Just in case you’re in the market for a new DSLR and all of the recent announcements weren’t enough for you, this supposedly leaked ad from Nikon Japan just hit the web. The word “Big” appears next to a shadowy DSLR body, perhaps insinuating an impending compact, full-frame Nikon on the horizon. Here’s to hoping this potential model bridges the rather large chasm between the D90 and the D700 and maybe even throws in some of that HD video lacking from the D700 for good measure.
Via Engadget
Lusine went on after my set in Seattle last Saturday and he had some amazing visuals going on during the show (his set was incredible by the way). I went upstairs to check out the source of the amazing imagery and found the guy you see above, Scott Sunn AKA Tracer Visuals, literally DJ’ing a pair of 8mm reel to reel projectors. He was winding the reels and alternately covering the lenses with his hands to produce effects and transitions. It was pretty amazing to behold; I’ve never even heard of this concept much less seen it in action. I was lucky enough to be able to talk to Scott after the set and what I learned about his method and sources was even more incredible than watching him work. Apparently he had access to a job site where a school district building was being demolished. The building being demo’ed housed a library of vintage reel-to-reel educational films and he was able to take away six truckloads of film, his truck bottoming out on a couple of the runs. I can’t even begin to imagine how exciting this would be. I think it would rank up there with finding a couple suitcases full of money buried in the woods. He now uses these films in his VJ sets and the results are amazing.
I was too busy enjoying the set to get many good shots of the action, but you can see a few rather blurry stills above and a video from another show below. The top image is, of course, the man himself at work. For the photography geeks out there, it’s a multiple exposure set with a fill flash and slow shutter speed to capture some motion after the initial exposure. I snagged it with the D80 which ended up performing rather well that night given the low light conditions present at the venue. Might have to rethink that upgrade…
You can find more info on Tracer Visuals at his site or his Myspace page. He apparently also worked on the Radiohead tour. Below is a video of Scott VJ’ing a Lusine show back in April of this year. Forrest, I’d have to imagine your head has nearly exploded at this point. Time to hit the swap meet.
Found these beautiful LP covers (1999 and 2000 respectively) on Mahogany’s MySpace page. You may remember Mahogany from a couple of my previous music posts, here and here. I’ve always loved the artwork for Mahogany’s releases and these early examples are no exception.
Your soon to be favorite replacement for any downtempo/lounge music is here. As Thievery Corporation grow distant with their outdated world music people need something fresh and need to wipe their hands clean of their 2001-2002 lounge playlists. Hatchback and Sorcerer offer up some of most lovely composed albums which are at a slower tempo and are filled with lush sounds for outdoor beer gardens or creative workspaces. I can only take so much “Lebanese Blonde”, “insert latest Hotel Coste compilation track”, and “Surfing on a Rocket” while I walk thru some local overprice small plate wine bar and walk out. Let this slow motion disco grow and support it, i promise it won’t disappoint. (please note i’m definitely not comparing this music to downtempo/lounge, i think of it as a replacement for that genre)
Some very nice work by Sonnenzimmer. Via FFFFOUND
This video for Toshihiko Suzuki’s Kenchikukagu first struck me as sort of funny just for the fact that it’s highly reminiscent of those “Kitchen of The Future” type ads from the 50’s showcasing a bunch of “innovations” most of which were either highly impractical or just downright ridiculous. But after watching it, I want the whole set. Suzuki’s folding rooms are just that, rooms that fold up when not in use. They’re quite well designed and actually seem very practical for the space-challenged and/or OCD level organizers among us. I don’t think I would go as far as to outfit my entire home with these but one or two for choice tasks would be nice. The best part of the whole deal is that these aren’t just concepts, you can actually buy them from Amazon Japan. The worst part? They’ll run you around $7,500 each.
Via Complex
We haven’t had some original lounge/folk singers on here for awhile or gorgeous women so I had to make sure to knock those out both in this post, enjoy.
Here’s a little New Romanticism for you, coming from the source: Richard Burgess.
Two years before this album was released, Richard teamed up with Dave Simmons to invent the Simmons SDS-V drum machine (you all know it). This was the first commercially available electronic drum kit.
This is Landscape’s second full-length, titled “From the Tea-rooms of Mars… to the Hell-holes of Uranus,” produced by Richard. This album is most known for its hits: “Einstein A Go-Go” and “Norman Bates.” I stumbled across this, and I just can’t get enough of this track.
After this release, Richard Burgess went on to produce Spandau Ballet’s Journeys to Glory and Diamond, along with countless other albums, including one of my faves: New Edition.
[audio:landscape_shake-the-west-awake.mp3]