Naughty Boy, aka Shahid Khan, is the man behind one of the songs of the year (yes, it’s a big claim) ‘La La La’ featuring the vocal talents of Sam Smith. The 27 year old producer, briefly a Business and Marketing student, turned his back on university and chose to focus on music. He entered to appear on Deal or No Deal and used his winnings to equip himself with a studio. From there, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Fashion | EVISU Heritage
Fashion & PhotographyThe legendary 90s Japanese denim brand EVISU is trawling their archives and refreshing some of their classics for the summer.
Music | Zebra Katz DRKLNG Mixtape
Fashion & PhotographyThe enigmatic NYC rapper has released his new, second mixtape. It’s, as if the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, a dark experience =with beats so doomy you need bass bins the size of your house to do them justice.
Music | Katy B returns
Music & FilmHard to believe Katy B is still only one album in such is her presence on the British music scene. Last year’s ‘Danger’ EP showed a more grown up Katy and the smooth dark dance beats of her collab with Jessie Ware on the acclaimed ‘Aaliyah’ has trickled over into her new offering ‘What Love Is Made Of’.
Music | Dizzee + Robbie Williams
Music & FilmWho HASN’T been waiting for this collaboration since the dawn of music? It’s beyond us how they managed to avoid falling into a studio together from the outset, except, well, maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all. Robbie, who has produced entirely forgettable material since ‘Rock DJ’, has actually managed to find a chorus worth 79p and as such he’s milking this hook up for all it’s worth.
Music | MS MR Interview
Music & FilmNew York’s MS MR are Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow and they’re about to let loose their debut album ‘Secondhand Rapture’ on an audience that has trailed them through the duo’s enforced anonymity, ploughed through the hype as the “US answer to Florence and the Machine”, and waded out to the other side to the sweetened darkness of their music and the accompanying visuals.
‘Hurricane’ and ‘Fantasy’ have caught the eyes and ears of critics and audience alike; swathes of atmospheric electronica and Lizzy’s teasing haunting vocals accompany glitter-vomiting cheerleaders and blue body paint. Welcome to eye opening world of MS MR… bizarre tumblr images, wild weather and all.
Music | Dizzee Rascal ‘H-Town’
Music & FilmDizzee Rascal seems to have been away for a really long time but his fifth studio album – (imaginatively) entitled ‘The Fifth’ – is just around the corner for a summer release. The debut track, ‘H-Town’, can be heard (but not yet seen) below, featuring hip hop legend and godfather of the dirty South, Bun-B and Houston’s king of the streets Trae The Truth.
Music | Union J ‘Carry You’ video
Music & FilmCan you hear the whooshing sound of a million panties falling down? Must be the arrival of Union J’s debut video for ‘Carry You’.
Music | MONSTA Interview
Music & FilmSometimes the journey is as interesting as the outcome and MONSTA definitely fill that ideology. As a trio – comprising of vocalist Skaar, and producers Rocky and Rufio – they have come to prominence only recently as signings to Skrillex’s OWSLA label (and now a joint deal between OWSLA and Interscope), and the insanely huge, magnificent barrage of soul and dubstep that is ‘Holdin’ On’.
Fashion | Le Coq Sportif Tour de France
Fashion & Photographyle coq sportif are the official suppliers of the jerseys for the Tour de France and they bring the colours and prints of three of the four jerseys to their signature plimsoll, the Provencale.
Music | Rudimental ‘Baby’ (ft MNEK)
Music & FilmFresh off having a UK #1 with ‘Waiting All Night’, Rudimental, the London 4 piece, release a video for this gorgeous album track ‘Baby’ as great big old tease for the debut album.
Music | The 1975 ‘The City’ video
Music & FilmThe 1975 are simply rolling them out. ‘The City’ follows the very successful breakthrough single ‘Chocolate’ as the band continues to raise its profile as one of the major new names for 2013.
Music | MS MR Hurricane
Music & FilmThe video for their beautiful single Hurricane came out the other week and it’s a pastel coloured road trip into a slightly surreal urban fantasy where everyone’s hidden parts become externalised. Sometimes very goopily indeed.
Talent | Photography – Toshinao Kumakura
Fashion & PhotographyTalent All photography by Toshinao Kumakura / Interview by Vincent Nord
To see more of Toshi’s work, visit the website: toshinaokumakura.com
My name is Toshinao Kumakura’s own words: My name is Toshi, a Japanese photographer, working on film. I love cartoon, Techno music, yoghurt. to shooting with natural light. I used to work as an assistant at a photographic studio in Tokyo. moved to London to start own career as a photographer in 2010.
Talent | Photography – Matthew Priestley
Fashion & PhotographyTalentPhotography by Matthew Priestley / Interview by Elliott Morgan
For more information visit Matthew’s website: matthewpriestley.com
In Matthew’s own words: I grew up in a few spots around the US, mostly in Florida where I went to high school and started University. Sometime when I was pretty young, my parents bought me a book on how to draw the human face.
Talent | Photography – Vincenzo Laera
Fashion & PhotographyTalentPhotography by Vincenzo Laera / Interview by Vincent Nord
For more information on Vincenzo Laera: Website – enzolaera.com
Photographer Vincenzo Laera was born in Milan, Italy in 1966. He studied art and photography before moving to New York City in his early twenties, where he started to collaborate with photographers such as Helmut Newton, Albert Watson, Irving Penn, Brigitte Lacombe, Deborah Tuberville, Bert Stern, Koto Bolofo, Miles Aldrige and Annie Leibowitz.
Music | Is Tropical ‘Dancing Anymore’
Music & FilmCall it a blatant attempt to rack up views or some rather refreshing music video making, but Is Tropical’s team up with Megaforce will have you talking. Just a quick NSFW tip: don’t watch this video at work unless your work mates are very chilled.
Fashion | Pac Man Havaianas
Fashion & PhotographyJetting off this summer to more reliable climates? Or staying put to relish the ropey British sun-rain combo? Either way, you always need a pair of flip flops to hand and they don’t get much more kitsch than these Pac Man ones from Havaianas.
