Archive for January, 2010

If you haven’t already been on Hype Machine then today might be a good day to jump on and check it out. It’s a stream of select blogs and the music that is being posted on them. The ISO50 blog stream is located here and today we have one of the popular song (Matthew Dear’s remix of The xx) on the charts. The standings only last 14 more hours so click here on the heart and help us vote it up if you’re a member. Also be sure to check out all the other blogs on there, always a lot of great music coming up on there.

I have a couple of staple electronic acts to share with you today. Apparat’s collaboration with Ellen Allien which during its release was the pinnacle of that epic synth techno trying to be pop which others like Josh Holden, Superpitcher, and Nathan Fake also made a name for themselves.

Morgan Geist who you might know from working with Junior Boys and Metro Area puts together dreamy synth melody that I want to hear Erlend Oye sing over.

You probably remember this Luke Vibert project called Wagon Christ, it was the most catchy thing you’ll hear from Luke Vibert that was accepted by the mainstream, I remember going to lounges and hearing it everywhere I went.

NEW BONOBO! just came out in December, I thought this track was a real stand out on his new EP Blur, it has this Four Tet meets Zero 7 feel, he is really sticking to his guns on his sound, I admire that.

If you’re a fan of the 60’s style illustrations I’m fond of posting sometimes, you will love this book: Naïve: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. I picked it up the other day to assist me in an illustration project I’m working on now (more on that later). It’s been especially great for sourcing inspiration about color palettes. Could use a little more text though (there isn’t a word in there). There are a lot of familiar favorites inside (was nice to see Siggi Odds make an appearance), and also a ton of artists I had never seen before. Highly recommended if you’re on an illustration kick.

Naïve documents the extraordinary renaissance of Classic Modernism, from the 1940s to 1960s, in contemporary graphic design. This compilation introduces a new wave of young designers who are rediscovering the stylistic elements reminiscent of classic graphic design such as silkscreen printing, classical typography, hand lettering, woodcutting and folk art and integrating them into their work. [Link]

My dreams have been answered, the good people at OfficePod are keeping the hopes alive for prefab dreamers by making more Prefab shelters. For a measly 15,000£ you can have this beautiful office space, seriously I want this, maybe they have layaway? or need someone to display it in Brooklyn? count me in.

This gorgeous piece of hardware is the Elekit Tube Amplifier, designed by Koichi Futatsumata. I’ve always been obsessed with tube amps but I’ve never seen one look this good. Of course, it would look best if the rest of your furniture is of a similar spec — which is not the case for me — but maybe this is so amazing that it can elevate even the most drab of living spaces with its sexy minimalism. The only problem is that I want to buy it right now and it appears to be impossible. I find way too many concept pieces that look amazing but never find their way into the marketplace. At least this one looks like it might eventually be for sale. (But by then Apple may have released their “newest creation” and I won’t have any money left…)

via Kitsune Noir and Minmalissimo

I saw a commercial for the new Nautilus Mobia today and was pretty impressed. Considering the fact that it comes from an industry not exactly known for aesthetics, the Mobia sports some nice lines and an overall iPod-esque (the designer’s own words) vibe that’s pretty attractive. Designed by famed ID firm Frog Design, the elliptical/treadmill hybrid even scores in the interface department with a clean, no nonsense display.

Unfortunately, the Mobia branding falls flat on it’s face. Perhaps another firm designed the logo and Frog was forced to apply it to their creation, I don’t know. I do know that it just about ruins the entire experience. The logo — which appears to have been designed by a marketing team years before the unit itself and completely independent of any input from the product design team — fails to align stylistically with any of the machine’s physical characteristics. And what’s with the name? Mobia? It sounds like a new VoIP solution or some sort of dolphin harness. It doesn’t sound athletic or sleek at all. Oh well, I would still take one and just scratch off the logo. Then I really wouldn’t have to leave the studio again.

It’s finally time to announce the Grand Prize Winner in the Holiday Giveaway. The Grand Prize includes the following:

· One copy of Adobe CS4 Design Premium Mac (US$1,799 Value)
· One ISO50 Studio Giclee print of Choice in 18″ wide format
· One ISO50 shirt of choice
· Tycho MP3 Collection

Drum roll please…. And the big winner is: (more…)

I’ve been listening to Matthew Dear since 2001 he has come along way with remixes for Hot Chip, David Bowie, Postal Service etc. but this remix of The xx is one that kind of really resonates as something that sounds like Matthew to me personality, i’m expecting more punctual avant pop from him this year from his LP which i’m geeking over to hear.

A pretty sweet go to song for a dance floor, can’t go wrong with Thom Yorke even though I haven’t put on his CD since the day I bought it, not because i didn’t like it but I have to be in the mood and this version is more of what I want to hear.

One of my favorite labels has to be Smallville out of Hamburg which is run by some great guys one of them being Peter Kersten aka Lawrence, if I ever release/make music it would have to come out on Smallville or i’ll just give it away for free. The patient and passionate ones will probably get the most out of this song by Julius Steinhoff , dreamy 4/4 deep dub.

An older classic from P73.

I love desks by George Nelson, his Swag Leg is a favorite. I came across another great example of Nelson’s work over at Modernity, the Home Office Desk by George Nelson for Herman Miller. Absolutely perfect; I’ve always liked the idea of large desks but seeing this and the Swag Leg make me think it might be nice to have something a little more compact. And I love Modernity’s photographic style, great product shots (sorry for the small pics though, they didn’t have anything bigger). Some more can be found here.

I’m headed to Tokyo again in May and I’m getting all psyched for bouncing around the city with my camera. I’ve been via-linking my way around photography blogs for inspiration and found Color Berlin, a cool photo set by Matthias Heiderich. They feel like paintings to me — probably due to the heavy saturation, and flat compositional style. I’ve only been to Berlin once, but I don’t remember seeing colors like this! Best keep my eyes open next time. More on his Flickr page.