BRIAN SHIMKOVITZ'S BLOG Two days ago I heard a radio interview with the DJ/Blogger/Label Guy, Brian Shimkovitz and the conversation immediately caught my attention. Brian has accomplished to blog about African music since 2006 where he uploads music from casette tapes which he has bought in Africa. The music is from the past 3-4 decades and you can listen/download it for free, and sometimes buy it on a different website that he links to.
I think it is fantastic that he shares this music, so that the world can get in touch with it and enjoy it. Check it out:
Mustafah is a photographer from New York who has managed to show a situation very close to my own - the long distance relationship. His line of photos on his website, under the name "Love is Not a Color Photograph", show the presence and absence of his Swedish girlfriend in an intimate, simple and honest way. The subdued colors express the longing for, and the appreciation of her, which sparkles gratitude in my heart. Gratitude that he has the courage to show this part of his life so that people like me in the same situation can identify with it:
HAVING A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO DO CAN SOMETIMES MAKE IT HARD TO SIT DOWN AND GET THE IMPORTANT STUFF DONE. THIS SHORT DOCUMENTARY SHOWS HOW A PHONE CONVERSATION WITH MY MOM HELPED ME PULL MYSELF TOGETHER:
Music Tuesday: Mikkel Westergaard . A FRIEND OUT WITH A NEW ALBUM My high school friend just released his first album called "Mikkel Westergaard - This ends with august" and I have the greatest respect for him being able to put together a CD and getting his music out there. The songs have a soft, poetic, and hurting soul which I hope will touch people's hearts. Personally I think that some of the songs or melodies sound a bit too sweet or vulnerable, so I hope his music can develop some sort of edge in the future. Until then, good job and congrats with the CD Mikkel! . INFO
More information is on his website: www.mikkelwestergaard.com and the latest updates can be found on his facebook page and his music can be purchased on iTunes.
MUSIC VIDEO
I want to share this music-video with you. The accompanying musicians go under the name "The Minutemen" and some of them are from our old high school, Sankt Annæ (a music based high school). The music-video has a great feel to it, especially when the harmonies develop during the song:
A friend of mine just launched his new photography website. He lies on the edge between the raw documentary style and the artsy play with light, symbols and colors.
MOTION GRAPHICS - The new dimension in visual media
Audiovisual media and especially movies have been blessed with an extra dimension - motion graphics. A dimension that can amaze the audience visually and create additional meaning and feelings to a movie's theme. And then it can also be seen as a way to just distinguish yourself among all the other movies or tv-series out there. computer generated graphics mixed with the video. "After effects" is the main program used for this and when mastered, it can blow your mind.
ART OF THE TITLE . COM - An eye for the "hidden" art
www.artofthetitle.com is a website that focuses on the most creative and visually pleasing movie title sequences out there. I stumbled upon it when I was writing a 25 page paper on the incredibly-hard-to-describe movie Stranger than Fiction. I have always been amazed by its creative plot, great characters and its unique way of being between the meta-fictive and the magic realistic. Although I think I was probably most amazed - partly unconsciously - by the graphics in its title sequence and throughout the movie. www.artofthetitle.com wrote about Stranger than Fiction and its graphics and this opened up my eyes for this art as a whole.
ABSURD AND ORIGINAL
I recommend you to watch this Danish mockumentary-ish short film by five students of Copenhagen University - Odd Productions. Why? Because it is original, creative and perfectly absurd! I admire the courage of my fellow class mates for making this movie. Not many people stick to their idea after your teacher has told you not to.
PLOT IN ENGLISH
This short movie is an imaginary "documentary" about a man, Jens, who got tired of his head and got a head transplantation. The "documentary" follows Jens and his wife Lisbeth while they and their doctor talk about the process and results. But when the crew behind the documentary realize that Lisbeth is worried about the affects of the new head, they try to find the truth about the real circumstances. The head has changed Jens' personality made him think that he is Napoleon... Yes, you heard me right - the emperor of France back in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte!
Music Tuesday: Lil Buck (dancer) and Yo-Yo Ma (cellist)
DANCE + MUSIC = MASTERPIECE
We all know it - when we listen to music and add a visual stimuli like dance or video, the experience gets much stronger and emotional if done well. Experience this classical cellist player's beautiful tunes together with Lil Buck's amazingly controlled motions and enjoy:
HIS WORK
The German born, but New York based photographer, Martin Schoeller is known for his simplistic, honest and tight portraits on the one hand, and on the other - his creative and surprising portraits. Check out his work on www.vh-artists.com.
A photography teacher at Western Kentucky University, told her students that they could do anything for their next assignment. Demetrius decided to be creative and did this simple dramatic story with the help of his two friends, Omar and Nathalie. It consists of only pictures and audio, but it works like a movie:
A SCHOOL PRODUCTION
This is a short movie that my reading group and I (from Film and Media, Copenhagen University) made:
Music Tuesday: Carla Bruni
RICH AND TALENTED
Carla Bruni is French-Italian woman who has inherited a lot of money, has been a model and is now a musician and actress. I'm amazed of her power but that's not where my respect comes from - it comes from her voice:
YURI KOZYREV AND HIS WORK
Kozyrev has documented the major conflicts in the world for 20 years and his body of work is impressive. He has won several prices especially for his series of photos "On Revolution Road". Check out his work.
ART OR JUST PLAIN GAGA?
As usual on the edge between madness and art the musician Lady Gaga has released her latest music video "Marry The Night". It starts as a poetic short but turns into a music video and whether you find it horrible or simply amazing I won't judge, agree or discuss. I will merely sit back in wonder, wondering where she gets this stuff from and wait for her next move. A question mark has been placed above my head, so to say:
INSTEAD OF HALLOWEEN
While the rest of the world were dressing up for Halloween, my dorm decided to make our own dress-up-theme: "Under the Sea". We had an amazing night, pretended we were under water and on top of that we also celebrated a friend's birthday. Here are the pictures of the night where a simple but strong flash light was used to create the great effect.
COSTUMES:
Middle: Ursula. Top left: Mermaid. Top: Scuba diver. Top right: A wave. Bottom right: The pacific ocean (winner of "best costume"). Bottom: Male mermaid. Bottom Left: A drowned sailer.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The cinematography in Atonement is absolutely breathtaking. The entire beginning is filled with picturesque scenes and on top of this the movie contains an amazing 5 minute long shot that takes the viewer on a long walk through a war scene filled with details.
ACTING
Keira Knightly and James McAvoy do an amazing job at creating a special play between each other. Their love scene in the beginning of the movie feels so real and is literally breathtaking (!). Saoirse Ronan also does an amazing job at being the gullible young girl whose accusations turn into a big misunderstanding.
STORY DEVELOPMENT
The way the story develops is very interesting and when you watch the movie you will love the twist in the end. Very surprising and moving.
ABOUT 2D PHOTOGRAPHY
2D Photography is a commercial photography company consisting of David Dvir and Kevin Luc from Toronto, Canada. They have a studio called 2D House and their website is www.2dhouse.com.
THEIR AMAZING MACHINE
David came up with the idea of making a photography version of the so called "Rube Goldberg" machine, where they maout of photography equipment. They spend a half year building it at the result is absolutely stunning. Check it out:
OVERVIEW "The film depicts different forms of addiction, leading to the characters' imprisonment in a world of delusion and reckless desperation that is subsequently overtaken and devastated by reality" - Wikipedia. Yes, the movie is as intimidating as it sounds which is why it had problems getting a MPAA rating. Now it is categorized as an "intended for adults" movie which the famous film critic, Roger Ebert, comments on: "Anyone under 17 who is thinking of experimenting with drugs might want to see this movie, which plays like a travelogue of hell." Read whole review.
RAPID MONTAGE
The movie is famous for its fast montage that shows the subjective experience of taking drugs. It is scary to watch but also artistically fascinating. The main example is when the main character's son, Harry, takes his drug, we see extreme closeups of his eyes, the drugs etc.
ELLEN BURSTYN
The main character of the movie is an elderly widow named Sara Goldfarb who ends up being addicted to "diet pills" which are made of speed and sleeping pills. She is played by Ellen Burstyn and her acting is so incredible that all her awards and nominations are well deserved. The closing scene with her is the climax of the movie and the viewer is drawn into her scattered world and the awfulness of the drugs.
HER VOICE
India.Arie was born with a talent: to melt your heart with her voice. She sings with passion, depth, timing and she only uses "the good notes" if you you know what I mean!
HER LYRICS
India sings of things that matter e.g. about loving yourself for who you are or about how important trust is in a relationship. She uses precise words and sings in a clear way that gets the message through to the listener. I especially love the line in her song "The Truth":
"I love him in every way that a woman can love a man, from personal to universal but most of all it's unconditional".
SWEDISH SIMPLICITY
Lykke Li is from Sweden and her music consists of many different instruments and great simple beats which make her music stand out.
INTERNATIONAL
Her music is growing internationally, especially since her song "Possibility" was used in a very interesting scene of the second Twilight movie that shows Bella's despression:
> Watch "Possibility" in Twilight
MUSIC VIDEO
The song "Little Bit" and especially it's music video is one of her best songs. It has a great simple beat and the music video is very unique
too:
> Watch "Little bit" music video
COLOR IN THE MOMENT
What is most stunning about Maciej's photography is his ability to catch unique moments with beautiful colors. He positions himself in creative angles to the subject which makes a smile flicker across the face of the viewer. He uses the surroundings as his canvas and the people as his paint.
CHECK OUT HIS WORK
Look through his website and read about his trips around the world and be amazed:
AWESOME WEBSITE/MOVIE/DANCE!
ASOS is a clothing label with great style but when I entered their "Urban Tour" web site I was so amazed - film wise. Check it out and play with it by pressing the interactive buttons and pausing the dance moves of the break dancers! INFO: It may take a while for the web site to upload but as they write themselves: it's worth it!
Enjoy the fashion, the website, the dance and the film elements.
ACOUSTIC FOLK-POP
Songs for Iris is a talented folk-indie-pop band from Copenhagen, Denmark. They focus on the vocal harmonies and the acoustic feel. Mads Nyland and Heidi Mattsson sing and play the guitar and Jacob Vase sings and plays percussion.
2 MUSIC VIDEOS
A day in April 2011 I walked past Songs for Iris playing on the street and after having stood infront of them, dazzled by their musicality, we started talking. Two minutes later we had planned to shoot a music video the following week. We ended up recording two:
DREAMING WILD TORNADOS:
MAKE ME FEEL GOOD:
BONUS VIDEO: "ON THE ROAD" RECORDING OF TRAVELLER:
A CHILDREN'S BOOK
Claire and Elvira are writing a book and I am documenting the process of them writing it. It is called "Elfridas Forunderlige Fortælling" (Elfrida's incredible story) and it is an adventurous book for both children and adults. Check out this movie (in Danish) where they talking about the book and themselves:
3 GREAT SONGS
Oh Land is the stage name of the Danish singer-songwriter Nanna Øland Fabricius. Her music is very moving and instead of writing a whole lot about it I will just say: listen to the three songs "Heavy Eyes", "Alive/Awake" and "Wolf & I" and you will be embraced into an elctro-pop and polyphonic wonder.
HARMONIES
Her harmonies are just amazing and as if this shouldn't be enough talent I can also inform you that she produces and writes most of the music as well.
MUSIC VIDEO
Her best music video is for the song: "Sun of a Gun"
PHOTO TALENT
Demetrius Freeman is my other half and a very talented photographer. He is from Atlanta, GA, USA and studies photojournalism at Western Kentucky University. I highly recommend you to look through his work on his website. He has updated most of it but more is to come - so follow his site:
THE PERFECT RHYTHM
Ever since I saw Robyn's energy on stage I've been keeping an eye on her and it payed off. Her music video "Call your Girlfriend is worth watching. It is shot in one take in a gym hall and the use of lights and rhythm makes you want to get up and dance.
INCUBUS ROCK Oh yes, this band rocks my world! Incubus are from California, have released 7 albums and consist of 5 very talented band members. They have been my favorite band since 2004 and I can never get tired of listening to their music.
WHY AM I CRAZY ABOUT INCUBUS?
1) Their melodies and lyrics are amazing and timeless.
2) They have a great sound with an electronic twist.
3) The lead singer Brandon Boyd is so multi-talented it's inspiring.
BRANDON BOYD Brandon is completely, breathtakingly handsome and I love the way he feels the music when he sings. He wears the most beautiful tattoo design I've seen - a self-designed red buddhist symbol on his left arm. Brandon is a multi-talented guy and you will be amazed if you check out his art on www.brandonboydbooks.com. I especially loved to read his very personalized description of himself (under "about"). I also recommend you to read this interview with him.
THE CONCERT 2011
A dream came true August 26th: I was finally in the same place on earth as Incubus. They were touring with their new album "If now now, When?" and I had an amazing night with them in Cleveland, Ohio. I put together this video that I shot with my little Canon G12:
LACHAPELLE'S STYLE
David LaChapelle is known world wide for his extravagant and colorful art photography full of nudity, nonrealistic settings and irony. In some of his shots he uses religious symbols and elements in a contemporary and often also controversial way. Basically you can say that he creates his own world with his photos - a world with different rules, behavior and style.
THE STORY ABOUT MY ENCOUNTER WITH LACHAPELLE'S WORK I was first introduced to his art when I was walking through a book store with my boyfriend. He picked out LaChapelle's 10X13 inch hardcover book from 2006 "Heaven to Hell" and said: "Julie, you have to see this guy's work, it is so amazing". And it sure was, because before we knew of it, we were sitting on the bookstore carpet floor looking at each picture with amazement. After having sat on the floor for an hour or two (because bookstores apparently don't know the concept of chairs) we realized that we had both experienced something special. Not being able to afford the book we walked out knowing that we would always remember his name and his work. (Later in 2010 the book was released again for only 60 dollars (in Denmark) and on amazon.com you can now get it for only 26 dollars - go get it!!). INFO
David LaChapelle started out working with photography in the 80's at galleries in NYC.
He went to North Carolina School of Arts and later in NY he enrolled at the ARt Students League and the School of Visual Ars.
He got hired at this first professional photography job by Andy Warhol at the Interview Magazine.
He has taken photos of so many celebrities so to name a few: Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones, Eminem, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Britney Spears.
He has also directed numerous music videos for e.g. Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and No Doubt.
He sued Rihanna for having used scenes and costumes in her "S and M" music video that look too similar to the ones of LaChapelle. So far it looks like she is losing 'cause it is unmistakably a copy of his work. > Comparison of Rihanna and LaChapelle.
The movie has been both criticized and acclaimed for it's "fragmented and non-linear narrative" (wiki). The story jumps in time and the themes of the movie stand clearer than the actual point of the narrative. It deals with the growth of a family, violence, grief and Man's place on earth.
Personally I think the movie's experimenting structure is interesting but I can also identify with the critics who believe that the movie would've gained from a clearer message.
AESTHETIC VISUALS
Aside from the actual story the movie consists of a universe/cosmos sequence with jaw-dropping and breathtaking visuals. They were created with the help of Douglas Trumbull, the same visual effects guy who worked on "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick from 1968.
Trumbull had been away from Hollywood for 30 years and he managed to create the amazing images by using different liquids and lights and without the use of CGI. > Read more and watch the amazing universe sequence
LUMIA
The movie starts and ends with a few minutes of this shot of a beautiful and colorful light source which is the work of Thomas Wilfred from the 60's. He was a musician and inventor and he practiced an art form called Lumia which is art created by light and music.
He used colored glass, light and music to form these "color organs" called Clavilux which means "light played by key" in Latin. One of his "songs" were called Opus 161 and was the one used for this movie. Absolutely beautiful.
FUNKY
What is special about the band Jamiroquai is their groovy party sound. My favorite of their 7 CD's is Dynamite from 2005 and I can highly recommend it if you want to get in a jazzy and funky mood.
INFO
Jamiroquai are from England and have released albums from 1993 to 2010. Some of the band members have been exchanged through time but the lead singer Jay Kay has been the heart of the band through out their career and when it comes to the band's outward recognition he is the only one you see - e.g. in music videos.
TWO AWESOME MUSIC VIDEOS
To get a sense of Jamiroquai watch the following two music videos. "Virtual Insanity" is my favorite because of its creative settings but I also like "Seven Days of June" because of its totally different style and crazy humor. :
Click here or photo to watch "Virtual Insanity" on youtube:
Click here or photo to watch "Seven Days in June" on youtube:
AN EYEOPENING PHOTO BLOG
As many of you probably know, New York Times is one of the leading magazines in America. It is especially known for its outstanding photography which is on their amazing blog: www.lens.blogs.nytimes.com
ABOUT LENS BLOG
Lens blog is definitely worth visiting continuously
because you get to see - in a very eyeopening way - what is going on in the world. It is very journalistic and direct when it comes to war so it is definitely not for kids and weak souls. The site's usability is great when it comes to viewing the images and it has a mix of current journalism, old photos according to a theme (like Ballet) and photo stories.
VINCENT LAFORET
As an extra video-treat you should check out this video of Vincent LaForet and Blake from Vimeo. They are talking about camera lenses but even though you are an expert in that this video is still worth watching because of the humor. It is a part of the Vimeo Videoschool.
Marionette by Lars Jansson This is a video from my music exam 2008. I played Lars Jansson's "Marionette" which is so relaxing to play and listen to. During the exam the rain started pouring down which gave it quite a cozy feel.
ABOUT REBEKKA
Rebekka is an art photographer from Iceland who's work is very original and beautiful. She has her very own style which usually consists of self portraits in the beautiful nature of Island.
HARD WORKER She puts a lot of work into each photograph and it definitely pays off. She is able to create photos that make you imagine and wonder and when you might think that she used photoshop it often turns out that she just used a handful of creativity to make the photo. When she DOES use photoshop she does fun things like putting herself in the photo multiple times, so that she is interacting with herself.
BEHIND THE SCENE Rebekka is great at coming up with visual ideas and then describing them to the viewer on her blog. An interesting example is "The Shed Project" where she describes how she found an abandoned shed in the middle of nowhere and how her and nature working together on making it the right scene for a self-portrait.
A DAY IN THE PARK
Here is a movie of my brother and his adorable dog, Lilo. Sorry about the quality in some of the shots in the beginning.
Click photo to watch:
Music Tuesday: Chrisette Michele
Chrisette Michele is a R&B/soul singer from New York who has released three albums: "I am" 2007, "Epiphany" 2009 and "Let freedom Reign" 2010. I explored her yesterday on iTunes and having never heard any of her songs before I got curious of what her music was like. As I went through her songs my opinion about her music was scattered. Some songs were a bit boring because of lack of development or just too pop for me. Others had a great sound but had lyrics that were too sugar-sweet and "unimportant" e.g. "Notebook", "Good Girl" and "Porcelain Doll". "Playing my song" had both of those problems.
3 RECOMMENDED SONGS On the other hand there are a handful of songs that I absolutely love - that have a great melody and overall sound and that have interesting lyrics and surprising turns. "All I Ever Think About" makes me feel good even though it has a very predictable style and structure. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITEof her songs is "I'm your Life" which is more original and has a melody and a feel to it that I just simply love. I could listen to it again and again (which I am these days..). "Let Freedom Reign" is also very interesting and has a lot of dynamics with rap, chorus and her own strong voice. In general I can also say that her slow songs are good e.g. "I'm Okay" and "I Know Nothing".
HER MUSIC VIDEOS Aside from her music I can also say that I'm not too amazed by her music videos. I'm glad she's not extremely tiny and that she has a more natural body, but visually and artistically I think the videos could be better..
TO SUM UP Check out the songs I recommended, especially "I'm Your Life" and "Let Freedom Reign". If you want to see a live recording from a studio of "I'm your Life" click here. You can't really hear the piano but that only makes it more interesting to hear her real voice. Check out "I'm a star" that she also performed at the same place but don't get confused - they switched up the songs in the title of the videos by mistake.
Dear beloved readers and viewers: My blog testimony
"To develop myself and to communicate through art I am going to push my motivation by bringing this blog to life."
This this is my testimony and I will pursue it by posting three times a week with three different subjects: "Music tuesday", "Film thursday" and "Photography Saturday". The content will be a mix of what inspires me and what I have created myself. I always have an opinion about art whether it is mildly amusing or simply amazing and if you have a response please communicate back to me. Knowing that someone receives my posts inspires me to keep sharing. This month will feature subjects like Chrisette Michele, Incubus and Demetrius Freeman (my boo). Feel free to write me about subjects you would like me to discuss or projects you need help with!
Roskilde Festival's Closing Email
The Roskilde Festival logo is of its biggest stage "The Orange Stage". The festival started in 1971 and they got the stage in 1978. It had been used by The Rolling Stones on their europe tour in 1976.
Roskilde Festival has been sending me updates throughout the year and as one of the only news-email-letters I've skimmed it with enthusiasm every time. I love getting a quick update on the latest news on which bands would be playing for 2011 and so on. But the last email for this year which I received this morning really touched my heart. Since I wasn't able to attend the festival for the 1st time in 14 years, I've been looking excited at friends' photos and videos of the festival, and this together with this last email really made me feel like I got an impression of how it went. I can't wait to look up the artists that they wrote about or the artists that friends were amazed by.
Here is an explanation of the most interesting facts from the email mixed with some of my knowledge of the festival. To read the full article in Danish press here and in English press here:
The festival was sold out with 130.000 people attending including volunteers and 1,8 mill. dollars over budget for charity.
A girl jumped out from or accidentally fell down from a tower and died. Some call it suicide, others call it an accident. The festival has focused extra on security since the 2001 accident where a crowd at a concert pushed people forward and 9 people died. (The festival is overall known for its peaceful party atmosphere and it's extremely low amount of violence compared to the density of people in one place and the amount of alcohol consumed).
Bands that were mentioned in the articles that gave a great performance: the electronic band Nicolas Jaar, the melo-metallic band Ghost (Sweden) and the hiphop band OFWGKTA (where Tyler, The Creator performed in a wheel chair because of a broken leg).
Artists that were amazed by the Roskilde Festival audience: Chalres Bradley who shed a tear and hugged the front audience, M.I.A. who said "This one is really gonna be hard to top" at the concert and Deadmau5 who wrote on his facebook-page: "I pretty much have no words to describe this one, if you were there, you know. <3 so much Denmark!"
It rained 14 mm throughout the festival and 100-200 m3 of sawdust was spread out.
Volunteers gathered trash and recycled and raised a big amount of money for charity.
I hope all of my family and friends all had a wonderful festival and to all you who haven't been there yet - go one year.. You'll love it. It's 4 days of fun camping and partying and the after that 4 days of music and fun in the main area (while still camping of course). It takes place the weekend closest to july 1st.
This guy was standing in the middle of Copenhagen's shoppingstreet (Strøget) trying to play what I believe is his favorite melody. Not many people payed attention to him, but I saw a character - not to be laughed at but to be listened to.
Sofie and I at Glyptoteket Sofie Boysen, my amazing friend, and I visited the museum of statues: Glyptoteket, in Copenhagen, Denmark. While I was enjoying the sight of the statues and taking photos of them she filmed me. It turned into this great movie that she edited together and put together with a song by the Danish rapper L.O.C:
Two days ago I heard a radio interview with the DJ/Blogger/Label Guy, Brian Shimkovitz and the conversation immediately caught my attention. Brian has accomplished to blog about African music since 2006 where he uploads music from casette tapes which he has bought in Africa. The music is from the past 3-4 decades and you can listen/download it for free, and sometimes buy it on a different website that he links to.
