mardi 27 janvier 2009

Alpha Beta Parra

Parra has a particular style, uses particular colors. In other words, he's a particular you must have seen before :


in an art gallery, on a flyer, on a CD/vynil cover ... et very often on the streets, the first place where this young Amsterdamer likes to display his creations. The same exact streets of Amsterdam where his fan literly hunt for boards, posters and other piece of art to stick in their tiny rooms.


Typographist and graphist, Parra grew up surrounded by his father, the artist, who galvanize his taste for oil paint and canvas. Seduced, Parra kicks off his career in the early 90s, inspired by a growing Street Culture. Lame Face or 3rd Eye Crew were spraying out their talent on the walls of the city.







Inspired, but not a copycat. Parra avoids the 3D typo that is so popular among european graffers. Parra expresses simple thoughts, with simple colors that were not usually mixed (the red and the orange for instance, an combination that was forbiden for a long time, and made fashionable thanks to Yves Saint Laurent's transgressive talent).


What we all owe to Parra, is his ever-lasting willing to keep his art afordable : he creates the exhibition in 2005 in London called "Jobs I did for Friends for under £100". Marketing strategy or true selflessness ? The pieces sells out in less than 72 hours ...




Refusing to cope with the theory of the Offer and Demand, Parra keeps his price range, allowing his public to purchase original pieces, whatever their budget is. He keeps on creating for his friends too, people he likes.




Up-to-date as can be, he starts his clothing company, Rockwell Clothing.  Transverse projects to resist to the crisis (as tells us Gildas and Masaya, founders of the label AND clothing company Kitsuné on Brain) ? Parra also produces music under the name "Parra Soundsystem". A colorful music that reminds of his paints.


To wrap things all up, we wish him to resist to 2009 (and the following years), which  forecast the come back to goth' tendancies, Blacks, pale skins and hairnets. Parra in Black&White ?




The pictures were taken at his last exhibitions in Paris called "Boo to the Hoo" - La Galerie Lazy Dog
S.

mardi 13 janvier 2009

BUFFET LIBRE - Back to the future

If you were born in the 80s, then you must know Doctor Brown. Well you should know Buffetlibre too.


They landed about a trimester ago with their project "REWIND" and unset all our musical and temporary landmarks :


Madonna, Captain Sensible, Eddy Murphy among others ... all our classics, all the videoclips featuring gym suits and Reebok Pump are remixed, redone, modernized to fulfill the desire of a needy electro scene, 20 years after.


Dragonette, Lismore, Trash Yourself, Does It Offend You Yeah? and many others are partners in crime.


In other words : Rewind is the top of the 80s, remade by the top 00s. And all for free, yes sir, you heard it.


Since good things last, at least with the Mickey Club, Rewind comes back ... on the 01.01.09. We already know, you will in your bed (or her bed), in the bathroom, puking or suited up, but we couldn't let you pass through this.


We give you away the apetizer cooked by Little Boots, a delightful remix of Freddie Mercury.


Little Boots - Love Kills (Buffetlibre vs. Sidechains remix) (Original by Freddie Mercury)


Download it, listen to it, dance to it, and wisely wait for 2009 to come by. And to make sure you don't miss out on the rendez-vous, check out the complet list of the next musical terrorist that will be involved :


Au Revoir Simone, Bonde Do Role, Goodbooks, Amiina, Headlights, Little Boots, Whitey, Starfucker, Buffetlibre, Sidechains, Electric Youth, The Requesters, The Young Punx, Malente, AC Slater, Sohodolls, Sportsday Megaphone, The Ruby Suns, Miami Horror, Revolte, Robbers On High Street, Mendetz, Facteur, Justin Faust, Aleks And The Drummer, CFCF, The Glass, Codebreaker, Mojib, DVAS, Project Jenny Project Jan, Love Motel, Pin Me Down Redux, Heads We Dance, Little Pictures, Redial, We Have Band, Division Kent, Man Like Me, Cobra Dukes, Division Day, Grafton Primary, Tender Forever, Ultraviolet vs Electric Valentine, Freezepop, Giko, Super Mal, LAZRtag, Parker Lewis, Kah, 1984, We Were The States, Absent F, The Old Believers, Beau Jennings, Josh & Anand, Saar & Sky, Bikini, Deltawave, Phantom's Revenge, Matt Keating, FLOU , CatComplex, Setting Sun, Diamond Cut, Youth Attack, Nightwaves, The Amplid, Hidrogenesse, Charlie ASH, The Model, Fight Bite, Canadians & Cherielynn Westrich, The Mocks, Computer Club, Schnitzer, Bling Crosby, Dolby Anol, La Chansons, Chin Chin, Gun'n Rose, The E.L.F., Evarial, Baron Von Luxxury, Club 84, The Picture, TMX, Jools MF, Melnyk feat Sara Berg, Japanese Motors, The Procession, David Swinburn, The Botticellis, Jools MF, Fisk, Toilet Disco, Telonius, The Boat People, Romanoff, Cruel Black Dove


Now you should visit :