ODD CHILD
Brussels, 07/04/12
Dear troopers,
Happy to come up with a brand new Polaroid story for you all to enjoy on this sunday evening.
If you’re not familiar with this young individual, nicely Polarized here above, let me be so kind to introduce you to him.
Meet Timothy Mckenzie, better known under his stage name as LABRINTH.
At the age of only 23, this young bloke from Hackney, London is currently turning major heads in the music industry, news papers labeling him “the new Timbaland”, and international artists are supposedly queueing in line to work with this multi-instrumentalist.
But let’s start with the very beginning.
Labrinth comes from a very musical family, his brother plays drums for Tinie Tempah and his sister is a vocalist for British artists like Terri Walker and Wretch 32. However, Labrinth’s first contact with music was through Gospel which was a standard in the Mckenzie household. It was his brother, also a producer, who introduced him to the magical place that is the studio and Labrinth, who was 15 at the time started to work on music.
By the time he was 19, he managed to co-write and produce a full on hit for British rapper Tinie Tempah called ‘PASS OUT‘ and as any decent producer does these days, starred in his first video feature amongst one of the UK’s biggest stars.
Exhibit:
The ‘Pass Out’ track was rewarded with a British music award for ‘Best British Single’ at the 2011 BRIT Awards and went platinum, selling more that 600.000 copies.
Not bad ‘innit’?
That was only the beginning for Labrinth, who released his own solo debut a few months later, introducing his track ‘Let The Sun Shine’ to the world. Check out this lovely acoustic version, a little showcase that proves that Labrinth is pretty at ease with just a guitar and his voice.
Exhibit:
Meanwhile, after a little label bidding war, Labrinth surprisingly signed to none other than Simon Cowell’s SYCO label, (Yes, thé notorious Simon Cowell ) which made him the first artist in more than 6 years that didn’t come out of the whole ‘talent show pool’.
The second single of his debut album and the pretty impressive video that came with it, was a clear statement to the world, that LABRINTH was here to stay, ready to steer the world with his music and this time Tinie Tempah returned him the favour with a feature on his ‘EARTQUAKE’ track.
Exhibit:
Things need to evolve for young Timothy, so he started his own label called ODD CHILD on the side, signed his first artist, singer Etta Bond to his label ànd somehow manages to have some spare time left to open his own restaurant, Mosaica.
ALL AT THE SAME TIME. :/
Productive fella, this young Labrinth.
Now, let me tell you the story behind this Polaroid.
Untill a month ago, Drake was touring Europe with his Club Paradise tour and initially it should have been Kendrick Lamar and A$AP that would open for Drake during his European tour.
Now, plans changed and it was only days before that it was communicated that none other than LABRINTH would open for Drake his show in Brussels & Paris.
While I was calling and mailing around to find myself a way too Drake, I had the request from SONY if I wouldn’t be interested in meeting LABRINTH.
I’m always curious about new talent and my attempts for Drake were getting nowhere (more about that later) so I signed up for it. Doing this blog for some time now, I’m used to be completely at my own, with no support what so ever in order to reach the artists that I want to snap on Polaroid. I’m very happy that a label like SONY believes in this blog and makes things easier once in a while.
And so it happened, a few hours before the concert I was nicely guided trough the maze that is called VORST NATIONAAL, one of the few venues in Belgium where it is still IMPOSSIBLE for me to sneak into independently, unless of course, you have some sort of secret alliance with the Vorst Nationaal security staff. Which I have not. Obviously.
Last time I was in those same hallways, Drake was also headlining and I had a lovely conversation with J COLE, remember?
I had the opportunity to have a little chat with LABRINTH, so I walked in a tiny backstage lodge where I found myself right in front of a dapper looking guy with a guitar in his hand. You could immediately tell that the thing is probably glued to his hand most of the time.
Exhibit:
I introduced myself and my blog to him and while I was nervously looking where the heck(?!!) I wrote down my questions in my ‘interview note book’ he just started talking about…everything really. Which is nice for a change, mostly I have to warm the artists up for a conversation, which is always a bit of a challenging process, mainly because most of them are fed up asking questions by the time I arrive.
LABRINTH:
“So umh! What language do people speak in Belgium, cause I’m confused really. I’ve heard some of you speak French but…”
A POLAROID STORY:
(while nervously looking for my notes)
“Interesting question. One side speaks French and the other side speaks Flemish, which is basically Dutch but with a slightly different accent. The Belgium language thing is like the Facebook status. “It’s complicated.”
LABRINTH:
(frowns) “Ow I see. This is my first time out of the UK, so I’m still learning how everything works.”
A POLAROID STORY:
(feverishly going through my notes)
Is this your first time abroad as in éver?!
LABRINTH:
“YES! first time. I was in Paris the day before yesterday. First time here!”
A POLAROID STORY:
(going through my note-book, paper by paper)
“How was Paris?”
LABRINTH:
“It was sick man! I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I didn’t expect it all, my show, my set, it’s very….one way or the other. The music is quite fresh but we had a lot of good feedback. It’s a bit odd for some people though… It’s not normal to some people to see a black guy with a guitar on stage, I mean, at least in the UK its odd.”
A POLAROID STORY:
“Odd? réally?”
LABRINTH:
“Yeah, definitely in the UK. Usually most black guys are rappers or sing R’n'B but they never play instruments in the UK. Rock kicks of a lot more in the UK than anything else. But if you are playing soul with a guitar, people are a lot less receptive towards you.”
A POLAROID STORY:
“But then I think the States should be quite receptive towards you then.”
LABRINTH:
“Yes, they are! Definitely! Then again, I don’t do very much soul stuff on the guitar, I mean, not at the moment. I have à lot of stuff like that on the computer.”
A POLAROID STORY:
(yup, -still- looking! I felt a heatwave coming up)
Exhibit:
“I’ve seen some acoustic stuff from you, which is pretty interesting, since apparently you are a multi instrumentalist!”
LABRINTH:
“I play a bit man, I play a bit.”
A POLAROID STORY:
“What kind of instruments do you play?”
LABRINTH:
“I play the bass, drums, keyboards. I like a bit of drums man. I come from a musical family and...
(abruptly stops talking, smiles and points at my hand-written interview where you could see huge letters that formed L A B R I N T H and says )
“I LOVE IT!”
A POLAROID STORY:
“Yeah, it looks kinda childish, but that’s my style I guess.”
LABRINTH:
“Naah man, It’s the best way to do it, the best way!”
And then -finally – after 5 minutes that felt like 5 hours, I found my questions in my note-book and we were ready for this interview:
A POLAROID STORY x LABRINTH
Hello Labrinth, welcome to Belgium. Ever been here before?
Never. First time!
You’ve been working in music since a very young age and in the UK you are slowly growing into a legit super star, but could you please introduce yourself to my readers who might not be familiar with you?
Ofcourse. I’m Labrinth, I’m a producer, writer, artist, a musician, and basically, I build my name in the UK by producing Tinie Tempah, I produced two of his records, (Pass Out & Frisky), so if you ever heard someone singing on those songs, well, that was me!
(starts laughing)
I’m just a guy who loves music, and where ever I can go with music, that is where I will go. That’s who I am.
Your real name is Timothy Mckenzie, but your stage name is LABRINTH. I know it’s a cliché question, but could you please elaborate a bit on your stage name, why Labrinth?
Well, they say ‘Live is like a maze’ and for me it was like, why not call myself ‘life’ but in a very weird way. The word stuck with me and it works with the way I am now and the way I produce music. I don’t have a…style. When you listen to my music you’ll probably get lost in what I’m about. That’s why it became Labrinth.
You were born in a very musical family and raised with a serious amount of gospel music. What’s your favorite gospel song of all time?
I always used to listen to Kirk Franklin, what is called, uhm…STOMP! That was a big record, definitely one of my favorites.
Eearthquake, is the second single from your album Electronic Earth, can you tell me something about this album?
The album is me being every artist I ever wanted to be. It has a lot of variety when it comes to terms of music. It’s definitely on more of the commercial music side but it’s basically me, mixing all genres that I’m into. It’s called Electronic Earth, because I live for electronic and acoustic music and mixed them both together. Some people see a house DJ, or hear some dub step and think: “that’s it”. I’m like, no man, that is not it. I’m putting it all in one.
I’ve read somewhere that you are currently labeled as ‘the UK Timbaland’
aaaaaah. I hate that. (starts laughing)
…meanwhile you worked with quite a few artists like Ms. Dynamite, Ellie Goulding, Yasmin, Pixie Lott. You produce, you sing, you play a bunch of instruments, I suppose you’re a great dancer too?
(laughs) Well…yeah, I have some moves.
…so, all the labels aside, what do you consider yourself the most? What is the most important for you from all those different elements?
The most important to me is music. I did start producing more than anything else, and that is where I made my name, and I do really love the process of creating music. But. To be on stage, and perform in front of an audience is pretty amazing too. They both go hand in hand but the production side of it has always been my strong point. I have only been on the stage for a year and a half now…
How is that going?
Pretty damn scary at the start but now I feel like…were getting somewhere. (laughs)
I can imagine that it must be a very scary transition, after all, in the studio you work a lot by yourself and then all of a sudden you have to throw your music out there and stand before your audience.
Very true. The studio is a very anti-social place. See, the thing is, you can make your music, and people can hear your music and feel the character of your music, but to bé the character of your music and to be the fàce of your music, that’s a whole different thing and I see a lot of DJ’s and producers standing behind desks and plày it, but they do not perform it.
Was that a process? Or was that something that came quite easily to you?
Definitely a process! I was performing before I was producing, but I was rusty as hell. I didn’t have it. Then I spend a year performing everywhere we could, I mean everywhere. And it build up from there.
So. You are signed to Simon Cowell’s label?
Yeah. (cracks up laughing)
Yeah, I know, I’m heading that direction here.
(laughs even more) I love it!
It’s pronounced SYCO as in ‘psycho’ not as in ‘sicko’ right?
(bursts out laughing again) yeah. more like psycho.
Now. About Syco. Is it a blessing or a curse to be signed with this label, considering Simon is a very business savy yet quite commercially driven individual.
It’s both. You know what, wait. It’s actually a gift. The reason why it is a gift, is because I have fùll creative control over everything I do. So ànything I want to do, I can do it.
If I wanted to like…start working with The Roots. I could start working with The Roots.
Would you ?
Yeah, I absolutely lòve The Roots. Thing is, I think Simon kind of saw me as an artist that was going to make SYCO cool. And he did sày that to me not to long ago. We were sitting together in a show, a big show in the UK called Jonathan Ross. He was sitting next to me and he said: “Thank you so much, you made SYCO cool.” (laughs)
It’s good man. That is what I am there for. And it is like you said, he is business savy and he is able to take my music where I want it to go.
Tonight. You are opening for …DRAKE! How does that feel? Seriously?
S I C K !! Amazing. Definitely a fan of his records.
Any tracks you love?
‘Over’. Big record. I also think that his lyrics are amazing.
If you could name 1 person that you’d love to dive into the studio as in -tomorrow- to make music with, who would that be?
Quincy Jones.
What are you listening to at the moment.
Sam Cook. David Bowie. Little Dragon.
What are you currently working on or working with? Any artists outside of the UK maybe?
I spoke to Busta Rhymes today actually.
Really?!
Yeah, we have a version of ‘Earthquake’ out in States now, and he is on the US version of it. Busta Rhymes can destroy a record, you know that. There is also a remix version on my album with Busta, Kano & Wrench32.
I worked with Usher not too long ago as well and we are working on some stuff.
Exhibit:
I might be old-fashioned or simply old, so I prefer the old Usher more than the new, but his recent ‘Climax’ track really puts him back where I missed him for so long.
A lot of people are feeling that with Usher. I think, sometimes you have to go where you don’t want to go, to find out where you do want to go. And Usher did that. I personally don’t favorite the sound that he went for,but I think it took him to a place where it is healthy. And hopefully he keeps developing in that way.
Last question. If I say Belgium, what 3 words pop up in your head?
(bursts out laughing) Ok. I know that Belgium is famous for mussels and chocolate. And…ok! The first time I éver heard the word ‘Belgian’ was in reference with ‘Belgian Buns’ (pastry) but I don’t know if that is a good answer really.
(starts laughing again)
After the interview it was time to take some Polaroid pictures.
We picked out a white wall in the tiny room and I quickly explained him the basic idea of giving me two different expressions, aimed my camera, did a countdown and…
Exhibits:
…voila. 
Labrinth refers himself and his music as ‘odd’ and he does have a point when he says that you’ll might get lost while you’re figuring out what he is musically all about. Then again, odd things are mostly more interesting than normal things, at least to me, so I’m pretty curious to see where he might be going as both a producer and an artist.
But from where I was sitting, things looked already quite promising…
Exhibit:
You can follow Labrinth here and here.
Love,
Ouni
ps: I know, I know. I need to give you an update on Drake. I will. I promise. 
PRODUCT OF NEW YORK
Berlin, 21/01/2012
“Homeboy throw in the towel, Your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell.”
Seriously, who has an introduction like thàt from The Beastie Boys to their name?!!
Not many, that’s for sure.
Let me be so kind to introduce you to this native New Yorker called RICKY POWELL aka The Rickster. If you are not familiar with this man, let me throw some facts in your direction and soon you’ll understand why this man is categorized in the ‘Ouni Likes‘ department of this blog.
Ricky Powell is a New Yorker photographer, specialized in ‘environmental portraits’ who is probably mostly famous for his photography of New York folks ( the famous and not so famous) and artists like Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring but also for snapping some pretty iconic pictures of meanwhile legendary hip hop artists. He is often referred to as ‘the 4th Beastie Boys member‘ since he spend quite some time with the band during the mid 80′s and 90′s, took a few iconic band pictures while hanging with them and shot some pretty classic images touring with the Beastie Boys and RUN DMC.
Ricky his pictures were published in The New Yorker The New York Times, the New York Post, the Daily News, The Village Voice, Mass Appeal, Time, Wax Poetics, Newsweek, VIBE, The Source, Rolling Stone, Grand Royal and many more. He has multiple collaborations written to his name with brands like Puma, WESC, Pepsi and PONY.
Here is a selection of pictures Ricky took that I found ‘pwetty’ cool.
Exhibits:
a young Cindy Crawford
Randomly genius, a dog in an LV pimped out car
Andy Warhol with a very sharp-looking Ricky Powell.
The legendary Eazy E
Laurence Fishburn, very ‘King Of New York’
The Beastie Boys
Basquiat & Andy Warhol
Very dope shot from actress Debi Mazar who you might know from Good Fellas & Entourage
Tourbus picture from the Run DMC & Beastie Boys ‘Together Forever’ tour ( apparently taken in Brussels!!)
Lisa Bonet
Slick Rick & Run
and some more Beastie Boys
I can keep going for some time with posting Ricky Powell pictures, since these are only a few examples of his work but you probably get the picture by now that the man is the proud owner of a very excessive photo collection, right?
Now, let me explain you how I met Ricky Powell.
I was in Berlin not so long ago to visit a friend and meanwhile combine Berlin Fashion Week while I was there when I received an invitation from sneaker brand PONY if I would be interested in attending a Ricky Powell slide show presentation at the BREAD & BUTTER trade show in honour of celebrating the 40th birthday of the brand and the launch of a brand new sneaker PONY released in collaboration with Ricky Powell.
I wasn’t really familiar with Ricky Powell, but since I’m curious in nature I decided to go, and so it happened that me and my friend Jules found ourselves in a very cosy, little conference room where we got properly introduced to THE RICKSTER.
This was probably the most interesting yet hilarious slide show presentation I have ever been to. Ricky Powell is quite an entertaining storyteller and accompanied by a groovy, jazzy playlist, some Heineken and Ricky’s juicy New York accent we were guided through some of Ricky’s most impressive pictures, some more juicy stories and quite a few interesting oneliners.
Exhibits:
Every picture came with a personal story and that’s probably why I love Ricky Powell, since that is an element that we have in common I guess.
Definitely check out this video from MOROSKY about the PONY presentation.
So what is the result of this RICKY POWELL & PONY collaboration?
“The Vintage Slamdunk in two colourways and 3 T-shirts emblazoned with some of Ricky’s most iconic images and an accessory proudly boasting one of Ricky’s favourite sayings, ‘Do You’.”
Exhibit:
To find out more about the PONY x RICKY POWELL collaboration click here.
I was really impressed about his work and the people he was able to portray over the years, I mean Andy Warhol ànd Keith Haring on the same picture?!! That’s not something everybody has lying around. I wondered how come I didn’t learn any sooner about him and his work, but hey, you can’t know it àll right?
So slowly the idea came up to maybe feature him in the ‘Ouni Likes’ category of this blog, and after his presentation I walked up to him, introduced myself and showed him my work and the people I have been able to portray for this blog. He was really receptive to the concept and he told me that he would be honored if I could take his Polaroid picture for my blog.
I left my Polaroid camera at Jules her place so we agreed that we would meet up the next day before he went back to New York.
The next day, after quite a disastrous morning that involved a lost phone, a lost camera, bad cab drivers and mistaking one hotel for another (trust me, you do NOT want to know) me and Jules arrived scandalously late at our appointment with The Rickster.
Since we were so late and Ricky Powell had some other appointments to attend to we eventually ended up at MADE GALLERY, which made me very happy. The minute I walked out of the elevator I realised MADE is the dream machine behind these more than excellent video series and impressively executed concept;
MOMENTS BY MADE.
Exhibits:
MADE is located on the 9th floor of the ‘Haus des Reisens’ building in Alexanderplatz and provides you with a 360 degrees view on Berlin, which makes this a very appealing location for a gallery and a more than excellent location to snap some Polaroid pictures.
Exhibit:
Since there was little time, we immediately went to work. Portraying Ricky was really fun, he’s very creative and is not afraid to put himself out there.
Exhibits:
Me with the Rickster.
And that was it!
Ricky Powell is a photographer, a man from the streets, an entertainer, a story-teller, a designer, a curator but above all , a product of New York.
Thank you PONY for inviting me, thank you RICKY POWELL for your time and thank you MADE for having me.
Love,
Ouni
[PG-18] THUMBS UP FOR TERRY!
Paris, 01/10/2011,
Yeah….you probably saw this one coming after the blurry but still kinda obvious teaser I posted two weeks ago.
I bet you secretly hoped the title of this story was ‘Titties for Terry’ but trust me, no provocative behaviour went down in order to get this Polaroid picture.
Only patience.
From time to time I feature interesting individuals that are somehow linked to the more musical related Polaroids I normally feature and put them in the ‘OUNI LIKES‘ category.
If you are not familiar with the controversial individual Polarized here above, let me be so kind to introduce you.
TERRY RICHARDSON, is an American photographer, mostly known for his fashion spreads for magazines like VOGUE, GQ, I-D, HARPERS BAZAAR, V MAGAZINE, SPORT’S ILLUSTRATED and many more.
Over the years he shot campaigns for H&M, LEVI’S, YVES SAINT LAURENT, DIESEL, ERES, SISLEY, ALDO, SUPREME, LEE & LACOSTE just to name a few.
He is also known for his notorious celebrity shots and last but not least his signature ‘thumbs up’ self portraits. If the president of the United States Of America is familiar with his signature sign, you probably are aswell, but just in case you are not…
Exhibit:
What is the first picture you ever saw from Terry Richardson? No really, think about it.
I perfectly recall mine. Matter of fact, I still have them.
When I was 15 years old, these Sisley SS/98 postcard samples were sticking to my handwritten diary filled with teen drama stories.
Exhibit:
Maybe somewhat disturbing if I look back at my age, but don’t worry, I had ten times more teen-proof pictures from Gwen Stefani & Leonardo Dicaprio to balance things back to a healthy PG-15.
I guess I have always been drawn to his work ever since.
The list of models, musicians and actors Terry Richardson has in front of his camera on a daily basis is enormous.
Here are a few artists shots you might link with this blog that I could find on the net. I’m sure there are plenty, plenty more.
Exhibit:
(all pictures by Terry Richardson)
PHARRELL WILLIAMS
R KELLY
AMY WINEHOUSE
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
LIL WAYNE
ARMAND VAN HELDEN , A-TRAK & TERRY
TYLER THE CREATOR – ODD FUTURE
BEYONCE KNOWLES
TERRY RICHARDSON & P DIDDY
Btw, did you know that it was Terry Richardson who shot this epic debut video from N.E.R.D?
You face a certain duality with Terry his work. Sometimes it can offend you or makes you even uncomfortable. We all have been at somebody’s house with Terry Richardson’s book on the coffee table right? Sometimes the rawness has a certain beauty that makes his work very attracting even though there hangs a certain dark sexuality around it. Yes I am aware of the controversy that surrounded him not so long ago, and yes that stayed in the back of mind, but I can’t deny the fact that I am still drawn to his work. It is what it is.
It’s like he can bring out the dark ‘freakum’ side out of you, and it only depends on the amounts of clicks he pushes on his camera for you to slowly unleash your inner lolita and/or beast.
For the few people who are not familiar with Terry Richardson his more provocative and controversial work, I made a PG-18 selection for you all.
from the BATMAN & ROBIN series
FRANKIE RAYDER
CRYSTAL RENN
for JIMMY CHOO
PETRA NEMCOVA for SISLEY
ROSA ACOSTA for SUPREME
for TOM FORD FRAGRANCE
LARA STONE for VOGUE HOMMES
ANA BEATRIZ BARROS for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
PAZ DE LA HUERTA
purple poodles for SISLEY
Too much in the face for you?
Well here is a slightly softer selection and (only a few of) my personal favorites.
MAD MEN’S JANUARY JONES for GQ
LARA STONE
JAMES FRANCO
ANA BEATRIZ BARROS
JOAQUIN PHOENIX
Our very own Belgian topmodel HANNELORE KNUTS
KATE MOSS
BEYONCE KNOWLES
FRANKIE RAYDER
MILA KUNIS for GQ
JOAN SMALLS for W
and my ultimate favorite –> JAMES FRANCO
With this more than elaborated visual introduction to the man and his work I’m very convinced I can officially apply for an editor position at Sports Illustrated, GQ and Complex Magazine.
Now. Lets get to the story.
As you may or may not know I was recently in Paris for this YEEZY story.
Only hours before my ultimate quest for a KANYE WEST Polaroid, I made a quick pit-stop in Parisian concept store COLETTE.
During my stay in Paris I found out that in order to celebrate his brand new tribute book MOM & DAD Terry Richardson was giving a book signing together with former French Vogue Editor-In-Chief CARINE ROITFELD, who simultaneously released her IRREVERANT book.
The Colette store was hosting the signing session and armed with my Polaroid camera, me and my assistant Aicha faced a very long queue on a very warm day.
Exhibit:
Yeah, you had to…..
to face this line downstairs
and all the way upstairs
….for a simple autograph, but hey.
The store was decorated for the occasion by what I like to call ‘Triple Mind Fuck Terry’s’
Exhibit:
and some excerpts from his MOM & DAD book.
Exhibit:
By the time we arrived upstairs, CARINE ROITFELD just finished her book signing and left the store.
Exhibit:
After a some more waiting I arrived at the table where Terry was signing his book, I approached the man, took a deep breath and asked him the simple question while he was signing my book: “Would you mind if I take a Polaroid picture of you?”
Exhibit:
He looked up and said: “Of course not.” and raised his thumb up in the air and gave me his signature big grin.
Before I aimed my camera, I asked him if he agreed that we would take two Polaroids.
His manager reacted a bit nervous. There was a whole line of people breathing in my neck, still waiting for his signature and it was already announced that Terry would leave in less than 10 minutes.
They quickly both agreed, so I aimed my camera and went for it.
Exhibits:
Et voilà. Simple comme ça.
I wish I could tell you a more exciting story than “I went to Colette and stood in line on a warm day” in order to get my Polaroid picture, but hey, this is simply how it went down.
I came, I waited, I snapped, I conquered.
Love,
Ouni.
PS:
Read Terry’s Diary and follow him here
Shout out to my assistant for this story: Aicha Candeesha.
And last but not least, especially for my male loyal readers, the 17 minutes long behind-the-scenes video from the Terry Richardson 2010 Pirelli Calender shoot. Enjoy!
FROM BLOGGER TO BRAND: NALDEN
Amsterdam 20/06/10
It’s been a while since I did an OUNI LIKES feature and it was only just a few days ago I stumbled over this Polaroid here above, while showing my kinda massive Polaroid collection to a very interesting blog that came to visit me at my home for an interview.
I don’t believe that things happen by accident, especially because this might be the exact right timing to pop up this Polaroid and introduce this jolly good fella nicely polarized here above as none other than NALDEN.
Who the fuck is Nalden, I hear you ask.
First of all, cursing is not very nice and second, what do you mean who the fuck is Nalden!?
The real question is…how come you don’t know who Nalden is?!
All jokes aside, let me be so kind to introduce you to this very interesting individual.
“Nalden simply is thé Blog-Guru and Web-Entrepreneur in the world today. Starting out blogging about the simple things he liked in life, Nalden proved the world that ‘blogging’ does matter and that ‘contextual value’ is key. Nalden’s blog became bigger than life with brands like NIKE, VODAPHONE, APPLE eagerly standing in line to advertise on his blog, what eventually led to NALDEN transforming into a brand instead of ‘just another blogger’.
Besides that, he is the man behind WETRANSFER, the online transfer system to send large files to one another. You can compare it with yousendit.com but than tasteful, dead simple to use and very easy on the eye.
Short version = Nalden is MASTER in the 2.0 hemisphere.“
Now that is what I wrote about him more than a year ago somewhere in June 2010.
In the meantime this social entrepreneur launched another of his creative ideas into the world, carrying the name KUVVA .
KUVVA is an application that provides interesting desktops and twitter layouts from various artists for all you people who are not bothered with looking for swag desktop and/or twitter layouts yourself, and rather display the work of a fresh emerging artist.
But Nalden clearly thought that this was not enough and decided to release his very first book(let) called FROM BLOGGER TO BRAND.
Composed by mostly images, this easy in the hand pocket book explains the rise from a bedroom blogger to the globetrotting blog royalty he has become.
Exhibit:
But the reason why I like Nalden the most is because he helped me putting closure to a very intensive N.E.R.D x A Polaroid Story Saga.
And just like the title of that same story I wrote, he did it “all for nothing.”
Ofcourse I have some (blurry) exhibits of the moment we took this Polaroid picture.
Exhibit:
I was very happy as you all can see
Exhibit:
I admire people who live out their ideas and work hard to make them happen.
Nalden is the living example of that.
Love
Ouni
about a KING
Ostend, 20/11/10
Dear loyal readers,
The man portrayed on the Polaroid here above goes with the name King James Britt, aka KING BRITT.
King Britt is a DJ and a music producer residing from Philadelphia, USA and over the years, King made a steady, respected name for himself after being in the music industry for almost 20 years.
How to describe King Britt and his work?
King Britt is both known for his electronical music as for his soulful side meaning his range of sounds consist of Jazz, Soul, Funk, Afro Beats, Hip Hop, but also Deep House, Broken Beats and New Electronic Jazz.
Early in his career King Britt was a DJ (then known under the name ‘Dj Silkworm’) for the Grammy award winning hip hop group called DIGABLE PLANETS. After touring the world with Digable Planets he moved on and concentrated on his solo career as a DJ and music producer.
He is celebrated for his own releases
Exhibit:
SYLK 130
ADVENTURES IN LOFI
OBAFUNKE
SISTER GERTRUDE MORGAN
as well for his remixes for Solange Knowles, Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, The Glitch Mob and many more…
Exhibit:
ST JAMES INFIRMARY REMIX
SANTIGOLD REMIX
His production skills got him the opportunity to work on some movies and series and last but not least, he is also head of his own label called FIVE SIX MEDIA.
That’s one pretty impressive resume if you ask me.
The story behind these Polaroids is actually very interesting. It took me to Miami a small year ago, put the deal got polarized in a less fancier but equally notorious city by the sea, my hometown, called Ostend.
But before all that, and this is where it really gets interesting, Mr Britt is a day one reader of my little blog. I kid you not. Untill this day, I still don’t know how he stumbled upon my blog, but one day I saw this appearing on my Facebook blog fan page. (or ‘like’ page that is)
Exhibit:
I was very honoured, at the end of the day, I write simple little stories about my favorite artists and my -mostly- very unusual musical journeys. I don’t even consider myself a real writer, I just write stuff down, don’t really compromise in short stories and hope it turns out all right, so for King Britt reaching out, telling me he liked my stories… I was genuinely flattered.
You all know, that in march last year, I went to Miami for WMC and me being there turned out really great for this blog. I managed to snap Kelis, Aloe Blacc, Gilles Peterson, A-Trak and little miss Rye Rye.
Yeah…that was a rewarding trip, to say the least.
What I didn’t tell you, (I tend to save some stories whenever I feel that there will be more to tell one day) is that I also aimed for a Polaroid picture of Mr Britt…. He organised an event somewhere in Downtown Miami in a place called The Electric Pickle in celebration of his latest album called THE INTRICATE BEAUTY. Also on the menu for that night was Vikter Duplaix and Rich Medina with live vocals from Rucyl and Astrid Suryanto.
Exhibit:
The venue was really cosy, with an outside garden, a very nice laid back crowd and the music was simply good. It was actually a relief to be there and have a break in between all the heavy, pounding, nasty beats that were blasting on the Miami streets for days now, which is fine of course, it’s WMC after all, but it was kinda nice to have a rum and coke while listening to some very soulful music.
I’m always slightly out of my element if I’m abroad while chasing a Polaroid story so it took me a while before I had the guts to walk to Mr Britt, and I didn’t really know how I would pitch my story to him. So I spied him a bit behind his DJ booth and when I saw he was finishing his set I walked up to him, tapped him on the shoulder and said: “Excuse me sir, would it be possible to take 5 minutes of your time and take a Polaroid picture of you…”
Now, I didn’t really know what happened but he turned around and he was slightly agitated and I saw in his eyes that he was stressed and he said: ‘I’m sorry…but not right now.”
It’s always a bit weird when that happens, I mean, it’s part of the job, but I always wonder a bit if it was because of me or something else that makes someone say no. And I didn’t really understand…He did like my blog…no? Maybe he just had a bad day, or he thought I had a copycat and would give the honours to the réal Polaroidstory…? Or something?
So…I walked back to my friends, ordered another dark rum and continued my night, but…a bit sad, I do admit.
When I woke up the next morning I was honestly relieved that I found a little DM with the message:
“Sorry bout last night. I will make it up.”
I replied him that it was ok, that all happens for a reason and that another opportunity would come if it was meant to be.
Ow yes. I can get really spiritual when it comes to certain situations.
So months passed by, and I’m hanging around in my local club in Ostend called KRUSH CLUB. One of the owners , Yamo, is a longtime friend of mine and they recently begun organising a monthly strictly house orientated party called YELLOW and already had guests like DENNIS FERRER, MR V, YASS, and I bursted out:
“You know what would be really cool, if you booked King Britt here, it’s been a while since he’s been in Belgium, maybe Krush should take the initiative to make it happen again.”
Yamo, who’s a big fan of King Britt himself looked at me and said: “True, true…I’ll definitely take it in consideration.”
So a couple of more months passed by again, when I suddenly receive a little message: “Hey, I’m coming to your town, I’m booked in KRUSH CLUB!!!”
Exhibit:
I was really surprised. Ok, I mentioned it one or 2 times, but that doesn’t mean I expected them to actually book the man!
But marvellous news nonetheless…. King Britt in my hometown Ostend! I live practically right néxt to the club, which is located under the Ostend Casino and right in front of the seaside. Meaning, for once, I could look forward to simply WALK to a Polaroid Story instead of the usual bus-train-tram-cab-car-plane-drama and sleep in my OWN bed instead of a tent, a sofa with rabits, a crooked mattress or a cheap smelly motel room.
And that’s exactly how it went down. Me and my partner in crime Jules walked to the club, completely relaxed, chill, ready to enjoy a night of good music with King Britt.
Exhibit: (Pictures by Keoma Zec)
After King’s housy set, we had some time to chat and finally take that Polaroid picture.
Exhibit:
And last but not least…
Like you all know by now when I’m posting an ‘Ouni Likes’ story I do my best to accompany the feature with a little interview if the opportunity comes along…
So I’m very happy to present to you:
INTERVIEW–> A POLAROID STORY x KING BRITT
Before going solo and being a DJ/Producer you toured the world with Digable Planets as their DJ. How did that period define the rest of your career?
Actually, I was producing years before Digable. I had a pretty big tune in Europe on the Strictly Rhythm label called Tribal Confusion. It wasn’t till years after I met Butterfly from Digable and watch the whole process of making this legendary album and then touring. That definitely changed the idea of ‘what is possible’ for me. I then knew that I could create a complete album from to back. So, I did the amazing Sylk130 project which became the blueprint for the Philadelphia soul revival.
You are a very eclectic DJ. You are equally known for ‘Dance & Electronical’ music as you are known for your hiphop /soulful side seeing you grew up in Philadelphia close to artists like Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, etc.. Last time I saw you at WMC in Miami, you were playing a very soul full set, where here in Ostend, you played strictly house.
The guys in Ostend said it was a house night, so I sort of stuck to that vibe in my own way. The problem for me has been that over the years, music has been split up into so many genres. This of course affects the nights. In the past I didn’t really care and played everything but playing hip hop on a house night sometimes angers the listener.
Now, I’m exhausted with the whole dj world in a way. What I’m in the process of doing is, setting up King Britt nights around the world, where I will play all genres and also play from beginning to end as much as possible. This way I can create the atmosphere I want the listener to have and experience all genres and sounds. This is why I love playing at Deep Space in NYC with Francois K. You can go all over the place.
Is it a bless or a curse these days to be as versatile as you are?
I always look at everything as blessings. Versatility is what is needed now in days to survive in this business, especially as a producer and lover of many musical styles. It allows you to be in many different scenes and create amazing bodies of work.
It’s obvious you understand the concept of online media and make sure your music has a virtual presence aswell through out your website, blog, twitter & FB account. In your opinion, did the digital revolution made it harder or easier for an artist/DJ/Producer? What are the positive/negative sides of this evolution?
In one way of course it has made it harder, because of the easy access of everything. In the vinyl days, only a few thousand were in the world of a particular song, so to have it was much more difficult. This also gave you much more of an identity as a dj with a certain sound. Now, every song almost is easily accessible online. This is why I am moving more toward the live experience with projects like Saturn Never Sleeps, that I do with Rucyl or I’m in the process now of combining my live djing with my technology to create a more unique experience sonically. Like live remixing! The advantage of technology is reaching your audience and interacting with them. Now, as an artist, you can set up your own label, store, sell your own music and reach the target audience. You may not make the money you think, but in terms of spreading your name, you will definitely do that. Then you can flip that into more gigs.
Can you explain my readers what your sideproject called Saturn Never Sleeps is all about?
Actually, SNS is my main project. I do this with my lady Rucyl and in a year, we have created a very solid brand that is now followed by many thousands of people. It started as a performance piece we did for a traveling Sun Ra exhibit which came to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philly. We broke many of his songs down and re-presented them in new context. It went so well we decided to do more.
We then curated a SNS night, in which we carefully selected our favorite underground electronic musicians, jazz musicians and video jocks and created a space where we all improvised, proving that this is possible in electronic music. We brought everyone from Ras- G to Flying Lotus to musicians like Ben Neil and Taylor McFerrin. We did this in Philly and NYC.
We then developed the SNS label. It’s yet another platform for our taste and pushing sound forward. The blog of course is one of the most popular in electronic music now. Rucyl does most of the posting and I’m completely blown away by what she finds.
We are now creating an album as Saturn Never Sleeps – the band – It will be released early summer and we will tour again. This time more structured songs but keeping the improv process in tact.
You score tv series ( True Blood) and movies (Miami Vice, For Colored Girls) any new projects in that department you are working on at the moment?
I have scored ‘scenes’ for Miami Vice ( 10 scenes), I have had 2 songs in True Blood, one which is on the soundtrack and had the season finale named after it (which samples an early 1970′s gospel recording by evangelist and poet Sister Gertrude Morgan) and 1 song I produced For Colored Girls, by Zaki Ibrahim.
I’m working on a documentary right now, which is about a special place outside of Vegas called Lake Mead. Will be for cable and shown in the summer.
Scoring things kind of just fall into my lap from other sources. It’s a beautiful thing but not something I would do all the time unless I have most of the control over what I’m scoring (like with Miami Vice, where he (Director Michael Mann) specifically called me for my sound.
If you took the liberty to completely re-score an already existing movie, which movie would you choose?
Thats funny, because my new project Fhloston Paradigm, is a collection a songs that were inspired by Science Fiction films that I would use to re-score. I would love to re-score Rollerball. I’m actually working on a video now using some scenes.
Scoring a movie to me looks like the most difficult thing in the world because you have to understand sound in its purest form and translate it to an emotion, place, movement, object, etc… I heard you graduated as a math teacher, does that in a way emerge out of you/help you when you score movies or make music all together?
Hahahahaha……I hate math! I don’t know where that came from. That’s awesome. No, I went to school for Marketing/Advertising. Way away from math.
No, when I do music period, it’s always visual for me. I’m always ‘scoring’ in a way, so it comes very natural. But like I said earlier, I only want to work on things which I can control most of the music decisions. You can score for things and not have one ounce of creative say so in it, which is mostly the case. Most directors are just using you as a vehicle to express ‘their’ musical vision and not a collaborative effort.
You have been in the music industry for more than 20 years now, remixed for a quite some artists and you are known with different generations of people. Which new emerging artist/dj/producer do you feel most related musically at this time?
Very good question. I think Robin from Quadron is one of the best producers of the moment. I really want to hear him work with other vocalists to spread his sound. I feel Burial has an untouchable sound. I am also feeling James Blake‘s stuff.
Tell my readers what they can expect from you in the near future and ìf they don’t know your work, to which album they need to listen?
I’m definitely working on more experimental things now, which I feel ‘free-er’ in doing now. I’ve worked in all areas of music and feel experimenting is key now. So keep looking to SaturnNeverSleeps.com for all the new stuff. Now, I am also re-releasing a lot of my old projects, like the amazing Sylk130 series, which is really the story of my life in 70 & 80s ….They are like mini movies. I just re released the Obafunke project, which is my afro-technology project featuring Zap Mama, Wumni and others. My favorite you should get is Adventures in LoFi on BBE. Its my hip hop album featuring De La Soul, Madlib as Quasimoto, Butterfly etc.
Any musical guilty pleasures we might not expect from King Britt?
See I love all music, so I never feel guilty listening to what’s good. I guess Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn (produced by Jack White) is one of my favorite albums. Really amazing !
I once read on twitter that you turned down to score the movie Precious. True Or False?
Well, I met with Jeffrey Daniels to watch the film unedited at his house in NYC. He loved what I have been doing and wanted to bring a Philly vibe to the score. I sent some ideas but he wasn’t feeling them and I knew it would probably be more work than I wanted to do, so we just didn’t pursue the idea. But the movie turned out fantastic!
What is the biggest misconception about King Britt?
That I’m only a dj or I only play house music. LOL…..wrong. I am music, all areas all my life
It was your firs time playing/visiting Ostend to play in Krush Club. How was your perception of the night/city/club?
I only blog about things I love…
If I say Belgium, what 3 words pop out of your mind?
Diamonds (Antwerp)
Gent (one of my good friends from kindergarten lives there and Boathotel)
Zap Mama (Marie is another good friend living here)
Et voilà…another interview….jùst for you guys!
After I took the pictures, King Britt went back to his hotel to rest before he had to catch an early flight and me and Jules also left the club.
5 minutes later we were àctually home. What a luxury…
From Miami to Ostend….It took me some time to get this Polaroid picture. Approximately 8 months.
Funny how life twists and turns but I guess, at the end, you always receive what you réally want.
Right?
Love,
Ouni
PS: There is drama on the way for the next polaroid story. MAJOR DRAMA. ;)
‘I’m not into fashion, I’m into style.’
Amsterdam 20/02/10
Dear readers,
Let me be so kind to entroduce you to LEE STUART.
Some of you might know the man, some of you probably will not.
That’s the cool thing about the ‘OUNI LIKES’ category.
I can introduce you to some folks, that interest and/or trigger me and have a little chat with them to find all there is to know about them.
I stumbled upon Lee while surfing a Dutch online HipHop Magazine called STATE MAGAZINE where Lee can write the very nice position of ‘editor-in-chief’ to his name.
Pretty fast I found out, that besides hiphop, the man had a specific love for styling and did a pretty cool job combining both love-affairs.
Look at these videos Lee Stuart styled:
(I know it’s Dutch and you probably won’t understand a word, but music is universal and so is style so please click play.)
(my favorite!)
+
+
+
Lee his work is mostly behìnd scenes and cameras, but when he does comes in front, he is very easy on the eye.
I mean the eye of the camera of course.
Exhibits:
I briefly met Lee for the first time in Berlin while I was hunting for this ‘Stupid’ story, and it was there that I had the idea to dig a little deeper into the depths of this man.
I love it when people live out their passions, combine them and actually make a difference doing so.
Besides, we had something in common. Fashion & HipHop, a perfect cocktail for ‘Ouni Likes’, innit?
So, I finally met up with Lee Stuart in Amsterdam the day after this story, and brought back this little Q&A.
(You can thank me later like Drake.)
Exhibit:
LEE, introduce yourself to my loyal readers.
Hello, my name is Lee Stuart, I’m an editor-in-chief for an online hiphop magazine called STATE MAGAZINE, besides that, I’m also a stylist, and once in a while I organise/host a party here and there.That’s it basically.
Explain me how a stylist turns editor-in-chief of a HipHop Magazine?
Well, this is how it went:
I was doing the styling for a bunch of Dutch hiphop artists and while doing that, I met the boss of the record label of those same artists, who also had a hiphop magazine. We stayed in touch. I was very much occupied with music at that time and from time to time, I send him some new music, so when there was a job opening at the magazine, he thought that I might be the right person for that job, since music was and still is a part of my life. It might sound strange, but to me, the love for hiphop blends together with the love for fashion. For me, one is attached to the other.
What is your main task at State? Are you also active as a writer?
I don’t really write the pieces. My job is restricted to organising interviews with the right journalists, setting up meetings with photographers, communicating the main direction of the magazine, keeping a straight focus on what’s important and what is not. A lot of logistics of course, final editing, final selection of the pictures, etc. Different small tasks that take a lot of time if you want to do it well and that results in a finished magazine.
Do you consider yourself more a stylist or more an editor-in-chief?
To me personally, those are 2 different sides of me. I’m not one or the other. I’m both. But right now, at this moment, I consider myself mainly an editor-in-chief. I used to combine the stylings, the parties, the DJ-gigs ànd the magazine but I decided that, for now, It’s better to focus on 1 thing, and try to be great at it.
How do you see the link between fashion and hiphop?
I think I can state, that it (hiphop fashion) has become more grown-up than it used to be. Because it evolved in something much more mainstream over the years, so it makes the original taste makers reach out and search for something else.For me personally, the link between both is almost written on me. Remixing and sampling are 2 very important factors in hiphop, and I grew up with hiphop, so to me, it feels natural that I incorporate that in everything I do, so also when it comes to styling and fashion.
How would you define your personal style?
My biggest style inspirations come from old men, tourists and ‘clochards’ (street-bums). Ow and filthy rich people! I’m none of those inspirations, although I secretly wish to be filthy rich one day. But yeah, those different elements I morph all in one specific style that is my own I guess. Oh, and add some preppy-ish to it as well!
You have some pretty good experience in video stylings, If you had the opportunity to style 1 international artist, who would you like to style a video for? And you can choose only 1.
Just one? Damn. That’s such a difficult choice.
Well…maybe…then…hmm..well…I would say…Roisin Murphy…but hold on…yeah she already has that very outspoken style, so maybe I should choose somebody else…
Who do you think could use some styling?
honestly, I really think Kanye West could use some styling. I mean, it just feels so unnatural the way he is dressed sometimes. He got plenty of cool items, but he does not have style.
On the other hand. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan, so don’t get me wrong here, but sometimes I look at him and I think: Not everything hàs to be in the same colour you know…
What are you listening to at the moment?
Right now, I’m listening to a couple of (unreleased at the time) albums from Dutch artists. Willem from the Oppossites, Murda Turk. Besides that I’m always into some Radiohead, Dolly Parton, Gil Scott-Heron, Sebastien Tellier, and I listen to all Jay-Z his stuff, still a lòt. Huge Jay-Z fan.
Which Dutch hip-hop artist do the Belgian audience need to listen to.
Definitely Jiggy Dje. He is a true word-poet. He is simply Holland’s best rapper. And the funny thing is that he is already over rapping, and started his own label. Really listen to his music, listen to his lyrics. It’s poetry. Period.
What’s your biggest fashion crave at the moment, what do you really want to see hanging in your closest. Price is no issue.
Well, actually, I already have it in my closet. It’s my Rick Owens jacket… (sighs deep, followed by a big smile) I didn’t like it when I first saw the jacket, but the moment I put that thing on, I knew: ‘This is the shit’ I was actually shadow-boxing in the mirror while wearing the jacket, and I realised what that jacket did to me and I was like…wow. chill dude. (starts laughing) He was waaay to expensive, but I knew I was going to buy it anyway. And I did.
And then I would love to own the classic black Ann Demeulemeester raw boot. Expensive as hell, but I just know I will be walking around in those shoes for the next decade.
What’s your view on the Belgian fashion scene?
Belgium is doing pretty fine in that area! I even think Belgium is doing a better job then we do in Holland. You guys have designers like Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons. Amazing work!!
Final Question. 3 words that pop up in your mind when I say Belgium?
Grey. (I’m sorry but…)
Ann Demeulemeester.
Hash. Everytime I come in Belgium, especially Ghent, people want to sell me Hash. What’s that about?!
After the interview Lee was so kind to take us for a mini tour to some of Amsterdam’s best clothing stores like Patta & Precinct 5. In between shopping and small talks we also took the time to take the Polaroids you can see headlining this post.
Exhibits:
Lee Stuart is currently working on set of a movie called RABAT with a pretty international cast of actors, amongst them French gazelle Stephane Caillard,, Moroccan hero Mohammed Majd and Slimane Dazi from the critically acclaimed french movie ‘Un Phrophete’.
He will release a new and improved style blog in the near future.
If you want to know more about Lee Stuart, you can follow him on Twitter here.
I had my doubts of writing this ‘Ouni Likes’ feature in Dutch, but then I would leave all my internationals in the dark, so I decided to write it in english after all.
And who knows, Lee Stuart might become the next big thing in video stylings?
Kanye, give him a call will ya?!
Love
Ouni.
PS:
Special thanks to Rose who provided this story with some disposable snaps. It gives things a whole different look, doesn’t it?
THE VERY BEST (nothing but)
Dour, 17/07/10
Behold, before you are watching upon THE VERY BEST.
Let me break it down for you.
Sometimes in life, you need to have fun.
You need to unleash that evil beast that is called ‘the burden of life’ in you, let yourself go, have a drink and dance the night away.
We are all responsible (or at least.. try to be. I guess) working human beings, but once in a while, everyone has that aeching feeling, like a rush of blood to the brain, that you need to DANCE.
Like.
HARD.
and asap.
When I switch to that state of mind, I’d like nothing but the very best music that blends with that wild, unpredictable mood.
I need pounding beats, a fast past rhythm and a sense of culture.
That’s why I like
-hold on-
lòve THE VERY BEST.
The Very Best is a collaboration between producer duo RADIOCLIT aka Etienne Tron & Johan Karlberg and Malawi singer Esau Mwamwaya aka ‘The Phil Collins of Africa’
This might seem like an odd combination, especially if you knew that they accidentally met each other in London, when Etienne was buying a bike from Esau’s second-hand furniture store in London, which was located in the same street where the producers had their old music studio.
Coincidence?
Come on, guys, you should know by now I don’t believe in that stuff…?!
So they became friends, started to make music together and this collaboration transformed into a mixtape first with the very appropriate name: ESAU MWAMWAYA AND RADIOCLIT ARE THE VERY BEST.
The mixtape stood out because of the perfect blend of Essau’s african chanting in ‘Chichewa’, cool remixes and some unlikely collaborations with M.I.A, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, SANTOGOLD, BLK JKS,…
What kind of music is it? I hear many of you ask. I personally think it’s hard to label it, because, you know, labels are limitations, but if I have to describe it, I would say it’s a mix of indie stuff – afro – pop -dance – all in one -
Did this make any sense?
Is it what people call ‘World Music’?
I honestly don’t know. World music sounds so very hippie – folks doing the zumba dance with goat wool socks in brown leather sandals doesn’t it..?
I think it’s a mix of various pop cultures from all over the world, all blended into music that makes you feel happy and makes you want to dance.
It’s just that simple I suppose…
Come to think of it, if you like oriental music or african music like I do, you always had to rely on standards like Fela Kuti, Saleif Keita or Rashid Taha, and you don’t hear that music regular on the radio. I only heard that stuff in the bar I worked in for so long, called Lafayette.
It’s like as if Radioclit and Esau want to show to the world that there is a lot going on music wise in other parts of the world and give their take on it, while bringing those eclectic elements into their music.
Check out this M.I.A PAPER PLANE cover here
And definitely check this one aswell:
So after the mixtape got so well received on different music blogs the next logical step was to make an album which got released not so long ago with -again- the very appropriate title: THE VERY BEST -> WARM HEART OF AFRICA.
Check out this first single with EZRA KOENIG from VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Other favorites on the album are:
KAMPHOPO
JULIA
(Also check out the Theophilus London remix here)
And if you’re up for it, definitely check this little documentary.
So when I found out about a secret private boat party in Amsterdam hosted by BACARDI with Radioclit headlining the performances I knew I had to be there to go wild on some ghetto-pop tunes.
Are you kidding me?
I like music. I like rum. I like boats. (I live by the sea, what do you expect?!) this could be my wedding bash!
This is the (short) story
This boat party was hosted by BACARDI and in order to get into this party you had to send an email and explain why you should have an invitation to this party.
I write a thing or two, so that is no biggie for me, right?
I quickly received the awesome news that both me and my partner in crime Jules were on the list and together with our friend/driver Rose we drove to Amsterdam for what turned out the be one of the best parties I had in 2010.
Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing though.
Anyhow.
Polaroid wise, I realised that since it was a RADIOCLIT set, I might not be able to get Esau on Polaroid, but I decided that If I had the chance to take some pictures, I would.
We boarded this very nicely decorated cosy neon light boat called ‘THE PURELINER’ with only one thing on the menu: RUM, RUM, and…more RUM.
Exhibit:
UP
DOWN
(pictures ©RUDGR)
Did I mention before that Rum is my thing? I’m pretty sure I did.
Although the other acts where nice and all, it was Etienne Tron from RADIOCLIT backed up by MO LAUDI that made that little boat called ‘THE PURELINER’ one steamy, hot boat.
Man was it WILD in there!!
Ow that’s right. You need an exhibit.
Peep this little video starring: GRINDING ROSE , JULES RIP DA FLO and OUNI-SAN . (our rum-alter ego’s)
This is what happens when you put a sexy crowd on a boat with to many rum and Radioclit in Amsterdam:
http://www.vimeo.com/11931371
Yeah…although it was still freezing outside, the whole boat was melting like a gletsjer.
Of course we didn’t leave the boat without the necessary Polaroids, so after the Radioclit set we met up with Mo Laudi and Etienne (who are very normal and laidback fellas by the way) entroduced ourselves and this blog and made the following snapshots.
Exhibit:
We said our goodbye’s , but with a solid promise, that when they would perform in Belgium, we had to meet up again to finish this very best story.
So a couple of weeks back, I had my chance, since The Very Best was scheduled to perform at DOUR festival in Belgium.
You already know that I snapped BILAL that day, but at the end of the night I met up with Etienne, Esau and Mo Laudi after their set.
It was very challenging to find a good spot to make these pictures, since it’s darker than the deepest depths of hell at that festival, so I decided to place them against a red plastic tent and hoped for the best.
First in line was Etienne.
Exhibit:
next runner-up
Esau Mwamwaya
closely followed by
MO LAUDI
Unfortunately Johan did not join them to the festival, so he still is a very missing element in this Polaroid series, but I’m sure I’ll make that up one day. So untill that day, this one is for you Johan Karlsberg:
Besides music, Radioclit and The Very Best are into other cool projects like their monthly SECOUSSE party in Paris and London, ‘a charity party dedicated to ghetto music.’ So definitely check out the live web radio here, which can turn out in a good reason to show off your exquisite music taste amongst friends and perfectly explains why Essau is flaunting this shirt with great pride.
Exhibit:
Last… but not least, THE VERY BEST is joining forces with GOLD COAST TRADING CO, a very cool label from designer EMEKA ALAMS.
Check out this awesome image from the GCTC Togo Waves and Road Maps SS/10 collection
Exhibit:
This little blog had a little sneak peek on THE VERY BEST X GCTC collaboration and all I can say:
It’s pretty awesome…
Stay tuned for that one!
Love
Ouni
PS:
Check out THE VERY BEST on myspace and twitter
Listen to radio Secousse here
Special shout-out to BACARDI VISITA for putting me on that damn boat and serving me all that dark rum. Yummie.
3A1S –> ALL SUMMER
Dear loyal readers,
Great news on this thursday morning!
For 3 ARTIST 1SONG , Sneakerbrand CONVERSE brought together 3 musicians to compose 1 song together.
Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and KID CUDI went in the studio together and this collaboration resulted in an exclusive track by three of the most buzzed artists today…
The track is released exclusively today and is available for free during a limited time. #hint
Only 150.000 downloads will be released worldwide…so you better click that download button as fast as Lucky Luke draws guns, the track is going online at 16h00 CET.
CONVERSE asked this little blog amongst 3 other fellow Belgian bloggers to spread the track in the world like a viral disease.
I wear worn-out cameo converse sneakers and I like KID CUDI & VAMPIRE WEEKEND so that’s no biggie for me.
Download the ‘ALL SUMMER‘ track here.
Ready…set…GO!
Love
Ouni.
PS:
Please Check Out these inspirational videos from the 3 artists…
TASTEMAKER
Miami, 27/03/10
I captured a Tastemaker on Polaroid.
Just for you.
Let me be so kind to introduce you to the almighty GILLES PETERSON
Since this is an OUNI LIKES feature, let me explain why I like Mr Peterson so much:
- His BBC RADIO 1 show -
Gilles Peterson is radio and radio is Gilles Peterson. Starting out making pirate radio in his garden barn when he was just a teenager, he learned everything there is to know about one of the oldest, classic and ever lasting mediums in the world.
Every Wednesday from 02 till 04 AM the whole wide world from New Zealand to Japan, New York to Paris, Dubai to Brasil, Cuba to South-Africa, tunes in to hear GILLES PETERSON very eclectic musical selection of the week. And eclectic is the least you can say about his taste: soul, hip-hop, house, Afro, Latin, dubstep, jazz, you name it, Gilles provides you with the best of what’s happening in the world right now ànd he does that through at least 17 other radio stations in the world.
Therefore, his influence is global, so if you are a musician and Mr Peterson has got his eye on you, then that’s a pretty good start, since it is known that he is linked to push the careers of artists like The Roots, Erykah Badu and very recently Jay Electronica, Theophilus London and probably many more to come.
-His compilations-
Working in a soul jazz funk afro bar for 6 years, the Gilles Peterson compilations were never really far away.. listening to Gilles Peterson compilation is like a musical National Geographics ‘voyage’ for your ears.
If you want to show off your exquisite music taste on a dinner party with friends or a first intimate date , then I highly suggest you cop his albums.
For example, there is the Gilles Peterson in Africa compilation
The Gilles Peterson in Brasil compilation
and the just recently released Gilles Peterson’s ‘Havana Cultura: Remixed’ compilation that takes you to a post-Buena Vista Social Club Cuba and makes you to listen too what is happening with young musical talent in Cuba todày.
Check out this little video that goes a little deeper into the album.
So, once you have those albums in your possession, basically the only thing you need to know is how to make a mojito, caipirinha or find some aged dark rum and you’re set.
- His World Wide Awards –
The World Wide Awards are Gilles Peterson annual celebration and selection of the best music he came across that year.
Check out the little recap of WWA10 from one of Gilles Peterson favorite ànd fellow’s DJ LEFTO, (and Belgiums own!)
- His World Wide Festival –
Choose out a little beachy spot with a sexy name like Sète in the South of France, add the Gilles Peterson line up of special performances and artists like HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE, GONJA SUFI, GIL SCOTT-HERON, THEOPHILUS LONDON, KYLE HALL, and many more, you have the World Wide Festival.
Don’t know about you, but this looks like a Sun, Sea, (Sex,) euh.. Music winning combo to me.
Something tells me, this little festival will grow faster by the year and I need to crash it.
Exhibit:
- His FREEDOM, RHYTHM & SOUND book -
Exhibit:
Gilles put a book together with Stuart Baker and made a pretty nice selection from cover artwork of revolutionary jazz music between 1965-83.
and last but not least…
- his DJ-gigs –
Because off all of the above, Gilles is a much wanted DJ and if you follow him on twitter you might have noticed he is travelling quite a bit because of that. (Well, that and his love for football)
And this is where the story kicks in…
Remember I told you I was in Miami during the World Music Conference a while a go?
Turned out, that was one hell of a lucrative (but also very hard-working) trip… Not only did I accidently bump into ATRAK on my way to the Delano Hotel , did I meet the amazing ALOE BLACC ìn the Delano hotel, but was Mr Gilles Peterson plàying a DJ gig next to other legend Questlove for the Giant Step Sunset Soirée party àt The Delano.
Yeah, The Delano was pretty much to place to be that night…
I mean, how much sugar can a girl handle?
Honestly, I was doubting of taking the picture, I was not working for a change and I was already sipping on some rum&coke and you know work and alcohol don’t go together plùs the DJ-booth was kinda crowed and the music kept distracting me from my task, (what do you expect from such a DJ line-up?)
Exhibit:
But when I noticed he was leaving the DJ booth, I took my ever ready Polaroid out of my purse, introduced myself, explained him my blog and showed him the other artists. He agreed to give me 2 different expressions, so I put him against a clean door, aimed my camera, did my 3.2.1. countdown and bingo!
He was very enthusiastic to say the least! Well. I guess the Polaroids speak for themselves…
I don’t think I can’t really top off the Questlove toast in the video displayed above, but I can only agree.
Gilles Peterson is not your average DJ and/or Radio host.
He is a Tastemaker:
A tastemaker is one that determines or strongly influences current trends or styles as in fashion or the arts. For a tastemaker to be international, he must be able to reach the world. –adapted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
Love,
Ouni
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