Charlotte Gainsbourg

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with artist and illustrator Pete Fowler

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Hot Chip – I Feel Better (close up)

Two soft-bodied beasts wearing headphones hold onto each other tightly as sinister robotic-looking owls swoop over them. Two creatures – which look like giant armadillos with razor sharp fangs and claws – peer at the two lost souls with sleepy but watchful eyes. This fantastical world illuminated with shades of deep blues and pinks instills in them fear but their ipod drowns out the eerie sound of their surroundings; they have each other and that’s all that matters…


Hot Chip – I Feel Better

This is Pete Fowler’s wonderfully quirky window display currently exhibiting at Selfridges, generic inspired by Hot Chip’s recent hit single ‘I Feel Better’. Fowler’s installation is one of ten window designs for a show collectively entitled ‘Sounds of the Mind’, no rx launched to celebrate the music festival season. On display are exhibits by some of the hottest music acts of the moment, including Florence and The Machine, Dizzee Rascal, Empire of the Sun, Paloma Faith and Marina and the Diamonds.


Title window display

Having viewed all ten windows, which are pretty impressive in their entirety, my personal favourite was Pete Fowler’s. Call me a big kid but there is something incredibly sweet, romantic, childish and charming about colours and the characters, which made me want to break the window and join the beasts in a group hug!

I caught up with Pete, illustrator-and-monster-creator-extraordinaire, to find out more about the project and the inspiration behind those owls…

How did you and Hot Chip end up collaborating on this piece?
I’ve known Al (Doyle) from the band for a while so he’s quite familiar with my work. When this project came up, Al thought it would suit my style so he asked if I might be interested in coming up with some ideas, which I was chuffed about. We talked over a couple of themes and then I went off to sketch a few initial designs.

What were the key themes from the song that you used for inspiration?
To me, the record is an unusual love song about a couple being together, but the situation or outside world being against them. With the general design, I wanted to go with the idea of two beasts locked together in an embrace in a place where the surroundings were a bit scary but fantastical. I picked up on the vibrancy of the sounds and used mainly pinks and dark purples to create a deep-coloured palette to reflect this. I used some of the lyrics in the song to help me focus and visualise my ideas, which is where, somehow, the owls came in!

How many ideas did you come up with before you settled on the current display and were there many variations between the sketches?
I started with one initial idea which just evolved, but the basic concept remained pretty much the same. I was lucky that the idea was so well-received straight off the bat! Most of the changes were made once the image was worked up on the computer, which just involved adjusting the scale and positioning all of the elements that make up the window. Everything I do starts with a sketch – when I translate this onto illustrator, I can start to manipulate the drawing.


Sketch of Hot Chip’s ‘I Feel Better’ window display

What do you think this project is trying to achieve?
I think it’s a good move for a shop to be so open to the ideas of bands and designers. In this case, they allowed a lot of creative freedom and pretty much handed over their windows! Ultimately, I think it’s a positive move for them as all these bands are hot right now. I guess it has a lot to do with them staying in the loop and keeping up to scratch.


What other window displays did you particularly like and why?
I liked Empire of the Sun’s display as it’s got quite a flamboyant and cosmic-feel to which is reflective of their music. I also liked Dizzee Rascal’s display with the cartoon-style title background opening and the audacious insert of the video in the middle. It was very entertaining because the focus was all on him; simple and pretty much to the point!


Empire of the Sun – Walking On A Dream

Are there any other songs you’d like to add your own artistic slant to?
Something really long and cosmic perhaps. Maybe Space Woman by Herman’s Rocket or Lovemachine by Supermax from the 1970s. It would probably make quite a sleazy window though…

Monsters often feature in your work – why is this?
I’ve always been into supernatural things. As I was growing up, I definitely had a fascination with Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and the exaggerated characters found in comics, which I think have all influenced by work to some extent. I love the idea of strange beasts and monsters. I think it’s because there are no rules or limits when it comes to them; only those you set yourself whilst you’re playing god. It’s an environment where you can fit in all your quirks, interests and flights of fantasy.

What song best describes you?
The Great Egg Race (Theme) by Denton & Cook (that’s off the top of my head). It’s a bit weird, slightly geeky and a bit disco-y, with a smile on its face!

Pete Fowler’s ‘I Feel Better’ display in collaboration with Hot Chip and a collection of other song-inspired windows (see below) will be running until the 14th June at Selfridges, Oxford Street, London, W1.


Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers


Florence and The Machine – Cosmic Love


Marina and the diamonds – I Am Not A Robot


Paloma Faith – Do You Want The Truth, Or Something Beautiful


The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love


The XX – Stars


Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait


The Drums – Best Friend

All photography by Andrew Meredith

Written by Kat Phan on Tuesday June 1st, 2010 8:47 pm

Categories ,Andrew Meredith, ,Big Foot, ,Charlotte Gainsbourg, ,Denton and Cook, ,dizzee rascal, ,Empire of the Sun, ,Florence and The Machine, ,Hot Chip, ,Kat Phan, ,Loch Ness Monster, ,Marina and The Diamonds, ,paloma faith, ,Pete Fowler, ,Selfridges, ,Sounds of the Mind, ,the big pink, ,the drums, ,The XX

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Review: Vieilles Charrues

by


A couple of weeks ago, medications I was sifting through work emails and idly wondering how my forthcoming weekend was going to shape up; it seemed to be taking on the familiar pleasures of the default setting – drinks, pilule lazing around Shoreditch Park, case catching a gig or two, having a coffee at Columbia Road flower market; the same old same old essentially, and then an email dropped into my inbox that quickly made me revise my plans. It was from Ben, an old friend of Amelia’s Magazine from French-Music Org, and Liz from Brittany Tourism who were both involved in the French music festival des Vieilles Charrues in Brittany, and wanted to know if Amelia’s Magazine was interested in coming along to check it out. Being a champion of all kinds of festivals, both in England and abroad, but at the same time staying true to the ethics of not flying wherever possible, I was pleased to see that the festival encourages all non-flight forms of travel, and had a good deal with Brittany Ferries worked into one of the ticket packages that also includes transfers to and from the festival. I had a quick look at the line-up, which included performances from Phoenix, Midlake, The Raveonettes, Fanfarlo, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Julian Casablancas. Then I checked my ipod and saw that apart from a little Francoise Hardy and Charlotte Gainsbourg, it was woefully lacking in French music and decided that this Gallic version of Glastonbury could be my guide to France’s vibrant music scene, especially seeing that Chapelier Fou, Revolver, Indochine, Fefe and the brilliantly named Sexy Sushi were all headlining. So that was that. All I needed to do was grab my trusty pillow and I was off to France! A few hours later, after a bumpy ferry ride that unfortunately took place on the windiest day of the year, I found myself in the picturesque town of Carhaix, home of the festival, and about 45 minutes inland from the coast.


Sune and Sharin of The Raveonettes give us a shock and awe performance.


Watching The Raveonettes with my friends – wet and bedraggled but happy.

It was straight to the festival and to the front of the crowd to watch The Raveonettes do a typically kinetic set of howling, fuzzy guitar riffs, liberally sprinkled with lots and lots of noise. Just how the audience like it. The Danish duo, made up of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo are a dark force to reckon with and played an incredibly tight set, featuring songs from their fourth album, In And Out Of Control. I hadn’t see them play before and I came away thinking that the bands waiting in the wings such as Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Castles and Vivienne Girls still have a long way to go before they steal the crowns off of these two. Later I managed to get in some talk time with Sune who refused the offer of dinner with his bandmates in favour of shooting the breeze over mugs of vodka cranberries for a whole hour. (Interview to come in the next few weeks)

The next day, when I was a little less exhausted from twelve straight hours of travelling, and no sleep, I was able to properly explore the festival and see it through renewed eyes. Truth be told, it was refreshing to find myself at an overseas festival. The crowd were relaxed, extremely friendly (stand next to any random group of strangers and within a few minutes you will be conversing away happily in a garbled mix of Franglais) and the FOOD (and drink)! It doesn’t matter how many boutique festivals are springing up over England, festival des Vieilles Charrues trumps us with champagne bars all over the site (to be sipped insouciantly while you watch French rock gods Indochine) and food tents which can provide you cheese plates and fruits de la mer to go with your choice of wine. It being slightly earlier in the day, I was trying out the regional cider which was so tasty it practically made me weep, and made my way over to watch the Fanfarlo set. Unexpectedly, this was probably my favourite performance of the festival. Having toured constantly for the past year (watch the mini documentary on their website which painfully documents their incessant and exhaustion-inducing schedule), the performances of the songs from their 2009 release Reservoir have taken on a whole new level. Each band member seamlessly flitted between a myriad of different musical instruments; no-one ever held onto a guitar, trumpet, violin, mandolin or musical saw for more than a few minutes before doing some musical-chairs. I’m not sure how well France was aware of Fanfarlo, but the full audience loved every song they played, and noisily demanded an encore – which unfortunately they didn’t get, but then, the band do only have about twelve songs in their back catalogue.


Fanfarlo talk about life on the road and divulge the little known fact of lead singer Simon’s childhood love of ham radios.


Traditional Breton music. Everyone knew the dance moves but me.

Night time gave me a chance to flit between the bands playing. I watched Midlake, the indie Texans who are fast gaining popularity over on this side of the pond, serenade the audience as the sun set, their hazy Americana sound drifting over the breeze and through the fields. Then it was a hop, skip and a jump to watch Sexy Sushi, the raw Parisian rap of Fefe and – I didn’t see this coming – some traditional Breton music involving some old men, a couple of accordions and a lively crowd who were all versed in the dance moves that accompany the traditional folk style. Then the midnight hour was upon us and the audience was heading in droves to watch Phoenix, who are clearly the prodigal sons of France. I’ve heard before that some of the French don’t appreciate the fact that Phoenix record all of their tracks in English, as opposed to their mother tongue, but there was no such bad feeling in the crowd that stood around me that night, sending waves of love and adulation towards the stage which prompted lead singer Thomas Mars to briefly lie on the stage in slightly dazed wonder at this epic night.

It was frustrating to have to leave on Sunday, as I missed performances by Pony Pony Run Run, Julian Casablancas and Etienne De Crecy, but work commitments dictated an early departure. Nonetheless, I had such a great time that I am already planning next years Festival des Vieilles Charrues (which will be the 20th anniversary of the festival). Brittany was the perfect setting for such a chilled festival, and a welcome addition to the festival calendar.

Written by Cari Steel on Monday August 2nd, 2010 10:24 am

Categories ,Brittany, ,Brittany Ferries, ,Carhaix, ,Chapelier Fou, ,Charlotte Gainsbourg, ,Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, ,Etienne De Crecy, ,fanfarlo, ,Fefe, ,festival, ,france, ,Francoise Hardy, ,julian casablancas, ,Midlake, ,phoenix, ,Pony Pony Run Run, ,Sexy Sushi, ,The Raveonettes, ,Vieilles Charrues

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Review: Vieilles Charrues

by


A couple of weeks ago, medications I was sifting through work emails and idly wondering how my forthcoming weekend was going to shape up; it seemed to be taking on the familiar pleasures of the default setting – drinks, pilule lazing around Shoreditch Park, case catching a gig or two, having a coffee at Columbia Road flower market; the same old same old essentially, and then an email dropped into my inbox that quickly made me revise my plans. It was from Ben, an old friend of Amelia’s Magazine from French-Music Org, and Liz from Brittany Tourism who were both involved in the French music festival des Vieilles Charrues in Brittany, and wanted to know if Amelia’s Magazine was interested in coming along to check it out. Being a champion of all kinds of festivals, both in England and abroad, but at the same time staying true to the ethics of not flying wherever possible, I was pleased to see that the festival encourages all non-flight forms of travel, and had a good deal with Brittany Ferries worked into one of the ticket packages that also includes transfers to and from the festival. I had a quick look at the line-up, which included performances from Phoenix, Midlake, The Raveonettes, Fanfarlo, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Julian Casablancas. Then I checked my ipod and saw that apart from a little Francoise Hardy and Charlotte Gainsbourg, it was woefully lacking in French music and decided that this Gallic version of Glastonbury could be my guide to France’s vibrant music scene, especially seeing that Chapelier Fou, Revolver, Indochine, Fefe and the brilliantly named Sexy Sushi were all headlining. So that was that. All I needed to do was grab my trusty pillow and I was off to France! A few hours later, after a bumpy ferry ride that unfortunately took place on the windiest day of the year, I found myself in the picturesque town of Carhaix, home of the festival, and about 45 minutes inland from the coast.


Sune and Sharin of The Raveonettes give us a shock and awe performance.


Watching The Raveonettes with my friends – wet and bedraggled but happy.

It was straight to the festival and to the front of the crowd to watch The Raveonettes do a typically kinetic set of howling, fuzzy guitar riffs, liberally sprinkled with lots and lots of noise. Just how the audience like it. The Danish duo, made up of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo are a dark force to reckon with and played an incredibly tight set, featuring songs from their fourth album, In And Out Of Control. I hadn’t see them play before and I came away thinking that the bands waiting in the wings such as Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Castles and Vivienne Girls still have a long way to go before they steal the crowns off of these two. Later I managed to get in some talk time with Sune who refused the offer of dinner with his bandmates in favour of shooting the breeze over mugs of vodka cranberries for a whole hour. (Interview to come in the next few weeks)

The next day, when I was a little less exhausted from twelve straight hours of travelling, and no sleep, I was able to properly explore the festival and see it through renewed eyes. Truth be told, it was refreshing to find myself at an overseas festival. The crowd were relaxed, extremely friendly (stand next to any random group of strangers and within a few minutes you will be conversing away happily in a garbled mix of Franglais) and the FOOD (and drink)! It doesn’t matter how many boutique festivals are springing up over England, festival des Vieilles Charrues trumps us with champagne bars all over the site (to be sipped insouciantly while you watch French rock gods Indochine) and food tents which can provide you cheese plates and fruits de la mer to go with your choice of wine. It being slightly earlier in the day, I was trying out the regional cider which was so tasty it practically made me weep, and made my way over to watch the Fanfarlo set. Unexpectedly, this was probably my favourite performance of the festival. Having toured constantly for the past year (watch the mini documentary on their website which painfully documents their incessant and exhaustion-inducing schedule), the performances of the songs from their 2009 release Reservoir have taken on a whole new level. Each band member seamlessly flitted between a myriad of different musical instruments; no-one ever held onto a guitar, trumpet, violin, mandolin or musical saw for more than a few minutes before doing some musical-chairs. I’m not sure how well France was aware of Fanfarlo, but the full audience loved every song they played, and noisily demanded an encore – which unfortunately they didn’t get, but then, the band do only have about twelve songs in their back catalogue.


Fanfarlo talk about life on the road and divulge the little known fact of lead singer Simon’s childhood love of ham radios.


Traditional Breton music. Everyone knew the dance moves but me.

Night time gave me a chance to flit between the bands playing. I watched Midlake, the indie Texans who are fast gaining popularity over on this side of the pond, serenade the audience as the sun set, their hazy Americana sound drifting over the breeze and through the fields. Then it was a hop, skip and a jump to watch Sexy Sushi, the raw Parisian rap of Fefe and – I didn’t see this coming – some traditional Breton music involving some old men, a couple of accordions and a lively crowd who were all versed in the dance moves that accompany the traditional folk style. Then the midnight hour was upon us and the audience was heading in droves to watch Phoenix, who are clearly the prodigal sons of France. I’ve heard before that some of the French don’t appreciate the fact that Phoenix record all of their tracks in English, as opposed to their mother tongue, but there was no such bad feeling in the crowd that stood around me that night, sending waves of love and adulation towards the stage which prompted lead singer Thomas Mars to briefly lie on the stage in slightly dazed wonder at this epic night.

It was frustrating to have to leave on Sunday, as I missed performances by Pony Pony Run Run, Julian Casablancas and Etienne De Crecy, but work commitments dictated an early departure. Nonetheless, I had such a great time that I am already planning next years Festival des Vieilles Charrues (which will be the 20th anniversary of the festival). Brittany was the perfect setting for such a chilled festival, and a welcome addition to the festival calendar.

Written by Cari Steel on Monday August 2nd, 2010 10:24 am

Categories ,Brittany, ,Brittany Ferries, ,Carhaix, ,Chapelier Fou, ,Charlotte Gainsbourg, ,Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, ,Etienne De Crecy, ,fanfarlo, ,Fefe, ,festival, ,france, ,Francoise Hardy, ,julian casablancas, ,Midlake, ,phoenix, ,Pony Pony Run Run, ,Sexy Sushi, ,The Raveonettes, ,Vieilles Charrues

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