Tag Archives: music

Oct15

Pink Origami Spaceship Travels: Space Day at Drink Shop Do

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A pink spaceship is traveling across the room, astronauts are hanging on a string, and a fleet of rocket rests between a sign that reads ‘Up to the Highest Heights‘ and an arrow that points to the toilets, downstairs on the left.
No, I am not in a David Lynch movie. I am in Drink Shop Do, one of the few cafes in London that will make your whole body gooey, your wallet empty, and your belly full of yumminess.
You see, last week I was writing about Jiggling Atoms and life in the molecular level, so I thought it would be a good idea to see the other side of the spectrum; from the minuscule nature of the atom, to the enormity of space.

Drink Shop Do was the perfect setting for that. This multicoloured universe hosted a space day organised by Science London, catering to the varied clientelle that popped in: you could indulge your inner nerd by participating in a rocket building workshop with Dr Simon Foster from Imperial College, or catching up with some of the brightest minds in the field in a session with Kate Gray, Louisa Preston, Marek Kukula and Alex Salam.
Alternatively, if you are more in the crafts category, you would be sitting in the cafe, building origami spaceships, googling interesting space facts on your iPhone and writing them on the back of an astronaut you just drew for the space facts competition.
With a range of space-inspired songs in the playlist (that included Aerosmith’s ‘I don’t want to miss a thing‘), I took comfort in the delicious cake and coffee that were on the table, took pictures, wandered around the store, and learned that space is not just a place where no one can hear you scream (sorry, this reference had to be made).
Unfortunately I had to leave in a rush, but after making a (long) list of the things I want to buy from the shop on the ground floor, I knew that I would be here again soon.

One to beam down, Scotty.

Love,

G

Sep30

The exquisite sound of Mark Campbell

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Left foot, then right, then left again; staying behind the yellow line; people reading Fifty Shades in their kindles, the Evening Standard from the person sitting next to them, or the tube ads to avoid eye contact; and then walk down corridors, stay on the right side, or walk on the left if you are in a hurry; touch in, touch out, and make your tube journey as short as possible.

I was coming up the escalators, when this sound started creeping in my consciousness, slowly taking over all of my attention. I can not really describe it; it had this other-wordly quality to it, this crystal clarity embellished with human emotion, sound waves carrying something more than just sound.

I continued walking, trying to find the source of that music. And then, at the end of the escalators, I found it.

Mark Campbell was standing in between two platforms, producing melodies just by himself, a one-man organ of extraordinary music. I guess you can describe his song as whistling, but it was so much more than that; it came from deep inside, from a place that surpassed skill, talent, and description.

If I had to sum it up, it would probably be the most heartbreaking, uplifting, humane and super-human sound I have heard for a long time. I was mesmerized. I walked past him, over to the to the escalators, and up to the exit. And then I stopped; I turned around, went down the same way, and sat in a corner, put my bag on the floor, crossed my arms in front of my chest and stood there, taking his music in.

A few minutes later, I approached him and asked him his name. My compliment about his talent was rewarded by a firm handshake, and he then resumed whistling. I googled him, and found a video from a project he was involved in, called the Busker Symphony, composed and directed by Benjamin Till. You can hear Mark in action there, but I found that his song lose something when you don’t hear him live; it is almost as if the acoustics of the tube amplify his songs, as if the underground was built as a stage for his music.

When I came out of the station, I felt elated; for some reason, Travis came into my mind, and I found myself singing ‘Sing‘.

It is amazing to see what a human can do. Makes you proud and humbled at the same time.

For the love you bring, won’t mean a thing, unless you sing, sing, sing.

Love,

G

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Jun19

Made of Brick

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Today I walked in a straight line; from A to B. I dotted the i, crossed the t, went for a run and stood still. I drank a light ginger beer out of a can, and a bitter latte out of a glass. I walked with my hands in my pockets. I looked left; then right; then crossed the street.
I am now in a coffee shop, standing next to a row of 6 portraits. We heard the same CD twice, and the songs sounded different the second time around.

I don’t know it yet, but I will spend my afternoon walking in Brick Lane. I will be stopping every 5 minutes to take a picture of something on a wall, or of someone taking a picture of something on a wall. I will feel the sun on my face, the breeze passing through my fingers as I try to grab it. I am holding a sigh that I will shed as I move around the sidewalk. The air in Brick Lane is electric, the oxygen somehow different; a creative hub, the remnants of the weekend’s mayhem alive throughout the week. Fashion, food, art & music, an intoxicating Mecca for the now and the then. I will walk and find myself smiling. I will take my iPhone out, put The Best of Morissey on, and explore until the sun goes to sleep and the black London sky fills my heart with calmness.

For now, I am unwrapping my complimentary biscuit, and look out of the window. People walk, ride, drive, speed up and slow down, think of the day they had and the day they will have tomorrow, talk on the phone, type on their touchscreens, inhale and exhale and periodically look around with purpose, the goal to move from A to B; to dot the i and cross the t; to catch up with the earth as it revolves under and around them.

And I wander.

Love,

G

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May10

All I Ever Wanted Was The World

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I first heard Marina and the Diamonds 2 years ago. It was 2 months after I decided to stop my Doctorate, and turn it into an MSc. That meant that within the few seconds that it took to finish the sentence ‘I can not do this anymore’, my life was already upside down. I was not a student anymore. I would not be staying in student halls, or get any financial help. I had to grow up. I had to find a house. And a job. I had to pack my room, and find a moving van. I had to find boxes. God, how much stuff did I have? Where can I find boxes? Where will I stay? What will I do? Who am I?

I decided to stay with my partner and two friends. I found a job in retail, worked from morning to evening, payed tax, ate beans on toast and started perfecting the ‘everything is fine’ smile. People willed their face into a mask of worry, asking me if I felt I made the right choice, giving up on something that was certain to chase something that was not even there. For them, I was like the runner that had a clear path in front of him, but suddenly started running left, towards the dark forrest. For the first time, things were so unclear, and this secretly terrified me.

One night, I was sitting in my room, after a particularly difficult day at work, and I was staring at my computer screen, scrolling down YouTube for new music. And then I see this video, with a girl covered in black paint, looking like she escaped from a demented 80s clip. I had to click on it. The music started, and looked at the screen mesmerised. And then she started singing, and her voice went through me like a sword. I recognised something in it, something in me, a familiar stranger that I never thought I would see again. The song was I am not a Robot, and the artist was Marina and the Diamonds.

Marina’s voice hits you like a truck, strong, forceful, taking the listener over from the inside. It’s like a small explosion, like feeling your ribcage getting smaller or your heart growing larger, and then a warm kind of tension washing over your limbs, and making you feel, making you feel real, making you feel real emotions that you thought you held back, but were there all the time, hidden, waiting like the flood behind the locked door.

Her voice is embellished with pain and deepness, the kind of detachment that comes from looking inwards, from being half there or completely and intensely immerse. Her voice carries the quality of the Greek Laiki Phoni, which roughly translates as everyday people’s voice. If I had to close my eyes and imagine her as an ancient Greek character, I would have thought Cassandra. Her voice is the mixture of knowledge and resignation. She knows that something terrible is happening, but will not try to change her fate. She will live to remember her mistakes, unable to stop herself from making them.

Her first album, the Family Jewels is one of my favourite albums of all times. It touches subjects that are so raw and rough, unattractive traits of attractive people, the need to belong and the resentment for the consequences. Destroying your soul in the quest to be the best; the loneliness that comes with it; the knowledge that you will never be satisfied. Songs like Obsessions, Hollywood, Numb, Hermit the Frog, were all masterpieces in their own right, with completely unusual sounds, and lyrics that reached bone-deep.

A lot has been written about the time that passed between the two albums. Social Media posts brought speculations about Marina’s feelings, thoughts, emotions, career and wellbeing. However, I was never certain why this was such a hot topic. Everyone wants to be successful and be recognised for their work. The extent of that recognition has different ranges for different individuals. Marina was singing for that need, for that trait that she observed in others and herself. So, why were her concerned critics surprised escapes me. Regardless, she addressed them, and moved on to the release of Electra Heart.

Electra Heart is decidedly a different sound. With the vehicle of a persona, Marina explores familiar topics in unfamiliar ways. In my head, the record is broken in two parts:
The first half is full with fast beats (Bubblegum Bitch), catchy tunes (Homewrecker, Power and Control), hearty melancholy (Lies, Starring Role, Living Dead,) and can’t get this song out of my head verses (Primadonna has been the background to my thoughts for the past two weeks). However, it is not necessarily in line with the Family Jewels. It sounds super polished and studied, containing all the secrets of commercial success in the space of 3 minutes. This is not a bad thing, it is actually quite clever. Because these are the songs that will bring the attention to the record, where people can be exposed to the second half.

The second part is closer to The Jewels record. Teen Idle echoes Obsessions and Numb, dripping with a heart-breaking tangible teen angst that hits all the right notes in an effortless and natural way. I challenge you to listen to Valley of the Dolls without hitting the replay button, or not engage in an absent minded dance to the infectious rhythms of Sex Yeah and Lonely Hearts Club; and most importantly, you will not be able to ignore the goosebumps from listening to Buy the Stars, one of my favourite Marina songs so far.

I would genuinely suggest downloading Electra Heart, and if you don’t have the Family Jewels, then make sure you hear it too. Marina has been on the background of many important moments in my life, and this made her really special to me. Her music helped me at times that silence wouldn’t, and her lyrics helped me understand parts of myself that I couldn’t, or didn’t want to understand.

I will leave you with one of my favourite part of Electra Heart:

All my life I’ve been so lonely/ All in the name of being holy/ Still, you’d like to think you own me; You keep buying stars/ You could buy up all the stars/ But it wouldn’t change who you are/You’re still living life in the dark/ It’s just who you are/ It’s just who you are
You bought a star in the sky tonight/ And in your man-made dark/ The light inside you died/it’s just who you are.

Love,

G

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Feb8

Shake Until your Heart Breaks: Expectations of Little Boots’ Sophomore Album

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Open eyes; stretch toes; deep inhale; and you are awake.

I landed on the sofa with a chocolate croissant and an accai berry tea on my hands. The living room was flooded with light, so I decided that the TV screen would remain black today. I took Mrs Dalloway out of my bag, turned on the radio on it’s lowest volume, and started reading about Clarissa’s day around London.

At some point, the song on the background woke me up from my literary hibernation; it sounded awfully familiar. It took me a couple of seconds, and then a smile formed on my face as I put the book down and turned the volume up, going on a rather cringable singing/dancing frenzy.

l first saw Victoria Christina Hesketh in her living room, camera positioned in an awkward angle, comfortable clothing, brown hair, sparkly eyes, apologetic introduction to her small YouTube crowd. Moments later, I was hitting replay. Within a few months, she uploaded covers of artists like Madonna, MGMT, and Hot Chip. Christina became Little Boots, and her electro pop magic became the soundtrack of 2008 with her first album, Hands.

An amazingly talented musician, Little Boots is known for the creative use of instruments, from synthesisers and keyboards, to laser harps and stylophones. However, she became infamous when she started using a tenori-on, one of the most impressive ways to create live electronic music, composing the song in front of the viewers in minutes.

It is almost certain that you have heard her music somewhere: in a movie (Jennifer’s body), TV series (Vampire Diaries, Skins, Dollhouse, Melrose Place) or a commercial (Victoria’s Secret). Within months of releasing her EP, Little Boots was catapulted in the music stratosphere, and critics could not stop talking about her.

She was named the BBC Sound of 2009 winner (beating Florence and the Machine) and was nominated for a Critics’ Choice awards at the 2009 BRITs. She also was one of the Esquire “Brilliant Brits 2009” as well as a Rolling Stone Magazine ’2009 artist to watch‘.

Hands did not follow strictly on the EPs footsteps, and a lot of fans felt that she was trying to cover all the trends of the time, both in music and in image. My own concern was that Little Boots was risking losing her identity; the girl next door moved in a mansion, too big and polished; the brown hair was bleached, the bare face was painted, and the comfortable clothes were replaced by eccentric attires. Little Boots was wearing someone else’s shoes, and they did not seem to fit. Nevertheless, the album was absolutely amazing, and was stuck on the top of my most played list for months.

Now she is back, and she is here to stay; on the 24th of October 2011, Little Boots released her latest mixtape, brilliantly named Shake till your Heart Breaks to announce her new DJing tour. The tape included her new song Shake, that she later released on iTunes and on a collector’s edition 11′ record. The new album is due out later this year, and it is said to be influenced by the works of , J.G. Ballard, Sylvia Plath and Edgar Allan Poe, stating that it will be equally magical as Hands, but rawer and darker at the same time. Exciting.

The song finished and I was too excited to go back to reading. I unearthed my old iPod, got dressed, put my headphones on, and hit play the moment my feet touched the street. Revisiting Hands will have to do until I get my own hands on the new album. It is such a beautiful morning, and I have the perfect soundtrack.

Love,

G

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Oct31

A magnificent October: the month at a glance!

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So, October was a super busy month!!

First, the investigation of the mysterious invasion of the Stop Sign Snatchers, as well as the giant plug in the middle of Soho.

Next was a feature on a magnificently spooky London Halloween with some unmissable London spots that had you shivering (with fright and/or delight!)

The Magnificent Something also went live in Instagram, and in a matter of weeks had more than 3500 followers! This grin-inducing event made me ask what makes the IG followers smile, and they were quick to respond ! I absolutely love the IG crowd for beings receptive to the blog, with:

3754 follows
1770 likes
And 61 comments!!

Thank you all so much!!

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I also started checking London’s worst kept secrets with a twist, by having a cheeky latte at the 7th floor Caffe of Tate Modern.

Then, i tip-toed on the boundaries of retail and art with collaborations like Claire Nixon for Oasis, and The museum of Everything for Selfridges, while dancing to Marina’s Radioactive return.

I have some really exciting features in store for November though:

From an amazing Time Machine (01/11/2011), to a head left at the edge of Southbank (08/11/2011), and from exploring a different kind of London human zoo (18/11/2011) to a guide of the best London Art Zines (27/11/2011). PLUS pictures of a house cut in half in the middle of the city, a discussion on the heights of happiness, a closer look with Rideout and the Cell Project, and all the reviews of the best exhibitions, collections, moments and people in London throughout the month!

A lot to look forward to then :)

Have a magnificent November everyone!

Love,

G

Oct24

Marina and the Diamonds: a Radioactive return

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I fell in love with Marina’s music way before her first record was out. A strong female voice singing about things we fear to say was absolutely liberating to hear.

Apparently Marina and the Diamonds was not the commercial success everyone expected her to be, and she was brave enough to admit it in a series of blog posts, twitters, and public declarations about the pop system.

However she is now back, and she has company: Electra Heart, a persona she uses to get her message of personality, self-image and self-worth, across.

Click here to see the magnificent new video for her single radioactive, that is now stuck on repeat on my iPhone.

Love,

G

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