightly damaged by there experiences, yet with some naivety intact. The film is very subtle in its exploration, visually rich shots of broken cities, countryside and tight angles of expression. Director So Yong Kim talks about the film.



Treeless Mountain is inspired by events from my early childhood in Pusan, Korea. My mother divorced our father and left us with our grandparents on a rice farm. She immigrated to America in order to find a better life for herself and to build a future for her children. At the time of these events we were too young to understand and our mother did not tell us what was happening. I began writing the film to search for certain lost memories from this period of my life and also as a letter to my mother.

(A young So Youg Kim with sister).

The second revelation came from The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, a refreshing take on a rather overplayed subject matter, which as always created a attention due to the accuracies or rather inaccuracies of story. Fortunately I was in the dark as to how the plot panned out, don't read the synopsis before watching it really will spoil your enjoyment, although enjoyment seems an inappropriate word, I shall stop there.

It has thriller qualities and presents the innocent view of an 8 year old boy called Bruno played by Asa Butterfield who is also the son of a Nazi General. He encounters another boy called Shmuel played by Jack Scanlon. The film is taken from a book written by Irish author John Boyne, the film is written and directed by Mark Herman, having never read the book I am unable to comment of the translation, reading an interview with David Thewlis (of Harry Potter fame) who plays Bruno's warped father the film is told from a slightly older perspective (third voice) and centers around the family dynamic.

Film Overload

OK so i've gone a little overboard lately with all the film watching, what can I say I've got the film bug.

Recommended viewing this week (well one I haven't mentioned yet - A Prophet) A prison drama centered around a 19 year old illiterate male of French Arabic decent, sent to a 'proper' jail to serve six years. Fate bullies him into a situation he cannot escaped, forced to do the dirty work for others he is alienated from any internal social support from his fellow peers and has to work for the Corsicans. The story charts his wit and determination to improve his situation, cleverly woven together, the strong plot leaves you in awe at the mastery at play. It's in French and well worth a gander.

Y.W.A. - Yoghurt Weavers Anonymous

From now on everything I do that is remotely hippy dippy will be logged under YWA - Yoghurt Weavers Anonymous, Sunday was such a day for me. Not content with filling my morning dashing to Cheddar car booty, to gather well, booty, for the house mainly, save a pea coat for any handsome man that may suddenly appear in my life. After said jaunt we headed over to boiling wells for the Wassail, which is 5 minutes from my house, yet felt like it could have been 50.

Encased by woods with an expanse of hills either side you were surrounded, no sign of modern life, just wood buildings and a roaring fire. We watched dancers, singers, storytellers and drank mulled cider by the fire. We were there to toast good health to the apple trees that were to bore the fruit for the cider making to come. We toasted bread on the fire and hung it on the tree. I wandered around chatting to adults and children, playing on the wooden xylophone and using the compost toilet. There was a relaxed sense of contentment. What a wonderful way to while away a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately I didn't get there early enough to see Kid Carpet perform live.