À l'écoute

Just came back from our third tour of the Western Balkans. Cindy and I drove from Belgrade (Serbia) to the further east border between Serbian and Bulgaria, then into Macedonia, through Kosovo and Albania, up the south-east coast of Croatia along the Bosnia and Herzegovina border, up to Zagreb, then north Croatia into Hungary, back down to Slavonski Brod (Croatia) and Bosanski Brod (Bosnia) and then back to Belgrade. Phew.

That's allot of driving—needless to say, but allot of time to catch up with old and recent additions to my music collection. Here are a few gems that stood out:

The Good, The Bad & The Queen (Honest Jon's/Parlophone)
This is proving to be a totally interesting album. What first began as a collaboration between Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse resulted in a very interesting band. The lax jams aside, it's a very good record. See them perform here.

PJ Harvey, Rid Of Me (Island)
A late entry into my collection, yes, but I'm making sure it catches up in play counts. May I add: super-duper?

Late Of The Pier, Fantasy Black Channel (Parlophone)
A super record. In and out (although I'm not sure what that means...) but it must mean good and on both sides. Great jams, guitar driven key-pop over a pavement of great song structure. Get it.

Mos Def, The Ecstatic (Downtown)
Mos Def! Who doesn't love Mos Def? His most broad record to date. Really, really great.

Rachel's, Systems/Layers (Quarterstick)
I previously only had a few tracks from this one. Completed it before we left—it proved to be a great soundtrack to the Western Balkans' ominous mountain ranges. No really.

Ween, Québec (Sanctuary)
A classic and must-have-if-you-don't-already. Killer production, great songs and not too far from one of the best records coming out of America in the last 20 years. Yes, really.

Neozoon

This is the work of the Berlin-based collective Neozoon. Animal silhouettes cut out of recycled fur coats and glued to city walls. Too dope. Loads more here and see them at work here.

From top to bottom: Rabbits (in Berlin), 2009; Flock of Sheep (in Paris), 2009; Bull for Huesca (in Berlin), 2009; Fox (in Berlin), 2008.

Western Balkans Typography (Redux)

More from Bosnia i Hercegovina, Croatia and Serbia.

Western Balkans Typography

Cindy and I are spending the next few weeks in the south of the Western Balkans (aka Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) to work on The Culture Lobby. The first three places I mentioned were once part of Yugoslavia and typography in that area of the world is taken seriously. Here are a few examples of signage from Pirot, Serbia and Skopje, Macedonia. I'll post more over the next few weeks.

Go here and here for previous posts while we were in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgrade, Serbia, last year.

Paul Senyol

Above are the works of South African artist Paul Senyol. I'm not exactly sure how I bumped into these but damn happy I did. Versed in illustration, painting and typography, Senyol's work is also full of stories. Are they stories? Thought patterns maybe—an adventure awaits you in every piece. Tons more here.

From top to bottom: Ma Prière Au Dieu Qui (2009): The Language of Birds (2009); Dreamboat Tapping (2009); Stiek Hui (2009).

Recent Banksy Works

It's very easy to stay up to date with what Banksy's doing. Many sites report his actions frequently. Even more Flickr account holders support them. So from what I found, here are a few. As usual, click on any image to see it larger. Banksy's site is here.

From top to bottom: Early 2009 outings in Mali, West Africa (the first and second jpeg); Mid-2008 outings in New Orleans, USA (the third and last).

Charles Ray

Here's another hardcore American artist that I find not too many people know about. Associated at first with the performance and body/endurance crowd of the 70's, he soon after moved towards sculpture (what he actually studied) perhaps giving his own-body-as-the-medium a break. Here above is a good sampling of his work. See more here and read about him here.

From top to bottom: Unpainted Sculpture (1997); Oh! Charlie, Charlie, Charlie (1992); Plank Piece I & II (1973); Untitled (1973).

Melanie MacDonald

Above are works by St. Catharines (Ontario) based painter Melanie MacDonald. She paints—in beautiful vivid colour—some of the details of her everyday existence. These could be anything from a soft, out of focus close-up of a board game to a sink full of dishes. Sounds lame, but if done well, it's totally poetic and that's her level. Find her site here.

From top to bottom: Butter (2008); Blue Floral Pattern—Creamer (2007); Hand Painted Tea Pot (2006); Silverware (2005).

Work In Progress v7.1

Here's an update on the house I'm painting. What you see in these shots are the hallway joining all the room on the main floor, the stairs from the ground floor going up and the stairs going to the third floor.

The farmhouse-style details were really great to work with. It gave me the chance to pop out some elements and plains making the whole area look bigger. The dark grey also added to this effect, giving the hallway more depth. I return in a few weeks to finish up.

This is the second post on this project. Find the first post here.

Matthew Porter

Above, way above... are the photographs of Brooklyn-based artist Matthew Porter. Continue the adventure here and here. You could own one at a very reasonable price. Go here.

From top to bottom: The Heights (2006); Airborne (2005); Bayview (2006); Blue Ridge Parkway (2008).

À l'écoute

MC Solaar, Chapitre 7 (Sentinel Ouest)
This is the 7th album from the French rapper Claude M'Barali, aka MC Solaar. A great record as always, great writing and production. Tracks like In God We Trust and Non Merci show just how masterful Solaar is. Plenty to hear and see on his website.

Tortoise, Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey Records)
This is the newest record from the Chicago (post-rock, post-jazz...) outfit. It's spiky, took a few listens to truly understand where they are going with this one. It's airy, yet heavy, and I'm on the bus. More here.

Tasha Aulls

Shown above are new paintings by Montreal-born, now London-based Tasha Aulls. She opens a show at the Sassoon Gallery in London on July 21st. More here.

From top to bottom: Tiger Light, Arctic Night (2009); Sun-Ray Rise Again (2009); Last Dance In Disco Valley (2009); Hinterlands, When We Go How We Go (2008).