Because shoes doth make a man, Mr Hare has been immersing his good self in the art and sole that doth make a shoe. He’s emerged with a blog, on which he delivers his verdict on footwear from Chuck Taylors to Visvim, and Mr Hare, the label that prides itself on quality, handmade craft and informed design in Oxfords, Derbys and the like. It’s the kind of sartorial grace and elegance that began (and finds inspiration) in Marvin Gaye and Phil Spector, and now lands right on your pedal. So wear them well.

Get Mr Hare at Surrender, 119 Devonshire Road, Level 2.

www.mrhare.co.uk

MUSIC HOMOGENIC
If you were around to hear Joakim spin at The White Rabbit, you’d have figured out the diverse state of the man’s record collection. A unique kind of musical scholar is he, though not one for genres and categories. In fact, over his decade-plus career, Joakim’s been hard at work defying the margins of music so that shades of disco, house, post-rock, jazz, electro and beyond, all sit comfortably under his roof. And his efforts have not gone unnoticed: today, Joakim’s albums and remixes are viewed with many an appreciative eye, while his Tigersushi label heads up a corner of the French electronic scene. Have yourself a gander at Milky Ways, his latest mashing of punk with funk, Italo with disco, and Kraut with rock – which, as Joakim informs us, is really all in a day’s work.

What were you listening to when you were making Milky Ways?
Too many things that I can’t think about now! Maybe David Bowie’s Berlin era, doom metal and so much stuff that it’s difficult to answer… But I wanted the album to be kind of psychedelic and more radical than the previous one, although there’s always point when you’re making an album, when it escapes your control. I always make plans, but things always end up different from what I want to do.

And you do end up with an indefinable sound…
Yes, I do have a habit of listening to too much music and it’s all in my mind and I can’t help it when I make music. It’s like a prison!

How about your remixes?
Remixes are a way to escape that prison. When I make remixes, I don’t take it as seriously. And I always try to find the interesting element for me in the original songs, so there’s a basis and that bit of control, which makes it easier in a way. Whereas when I make my own music, the field of possibilities is endless.

And now: 10 years of Tigersushi! How are you celebrating?
I just finished a ten-year compilation of the label and we’re going to do a tour, so it’s quite exciting. We’ve also signed many new artists, which we haven’t done for a long time. And mostly, we’re going back to electronic music.

What’s a day in the life like of Tigersushi?
Well, I just set up a new office, which is separate from the studio, so I go there in the morning after I drink coffee, I read my email, I pretend to work a little bit, talk to the artists and then I go into the studio… And since I was moving my studio, I couldn’t work on music for six months. But now, I got a great new studio and I’m just looking forward to go back to work on music.

Read the rest of the interview in the March issue of JUICE, now out at these spots.

www.myspace.com/jimibazzouka

Text: Min Chen
Image and interview courtesy of: The White Rabbit