Archive for July, 2011

Beautiful, lush Kodachrome photos from the 40s. Kodachrome was the legendary color film popular among photographers like Steve McCurry, who shot the final roll after it was discontinued in 2009. See the rest of the set here.

via Shorpy

It’s an all beat post! these 4 musicians i’ve loved and have all been suggested to me atleast once this week(it’s only Wednesday) so I put them all together in a more focused sounding playlist.

Machinedrum put together a very cohesive album for Planet Mu, it came at a great time and the style is back to what I feel like Travis has loved since I first met him years ago, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Ann Arbor hometown hero / Flying Lotus‘ beat partner comes with a raw collection of beats/ideas, whats attractive about it is that its not trying to ever be flashy or be something that its not. I picked Pressure from the album because I LOVE the synth line at 0:31.

Sun Glitters has 10 releases on bandcamp, now thats a musician thats really taking advantage of the tools out there for musicians that don’t have a home. If you ever wanted Flying Lotus to do a simple cover of Slowdive then this track is for you. Support his music here.

Warp just released a small peek into the Rustie album thats coming in October, sounds like he’s settled down a bit which gets me excited.

Art above by: Joe Nigel Coleman

Ever since I first saw The Thing I’ve had a fascination with Antarctica. Something about the brutal conditions, heavy machinery and isolation seem like the ultimate setting for discovery. These photos come from the flickr of John Jacobsen who photographed them while “helping to hunt for neutrinos in Antarctica.” I love the idea that these images could be “just another day at the office” for somebody; even the names for everything sound badass: Dark Sector Lab, Destination Alpha, Autonomous Geophysical Observatory, etc.

See more of his images on his blog and flickr, or check out the previous post on Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World for more beautiful shots from the Antarctic.

These shapes by Axel Brechensbauer remind me of some strange and wonderful life-size chess set. They certainly don’t look like objects I normally come upon in real life. If one day I do, I will purchase and display them atop of my home for all to see.

via cargo

18 Carat Affair debuts his enchanting 80’s late night/old VHS sounding R+B album called Vintage Romance, beautifully executed and unique, grab it here.

I can’t believe I never actually shared this, here’s singles from Caribou‘s Daphni project, gorgeous worldly edits to get lost into.

Stellar OM Source is a mind expander, I hate hearing her music stop.

I’ve probably posted most of these at some point or another in the past separately but now you have them all in one place. Keep Shelly In Athens have been one of my favorite remixers in the past year or so, always epic in this lo-fi way, catchy synths and the effects are always added on in a tasteful way, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Also, look at all the free downloading!

P.S. to Keep Shelly In Athens(if you read this): email me jakub at iso50 dot com i’d like you to remix Tycho.

Cover art by: ? [any info would be appreciated, would love to give credit]

International advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy transformed an abandoned warehouse into their new world headquarters. The office holds several hundred employees and multiple organizations. The building was redesigned by Allied Works, a Portland architecture firm.

Allied Works renovated the building with a new concrete interior and multiple new storys. The existing timber-frame structure was also renovated and helped push the accenting of wood structures throughout the interior of the building. If you ever get a chance to tour the office do it. Make sure to wander around and check out the unique parts of the office including “The Nest”.

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So many great Kickstarters have been popping up and this one seems very close to the ISO50 family, below is info on Kim Høltermand & Tim Navis Outliers project:

This October, with the help of the Kickstarter community, a small group of filmmakers, photographers and musicians are setting out on a journey to explore the remote countryside of Iceland and document our experiences with the landscape, residents and traditions we encounter. The end result, a beautifully packaged box set of the film and companion soundtrack, will be released to backers of the project as a physical artifact of the unique and awe-inspiring experience. We can’t wait to share the results with you.

The project — anchored by internationally renowned photographers Tim Navis + Kim Høltermand and aided by film collective Scenic and composer Deru — will be unique in its improvisational spirit. The group will create a series of short films at various locations throughout the island, inspired by moments of discovery and chance occurrence. Tim’s sun-drenched SoCal landscapes and Kim’s cold, architectural abstractions provide the perfect visual foundation, and fans of their work can imagine how exciting a collaboration between the two will be.

We’ll be sharing our trip in inventive ways with supporters, providing a real-time window into an experience that the community helped to make reality. Upon our return, Scenic will edit a series of short films, featuring an original score by Deru and a full-length soundtrack featuring contributions from select musicians and contemporary composers. Tim + Kim will create an archival photo book and release a limited run of exclusive prints for the Kickstarter community.

Your donation will help provide travel and accommodations while our small crew films and photographs the trip, and will allow us to produce truly stunning physical artifacts that showcase the beauty and wonder of Iceland. We hope you’ll join us on our journey, and we thank you for your support.

About the Soundtrack
*** Download the first single here, FREE ***

Deru is curating a full-length soundtrack compilation of tracks contributed specifically for the film. Artists include:

• Shigeto
• Loscil
• Goldmund
• Asura
• Tycho
• Joby Talbot
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• More to be announced

We have an exclusive gift for the ISO50 readers courtesy of André Obin, Teen Daze, and 18 Carat Affair. Download this synth drenched collection of remixes of André Obin’s new single Lemondrop for free. With both the 18 Carat Affair and Teen Daze albums coming out I thought i’d be a perfect time to ask them to remix this song that André gave us to give away on the site, let me know what you guys think and also visit their sites if you have time.

DOWNLOAD THE ZIP HERE FOR FREE

I’ve seen a lot of beautiful, moving images of the Shuttle lately but none have felt so intimate as these by Justin Ray for Spaceflight Now. Something about these photos of the now decommissioned spacecraft, engines removed, mission complete, bring the idea of it to life like none I’ve seen thus far. It’s the textures and details that highlight what an incredible machine this was and what a profound achievement for humankind it represents.

And look at that lettering! I’ve never seen it so close; it has such a handmade feel to it at this scale. The logos and typography of the Shuttle program always intrigued me, they seemed to represent the idea of the United States as a brand, an ideal to be consumed by the rest of the world. Then when Canadarm was installed on STS-2 it became apparent that even other — less crazy — countries felt the desire to push themselves as a brand in space. Of course, pushing your national space-brand became a bit more accessible with the ISS, but the US and Canada used Helvetica and were way ahead of the curve so I’d say they won whatever prize you get for most recognizable space-brand.

I wonder what we all gained growing up in a world where the Shuttle existed. I know it was a big part of my consciousness as a kid and probably had something to do with how I felt about my national identity. For me it symbolized the combined efforts of some of our greatest minds collectively reaching for a better understanding of the world we live in. For some — and perhaps rightly so — it probably represented a colossal waste of resources in the face of more earthly problems. Maybe it was both, but I I’ll personally miss it as a symbol of what we as humans can achieve when we work together.

More Pictures at Spaceflight Now