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.

Yesterday I saw...

A very ginger Florence aka Florence and the Machine, boy she's got quite a set of lungs on her, we could hear her down the other side of the office no problem... and a very blue Norman Cook, aka 'fatboy slim', he's just been painted up to look like a smurf for a shoot with Rankin. I'm going to miss it when they leave us and head to a new studio in Kentish Town. I going to miss Dazed too, which reminds me, need to get cracking on looking for a job...

Diesel Does Furniture

Diesel have launched two exciting ranges for the home offering artistic lighting and modern thinking furniture. The debut collections are packed full of humorous design details in particular bed pillow cushions, which nestle neatly over sofa arms in anticipation of that inopportune overnight guest.

Lighting comes from Wilbert Das of Foscarini and takes on many different design inspirations. Highlights include Cage which plays with the light both internally and externally and draws on wire structured lanterns of days passed. Read the rest of the article here.

Makin Jan Ma - New collection.

I spent three months working with designer Makin Jan Ma last summer in this time I was lucky enough to produce a LFW show, two sample sales and exhibit in Paris, it was great to work alongside such a motivated individual who lives for his work. I interviewed him for this week's Dazed Digital...

Professed accidental designer Makin Jan Ma is following the path to his dreams of making movies, by designing clothes for the actors of his films. His new collection ‘Give Me Some Deep Water’ contains heavy graphic elements using baby pastel prints, which change colour dependant on the light. Mutated ‘double-t-shirts-in-one’ conjoined in a way that would enable them to be worn by Siamese twins, and oversize coats with excess hood folding, all add to the conceptual wear-ability of his everyday garments.... you can catch the rest of his interview here on Dazed Digital.

From New Zealand to Italy

It has been over two weeks since I interviewed The Veils for Dazed Digital and yet it still haunts me. Much to the annoyance of my housemates I content myself by playing 'Sit Down by the Fire' from their recently released album 'Sun Gangs' on repeat. Yet, I'm drawn back (again on repeat play) to Finn Andrews (second album/title track) Nux Vomica, which crept unsuspectingly into my ears as I ate popcorn in the Rio Cinema.

The source for reprisal is an Italian film entitled Il Divo: the Spectacular Life of Giulio Andreotti, based on the former Italian Prime Minister (portrayed by Toni Servillo) who maintained office for 30 years despite numerous court cases for corruption, murder and links with the mafia. What sets this film aside for me was the super slick cinematography, which drew you along eyes sparkling. The film is off set with dry humour and a killer soundtrack - the tracks for the killing scenes are the best - to rival Tarantino's jukebox selection. Paolo Sorrentio has taken a potentially languid bio and created an intense fascination for Giulio's impish hunchback. I wait in anticipation for Sorrentio's next offering and the musical gratification it may encompass.