RAPTURE EP. KOFFEE


Written by : Tina Rateau @blue_spiritu

If you haven’t stumbled upon Koffee yet, let me put you on. The 19- year old Jamaican Dancehall singer has been making her mark in the reggae/ dancehall world with her undeniable talent. She definitely claimed a special spot in my Caribbean heart! Her EP Rapture is definitely worth checking out. Some honorary mentions off the EP are the following:

1- Rapture — Produced by Lassanna Harris
2- Toast — Produced by Walshy Fire & Izybeats (my personal favorite)

Check out her Rapture performance in the link below!

MUSIC IS PLAYING. MR. CASANOVA 13

“Respect to counter-culture such as movies and music!” Mr. Casanova is a team of two bon vivants. One a bassist with a garage rock and roll band, active in the Japanese underground scene, and the other a DJ that gets over-ground. Hailing from Nagano, the accomplices Keisuke Yamaguchi (hat guy) and Kazumasa Aoki, have created a collection of eyewear, that puts their passion for detail in music, into their shades. We met these 2 stylish cats a few seasons ago in HK, and quickly figured they knew their way around a party and good music! Check out their playlist all month.

Links with Mr Casanova here : Instagram.com/mr_casanova_eyewear

Alton Ellis – You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

機械風流/ROBO-CASANOVA : HAJIME SORAYAMA INTERVIEW


All paintings : Hajime Sorayama (Used with permission)
Portrait of Sorayama : copyright by Hajime Sorayama courtesy of NANZUKA

Hajime Sorayama was having a solo exhibition at Jacob Lewis Gallery N.Y. at the time of this interview. For those who have seen his work it’s truly memorable, and for those that haven’t your missing out on a real one. This renowned illustrator/artist started his career in the 70’s, and his unique style has never been touched since. His sexy robots titillate to this day, looking as modern, or forward as ever. Sorayama is no spring chicken now, but he has an uncanny knack of knowing what is up with the youts today. Case in point his recent collaboration with Korea’s hottest menswear designer du jour, Juun J. Look even deeper to his earlier collaborations with street wear brands such as Stüssy, Marc Ecko, NIKE, British Knights, and skate-wear brand Dark Star. These heavy-hitters wanted to get down with Sorayama so you know what’s up!

<< English continues after Chinese >>

位於紐約的Jacob Lewis Gallery 近日正舉行日藉著名插畫師/ 藝術家空山基( Hajime Sorayama ) 的個人展覽。這位從上世紀七十年代已漸露頭角,今天已成為大師的藝術家,以繪畫造型性感的機械女郎而為人所熟悉。那些外表冰冷又性感的機械女郎,最早誕生自七十年代,卻沒有予人過時的感覺。空山基雖然不年輕卻緊貼潮流,並與時代同步。除了活躍藝術界,他更踏足時裝界,像今個秋冬他與炙手可熱的韓國男裝品牌Juun J. 合作,亦曾與街牌Stussy 、Marc Ecko 合作設計T 恤,為NIKE 、British Knights 、滑板品牌Dark Star 等這些街牌設計球鞋。他的作品橫跨不同時代,透過這些機械人畫作他向人們展現了自己眼中的未來世界。

對某些人來說,空山基這個名字可能有點陌生,但大多會見過這些擁有光滑無暇的「皮膚」的機械女郎。這些具有完美身段、經常穿著性感裙裝並擺出高難度誘人甫士的機械女郎,沒有因為看不見容顏而令吸引力減少,密不透風的外殼反而為她們增添更多神秘感與瑕想。

像一般的男性,空山基對女性胴體發生興趣是在中學時期,那時他喜歡以《Playboy 》雜誌為靈感,繪畫在六十年代十分盛行的Pinup 性感風格畫作。直至1978 年,空山基受到當時他的朋友的邀請,為一個啤酒品牌繪畫機械女郎,自此他便停不下來,一直以機械女郎為作畫對象。而在八十年代,他為著名色情雜誌《Penthouse 》創作的連載作品,獨特的畫風在當年成為一時佳話。

除了他筆下的機械女郎及未來世界,在空山基的創作生涯中,曾參與過一些與科技等有關的工作。例如在八十年代,他參與了科幻cult 片《Braindead 》、《Time Cop 》的創作,其後他又為Sony 設計了機械狗AIBO ,AIBO 不但在2000 年獲得日本最高榮譽的設計獎項,更成為MOMA 的永久藏品。

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她有勁/SHE GOT MOVES. SUKI RABBIT INTERVIEW

SUKIRABBIT_WEB7
特別嗚謝/Special thanks to ‘Lil Fly
翻譯/Translation – Sharon Chiu
攝影/Photos : Nick D for Precursorprints.com

當Lil Fly跟我提及Suki Rabbit時,說她曾跟Suki學舞,我立即打起十二分精神,因為Lil Fly介紹的,都是非等閒之輩。我對於街舞這一欄也有些許認知,因為身邊也有朋友會定期舉辦一些與Hip Hop 、街舞有關的活動,但卻未曾聽過Suki Rabbit這個名字。於是我在YouTube上稍為搜索一下,BLAM! 很快便出現Suki Rabbit的街舞視頻。對於一隻兔子來說,她有著的是人類的超級基因,這當然是開玩笑,但在她的視頻中,你可以見到她跳Reggae及其他音樂時的超凡舞姿,她有的是勁,超酷!那些自命IT Girl的時尚博客,看看什麼才是真正的“IT” 吧。

< < CHINESE CONTINUED AFTER ENGLISH >>

So a ‘Lil Fly told me a while back about this amazing dancer in Hong Kong called Suki. Said she trained under her a bit, so my ears perked up cuz, when a ‘Lil Fly speaks, you know, ish gets a buzzing! I feel I have a foothold in the Hip Hop/dance game because I have some friends pretty involved in throwing events on the regular, but the name doesn’t register. A little Youtubing though and BLAM! There’s Suki! Suki Rabbit. For a rabbit, she definitely has dominant human genes! Jokes. Girl don’t kill me! In the videos, you can see Suki gots the funk. Seeing her get down to Reggae and different music styles, you just see she’s got IT you know, by the ton. So yeah, for all of fashion bugging out over whatever self-ordained ‘it’ girl of the moment, let’s ordain our first at SPITGAN, Suki Rabbit!

SPITGAN : Why do you dance?
Suki Rabbit : Because dancing makes me happy and is the way I release my emotions. Every time I hear the music, I feel things in my brain, and my energy finds the way out. Dancing has become a part of my life. Without it I have no place for release. It’s very simple, I dance whether I’m happy or not.

SG : Are you more yourself when you dance?
SR : I really like the free spirit of freestyle (dance). I’m afraid of the limitations of traditional formats and being trapped by a lack of creativity. Every time when I hear the music, it inspires my freestyle movements, I find that’s the “real me”. I don’t know if I would be “wilder” or not, I’m just being myself when I dance. I dance to the music. When the music goes wild, I follow.

SG : What’s the most important part dance?
SR : Every part is crucial from the techniques, and emotions, to your soul. There are no rules saying if you’re a bad dancer you can’t dance. Everyone can dance. Dance can be purely a hobby or a profession, but when dance is your profession, you have to be good. So it really depends on dancing in what circumstance. When I work, I use more techniques, but when I am doing freestyles and dancing in my leisure time, I use more emotions in order to express myself. Different music can generate different emotions, and I use different emotions to interpret it. For different occasions I use different approaches too.

SG : I think your dance style is very aggressive and full of power. How would you describe your own style?
SR : My dance style is very me, so I never really think of what style that is. I’m just being myself. Suki is Suki. It’s hard to find words to describe. If you have to have a name for it, maybe it’s “Suki Style”.

SG : Do you watch your own dance recordings?
SR : Yes, (to see how I do) sometimes I like my performance, and sometimes I don’t. When I see myself dance poorly, I will get upset and give myself some pressure to dance better next time. Of course, there are times I am satisfied with myself.

SG : How did you discover dance?
SR : When I was a kid, my parents would give me lots of freedom and let me try many things. When I learned ballet, I realized I love dancing, but ballet wasn’t the dance style I liked. I loved art back in the days. Drawings, designs etc. but I never did well in school, so I decided to spend more time on dancing. I never thought of being a professional dancer. I never chose dancing, but dancing chose me. I say that because every time I wanted to give up, it always came back to me like an addiction. In the path that I have travelled, I have met lots of friends who share the same dream, as well as, mentors and students. Their support and encouragements are my motivations to carry on. There are many things in life that I feel happen against my own will, but dance give me a clear mind and lets me be myself.

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