Matt Pond PA has a new album out called The Dark Leaves. It's his eight studio album and it was release early April of 2010. So I guess I was a little out of loop on his new album. Although when a new album is released a tour date is sure to follow. So I'm in luck, after checking out his website I found that he will be perform a show at the New World Brewery in Tampa, Fl on Oct. 6th with guest Company(Co.) and King of Spain for $10 bucks. So maybe I might see some of you out there if your in the area.
On a side note I got to give props to Matt on his album cover art. The color palette choice and the tone of the image is fantastic. The font that was used on the album is also quite interesting and blends in nicely with the design. It has a very earthy vintage feel to it and works with the album. If you like what you hear then follow Matt Pond PA on Twitter and keep up to date on what he is up to.
Jeff Nishinaka is a master of paper manipulation.He is considered the world's premier paper sculptor and has constructed amazing 3D art with his skill in paper manipulation. On his website he states that he had an "ah-ha" moment on the idea of using paper when he was in college. From then on, he began experimenting with different papers, finding ways to shape, bend, and round the edges on them. He also stated that he wanted to manipulate paper in the least invasive way, to keep the integrity and feel of it. Paper to him is a living, breathing thing that has a life of it's own and from his art work you can tell that he is achieving his idea.
Stephane Massa-Bidal is a French illustrator who combines the past, present and future into his works. On his site Retrofuturs he has numerous series that are worth checking out. Although, there was one series in particular, that caught my attention. That was the "Life is Circle" series. The reason it caught my attention is because life moves in a circle and things always come back around in some form. So his idea matches the concepts in which he portrays. In this series he takes different photographs and places them in circular form to represent life as a circle. I get the idea that each has a meaning like the first one below is the circle of space and land. The layering and textures and feel of this series is fantastic. He also uses Helevtica type for his number sequence if you wanted to know. Now that you know, I'm sure you're wondering what the numbers mean. Well I think I can answer that. From a post on Wanken he stated that there was no significance about the numbers, just esoteric numbers.
So I highly recommend checking out more works by Stephane and if you want follow him on Twitter.
I came across Alex Schulz on Vimeo this week and I wanted to share his video called "view". It's an animated short film about "human" perspective. I really enjoyed this video because of the meaning of the film and the concept in which he used to portray his meaning.
Alex who is from Pforzheim, Germany is a very creative artist who not only works with animation but also photography, graphic design, illustrations and producing music. From both videos that he has on Vimeo he has produced the music for each of them. I think their great little tracks that go well with the concepts. So check out his Behance and Vimeo sites and enjoy. Let me know what you think about the video?
The Temper Trap is a 4 piece indie band from down under. This Australian band gives you some Aussie style with their atmospheric sound, that incorporates pulsating drum and bass grooves with fluctuating pitched vocals and arpeggiated guitar chords, and a modest drizzling of synths .
Their album Conditions was release in 2009 and their single "Sweet Disposition" has been used in countless commercials and it's also on the soundtrack to 500 days of Summer. Although this song is their mainstream hit don't let that full you. The rest of the album is full of great fines with the courtesy of Dougy Mandagi and his plaintive vocals and the swelling strings that accompany each track.
This album was well produced and bristlingly melodic, but also sobersided and personality-free, with lyrics that have big themes - life and death, love and faith - in empty platitudes. They are currently starting to work on their second album which I can only assume will be just as unique and filled with blissful sounds as Conditions. If you're looking for something to quiver and tingle your vertebrae and give you goose bumps then this album is for you.
The Malibu 5 is a modern home built in California by Kanner Architect. This house is conceived as a passive solar home. It was built facing the Pacific Ocean to take advantage of the coastal breezes, the energy generated from solar gain, and the natural lights and views. This home has a photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels for domestic hot water on the roof. The photovoltaic panels generate power for the house during the day. This home generates enough power for the owners needs and the remainder of power is sent to a local power grid. On the ground-levels concrete floors act as heat sinks, pulling in the sun's energy during the day and releasing it at night. This 3300sq ft house not only has some greening properties to it but its design gives them full access to it's surroundings. The Malibu 5 home is a beautiful example of blending shapes with sustainable and eco-friendly technology.
On Mozilla Labs website they launched a Concept Series with an open call for participation. They have received thousand of people who have participated and shared their ideas and concepts. One in particular that caught the attention was Billy May and his Open Web Concept Phone. The input for the phones idea came from users in the spirit of Mozilla's open source. The Mozilla Seabird, part of the Mozilla Labs’ Concept Series, is an experiment in how users might interact with their mobile content as devices and technology advances. Drawing on insights culled from the Mozilla community through the project’s blog, a focus quickly developed around frustrating physical interactions. This phone is full of new options and ways to utilize your potential for this concept phone. Check out the video below to see some of the features of this concept phone.
Playlist-18 has arrived and is ready for you to press play. This an upbeat kinda of playlist which I quite enjoy. One of my top favorites is from the band Kinisi and their song Beach Frogs. It has that pseudo-rhythmic feel with it's soothing electric guitar. This is a band to watch for. If you want to hear more from Kinisi then head on over to their bandcamp site and download three of their tracks for FREE. It's also good to see that Abandoned Pools has released a new track called Legionnaire. It has been a hot minute since they have put anything out but this new track doesn't leave you hanging. So time to get those eardrums working.
If you want to check out any of the other Playlist then click on Archived Playlist in this post or on the right hand side of this blog.
Cover art by: Damion Schweizer
Tracklist
1. Golden Age by Beach Fossils
2. Boy by Ra Ra Riot
3. Beach Frogs by Kinisi
4. Almost There with Lauren Hillman by Opus Orange
5. Rill Rill by Sleigh Belss
6. Wood Block by Joe Gil
7. Wide Eyed Legless by Laura Veirs
8. Beach by Mew
9. Nobodys In Love (Xaphoon Jones Remix) by 2AM Club
10. If I Ever Feel Better (Original) by Phoenix
11. Legionnaire by Abandoned Pools
12. Should Have Taken Acid With You (Breakfast Of Champions Remix) by Neon Indian
13. Static on The Wire by Holy Ghost!
14. Flot On Modest Mouse Cover by Blackbird Blackbird
15. All to All (Spirit If Remix by Kevin Drew & Ohad Benchetrit) by Broken Social Scene
A company called Looxcie just came out with a new way of recording your memories. They have built this tiny camera that shoots HVGA footage any time it's on. Letting you record those memories that you wish you would have. This ear wearing camera not only lets you film but it also doubles as a Bluetooth headset which from what I hear you can still record while using it as a Bluetooth headset. It also lets you use your Android handset as a viewfinder and editor. It also gives you access to share these memories on the fly. This little ear wearing camera will run you about $200 bucks. So if your looking for a Bluetooth headset to also have the power to record then this Looxcie is for you.
