Hardcore will kill you

So you’re all fed up with tax-money wasting climate talks that don’t actually resolve anything? …and the blue light brigades shuffling corruption-soaked ministers around in this unnaturally dreary summer weather we’re having? Us too. It’s in these times we turn to music to reflect our emotions, to nourish the soul with intense audio energies.

How about some powerful “post rock” sounds from our favourite Scottish super group Mogwai, hailing from always drizzling Glasgow? Just the fuckin’ ticket I hear you say? “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will”, released earlier this year, is probably one of the more accessible albums from this mysterious instrumental 5 piece & should hopefully wet your appetite to ear-browse their extensive discography. The sublime Mr.Beast is still one of our best albums of the past 10 years.

 

Obey the Bunneh!

So our grand scheme of modifying a Nabaztag to direct shipping traffic into Durban Harbour whilst playing the theme tune to The Poseidon Adventure may have died with the company that made it. However, thankfully their new adoptive parents have let Violet release a third generation bunny – called Karotz. And it’s arrived! Unlike your inferior real-life wet-nosed furry version, this bunneh is WiFi connected with it’s own TCP/IP stack, RFID reader & web operating software… giving you full control of the voice prompts, audio output, swivelling ears & glowing belly. Rad.

Goodbye weekend. Hello Nabazmob API.

 

Las Teclas De Negros

We’ve been adoring fans of Ohio based retro blues rock duo The Black Keys since a few milliseconds after the Big Bang (or at least, realistically, after their very first album The Big Come Up). Now whilst we’ll always applaud artists that push their sound in a new direction & explore new audio frontiers… one can easily forgive these two for sticking to the 70′s moustache-sporting vintage vinyl-covered lo-fi riffs that’ve made them so famous.

Their new longplayer “El Camino” is exactly that. Bordering on a greatest hits collection of Black Keys’ signature basement-bargain-busting drum sounds & funk-drenched guitars, it’s like listening to the never-released soundtrack to Steve McQueen’s autobiography. Bringing out dad’s old Marshall Amplifier and playing this one loud comes highly recommended.

 

Read the Small Print

We like art. We like typography. We love Irish design collective The Small Print. One of their latest projects involved inviting top artists, illustrators & designers from around the world to come up with an unique illustrated alphabet. The results are clever, creatively inspiring & an insightful snapshot into global design trends right now.

Creative Review have more information on the “Illustrated Alphabet” project, but all you really need to see is the entire eye-popping collection, available as high quality lick-worthy prints from Print Process.

 

The City Is Mine

Rooftop + Party. Two words that go together like sunglasses & Stevie Wonder. Add some verbs like squeak, sing, dance, jol, drink & high five… some nouns like takkies, jeans, camera… & maybe a few pronouns like Gangs Of Ballet, The La Els, Seake, Lee & Sony Ericsson. So far, so good. Construct your Saturday night activities around these words, an epic photography competition showcasing awe-inspiring shots, homegrown musical talent & things start to look championship.

The City Is Mine series kicks off in Durban this Saturday (3rd) & if you haven’t been able to get invited yet, then you’d better hustle hard… the remaining tickets are wrapped up in a few mythical Wonka Bars in the 031 area. Alternatively, you could beg the lovely Lady Lee Rider for some. This one should redefine rambunctious.