Our favourite local pop-punk trio are taking flight and heading down under! Plainsunset will be hitting up Melbourne for a whirlwind series of shows from 17-25 June and we’re incredibly psyched for them. However an international tour ain’t no small feat, logistically or financially, so we’d like you all to help out by attending their kickass, jam-packed fundraising show at Home Club (we’ll be there too!) on 27 May. Just chip in 15 buckaroos to the cause and you’ll get an entire Sunday afternoon worth of great music from 12 bands (including Plainsunset themselves of course), which is a pretty great deal if you ask us. There’ll also be cool limited edition merch on sale designed by Djohan Johari and Speak Cryptic from I Am David Sparkle!

Here’s the full lineup of bands:

• Plainsunset
• Moods
• Vermillion
• Bear Culture
• Pleasantry
• Amterrible
• Kate of Kale
• The Pinholes
• West Grand Boulevard
• Tiramisu
• Caracal
• I Am David Sparkle

The Plainsunset Melbourne Tour Fundraiser happens on Sunday, 27 May at Home Club from 3-11pm. Entry is $15, but if you feel like donating more, please do!

]]> http://www.juice.com.sg/events/plainsunset-melbourne-tour-fundraiser/feed/ 0 http://www.juice.com.sg/features/chat-morgan-page/ http://www.juice.com.sg/features/chat-morgan-page/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 12:16:52 +0000 JUICE http://www.juice.com.sg/?p=10749

Morgan Page has always been able to combine his knack for party-starting sonic antics with his drive for artistic expression – and that’s something very admirable. One often has to give one up for the other, but Page is a different kind of book. That’s why he’s able to hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance charts with enviable regularity, earn a Grammy nomination and covet praise from critics for his original productions. His new album In The Air even has an indie slant to it, all wrapped around his typically irrepressible brand of progressive house, cleverly showcasing his versatility and maturity. Here’s an illuminating chat with the in-demand American DJ/producer after his killer set at Mink.

Hi Morgan! Is this your first time in Singapore? What are your impressions?
Yes, I love it here.. very lush. Feels like a greenhouse!

How did you get from a log cabin in rural Vermont into the dizzying world of DJing?
I started in college radio in my home state of Vermont, as a high school student. The local station at UVM didn’t require DJs to be students, so I took advantage of that opportunity. I later continued in radio at Emerson College in Boston, and started to play out in clubs because I wanted an audience I could see.

How do you think you have grown as an artist since your early days?
The sound has changed and evolved a lot of the early days. It’s more aggressive, and I’ve gotten better at arrangement and melodies that stick in your head.

Did you ever wanna do anything else outside of music?
My early interests were graphic design and technology. I still really like good design and photography.

Your impressively extensive list of remixes makes us drool glitter. Do you have a favourite amongst them all?
Some of my favorites are my mixes for Madonna, Meiko, and my remix for Nadia Ali that was nominated for a Grammy.

Tell us about your latest album In the Air.
The new album is a mix of vocal heavy progressive house music. Some tracks are more indie focused and other are built specifically for the club. Everyone from Tegan & Sara, to Nadia Ali, to Greg Laswell contribute vocals.

How did you get Tegan & Sara onboard for “Body Work”?
It all started with a bootleg remix I did for Tegan & Sara. They later hired me to remix two of their songs and then eventually we thought – “why don’t we write an original together?”

Your music is now being played from fashion events to movie soundtracks. What’s next?
One of the songs was the official landing track for Virgin America for a while – that was pretty cool. Next up – maybe the soundtrack for private space travel? (Laughs)

Interview courtesy of Mink.

www.morgan-page.com

Nifty visual artist Craig Redman might not be familiar on the minds of most on our island, but we’re about to change that. Australian-born Redman whirls around in the world of illustrations and installations – designing everything from whimsical miniature figures, quirky life-sized installations to old school candies. He is also the founder and creator of darceldisappoints.com, featuring an original bespectacled egg-shaped character named Darcel, who sees the world through a pair of downcast-yet-surprisingly-chipper glasses. Creatively inspired by the proverbial claim of “the world around us”, he translates all observations into art that’s quirky cool with a strong reminiscent of the pop-art era. Creating caricatures of famous figures such as Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld and Kanye West also seems a cinch with the lad. Now based in NYC, we decided to get to know Redman a little better so we don’t get left behind in his playground of intricately crafted art paraphernalia.

Hey Craig! Introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
My name is Craig Redman, I’m one half of installation and illustration duo Craig & Karl and also the dude behind Darcel Disappoints.

You’re a pretty renowned artist. How’s your creative process like?
I think the idea is more important than the process, and as tired a cliché as it is, I mostly get inspiration from the world around me. It could be some crazily dressed homeless person on the tube in London, or some mega exhibition in New York that triggers a thought process that eventually leads to a new interesting outcome. It’s a matter of constantly being aware of your surroundings and taking snippets of lots of different things that you can Frankenstein together in a big new idea.

Your website craigandkarl.com is pretty impressive! Where is all your artistic inspiration coming from and how is it to work with your creative partner, Karl, from across the globe?
Karl and I met when we were 17, during the first week of our degree and we’ve been working together in one form or another ever since – whether it’s in the same room or a 24-hour flight from each other. Even though we live in different parts of the world we talk daily via Skype to discuss what’s going on, usually as one of us is finishing up for the day and the other is beginning – we’re like a 24 hour sweatshop!

You created this delightfully depressing character named Darcel. Is he a representation of you, in a way?
I started Darcel when I first moved to New York as a way to remember all the banal observations I had when I moved here. My literacy skills are shocking so I thought it should probably be an illustrated blog rather than a written one. Everything Darcel does I do, though sometimes he reacts to it in a more exaggerated way, I guess he is the me I want to be.

Any plans to expand your repertoire into say…fashion?
I’m lucky enough to be able to work across a whole variety of creative industries, it’s a good way of keeping my brain alert and to stave off boredom. During the course of a week I can fluctuate from painting to working on graphics for video game, to designing a pattern for a fashion label or figuring out how to installation an outdoor sculpture.

Check out more of Craig’s work at www.craigandkarl.com

Yes time does fly. Indeed four years have already passed since the Summer Olympics in Beijing, and in just a couple of months, the torch shall be lit on the grand stage of London, home to the Sex Pistols, Her Majesty, and fish pie. So it’s time for us to proudly don the glorious colours of the Union Jack, and GAP has festively jumped onto the bandwagon. To celebrate the upcoming historical event, GAP has introduced a series of tees, tank tops, hoodies, and totes (oh yeah, even sandals!) all bearing the magnificently prominent symbol. Grab these limited edition collectibles adorned in red, white and blue (the other one) at local GAP outlets in mid-May. Or you just might end up having to wait another 40 years to get them – just saying.

Syndicate’s back in the Substation’s theatre for another audio-visual go-around and this time their ramping things up by teaming up with Musicity! The ongoing initiative by British Council Singapore looks to weave together sound, architecture and experience, and they’ve brought down the Mercury Prize nominated producer of Diamond Mine, Jon Hopkins, to represent at this Subsessions shindig. Meanwhile Syndicate will also be showcasing one of their own in the ever experimental Max Lane who’ll be doing a special one-off collab with the pipes of Pushin’On, MC Masterpiece! We got the chance to chat with the pair of old friends just before their musical team-up to gather a little insight into their cauldron of livewire minimalism and live vocals.

What can we expect from your musical partnership at Subsessions?
Hafez Masterpiece: I am excited about being able to explore the limits of my voice. His music needs me to use my voice in a radically different way that I would never expect to do on my own material. That’s something I’m really looking forward to.
Max Lane: In terms of the performance it will be less technical for me as I will just be laying out the backbones and let Masterpiece’s voice drive most of the songs.

Max, your sound varies from the glitch stuttering synths of “Gema Takbir”, to the hauntingly clean bass-line hums and hiding-in-your-closet guitar whispers of “Bury Me”. How will this performance with Masterpiece be different?
ML: Sound-wise, I think I have always been a schizophrenic creature, always over-ambitious to try everything out. With that said, the wide palette of sounds will still be there I guess but will be gelled up with the haunting and dark tones which I can’t seem to run away from. One thing for sure is that it will be totally different from any of my club sets. I’ve been experimenting with song arrangement and structure to get out of my typical bouncy head-nodding routines since the start of Syndicate. The recipe for disaster is still being put together as we speak. (Laughs)

What emotions are stirring through your heads, with the knowledge that you both are sharing the stage with Mercury Prize nominee Jon Hopkins?
HM: A bit surreal now isn’t it? I think the audience will enjoy it because hopefully, our set will complement Jon Hopkins’ music. Max Lane knows what to do cause he’s been a big fan of Jon for the longest time!
ML: I just want to come out of it and say I shared a stage with someone who has worked with Brian Eno. Bowie will be perfect but Jon Hopkins will be as great.

Max, as a Syndicate resident, what is the significance of Syndicate Subsessions to both you and as a rising brand in the scene?
ML: After celebrating our first anniversary, it has always been my personal vision to try out a separate Syndicate series out of a club and in a performance space. With that we can cover a wider spectrum of sound and invite artists who share the same aesthetics but won’t be suitable in a club environment. Muon and Jon Hopkins are two perfect examples. As a resident artist together with the rest, I hope it will push us further as content creators and performers. Playing to a dancefloor and performing to an audience with their full attention on you are two different things. The latter is definitely more pressurizing. So the intention is for everyone to bring it up another level. Collectively with Syndicate as a brand I feel it’s just a natural progression for us to curate such a series. We definitely want to do things beyond parties and thanks to the Substation now we have this new platform for us to experiment.

This is Part 1 of a long juicy chat with Max Lane and MC Masterpiece. Read Part 2 of the interview in the upcoming June 2012 issue of JUICE!

Syndicate Subsessions x Musicity happens on Saturday, 2 June at The Substation Theatre from 8-10pm. Admission is $20 and available from the box office. Contact  6337 7800 or boxoffice@substation.org for enquiries.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now that you’ve seen the regular version, be sure to check out the spruced up interactive video over at wireWAX - its mad fun!

Home Again – CD and digital album is out now!

michaelkiwanuka.com

Three nights of back-to-back musical mayhem playing host to almost 50 bands might sound like a dream in SG, but it really is happening! Spanning areas all over Clarke Quay, this major music festival is a global platform for some of the world’s best breakthrough acts and has jumpstarted many a successful career. 2012 will also be the first year that Music Matters will be broadcasted live from the Main Stage over YouTube (can you say Coachella?). There’ll be performances from Midnight Youth, Minor Soul, Orangegrass and plenty more. So let’s go!

Music Matters Live 2012 takes place at Clarke Quay from 24 – 26 May.

www.allthatmatters.asia

Our country’s sole vault of designer cameras are delivering on their promise of revolutionary stylish cameras, albeit turning a little to the dark side this time. Hot off the launch for the limited edition of shuttermachines designed by artist Tara McPherson, Darkroom Army is presenting you with The Black Skull Edition – the brainchild of local underground urban street artist, Clogtwo. With influences from street art, this inky collection bring forth the classic Russian Fed 5 camera and comes complete with a light meter (making it one-up from its mate, the Fed 5B). We love how Clogtwo has taken the darkest of black and perfectly translating his distinct street-art on the body of the cam. Not only does this collection of cameras feel good on our little hands, it looks just as smashin’ as well. Complete your street cred with this one, guys!

The Darkroom Army x Clogtwo Black Skull Edition goes for $280 a pop.
The first 100 sets come with a limited edition fine art print (signed by Clogtwo himself!).
Available at the Darkroom Army Gallery Store, 36 Armenian St #02-04.

www.darkroomarmy.com

The original cult indie legends are taking root on our soil for a heavy, heavy session of original alt rock and shoegaze sweetness. The gang chose Singapore to be JAMC’s first and only destination in Southeast Asia, so we’ll be the only ones around here swimming in tunes  from the early days of Psychocandy all the way to their later works from Munki.These unsung Glaswegian legends have a rep for dramatic live sets, and with this being their first show ever here, there’s absolutely no reason for all you indie-heads to miss this.

The 4imaginary boys present The Jesus And Mary Chain at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Saturday, 26 May. Tickets are available via SISTIC on 11 May.

4imaginaryboys.com

The Californian premium watch and accessories brand are getting high with nylon this Summer! Treat yourself with three shiny new collections – classy All Black, nautical Navy and the military-inspired Surplus. Ladies get their dose of nylon goodness too (we recommend the Navy collection – tres chic!). These wrist candies could take you from work to play, day to night, with no less than durability and effervescent style.

Available at all Billabong stores and Nixon, ION Orchard B3-13.