3Rd Culture Kid is back and this time with a new single, ‘Mto.’
3rd Culture Kid, also known by the name of Lulu James who previously collaborated with electronic music producer Lane 8, has shared her latest single ‘Mto.’
In this single, Lulu James returns to her new signature side, exploring her Tanzanian routes as she has been planning in doing so under the moniker of 3rd Culture Kid. The single is part of James’ upcoming album, which is due to be released later this year. We are sure to be introduced more in-depth with James’ new sound, which will be showcased further in her upcoming album.
‘Mto’ is now available to be streamed and download via all major digital services.
With their United Kingdom tour starting this week, LIFE has shared a new music video for Grown Up.
LIFE, a British band, hailing from Hull, have shared a fresh music video for their song ‘Grown Up’. Muscular indie-rock song ‘Grown Up’ is the first single part of LIFE’s forthcoming LP, which looks to showcase the stronger and broader sound of the band.
With the music video for ‘Grown Up’ released, the band will be on the move, starting this week the band will begin their United Kingdom tour.
Tour Dates
14th June – The Lexington, London (single launch show) 15th June – The Shed, Leicester
16th June – Sussex Arms Basement, Tunbridge Wells
17th June – Green Door Store, Brighton
20th July – Tramlines, Sheffield
28th July – Leopallooza
31st August – Electric Fields
The first song to enter our Sound Selection is by the duo known as Maribou State, who present us ‘Feel Good’ featuring Khruangbin. In this song, Maribou State and Khruangbin explore and utilise warped vocal elements with a memorable and simply satisfying beat that will keep with you for weeks and months to come.
Chackie Jam ‘Shotokan’ (Take Me With You)
Another great song to enter our Sound Selection is by Chackie Jam, who present us with ‘Shotokan’ (Take Me With You). In their latest single, the vibrant and lively Chackie Jam present us with a groovy and terrifically funky vibe that lifts the atmosphere around us from the start of the song. A must-listen for sure.
Laney Lynx ‘Getaway’
Entering with a dynamically driven song is Laney Lynx who gives us a mysteriously-vibrant ‘Getaway’. Lynx, an Indie Pop artist based in Brooklyn, showcases to us a smoothly splendid vocal and a song that shouts quality and authenticity as she looks to rise to the top in the world of music.
Mahalia ‘I Wish I Missed My Ex’
Mahalia is making a return on Our Culture Mag, but this time with her brilliantly produced song ‘I Wish I Missed My Ex’. Featuring a lovely music video, but most importantly a well-produced and performed song, Mahalia makes quite the return as she once again produces a song full of excellence and authenticity.
TM & Mr Tout Le Monde ‘Bernadette’
The final song to enter our Sound Selection is by TM & Mr Tout Le Monde who present us with a vibrantly groovy ‘Bernadette’. This disco-driven hit is a must for any summer playlist; it’s a song that will liven up any party, and any room with it’s animated and simply joyous vibe. This one is for the playlists.
British 5-piece IDLES band has confirmed a new LP.
IDLES, a Bristol-based 5-piece band, have confirmed that they will be releasing a new LP named ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ on the 31st of August via Partisan Records.
Alongside, the announcement the band has also shared their latest single ‘Danny Nedelko’, which focuses on pro-immigration and band’s close friend Danny, who also features in the self-directed music video.
Last year, IDLES released their studio album ‘Brutalism’ which put the band 1# on the Spotify Viral chart, which also led them to open for Foo Fighters.
Tracklist:
1. Colossus
2. Never Fight a Man With a Perm
3. I’m Scum
4. Danny Nedelko
5. Love Song
6. June
7. Samaritans
8. Television
9. Great
10. Gram Rock
11. Cry To Me
12. Rottweiler
Ori Toor a Tel-Aviv based illustrator creates a series of illustrations appropriately dubbed ‘Gibberish’ for its random subjects and compositions.
The illustrations come of as by-products of lateral thinking, a visual brainstorm of sorts. Each piece is filled with different ideas and little gems to be discovered. This combined with Ori Toor’s great sense of design as seen through the particular colour schemes make for an appealing and exciting piece.
Turkish-born Efe Cakarel is the founder of MUBI, a hand-curated cinema streaming and download service, which recently made its services free to “every film student and film tutor in the world.” With the rise of streaming services, I joined Efe to ask him several questions about MUBI, film and the future of streaming.
Hi Efe, how are you doing and how is MUBI holding up?
I’m doing great this morning after my triple espresso and MUBI is doing better than ever.
The way MUBI works as a streaming service is unique to the likes of Netflix. Do you think that this is the key element that would attract a cinephile to MUBI as the primary streaming service for films?
Absolutely. What we offer is unique, we choose the 30 films you need to see this month. Our subscribers come to MUBI and trust our choice, happy to discover a new Argentinian film or discuss a forgotten classic.
There seems to be new streaming services popping up all the time. With the likes of Fandor and FilmStruck also coming onto the scene and growing, do you feel to gain the competitive advantage is becoming tougher?
MUBI’s been around for 11 years, and we stand by great cinema and curation. Our recent distribution arm shows our commitment to the theatrical experience in cinemas. We’ve just come back from Cannes where we bought the rights to the new Godard (that won Palme d’Or Special) for the UK.
With so many films being made and released each month and so many classics worldwide, how does the process of choosing the films work at MUBI?
A variety of factors inform the decision of our programmers, every day we try to solve the tyranny of choice. We often try to tie films to a current context, events going on in the world. At the end of the day, it’s a very subjective process, but that’s how we see it.
“We stand by great cinema and curation”
Photo by Dan Smith
So, do you have a favourite film or a series of films?
Difficult question. Here is some great cinema I was honored to encounter and share last year: the generous inquisitivity of Agnès Varda and J.R.’s documentary, Faces Places; the cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom in Call Me By Your Name; the taste and sense of hope engendered by American production and distribution company A24 (the folks this year behind Lady Bird and A Ghost Story); the reporting on Harvey Weinstein by the New York Times and New Yorker; Oneohtrix Point Never and Jonny Greenwood’s scores for Good Time and Phantom Thread, respectively; the stunning jump to feature filmmaking by Jordan Peele; the overwhelming emotional force of A Quiet Passion; Tiffany Haddish’s performance in Girls Trip and Elizabeth Moss in The Square; seeing the first film by Lucrecia Martel in almost a decade; and, finally, the groundbreaking risks and surprises of Twin Peaks: The Return. These are not content—and that you know—you feel—when you experience them.
If you were to direct films, what type of films would you direct?
I think I’d ideally direct a film that’d have beautiful Roger Deakins cinematography infused with some quiet scenes from Ozu and a great Ennio Morricone score.
Are there any major changes happening in the world of film streaming that we should expect in the years to come?
No. The future is now.
As a CEO of film streaming service, do you have any advice for upcoming filmmakers that want to have their films streamed on platforms such as MUBI?
You just need to get on a bike and ride. That’s all you’ve got to do. Perseverance is certainly key, but above all it must be tied to passion. And passion comes from the vision, the inspiration of the filmmaker. This is art, yes, but the goal is utopian and lofty—one the world deserves and one we all want to fight to achieve. This, above all, is what drives us and what should drive you.
The last question we ask everyone, what is your definition of culture?
Everything that involves inspiration, ingenuity, artistry, perspicacity, pleasure, risk-taking enlightenment, and a mutual sense of community. Music, novels, movies, albums, painting—these things and more are what we should support, encourage, enjoy and share. Anything made by people who share a part of themselves and their work with us—and what an honour that is!
With this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo just about upon us, the rumors mills and fanboy/girl excitement is reaching its usual fever pitch. For those unaware, this is one of the biggest events each year when it comes to video games, and especially video game announcements, so we have a lot to look forward to. Running from June 9 through 12, each day promises major announcements from the biggest in the business, all live streamed via Twitch and YouTube. So let’s take a look at what we can expect on the different days, and what we’ll be on the lookout for.
Starting with the overwhelming force, it is EA who is scheduled for the first day. We’re expecting announcements on their open world third person shooter Anthem, as well as some direct gameplay footage and possible hands-on of early Battlefield 5 combat.
Predictions:
Some understated acknowledgement of the Battlefield 2 fiasco, likely claims that they are listening to users and promise to do better in the future
Same loot box systems going ahead in FIFA, and wherever else they can get away with it
Three major conferences on this day, split between Microsoft with their Xbox, Bethesda, and Devolver Digital, who we have to look forward to after their, let’s say, an unconventional conference of last year.
It is expected that a large portion of Microsoft’s attention will be focused on previously announced games, with potential extra information and announcements being made for Halo 6, Crackdown 3, and a new Gears of War. Given that many quality Xbox titles are 3rd party, we can expect a showing from some of these as well.
When it comes to Bethesda, we already know a few big ones are coming, in the form of the recently announced Fallout 76 and Rage 2, but there are others which we can’t help but hope for. Specifically, we want more Doom. Please, Bethesda, forget about the multiplayer portion of Doom, nobody cares, and give everyone more of what they want.
As for Devolver Digital, we have no idea what to expect. Hopefully something as off the wall as what happened last year, but we will have to wait and see.
Predictions:
Massive overpromising on Fallout 76 features
Assurances that fixes for Halo: Master Chief Collection are on their way
Square Enix have no announced their intended lineup, but an entry from the updating Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a given, as is further information on Kingdom Hearts 3. They also have an Avengers game in development which could be a huge success or a major failure, so we hope to see how that is shaping up. There is also a chance of more Final Fantasy 7 Remake footage being shown off, but given recent rumors regarding its placement in development hell, we have to wonder.
We expect Ubisoft to show us more on the recently leaked Assassins Creed Odyssey, set in Greece, more information on the Beyond Good and Evil sequel, and more on The Division 2. Updates for Rainbow Six Siege and For Honor also look likely. What we really expect is the further refinement of the skinner-box Ubification style of games, for better or worse.
It’s hard to predict what we can expect from PC announcements, though a few of the big names scheduled include Hi-Rez Studios, Warframe, Team 17, and Oculus Rift, so there is a lot of potential here.
Sony ends the day with what will no doubt lean heavily on Call of Duty and Kojima’s new Death Stranding. Maybe more information on God of War regarding DLC or future release intent. If there is a new trailer from Death Stranding it will be baffling, but beautifully shot.
Ending on a high note for many, the last day is home to the press conference from Nintendo. Nintendo has been playing most of their cards pretty close to their chest this year, but while we don’t quite know what we can expect, they have announced a full schedule. What we do know is that more information on the recently announced Switch Smash game is coming, and that’s likely going to be enough to draw in many of us. Also: more Pokémon.
Predictions:
Additional gameplay modes/maps for Splatoon 2
A better look at how the first major console Pokémon RPG on Switch works, and it’s integration with Pokémon Go
Emrhys Cooper, the director and actor of Trophy Boy, joins us for an interview.
With his latest film ‘Trophy Boy’ screened at the Cannes Short Corner, Emrhys Cooper joined us to talk about his latest project which looks at our obsession with social media and its power to create a deceptive appearance of an individual.
Hi, how are you?
I’m doing great, thank you. I just returned from the Cannes Film Festival where we screened ‘Trophy Boy.’ Our title was selected by the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner. The screening went incredibly well, so I am feeling nice chuffed.
That sounds amazing and congratulations on being selected, we loved the film and enjoyed its messages and what it explores. So, how did Trophy Boy come about?
A professional acting career for the past 15 years allows one to witness the damage that social media can do to one’s perception of oneself. I felt compelled to tell the story of our generation’s obsession with, and addiction to, social media’s tortuous impact on how we see ourselves. Since no existing roles or continuing series touched upon this theme, it seemed natural that I’d have to do it all myself. This required setting up my own production company, and directing—where I already had experience. I also wanted to highlight another area of life that isn’t much talked about: the role of the ‘kept boy’. I believe James’s story is not uncommon. Many people know a ‘kept’ person, or have private suspicions. Further, many elements of traditional marriage mirror such arrangements, going back to the Middle Ages. In contemporary society, the “Trophy Wife” is not uncommon. The “Trophy Husband” is less well known. But let me not get ahead of myself! My aim for this specific short film was to begin at the beginning: to highlight that achieving one’s dreams, being responsible for your own actions, and being honest with yourself and others, are ultimately what will make you happy. If one gets bamboozled into believing we are, in our entirety, only what Instagram or Facebook or Twitter tells us we are—the consequences are dire if not crippling.
That’s very true. What are the challenges of making a film like Trophy Boy?
Scheduling and locations are often challenging when you’re dealing with a smaller production company budget. But we really lucked out in the end with the locations where we were permitted to film. Incline Productions, which co-produced the film, really helped organise and put together a fantastic crew.
Do you hope to make anything of this sort again?
Definitely. The most serious and repeating rush of feedback we received from the early film festivals is, “What is going to happen next to James?” I would like to continue this story as James, and in various other capacities where I can be useful, to further whet the appetites and add complexities and complications. Being a “kept person” is not, as was hinted at above, either historically new or morally uncomplicated.
We would definitely love to see the character of James appearing on our screens again. With that what is the most exciting thing about directing a film?
Plunging into the unknown with other artists is the most exciting adventure in the world. I didn’t really know what the end result would be until others helped refine the questions and enrich the solutions to what at first appears to be a simple question: what is to become of a Beautiful Boy who cannot resist (at first) what social media insist he consists of?
Do you have any advice for aspiring directors?
I had worked as an actor/producer, so I had some knowledge of what to expect when stepping into being a director. But no formal education can prepare you for this responsibility. I would recommend putting together a solid team and have clear expectations. Keep a professional diary so you know where you went wrong. Then do your best to lead a team which develops common values and goals. You won’t regret it.
So, what are you working on next?
I have several films coming out this year which I am excited about. I am also hoping to get back on stage now I am living in New York City.
That sounds exciting, we hope to hear more from you soon. For our final question, that we ask everyone, what is your definition of culture?
That question hits the nail on the head in the context of this interview. The dictionary definition of culture, which one can google, is “the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in the arts, literature, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.”
That is not an accurate definition. How do we know or measure what is excellent versus what is inferior? In past years, our information came more from family or reading or personal friendships or several reliable old-school television networks. In Great Britain we had the BBC. In the United States, you used to have just NBC, CBS, and ABC. Nowadays, various public reports show that individual spend between 9 to 12 hours a day on social media. Pew Research has an extensive 2018 report breaking down Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter Snapchat, and other platforms. We are not just looking at social media. Social media is talking back to us—inundating us with undeniable statistics telling us how many friends we have or how many followers we have. We are also bombarded with unfiltered remarks on what others say about us. It was this social media that represented the culture in which James lived. He, the Beautiful Boy in “Trophy Boy,” knew no other reality. He was certainly not alone in this artificial universe. Let us not be fooled, then, that culture derives nowadays from excellence available to us in a world of arts and literature and scholarly pursuits. Our culture comes to us mainly from the cell phone or the laptop. The screen has become the portal to our culture. It talks back to us. It tells us how attractive or ugly we are; how smart or stupid we are; who really likes us—and to what extent, with numbers to prove it. James, in “Trophy Boy,” must find this way through this cultural Hall of Mirrors. He might well meet others in the same boat. He might meet surprising new pillars of economic support. Those of you who have seen the teaser will ask: what happens next to James? That will, if ambitious plans come about as they most certainly will, be the rousing ticket to the tale of the year.
Thank you for joining us Emrhys, hope to hear more from you soon!
Deer tick has shared their video for their new single and announced dates for the United Kingdom and European tour.
Deer tick, a quartet from Rhode Island, has released a music video for their song ‘Wants/Needs’ which is part of their Deer Tick Vol.2 album, which was released back in the September of 2017.
The band has also announced dates for their United Kingdom and European tour.
American film director Wes Anderson has become known for his distinct and well-polished style, a style that has got him six Academy Award nominations, which was present in his latest film ‘Isle of Dogs’.
With the release of ‘Isle of Dogs’ being two months ago, we have selected our top five films by Wes Anderson.
Moonrise Kingdom
In this 2012 film, Wes Anderson explores themes of love and family with a pair of two “troubled” young lovers who flee their town and cause an adventurous search party as their love for each other and understanding of life becomes richer as the story progresses.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
This film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ has become a classic in our books and one we adore dearly. In this comedy-filled animation, Mr. Fox voiced by George Clooney cannot resist returning to his past where he raided and stole from farmers. However, this time his old ways put him, his family and the whole community in danger.
Isle of Dogs
In his latest project, Wes Anderson sets the flag in Japan. In this film, we follow a boy’s journey to find his lost dog when the whole species of dogs are exiled due to an outbreak of a canine-flu. With this being the second stop-motion film of Wes Anderson’s, we can truly say it has been a major success and certainly pleases the audience as much as ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ did upon its release.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Four-time Academy Award winning ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is another Wes Anderson classic. In this film, we follow the life a legendary concierge Gustave H and the lobby boy Zero Moustafa, who both develop a close friendship as they try to overcome obstacles to prove Gustave’s innocence for a murder he did not commit.
The Royal Tenenbaums
Our final selection for this list is the 2001 Academy Award nominated ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ featuring Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller and Bill Murray. This film follows a dysfunctional family which gathers back home when their eccentric father Royal claims he has terminal stomach cancer.
