Kendrick Lamar looks to overtake Drake in the race for the biggest week of 2017 for an album. “Damn.” looks to launch at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with around 530,000 to 550,000 equivalent album units. The current largest week of the year is owned by Drake’s “More Life”, which cashed in a huge 505,000 units.
“DAMN.” was released April 14 by Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records. If “DAMN.” reaches the units it is predicted to reach, it will prove that Lamar is one of the most popular artists of 2017. The album is also set to also overtake the most sold album of the year.
Beautiful and eerie just a few of the words that come to mind when seeing the works of Ha Gyung Lee. A Korean-born illustrator who specializes in both traditional and digital mediums. She has graduated from Art Center College of Design with a BFA in illustration and creates complex but elegant line-based artwork. Which is both refreshing and nostalgic for its combination of themes inspired by anime and Japanese culture while being expressed through modern digital techniques. The striking compositions and the selective colour palettes are effective in creating a mystical atmosphere and together with the subject matter make each piece seem to have a rich and captivating story.
Hyperdub will be releasing the latest album by Laurel Halo named “Dust”. The album was announced to be released on the 23rd of June, which will include digital and physical editions. Laurel has already put out a video of “Jelly” which is a track that will be featured on “Dust”.
The latest LP by Laurel Halo will be her third and it will include guests like Julia Holter, Max D, $hit and $hine’s Craig Clouse Eli Keszler, Michael Beharie and Diamond Terrifie.
Consisting of Frank Wiedemann of Âme and singer RY X of The Acid, Howling put out their debut album “Sacred Ground” in 2014. “Sacred Ground” set the ground for the upcoming work of Howling. Now returning with more satisfying music Howling is back with their latest single “Phases” which has been released on Counter Records. Additionally, it will also contain remixes from Alex.Do and Toto Chiavetta.
As one single track, “Phases” really defines the work of Howling. It maintains the values and style of their previous work and drives the boundaries that they have been growing since their arrival into a whole new world. The progressive style of the elements getting introduced one by one like a motion of ocean waves flowing over our ears, transports us into a world that we do not want to leave.
There is something really pure and honest about Phases, it feels like all the pieces were constructed in such a way that lets us fall in the arms of the song and lets the song drive us where it wants us to go. To end with, a final say about the song would be too hard. Simply, magical. This one is for the playlists.
British fashion label LF Markey develops modern and feminine women’s clothing inspired by workwear and utility clothing. Every collection includes bold colours and high quality fabrics supporting the strong image of the label. Founder ex-Burberry designer, Louise Markey is the key of the success that the label has had. This is our interview with her.
Hello, how are you?
I’m great – thank you!
So, how did LF Markey start?
I launched LF Markey after finishing my master’s at Central Saint Martins. For many years it was a side business / expensive hobby! In 2014 I started to focus on the label full time.
What is your background and when did you decide to go into Fashion?
My background is in fashion and I studied my BA in Sydney and my MA later in London. In between the two I worked as a designer at Burberry.
How long does it take to design something from scratch?
It takes a long time to set up a new design- from sketch to finalised sample can take a few months. LF Markey is all about slow fashion, the evolution and perfecting of an idea over the course of many seasons and even years. So I only launch a few completely new designs each season.
“LF Markey is a vibrant, bold and exciting label. Providing us with the look that is so NECESSARY in our lives”
Do you have a favourite design?
I always love boilersuits! I have several different variations in each collection.
What is your key focus when designing something new?
I’m very conscious to keep to the LF Markey philosophy of simplicity, geometry, utility and bold colours. I also try to keep a level of femininity to the clothing.
What do you think makes a good design work?
The most important things are proportion, quality, fabrication and colour choice. But then the details can make a big difference to, such as thread colour and weight of stitch. Hence the long development process and continuous tinkering with existing styles!
If you could give any advice for a person that wants to go into fashion design what would it be?
It’s a long road, stick with it and try to carve out your niche from day one.
Describe your work in one word.
I can’t!
Describe yourself in one word.
Pragmatic.
How would you define culture?
The wonderful product of collective consciousness and a reasonably long period of human existence.
Find out more about LF Markey here via the official website.
A new Prince EP featuring six never before released tracks will be released on April 21st to remember the one-year anniversary of the pop legend’s death.
The EP features five new tracks: ‘Deliverance’, ‘No One Else’, ‘Touch Me’, ‘Sunrise Sunset’ and ‘I Am’.
However, Paisley Park has filed a federal lawsuit against sound engineer George Ian Boxill for control of the Deliverance EP. The lawsuit estimates the value of the music at around $75,000.
The Seattle based duo Odesza have found a unique way of teasing their fans about new music. Recently, the duo have created a new playlist named “. . . . _ / . . _ _ _ . . . . .”. It might seem like random characters however, upon further examination, it seems to be morse code for 4.25, which supposedly means April 25.
The playlist is empty at this moment of time. However, it seems that new music will follow very soon. They have been teasing over the past 12 months about realising new music. Let’s hope new music will follow soon.
Whether you’re into fashion slightly or simply live in Fashion, you must know about Longshaw Ward.
British label Longshaw Ward is a vibrant womenswear & accessories label run by husband and wife duo Kirsty Ward and David Longshaw. The British duo have had very successful solo careers prior the merge that made the wonderful Longshaw Ward label happen – the latest collection SS17 defining the great the talent between the two. This is our interview with them.
Hello, how are you?
Great thanks we’re just back from China where we were flown over to do a fashion show.
What is your background and when did you decide to go into Fashion?
We are Kirsty Ward and David Longshaw and together we are LONGSHAW WARD!
Kirsty and I met designing in Italy for Alberta Ferretti It was our first design job after uni- Kirsty’s from Oxfordshire, she studied on the fashion MA at St Martins.
I’m from Manchester, I went to St martins BA (fashion womenswear) then the Royal College of Art (MA womenswear course).
After Ferretti I went to Max Mara then we returned to England to launch our own separate labels which we had of about 5 years.
We decided to merge our labels as we thought it would be more fun and that we could create more exciting, stronger collections together.
What is it like at Longshaw Ward?
Our studio is full of our collections hanging from rails that come out from the walls(our ceilings are quite high). With lots of book selves full of our sketch books and books to inspire us. Dotted around the studio are various pieces from store windows we have designed including props from Kirsty’s Selfridges ones and my Matchesfashion.com fashion week windows(including our upstairs desk covered in my drawings that was in their Marlybone High St window).
“EXCITING FASHION LABEL COALESCING TWO EXCEPTIONAL STYLES”
How long does it take to design something from scratch?
It depends what it is- whether it’s a full collection or a special project for a brand/celebrity we are collaborating with. Some projects/ collaborations we have to turn around quickly, but usually we like to take our time to develop from research and experiment with cutting. We like to develop the collection from season to season so our style evolves – taking certain details from one collection to the next and pushing it forward.
Do you have a favourite design?
It changes all the time, but we are a big fan of our super impractical parkas – one’s made out of net, the other from sequins!
What is your key focus when designing something new?
Will it be fun to wear.
What do you think makes a good design work?
Something that works for the wearer, that has it’s own style or twist/attention to detail- so it doesn’t look like a poor copy of another design already out there.
If you could give any advice for a person that wants to go into fashion design what would it be?
Only go in to fashion if you feel you have to- there is a lot of competition, lots of highs and lows and a lot of late nights.
But if you really want to and you believe you have the passion and talent then don’t let anyone stop you, you have to have a fierce belief in your self and your vision.
But it can be great if you do and give you amazing experiences and meet incredible people.
How would you define culture?
Essential – culture is one of the thing that elevates us from being like any other animal.
To find out more about Longshaw Ward click here for their website.
Game of Thrones has been a huge success worldwide with viewership in over 170 countries it has attracted a huge international following. Loved by fans for its great cast, writing, and production value made possible with its huge production budget (spending an average of $10 million per episode for season six) every episode feels like a movie.
The only downside to this is that making such a great show takes a lot of time leaving the fans eagerly waiting for a period of 9-10 months for the new season to air. Giving fans time to speculate on the next season and joining many other fandoms in the culture of fanart. For which they do not disappoint with many artists and enthusiasts joining in and putting their own spin on their favorite GoT characters and storylines there’s so much out there that there’s a little something for everyone.
So we decided to put a short list of must see Game of Thrones fan art to help you wait out the long months before the new season will air.
This is just one of many pieces Mike Wrobelhas created based on Game of Thrones. We found his mashup of Got characters and 80’s and 90’s culture to be quite refreshing and fun take on the subject. His works really make you think what if GoT was a set in the 90’s and instead of a fantasy drama between the different Royal houses of Westeros it was based on a rivalry between gangs or sports teams from differents schools.
This is a great character piece done in a fun comic style depicting the Brienne of Tarth perfectly. From first glance you can tell that she’s strong but if you look more closely the artist gives us more than just that but also grants an inside into her character by giving detail of her background by depicting the sigil of the House Tarth and a broken heart with ‘a beauty’ written above referencing to her childhood struggles and her romantic past.
Beautiful illustration by Matias Bergara. This is so well done it looks like these two could be a heroic duo from a graphic novel going on adventures and fighting bad guys. The ink and watercolour combination works beautifully creating a lively and nostalgic atmosphere.
This is one of many posters created by Robert Ball in a very graphic style based on different Got episodes of the show. What’s really thrilling about this series is how the artist conveys a whole episode in one picture and how atmospheric and well thought out his these posters are. Really recommend having a look at more of his work if you’re interested in storytelling and compositions.
Nicolas has also made more than one piece on Game of Thrones characters. His style seems really cute and fit for children’s books. One of the reasons we decided to choose this image is because there really doesn’t seem to be much fanart of Sam and this is a great depiction of him. Even though it’s quite stylized the facial expression fits his character perfectly and the ravens were a really nice touch in reference to the night’s watch.
This piece stuck out as it had all the little Starks with their dire wolves. We thought that this was a really cute style of illustration and the artist did well to depict each of the characters and their wolves as individuals.
Based on the finale of season one this illustration beautifully depicts the turning point in Daenerys character and storyline. The three small dragons and the determined expression while in a setting of burnt wood and ash screams to the viewer that a badass has been born. What’s more is that the style of this illustration seems so appealing that it makes the idea of an animated Got series or a comic seem quite possible and exciting.
The juxtaposition in this piece between prince Joffrey Baratheon and Sandor Clegane (the Hound) is genius this piece perfectly depicts that you should not judge a book by its cover. The subtle use of the crossbow in reference to the show is brilliant and really conveys the message that while the Prince might seem young and sweet from the first glance his character is really not that kind. While the big, ugly and intimidating Hound is actually of good and kind character, depicted taking care of birds.
A truly magical piece by Richey Beckett. This one stood out quite a bit with its rich detail and the way the artist has used the colours and the composition and placement of the crow and the weir wood tree to convey the feeling of the north and symbolism to Bran and his storyline.
This was an interesting piece to come across it’s quite decorative and based on the Game of Thrones however not on any of the characters but on a fictional substance within the GoT universe. Wildfire. The artist made few more posters on a similar theme like valyrian steel we think these posters are a great idea and a delightful alternative to the well know Got posters based on the different house sigils.
We hope you loved this little selection of works as much as us and remember there’s much more fanart left out there to find. If you think we should have included any specific piece tweet us at @OurCultureOC .
After reaching No.1 on Beatport Top 100 there has been a lot of talk about Bontan and his emergence in the dance music world. Here is our interview with the very talented music producer.
Describe how you are feeling in one word?
Hungry.
Electronic Dance Music or EDM?
Electronic Dance Music.
Fire or Water?
Water.
Top 1 for a year or Top 100 for ten years?
Top 1 for a year.
How long does it take to design something from scratch?
