For us there is no better sound than Funktion One. Powering the Space Terraza since 2000 and later taking over the whole club, Funktion One are responsible for the sound of We Love… Space. Fidelity, depth of sound, power and functionality are all paramount in their design. Below, Tony Andrews, owner and designer of Funktion One airs his gripes about the slippy slope the MP3 generation is pulling audio quality down. We couldn’t agree more.
J'aime la discoteque
In other words, forget academic rigor. Never take the appropriate next step. Talk about Chinese urban design, the European space program, the landscape in the films of Alfred Hitchcock in the span of three sentences – because it’s fun, and the juxtapositions might take you somewhere. Most importantly, follow your lines of interest. Finally, I want to reiterate that BLDGBLOG is fundamentally about following, and not being ashamed by, your own enthusiasms, whether or not they are rigorous and appropriate for the academic mores of the day, or even interesting for your family and friends. – Geoff Manaugh
High Houses are proposed as part of the reconstruction of Sarajevo after the siege of the city that lasted from 1992 though late 1995.
Arctic glacial core samples
Snap out of it
Optical genius – Professor Radionov!
The marketing students started a genre of photography built around the LC-A – LOMOgraphy. They orchestrated get-togethers and happenings at trendy places. They started a website early on while the web was still fresh. They made sure every LOMOgrapher passed through their society. And all the time with cash flowing in. They currently charge €250 euros for the basic model, a large markup on what is essentially very simple technology. Similar products, with similar results (genuine Soviet cameras included) can be found for less than half the price. LOMOgraphy is a profitable business, making money on everybody’s desire to be part of the in-crowd. The LOMOgraphy company has branched out to include clothing, hip gallery stores and the aforementioned parties and get-togethers. More and more it’s encapsulating it’s customers with a prefab lifestyle of which it is the only supplier with an admission fee of €250.
The intent of LOMOgraphy is to let go the burdens of traditional photography, to capture life as it is, spontaneous and from the hip. To be wild, young and free. To translate freedom into pictures. It’s not a bad philosophy, but it can lead to pictures being shot with the least possible brains in order to impress others with said spontaneity. When a philosophy becomes less of an ideal and more of a business it inevitably loses its shine. Among some photographers, LOMOgraphy has become a byword for debasing of their craft, a synonym for bad pictures, for seeing things that are not there and labeling everything art.
In 2005 the LOMO optical factory ceased all production of the LC-A camera. Their overall production had become more specific and high-tech to optical instruments such as gunsights and microscopes. Perhaps they didn’t want the insinuation that they were associated to lo-fi, low tech photography. The LOMO LC-A+ is now made-in-China, but according to it’s makers, delivers 98% the same results as its original.
Despite the undeniable guilelessness of the photographs it can produce, as well as the product’s usability and universal intentions – everybody can be a LOMOgrapher and with some practice everybody can do it well – it’s very democratic. As much as LOMOgraphy can claim to be beyond the realm of traditional photography, it remains photography nonetheless. LOMOgraphy is special because it is very individual but it takes no specialist skill. It plays on the notion that everyone is special, even if we are all alike – selling exclusivity, but with the whole world as their market. It’s only business, after all.
Be sure to check out the galleries on the official website.
The ubiquitous smiley face. A stylized representation of a human smile. The first recorded depiction of the form was in the Ingmar Bergman film Hamnstad in 1936, although not technically a smiley since the suicidal factory girl protagonist in fact draws an unhappy face on the bathroom mirror with lipstick. Sunkist oranges used smileys in a 1930s ad campaign, but the crude black and white stick drawings bear little resemblance to the finished work of art we recognise today.
Photo by Frank Weyrauther - Phrank.net
The smiley face craze is the work of two brothers, Bernard and Murray Spain. They were in the business of creating fad items and in 1970 recalled the smiley which had by then been floating around for years in the advertising business. Looking for a peace-like symbol but with more general appeal, while surrounded by protests, war and hate – what they wanted was a symbol of happiness and love. The brothers say with admirable frankess, it was also to make a buck. In essence they did little more than add the phrase “Have a nice day” to the smiley, the fad lasted a year and a half and the number of smiley buttons produced by 1972 was estimated at 50 million.
But who invented the original smiley face? In December 1963, State Mutual Life Assurance initiated a merger campaign which had bad effects on company morale. They wanted a way to “promote friendship” and turned to Harvey Ball, a graphic artist in Massachusetts. Harvey, clearly not a man to waste ink initially drew only the smile but realised it could be turned upside down to become… a frown! He added two eyes, so that if it was now turned upside down it would mean… I’m standing on my head – a more ambiguous sociopolitical message. He made it yellow for a sunshiny look and State Mutual upon realising the buttons were a hit, began to hand them out by the thousands. Mr Ball’s take home pay: $45 art fee. State Mutual, clearly not quick on the uptake, didn’t make any money either.
Seig Howdy!
The feel-good symbol of freedom and experimentation hit the American masses at just the time of post-1960′s malaise: a traumatised American public turning to visual soma in order to forget the Vietnam war and presidential meltdown. The smiley represented such a blank childlike form of contentment it was ripe for subversion. In 1979, Bob Last and Bruce Slesinger put together a collage of Californian Governor Jerry Brown and a Nuremberg-style rally to illustrate the UK Fast Records release of the Dead Kennedys’ California Über Alles. Behind the podium were large red, white and black banners: in place of swastikas were large Smileys. In the comic Watchmen the smiley is used as a visual metaphor for megalomania. Then came the explosion. In February 1988, Bomb The Bass released a 12″ record using the blood-stained Watchmen smiley face as cover. A month earlier, Danny Rampling has used the smiley for his infamous club Shoom. The symbol took only a few months to catch on, but when it did, it swept the country as the logo of acid house.
Bomb Dis Bass
The initial media response to acid-house culture was positive. In the UK the smiley had been loosely associated with psychedelic scenes since the 70′s. The emerging movement of the second summer of love in the 80′s cemented it’s counter-cultural status by engraving the smiley logo on ecstasy tablets of the time. Like most youth cults, there was soon a media backlash – connecting the symbol to immorality and vice. The smiley began to be associated with “evil ecstasy” and drug barons. The negative associations continued into the 90′s with Nirvana using it in their iconic “corporate-rock-whores” t-shirt with crossed out eyes and a drooling mouth.
As you might expect, the Smiley has also been surrounded by copyright controversies ever since the early 1970s when a Frenchman, Franklin Loufrani registered the trademark as Smiley World in some European countries. He claims to not only have created “the smiley” but also own the concept as an international trademark. It can be factually proven that the symbol was conceived long before his trademark claim, so surely this is just profiteering on a cultural phenomenon of which he has no honest right to possession. In 2006 Wal-Mart tried to trademark the smiley, but lost in a court case with Loufrani.
Faces everywhere
In terms of Ibizan folk-lore. It is said that Alfredo popularised the smiley face with a collection of stickers he got from a friend working for an Italian children’s charity at the time. After his marathon daytime sets at Amnesia, people would beg him for copies of records he had played. The Balearic master would stick the smiley face stickers to the label of the 12″ before handing them out to revelers. Thanks to Mat Playford for that little piece of info.
It may seem weird that such a bland symbol should be used to convey emotion, in such a way that creates as much distance as real empathy. But then there is something powerfully archetypal about an image of a happy face that resembles the sun. Infantilisation or greater communication, joy or horror: the Smiley can encompass everything. It pretends to be our servant, but it will rule us all. – The Guardian
Guardian article on the smiley face
Miles Aldridge
Colette.fr is an online French retailer of fashion and design products. Every item seems original in a way that you wouldn’t find anywhere else – it’s one of the best shops for online artsy goods. They carry an eclectic selection of clothes, accessories, books, CDs and DVDs but most importantly for the fashionista in you, a range of fresh-off-the-runway designs, displayed before they reach the high-street. Monthly art and photography exhibitions are held at their brick and mortar store at 213, Rue Saint Honoré, 75001, Paris. They’re currently hosting photographer Miles Aldridge whose artful composition and mastery of vibrant colour has led him to appear in Vogue and the New York Times.
The design of the site is second to none and it is a treasure trove of blogs on diverse but uniformly chic subjects.
Also note that fellow French taste-makers, Dirty Soundsystem who are perhaps more serious selectors than most DJs, have provided an exclusive mix for the shop which you can download here. It’s one of our all-time favourites. We featured their blog a while back too.
Who let the optics out?
In terms of what the shop has to offer right now, how about this Caperino & Peperone 2010 Calendar, shedding light on all the graphic forms of optical illusion. To be avoided, however, early in the morning on the first of the year…
Original and best
Celebrating over 25 years of rich design heritage, the G Shock watch, first designed in 1983 by Casio’s Kikuo Ibe, was created to defy the traditional concepts of a watch as a fragile and easily damaged accessory. The G Shock watch was a revolutionary new design constructed so that it was virtually unbreakable. In 1981, Kikuo Ibe accidentally dropped his watch onto his tiled office floor. The cherished timepiece, a graduation present from his parents, was now smashed to pieces. Being the Chief Engineer of Research & Development at Casio meant that Kikuo would take this disgruntled moment and use it to produce a practical watch that every man (and woman) could wear and would survive the punishments of daily usage. This resulted in the “Gravity Shock” wristwatch, or G-shock series. The first model, the DW-5000 was released in April, 1983.
Analogue shock
Technological development enabled the realization of the concept. Kikuo Ibe: “The Floating Module Configuration is a hollow structure which absorbs the shock in different levels and this hollow structure makes it hard to pass through the shock to the main module components. The G Shock is primarily a structural design. In other words the shock resistant structure more or less determines the exterior form. Under this circumstance the designers have communicated toughness through the rugged exterior form.”
In the early 80′s, Casio was emerging as king of the digital watch manufacturers through a process known as self-cannibalistic marketing. The idea was simple. By flooding the market with improved models of each watch, Casio would be its own fiercest competitor. If a model was improved or changed, the new version was immediately launched and sold alongside its predecessor. By the time the competition had an answer, Casio was several models ahead. Changing seasonally to hold the fickle youth market, with a continual procession of limited editions to hold the collector market. This explains the vast diversity in Casio watches during the 1980s. The main fashion for watches at the time was thin and delicate. Casio had engineers working on everything from watches that recognize images traced on the crystal with a finger to scientific calculator models. Most of Casio’s engineers were hard at work designing and creating wafer thin watches. Kikuo had the desire to make a watch for people whose lifestyles demand more than just a pretty face. From the fertile ground of Japan’s Economic Miracle came the idea of an instrument wristwatch that would be unbreakable.
Under Kikuo’s guidance developers worked for years following the “Triple 10″ concept that product should last 10 years, be waterproof to 10-bar pressure and survive a drop of 10 metres. 200 handmade samples were created and tested to destruction until finally in 1983, the first, now iconic G-Shock hit the streets of Japan – establishing its credentials as the toughest watch of all time.
Although beginning as a watch designed for workmen, the rugged industrial design quickly became popular. There is a collectors market for G-Shocks however unlikely it might seem. Centered in Japan it is a vast network of discussion forums and collectors clubs, books, and a host of enthusiast websites. G-Shocks have become semi-mythological cultural icons with a life independent of the Casio brand. While it will likely be mostly known among the masses for the brightly coloured and largely disposable plastic watches born of the 1990s G-Shock boom, it is the original genius which remains its soul.
The heavy-duty digital sports watch in its most quintessential form. Unlike most watches made today, digital or analogue, it is not a celebration banner of the wearer’s ego, but as a tool it serves silently and reliably, without fanfare or special attention. It is this authenticity which prevents its exclusion from the class of “real” wristwatches, indeed perhaps being the most real of them all. – Timezone.com
We’ve got 2 exclusively designed, bespoke, We Love… branded G-Shock watches to give away for the bright sparks who can answer this question: What year was the first Casio G-Shock created? Email your answer to ruairi@welove-music.com. The competition will close this time next week (6pm Friday 4th December). Good luck!
Personal website of Sjors – G-Shock collector and extensive reference resource
Adapters through the ages
Sticking with all things at 45 revolutions per minute. We’ve found some great industrial design in the form of the spindle adapters which would have to be inserted into the centre of older 45 records. The adapter could be a small solid circle that fits onto the bottom of the spindle or a larger adapter could fit over the entire spindle, allowing a stack of 45s to be played.
45 Spider
The RCA Corporation developed a plastic insert known as a “spider” which has become an iconic symbol for music enthusiasts. The snap-in inserts allowed 45 rpm records to be played on 33 1/3 rpm record player. Invented by Thomas Hutchinson on commission from RCA, its unclear how many were made but in the mid 1960s tens of millions were being sold every year.
White vinyl
The guys over at Claremont 56 (a label dedicated to creating beautiful music) have created a very special wooden record adapter which comes with its own 7″ (in case you don’t have any of your own to use it with). It’s an exclusive release from downtempo disco stalwarts Smith & Mudd and wont be available anywhere else. It’s housed in a drawstring linen bag and only 100 are being made – so move fast if you want one.
Retro future
OK, so we know winter is approaching and shades might not be at the top of everyones list of necessities. But our friends in Australia tell us their traditional sunnies are melting in the heat.
A ode to Italian elegance, fashion and lifestyle of la vita bella. Sharp, stylish and elegant design from this sophisticated and specialized brand of sunglasses. Blending the fashionista and the futuristic, the geometric yet classic design recalls engineering and construction industries of the early 1900′s.
Handmade in Italy, they use German Zeiss lenses to ensure durability and protection in all environments. We hear our mates Pedro Winter (Busy P) and Simian Mobile Disco are fans of the brand, along with Valentino Rossi and Daft Punk.
Super, thanks for asking
Of the model above only 200 pieces were produced. 100 for each design. But wait! These sunglasses are so hard to find that they aren’t available anywhere. Is it a marketing strategy, is it a mistake or is it just fun?
None of the above, they have just been stolen. They were supposed to be in release today but last week unknown people broke into the DHL van while they where in delivery and stole all of the shades. The above picture is the only one available of unfinished samples
Below you’ll find a scan of the of claim made by the DHL driver to the Police:
Police report
Lotus listening
Noise band Throbbing Gristle have recently released their own version designed in conjunction with FM3, featuring more loops and a wider frequency range than the Buddha Machine. They have entitled their custom box GRISTLEISM, with a tracklist featuring intriguing names such as Maggot Death, Rabbit Snare, Sex String Theory and Thank You Brain. GRISTLEISM is described as part Industrial sound machine, part noise instrument.
At a moment when the unused abilities of feature-loaded computers, cellphones and even microwave ovens pile up faster than we can keep track of them, it’s satisfying to know that once you’ve turned the Buddha Machine on, you are using it to its full capacity. From the Sunday New York Times Magazine by Rob Walker.
The Buddha Machine 2.0 comes in three colours: Burgundy, Grey and Brown.
Om
