A little more than two months ago we recognized the face of one of the other tenants in our practice space building. At the time, we said hello and made friendly, but neither of us could place where we knew the other. It was just a few days later, in the halls of The FADER, that we ran into one another again—this time properly introducing ourselves. In collaboration with friend Ruthy Mirsky, John Majer has been working on a lovely electronic project, entitled Syvia for, roughly, the last 8 months in their Williamsburg practice space. John shared a few tracks recently, and to say the least, I was floored.

Resting somewhere on the line of Scandinavian minimalist synth-pop, such as The Knife, Syvia is occasionally much more, well, "American"; in feel and location, if that makes sense. On their song "Metal Bird", pizzicato female vocals, accompanied by buzz-saw synths and rythmic, almost native, kick-drum give their music a swagger that you wouldn't normally hear from the myth-laden, snow-worn, melodies of the European North. It's rythmic, simple, and subtle pop music whose roots seem to be built off of the linear tones of shoe-gaze and the bumping rhythms of house music, all driven by John's laptop and Ruthy's vocals. "Metal Bird" is one of our new favorite tracks of 2009, even when stacked up against heavy summer hitters, like French rock n' roll-inspired "1901" by Phoenix or the rolling wall of color, dreams, and sound that is Passion Pit's "Moth's Wings".

Syvia is so new, in fact, that we decided to wait to put up their Q&A until they'd had the chance to build a myspace page. After just a few weeks they came back to let us know that not only had they put together a stop on the myspace highway, but they had also managed to put together a page on Blogger. Understanding their technical abilities, we shouldn't have expected less, but we're happy to the be the first to independently announce their presence to the world. Press play below and read on to find out more about their snack preferences and plans to take the project out of the studio and onto a stage.

SYVIA

bad.neighbors. Hey guys, we're absolutely over the moon about "Metal Bird" and the other tracks that you gave us! How long have you guys been working on the music?

ruthy mirsky. We were in a band called What What Where and then that band broke up and we started Syvia in August 2008. We basically just started working on songs or pieces of songs that I had been writing on my own. I would sing it for John and he would either say "Yes, that's cool, let's work on that," or "No, that's lame and cheesy." Sometimes, John would send me a great instrumental riff that he had come up with and I would listen to it and hear a vocal melody and a story that I wanted to tell. We don't have a hard fast way of writing music, but the end goal is always the same--we want to make great songs. If we can strip away all the bells and whistles and still have a good tune with just the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar, then we have succeeded in doing that.

john majer. Yes, as Ruthy so eloquently stated, we worked together in What What Where and got along really well as friends and shared the same love for pop music as well as electronic, indie, undergound, or whatever. It just seemed natural to work together after the demise of What What Where.

b.ns. This is probably one of the hardest questions on the face of the planet to answer. I know that most bands struggle to "define" our own music, or even to say where we take our inspiration from—but can you do that?

r.m. I think we land somewhere in the murky intersection of electronica, pop, rock, and hip hop. The bands that most influenced us I think would be The Knife, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Robyn, a lot of the Scandinavian electro pop. Personally, I listened to a lot of blues music growing up and loved the raw emotion and energy of musicians like Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson. Whenever we get stuck with a song we'll go listen to a track that one of us (or both of us) is currently obsessed with and use it as inspiration. Now that we have some songs finished, it will be interesting to see what our live show we be, but we've performed together before onstage so I'm not too worried. I can’t wait to start performing again .

j.m. When we first got together we met a couple times before we even started making music to get our game plan together. We tried to define what style of music we wanted to make. Which basically came out to be “interesting pop” music. We never really thought about how we were going to perform live. We knew that we wanted to and were going to perform, but we also knew that we wanted to write everything on our own on the computer first.

b.ns. What's it like in the studio for you guys—do you both contribute to all parts, or is more of a producer/vocalist kind of thing?

j.m. The first six months for us was a learning experience. What What Where had a third member that was really good at engineering, We had to learn to create music with just the two of us. There was a long learning curve that we had to get over, especially since Ruthy had never used any audio programs before. But now she has learned a lot about using Logic, which is our main sequencing software. But, we get along so well that even though it was trying at times it still felt natural. The songs come from both us with Ruthy having full reign on lyrics. I will come in with a beat or whatever and she will come up with a melody or
she comes in with a melody and even a beat already worked out in Logic. Tag team style.

r.m. We have frustrating moments, and John has been endlessly patient with me as I learn how to work with digital audio programs, but in the end it always works out. All the frustrations pay off when suddenly that surge of creative energy hits, and we both are thinking and hearing the same thing that needs to be done to bring the song over that next hurdle. One of the best things about our partnership is that we have one of those unique working relationships where we come at the music from entirely different perspectives, but ultimately share a common vision for what is great and what isn’t. The songs couldn’t get done without each of us bringing what we have to offer to the table.

b.ns. So knowing that you guys met here in New York, where did you both come from before here? How did you find yourselves swimming this sea?

r.m. I was born and raised in Manhattan, and currently live in Brooklyn. I was looking for ways to sing and started back up singing for a white rapper that I met off of Craigslist. My first audition happened to be at a studio that was owned by our third What What Where bandmate, and the rest is history.

j.m. I have been living in Brooklyn for about 7 years and basically wanted to move here so I did. Ha. We met in What What Where. Ruthy was referred to the band, auditioned, and it’s been nothing but good times ever since.

b.ns. Have either of you been in bands before Syvia and What What Where—what have those projects been like?

j.m. I have been playing in bands for years, my whole life really. I was in a post hardcore band called Lazycain that put out a couple records, then came Jrawls, then I was in an instrumental pirate metal band that was unbelievable fun called The Tori, was in a NYC band called Overnight which, as we are doing this, have written a whole new album that is really great—you should check it out. Then I did some tracks under the Even Odds moniker, What What Where, and now Syvia.

r.m. I have been singing since I was a little girl, but I went to a school that didn’t lend itself to a lot of outside activities so I sang in anything I could, like chorus, musicals, talent shows, whatever. I would write songs and record myself, but I didn’t take it further then that until after college. What What Where was my first real band experience. It took me some time to make the plunge into having music be the main focus of my life.

b.ns. Kind of sounds like this project was ineveitable...So, what do you guys do during the daytime and where does Syvia fit into that in the future—is making music, ultimately, what you want to be doing?

b.ns. We both have day jobs to pay the bills. Making music is very important for us and is what we ultimately want to be doing full time. Yes, we are going to be playing very soon. We are excited to get back at it just don’t know how we are going to do it exactly.

r.m. What he said.

b.ns. I may be getting ahead of myself, but if you could collaborate with anyone in the future, or work with anyone live or production-wise who would it be or do you not really think you'd want to do collaborations in the future?

j.m. Hmmmmmmmm. Not really thinking about collaborating with anyone at the moment. We have been so focused on working on creating this project. Ask us when we are done with this EP. But frankly we would love to work with a proper mixing engineer and learn the tricks.

r.m. First things first, getting our EP and live show figured out. Then we can dream about collaborations.

b.ns. This question could fall flat on it's face, but I've got some really strong attachments to music, and spend a lot of time daydreaming, thinking up how the music "looks" to me. I think every good song I've ever spent any time with, I've gotten a very strong scene stuck in my head. Something like the cover of the latest M83 album and how it just goes with the music so well. Do you have an aesthetic in your mind for your own music or are you too close to it, do you think?

j.m. I don’t really think that way. Not visually at least. For me it’s all about feeling as opposed to how it looks.

r.m. I totally know what you mean. Sometimes a scene will pop into my head while I’m listening to a song of ours, and that’s always exciting when you are that close to a song and it can still conjure up feelings and images.

b.ns. Where, (besides here), can we find your stuff online?

John: We finally did it! We made a MySpace page. I feel like we are an official band now. It’s very exciting. Check us out here:

Ruthy: We also have a blog and a twitter account, which is mostly me blabbering away and John occasionally interjecting his two cents.

b.ns. Any other big plans for the future, i.e. getting married, planned trips to the moon, big vacations, joining a cult, getting a tattoo?

j.m. No.

r.m. Getting something sweet to eat and possibly world domination.

And there you have it. Make sure to give their track below a listen. As well, you can find out more about upcoming dates and new music at their myspace page, blog, and twitter.



Download — Syvia - "Metal Bird".

Check out Scott Campbell's solo show from the good people at Oh Wow. Some of you might know Scott as the owner of Saved Tattoo, or you may have never heard of him. Either way, his work is amazing and he's collected quite a stable of other tattoo artists at Saved whose work is undeniably impressive.

Here's the info on the show from Oh Wow:


Scott Campbell
Make It Rain
April 11 - May 9, 2009
3100 NW 7 Avenue / Miami / Florida / 33127


In what will be his first major solo presentation of his works, Campbell will showcase his unique aesthetic via sculptures, paintings, drawings and photography.

Scott Campbell was born and raised in a fishing camp, perched alongside a muddy bayou in rural Louisiana. With a clever knack for drawing and a fondness of stories, he began his career by doing illustration and assistant editing. Curiosity soon led him to experiment with tattooing and his immediate mastery of the art was undeniable. After a subsequent 18 month stint in Spain honing his craft, he packed up his skills and his tattoo machines and traveled for the next 5 years taking inspiration from the art and folklore of tattoo cultures all over the world.

In 2004, he opened Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Since then, it has grown to be the East Coast's premier tattoo shop with a devout following of celebrity clientele. Campbell has the taken the blue collar grit and lore of tattoo culture and extracted a visual language and wit that are supremely refined and deliberate. He has an uncanny ability to tell a story with any medium, flesh or otherwise.

It wasn't until we started listening to M83—the solo efforts of Anthony Gonzalez—in the early '00s that we started to get what others were talking about with their Francophile obsessions. From Antibes, France, M83 lead the way into shoe-gaze for us, much in the same way The Smiths made twee-pop come alive, or how Braid think about Fugazi in a way that made them genius beyond the name.

There are so many ways to talk about music, but with M83 we can't separate the feeling, or the imagery, from the music. It is massively, wildly deep, emotional, and sweeping from the second the needle hits the record. At least it is for us. They are our favorite band, until the next time that we forget that they are our favorite band...But then we'll hear "Kim & Jessie" again, and remember all over again how crushingly in love we are with them all over. M83 is a late-fall romance, in the falling leaves, in the woods behind our Midwestern homes. M83 is the dream we had of falling in love, with winters bite around the corner, wrapped warm in wool and corduroy, with the low sun setting behind us through the trees.

Whichever daydreams that they may incite, M83 recently released this new video for "We Own the Sky", the single from Saturdays=Youth, out on Mute.

As life-long compilation tape-makers ourselves, we can't help but get excited every time we get the opportunity to interview another curator of music. That said, it's even more rare that we would even think to pre-empt anything that we've done for other publications, or "let the cat out of the bag" so to speak. But in the case of Surfside Slasher founder and the host of Viva Radio's Black Hole show, Piper K, we just couldn't wait to post the interview.

Starting the Surfside Slasher t-shirt line, (available on etsy) just a few years ago, the now 21 year-old Piper K seemed to be just a tad ahead of the "enterprising young thing" curve. But now with a show, entitled Black Hole, on Viva Radio, a fairly notable string of DJ appearances, a blog, a band named Pearl Harbor, and a t-shirt line.

PIPER K.

bad neighbors. You started doing the Surfside Slashers blog back in '07—did you start the Surfside Slasher tees about the same time? The first time I checked out your stuff, I was like, "Whoa, Stacy Peralta would be all over this!" So I wouldn't being going out of line if I were to say that it's steeped in the old-school surf/skate culture from the 80's, would I? What was your direct inspiration or reason for starting the line? Or were you just like, "Dude, making my own t's would be pretty sweet"?

piper k. My initial inspirado for starting this project was Rikk Agnew’s All By Myself album. It’s like the ultimate apocalyptic, surf-warrior, “locals only” record ever. He ended up being my first customer, all stoked that I named the “line” after one of his songs. He had me paint “Surfside Slashers” on the back of an ABM shirt he was selling on his site, and picked it up a couple weeks later. I have pictures of him giving props to my dog. So yeah, Surfside is definitely influenced by the wave warriors of the 80s, but I’m a little too “eclectic” to commit to one sphere of influence. I make a Felt shirt, and a Pink Military shirt.. so it’s all over the place. I kind of just wanted to make shirts that I would be psyched to wear.

b.ns. How did you come about to hosting your own show on Viva Radio?

p.k. My friend Paul (Wonder Wheel) played a show with R. Stevie Moore at Cake Shop, and I DJ’d. I guess I was on fire that night, because I got three marriage proposals (two of which were from Stevie), and later an offer for lifetime membership to VR from Josh. It was a pretty good night. We smoked a joint with Stevie after like, 2 and a half hours of convincing him it was okay for him to get high at his show if he wanted to (he didn’t want to get any what-for from the Cake Shop guys).

b.ns. What else do you do?

p.k. Right now I’m slanging pizzas at a place in Downtown L.A., and going to school. My major is Peace Studies. Prop215 is also a pretty integrated aspect of my day-to-day.

b.ns. Do you have any specific "process" or "concept" to making your show? I know some people always have this larger concept to the creative process, where like, they insist on everything matching up and being in line and whatever. But, if you're anything like me it's always kind of like winging it—just kind of "whatever" at the time and letting things go.

p.k. I like to think of myself as something of a “concept processer”. Just go with the flow, and let your mind keep you well.

b.ns. Other than Surfside Slashers, and Black Hole, what else is going on in your life?

p.k. Well… I’m currently dating a Rock’N’Roll Ecologist, which is pretty neat. Spruce Springsteen. I’m in a band with my little sister called Pearl Harbour. Josh [of Viva Radio] asked me if there was any connection to Stone Harbour, and I think I forgot to get back to him about it. So, to answer your question, Josh: Yes.

b.ns Around here you've got kind of a reputation for being a real "digger", in that you've got a great eye for finding amazing, but totally unheard of, records from all over the place. How do you go about finding your records, are you the kind of girl who digs first, listens second or do you just have the most comprehensive knowledge of music known to man/womankind and go out looking for records with a shopping list?

p.k. I get a lot of records from my Uncle Norm. Actually, he’s the original Surfside Slashers “mascot”. The guy with the broken surfboard and Leif Garrett mop. He’s funny. One time I went to hang with my cousin, and Norm was totally wasted. He was laying on his daughter’s pink checkerboard bed, playing guitar and singing badly. I was sort of just watching him from the doorway, unbeknownst to him, and all of a sudden he slurs “You suck!.. play something we know!” So he’s kind of a tippler, but dude’s got the jams. Other than that, I try to hang ten with the dollar bins.

b.ns. Anything else going on in your life, or do you have any special place that you want to take Black Hole or Surfside Slashers?

p.k. There’s some Pearl Harbz demos up on the ‘space if you wanna check those out. Also, I just did a run of Bobb Trimble shirts for a show he played in Cambridge, MA on April 1st. They’re nice. I gave ‘em this murky grey dye treatment that looks just like the cover of Iron Curtain Innocence. As far as future prospects, they are many and indefinite, my friend. I'd like to get involved in some design projects with current bands, so get in touch, current bands.

I guess that's an open call to all you musicians out there looking to work with one of the most active young minds I've come across in a long while. Once again, we'd like to say thanks to Piper K. for taking the time to sit down and answer our questions and share a little bit of her story with us. Keep on rocking, Piper—we can tell we'll probably be hearing a lot more about you in the future!

We snagged this post and it's accompanying picture from the Viva Radio Blog, featuring the enigmatic and always funky DJ Bwyse. This post, which we wrote for the Park Slope-based American Apparel internet-radio station, has been taken in it's whole, but you can find the original post HERE if you feel like looking at it in it's original context.

DJ Bwyse, operating out of southern California, has been uncovering some of the best Disco music and putting it out on his blog, Talking In Stereo, for years. And with a regular show on Viva Radio, Bwyse has shown the world the best Disco cuts through yet another venue. Read on to find out why, out of all the genre's out there, Bwyse was attracted to Disco and it's roots. You might be surprised to find out that there is still a lot of Disco—in it's original form—still being played out there; and yes, it is okay to like it. Check out Bwyse's blog, we think you'll probably be amazed at how relevant the genre still is. And don't let the big-boy job and family-man thing throw, you—there are still a lot cool things going on out there by guys older than 30.

DJ BWYSE

"Over here at Viva Radio we’re buzzing with excitement and gratitude this week! We’d like to send out a big high-five across the internet-waves to DJ Bwyse, the curator and creator of Viva Radio’s She Talks in Stereo, and congratulate him on his 60th show airing this week! He’s been doing his Disco thing and sharing it with us since December of 2006, and in internet-radio/blog terms, where the average lifespan is about 8 months, that’s a serious accomplishment. So here’s a little treat: we got a hold of the busy DJ Bwyse and asked him a little about himself and his show. Here’s what he had to say about life, his blog Talking In Stereo, Disco, and what it’s like to enter the sonic landscape and talk in stereo.

Viva Radio: It's been a while since you started doing the Viva Radio program and you're blog back in December of 2006. Three years is a long time, considering the lifetime of the average blog/internet radio show, and that's a pretty big accomplishment. How's it feel to still be working on this stuff now, three years later?
DJ Bwyse: Its great being able to have a venue to consistently express myself. It has also forced me to stay on my game and continue to dig for “new” music. Without my show I would have grown lax I am sure.
Viva Radio: What's changed, if anything?
DJ Bwyse: I get more promos now [big smile]. In terms of my blog I use to just throw new Mp3’s up there, but now I am very focused on trying to present tracks exclusively from vinyl selections and I try and stay away from newer stuff. I really enjoy showcasing an album like in my DEEP CUTS posts. Trying to find some hidden gem that you may have glossed over on first listen. Also, the number of posts have slowed down to focus more on quality vs. quantity.

VR: Sometimes it's hard to keep a blog rolling, but the show and the blog started at about the same time, do you think that's helped to keep things moving?
DJB: Definitely. The blog vinyl rips feed the show and the blog is a great forum to showcase my show. They are definitely conjoined by the spirit of trying to share music.

VR: I guess this one is kind of daft, but how'd you get into digging the whole disco end of things—especially going into some of the less mainstream and more unknown side of things?
DJB: First and foremost the beards at DJHistory.com have dropped mad knowledge from mixes to trainspotting. I have also been interested in the roots of musical forms so through the internet and books I discovered how the roots of House lie in DISCO.
VR: Were you inspired or influenced towards disco by a family member or friend?
DJB: My family’s taste in music is nothing to write home about.
VR: Obviously disco music is amazing and still just as relevant today as it was in the past, but despite it's major influence on a lot of popular music it still seems that a lot of people have stayed away from digging back into it. Why did you get so interested and how did you start working your way into disco?
DJB: For me DISCO was a cool underground way to continue my education in dance music, it felt like to get to the next phase I had to go backward. It wasn’t the obvious thing my friends were into and it just felt right. There are so many back alleys and cul de sac’s that lie in disco, it’s a genre that always surprises me.

VR: Where are you working from now, city-wise?
DJB: The Salty D (San Diego). Mainly my office at work, (don’t tell my boss). I work in Automotive advertising.
VR: It seems that for me I have to be up late at night while I write my blog—I find myself writing my best stuff and getting the most done just before bed, sitting in my underwear, while my girlfriend bitches about turning off he light and going to bed. Any good stories about your "process" of putting together the shows or your blog?
DJB: Honestly it’s done in between stolen moments (time thief alert!) at work and home. I have 2 boys (9 & 5) so they keep me busy.

VR: I heard a rumor that you put out your own disco mixes, is that true?
DJB: I did do some edits under my Tusk moniker for a mysterious British producer on 65 Records. It was a split 12” with JAZ (my brother from another mother). It was a great experience.
VR: Where can we find your work?
DJB: The usual suspects: my Phonica, Piccadilly, Calsound.

VR: Any big plans for the 60th show?
DJB: This show actually kind of snuck up on me. Keepin' my nose to the grindstone. Every 10th show I try and do a retrospective of what I thought were the best tracks from the previous shows. However, I have been receiving so much good music I had to include a bunch of it.

VR: What else outside of She Talks in Stereo and your blog are you up to?
DJB: I do a local monthly at Harney Sushi in San Diego. I want to play out more but San Diego isn’t the most supportive town for the music I play.
VR: Any big vacations or life-changing plans in the works?
DJB: I am half way through a full sleeve tattoo, (17 hrs. so far)—very traditional Japanese style. I plan on starting on my back by the beginning of next year. I am a very avid Tattoo lover.
VR: Anything else you want to tell us about on the horizon?
DJB: Trying to figure out some equipment to buy and trying my hand at some original material.

Well, there you have it—straight from the horse’s mouth. Thanks a lot to DJ Bwyse for being a good sport and letting us get all “paparazzo” on him and his personals. Once again, congratulations to him on reaching the 60th show benchmark. It’s tough work and he’s doing a hell of a job keeping us on our Disco-toes."

The latest single titled "1901" from French popsters, Phoenix, is pretty much going to be the song of the summer. And, despite the fact that we are about 3 months too late to mention these guys with any real credibility, here's a video of their jam live on Saturday Night Live a while back. They've got this amazing bouncy sound that captures the real energy that only live instruments seem to emote, while still being unbelievably tight and clean—almost like a recorded track. Either way, we couldn't understand how anyone could dislike this track, no matter what side of pop/indie vs. lo-/hi-fi fence you prefer to stand on.

Without further ado, enjoy and we'll let the music speak for itself!

"Crazy week, about to leave for two weeks on a Honda commercial shoot so hope this works for you. ~ Best, Jonny," was the brief and cheery note our friend Jon Leone attached to his answers to our Q&A. Jon has been a neighbor, (quite literally two doors down), for a little over a year now. We have yet to meet his flat-mate/girlfriend, despite seeing her on the street many times. She looks friendly, but Brooklyn doesn't have that Mid-western "let's be friends because we saw each other on the street" attitude. We have, however, had the chance to share a beer here and again with her boyfriend, the young and very talented film-maker. Jon, who shares a few mutual friends and is quite friendly, has worked with some of the most relevant names in recent independent music, including Dungen and Animal Collective. Read on to find out what Jon had to say about Gatorade and the creative process!

JON LEONE

bad.neighbors. You've done a couple of pretty notable videos in the last couple of years in Dent May's "Meet Me In The Garden", Animal Collective's "Fireworks", and one for Dungen. Where and how did you get started doing music videos?

jon leone. I went to the Art Institute of Chicago in the mid-90's which happened to be an incredible time for music in that city. I was fortunate enough to start working with people who were making this creative music. Between being in that company and having visual interests I met music video.

b.ns. Who was your first?

j.l. I always made videos for friends bands or music that inspired me, so there is an archive of unofficial videos of the Chicago post-rock ilk. While the official videos really did not happen until I moved to New York City. Examples of unofficial early music videos would be Tortoise, Fennesz, Oval. Examples of official videos being Animal Collective, Beach House, Dent May.

b.ns. I know that you used to work for NBC, right? What did you do there?

j.l. Video editor, basically logging footage of humans making bad decisions which was usually violent murders in sensational ways. An occasional miracle.

b.ns. Where are you originally from? How long have you lived in New York?

j.l. Chicago. New York, 6 years

b.ns. What kind of creative process do you go through when putting the concept of a video together?

j.l. Slam a 32oz Gatorade...see what happens.

b.ns. Where do you do most of your work—home, studio, office, on the road?

j.l. Mostly work from home studio, occasional production facility and travel for shoots.

b.ns. What are Dent May, Dungen, and Animal Collective like? Any good stories you feel at liberty to tell?

j.l. The artists have always been great to work with. Dungen was a commissioned video, so no interaction there, while Animal Collective was more personal as I worked with them on a few projects during the Strawberry Jam days. Dent May, being a more recent one, sticks out. We traveled to Taylor, Mississippi, where he lives and had a blast. We shot one scene in a trailer that had a jacuzzi. Meanwhile, a healthy mix of local folk also packed in the trailer to observe the shoot so it turned into a bizarre party.

b.ns. How long does it normally take you to shoot and finish a video?

j.l. Most videos take about a month [pre-production/production/edit/post]. I do all the post production which is typically the most involved part of the process for me. Isolation time allows me to shape it where I see fit.

b.ns. Any upcoming projects you can or want to talk about?

j.l. Upcoming projects: art making, new music video discussions and a Honda commercial.

b.ns. Anything else that you're particularly proud of?

j.l. Johnnie's Beef in Chicago. (Pictured above).

And that, in 1,000 words or less, is Jon Leone. Make sure to check out his reel at www.jonleone.com and keep an eye out for his future work. And any bands out there looking for a director, we recommend calling Jon first.

We Have Band - Oh! (Music Video) from We Have Band on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the London-trio We Have Band for The FADER's blog. Here's what I had to say about their new video for the single "Oh!":

"Holy crap, oh my god, it's Jambi, (scroll down), from Pee-Wee's Playhouse! Oh wait, we're wrong, it's We Have Band's new video—the second most awesome floating heads to ever grace the interweb. The barely year-old London-based trio just released their seizure-inspiring new video for the song "Oh!" and we've got the exclusive! Released on the 50 Bones label, we're all still waiting, waiting, waiting for their first full-length. Until then go check out what we had to say about them in the Gen F section of FADER Issue 60—out now."

That said, also be on the lookout for their re-make of the Pet Shop Boys' hit "West End Girls", and the singles "Hear It In The Cans" and "You Came Out"—both the latter were featured on French label Kitsune's—Kitsune Maison 6 compilation. The debut full-length—release date still TBD—should be out sometime this fall according to the powers that be. Consisting of Darren Bancroft (vocals, drums, percussion, sampler), Thomas WP (vocals, guitar, bass, programming) and Dede WP (vocals, percussion, sampler), We Have Band is getting rave reviews in an electro-pop flooded London scene and are being heralded as, perhaps, one of the next big things. Word on the street is that they all met while working desk jobs at EMI's headquarters in London. Thomas and Dede fell in love, got married, and decided to start a band around a year ago, winning Darren's support and participation on the strength of the band name alone.

To quote their publicist at Tell All Your Friends, "Their sound is catchy, fun, familiar and classic-sounding but also unarguably their own, it’s We Have Band, and that comprises of dark dance rhythms, washy electronic synths, post punk funk bass and individual pop vocals from each member, layered in a way that really makes them sound like nothing else today."

Gustav Estjes is one of our, (and The FADER's), favorite Swedish psych-rockers. Ever. And apparently, he's one of Jess Rotter's favorites too. Jess Rotter, the New York-based artist and designer of the Rotter and Friends t-shirt line, has chosen the Dungen, (pronounced doong-YEN), front-man as her muse for the Rotter and Friends Spring line—debuting March 20th. Gustav will be modeling the brand new rock n' roll inspired, hand-drawn designs featuring Captain Beefheart, Karen Dalton, Graham Nash and the ever-present Mr. Bob Dylan. If this sneak peak isn't enough, tough—you can oogle pictures of Gustav and the rest of the Dungen cuties here. To see more from the industrious Jess Rotter you could have seen her original artwork in person—one night only—at the Garage Gallery on Saturday, Feb. 28 in LA. (Sorry, it SOLD OUT already...). Or you can read about her work for the GAP (Red) Artist Edition t-shirts at NYLON's site.

Argentinian artist Diego Gravinese has gained some recent notoriety for posting his unfinished works and works in progress on his Flickr page, letting people into his process of creating some of the most vibrant and thoughtful art we have scene in while. Living with his now relatively famous muse, Panda, Diego is steadily gaining attention while still based in Buenos Aires.

In this interview Diego's innate warmth and disarming charm comes rushing to the surface, and we couldn't be happier or more excited to introduce you to him and his work if you haven't already run into it. It's always great to meet someone so eager to share with you their work and world—read on as Diego discusses the effect Talking Heads has had on his work and why he decided to open up his unfinished work to public scrutiny. It's pretty rare for most artists to let their work go during the creative process, allowing the audience a chance to not only reflect on his style, but also his technique and development. This is one of our very first interview pieces we will post, and it's a great one!

DIEGO GRAVINESE

bad neighbors. You've gotten some notoriety for posting photos of work in progress on your flickr page in the past, what was it like to be asked to make an "unfinished" painting this time—where the finished product was meant to be "unfinished"?
diego gravinese. Well, it's interesting what happened with flickr: I usually don't have people around me while I paint in the studio. It's a rather private situation, and in fact I rarely showed my work until it was finsihed or almost done. But then, I guess because of this sense of comfortable middle point between private and public that internet provides, I decided to show the step by step, (in part because some people wanted to see it), and to my surprise it gave people an extra dose of faith in my work. And, like you, a lot of people loved the unfinished version of the paintings, sometimes even more than the finished ones. It's very interesting, it made me realize a few things about the way I advance on an image. Being asked to leave a work unfinished feels good, it's kind of a relief for a change, the final stages of a painting are usually the more tedious ones, and, truly, almost all the power of an image is already there at those early stages.

b.ns. Did you approach this project in much the same way as you would any other project, or do you think that—being a commissioned work—it has somehow changed your process, (aside from the obvious subject restraints)?
d.g. No, it didn't change the approach at all. My only problem with comissioned pieces is when the subject is boring, or completely alien to me.

b.ns. How long have you been painting? Has it always been similar work?
d.g. I started showing my paintings in the early 90's, (even though I painted all my life), and my work changed quite a lot since those first years. It went from more pop, multilayered, sometimes chaotic, compositions to this quest for this more classical approach to the canvas of a single/central image.

b.ns. Are you into music? Did you grow up listening to anything in particular that might have inspired you?
d.g. I grew up listening to the Talking Heads, it was kind of the soundtrack of my childhood. I have two sisters that are some 6 years older than me, so when I was a kid their music was my music, and they always had a great taste in rock and pop. One of them was a bass player for some really good punk rock bands in the local scene of the 80's, so they knew what was good, even when it was really difficult to get good music in Argentina. Album's like Stop Making Sense, Fear of Music, Speaking in Tongues were all the time in our stereos, sometimes in family trips around the country, I still remember that. Then of course, they became super popular and with MTV came another wave of influence of the music , this time visually. And Talking Heads of course had these great videos, I think that And She Was can be traced directly to some of my first paintings, with all its collages of pop images, and the acid trip lyrics...I loved that song and video so much. Their album covers were also captivating, in cases like Stop Making Sense, I remember being a kid, not knowing much english, and looking at that vinyl record cover, the cropped figures and the questions, and wondering what were they talking about, feeling even provoked by it. Then of course, David's solo act, with his overdimensioned suits, and psychedelic catsuits, and weird, theatrical performances, were always inspiring. The truth is that I never was a mindless fan of them, in the sense that, you know, you fall in love with a band, and you put them in a god-like place, but then maybe you end up forgetting about, and move to the next hype. But, both Talking Heads and David Byrne always had this place of respect for me. Somehow I always felt some kind of dignity about them and their work, like: "these people is good for the planet". And that's something that I still think of David Byrne.

b.ns. Where do you live and do your work now? Do you work at home, a studio space? Do you work alone or do you share space?
d.g. I'm living in Buenos Aires at the moment and my house is my studio. I always prefered to have my studio at home because sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like painting, or knowing how to resolve something about a work, and I like to be able to go to the next room and keep on working.

b.ns. So, other than your Flickr page, (which is amazing), where else can I find your work? Any upcoming shows?
d.g. Thanks! Well, there's a long delayed project for my website: www.diegogravinese.com. It's been taking a lot of archive, scanning, research, and retouch work, (70% of my work was documented before the digital era). But it's almost done now. My next solo show will be in BsAs, but I can't talk about it, yet.

b.ns. Anything else that you're particularly proud of that you want to tell me? Talents, heritage, favorite food? Feel free to tell me anything else. Thanks again, by the way!
d.g. I love popcorn, in bed with my Panda. I am very proud of her in many ways, including her amazing poo-dances! Thank you!

This video was recently posted in the "featured video." section of the site, but replaced by Animal Collective's video for "My Girls". Regardless, Fever Ray has been continually pushing the front edges—at least in our minds—of music, art, and now video for a while now, whether it be with her solo project or as 1/2 of The Knife.

Also of note, according to The Knife's website they have also been enlisted by Danish theatre group Hotel Pro Forma's production of Tomorrow, In A Year, which is purportedly based on, and performed in celebration of, Charles Darwin's Origin of Species 150th anniversary. No matter what she is doing, we can't say enough about this video. That said, make sure to go out and buy Fever Ray's debut album, entitled Fever Ray out now on Mute. No matter what she is doing, we can't say enough about this video. That said, make sure to go out and buy Fever Ray's debut album, entitled Fever Ray out now on Mute. She'll be on tour supporting the album in Europe over the summer, but still has yet to announce any dates in the U.S.


If I Had A Heart from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

A friend by the name of Jon Leone started making music videos a few years back and, as it turns out, has gained some notoriety in this neck of the woods for the work he's done. He recently finished a video for Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele for the song "Meet Me In The Garden". Check out the video below and stay tuned for an update to this post including more about the Dent May video and Jon's other work, including Animal Collective's "Fireworks" video and a link to his reel.