Kate Moss by Mario Testino

Just when you thought Kate Moss couldn't become any more iconic...

Well, she surpasses herself, again! It seems that she has this uncanny ability to maintain prominence within the socialite ether/public eye, even when she is trying to live a bit more of a low-key, normal(?!) existence!

Here, fashion snapper Mario Testino has recaptured the 'sexy' that ultimately led to the explosive birth of Kate Moss! There's a glamour about these new shots that calls-home with when she was first noticed as a model!

These images carry a phenomenal allure; a consequence of an extraordinary 20 year friendship between Testino and Moss. The intimacy established from the trust and familiarity between the pair is on show for all to see, giving an honest insight into the lives and minds of two of the world’s definitive style leaders!

Taschen have lovingly produced Kate Moss by Mario Testino, and unsurprisingly so! The German publishers have always taken a risk on content, The Sunday Times Style Magazine uncovered how, 'for 30 years now, this prolific company has been publishing what it darned well wants to.'

Having finished being shown (and sold in limited editions of two) at Phillips de Pury & Co’s South West London showroom, the super-size shots will be on view for a longer stint at The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. Definitely worth a look!

A Field. A Day.

I had been looking forward to this for too long! But, as usual I have managed to cock it all up, and have made myself unable to attend this years Field Day festival, Victoria Park (31.07.10). Just great! Seriously, I'm so hacked off. Pulling a sicky is so tantalizing, but Beni, although being ridiculous, burnt a bit of a hole in my pocket!

Basically, the main reason for being so bummed out is that all the bands that I have been championing, more or less, are playing on various stages throughout the day! Whether it's Atlas Sound, Toro Y Moi, Caribou, Silver Apples, Mount Kimbie, Moderat, Fake Blood, These New Puritans, No Age, and Egyptian Hip Hop, to mention a few...

To quote... "East London’s finest festival is back for it’s 4th year with yet another spectacular line up. Field Day has firmly cemented it’s place in the UK festival calendar with a plethora of aural delights and rustic merrymaking... whilst off-the-wall Village Green area, 'Village Mentality', will supply plenty of rural fayre".

All I would say is... Just GO! Tickets are still available for around £30. I know how much I am missing out already! Plus, I was going to go with a mate I hadn't seen in a while! Please, if anyone wants to A) stump up some cash to finance the day B) cover my shift at work - well, then, that'd be lovely! However, reality bites. Next year?!

Boy & Bear

A band from Australia. Boy & Bear were introduced to me through a girl I met in Barcelona. When she said, "My boyfriend is in a band", I just hope my eyes didn't roll too obviously... Especially as, since being back, I found Boy & Bear were not the poor man's Wolfmother (not that I have a problem with Wolfmother) that I was expecting! Very far from it! Folk-revival, or Nu-Folk seems to be all the rage currently, and with an essence of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, this Sydney five-piece are staking their claim!

Oz has offered up something far more tentative and caring than it's traditional rock and dance stereotypes. Surprisingly, soft and melodic sounds drench The Storm, which has a real organic and hearty feel about it. Whilst a mix of harmony and perky guitar deliver Mexican Mavis! After a successful Spring-time UK Tour with Laura Marling now behind them, and a string of sold out home shows with Mumford & Sons approaching, Boy & Bear seem to have things right where they want them!

Check out their recently released debut EP - With Emperor Antarctica

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim

Well... I survived! FIB Heineken 2010 was resoundingly awesome! A quality experience. Sure, I had a bunch of UK festivals behind me, but on departure to Spain, I was a bit unsure about what to expect of this much hailed Summer event - viewed as one of the gems in the festival crown! Time for some Euro-style...

Nothing to worry about! After recovering from a couple of heavy nights in Barcelona (due to meeting two fun Aussie girls, and the small matter of a victorious World Cup final for Spain) Beni had a great deal to offer. The scrum for a spot to set up a homestead in BeniCamp on the Monday was interesting, as the Spanish stewards (trying to be hardline) eventually succumbed to the British willingness to wait!

After acquainting ourselves with the neighbours, and the shopping in the nearby Lidl (yes, Lidl) was done (Rachmaninoff voddy at €4!!! And, equally cheap rum!) the party began to commence! A solid 4 days of excessive drinking, occasional smoking, extreme partying, beach-towel sunning, new meeting, aqua-parking, paella eating, etc. This, all before the festival had even opened its doors!

Thursday night. The music starts! It was so weird being at a festival were everything literally goes on all night, and well on into the next day, well... the recovery anyway!

Big acts enthralled the crowds! Indie and alternative acts headlined the 9/10/11/12 PM slots, bowing out to let the dance/electro/d'n'b/teckno posse's to aggressively take over! Magnetic Man, Scratch Perverts, DJ Shadow, Scream, Funkagenda, Benga, and Boys Noize smashed the early hours to pieces! (The amount of people on Class A's it was unsurprising that the crowds swelled as each night went on!)

The Specials, Kasabian, Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, The Prodigy, Vampire Weekend, Gorrilaz, Ellie Goulding, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Foals, Klaxons, among many others all took to one of the three stages, and subsequently tore them apart! The whole musical acts/surroundings seemed to fit quite poetically, and created a really calm and chilled festival vibe! Dancing was high on the agenda!!

The campsite, daily, kicked up new surprises, such as rats, snakes chucked in the shower, vom in places, loutish Scousers, swim-short theft, shit-sprayed toilet cubicles, angry Macunians, topped by the general mess of heavy boozing and littering proved testing. It seemed to become a non-issue though as each day went! I ended sleeping on a abandoned tennis court, gazing at the stars. Nice!

All in all, as I sit here, clean, I miss it. It was the best festival I have been to by far! The atmosphere, angry people aside, was spot on! People just seemed to want to chat with anyone, have fun, make friends, and be merry! 2011, hurry up!!

To the finish.

Team Sky are perhaps the most exciting sporting package to be unleashed this Summer! After a £30 million cash pledge from Rupert Murdoch, this British pro cycling outfit, spearheaded by the infamous 'modfather of pedaling', Bradley Wiggins, are looking to dominate the sport over the coming years - hopeful of taking the sports most recognized title, Le Tour de France this July. What more could you want... England win the World Cup and Wiggins, GB's maiden yellow jersey??!

Dave Brailsford (the guy who masterminded all the cycling golds at the Beijing Olympics) is the visionary behind this operation, and it has to be said he is doing an extremely thorough job! Team Sky is ran like a F1 team. The prep is exceptional (daily briefings, diet & nutrition, massages etc.), the tech on the bikes is exceptional, and the gear is second to none (Pinerello Dogma bikes and Adidas apparel), whilst the riders are some of the best in the World! A strong British ethos is at Sky's heart!

The mission statement of Team Sky is to 'Ride The Line', hence why a turquoise stripe goes down the middle, on the back of each jersey, as well as the bike itself! It means more than colour co-ordinating paint-job though! It's sentiment is based on getting on top of all the marginal gains that will ultimately win or lose you a race, title, or championship, which was what the Brits heavily focused on at the '08 Olympics! History shows that this belief should hopefully bring deserved success!

I got money on'ma mind...

How can an object that has been so basically crafted from an Earthly material warrant so much money?! Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian artist who worked in France. His modernist style was characterized by influences from mask-like faces and the elongation of these forms. He lived a modest life, and ended up struggling with poverty, overwork, and an addiction to alcohol and narcotics. All this, little recognition. Just surviving must've been a struggle...

How surprising then that this sculpture, created between 1910 - 1912, fetched a whopping 43.2 million euros (£35.8 m) at Christie's auction house in Paris this month! It brings up all regular questions associated with art; Why is it worth so much? Why are artists only recognized/rewarded once dead? How is Damien Hirst able to make so much cash alive, when arguably more talented artists can't make any money from their work - barely enough to get by on whilst living??

Plus, I thought we were supposed to be stuck in the worst global recession since the war years?! (Although, it was probably somewhere like a private bank that paid out) I wonder what has drawn such attention from the 'art buying World'? You'd expect works by Picasso, Matisse, etc. to get the interest they receive, by why Modigliani?! Why now? It was Giacometti not so long ago?

Ronson

Haha!! Well, isn't this awkward. Daisy Lowe and Mark Ronson, next to one another, on a blog... After seeing that video I hope he has been reminded about just how gutted he should be feeling! I dunno, I'm sure it was an amicable split! Sorry Mr. Ronson, it is just an unfortunate posting situation... Non-intentional, as I think your a decent fella! At least you have your guitar, decks, and mixing desk for now!

With so many fingers in so many pies, you'd think his guard would drop! Yet still Ronson has delivered some clean and fresh listening material, whilst brushing shoulders (again!) with some defined collaborators! As part of The Creators Project from Vice and Intel, he chats about general things, y'know, Hip-Hop, Lily Allen, and Winehouse etc. There is more important new stuff though, as light is shed on time in the studio, recording for third LP Record Collection with The Business Intl.

Early on, I am very keen for this 60s vibe, sounded out in "Bang, Bang, Bang", to run riot on this Record Collection. The use of old eBay synths is great, alongside fiddly and delicate drumming, topped by Q-Tip and MNDR's springy vocals, together, make a big track! Parallel to this, the Zelda-inspired video for "Circuit Breaker" is genius! I'm longing that Nintendo stumble onto this! Sign him up to redo the Tetris tune!!