The Rumble Strips are led by a spectacularly chirpy and smiley fellow, who beams through their entire set. Trumpet. Check. Sax. Check. Drum rolls a la Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Yup. The energetic neo-folk- good- time- gyspy- sound- of- the-80s, initially revived earlier this year by the likes of Larrikin Love, The Maccabees and The Holloways has reached its inevitable conclusion in the joyously retro Rumble Strips.
I was supposed to be seeing Amy Winehouse at Koko in Camden on Wednesday. But a mix-up of dates on my part meant that I got to see Jarvis Cocker, instead. I was never a massive fan of Pulp, and to be honest I hadn’t heard much of Jarvis’ new stuff. But hey-ho, here we go. I’m always up for opening my mind to something new. First, though, I had to get through the support act.
Beirut didn’t show for this, or more specifically Zach Condon didn’t, for reasons unbeknown to me. One can assume that some brand of misfortune became him, after Jeremy Barnes, once of Neutral Milk Hotel and leader of promoted-to-headliners A Hawk And A Hacksaw, urged a raising of glasses to toast the missing front-man’s health…my disappointment is irrelevant, and I wish him well indeed.
Have you ever seen a Japanese dude with a foot long pony-tail, a trucker cap and a pulled up hoody dictate the rhythmical proceedings of two unrelentingly brilliant drummers whilst simultaneously creating dark, electronic sound-scapes from his Apple Mac? No? You is well out of the loop mate.
“This might be a mistake, but let’s just have fun yeah?” Not my words, the words of Brighton based DJ Scotch Egg (real name Shigeru Ishihara) – Nintendo Gameboy annihilating electro-hardcore whiz-kid – and uttered because of the new creative direction this gig suggested he was taking.
Makin Jan Ma
Who knew that cocks and ropes could look so good? Chickens, I mean, as we all know how good cocks can look. Makin Jan Ma has reinvented the barnyard favourite by printing it in sky blue and plastering it all over his collared shirts and t-shirts, making it appear almost abstract from a distance. The other most prolific print in this collection is the twirled rope, both in an enlarged worm-like print and a teeny twisted print that makes delicate reference to the now waning gold-chain trend. Jan Ma trained in graphic design at CSM and, in some strange but great turn of events, moved to fashion to create this super-quirky line. The cuts are really sharp and clean, obviously the graphic influence. Very cool.
I don’t normally relate to Ronit Zilka that much, but she had some very cute little tie-waisted dresses and a lively little 70s bird-meets- japonoiserie print. Clarks Originals gets better every season. Accompanied by a very quirky catalogue where the shoes are related to a variety of very English food fare, I particularly liked the embroidered patchwork wedges. For men, there is a very dashing pair of gingham brogues.
