It isn’t just Ray-Ban’s various shapes and sizes that make it the savviest cat in the eyewear game, but also the label’s totally awesome outings into music, where it has worked with countless artists that embody that same spirit of cool and creativity. And its latest Ray-Ban Raw Sounds is just one prime example. Tying together established and emerging artists, this project takes off with Brit rock legend Johnny Marr at the helm, and four contemporary bands who’ve each attempted to write a track inspired by elements supplied by Mr Marr himself. Yup, Johnny’s gone into his mind vault and dug out an original poem (I Know The Radiant City), a quotation from Schiller, a video of himself playing a tune dubbed “Strum and Drang”, a photo he took of two friends photographing each other (entited New Look!) as well as a map of New York’s Lower East Side, and passed them out to young guns Best Coast, Au Revoir Simone, Tom Vek and Mona to get creative with.

The results of this ambitious project are now ready for your consumption and boy, will you feed well. Johnny’s New Look! photograph provided the driving force behind Best Coast’s “Your Sleep” (“Because my brain goes straight to romance”) and Mona’s uptempo “Jericho”, while his “Strum and Drang” video has helped birth Au Revoir Simone’s “How Long”, of which its repetition and finger picking tie back to Johnny’s loop. And employing all five elements for inspiration is Tom Vek and his creation, “Film Your Own Television”, with lyrics inspired by the map and the photo, and everything else by the poem, quote and video.

And of course, all that music’s gonna need an outlet, which Ray-Ban has sorted out with a series of gigs in music capitals around the world. The first of these concerts kicked off on 13 October at the Angel Orensanz Foundation For Contemporary Art in New York City, where punters got to first lay ears on these unique collaborations. The unique venue played host to a good-looking crowd – faces neatly framed in Ray-Bans – and music treats from Best Coast and Mona. But the spotlight was saved for Johnny Marr, who arrived with his band of Healers to run through his stellar back catalogue and give all you Smiths fans a reason to live again. Following that awesome launch, Ray-Ban Raw Sounds will soon be making its way to London and Hong Kong, where it’s set to unleash both sound and style. Stay tuned as we bring you the scoop on those gigs as they happen, but for now, let’s dig into what went down in NYC.

www.ray-ban.com

One should expect nothing less when adidas decides to throw a party and brand it as the biggest fashion spectacular they’ve ever held in Southeast Asia. We didn’t, but nothing quite prepared us for the shindig held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza that showcased all five labels under the adidas Sport Style family, as well as adidas by
Stella McCartney. By doing so, adidas served to us a steaming hot and tasty dish of fashion that put to rest all misperceptions of sportswear. It’s official, folks: sportswear is now pretty darn chic and you better believe it.

Kicking off the show was Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 with a selection of six looks from its capsule collection – straight off its first presentation at the New York Fashion Week. Equally yummy was the showcase of Porsche Design Sport, which was also its debut showing outside Carrera Cup events. What we really liked though was the collection by SLVR, which was all preppy sportiness, and the lighthearted tennis chic of adidas by Stella McCartney. There was also an appearance by NEO, adidas’ fresh-faced sibling (and who better to model this youthful adidas offshoot other than ex-JUICE cover girl and now MTV VJ, Holly Grabarek?).

Celebrating another first at this almost 40-minute long presentation (that all 400+ guests stayed glued to their seats throughout must mean something) was a minutelong intermission that was more than just pregnant pause – it sprung on us the premiere of the all adidas global brand campaign just before its official worldwide launch and a stellar live performance by DJ Koflow and beatboxer Dharni. Bringing the show to its grand finale was the adidas Originals collection guest-modelled by the larger-than-life duo of The Butter Factory’s Bobby and Ritz, who both looked right at home in Jeremy Scott’s rambunctious designs. T’was one evening that marked not just many firsts, but kicked off a whole new ball game in the field of sports-inspired wear altogether.

Text Fiona Chen
Image adidas

www.adidas.com

While the boys from Radikal Forze blew out 13 candles on their cake recently, they certainly didn’t forget their breakdancing community in the meantime. As tradition goes, Radikal Forze gave back to the culture they call home by organising a breakdancing competition alongside its anniversary celebrations that saw b-boys and girls from countries like Canada and Thailand checking in to represent. Gyeah!

The three-day carnival saw more than 900 breakdancing and hip hop enthusiasts congregate to show mad love to the scene. Kicking things off was a pre-jam party at DblO (which was also the scene to a 7-to-smoke invitational battle) followed by an intense 4 vs 4 finals (eventually won by the 99 Flava crew from Thailand) on the second day. The best was obviously saved for the last though: on the third day, the b-boys whipped out their slickest floor moves over at Wavehouse in a 2 vs 2 battle called Raw 2 the Floor, which was won by Mouse and Babylon from the Floorgangz crew. Lots of blood and sweat were shed in those few days, but we’re quite sure no one complained.

Text Fiona Chen
Image Radikal Forze

www.radikalforzecrew.com

There were 100 contenders who applied for the Levi’s® Music Challenge but the hordes were carefully whittled down to just eight when it came time for the jam challenge. Timbre @ Substation played host to The Sets Band, Indrah Hamzah, Seyra & Trip Circle, Final Cut, All of the above, Deon Toh (with the Deon Toh band), Sarah & the Soul Brothers and Mariam Suso as the shortlisted finalists stressed to impress. Spun off from Levi’s® enthusiastic support of Timbre Rock & Roots 2011, this challenge afforded some of the best aspiring local talent out there a platform to break out, with the winner eventually being given the opportunity to perform at the actual fest on 16 April.

Acts performed covers of classic songs by the varied Rock & Roots acts on offer such as Bob Dylan, Imogen Heap and Michael Franti along with an original number to showcase their songwriting ability. It was an entertaining evening of live music as all eight bands put on worthy performances that left the trio of judges with a head-scratching conundrum. After difficult deliberations, the impressive The Sets Band made up of Josh Tan, Marcus Lim, Jin Sim and Marcus Mark Ramos were declared victors. By the time you read this, the quartet would’ve already opened for John Legend and wowed the Rock & Roots crowd with their folksy-blues rock, so we’d like to congratulate the boys on the mammoth month they just had!

Text Hidzir Junaini
Images Levi’s®

It’s been a while since the last of the famed Jet Black parties and as you can imagine, we were pretty psyched for the first Johnnie Walker get-together of the year. Held at Red Dot Traffic Museum, this installment was a secret invite-only (ooh-la-la) event graced by the likes of Eduardo Saverin (The Social Network does the man no justice), Max Loong, Alicia Pan, FHM models Angelique Nicolette Teo and Maggie Tan, as well as us of course. The A-list attendees even extended to the man helming the decks – DJ Skribble himself, best known as MTV’s Total Request Live resident turntablist and the cat behind those beloved Traffic Jams compilations.

The former Young Black Teenager tore up a storm as he sonically scribbled a righteous mix of old-school Hot 97 flavour blended in seamlessly with some pretty rad street-laced house tunes. When partyin’ up to Skribble’s fresh beats, party-goers also toyed around with their new high-tech wrist bands, a futuristic gadget gifted at the door that allowed them to link-up to their Facebook (we bet Eduardo enjoyed this bit) and Twitter profiles and check in at different points throughout the night in real-time. Trend-setting technology, tasty Scotch and a tremendous deck wrecker all in one night? Look who’s back in Jet Black.

Text Hidzir Junaini
Images Grayling

Two decades in the biz and Zouk hardly looks it. It may be our island’s longest surviving club, but it’s still partying and serving up the 4/4 harder, better, faster and stronger than most 20-year-olds. That’s not even mentioning the impact it’s made on our nightscape – bringing house into the fold, putting some of the biggest names in dance on the menu and giving all club kids a place to go. Such is the stuff that legends and longevity are made of, and Zouk’s 20th landmark deserves nothing short of a celebration.

Did we say celebration? We meant an EXTRAVAGANZA. Zouk only gets to turn 20 once in a lifetime and it made sure to do so over four whole days of great music and merriment. And how better to start it off than with Mambo Jambo: the Wednesday night staple of Top 40 hits and um, line dancing that’s been going at it for as long as its parent club has. Guesting at this special edition was the one and only Aldrin (another Zouk staple), who dropped off his own blend of pop rockets for the benefit of the Mambo princes and princesses.

Day two stepped things up a notch or 945, when the high priest of trance himself, Armin van Buuren, graced the decks. Everybody and their mothers showed up in full force (the queue apparently began at 7pm), packing into a swelling dancefloor that practically lit up when Armin entered the building. And the world’s #1 DJ did not disappoint, ensuring the crowd had enough tingling and exhilarating highs to feed on. Who goes to bed after that? Not Zouk!

The club saved the best for the third day of its birthday bonanza, with the Zouk 20th Anniversary Party, which celebrated the impeccable 20/20 vision of one man (Lincoln Cheng, FYI), and his one world, one music, one tribe and one dance. We were offered a nostalgic trip through Zouk’s most cherished memories and milestones, from the club’s residents to ZoukOut to Mambo Jambo (even his majesty, the Mambo King, put in an appearance), as well as live showcases from Bloco Singapura and Maniam. Cake was served, toasts were made and hearts were most definitely warmed to the house that Zouk built. Those memories were also available to take home in the commemorative Zouk 20/20 Book – a stunning and definitive volume that details the club’s history in the words and images of the people who lived in and for it. Ah, how good it looks on our shelves.

Since we survived those three heady days, what’s a fourth? Zouk’s 20th anniversary shebang ended on Saturday night with a big name in bright lights: Danny Tenaglia, he who has haunted the world’s biggest clubs – from New York’s Twilo to Ibiza’s Space – and shared the same studio with the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Madonna. His set for Zouk’s birthday bash was no less legendary – a cocktail of progressive house and epic grooves that lasted for eight full hours (and a little bit more), and left not an unmoved butt on the dancefloor. There was even a 5am breakfast of eggs and sausages to be had, which just goes to show how
well Zouk takes care of ya.

So even as the sun rises on Zouk’s brand new decade, note how these folks remain as tireless in their quest for that one world, one music, one tribe and one dance – making sure our clubscape comes in a brighter and bolder shade, and that none of us are staying in on a weekend. Four nights of parties may mark the 20th year of the club’s existence and mission, but in more ways than one, it’s only just begun.

Text Min Chen
Image Zouk Management

We’ve surely been spoiled silly by the kind of acts gracing our live arenas these days, but ooh! MGMT! These fellas have spent the better part of the past four years gracing our dancefloors and headphones with their psychedelic take on indie-electro (Oracular Spectacular) and avant pop (Congratulations), and it was only about time they took to a stage near us. And thanks to Untitled Entertainment, they just did.

But first, an opening act to whet the appetite: following The Analog Girl’s laptop-based set, none other than The Whitest Boy Alive cracked open the proceedings at Suntec City Convention Hall. This would make Erlend Øye & gang’s second outing on our shores (the first was at our 10th birthday party), but no less of a party. Feet were shuffled along to the quartet’s bespectacled exercises in indie-funk, like “Fireworks”, “Golden Cage”, “Burning” and a nice little cover of “Wicked Game”. For his wispy frame, Erlend packed a funky punch and kicked up quite the storm amongst his gathered disciples, demonstrating once again that geeks have got it in ‘em.

Hopefully you were feeling suitably electric by now, because here’s the part where MGMT slid onstage for their local debut to show us just what they’re made of. Fattened up to a quintet, frontmen Ben and Andrew (complete with kitty ears) got to work with “It’s Working”, just the first step in a set that crackled, fizzed and popped with tunes both weird and wonderful – from the ecstatic “Electric Feel” and “Flash Delirium” to the nuanced “Siberian Breaks”, “The Youth” and the Cleaners From Venus cover of “Only a Shadow”.

And hurrah for the hits: the likes of “Time to Pretend”, “Weekend Wars” and the karaoke friendly “Kids” got the loudest whoops of the night, while newcomers like “Brian Eno” also found rabid fans hopping along in the pit. Things ended not with a whimper, but with the encore of “Congratulations”, which concluded the night’s blaze of glory on a sweet and tender note. Nice one, MGMT, and damn, we miss you already.

Text Min Chen

JUICE is proud to have been official magazine for this event. Also, big love to SingTel for the VIP treatment.

French Horn Rebellion could hardly be described as typical. After all how many other bands could play an electro-rock set, descend in the house depths of a DJ set and then oh yeah, whip out the French horn live in a club for good measure. The Milwaukee-born but Brooklyn-bred (sonically at least) duo pulled out all the stops with a feel-good phantasm of ultraviolet lights and unending exuberance at their debut at Velvet Underground. But before their glorious performance, came our own certifiable indie-electronic rockstar, The Analog Girl, whose delivered an unexpectedly up-tempo set that seemed designed to foreshadow the absurd club-banger fun up ahead.

Just a couple of songs in and the curly-haired brothers already saw fit to drop one of their biggest hits, “This Moment”, to absolute outrageous delight. The boys bravely weren’t going to rely on their established songs the further they went and appeared intent on opening our minds with a prog-jam of infectious electropop, time-warp disco bumps and heavy synth lines. Often times, the supposed indie rock show flowed seamlessly into a full-fledged DJ set, dotted with euphoric remixes of kindred spirits (and also Kitsuné mates) Two Door Cinema Club’s “I Can Talk”. Robert even plucked out the band’s signature instrument on multiple occasions. It was just that kind of show – less of a concert and more of a crazy, fun, intimate dance party with close friends. As the boys closed the night with one of their early singles, “Beaches & Friends”, there wasn’t a person there without a smile plastered on their face, in sheer appreciation of the pair’s sensational stage presence and selfless effort.

Text Hidzir Junaini
Images Dominic Phua and Untitled Entertainment

Has it really only been six years since the Mosaic Music Festival popped up? We could hardly remember a time when our March calendars weren’t dotted with reminders of which Mosaic gigs to catch – preferably all of them. This year, with a host of top-notch international jazz, indie, world and electronic acts like Tortoise, Joanna Newsom, Angélique Kidjo, Jamie Lidell and Aphex Twin gracing the main Concert Hall and Theatre venues along with a whole string of regional acts doing free shows all around, one could hardly turn a corner without being exposed to the cacophony of brilliant talent. It’s almost too much to digest in barely over a week but we tried to keep up.

The cozy confines of the Mosaic Club provided a great space in particular for a whole assortment of eclectic acts to showcase their stuff. The fest started off on Friday with the curiously labeled samurai jazz quintet Pe’z taking the spotlight. If you didn’t have a clue what samurai jazz was, it wouldn’t have taken long for the five-piece instrumental outfit to blow you away with their Bushido energy and raucous punk-jazz hybrid. Kind of like what if The Go! Team picked up saxophones and trumpets instead. Fun anarchic funk ensued as songs like “Akatsuki” blared to hundreds of bouncing bodies and flailing arms.

Christian Prommer followed with a Saturday showcase that left us all percussed with a two-part set that saw him floor the dancefloor with beats on drums and on decks. Drumlesson II started out exactly as advertised – furious, skillful, hypnotic percussion-based Tropicana. As oxymoronic as low-tech techno sounds, live jazz instrumental versions of classic electronic tracks quickly transcended its novelty factor and translated into breathtaking organic soundscapes. As if that wasn’t enough, a full-fledged DJ set followed a brief intermission as Prommer laid bare his immense versatility and helmed the consoles for some indelible microhouse massiveness.

The hard-hitting boys from 65daysofstatic then swung by for not one but two sets on Sunday – no rest for the wickedly awesomely we suppose. The math rock Sheffield madmen were a year late and judging by the way they pounded our collective pleasure senses into submission, they were eager to make it up. The opening number “Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here” immediately signalled the post-metal pummeling coming our way. The second half veered deeper into their latest album We Were Exploding Anyway which consequently led to more Holy F*ck-esque electronic elements, dance-y drum programming and more headlong boogieing.

Having run the gamut of Japanese jazz, Munich percussion-techno and English post-rock, why not throw in some Brazilian psychedelia too? Indeed. Os Mutantes are veritable prog legends and the Sao Paolo natives whipped up a stormy samba with intricate instrumentation and trippy melodies. Sergio Dias’ playful grin and perpetual guitar wizardry effortlessly enraptured the crowd in a haze of peace, love and bossa nova with flashes of Hendrix and Beatles thrown alternately (or at the same time) into the band’s age-ripe experimental Portuguese cocktail.

The Sarah Cracknell fronted Saint Etienne capped off a perfect week of intimate live music with their pretty swingin’ disco vibes and even prettier projected imagery. The quintessentially effervescent soul-dub shindig was an audio-visual treat, a perfect complement to the Croydon alt-dance group’s broad palette of saccharine synths and electro-pop harmonies. Saint Etienne also performed two separate but equally lavish sets consisting of colourful grainy splendor, carefully choreographed to even brighter melodic exuberance. As the swaying crowd blissed out to house-tinged indie-dance, we couldn’t possibly think of a finer way to cap off yet another year of diverse gigs within the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Till the next Mosaic, folks!

Text Hidzir Junaini
Images The Esplanade Co Ltd

Another year, another Rock & Roots in the books, this time though with an all-star line-up made up of outstanding local talent, heralded contemporary acts and undeniable legends in tow. The first night opened with local band Raw Earth, who kicked things off on just the right note with their tight, technical and tireless set of classic blues rock. Old-school Jamaican reggae gods Toots and the Maytals sprang up next to wow with their soulful ska and passionate stage presence. As one of reggae’s founding fathers in the early ‘60s (these guys were literally the ones who coined the term), nobody can rocksteady better than Frederick Hibbert and his Maytals.

Speaking of storied vets, none other than Bob Dylan followed up and judging from the crowd reaction, this was the man they came to see. The folk poet’s set was heavy on recent recordings but sweetly encored by nostalgia-wrapped renditions of classics such as “Like A Rolling Stone”. Michael Franti & Spearhead’s kinetic two-hour performance closed the night brilliantly, bringing the masses to their feet and even a raucous few onstage, as a frantic Franti spearheaded their extensive catalogue of reggaeton rock from their Home days all to way to the latest cuts off The Sound Of Sunshine.

The second night began with a spirited set from the Levi’s Music Challenge champions The Sets Band along with Timbre regulars 53A who settled the kettle splendidly. Imogen Heap’s second venture here in as many years enraptured as she punctuated her usual chromatic dynamics and versatile vocals with hilarious anecdotes. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue may have been the least known of the international acts that came but we guarantee that these guys left the biggest impression when they brought a slice of authentic Louisiana Latin jazz to an appreciatively funked-out audience. Legend in name and by now legend in status, r&b crooner John Legend climaxed proceedings by turning the temperature up for the ladies and turning in an impressively smooth showcase of neo-soul. Fun times beheld for all at the Marina Promenade and we already can’t wait to see what’s in store next year!

Text: Hidzir Junaini

www.rockandroots.com.sg