We see with our eyes, listen with our ears, smell with our nose and feel with our body. Issue 24 – ”Listen to my Colour & Look at my Sound” is all about understanding spaces and sounds on completely different levels. On a similar level however, we have Nick Cave’s amazing sound suits to awake and satisfy all of your senses.

Our senses are in undeniable relationship with each other and to intensify our experiences we are able to use our senses in less acquainted ways. This is something Nick Cave understood perfectly while creating the remarkable sound suits.

The suits are both stand -alone works of sculpture but are also used in active performance pieces. They cover the whole body, erasing the identity of the wearer. Thus, the soundsuits can be understood as coats of armer, shielding Cave from the day to day prejudice he encounters as an African American man and facilitating a transformation into an invented realm of vibrant associations and meanings. The suits seek us to connect with the environment by becoming vessels of transformation, beg us top pay attention and dream of a different future.

Nick cave:

I think about these as second skins, or a barrier, a space that protects me from the outer world … erasing gender and forcing the viewer to come face-to-face with the unfamiliar.

An absolute delight for the eye, the suits are made of several materials and objects, turning the ordinary in unordinary , like dyed human hair, buttons, beads, recycled materials, sequins, feathers, baskets, iron sticks, twigs old socks and even ceramic bids. Imagine the incredible sound of these entirely different textures striking against and towards each other while wearing it and moving it around in space. It creates a mad, humorous, visionary, glamorous and unexpected effect that shakes up our vision.

 
His solo exhibition – For Now – was an open playground of soundsuits, dancers leaping around exuberantly, a swirl of color and swishing hair… Here’s a short video that gives life to these words…
 

© Storm Thorgerson

Storm Thorgerson. Two words, and a name, that might mean little to most people, even though they’ve had deeply emotional experiences to the images he has created for some of modern music’s most famous acts. His creations have graced releases by Pink Floyd, Muse, Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro, Genesis, Ween, AC/DC, Offspring, and 10cc amongst others – and Cape Town band Machineri. To fans, mention of his name, or that of his first company, Hipgnosis, is likely to trigger raptures about a specific album cover, and the imagery created by Thorgerson. This interview, for example, is being written on a computer just below a treasured possession – a near mint copy of Pink Floyd’s “Animals” signed by Thorgerson during a brief South African visit in 2006.

© Storm Thorgerson

© Storm Thorgerson

© Storm Thorgerson

In February, Thorgerson will hold an exhibition in Cape Town to coincide with the local launch of his new book, The Raging Storm, which is a catalogue of some of his more recent work. “It’s new stuff we’ve done in the last three years,” says Thorgerson by telephone from his London studio. “This time, we changed the format to landscape. I don’t like landscape books, normally, but a few of the recent pictures are gatefolds, or for the front and back of a digipack CD. I’m quite pleased with how it all turned out.”

Thorgerson is renowned for an almost laconic approach to talking about his work, and for often self-effacing answers. For one album cover, for example, he moved nearly 800 steel-frame beds onto a beach. For another, he conceived a multi-storey scaffolding contraption to release hundreds of red balls to bounce towards the key subject matter. He has created massive sculptures just to get one photograph taken, suspended people from ropes, dug trenches in fields and, of course, contracted stuntmen to be set alight – all to capture a real image that could have been created through digital or other manipulation. Of all this, he merely says that this is the way he works.

© Storm Thorgerson

In director Roddy Bogawa’s documentary Taken By Storm, there’s a telling moment where Pink Floyd co-founder David Gilmour furrows his brow over ‘the beds’ and says, ‘Storm is one of those people who feels you have to do things digitally, and not fake it up.’ In the same film, music legend Alan Parsons describes Thorgerson as ‘believing very strongly that a photograph needs to be a real image to be believable.’

For a recent Steve Miller cover, Thorgerson caused a huge guitar-shaped hole to be dug into verdant grass, with characters interacting with the water-filled shape. ‘It was very, very real to dig a hole like that with a digger,’ says Thorgerson, and then continues in characteristically wry manner. “It was fun, although I’m not sure how much I like now. I tend to have a different response to the work, depending on how long it has been since I have done it. I tend to have a rethink, or imagine other ways that I could do it. I wonder, ‘Was it worth it? Will that image stay the course?’ Steve Miller loved it, though, he was extremely complimentary about the image. Said something like, ‘I’ll have to write a song about that. Maybe I’ll start a new album for it’.”

© Storm Thorgerson

Despite his years in the business, though, Thorgerson still approaches each new project with a fresh eye and an eager mind. He is also still learning some hard felt lessons: like not relinquishing creative control. His website, StormThorgerson.com, currently opens with the new work for the commemorative re-issues of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with the iconic prism artwork. Immediately following that, though, is something he describes as, ‘Not so enjoyable by a long stretch… For some inexplicable reason, inexplicable even to me, I agreed to provide an image and let them alter / retouch / composite as they wished.’ The result sees his image of two lovers suspended under water as “ghosts” of their pasts swim behind them being ‘done up’ with crudely added images of a coral reef and a whale.

‘It’s my own mistake,’ he says, and one can hear the teeth clenching across the Atlantic. ‘I don’t know why I agreed to that change – I just didn’t believe they could do something like that. ‘It won’t happen again,’ as they say. I absolutely hated it when I saw what they had done; I literally died on the spot, as it were. I was very unhappy, but I had agreed and couldn’t retract that, so what could I do. It’s too depressing to talk about anymore.”

Happily, there is a myriad of other topics to address. Not least being the images for the Pink Floyd re-issue, about which Thorgerson is much more pleased. ‘That one was interesting,’ he says.

I thought it turned out pretty well. I was not unhappy, as they say, with the result. We used an immersion and ink technique and, of course, there are lots of bits and pieces and stories to go on when we were coming up with the concept, so I enjoyed that. I don’t quite understand why the re-issue was done, of course, but I think we created something that the Floyd fans will like. (Storm Thorgerson)

© Storm Thorgerson

Thorgerson’s South African show follows his cover for Cape Town three-piece Machineri. ‘That cover worked out really well – you can’t always know how it will go. You have an idea, and you set out to do it – and then you keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. Afterwards, it was suggested by their manager that maybe I should have a show there, and I liked the idea of getting away from the rotten weather here. The exhibition will be a mixture of old favourites which I can still bear to look at; some things from the ’70s and ’80s and some very recent stuff, like Machineri. I’m very happy to show that.’

————-

Source: What’s On , Photos courtesy of Storm Thorgerson.

Words: Evan Milton

Interview first published: in the Cape Argus “Good Weekend” of 2012/ 01/29.

*) Taken By Storm, the 2011 feature length documentary featuring Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, members of Muse, The Cranberries, 10cc, Biffy Clyro and more, runs from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 February at the venue at 8pm, followed by a Q&A with the artist (booking is essential on 082 455 3447; tickets R80 or R60 for students).

*) Machineri perform live on Saturday 25 February at 10pm (R40).

This interview first appeared in the Cape Argus “Good Weekend” of 2012/ 01/29.

one small seed in conjunction with Olmeca Editión Black Tequila present a new edition to one small seed magazine: The Elektronic Dialogues; offering our readers an intimate showcase of the diversity in our local and international electronic music scene. In Issue 24 – our latest issue in stores now! – we brings you Blush n Bass and Felix Laband, and to follow is the full interview with Felix Laband.

1977 was the year that electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk released Trans-Europe Express. And the year that Felix Laband was born. Like his German counterparts, the Kwa-Zulu Natal-born electronic producer/artist employs a distinctive sound that fuels his X Generation. Bringing in classical music, jazz and old TV recordings, his hauntingly nostalgic soundscape is a minimalist mish-mash laced with themes of politics, pornography and pop culture. Laband takes a break from working on his new album deaf safari after a six-year hiatus and shares some fuel with one small seed.

Who is DJ Snakehips? Are you still playing gigs as Felix?
DJ Snakehips is just an opportunity for me to play anything I want instead of my own material. I am really into all sorts of music, especially crazy band music from the ‘50s and ‘60s and the music I grew up on: the dark stuff from the ‘80s. I also love kwaito and jazz and ‘60s French big beat and modern classical music. And all the Talking Heads-era music. I don’t just listen to electronic music.

Tell me about your new work.
It’s an honest attempt to try and capture the world we live in and expose it in all its beauty and flaws. In my previous work, I tried to create a world that was very far from reality. I wanted to create a space wherein the listener could disappear and find a piece of their own imagination. I didn’t want to dictate the listener’s experience. I wanted to be the LSD and they could have their own trip. But with this album, I wanted to express my feelings about things as I am generally very disturbed by contemporary society and need to comment now.

Describe your sound and style.
My sound is a mix of electronics and raw natural sounds with lots of juxtaposed samples that I’ve been recording over the years. Politicians, preachers, talk show hosts, porn stars. This album returns to some more traditional ‘80s style verse and chorus arrangements. My love of kwaito and local house is also a strong influence and this album will feature vocals for the first time. There’s some beautiful music and some in-your-face reality that may not please everybody.

How do you represent politics in your music and visuals?
For the last six years, I’ve been keeping a visual diary of my experiences in South Africa. The mass media today has eaten our souls and left us a blind, frivolous generation. We are spoonfed all these crap ‘reality’ shows and vulgar celebrities… and we swallow. Americans seem completely hoodwinked about the evil things they do, like invading countries for oil, and South Africans praise corrupt politicians who lead them Pied Piper-style to their own destruction. Pornography is a huge part of our society and two mouse clicks away, but is never spoken of. This new media bill is the beginning of the End, but all we care about is Paris Hilton. My art helps me to express all the things I want to comment on that my music can’t express. I will soon start working very closely with the two different media.

How has the ‘Scene’ changed over the last ten years?
I think the scene today is about to get very exciting because everybody is able to produce music now and there are so many kids doing so. The competition will be fierce and the truly talented will win the battle. Hopefully people will stop putting up with shit.

What is success to you?
A couple of things. Firstly, it is about being able to live comfortably doing what I love, being able to travel and meet other artists that inspire me. And secondly, it’s about leaving behind music that has the power to change people’s lives, help them identify who they are and inspire them to be creative with integrity and passion.

How’s it been getting back into music after your break?
That break was very important to me as everything exploded when I was quite young and it has given me the opportunity to really think about who I am and what it is that I want to do creatively. I started reading more and that has inspired me on a more political level. But I have also found that the older I get, the more critical I am of my work and it has been really hard for me to finish deaf safari. But playing again has definitely helped with my confidence as the reception has generally been great so far.

What are your plans?
I’m playing quite a lot in the near future. Just watch the press. After I release the album, I plan to tour Europe for a while. I would also love to work with Professor or L’vovo Derrango.

What was it like to come from a small town in Kwa-Zulu Natal and achieve local and international recognition in the electro music industry?
I always knew that this would be my life, so it has felt very natural.

‘Click HERE for a preview of the latest issue of one small seed, Issue 24 “Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound”

Artwork: Felix La Band

The Summer of Love, Woodstock, hippies, protest, peace and love, drugs, long hair and bare feet. These are some of the stereotypes that come to mind when I think about the 1960s in the United States, a volatile time for that nation.

The volatility sprung from a disaffected, post-WWII youth that weren’t afraid to hold mass protests, embrace free love and challenge an oppressive status quo–“The Man”. Drugs, but more importantly music and political thought shocked the States into an expansion of the national consciousness. The ’60s fostered a youth culture that refused to accept the antiquated, racist, patriarchal and conservative views held throughout the 1950s.
 

Change did not come over night, it required struggle and possibly only holds significance in hindsight—40 years later in front of a computer, cracked out on coffee and Red Bull™.
 

In the States lawful segregation ended, people burned their draft books, protested the war in Vietnam and listened to trippy music that begged listeners to question authority. Festivals mobilized the masses and the Cuban missile crisis made Americans wonder if this whole Cold War business was really such a good idea. The youth of the ’60s challenged the perceptual limits of their parents and the ruling elites. ‘Should we really live in fear and hatred of each other?’ ‘What is this whole human game all about?’ ‘How are we going to bring about lasting change?’ thought the youth. Consciousness expansion, for some important thinkers, was the solution.

Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ken Kesey, not to mention The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jim Morrison of The Doors all contributed significantly, along with thousands of others to the enlightenment of the 1960s. They were different from the Martin Luther Kings, John F Kennedys, Malcom Xs and Che Guevaras of the day but no less important. When they were at their best they did not seek direct political ends but instead made the people reflect on the society that they lived in.
 

Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas questioned the contemporary validity of the ‘American Dream,’ juxtaposing antiquated values with the hedonistic world of Vegas and his own skull. Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test chronicled the movement of early acid freaks that deliberately shocked the nation in an attempt to startle people out of their small minded trips—jobs, homes, mortgages and, most importantly, social norms. Finally, Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest illustrated the confining nature of institutionalism, that to be crazy is a hallmark of sanity and manliness comes only from one’s ability to assert individuality. Drugs are important but original thought, aided or otherwise, is what people respond to; it is the spark that lights the fires of change.
 

Collectively known as the Beat generation, or beatniks, the authors of the 1960s reflected their world through challenging works, often invoking humour and drug use to pound home their message to readers. The times were serious and the issues were important, war, love and the Art of Living. These exceptional men were able to stand back from The Edge and clue the rest of in to their respective worlds. Time moves relentlessly forward, trapping and encompassing all of us. The past holds the key to the future because it is all we have to understand. There is no way that things could have been besides the way they are. Today’s time is no less important than theirs and the war rages on.
 
The latest issue of one small seed, Issue 24: ‘Listen to My Colour and Look at My Sound’, features an exclusive interview with great illustrator Ralph Steadman, the man responsible for the iconic images in Hunter S. Thompson’s work (featured above). Check out the full preview of Issue 24 HERE.
 
 
Bob Dylan- The Times They Are A Changin’

 

Images: hiphappy, pixelvulture, www.chan4chan.com, legal-aware.org, flickr.com
Words: Connor Leech

Issue 24 of one small seed asks you to ‘Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound’. Music, motion, words and colour – looking beyond the obvious, our latest issue brings a union of the senses. To follow is an all-inclusive preview of the new issue: a full breakdown of content that resonates with inspiration. Hold on tight…

The human story is told in the language of pop culture. Coca Cola designed Santa Claus and Hugo Boss the uniforms for the Order of the Death’s Head. Jimi played The Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock and the Devil went down to Georgia. David Byrne wore a big suit and Princess Leia that bikini. We couldn’t handle the truth, needed a bigger boat and loved the smell of napalm in the morning. Assorted male models shot JFK, RFK and JR, then Biggy Smalls, Tupac and the Sheriff. And something made Andy Warhol’s Marilyns smile. Maybe it was the hand up the Mona Lisa’s skirt. (Gustav Swart)

This issue’s theme of ‘Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound’ led us to some odd doors as we sought artists that bridged the divide between the visual and the aural.  An interview with legendary album artist Storm Thorgerson – referred to some as the 6^th member of Pink Floyd – allowed us to revisit the aesthetics of the ’70s, while 21^st Century poster designer Dan Khulken tells us about making posters for bands like Black Keys and The National. Issue 24 is a 30 000-plus words visual explosion, and one such visually exploding artist we spoke to is the infamous Gonzo illustrator and Hunter S Thompson’s partner-in-grime, Ralph Steadman. Another artist that tore through the ’70s and still doing what he does best is Horace Panter – the bass player of The Specials. In this issue, Panter gives us a candid account of his life in music and his life as an artist, from playing with The Clash to his time working as a white van man, he shares memories of his life on a road less traveled.

Our fashion spread this issue comes direct from Tokyo, Japan. Creating a 3D-like effect, reminiscent of Nintendo games and early Star Wars films, Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga created his Low Resolution collection around the 8-bit inspired colorful square blocks. Mari Sarai’s lewd black and white nudes feature as this issue’s photography section, her subjects including celebs like Gavin Rossdale’s daughter Daisy Lowe and model Janice Dickinson. We have a feast for the ears in the form of interviews with Kenya’s globe conquering Just a Band and the revolutionary American poet Abiodun Oyewole – the man who robbed the KKK and worked with legendary Jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron on his famous song ‘The Revolution will not be Televised’.

Ever tasted the letter ‘f’? Or smelled the colour blue? Well, some people have! One of our main features this issue is on Synesthesia – the condition that lets people see sound as colour – and trace its path through the methods and madness of some of the brightest stars in the human firmament. Click HERE for a preview of the feature. On the local frontier, we sit down with singer/song writer/actress Sannie Fox, electronic trio Digital Rockit and all four members from Cape Town band iScreamStix. Olmeca Editión Black Tequila joins us in showcasing electronic DJs/Producers, with this issue bringing Blush n Bass and Felix Laband to the party.  We watched architecture dance slowly to visible music in our architecture feature, looking at structures like The Sum of Days, NY; Stillspotting, NY; the Jewish Museum, Berlin; Jetty Square and more.

Ending with the beginning, our cover for Issue 24 is devoted to one of the street artist/videographer Mr Brainwash’s tongue-in-cheek creations. This issue features a six-page interview with the artist, who talked to us from his L.A. home about money, art and Andy Warhol. Showcasing at 34FineArt Gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town is an exclusive selection of Mr Brainwash’s latest artwork, including issue 24’s ‘Madonna’ silk screen on paper with spray paint.

Right, without further ado… Here’s the breakdown for Issue 24 “Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound”.

FEATURES

American Civil Rights Icon

Abiodun Oyewole: Grand, High Wizard

Founder member of The Last Poets talks about verse, Gil Scott-Heron and robbing the KKK. Click HERE to read our blog ‘The Revolution will not be Televised’ and find out more about the legendary Gil Scott-Heron: a spoken word poet, jazz genius and close friend to Abiodun Oyewole.

Defiant Photographer

Mari Sarai’s Girls on Film

Black-and-white nudes that stare right back and you and challenge the Gaze. Check out a video interview we found with Mari Sarai by visiting onesmallseed.tv HERE.

Aural architecture

Echo Chamber: The Sound of Space

Our investigation of sound and concrete spans the globe and classic art movies. First we took Manhattan, then we took Berlin. Click HERE and visit onesmallseed.tv to watch the video titled Berlin: Die Sinfonie der GroBstadt, which showcases a selection of abstract visual content that portrays the ‘life’ of a city.

Cape Town-based breakout band

iScreamStix: It ain’t Sorbet

A big scoop of local talent

Kenyan Globetrotters

Just an Interview with Just a Band

Meet the voice of East Africa’s ‘superhero’ Makmande. He may not exist but he sure kicks ass

Cross-sensory Exploration

Neuromagic: The Harmony of Synesthesia

We dive into the magical world inhabited by synesthetes: individuals who see, hear, feel, smell and even taste colour. Such people include legends of our time, like Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, Marilyn Monroe and Vladimir Nabokov to name a few. Click HERE for a preview of the feature and then visit one small seed TV to see a video about this unique condition

Genre-busting rocker

Sannie Fox: Rage with the Machine

This star of stage and screen proves that you don’t have to be a fatbottomed girl to make the rocking world go round.

Gonzo illustrator

Ralph Steadman: Another Freak in the Freak Kingdom

We can’t stop here. It’s bat country

Controversial Pop Artist

Mr Brainwash: Laughing all the Way to the Banksy

We got a call from the man who calls himself ‘Banksy’s biggest piece of art’. We’ve uploaded a snippet of the interview featured in the magazine, simply click HERE and see if you can make out who Mr Brainwash really is…

Jozi Beats

Digital Rockit: The Neon Gods they Made

Local veterans of the electronic scene look forward and back

Classic Album Art

Storm Thorgerson: Dark Side of the Tunes

We get under the covers with the man who designed for bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Muse and machineri.

Troubadour’s Poster Boy

Dan Kuhlken: Dreaming of Electric Sheep

The National, The Black Keys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers… just some of the bands that LA-based design team DKNG have worked for

Musical contrasts

eleKTRONIK Dialogues

A new department brought to you in conjunction with Olmeca Editión Black Tequila dedicated to showcasing the best and brightest musical talent.

Ska rocker and painter

Horace Panter: If Music is your Special Thing

The bass player of The Specials went from fame to obscurity and back again

Avant-garde Fashion

Kunihiko Morinaga: Pretty in Pixels

Chic couture meets the chunky pixels of 8-bit arcade games on the catwalk. Check out our interview with Morinaga in the latest issue, and if you’re thirsty for more information on pixel fashion then check out our blog HERE.

DEPARTMENTS

IN STORE

Products for your eyes, hands, and mind…

BOOK REVIEWS

Get the critique on books that will read you.

SELECTED CREATIVES

We reveal the winners for Selected Creatives 06, a showcase of the very best uploaded to onesmallseed.net. Click HERE to check out who made the cut, voted by you on the one small seed network.

FILM REVIEWS

This issue we check out Mike Cahill’s Another Earth; Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Tarsem Singh’s Immortals, Lars von Trier’s Melancholia and Paula Van der Oest’s Black Butterflies.

MUSIC REVIEWS

We dissect the beats that are supposed to move your feet.

NOW SHOWING

Issue 24 showcases some of the most gripping videos we found in 2011, including Influencers; Jeff Staple; Earth time-lapse view from Space; Press Pause Play; Morpho Towers: Two Standing Spirals; Brain Eno’s Imaginary Landscapes and Berlin Die Sinfonie Der Grosstadt, a fascinating video that sheds light on the discourse of aural architecture. Click HERE to watch these awesome videos.

THE LAST WORD

We leave this to South African writer duo Headline Payoff and illustration by Mark Venter.

Born in Paris under the name Thierry Guetta, street artist/videographer Mr Brainwash’s gap-filled biography has prompted conspiracy theorists to speculate that he’s a Banksy/Shepard Fairey/Invader project and that the acclaimed Banksy-directed documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop is a grand hoax and offers more grift than gift.

How have things changed since your first show in LA in 2008?

Time lets you get better at what you do. The show in 2008 was 18 000 square feet and this show is 80 000 square feet.

You created street art and then moved on to massive exhibitions. It’s just getting bigger and bigger. How do you pull it off?

I don’t sleep very much. Three or four hours a day is normal. I’m very passionate about my work… though I wouldn’t really call it ‘work’ if it’s something that you’re really  passionate about and have fun doing. We cry sometimes but it’s a pleasure when you finish a piece. 

How does your team handle it?

I’ve got a small team and I only use other people when I do bigger shows. It’s a small team but they are a hundred percent with me. They believe in me and where I’m going.

Do you see yourself sticking to a career as an artist? Do you think you’ll change direction?

I’m an artist. I always have been. An artist is someone who is passionate about what he does and does it from his heart. He can make it happen. An artist doesn’t have to be the best in the world and doesn’t have to listen to anybody. You just go forward with what you want, because everyone has their own life. When I made clothing, I thought like an artist and came up with something new that was only for designers. And it was the same when I started filming. I took that challenge up for ten years. I’d go out in the morning and have two or three cameras with me and I didn’t stop making it happen.

…. continued

Make sure you pick up a copy of the latest one small seed – issue 24 – to read the full interview and click HERE to read the full breakdown of issue 24!