Syd Barrett, Wassily Kandinsky, Duke Ellington, Vladimir Nabokov, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jimi Hendrix, Richard Feynman, Lady Gaga, Pharell Williams… all geniuses who helped shape their world. And all synesthetes. Synesthetes ‘suffer’ from the extraordinary neurological condition Synesthesia and experience automatic involuntary cross-sensory stimulation. They read numbers and letters in colour, hear sounds in colour, taste in colour and even touch in colour. The crossed wires in their heads leave them just sane enough to survive outside asylums and just mad enough to lead lives of invention, art and profanity. Words

The ’60s saw an explosion of pop culture as advances in communication technology brought art to larger and larger audiences. This also made the interconnections between media more important as people’s cultural vocabularies grew richer and more demanding. Painters traced the lines of mass-produced palimpsests and literary references littered music and cinema… two media that were now inextricably interlinked. Jefferson Airplane advised, ‘Feed your head’ and Norman Bates assured us that, ‘We all go a little mad sometimes.’

Grapheme Synesthesia - seeing letters and numbers in colour

The term ‘color organ’ was coined in the eighteenth century and referred to a tradition of mechanical (and then) electro-mechanical devices built to represent sound or accompany music in a visual medium. One hundred years later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe proposed in his 1810 book Theory of Colours that musical and colour tones shared common frequencies, echoing Sir Isaac Newton’s observations. In the 1980s, Steve Mann regarded the Internet as a ‘Sixth Sense’, which could be mapped to the other five senses by way of such synthetic Synesthesia. Lady Gaga said in a 2011 interview that, ‘When I write songs, I hear melodies and I hear lyrics… but I also see colour.’

Stroop Interference

The word ‘Synesthesia’ has been used for 300 years to describe very different things, from poetry and metaphor to deliberately contrived mixed-media applications such as Son et Lumière shows (‘Lightshow’), which is also a song title by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta from their 2003 album De-Loused in the Comatorium. There are over 60 reported types of Synesthesia, but these are the five most frequently encountered… (continued)

“An LSD experience without the LSD” -that was a laugh. In fact, the heads are pouring in by the hundreds, bombed out of their gourds, hundreds of heads coming out into the absolute open for the first time. It is like the time the Pranksters went to the Beatles concert in full costume, looking so bizarre and so totally smoked that no one could believe they were. Nobody would risk it in public like that. Well the kids are just having an LSD experience without the LSD, that’s all, and this is what it looks like. A hulking crazed whirlpool. That’s nice.
Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

… To read the full feature, pick up a copy of the latest issue of one small seed magazine and click HERE to read the full breakdown of issue 24!

An example of a synesthete who sees the months of the year in colour

Check out this video that illustrates the magnificent realm the Synesthete (n) lives in and for a more informative breakdown down video, simply click HERE.

words: sarah claire picton, illustration: mark venter

Controversial as she may have been, the world mourns Amy Winehouse who passed away at the ominous age of 27.

Although plagued by addiction and the pressures of overexposure, Amy Winehouse will be remembered for her mastering of many eclectic musical styles and a powerful contralto voice. She passed away on the 23rd of July at her London apartment and the investigation into her death is ongoing currently classified “unexplained.” She joins other musical greats who passed away at the grim age of 27; the likes of Jim Morrison, Kurt Corbain, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

Friends, the likes of Russell Brand, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Kelly Osbourne, and Pete Wentz, have reached out to express their sadness at the news of her passing, Brand writing a beautiful ode to her on his website (it can be found here). After her initial explosion of success, including Grammy wins and platinum albums, Amy Winehouse found herself skewered by the media on any and all public displays of an ill-nature. In the end she became that tragic figure the papers made her out to be, but in time her legacy will be remembered for her soul-lifting Jazz greats and amazing stage presence. The 27 Club, as morose as it is to say, has good company in Amy Winehouse.

“The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone.“

- Russel Brand.

Sir Paul McCartney has created the ultimate tribute to his late wife Linda, a book titledLinda McCartney: Life in Photographs.Read on to find out more and see footage of the London exhibition and hear what the McCartney family had to say.

Sir Paul McCartney has created the ultimate tribute to his late wife Linda, with a book to celebrate her talent. The 26 images have been selected from an archive of more than 200,000 for the book which is described as a ‘lasting testament’ to Linda. The book, called Linda McCartney: Life In Photographs, is run alongside an exhibition held in London and one currently running still in New York.

The late Linda McCartney’s life as a photographer started in 1996 where she boarded a yacht upon which the Rolling Stones were playing. Her fresh, candid perspective was a stark contrast to the formal photographs taken by their official photographer and so sparked her existence as one of the world’s top rock ‘n roll photographers.

During her occupancy as leading photographer of the late 1960’s music scene, she chronicled the music revolution of the decade and became the very first female photographer to have her work featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Linda was introduced to Paul McCartney when she was shooting a launch event for the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.  The rest is history, they had a long and beautiful marriage which was defined by their mutual love for music, photography, vegetarianism and their family. Linda spent the last three decades of her devastatingly short life devoting herself to the photographic capturing of her personal life and family.

A newly released book entitled Linda McCartney – Life in Photographs has been produced alongside a formal exhibition to honour Linda McCartney and her photographic voyage. The exhibition has been carefully curated by Paul and the rest of the McCartney family so as to expose her sumptuous talent which remains so widely admired by any amateur or professional photographer.

The exhibition is held at the Phillips de Pury Gallery in London and is comprised of 26 photographs which have been drastically cut down from her personal archive of over 200 000. Her images have been specifically chosen to enhance her aptitude as a spontaneous and emotionally charged photographer. She is exceptionally talented, showing great subtlety and versatility and has a photographic eye that invites envy the world over.

Her prints are displayed in the gallery in an exceptionally large format, which “only enhances it’s intimacy and power” says Simon de Pury, chairman of Phillips de Pury & Company. Each photograph seems to capture more than just a moment of passing time, but rather exposes the emotions embedded within each unique instant.  Her work is unassuming and candid, giving way to her refreshing perspective on each moment which allows her to capture the essence of her subjects without pretension or artifice.

In an interview with Paul McCartney the question was posed surrounding how he felt looking at these past personal and private moments , in which he responded: “It’s funny. I think when you have a bit of distance from someone you have lost, you can just look at it with pleasure. Because they were great times. It is tinged with sadness because you lost that person, but the main feeling for me looking at these is joy. Mostly, these pictures are uplifting.” Despite her world renowned success as a leading photographer, Linda said that her greatest achievement in life was her and Pauls four children, Heather, Mary, Stella and James.

Below is a short video showing footage of the London exhibition for Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs and what the McCartney family has to say about Linda and her passion for photography. Length: 02:26