An XX box set just went for nearly £300 on eBay someone should have told the bidders that Ninja had a few tucked away for their new site launch and the winner could have saved themselves £200. In other news, the box set was featured in an end of year round up in the New York Times of all places (there we are over on the right) alongside, Elvis, Dylan, the Stones, Springsteen, Lennon and more…
Japan, in contrast to the States the week before, was a fairly easy affair with not half as much packed in and just two dates in four days. This time the line up was myself and DK, Toddla T, Kid Koala, DJ Kentaro, Eskmo, Coldcut, Roots Manuva & Ricky Rankin and The Qemists – the full live band consisting of eight people. Also along for the ride were various other Ninjas including Mox and Pete Quicke on their chosen work jollies.
Japan still fascinates me as it is such a highly visual city, even in the everyday walking down the street, you can spot beautiful signs, logos or adverts as well as stickers and the odd but of ‘street art’. We had the first day off so I spent time in Shibuya, seeking out those strange little shops on the eleventh floor of some tower block that are filled with European library records at outrageous prices. It never ceases to amaze me, the obscurities from all over the world that turn up in Japanese shops, it just doesn’t happen in the same way anywhere else in the world.
It’s not all record shops though, I bumped into Jon More and then DK in the kitchen dept. of Tokyu Hands (a kind of condensed version of the larger Mark & Spencers stores), buying presents for the family. Japan wouldn’t be what it is without Manga, anime and toy robots so, after my customary visit to Mandarake, an underground shrine to all the above, I ventured out of my comfort zone in Shibuya to the Akihabara district via the train system. This is known as the Otaku area, ie: a place for nerds and collectors of anime, manga and video games to gather and shop. First stop was a look at the Gundam Café – basically a coffee shop with an interesting design concept and a place to buy waffles that look like robots. Second there was a 7 storey version of Mandarake selling everything from vintage toys to dodgy cosplay, manga porn and enough comics and DVDs to make your head spin. The rest of the time was spent just looking, looking, looking, although I could have spent a fortune on various things.
Back in Shibuya, the gig was at Shibuya-O-East, a big, two room venue with a great sound system and a ton of sushi back stage :). DK and I were on second, after Eskmo but then had later sets in the smaller second room until the end of the night. This second room contained a large Ninja logo head with ‘X’s for eyes with coloured lasers shot through it and was a great way to stretch out without the need to incorporate video. DJ Kentaro and Beatink (our press and distributor in Japan) had made a special cake which was presented to Coldcut onstage and I arrived backstage after my second set to find it still uncut with the note “Please wait Kev! Don’t cut this cake” – they know me too well, I duly snapped a few pictures and then we all scoffed it. A 5am finish saw us trooping out into the early morning light and piling the gear into a van which would leave immediately for Osaka and the gig later that night, the Ninja head propped up against a back wall. Thankfully, we got to use the hotel and rose at a more suitable time to catch the bullet train en-mass, hungrily consuming bento boxes for breakfast.
Osaka is a little more laid back than Tokyo it seems and we all had a little time to wander about after sound check, which I made use of, almost getting completely lost in the process. The club was a long, thin venue with a balcony and a VIP room above that looked down on the dance floor. Eskmo was on first again, this time with randomly screaming girl at the front, check the video below right, she was like this throughout his set, I don’t know how he managed to sing through it! We were up next but, because of the constraints of the stage size, had to play from the very back which made it hard to connect with the audience in any way, I think we did OK though. Unfortunately we had a 6am lobby call the next morning for flights back to Tokyo which then connected to London, a 20 hour journey home and I chose take the easy route and get some sleep rather than party as the jet lag was now out of control.
Day 3: Friday – San Francisco – White Walls Gallery, 5000 people and a pillow fight
Half dead with jet lag and exhaustion we pile into the van for the airport, none have eaten but suddenly Jeff appears with a big bag. “I’ve got pie!” he exclaims and we remember that Melissa Phillips (aka Aeluv from the Ninja forum), who had been taking photos the night before, is an expert baker and had bought a couple of large apple pies with her. Saved from starvation, thanks Melissa. The flight to SF was six hours so we finally got a bit of sleep until we touched down and wound the clock back another three hours to west coast time. We had a short window until sound check and I’d done some homework before I left; Augustine Kofie was having a show at the White Walls Gallery ten blocks from our hotel and I really wanted to see it ‘in the flesh’ so to speak.
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It was well worth the effort, Kofie’s work is a masterclass in collage, construction and colour balance, each piece has as much woodworking in it as painting. He uses found objects, textures and images alongside a geometric constructivist style that springs, somewhere along the way, from graffiti, framing some of the pieces with printed wooden rulers that he finds on his travels. One corner of the gallery was a recreation of a hypothetical Kofie workspace, complete with table, lamp and cutting mat, the shelves piled with rusted spray cans, clipboards and storage boxes that he had customised. On the back wall he’d painted one of his signature style pieces, skewed circles and tightly controlled detail, some of his work reminds me of Syd Mead‘s organic technology designs.
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Soundcheck saw a huge line up of decks with Amon, Kentaro, Koala, DK and I all fitting across the stage for this one. Anticipation was high as this gig was a free party, paid for by Converse who had sponsored the tour. There had been over 6000 applications for tickets and, even though the club had 4 rooms, it was doubtful that everyone would get in (5000 ended up through the door apparently). I’d hoped to meet up with Michael Bartalos – the creator of the original Ninja logo – at Kofie’s show but he couldn’t make it, luckily he made the gig and appeared at the DJ booth 5 minutes before we were due to play. It was great to finally meet the man who had been the catalyst for my own versions and fitting that it was the 20th anniversary that had marked the occasion.
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The show was a great success, marked by the introduction of a pillow fight interlude in Kid Koala’s set where he took two pillows from the hotel and asked for volunteers from the audience. Two had to have a pillow fight, holding one arm behind their back whilst a third was asked to operate a small sampler onstage filled with foley sounds á la Loony Tunes cartoons to soundtrack the fight. This was a great success and rendered all the more bizarre because Eric was playing a version of ‘In The Mood’ called ‘Classical Cluck’ where the song is recreated by clucking and squawks. Upstairs after our set Jeff’s wife had arrived with their new baby who was sound asleep even though the bass from Amon Tobin’s set downstairs was making cups literally jump off tables nearby. SF Weekly has a nice review and a few pictures too.
Happy Halloween to everyone! By the time this is published, I should be in the US possibly playing an unannounced spot at the Do-Over Halloween party in LA, that’s if I can get out of bed after the marathon 3 days that preceded it on the Ninja XX mini-tour. Anyway, in preparation I was going through my collection in search of Halloween and Horror-themed tracks and I found this. Picked up years ago in a record shop in Exeter I believe, it’s the Jive UK issue of Whodini’s ‘The Haunted House of Rock’ which has a unique sleeve.
The cover illustration is by Graham Humphreys who many of my generation will recognise as the artist who provided the posters and covers for the UK releases of Evil Dead 1 & 2, Nightmare On Elm St 1,2 & 3, Creepers, Basket Case and more (not getting typecast or anything). That’s great enough but check out the (s)lime green vinyl and skull label, beautiful.
Really looking forward to checking this out when I’m in San Francisco next week, thanks to Remi the Rough for pointing it out.
A short time lapse documenting the pre-production and set up of my first solo art show in San Francisco, California at White Walls Gallery. All documented days before the public opening on October 9, 2010. Includes documentation of both a mural as well as the large triangular found object installation including drafting table.
Keepdrafting post here:
Music: Tail end of S. Maharba‘s ‘Organs’ mixing into 4x4Tracktor‘s ‘Organs Revised’ [Take Your Pleasure Seriously]. An excerpt from Kofie’s soundtrack for the show, available free to listen/download here:
I played at the Farmhouse in Canterbury on Saturday and had an excellent night (thanks Sean, Victoria and James) – try the excellent food on the menu courtesy of chef Rob if you’re in the area.
On Sunday morning I went to a local carboot sale and found this gem for 20 English pence. Apart from the beautiful cover it features excellent Radiophonic Workshop pieces on the B side from John Baker and Delia Derbyshire, including ‘New World’, which is better known to a generation of 70’s school kids for it’s closing seconds which were used for the theme to John Craven’s Newsround.
Easily one of the most interesting acts out there at the moment, Demdike Stare have the third in their trilogy of EPs ready to drop soon. Apparently called ‘Voices of Dust’, containing 9 tracks and over 50 minutes long (!), it will be with us at the end of November inside another lovely Andy Votel sleeve. Not only that but there are plans to collect all three EPs onto CD, a new mix CD – Industrial Desert – was out last week (still waiting for mine) and a new-ish podcast is up on Unsound’s soundcloud page.
Love this Kraftwerk parody for a FREE gig this Friday in Dalston, London.
FRIDAY 15th October 2010
Times : 8pm
FREE ENTRY
“An adventurous collage of raw and intoxicating sounds from the last century and beyond…” A free evening of music with DJs Mandrew B, Mapsadaisical, Mike Modular & Radioolio, playing ambient, kosmiche, jazz, dub, radiophonics and more…
I have to feature this because I love the fact that it’s a full page in Creative Review and the tag line Think Tank came up with for it. Thanks to all at Think Tank Media for the superb job they did on this project and believing in and liking it enough to take out such an ad.
Amazing work all round by Mutate Britain, Hit + Run and Chu with contributions from myself and Doc Vek
[vimeo width=”650″ height=”485″]http://www.vimeo.com/15564959[/vimeo]
Urb magazine’s website has had a makeover! In the run up to our US dates there’s plenty to see at the site including interviews, mixes, videos and a chapter from the Ninja Tune book.
Thanks to Hit + Run for the T-shirt printing in the chill out arch which was a nice touch and it was a thrill to see mine and doc Vek’s designs being printed live. See them printing the back of my shirt in the video below
[flickrvideo width=”640″ height=”480″]http://www.flickr.com/photos/strictly-kev/5049546768/[/flickrvideo]
Chu did some great work in the outside bar between arch 1 & 2, probably not seen by most though and hopefully not painted over in a hurry either.
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I had designed an archive gallery which was pasted onto 5×7 feet boards and there were several huge banners and posters around too.
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Out in the tunnel / entrance there were specially made gobos showing Ninja logos and in arch 1 Mutate Britain had constructed a huge Ninja head with lasers and smoke coming from the eyes.
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This lovely A2 sized custom poster by Doc Vek, £5 to you, 100 only, remainder will be put on the Ninja shop next week. Also Hit + Run will be screen printing a selection of 5 different Ninja designs on T-shirts for people during the gig. Not sure the price or exact designs yet but possibly this poster will be one of them in some form too. More on-location art comes from Chu who painted the mural on the 333 last month and SheOne who has an exhibition just opened alongside Pride, Prime, Fuel and Partism.
A couple of juicy Ninja XX features are on the magazine racks at the moment. The latest issue of Blueprint contains a six page feature on the artwork and design of the label with quotes from yours truly. Also in the same issue are pictures of the Manchester gallery that Agents of Change painted recently (see gallery above), nice to see them getting some props in an architecture magazine.
You can also now read this article online here
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Clash magazine has a nice little 8 page commemorative foldout too in their October issue where I pick some of my favourite sleeve designs on one page.
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One of the nicest things about the job I do is meeting other artists and like-minded people, and sometimes you get unexpected surprises because of this. Two recent packages turned up within days of each other and bought a smile to my face. The first was from Nigel Peake and he’d sent a unique screen print of the Ninja Family Tree he’d designed for the XX box set. This had reversed colours – blue on white – and he had hand-coloured my name on the print. Beautiful. He has now made a limited, signed edition available via his site so, if you didn’t get the box set, prefer the reversed colours and want a fold-free version, head on over there.
This week saw not one but two posters from Doc Vek at the door, his design for the DJ Kentaro show earlier in the year (right) and the forthcoming Ninja Tune party in Bristol at Motion (left). This was one of only three made and I’ve already framed it for the studio. I loved it so much that I suggested to Ninja that they have some made for the Ewer St. party in London on Oct 2nd. They will be personalised with the date, location and line up and probably available from the Ninja shop afterwards.
I’m very proud to announce my first design entry on the Hardformat blog. Run for three and a half years now, it’s a site dedicated to “reaching for the sublime in music design”, both past and present. One of the first things I think any designer finding the site would think is, “I wonder if I’m on here?”, the second would be, “I want to be featured here”, if they don’t find their work. The site already published the original mock up image of the set a few months back and we entered into a dialogue about it. That turned into me writing up a lengthy piece detailing some of the process involved in realising the gargantuan project.
www.hardformat.org/5200/ninja-tune-xx/
I helped take down the Ninja Tune exhibition at Black Dog today, it’s all gone, wrapped up, shipped back to its owners. Thanks to all who came down and all at Black Dog, especially Marianne Templeton, who put in a ton of effort to make it happen.
So, Nigel Peake is in town, fresh from painting a mural and we’re wandering around Pimlico like a couple of tourists. Clutching an A-Z and an iPhone, we’re trying to find the Chelsea Space which is currently hosting the Barney Bubbles exhibition, Process.
Bubbles, born Colin Fulcher, sadly committed suicide in 1983 and has long been an unsung hero of British sleeve design but this has started to change in recent years after Paul Gorman’s book on his work, ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful’, was published in 2008. Quickly selling out and starting to command high prices on the web it’s now been updated and expanded in a new edition.
Possibly one of the reasons Bubbles isn’t as widely know as, say, Neville Brody, Malcolm,Garrett, Hipgnosis, Peter Saville or Jamie Reid is because his work spanned both both ends of the seventies and beyond – the hippy / prog / rock and the punk eras – and never conceded to one house style for anyone. The two things he’s probably most known for – Hawkwind and Stiff Records – couldn’t be much further apart. Looking at one of his Hawkwind sleeves and then an Elvis Costello or Ian Dury from later you’d be hard-pressed to see any sort of stylistic link, yet he did them both.
After walking up and down the street way too many times, asking in the Tate to a bemused attendant and eventually finding the space via a round-the-houses route through the College of Art we realise we’d walked right past it. Failing to notice the sign outside the inconspicuous door set back from the main road, we should have stopped yakking and paid a bit more attention.
Anyway, once inside we were greeted by walls pasted with vintage music paper ads and posters of late 70’s vintage, a couple of old record players sporting various vinyl rarities, badges, stickers and a gorgeous rack of Ian Dury ‘Do It Yourself’ wallpaper-sleeved LPs. Right in, no messing about. Along the bottom of one wall were various publications all sporting BB covers including a John Cooper-Clark ‘Directory 1979’ an issue of the NME, Nova magazine and a Hawkwind programme.
A long, thin, tall corridor then stretches up before turning into the main exhibition room and one wall is covered with posters and record sleeves, the Hawkwind ones unfolded flat to show off their wares. Frustratingly the sharp viewing angle meant that the higher pieces were hard to see properly, further compounded by spot lighting which caused glare on anything in a PVC protective sleeve.
Into the main room, past a giant hanging Chuck Berry sculpture and here’s the good stuff. Cases of artifacts, portraits, sketchbooks, paintings, paste ups, reference books, even materials like Rotring pens he left behind. One wall is covered in original art paste up sheets, tracing paper with notes covering some of them, all hung with big bulldog clips which is a nice touch throughout. Another wall is full of beautifully presented black and white art, logos, layouts – a mixture of paint, pen, Letraset and whiteout – all of which would have blended into one under the camera later.
It must have been a difficult task for the curators to hang the work because it was so random, finding obvious themes and connections is almost impossible with Bubbles because each piece is so different from the next. Sure he has various tricks and techniques that he employs, his mixture of abstract and 3D shapes to make words for instance, but it’s as if he was always starting from scratch with each new piece. His foldout sleeves for Hawkwind and Elvis Costello are placed behind perspex but even they jut out at points, unable to be contained in such a space.
I’m no expert on Bubbles but this looks like a goldmine of his work for anyone remotely interested in him or the groups he designed for. Also this is a great reminder of how things were done decades ago, pre-digital, everything is hand drawn, painted, cut and pasted and it’s beautiful to see, especially all the whited out parts. Although by no means a complete overview – several pieces are conspicuous by their absence – the curators intend this to be more of a stepping stone to bigger things later and the new edition of the book should help this.
The exhibition is on now until October 23rd at Chelsea Space,
16 John Islip Street,
London, Sw1P 4JU
More details here
and visit Paul Gorman’s excellent blog on all things Barney Bubbles
and a good, quick overview of his work at feuilleton
Interesting image, looks familiar, seen it before somewhere, can’t place it…
I’m just kidding, go check this out if you’re in London this weekend, a couple of Light Surgeons’ things are playing:
SCHLIMAZELTOV! dir. Christopher Thomas Allen 11m
Documentary short exploring the concept of luck or “mazel” through London’s Jewish Community.
(this is excellent and beautifully shot)
and a live performance of
TRUE FICTIONS 80m
True Fictions is a live audio-visual spectacle that fuses documentary film making, music, animation and motion graphics with cutting edge digital performance tools. A stunning collage of music and live cinema which explores the themes of truth and myth through a multitude of American and Native American voices; with a original musical score created through the collaborations of 25 New York based musicians and vocal artists.
(you need to see this live, multi-layered screen collage at its best)
More info here