Lots of my friends seem to be turning 40 this year, this is for them, illustrated by Richard Williams from ‘The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin‘.
I should take some time to fill you in on what’s been going on in Food land this year and some of the reasons why no third EP and album appeared last year. There is one very good reason and it simply translates as 2010 = Ninja Tune XX. As I tried to begin the third and final part of my album/EP trilogy early last year the full enormity of the task of creating the elements that would make up the 20th anniversary for Ninja came into focus.
I’ve already gone into detail about what was involved in creating the look, book and box set for the whole campaign elsewhere but breaking down 2010 went roughly like this:
Jan – Jun – creating the identity for the whole event, designing, researching and laying out the entire ’20 Years of Beats & Pieces’ book. Also beginning consultation as to what the box set would contain and designing the package from scratch.
Jun – Aug – designing the box components alongside many other offshoot releases such as the separate CDs, multiple 12″s, posters, flyers and more. I also curated and put together the exhibition of artwork that opened in London for the book launch before getting a week off for a family holiday.
Sept -Dec – preparing an audio visual best of Ninja / Big Dada DJ set with DK, helping with design elements for the big London show, designing King Cannibal‘s ‘Way of the Ninja’ mix CD and then taking it all on the road. I did every city on the NTXX tour, taking in Europe, the States and Japan and even went to China for a one-off gig near the end of it. The final gig was in Brighton on December 10th and to say that I was burnt out would be pretty accurate. I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity for the world though because what came out of it was my biggest design project ever, the celebration of the label I love and have grown with for over 15 years and a great load of memories to go with it. Trying to find the energy and imagination to create new tracks as the year drew to a close went nowhere, a new DJ Food record could wait another year, Ninja XX couldn’t.
Now it’s time to look forward rather than back though, so, in January, I began work on the final phase of the Food album. At the moment I have no title for the EP but the album is called ‘Stolen Moments’ although that may change. I’ve remixed some of the tracks from the first two EPs for the album and have a few more collaborations but I don’t want to reveal them until they’re properly in the bag. One that’s almost finished is a multi-part track with 2econd Class Citizen called ‘Magpie Music’ that’s currently clocking in at nearly 12 minutes. Stylistically it’s all over the place but features Bollywood, Gamelan, Rock and Turkish influences and more with a ton of spoken word.
Cover artist on the previous EPs, Henry Flint, is completing the final part of the cover art (detail left) and I plan to spend most of May mixing down the final tracks and versions. There should be a 12″ with four or 5 tracks for the final EP and then a CD for the album collecting all the major tracks in a continuous sequence while the digital version will have them all separate. Release is pencilled in for Sept/Oct if I deliver in June and a new DJ Food-centric AV set will be in the works as soon as the album is mastered to go out and tour with. There’s more but I’ll save that for another time.
My good friend David Vallade did this for our very own local record store – Rat Records in Camberwell. Even though they are a used store they’re celebrating too and I’ll be playing up at the Lock Lounge in Camden Saturday night too.
Out today, Black Mill Tapes Volume 2: Do You Synthesize? More info here – Pye Corner Audio
By no means definitive, but seeing as I’m on a Mike Hinge kick at the moment, here is a selection of his book and magazine covers, scavenged from various blogs and galleries around the web.
[singlepic id=2895 w=320 h=451 float=left] [singlepic id=2903 w=320 h=451 float=right]
This has been going on for a while now over on Warren Ellis’ sprawling Whitechapel forum. The idea is that you get a few scraps of info about what has now become a classic comic or series, and have to imagine you’ve never seen or read the comic before but were given the job of illustrating the front cover of that issue or book.
[singlepic id=2875 w=320 h=437 float=left] [singlepic id=2866 w=343 h=437 float=right]
The Fantastic Four, Spiderman (via Amazing Adult Fantasy), 2000ad, Superman, Zap Comix and more have all come in for a re-imagining over the last year and I’ve rounded up my favourites in the gallery below.
More can be seen here and there’s also a Remake/Remodel series where you’re asked to redesign obscure characters from the past.
Much more to see and read here – just ignore the ultra geek programming / processing tech-speak of this piece and marvel at what it achieved on screen.
King Megatrip, the shadowy ‘5th Beatle’ of the Solid Steel crew and one of our US operatives, has got a new blog – ‘This World Renounced!’. Anyone who knows him or reads his blog will know that he is one of the world’s great collectors, he regularly sources obscure children’s books or vintage toy parts for me from overseas. But it’s come to a head, a man can only consume so much before he has to make room, and the King has reached capacity. His new blog will showcase his attempts to separate the wheat from the chaff and give some of his collection a new home whether via eBay, thrift stores or online offers. Bookmark it now, you never know what might come up.
Out on both 12″ vinyl and digital download via the Cheap Thrills label are 2011 remixes of this classic. Fast forward to the Lone remix which just kills it, a perfect blend of old and new. He manages to retain the soul of the original whilst updating it with modern production touches to make it sound fresh again, the man really does it justice where most remixes like this miss the point.
Mike Hinge – ‘Word Jazz’ illustration, date unknown
(25.3 x 25.3 mm, assorted paper and print on board).
Unpublished design for Ken Nordine’s ‘Word Jazz’ album, possibly a portfolio piece.
Blurb from the sale at the time of sale (2004): “From the estate of artist Mike Hinge, we are offering this unusual example of concept art for an intended album cover for the music of Ken Nordine – Ken Nordine Word Jazz. Hinge was a follower and fan of underground and ‘fringe’ music groups, so it is unknown whether he produced this cover art graphic as part of a commercial assignment, or for a proposed cover that he might have created to solicit work. we are not familiar with Nordine’s early album cover art, so we don’t know if this design was actually used (published) or not. But from the design, we would guess this was created in the late 50s to 60s. The artwork is 10″ x 10″ , paste up design and is in fine shape, kept under plastic since it was created. the piece is part of a large group of original advertising and illustrative artworks to be auctioned from the Hinge estate, all at no reserve. No rights of reproduction come with this sale.”
We represented Mike in the sales of his original sf art until his death in August of 2003, and now are agent for all that remains in his estate, which includes artwork spanning his 45 years as a professional artist and graphic designer. Early in his illustration career he worked for the largest ad agency in New Zealand (where he grew up) before moving to Los Angeles, where he attended the Art Center of the College of Design. In 1966 he moved to Manhattan, where he worked as an art director for several ad agencies. His graphic designs were notable, and his always colorful and psychedelic illustrations appeared on numerous science fiction magazines during the 1970s, including Analog, Fantastic, and Amazing, and on paperback books. Hinge also did design work for 2001: A Space Odyssey and produced illustrations for mainstream publications like Time magazine, including covers featuring Richard Nixon and Emperor Hirohito. He was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 1973, plus nominated for 6 Locus awards in the ’70
Love this cover for the new Gnod and White Hills LP
I just did a little interview with the blog Architects and Heroes this week, this is still warm it’s so up to date.
With added Trunk power! You know the drill by now… Ghost Box shop
Mike Hinge – ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ illustration, 1974
(58.2 x 42.2 mm, pen, photocopy, PMT and Letraset on paper).
Centre spread poster for Mediascene magazine #10.
From the blurb when I bought the art: “You are bidding on a huge double page spread drawn by Mike Hinge and published in Jim Steranko’s Mediascene magazine back in 1974. Sternako did a layout for the figure of Steve Austin which Hinge redrew and incorporated into his final design. There are numerous changes which were pasted onto the board as the drawing was extremely detailed and complicated. I have a paste on that goes over the face shown and looks like Lee Majors (the old paste gave way and the past over came loose) Nicest line drawn Six Million Dollar Man “cover ” you will find Original art page is in good condition.”
A couple of weeks ago Ollie Teeba (one half of the mighty Herbaliser) followed myself, DJ Format, Andy Smith and Mr Thing at the Classic Material night in Old St. The year he was helping celebrate was 1991 and, whilst researching records to play for the night, he found he had 17 hours of material!
He ended up playing a 3 hour set and kindly put down over 4 hours for us to enjoy via his new mixcloud page. The next night is on April 16th with Big Ted and the year will be, you’ve guessed it, 1992.
I can’t recommend this enough, a very good read for designers or even people with a just passing interest in design. You don’t have to know your kerning from your baselines to appreciate the information in this great book. Simon Garfield take a humorous, but well researched, look at fonts and typography across the ages, from design giants like Helvetica, Univers and Gill to the underdogs of the lettering community.
Chapters on Comic Sans prove he’s no type snob, a fascinating story about a lost typeface that drowned in the Thames and even a few eye openers will keep you turning the page. Who would have thought Eric Gill was into that? Also the new Olympic font comes in for a good kicking before he’s done.
If you’re a student just starting, a seasoned pro or you just know someone who likes their design but is really hard to buy a present for, this book is for you. I only wish something like this was around when I was in college, it might have saved me from making some of those dodgy font decisions in the past.