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.

Please introduce yourselves.

My name is David McWanre and I sing in the band.

What are you busy with at the moment?

We are non-stop right now. After writing the new record, we spent two months asking local Boston friends/studio owners if we could please record with them for free, because we didn’t have a cent. All we had was a 40K dept from trailers and vans breaking and other bad luck. Than after miraculously16 friends/studio owners said yes, the record was made. Then we hit Warped Tour for 2 months, had a 5-day break, then hit Japan and China (touring on foot and subways), had a 5-day break, and are now preparing for our States tour in less than 5 days. We are living a steady riot of a life right now.

How does it feel to be in the punk/ska scene for so long?
Hm, ‘how does it feel to be in the punk/ska scene for so long’…I guess I feel free from normality and very lucky.

Is there any young bands that are influencing you at the moment?

Absolutely not. I guess the only thing that has made my head turn slightly is Matt the singer from I Set My Friends On Fire’s stage demeanor – he’s one interesting guy and the heart of the Japanese band Conviction. Other than that the only person playing right now that really inspires me is the band Melt-Banana. And I do not mean that in a pretentious way, just an honest way; either you are inspired or you are not.

If you could do it all over again, would you rather sell out for the bling or suffer
for the music?

The question has tough wording. You can suffer in music while attaining ‘bling’ and you can be in a non-lucrative band and not suffer. I am very happy where I am at, but yes being able to take a girl out and not worry about money is comforting.

Big D and the Kids Table – For The Damned, The Dumb and Delirious

What / who inspires your music?

Operation Ivy, Melt-Banana, old beat beatnik surf rock, Steinbeck, Bukowski and Quentin Tarantino.

Name five books that changed your lives.

1. Everything and Anything from Steinbeck.
2. Everything and anything from Bukowski
3. Winesburg Ohio, Sherwood Anderson
4. A Collection Of Poems, Steve Crain
5. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway

Whiskey or beer?

Beer.

Bong or a blunt?

My mother may read this.

How… I mean really… how did you guys hookup with Melt Banana?

Our graphic designer Yo-Yo-Yosef hooked it up. He introduced us at the Middle East club in Boston over soup and we both thought the split was a pretty fun idea.

How have you guys translated the DIY mentality to the online world?

Oh just like everyone else, with social networks. I’m of the opinion that today’s musician are DIY if that means not leaving the house or being physical.

What happened to the ‘American Dream?’

What happened to the ‘American Dream?’ Well the ‘American Dream’ means if you work hard you can have anything you want and that is true today than it ever was. Within my inner thought, I believe I am proof of that. I think you may be asking, ‘What is changing as far as the American mentality’ – and I would say, ‘when I was a kid we used to have a newspaper called The Inquirer (The Sun for you) and today America is The Inquirer.’

What comes after Capitalism finally fails the western world?

Well that states that it will fail, saying that I believe it will fail. I’ll also answer what happens ‘if’ capitalisms fails?

#1: ‘When’ it fails:

I don’t think America will allow that. America will either mold what it means to be in a Capitalist county by making the needed changes in which every American has the freedom to express and vote on; America would potentially fix the changes needed in the system of government it truly believes in and which was build to keep people free from censorship and oppression. Laws would be changed and new ones made.

#2 ‘If’ it truly collapsed:

Well at that point I would hope that the right people with a more evolved mentality would then embark on a new and better form of government, which still allows it’s people freedom of expression, freedom speech and freedom to live their dream; what that form of government is, I do not know but I hope will illuminate itself if Capitalism falls. I believe one must remember how quickly ones freedoms can truly be taken away once might crushes right. My mother always said, ‘Young ladies don’t know it, but it will be their freedoms taken 1st.

How has the War on Drugs affected your lives / family?

As a young kid I had always loved running from the police; it is exciting.

Share with us some wisdom of ‘living on the road’ for 15 years.
I would just back up what you have already heard and that is that one could potentially die any day, so you might as well go live your life and see your world.

And I will add this little guy I wrote:

drowning in demons, reaching for your devil

you must stop
battling all the little demons
while the devil himself sits calmly watching
can’t you see,
that the devil is just keeping you busy?
he knows you’ll never think of knocking him down
while you’re distracted
if you want to end it,
end it
if you want progress, make progress
stop wasting your productive years
battling those little demons
want blood?
slay the big guy
what the hell is it you want anyway?
let all those little demons just hang on you
while you move forward
move strong toward his chair
grab your devil by his neck
surprise him; knock him down
the little ones will jump off once they see that
flex every muscle
put your brow down
you can have anything you want

‘For The Damned, The Dumb & Delirious,’ how jaded is the underground culture
in America?

Underground music culture or dead people under ground? Well dead people underground don’t have much of a culture, but yes are very jaded. King Tut has a lot of culture, but he’s above ground. I don’t think the underground music culture is jaded in the least in America. Everyone seems to be having a solid time. The ideals of the underground culture in the ’80s isn’t the same in the ’90s that isn’t them same today, so I can’t truly compare. The album title is cheeky yes, but in good fun; we truly wrote the record for us and them. I think the most jaded people in the music and film scene are the ones that post hateful opinion on the internet. People need to lighten up.

What’s next?

Well after this I have to go into the city, get the van, then hook it up to the trailer across town, then clean the van and trailer, count the merch, order new merch, then head in the city again tomorrow to print new merch and my new book, then close the cabin I’m living in, bring in the dock, pack my bag, head to rehersal, then head off to the U.S. tour for a month; then on to England and Europe.

Thanks guys, Have a great time! Peace!

Thanks to you too man; thanks for giving a shit.

 

 
Images courtesy of Big D and the Kids Table
Interview conducted by Jaco Lambrechts