On-Point.be

On-Point vs. NewYork - Manhattan

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:16:05 +0000

What do you do on a rainy afternoon in NYC? You sit down with a slice of pizza on the corner of 1st Avenue and 14th Street, watch the people go by and watch people go down.

More photos after the jump, as we hooked up with Amir and Dâm Funk and well, basically did a whole lot of sightseeing and cratedigging. Nightly photos coming up tomorrow and more goodness, stay tuned, as this NYC adventure is only just starting, it seems like we haven’t seen nothing yet.

We did catch Xena - The Urban Warrior Princess though:

Shout-out to Amir (of Kon&Amir/Fatbeats/WaxPoetics Records fame) for showing us around the WaxPoetics office. The record nerd in me was quite proud to give him that rare pink record that he didn’t have yet, some Dutch fusion jazz breaks up in that, like wow:

Shout-out to Dâm Funk so properly holding it down at Academy Records, and later that night at Santos (though we missed that gig, unfortunately).

And shout-out to the kind staff of A1 Records for saving my tripod (what would I be without my good old tripod..)

On-Point vs. NewYork - Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, etc.

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:47:31 +0000

Day two of our NYC adventure and we’ve found ourselves downtown Brooklyn at the Wax Poetics office (pictures and full report of that in a future blog post), crossing Brooklyn Bridge and in parts of Chinatown.

Serving you some mood pictures of the day, do click on the small panoramic ones. Because they’re great:

On-Point vs New York: PPKLTS International

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:24 +0000

We’re not even going to explain this one, It’s PPKLTS International and that’s Incksalonius and JtotheC representing it. Needless to say these shirts come in the most limited pressing imaginable.

On-Point vs. New York: Day 1: Williamsburg

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:55:40 +0000

Day one in NewYork and we decided to hop on the 46 bus heading to Williamsburg. (Started the day the greasy way with a breakfast consisting of hot cakes a gallon of syrup and one extra large coffee, but we couldn’t post any pictures of that, can’t promote that fast food joint, can we?)

So off to Williamsburg we went, with no particular plan in mind, except for sipping some iced coffee with the sweet Alissia.

We seem to be based pretty deep in Brooklyn, in an area renowned for it’s car culture, or so it seems. On Sunday a couple of garages ran some showcases, rocking soundsystems out of their trucks that would make Dilla feel proud, too bad they weren’t blasting any Dilla tracks to make their trunks rattle. Heavy as hell though (note to self: take pictures of rims)

Anyway, Williamsburg was what’s up, and here’s a little photoreport, good to see Ghent’s finest Roa so properly represented in the big apple!

vic: “this piece is so fresh, I think I can still see Roa running away, look, over there! I’m telling you!”

On-Point vs. New York

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:01:31 +0000

So we’ve moved the headquarters to Brooklyn for the next three weeks. That’s right. East 49th Street is where we’re at, and the whole of N.Y.C is what we plan to conquer.

We’ve only just arrived at our basement appartment last night/day in a confused jetlag state of mind, so let me keep this short and just hit you with a street sign:

Beautiful, ain’t it?

All NYC readers, drop a comment, send a mail or send a tweet if you want to hook up, we’re here now! (And we’re playing at the Royale july 9th alongside Incksalonius and friends.)

Video: Jean-Jacques Perrey et la musique éléctronique - Prélude Au Sommeil documentary (trailer)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:58:03 +0000

I don’t know a whole lot about Jean-Jacques Perrey. All I know is he’s a French pioneer in electronic music and he wrote E.V.A. - a moog masterpiece that you might know as the original to Gangstarr’s “Just To Get A Rep” (and numerous other songs).

In comes the news that a documentary is in the making about the living legend that is mister Perrey, entitled ‘Prélude Au Sommeil’. Now that’s beautiful to me. The dvd release is scheduled for september, English subtitles included. But for now, vibe along to this poetic trailer:

Prélude au sommeil (Prelude to sleep) is a film about the life & work of Jean-Jacques Perrey, electro-pop music pioneer. It also features Michel Gondry, Air, Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe, Gershon Kingsley, Angelo Badalamenti and Joel Chadabe. Directed by Gilles Weinzaepflen (aka Toog).

Jean-Jacques Perrey - E.V.A. (of the Moog Indigo album):

Gangstarr - Just To Get A Rep:

2009: All Eyes On… Part Seven - Deluge aka Punchdouble

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:07:08 +0000

We’re almost half-way through the year and in comes another list of predictions for ‘the year to come’.

The seventh installment in this ‘2009: All Eyes On…’ series is presented by our man Deluge, whom you might know from his work as a graphic designer genius over at punchdouble.com (LaMelodia, HayZee, Wale Oyejide, etc. etc.) and from his music production work under the Sterile Action Figures monniker.

2009 is the year that is, and although long overdue, Deluge’s selection is all the more relevant today. So read along and witness the future, as seen through the ears and eyes of mr Punchdouble:

Deluge: “I’m well known to be late by default, so it’s no surprise that 6 months into the year *I* present my list of things to be on the lookout for in 2009, haha.

Originally I intended to stray away from purely musical tips for a change and integrate different themes into my list. However the only thing that I still find relevant by now is my tip that the iPhone will be positioning itself more and more as a serious gaming console. This is already happening right now though, with both the 3.0 update as well as major studios releasing their share of titles (for example EA released/announced Sims 3, FIFA, Madden & NBA Live).

So now that that’s out of the way… back to the music! Let me put the disclaimer out there that this list has NO particular order, just so you know.”

Elevator Fight (space)

Late 2008 an all (quite nicely) grown up Zoë Kravitz teamed up with ex-Nouveau Riche (whom you may know as the now defunct Philadelphian group featuring Nikki Jean & Dice Raw) members Joe Baldacci, Dominic Angelella & Khari Mateen as the rock group Dirty Magazine. Later they added Nick Bockrath & Rick Friedrich to the group and made their live debut on April 29 at Silk City in Philadelphia as Elevator Fight. So far a handful of songs have surfaced that showcase their diverse sound. If you’re familiar with Nouveau Riche, you’ll definitely hear traces of them in here, but overall Elevator Fight has their own fresh sound, which is sort of a mix between indie rock and pop. So far their live reviews have been great, and I don’t expect anything but big things for them in the future. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches on.

Ragen Fykes/M64 (space)

From Portland, OR comes M64, a collaboration between MC/producer Ohmega Watts and singer Ragen Fykes. I’ve been friends with Ragen for a few years but still M64 was one of the biggest surprises to me this year. June 23 will see the release of their first 7″ “Rhythm Of The Drums/In The Pocket” on Philadelphia’s Record Breakin’ and a full length album should follow sometime later this year. Apart from that you can hear Ragen on DJ Jamad & Nicolay’s “Afro Collabo Volume 1″ on the track “Fly Away”. Make sure you check out her rendition of Big L’s “Ebonics” which immediately convinced me Ragen ain’t going nowhere and is going to make some noise this year.

Devon (space)

My man Kenny Fresh first introduced me to Devon’s productions, which sound like a blend of electronic music with raw samples and hints of vintage videogames. Hailing from Portland, Devon has been working with artists such as DistantStarr, Ragen Fykes and Suzi Analog with whom he’s also part of the collective Klipmode. This guy really has one of the nicest sounds out there amongst this new generation of beatmakers. Don’t sleep!

Suzi Analog/Suzilla (space)

Suzi Analog has made a name for herself in the past couple of years as a singer and sometimes even rapper working on projects with a variety of producers such as Devon, Knxwl3dg3 and also myself (under my alias Sterile Action Figures). Under the name Suzilla, she’s also been working as a producer. This year will see a release on Amsterdam’s Dopeness Galore Records and also a project on Japan’s JazzySport. Apart from that she has formed a collective by the name of Klipmode together with aforementioned Devon and Knxwl3dg3, and has produced an upcoming track for La Melodia’s Melodee. You’ll definitely hear more of her in 2009.

TK Wonder (space)

If you’re familiar with Taylor McFerrin, chances are you’ve heard “Celebrity” which features MC/singer TK Wonder. Raised in Baltimore and currently based in Brooklyn, TK Wonder started out as a spoken word artist performing at legendary spots such as Black Lily & the Nuyorican. Her voice is some what reminiscent of Bahamadia paired with mostly uptempo productions that sound like a mix between broken beat and club music. Apart from her work with Taylor McFerrin (be sure to check out the crazy tune “Nightwalker”) she has worked with Hadyn/Phantom Luvr and Ge-ology (on a crazy unreleased track with Jose James & Ben Westbeech).

Iman Williams (space)

This is what Twitter is good for! I found Iman Williams on Twitter about the same time she found me and shortly after that I first got to hear her music. Based in Atlanta, this singer previously released an EP entitled “The Long Journey Back To Reality Pt. Deux” which featured “Soulmate” with AB. At the moment a re-release of the EP, “RE:Journey”, is being mixed and mastered (featuring new production & remixes). Apart from that she’s working on her full length album “Planetarium” which will feature production from Slimkat78, Domu, Choppy Chop E, Planet Mohawk and others. Keep an eye out for her, the Domu & Sheety mix of “Planetarium” is in constant rotation over here.

Steve Hartley (space)

Sharing an office/studio with La Melodia/INT means I’m literally surrounded by new music in the works all day. Late 2007 when La Melodia started assembling musicians for their live band, I was introduced to Steve Hartley. In my opinion Steve is a one of a kind talent that you don’t often run into, especially not in the Netherlands. Apart from being La Melodia’s bass player he’s a very talented solo musician who plays bass, guitar, keys, drums… you name it. Add to that a great singing voice and a knack for writing good (and catchy) lyrics. He’s by far one of the most talented artists I’ve met and with the stuff he has in the works right now I don’t doubt that everybody else will share this opinion sooner or later.

Casey Benjamin/Stutz McGee (space)

A lot of people may know me as the neverending HEAVy endorser, so it will come as no surprise to see something HEAVy related pop up on my list. Meet Casey Benjamin, one half of HEAVy and responsible for the group’s production as well as male vocals (often done with the help of his nifty keytar and talk box). Apart from his own group, Casey is also a part of Q-Tip’s live band as well as several other bands including Robert Glasper’s. Somehow inbetween all of this he also finds time to work on his solo stuff under the alterego Stutz McGee. Described by a friend of mine as a 2009 Herbie Hancock, that is probably one of the easiest ways to label it. However Casey/Stutz’ music really shouldn’t be labeled. If you liked HEAVy’s “She Who Knows”, you’ll absolutely love this stuff. Now it’s waiting for the album to be done.

Tasleema Yasin

Most people may know her as the girl on Andy Milonakis’ side while they’re freestyling a spoof dancehall song in one of his recent YouTube videos. What most people don’t know is that this girl is NY based songwriter Tasleema Yasin, responsible for Janet Jackson’s “Feedback” as well as Kat Deluna’s “Dance Bailalo”. More interesting however are her current collaborations: Writing for artists such as Kelis and working with producers such as Danja Handz, Switch & Diplo. Tasleema’s work is surely going to take over our television and radios later this year.

Ebrahim (space)

Ebrahim is a singer from Vancouver, Canada who I first heard through his great Youtube videos in which he creatively mixes beatboxing with a blend of lyrics by some of his favorite artists. Having released his debut album “Goldrush” in 2008, he’s currently working on a second album to be released in 2010. I honestly am not a very big fan of most of the tracks on “Goldrush” but the current stuff on Youtube and tracks such as “Undeniable Question” are definitely winners.

J’83 (space)

I got put onto Rotterdam producer J’83 by my man Nevill of MOOVMNT. 83 is perhaps one of the most promising young producers to come out of the Netherlands right now. As a member of the quickly growing BeatMUp collective he’s been making noise in the local Rotterdam scene. And with upcoming projects such as Stackchipstatus (with Aime Cain & Co$$) and Fried Cotton (with Aime Cain and Blu) he’ll surely be someone we’ll hear more of.

Record Breakin’ (recordbreakin.com)

Hailing from Philadelphia comes DJ Junior, the man behind Record Breakin’ Music. As an independent label they released music from artists such as Daz-I-Kue, Kissey Asplund, Joy Jones & an upcoming release of the above mentioned M64. But that’s not all there is. Junior also has a radioshow called Eavesdrop Radio, which he hosts together with Lil’ Dave, and is streams worldwide every Friday 6-9PM (EST). On top of that they host a series of events under the name Eavesdrop Sessions, exposing new talent to the Philadelphian scene. With some great new releases coming up this year I’m sure Record Breakin’ will slowly but surely become a household name to music lovers worldwide.

Twones (twones.com)

At first glance TWONES may not seem more than another Last.FM. Upon further investigation however, that first glance proves you to be completely wrong. Simply put TWONES is a music service, which tracks what you & your friends and associates listen to… everywhere. And when I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Included in TWONES’ tracked services are Youtube (it only tracks the music!), Ning sites, Muxtape, Imeem, Last.FM and many many more. All this music is conveniently packed into a timeline reminiscent of Twitter (you can also talk to your friends at the same time) and each item opens a profile page with all information available about the selected artist. Wikipedia’s biography, Youtube’s videos, Flickr’s photos, Last.FM’s similar artists, Twitter’s talk & Amazon’s available albums… it’s all there. TWONES is surely going to change the game when it launches to the public later this year, if only for the tracker itself: a little Firefox Add-On which you turn on and off with just 1 click.

Lefto (lefto.be)

I’m sure most of the readers of this site are familiar with my man Lefto. I can honestly say that he is without a doubt my favorite DJ worldwide. Not only does he have the technical skills, he also has a track selection nobody else can compare to. And ofcourse he always comes with some crazy exclusives. The past year saw him being endorsed by Gilles Peterson and doing gigs worldwide. Hopefully it won’t be long until the rest of the world wakes up.

Fashawn (space)

These days it seems like all the real MC’s are somewhere hidden in Cali. Fashawn is yet another one to prove this to be true. Hailing from Fresno, California and only 20 years old he has been releasing mixtapes since the age of 16 and is currently on mixtape #6 I believe. Fashawn is set to release his debut album “Boy Meets World”, which is completely produced by Exile, on September 1st. His single “Freedom” sounds very promising, especially the B-Side “The Outer City” on which he sounds a whole lot like Imani from The Pharcyde. To me he’s just as big of a promise as Blu was/is.

Previous 2009 forecasts:

Video: The Great Contemporary Art Bubble - Trailer Documentary by Ben Lewis

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:45:39 +0000

Lately you’ve been invited to a lot of exhibits, so I’m guessing the art scene is still happening - at least in Brussels it seems to be.

However, I’m happy to see BBC send out an investigative journalist to find out about the outrageous price tags that we’ve seen tagged on some pieces over the last five years.

An unprecedented craze for contemporary art. What’s that all about then? Watch the trailer…

Contemporary art prices rose by an average of 800% while works by Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko sold for record-breaking prices of £30 million plus.

Art critic and film-maker Ben Lewis spent 2008 following the contemporary art market; travelling to art fairs, auctions, museums and the offices and homes of billionaire art collectors. He spoke to dealers, auctioneers, gallery-owners, art market analysts and art collectors trying to find out the reasons behind the greatest rise in the value of art in history.

Lewis: “I didnt like what was happening in the contemporary art marketMuch of the art was mass produced, repetitive and commercial. Collectors bought it for investment and stored vast amounts of it in warehousesAnd the special privileges our society gave to art and artists were being exploited by some of the worlds richest people to make yet more money.”

Everywhere Lewis went he was told the contemporary art boom would go on forever fuelled by a new passion for art from the worlds super-rich. But he found other reasons for the boom unusual market practices, speculation, secrecy and tax breaks involving the whole art world.

It all climaxed on September 15th 2008 when Damien Hirst sold over £70 million of his art in one day. On that same day Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers collapsed triggered turmoil in global financial markets. One month later the art market crashed dropping by 40% in November 2008 and 75% by February 2009. It is still falling today.

Lewis says: “The contemporary art market had a speculative dynamic of its own thats why it kept on going while other markets crashed. Great works of art are still being made todaybut the Great Contemporary Art Bubble will surely go down in history as the epitome of the vanity and folly of our age.”

Incks & Friends - July 9th, Royale, Brooklyn, New York

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:50:22 +0000

Brooklyn we’ll go hard! Sorry, I just had to ventilate that feeling.

Less than three weeks to go before your favourite dizzling dynamic duo vic&lloyd - aka myself and jtothec, for those not in the know yet - are crossing the Atlantic. And you better believe we’re counting down…

9th of July we’re hooking up once again with Incksalonius and friends, this time at the Royale 506 5th Ave. Brooklyn, NY.

It seems so very distant from the now, but actually it’s pretty damn near. And in true on-point tradition, we needed to let the people know the oldschool flyer way, then posting some pictures of those flyers and blogging them, the newschool way.

So there you have it, we big in Brooklyn, better believe it:

Now that I have your attention, if you’re down with us, please go to the facebook event, and even if you can’t make it there, click attending and post a comment that says ‘in spirit’. That would be brilliant!

Expo: Maya Hayuk - A Path For The Light (A.L.I.C.E. Brussels)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:00:56 +0000

Maya Hayuk is back in town (Brussels that is, in case you were doubting). Alongside Ephameron, she’s presenting a selection of new works and an installation at A.L.I.C.E. Gallery as of tomorrownight.

This is bound to be a flashy experience, and with the summer coming through, I’m feeling that. Spreading love almost in a hippie kind of tradition, if I may say so…

New works and installation by Maya Hayuk

with a video installation by Andrew Deutsch

Exhibition: 11.06 > 22.08. 2009
Opening: Thursday 11.06 / 18:00 - 21:00

Expo: Ephameron - Out Of Sight (A.L.I.C.E. - Brussels)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:23:50 +0000

Antwerp-based Ephameron is presenting a selection of new work as of tomorrow night at the Project Room in A.L.I.C.E. Gallery.

I’m very much looking forward to this, since I’ve been familiar with her work for years now, but haven’t gotten a chance to witness it in an exhibit setting, yet.

Eva is arguably one of the hardest working artists around, her second book ‘Found+Lost‘ was published by Bries earlier this year, and meanwhile she’s been touring the world, with exhibits in Melbourne, Paris, Hamburg, Antwerp and Amsterdam.

This next video is part of Levi’s interview series about local heroes in art and music, and things, quite nice actually:

Ephameron - Out Of Sight
A.L.I.C.E. Gallery Brussels
Exhibition: 11/06 > 29/08
Opening: Thursday 11/6/09

Video: Groupies documentary trailer

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:20:19 +0000

It seems like there is still a massive amount of killer documentaries for me to discover. Lately, however I’ve been forced to put ‘The Long Play On A Lazy Day‘ section on hold, because of lack of good online content, lack of time, and too much good weather and bbqs.

However all tips are more than welcome. So if you stumble upon a noteworthy documentary - full version or trailer - please do reach out and let me know.

Take ‘Groupies‘ for instance. If you manage to find me this documentary, please, holla back. You’ll have to agree that this is a must-see, not saying vic&lloyd are lacking groupies, but obviously there are things to be learned here.

This next segment features famous groupie Pamela Des Barres (who wrote the entertaining memoir, I’m with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie)

Video: Mayer Hawthorne Barbershop Quartet

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:58:43 +0000

While we’re highly anticipating Mayer Hawthorne’s debut album to drop after Summer, mr. Hawthorne serves us a little acapella session, live at the barbershop. So beautiful:

The track is ‘When I Said Goodbye’, remember where you heard if first…

And I still think Mayer Hawthorne was speaking a whole lot of truth on on-point tv, just a while ago:

Video/Expo: Star Wars Kid Revisited: Without You Baby

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:57:20 +0000

Sooner or later somebody had to do this: recreating classic youtube moments in animations.

You remember about the Star Wars kid right? Here’s what it looks like when you break it down in 604 drawings:

Without You Baby There Ain’t No Us, is a project from Swiss artists Admir Jahic and Comenius Roethlisberger (The Invisible Heroes).

At the Scope Art Fair, the pair speaks of crisis by referring to passion and absurd commitment to a joyous idea, by recreating 604 rendered frames from the video Star Wars kid, which has experienced more than 13 million views on YouTube. All 604 will be on display at the Scope Art Fair in Basel as of Monday June 8th, 2009.

Brought to you by NoNewEnemies. More info on the exhibit over at withoutyoubaby.com.

Expo: Kristof Van Heeschvelde at Mac Fly, Ghent

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:59:33 +0000

Being perfectly honest with you right here, I hadn’t heard from Kristof Van Heeschvelde before I’d read about him on the Mac Fly blog.

This afternoon I stumpled upon a sneak preview of the exhibit, as it was actually already on the walls in the store.

I didn’t watch all of it, as I plan to attend the opening tomorrow afternoon and I didn’t want to spoil everything for me, just yet. What I saw sparkled my curiosity though, the main subject is family, and the overall vibe seems quite haunting to me.

Anyway, check this studio visit, and run to MacFly this Saturday afternoon for the opening, and any other day to get your fix of fresh vinyl and magazines (Shook, WaxPoetics, Code, etc.).

This month Van Heeschvelde is also window-exhibiting another series of paintings at ABVV (Gent):

Expo: Kool Koor - The 11th Letter

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:40:47 +0000

There’s a new gallery in town. We’re Of is the name and it’s located in the Dansaert street.

Today is the opening of this new art space, and they’re hitting things bigtime with veteran graffiti writer Chuck - Kool Koor - Hargrove’s ‘The 11th Letter’ exhibit.

Koor has been a don ever since he moved from the South Bronx to Europe back in the eighties when graffiti was blossoming and taking over art galleries on a worldwide scale.

“The movement rapidly became front page news world wide and Koor stood out in the crowd because of his unique artistic vision and concepts about space time and symbols. By 1984 works of Koor could be found in Famous collections across the globe and in museum collections such as the Metropolitan.”

“In ‘The 11th Letter’ Koor explores the journey of the letter « K » through dimensions and time. Moving from micro to macro and back again, on varied levels of dimensions and layers.”

These are exclusive pictures of Koor preparing the 11th Letter exhibit, I haven’t seen the works yet, but knowing Koor I’m damn excited to see the results. Photos courtesy of Lizairo.

Kool Koor - The 11th Letter

Opening: Thursday June 4th, 2009 19h-22h
Exhibition : June 5th, 2009 through July 5th, 2009

Gallery WE’RE OF Artbox
126 Rue Antoine Dansaert
1000 Bruxelles

Video: Horses in the Ghetto aka Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club Documentary

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:49:14 +0000

And the fascination with animals in urban environments continues. Pigeon races and NYC’s bee man are fairly easy to place in the heart of the city, but what happens when you bring in the horses?

Photographer Martha Camarillo went to Fletcher Street - a horse-racing neighborhood located in the heart of Philadelphia - to document the hood’s community of urban horsemen, who care for and ride their horses in the inner city of a Philadelphia rough neighborhood, an alternative to the street corner.

“Dating back to the early 1900’s, Fletcher Street has had horse stables where thoroughbreds were raised.

Now an African-American community maintains the stables, having built a whole way of life around this activity. Many of the stables in or around Fletcher Street were built on small plots of inner-city land, in former factories and warehouse spaces and sometimes in abandoned townhouses.

Martha Camarillo’s photographs capture this underground, urban phenomenon portraying the men and boys of Fletcher Street, their special bond with their horses, and the way through which this unique tradition has provided a sense of belonging to an entire community.”

The ‘Fletcher Street’ book is published by Powerhouse and the trailer video shows parts of her forthcoming documentary. More after the jump:

Unity Day Fire Engine Spout, 2004

Kyle at the Corner, 2004

Expo: Whole In The Wall : 1970 - Now (Sozyone Gonzalez, Banksy, Martha Cooper, Plateus, JonOne,…)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:08:32 +0000

Last Friday ‘Whole in the Wall’ opened in NewYork. Helenbeck Gallery presents the largest street art exhibition of American & European Street Art.

Go there and you’ll have an amazing selection of art, you’ll have your Banksy, your Martha Cooper, your Blek Le Rat, your Henry Chalfant, your Rammelzee and your JonOne, to name just a few.

But what I’m most excited about, is that you’ll also have your next generation artists, and that’s Belgium’s finest: Sozyone Gonzalez and fellow-Ultraboy Plateus.

The exhibition will move to Paris and Nice after it’s one-month passage in NYC, meanwhile, find an interview with the Helenbeck sisters Brigette and Chantal over here.

And watch some photos of the exhibit after the jump, you’ll see Sozyone’s work on the wall, haven’t gotten my hands on Plateus contributions just yet…

For more pics, check Velvet Liga.
Whole In The Wall - 1970 - Now

Friday, May 29 to Saturday, June 27
Open 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Tuesdays through Saturdays
529-535 W. 35th St. @ 11th Ave. (former Splashlight Studio)

Previous posts about Sozyone Gonzalez:

- Photos: Sozyone Gonzalez repainting Brussels’ Ursulines skatepark
- Video: Sozyone Gonzalez - Soon on youtube
- Video: Sozyone Gonzalez - ‘The Triumps’ Carhartt campaign making-of
- Video: Sixe ft. Sozyone Gonzalez
- Video: KYDMag Presents: Sozyone Gonzalez Interview
- Sozyone Gonzalez x Carhartt t-shirts
- Sozyone doing it big in Spain
- Sozyone Official Website

Chet Baker - Finest (liner notes + contest)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:42:33 +0000

A couple of months ago brother Wouda (as seen on on-point tv) of Dopeness Galore Records asked me if I’d be able to write up some liner notes to the new release on his label.

‘Sure thing, you know how we roll, Wouter,’ I replied, ‘tell me though, what is this secret project you’re referring to?’

Silence dropped, by which Wouter was emphasizing how I couldn’t tell anyone about it yet, and surely not blog or tweet a word about the project. ‘Remember the Pharaoh Sanders’ Finest album we did? I’m putting together another one, this time Chet Baker’s Finest‘.

And so it happened, a trip to Wageningen to meet the fine people of Timeless Records and a couple of long phone calls with Philip Catherine, John Engels and Hein van de Geyn and there you have it: Chet Baker - Finest, out now on cd and 2lp.

And surprise, surprise, I’m giving away 3 cd’s, the ones that you see in the picture below, indeed:

One cd for you to win, if you tell me a good story.

A story that makes me get goosebumps, preferably. Something about Chet, something about you, something about Chet and you. Just tell me a damn story that makes me cry deep down inside. Much like Chet’s music does.

Meanwhile, find the liner notes after the jump:

Born Chesney Henry Baker Jr, Chet Baker had seen all sides of life upon his second arrival in Europe. In the fities, Baker was a key force behind the ‘cool jazz’ movement that originated on the West Coast of the U.S.A., which gained him huge popularity with audiences worldwide.

But this soon changed when his career and personal life were overshadowed by his heroin addiction. A life filled with arrests and scandals. Baker’s name was one of notoriousity. The late sixties found him forced into a period of inactivity. Problems had stacked up, his teeth he’d lost because of drug use and life didn’t look bright for the maverick jazz trumpeter whom Charlie Parker once told Miles [Davis] and Dizzy [Gillespie] to watch out for.

It was right after his period of inactivity that Dutch label Timeless Records got Chet Baker to return to Europe for a tour across the continent alongside Stan Getz. Baker had learnt to play with dentures but his past had left him stigmatised in the States. Timeless gave Baker musical shelter. Between 1983 and 1988 Baker did five studio sessions for the label and critics agree these include some of his finest moments in music.

A farmers boy known for his no-nonsense attitude, Baker seemed to breathe authority. In a calm but profound way, his aura was one of cool. “Chet could make silly mistakes. One time he had booked two drummers. And the two of them would get into an argument, with Chet standing next to them, watching the scene. Everybody knew it was his fault of course, but he didn’t feel responsible for it. Worse even, the drummers didn’t feel it had been his fault either. That’s the type of man Chet was. A man in whose presence you didn’t bother about futilities,” Ria Wigt (co-founder Timeless Records) remembers.

Drummer John Engels became a close friend of Chet over the years. Although they didn’t play a long list of gigs together, it was John on the drums during the legendary concerts Chet played in Japan. “He was incredibly swinging. An instrumentalist with an amazing timing. At one time, I had put him behind the drums and he started playing, flawlessly. Chet was music. We didn’t even talk that much. He was such a rare talent. Sent from another galaxy if you ask me, just like Charlie Parker, for instance. One of the biggest of all time, his music touches your soul, it makes you cry on the inside.”

On stage, Chet had huge confidence in his musicians. “He listened very carefully to what we did,” guitarist Philip Catherine remembers. “But he didn’t criticise a lot. Only when we would change the tempo, then he would quickly comment. Never did Chet say anything about the melodies we played. To me, playing with Chet was easy. It is easy to play with a strong musician, and Chet was that good. His timing was simply impeccable.”

Not a man of many words, Chet said to Catherine: “You have a sound, man.” The type of compliment the trumpeter wouldn’t give lightly. Their collaboration didn’t start out easily though. On the first day of recording the ‘Mr.B’ album, when the musicians went out to eat, Chet left the restaurant. “I had proposed to record a composition of mine: ‘Father X-Mas’. But Chet was a man with a huge knowledge of jazz standards. He could read notes perfectly, but he didn’t really like that. At the same time, I was a young musician, lacking the knowledge of standards that Chet had. Our working methods were very different, so the recording session didn’t go well and we when we decided to go out for dinner, Chet left right after he had eaten. He never said anything, we never discussed it. But I still think I probably shouldn’t have proposed to record a composition of mine. Chet wasn’t in the mood to learn a new theme on that moment.” Baker remained a big fan of Catherine though. During the year that followed the two shared stage over sixty times.

Meanwhile numerous bootleg recordings surfaced, mostly live recordings, often put out on the black market by shady business men who recorded Baker’s performances, only to call him up when times were financially rough on him, who didn’t mind signing a quick contract, not reading the small letters.
___

“In Italy, Chet had bought an old Alfa Romeo,” Ria Wigt reminisces. “With his wooden steering wheel he used to drive huge distances. From Rome to Scandinavia, without a problem. A skilful driver, he drove fast but very controlled. Then one day, Chet was in Liège, Belgium, and had to attend another gig in Venice. The plan was for him to take the plane but he insisted heavily on driving there. And with Chet there was often no point in arguing, so he hit the road. A couple of hours later I get a phonecall. It’s Chet telling me he had forgotten his horn in Liège and how he had already made a U-turn to go pick it up. Now, of course our schedule became irrelevant. But Chet needed his horn, so he drove all the way back to Liège, picked up his horn and jumped on a private airplane we had arranged for him in the meantime. Upon his arrival in Venice, the gig had just been cancelled.”

During his years in Europe, Baker stayed mostly in hotel rooms or with friend musicians. The night of May 12th 1988 Chet Baker was found dead on the sidewalk before the Prins Hendrik Hotel in Amsterdam. It is believed he fell out of the window of his hotel room.

Vinyl aficionados will be delighted to hear the album is also out on double vinyl. And on top of that, you might want to chase down the limited edition 10inch single, featuring Sea Breeze and the exclusive live version of ‘I am a fool to want you’:

?uestlove Illustrated by Squid/Delay

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:58:05 +0000

Ghent-based illustrator Squid/Delay made this ?uestlove illustration a while ago, and it just came to my mind how much I’d love see this one printed on a t-shirt, king-size style, covering the entire shirt.

That would be simply beautiful, now wouldn’t it? Drop a comment if you think it would!

Find more of Squid’s work on his portfolio site, or get in touch with the man via facebook or myspace.

Video: Dub Echoes (trailer)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:45:31 +0000

One of the things with reggae I’ve always had a little trouble with is its happiness. Nothing against that, of course, but as always, I’m just a bit more drawn to the dark side of things. Am I wrong when I state that dub is the darker side of Jamaican music?

Not to say that it’s negative or less happy, it’s just that darker, deeper, more haunting sound. I’m digging that.

Apart from that, dub has had a massive influence on pop music, from hiphop over drum’n'bass to today’s dubstep of course and tons of other genres in between.

Documentary ‘Dub Echoes‘ explores these influences, the trailer breaks it down for you: it’s about drums, bass and effects:

Featuring an impressive list of artists, ranging from The Beat Junkies over Lee Scratch Perry, Mario Caldato JR and Roots Manuva, LTJ Bukem to even 2ManyDJ’s. The dvd is out now on SoulJazz Records, and you might even find it in a package with the double cd, or triple lp.

Now let me put this Superape album on loop for the rest of the night… And where’s that damn Augustus Pablo bootleg with the name spelled wrong…

Ah, found it.

Vanessa wants You for CheebaCheeba

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:07:02 +0000

That’s right, tonight’s the night and we’re guessing by now you know that.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock in some desert somewhere, Vanessa still wants you to know that CheebaCheeba is back in town. Tonight, at Botanique, Brussels, starting around 23h00. Entrance is 5 euro this time, that’s the new policy of Café Bota, but it’ll definitely be well worth it.

All praises to Vanessa for endorsing CheebaCheeba, click through and watch how thoroughly she represented the vibe this week. Going from city to city, state to state, enlightening crowds, pleasing fans and happily spreading the word.

Vic&lloyd hitting the decks in Antwerp, Brussels, Brooklyn and Roeselare

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:38:47 +0000

Just when we’re about to wrap up the next vic&lloyd podcast extravaganza, it seems like the times ahead are getting pretty busy.

You may want to catch one of the following opportunities to come and get your groove on with vic&lloyd:

May 22nd - Petrol, Antwerp

- with Jazzanova(live), Jimi Tenor(live), Butsenzeller, K’Bonus

May 23rd - Café Bota, Brussels

- CheebaCheeba with Funky Bompa, Shimmy Timmy

June 20nd - Botanique (Rotonde), Brussels

- with Funky Bompa, Boddhi Satva

July 9th - Royale, Brooklyn, New York

- with Incksalonius & friends

July 24th - Café Bota, Brussels

- CheebaCheeba with Funky Bompa, Shimmy Timmy

August 1st - Café Capital, Antwerp

- with ‘Steve from Soulwax’

August 22nd - St.Georges, Roeselare

- ComeHomeGetDown

Kicking things off tonight in Antwerp. The line-up for the night looks so mighty fine, we decided to give away 5 entrances.

Drop a comment, make it beautiful and you’ll soon find your name on the guestlist for tonight, be quick!

Ow and yeah, that little Simpsons gimmick is old, but it’s just so classic, isn’t it?

The Future of Radio - Julien Mourlon (Laid-back) presents: The Radio Manifesto 2009

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:56:01 +0000

What if your radio…

would have a button to lower - or even mute - the voice of the host of the show…
would give you the local news in the morning and bbc world news in the evening, because you asked it to do so…
would no longer give you traffic information that you don’t need…
would make you discover new things again, like back in the days…
would bridge the gap between you and the radio makers…
would be Your Radio.

Seriously though, I want you to think about it for a second and drop a comment about the scenarios mentioned above.

These are just a couple of thoughts that seemed came up during a little brainstorm I had last Sunday with Julius of Laid-back Radio, discussing his now-published Radio Manifesto, in which he explores the future of radio.

You all know how the music world is still shook by the online revolution that happened. That is not to say the same thing is about to happen to radio. A lot of challenges are ahead, but so are chances for new concepts. And the times seem so very right for this.

Laid-back Radio recently launched the first version of their standalone desktop radio player, the second version is about to be put online and the i-phone application is in development as well.

Constantly exploring new boundaries of the radio concept as we know it, it seems to me that Julien and his team are way ahead of the game. In ways that even seem to inspire the BBC, or is it just me?

The radio manifesto consists out of 11 recommendations on what could be done to offer a new radio experience to listeners. I will not run you through all of these read more about the Radio Manifesto on the author’s site: right here, that is.

Now let’s focus on the above questions. The main question basically remains: what do we expect radio to do for us, in the year 2009 and beyond?

Ghostface Killah signed my Wallabee and there’s nothing you can do about that

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:08:28 +0000

Well, the title really says it all with this one. Tony Starks was kind enough to sign my wallie last night after his show at Ancienne Belgique, Brussels.

And that made my day… week… month… maybe even year.

Mind the matching colours, didn’t even need a colour consultant for that, just straight-up swagger:

On the Wallabee topic, I need to get my hands on a pair of these, or these, or these.

Video: Nothing’s Real in LA - teaser Dâm Funk interview

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:59:22 +0000

Huge shout-out to Laszlo Colombani over at allphon.com. Rumours were he was working on a documentary about Los Angeles’ lively music scene, and rumours can now be confirmed, as the first extract of the film has now surfaced.

And it is an interview with none other than Dâm Funk (as seen on on-point tv), check it out:

“Musicians, dj’s, producers, they live in Los Angeles. L.A., 20 millions inhabitants, 500 square miles, hundreds of miles of streets, freeways & highways, the sun, the smog, hollywood, neons, beaches, palm trees, the Pacific ocean, Beverly Hills, cars, advertising boards, stars, ghettos… thousands of pictures in mind! James Ellroy’s Big Nowhere. What visual impact has the World City-Region on these artists?

The short movie you’re going to watch has been filmed with a miniDV camera and a lot of curiosity. This is a prelude to the project.”

OFFF ‘09 - Multitouch Barcelona

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:31:46 +0000

Perhaps the nicest surprise at OFFF’09 was Multitouch Barcelona. Stupidly enough, I missed out on their presentation, I did however witnessed their huge Space Invaders installation, which is simply brilliant, and a whole lot of fun, of course:

“Designed for the Red Bull Music Academy 08, Guten Touch is an interactive installation that involves people into a natural relationship with technology.”

“A two projected display system plus a 3m x 2m multitouch wall showcase applications designed to engage us into human friendly experiences rather than flashy and jaw-dropping visualizations. Space Invaders hitted by foam balls, pixel paintings created with brushes and digital objects holded by hands try to blur boundaries between real and digital.

Guten Touch is our enthusiastic good morning to natural interaction.”

More Multitouch madness after the jump:

“Natural paint is a multitouch canvas where things just happen as expected.A free-interface environment where fingers and brushes do their job and erasing it’s just as simple as wiping the screen with a sponge or your own body.”

“Multitouch Barcelona is a recently born interaction design group that explores natural communication between people and technology. We design experiences that merge real and digital into a creative environment where people are invited to touch, play, move, feel as they do in the real world.”

Video: Paperboys (trailer)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:53:34 +0000

Having grown up in a newspaper store I’ve always had this fascination with alternative ways of selling newspapers.

There’s an incredibly charming side to opening the store at the crack of dawn, finding stacks and stacks of freshly printed newspapers and magazines, each and every day. Then, even more romantic it was, to see passionate news animals waiting for their daily dose of news (and a pack of cigarettes), as early as six in the morning.

Basically that was my world until the age of 16, but I guess it marked me for life. Never have I gotten to understand why people would subscribe to a newspaper, having it delivered to their doorstep missing the whole social aspect of the newspaper store (which is by the way the source of many stories, even more so than your local drunkard’s bar hide-out).

The one thing I’ve always been jealous of though, were the American paperboys. (Then after that, I became jealous at people who had the video game of the same name.)

Right about now, I just need to get my hands on the Paperboys dvd, a documentary profiling six paperboys:

“The 41-minute film, produced by Jack Spade, profiles six paperboys from Stillwater, Minnesota. They invite Mills into their homes, show him their personal affects, and answer questions about their lives and the future of paperboys.

Parents weigh in on the benefits of their children’s job and share thoughts on how the city has changed over the years. Mills’s camera follows the boys on their routes, and the elegiac footage is accented with contemporary music.”

Shout to Dries for this one!

Video: We Live in Public (trailer)

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:02:05 +0000

First time I saw the trailer to the We Live In Public documentary, I didn’t have a clue what all of it was about. Second time around I wasn’t any wiser.

All I know is that it looks like one crazy trip, and that the film won the Sundance 2009 US Documentary Grand Jury Award (and with that Ondi Timoner is the first and only two time Grand Jury Prize winner in Sundance history).

“On the 40th anniversary of the Internet, ‘We Live In Public’ tells the story of the effect it is having on our society as seen through the eyes of the greatest Internet pioneer youve never heard of: visionary Josh Harris.

Award-winning director, Ondi Timoner (DIG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade, to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives.”

Shout to Matthias for this one!

OFFF ‘09 - PES

lloyd@on-point.be (on-point.be) — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:03:51 +0000

PES (born Adam Pesapane) is arguably the king of stop motion animation. At least in the genre that he helped pioneering, animations using every day objects. Such as nuts, tools, and just about everything that’s in your house.

For his presentation at OFFF ‘09 showed making-of footage and explained some of the techniques used in his short films.

Although worldwide reknowned for his animations, the filmmaker never was that interested in the genre, and he even stated that his animation work is probably only just a phase - which he’s been going through since the mid nineties though.

Very curious what the future will bring for PES and what he will bring to us. Certified cleverness it will be, that’s for sure:

Here’s a selection of PES films, you’ll find more of these on his site.

And here’s the man that works that magic: