collectedthinkery

Great new video from The Maccabees this morning. Some great raw...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:23:38 -0500

Great new video from The Maccabees this morning. Some great raw photography coupled with an excellent use of layering techniques to interweave and really tell a story through the film.

This video could only be made in the UK, about the UK. And choosing Roots Manuva reinforces that nicely.

Fair warning, the content is pretty heavy.

Via itsnicethat.

More Africa action on the blog this morning, its Friday and that...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:16:34 -0500

More Africa action on the blog this morning, its Friday and that means its time for some electric rhythms to welcome in the weekend.

DJ Mujava has a crazy African story, growing up on the streets and now on the cover of the excellent French music magazine, Vibrations.

The track above, Mugwanti, captures everything that rocks about African music. Energy, passion and an uncanny ability to make you want to dance.

Happy weekend.

Afrigadget

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:46:52 -0500

I started blogging because I wanted a place where I could capture all of the things that I see that I like and trigger me to think a bit.

Its pretty humbling then when you come across blogs like afrigadget, a site with genuine purpose and meaning.

Afrigadget is a blog dedicated to examples of African ingenuity applied to everyday issues faced by African people. Its an inspiring collection of hacks and workarounds from improvised lamps to build-your-own electric bikes.

What I love about the blog is that its just got so much purpose. Each idea showcased is powerful in its on right, but by pulling them together in one place, afrigadget is opening up the pathway for the ideas to be shareed, and built upon, right across the continent.

I have been spending some time on a site called Quirky recently, which is quietly socializing the design experience to create better and better products.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if these powerful concepts could come together - matching consensus process expertize with ingenuity and imagination. That feels like a genuine helping hand to the developing world.

Laugh all you want about the concept of blogging, but for every ihatemyparents, there is a blog like afrigadget sparking some real change.

Finally got to see the Shout Out Louds last night when they...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:16:00 -0500

Finally got to see the Shout Out Louds last night when they passed through Williamsburg. I am struggling to think of a better live performance that I have seen in the last few years.

Despite being around for 9 years, and releasing 3 stellar albums, the Shout Out Louds seemed to have escaped the genuine mainstream (fleeting appearance on the Nick and Norah soundtrack aside).

If you could handpick members of your fantasy-league indie band, it would come out looking like the SOL. Every member played out of their skin last night, but I was left blown-away by the lead singer, Adam Olenius. Not only is his voice pitch-perfect, delivering with all the engaging intensity of a Scandinavian Robert Smith, but he performs in a way that makes you feel that he is really not even in the same room as the audience.

He is so engrossed in the sentiment of the words he is singing, its like you can read the lyrics directly from his expressions.

The whole show was epic, but I particularly loved the song above (Tonight I have to leave you) which they played about 5 songs into their set, and which established an energy level that was maintained right through to the final chord.

They are back in May - I recommmend getting tickets right now.

Can’t believe I missed this until now. Jimmy Fallon...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:46:00 -0500

Can’t believe I missed this until now. Jimmy Fallon playing Neil Young singing the theme tune to the Fresh Prince.

Tremendous stuff.

Second friend inspired post of the week. My friend Tom just...

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:12:00 -0500

Second friend inspired post of the week.

My friend Tom just arrived in Australia for a 6 month stint working as the anesthetist onboard the Sydney Air Ambulance. I was having a look around on the internet to find out more about the service, and I came across the video above.

This is one of the best pieces of film making I have seen (nice work Keith Loutit). The first time I watched it I was convinced it was made with models and camera tricks, but this film is 100% real.

Its a great feeling to see a service that brings so much benefit to Sydney get properly shown-off with an exceptional piece of creativity. This video stands head and shoulders above most of the shit churned out to support far-more commercial endeavors. And its represents a ‘product’ that everyone can feel passionate about.

Friday smiles all around.

Couple of friend-inspired posts this week. Heard this track...

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:50:00 -0500

Couple of friend-inspired posts this week.

Heard this track earlier in the week and it reminded me a lot of a dark night spent at Bunker in Rio with Tom and Dave. I am pretty sure that Marky might even have played it that night.

Nice slab of dark drum and bass from Breakage from London. He has been around for a few years now, and judging by his recent collaboration with Rodigan, he is clearly well respected in the scene.

Sadly not a full track (let me know if you have it), but worth checking all the same.

Going out to Butch.

Vimeo just released their top 25 videos of the last year. Its a...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:29:00 -0500

Vimeo just released their top 25 videos of the last year. Its a sensational list, including my personal favorite which I blogged about back in June.

I had not seen the video above until just now, but its a breathtaking single-take piece of work. Anyone that loves the calming environment of aquariums will appreciate this, but the clarity of shot, the well-chosen backing track and the gentle movement of both the visitors and fish is just mesmerizing.

Give it some time to load so it doesn’t jerk about when you watch it.

Musicians on film

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:27:00 -0500

Some great new photography this week from Leonard Greco, who has been working with some of the best artists of the last couple of years.

I particularly love his Sebatien Tellier shoot, which smartly captures the frenetic magic that is so evident in the guy’s music. What I love about this work is its intimate nature - Leonard’s shots come across like he is a close friend of the artist who just happened to pop over with a camera. So much more informative and full of depth than the typical artist-profile work we are used to seeing.

It would be great to see more work like this featured in music magazines.

Favorite ad of the superbowl by a long distance. I’m not...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:59:33 -0500

Favorite ad of the superbowl by a long distance.

I’m not sure I have seen a Google ad before, but this one is great. Clean, simple and effective. And genuinely reflective of how people today use their product.

Its been a long time since good new music passed by my door. And...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:56:00 -0500

Its been a long time since good new music passed by my door.

And then I heard this track earlier today, and all is good in the world again. I haven’t heard much from The Heavy since SXSW 2008, but they have laid down some new material and have just released a new album, The House That Dirt Built.

How You Like Me Now is the lead single from the album, and its a cracker. Capturing some great soul energy that reminds me a lot of The Dapkings, and combining it with the powerful and strained vocals of Kelvin Swaby, the track bounces along with great feeling.

Definitely recommend listening out for these guys more, and catching one of their upcoming London shows if you happen to be in town.

Tablet, tablet, tablet

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:43:00 -0500

Its announcement day over in SF today, and all indicators are that we will finally see the Apple tablet computer. Its a big launch for Apple, and I believe they are about to enter and take control of another emerging technology-format, in the same way that the iPhone has set the bar in smart-phone technology.

Andrew makes a great point on why he believes the tablet will be a huge success - much like the phone, it is developer-friendly, and the developer community is pretty excited about the potential to create apps that can capitalize on the reported 10” screen. I agree completely - by opening up the device to the app store, Apple has outsourced the development of pretty much any type of functionality that users of the device might want to see. If you want your tablet to do something, there is probably an app for it out there already.

But I am really interested in the larger implications at play here. The attention that an Apple device focuses on a media-form can have a profound impact on the way that content is consumed (just look at what the iPod did for music). I believe the tablet is about to have the same impact on publishing. The Kindle has been around for a while now, and digital sales of content have been chugging along, but then there were plenty of MP3 players before the iPod came along and they had a limited impact on digital music sales.

I would imagine that Apple is hard at work putting together distribution deals with the major publishers, of books, magazines and newspapers to bring their content to the tablet device. In the same way that it took a beautifully designed ipod to persuade the public to buy music digitally, it can often take a force like Apple to persuade content owners that they need to accelerate changes in their delivery mechanisms. If publishers are smart, they will have their content ready to stream to the tablet by the time it launches. In 3 years time this will be how we all consume content.

I find it so interesting that once again it might be a hardware manufacturer, rather than a content creator, that really sparks a change in the way that we consume content.

Bands to see in 2010

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:18:00 -0500

Last year I blogged in January about bands I wanted to see in 2009. I managed 1 out of 3, which is pretty rubbish, so I probably don’t need to add more bands for 2010, but I will anyway.

First up, The xx. Everyone is talking about them, their album was everyone’s top pick for last year, and based on their sound I think they’d be great live. And I imagine they will be touring all year on the back of the album, so should be pretty easy to find them somewhere close.

I am also pretty intent on SXSW this year as well. I only got two days last year, and a stellar road trip with Carlon, and this year Athena Andreadis will be there, showcasing material from her tremendous new album. Now to find a free ticket from somewhere.

Finally, I think 2010 is going to have to be a festival year. Roskilde could be on the cards, especially if U2 are headlining there as well, and failing that it looks like this crazy show in Toronto and Coachella as well.

We’ll see if I get past one this year.

Thought it was time to post an upbeat track, after some slow...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:37:32 -0500

Thought it was time to post an upbeat track, after some slow burners over the last couple of weeks. This weeks track is from the sometimes questionable, always fearless Simian Mobile Disco. I don’t listen to much house music anymore, but I liked this as soon as I heard it.

Pretty clear throwback to the classic house sound of 12 years ago, but really well executed. And the rolicking vocals of Beth Ditto don’t hurt either, bringing some nice cut to the bouncing rhythms. Hands in the air.

DVD consumption trends

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:17:00 -0500

Generally speaking , you can stick some data on a map and I am in. Not many people are doing a better job of smart data presentation than the NYT. Their latest effort is a projection of DVD consumption by county within the New York area. Nothing too groundbreaking, but its pretty interesting to see how Vicky Cristina Barcelona polled by region versus, say, Tyler Perry.

Not the first time its been said on this blog, but if you can find the right way to package and present data, it can take on a whole new level of meaning and implication. I hope the distributors are paying attention, no one stands to gain more from understanding this data than they do.

Great buildings

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:52:00 -0500

Spent a great day cycling round Amsterdam today checking out some of the contrasting architecture the city has to offer. There are some great buildings in this city, many of which are a long way from the canals. A thoughtfully designed structure can totally change the dynamic of an area, or city, and I think the Nemo building in the docks at the east of the city is a great example of that.

Another great example was completed recently in Viana do Castelo, just north of Porto in Portugal. The Axis Viana Hotel is a fantastic example of cantilevered design that creates a striking image against the flat landscape that surrounds it. I love seeing ambitious buildings like this, especially in smaller, tertiary cities, where I believe they have a far greater impact.

The anticipation is almost too much.

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:27:00 -0500

The anticipation is almost too much.

Cannot wait for this album to drop. Broken Bells are the...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:13:00 -0500

Cannot wait for this album to drop. Broken Bells are the inspired combination of Danger Mouse, hands-down the most talented and busy producer of the last couple of years, and James Mercer from The Shins.

They stuck their first single, The High Road (above) on the website last week, and its pretty epic. Mercer’s ranging vocals giving the scale and depth to DM’s absorbing rhythms. I actually prefer the second track, Vaporize, which has been getting hammered on 1xtra this week, but couldn’t find an MP3 to post sadly. Let me know if you’ve got one and I’ll update.

The album is available to pre-order now, and based on these two tracks, I would say its money well spent.

How we live and work

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:57:19 -0500

Came across this great site last week, featuring the work of photographer Todd Selby. Todd spends time with artists at the homes and studios, capturing the angles that he thinks matter the most.

This is such a great project for so many reasons. The creative spaces that artists build around themselves go along way towards defining who they are and what they believe. Perhaps even more than looking at a portfolio, or samples of their work, taking a look at the environment in which they create might be the truest way to get a sense for the inspiration that drives artists.

Check out the gallery for George Garrow, who works with Ksubi in Australia. Spending time looking at the artifacts that he has collected and used to fill his studio tells such a deep story about his design mind, and the influence that goes into the products he develops.

Great project taking a great perspective on a world that is really hard to understand from the outside.

Someecards

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:09:29 -0500

Few words on someecards today. I have been back and forth about writing about them for a while, after some previous business-dealing-weirdness with them last year. But its topical, given that the deadline for sending Christmas cards has probably gone already.

And whatever, their cards are really funny, and well worth sharing. Create cards with devastatingly cutting themes and messages and send them to your friends online. Online cards are definitely on the lame end of the spectrum, but you totally get away with it when they are really funny. I could seriously imagine getting into the habit of sending 10 of these every day.

Try not to waste hours just rolling your way through all of the stored designs. Like i just did.