Amelia’s Magazine | Urs Fischer: Molding Objects to Imperfection

6All Photographs courtesy of New Museum, viagra buy except where otherwise stated

It is now time for the absurd to take center stage. Swiss-born “imperfectionist” Urs Ficher makes the gallery goer rethink his or her own reality and I am grateful to the New Museum for introducing me to this brilliant artist. Ficher is an artist renown for his non-traditional creations. Thinking the world as a populated center of objects that interact and create an artificial reality, his aim is to call the viewer’s attention to his singular inner realm; his interpretations of what this life is are conveyed through different types of installations. New productions and iconic works are aplenty and together compose a series of gigantic still life and walk-in tableaux choreographed entirely by the artist. I find myself exploring neither a traditional survey nor a retrospective but the culmination of four years of work. These new productions reveal the true scope of Fischer’s universe and I am enthralled by what I am discovering.

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IMG_6475

Above photograph courtesy of Vanesa Krongold

Fischer has taken over all the three floors of the museum. Illusion and reality are intertwined in the artist ‘s show thanks to a game of trading places and multiple reflections. Chrome boxes are arranged in a grid of monoliths that create a cityscape of mirrored cubes onto which the artist has silk screened a dizzying array of images. I think it’s perfect; It’s just how I’ve been feeling when walking about New York city – drunk from trying to take it all in! It is very interesting how the artist plays with bi dimensions; I am strangely attracted by some disregarded toys. Its all about combining the reality through dimensions, perspectives, and collage. The viewer is thrust into an uneasy place, trying to understand how to walk in this new world. The hyper real state of the objects are meant to represent your and my reality…

72009 Plaster, paint, bread 10 x 21 x 15 cm.

Urs Fischer presents an installation that turns the Museum’s architecture into an image of itself—a site-specific trompe l’oeil environment. In a maddening reproduction exercise, each square inch of the Museum architecture has been photographed and reprinted as a wallpaper that covers these very same walls and ceiling it is meant to portray. A piano occupies the room, appearing to melt under the pressure of some invisible force. Simultaneously solid and soft like a Salvador Dalí painting in three dimensions, this sculpture seems to succumb to a dramatic process of metamorphosis.

8Marguerite de Ponty.

On the fourth floor, Fischer presents five new aluminum sculptures cast from small clays and hand-molded by the artist. Hanging from the ceiling or balancing awkwardly in space, these massive abstractions resemble strange cocoons or a gathering of enigmatic monuments. Fischer is an engineer of imaginary worlds who has in the past created sculptures in a rich variety of materials, including unstable substances such as melting wax and rotting vegetables. In a continuous search for new plastic solutions, Fischer has built houses out of bread and given life to animated puppets; he has dissected objects or blown them out of proportion in order to reinvent our relationship to them.

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In 2007, in a now-legendary exhibition, he excavated the floor of his New York gallery, digging a crater within the exhibition space. Throughout his work, with ambitious gestures and irreverent panache, Fischer explores the secret mechanisms of perception, combining a Pop immediacy with a Neo-Baroque sense for the absurd. And I am glad a taste of it!

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The exhibition Urs Fischer: Marguerite de Ponty is ending on February the 7th, 2010. The New Museum is a modern building located in 235 Bowery Street, New-York.

Categories ,Absurd, ,Aluminium, ,art, ,Art space, ,baroque, ,Clay, ,contemporary art, ,Exhibition Review, ,Hand molded, ,installation, ,Material, ,New Museum, ,new york, ,organic, ,review, ,Salvator Dali, ,sculpture, ,Still Life, ,surrealism, ,toy, ,Urs Fischer

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Amelia’s Magazine | Arts Editor’s pick: Christmas Gift Guide

At Amelia, information pills we thought you should know about these before you go out and brave the cold for that all important shopping trip! From limited edition prints to games and furniture, there is something here for all pockets deep to not so deep. But always for the art connoisseur that you are.

The-Weather-Outside

Jess Smart Smiley – The Weather Outside Is Frightful

The Weather Outside Is Frightful is a 2×3 foot winter-themed “look-and-find coloring poster”. Find the evil Ice Wizard and his mischievous bat brigade before they destroy winter cheer! The poster comes with a pack of crayons and a list of items to find and color. Get your own for just $12 + shipping by sending your address and dollars via PayPal to jess.smiley@gmail.com. Orders of 2 or more posters get a free original drawing of a snow creature. Check the Iphone Wallpaper too!

Book

Jean-Claude Mattrat – Le Reste Offense
2008,
limited edition of 25 copies at £95

Jean-Claude Mattrat’s self-published book is full of beutiful original screenprints all nicely clothbound in slipcase. Rocket Gallery offers this and other interesting prints, books and objects from an affordable £50 to £650. Martin Parr’ s enamel tray or Tomoko Azumi ‘s Hexad [stacking table] can be viewed at the gallery or shipped in time for Christmas. Don’t wait!

WWP

WWP – Originals by Artists

From £100

This new series of originals by leading artists is the perfect last minute Christmas gift. These are ‘one-off’ items and exclusively available through the WIWP site. They will be sold on a first come, first served basis, so be quick if you are genuinely interested in purchasing one. Series One Includes Seb Lester, Dan Baldwin, Wilfrid Wood, David Bray, Kristian Hammerstad, Hellovon, Mr Bingo and Pomme Chan. The selection of Sculptures, Drawings, Sketches and Ceramics are with prices starting as low as £100+PP

Rob Ryan

Rob Ryan – You Can Still do a lot with a Small Brain

Published by Yorkshire Sculpture Park £24.99

Rob Ryan is a renowned artist of many achievements. He is a magician at paper cutting and his intricate screen prints are unmistakably romantic and always appealing. The likes of Elle and Vogue magazines, Liberty’s of London, Fortnum and Mason and our favorite designer here at Amelia, Sir Paul Smith, have all been seduced by his wonderfully detailed and delicate work. This hardback is a glossy and classy affair in which trees stand taller than buildings, leaves have faces and birds speak with more wisdom than humans. Published to accompany the exhibition of the same title, Ryan’s first at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, You Can Still do a lot with a Small Brain includes an interview with the artist and stunning photographs of Ryan’s work.

Anthology

Amelia’s House – Amelia ‘s Anthology of Illustration

Published by Amelia’s House £25

Talking of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, they stock our homegrown Anthology of Illustration. This 265-page long colourful and exquisitely designed page-turner has garnered rave reviews from the Guardian, Creative Review and many others. It is also available to order from Concrete Hermit over the Christmas vacation while Amelia is away helping to make this world a better place!

Eco-houses

Etsy – Monaw

From $11.50 USD

Handmade with love and care, Monaw‘s handbags and other items such as pouches and accessoires are decorated with lovely designs. What’s more, they have a lovely eco theme to them, with the organic handpicked lavender filled houses or the cute zippeed pouches made of cotton fabrics. Etsy is a brilliant shop for one of a kind art gifts and many are also ecologically sound- as you know, we care about that at Amelia! Elsewhere on Etsy, the Sparrow Coffee Cozy is a treat, Slidesideways’ Screenprinted poster are environmentally friendly and woolandwater‘s doll sets are just show stopping!

Paul-Davis

The Planets of Unfailure – Paul Davis

A2 (420 x 594mm), digital print on archive paper with archive inks, edition of 50, £300.00 UK, £320.00 overseas, p+p inclusive

The Drawbridge – One Year Subscription

4 issues for £12.00

Paul Davis‘s fantastic satirical drawing “The planets of un-failure” (first published in The Drawbridge issue 4, 2007) is now available as a limited edition print signed and numbered by the artist. The Drawbridge is a quirky and innovative independent quarterly delivering thought, wit and reflection through words, photography and drawing. It is in turn critically nonsensical and radically serious. With each issue, authors and artists cast an unflinching look at a selected theme. Why not offer a gift subscription of one year and 4 issues? Passionately written, elegantly designed and intelligently illuminated, full-colour newspaper is the perfect gift for the the progressive reader in search of  surprising combinations of views, insights and visual wit!

Articulado---Sanserif-Creat

Articulado’s Book – Sanserif

At first sight, this book looks like one of a kind and it is undeniably so;  this limited edition portable book-product is more sculpture for your mantelpiece than mere reading material .A not-for-profit publication featuring opinions and reflections from leading names in international design —Erwan Bouroullec, Ana Yago, Karim Rashid, Milton Glaser…— and other experts —Alice Rawsthorn, Covadonga Pendones…— on the relationship between design, the environment and the economy. Conceived to transmit values like sustainable growth, recycling, low impact production processes… printed in one colour on ecological paper without varnishes or special treatments.  Coordinated by José Antonio Giménez & Designed by Ana Yago (Sanserif Creatius), with the support of ADCV and Impiva. More info at prensa@sanserif.es. The book is available to buy online or at prensa@adcv.com.

SonnyMe

Sonny McCartney – T-Shirts

From £20

SonnyMe is a very talented photographer and designer. His T-shirts are sticking black and white designs that reflect his off-beat sense of humor. Buy this T-shirt on his website.


Cotton monster

Jennifer Strunge – Cotton Monsters

From $35.00 USD

Maryland Institute College of Art graduate Jennifer Strunge makes fantastic creatures out of recycled fabrics that she culls from old garments and linens. The one she has for sale via her website have pockets in their mouths, making them comforting hand-warmers.

Haunch

Haunch of Venison – Limited Edition Prints

Books from £12 and prints from £100

Haunch of Venison has published a number of new books and editions over the past year and their series of prints are particularly noteworthy! Polly Morgan’s etching ‘Blackbird with Maggots‘, produced for ‘Mythologies’, depicts a rotten blackbird that has become a nesting site for flies. Morgan, an artist who incorporates highly skilled taxidermy in her work, has talked of a ‘desire to celebrate the corpse as a thing of beauty and significance’. Published to accompany ‘Mythologies’, Haunch of Venison London, 12 March – 25 April 2009, this etching on Somerset textured paper is an edition of 100 priced at £100.00. Or what about Mark Alexander’s ‘Via Negativa or Hew Locke’s striking ‘Chariots of the Gods‘. Have a look at the Haunch of Venison website; it is a treasure trove of gorgeous books and editions.

Paper-circus

V&A – Press-Out and Stand-Up Paper Circus

Price £5.00

Created exclusively for the V&A, this delightful press-out and stand-up circus is adapted from an early twentieth century paper circus in the museum’s collection. Each pack includes 2 sheets with a press out, slot together and stand up circus tent and crowd; now all you have to do is press out, fold and stand circus performers and animals! Great price for even greater fun and playful idea!

PhotoPYMCA – Richard Braine and Sky Sheldon

From £30.00

This limited edition from the PYMCA archive is the perfect last-minute Christmas gift.The archive contains over 80,000 classic and contemporary images from Mods, Two-Tone, Madchester, Acid House, Swinging London, Punks, Skins…and every subculture and youth movement in-between. The archive also features famous faces from the music world such as The Clash, The Stone Roses, Madness, The Beat, Faithless and many more. Featuring the work of such fantastic photographers as Richard Braine, Ted Polhemus, Paul Hartnett, Toni Tye, Janette Beckman, Syd Shelton, Dean Chalkley, David Swindells, Normski, Eddie Otchere, to name but a few, a PYMCA Limited Edition Print would make a stunning addition to every living room wall. Each print is strictly limited edition, coming with a certificate of authenticity and can be framed or unframed in many sizes up to 50 x 70cm. Prices range from £35 for a small print up to £150 for a signed, 50 x 70cm.

Chris-Martin

Chris Martin – T-shirt Designs

Chris Martin is one busy illustrator as his blog will demonstrate. At Amelia, we like original illustrators and Matin’s work is quirky, colorful and wonderfully detailed! This design and many more are available to buy. Contact the artist to find out more: Chris@mrchrismartin.co.uk

cushionscovered

Geri’s Cushions Covered

This new company specialises in bespoke cushions, blinds and mounted fabric images. All items are handmade with the choice of shape, design and colour left to you! Contact Geri at cushionscovered@gmail.com. Website to come soon!

Calendar

Jan von Holleben – Journey to Everywhere Calendar

Large 2010 Wall Calendar, 47×45cm, 13 Pages, Published by Chrismon Edition 2009, Price: £15.00

‘Its great to come back to a place and continue where things were left in the past’. It’s seven years ago since Jan von Holleben started to put his kids and childhood dreams into photographs. Since then trees have grown and new houses have been built in the little village in Sasbach at the Kaiserstuhl, in the South West of Germany. The kids he works with have grown too, but are still keen on playing along with him. ‘It’s just that demands from the kids are much higher now and that I can confront them with more complex ideas than in the past. We still meet in front of my mother’s house, discuss the photographic ideas and collect the props we need for the images”. Perspectives are closely defined for everything needs to be perfect for an illusion that needs no digital postproduction. See for yourself and buy here!

Categories ,art, ,book, ,books, ,calendar, ,Christmas, ,colour, ,craft, ,design, ,designer, ,ecodesign, ,etsy, ,Gift, ,gifts, ,handicraft, ,handmade, ,illustration, ,limited edition prints, ,list, ,photography, ,prints, ,screenprinting, ,T-shirts, ,toy, ,V&A Museum

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Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas 2012: Best Design Gifts For Men

Bianca Green in love with iphone cover
In Love With iphone cover by Bianca Green.

Most men love a bit of gadget based frippery, and there is an almost endless choice of iphone decor out there. Amidst the huge amount of guff on Society6 (it’s surprising how few things work when just plonked on, say, a hoodie), there are some gems, shown here for your delection…

fimbis iphone cover geometric glow
This neon abstract Geometric Glow is by Fimbis.

Ewan Arnolda vintage camera iphone case
The fake vintage camera is a perennially good look – particularly fun if you are into self portraits as the cover design will register in the mirror! By Ewan Arnold.

kate hasted iphone cover japanese flower
I think the most unusual has to be this iphone cover by textile designer Kate Hasted, inspired by Japanese flowers.

GlyphicBlack_Phone Pop vinyl iphone backs
For iphone 5 users why not take a look at these new vinyl backs with bold optical designs by Phone Pop?

Glove & Hate Oven Gloves, Stuart Gardiner
If the man you are buying for loves cooking why not surprise him with these fab Glove and Hate oven gloves? They come complete with hairy wrists and chunky gold bracelet: by Stuart Gardiner at Howkapow?

WOODEN KUKSA CUP - CLASSIC DESIGN brokedown palace
And those who like camping: what about this Kuksa outdoor wooden cup of traditional Sami design, available on new website The Brokedown Palace. A great place to find the perfect present for those who love the great outdoors.

derek shop notebooks
Does your man love nice stationery? I adore these illustrated notebooks (including one by contributor Lorna Scobie) from Dereks Shop.

soma gallery bike parts notebook
Or if your man is a bike lover, how about this Bike Parts notebook, by Luke James for Noodoll, available on Soma Gallery.

2013 wall planner calendar
This fab 2013 Wall Planner is from Present and Correct, the most fantastic website for all graphic design and stationery buffs.

office in a christmas cracker present correct
They also do an ‘Office in a Christmas Cracker‘ which is beautifully put together.

retro pop calendar present correct
And to sit on the table, a vintage rolling plastic calendar.

craig yamey hans_downe plush
Does he like collectibles? If so how about this fantastic plush toy by Craig Yamey for Constructive Studio? Hans Downe is part of the limited edition Yam Kids range: strange creatures all.

printstagram calendar
On a more personalised tangent – if you’ve got the time and you’re a social media nut nut like myself, why not make an instagram calendar with printstagram? If you don’t have time to edit you can just stream the photos off your phone and bung them all in!

seven gauge studios lambswool scarf
Moving on to clothing: I adore this lambswool scarf by Seven Gauge Studios on Two Red Trees.

Stonemen mens briefs rob yelling horses
Or if you prefer something with a bit more humour – how about these brilliant boxer shorts with wild horses stampeding all over them? By Rob Yelling for Stonemen.

Derek Shop M.hulot SKINNY-RHODESIA-BELT-AVOCADO-2
This beautiful handmade Skinny Rhodesia leather belt is by M.Hulot and it is available on Dereks Shop.

Niza Huang PETROLEUM cufflinks
For jewellery I am particularly taken by Niza Huang‘s petroleum cufflinks – inspired by the preciousness of ‘black gold‘.

Lars Beller Fjetland wood penguin
As far as beautiful objects go, I love these re-turned wooden birds created from scrap wood by Finnish designer Lars-Beller Fjetland on The Lollipop Shoppe.

lovi-birch-ply-moominmamma
Maybe he remembers the Moomins? Then this birch ply family by Lovi on Hus and Hem is just the ticket.

Garudio Studiage flat pet pug
Does your man hanker after a pet? If he’s as dotty for pugs as mine then he’ll love this festive specimen bearing Christmas antlers by Garudio Studiage.

reindeer head by armstrong ward
Or he might prefer this ace felted reindeer head by Armstrong Ward on Not on the High Street.

mozaa game
Finally – if he’s into games how about Mozaa, a colourful combination of puzzle and mosaic, bound to be loved by all design fiends.

dice for change
And in 2013 maybe he’ll fancy playing with his Dice for Change: featuring beautifully designed pictograms to inspire daily random acts of kindness.

More to come :)

Categories ,2012, ,2013 Wall Planner, ,Armstrong Ward, ,Belt, ,Bianca Green, ,Bike Parts, ,calendar, ,Christmas, ,Constructive Studio, ,Craig Yamey, ,Dice for Change, ,Ewan Arnold, ,Fimbis, ,Flat pets, ,Garudio Studiage, ,Geometric Glow, ,Glove and Hate oven gloves, ,Hans Downe, ,Howkapow. Love Hate, ,Hus and Hem, ,instagram, ,iphone 5, ,iphone covers, ,Journal, ,Kate Hasted, ,Kuksa, ,Lars-Beller Fjetland, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Lovi, ,Luke James, ,M.Hulot, ,Mens’ gifts, ,Moomins, ,Mozaa, ,Niza Huang, ,Noodoll, ,Not On The High Street, ,Notebooks, ,Office in a Christmas Cracker, ,Oven Gloves, ,Petroleum Cufflinks, ,Phone Pop!, ,Plush, ,Present and Correct, ,printstagram, ,Pug, ,Pumpkin Sputnik, ,Rob Yelling, ,Seven Gauge Studios, ,Society6, ,Soma Gallery, ,stationery, ,Stonemen, ,Stuart Gardiner, ,The Brokedown Palace, ,The Lollipop Shoppe, ,toy, ,Two Red Trees, ,Yam Kids

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Amelia’s Magazine | TOY at the Lexington: Live Review

Toy by Christina Pavlou

TOY by Christina Pavlou

Taking refuge from unusually arctic conditions outside, the main bar of the estimable establishment that is the Lexington was already beginning to swell as people patiently waited for the signal to head to the venue. There was a distinct mix in the clientele (not least age), reflecting the vintages of both of the bands who were due to play tonight.

Toy by Thom Lambert

TOY by Thom Lambert

Part of the five day DRLL:LONDON festival curated by influential art punk band Wire and music website The Quietus, tonight saw rising new band TOY supported by ‘secret special guests‘ (though it didn’t take much working out who those special guests would be).

Toy by Sylwia Szyszka

TOY by Sylwia Szyszka

Playing the understudy tonight, Wire hit the stage with bass player Graham Lewis mischievously announcing that ‘We are Horsemeat Searchlight.’ They then powered through a short, loud set, mainly composed of their choicer nuggets, before hot-footing it across town for another DRILL:LONDON show at Cafe OTO, where they were due to be play alongside another new band, Teeth Of The Sea.

Toy by Katie Eberts

TOY by Katie Eberts

Formed from the ashes of one-time indie hopefuls Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, TOY have been making waves over the last couple of years, earning praise from the likes of Rhys Webb of The Horrors along the way with their psychedelic, krautrock referencing sound. Their self titled debut album was a keenly anticipated release last year, and they’ve been playing to steadily larger audiences – indeed, tonight’s show had almost sold out even before it became apparent that Wire were also playing.

YouTube Preview Image

TOY snuck on stage about ten minutes earlier than billed, so I’d luckily timed my bar run right, and immediately launched into an epic Dead & Gone, with its hypnotic rhythm building into a wall of noise mid-way through. The set was largely a run through of tracks from the album, with vocalist Tom Dougall (who, incidentally, is the brother of former Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall) doing a quick introduction to each song. A pacy Colours Running Out led into a new number, Fall Out Of Love.

Toy by Sylwia Szyszka

TOY by Sylwia Szyszka

As a band, TOY visually seem to reflect their music, looking almost as though they’ve just stepped out of a rehearsal studio in Düsseldorf in 1974. Dougall is, as ever, clad in black, delivering clipped vocals between bursts of guitar, whilst there is some serious head bobbing from rhythm guitarist Dominic O’Dair and especially bassist Maxim Barron. Drummer Charlie Salvidge chips in with backing vocals, whilst a near motionless Alejandra Diez conjures some synthesizer washes.

YouTube Preview Image

After early singles Left Myself Behind and Motoring, TOY finished with a distinctly cosmic Kopter, before leaving the stage to cheers from the heaving crowd. With a short break before festival season begins, with appearances including Field Day, Glastonbury and the Hop Farm Music Festival lined up, it looks like TOY are going to be taking their far-out sound far and wide.

Categories ,cafe oto, ,Christina Pavlou, ,DRLL:LONDON, ,Field Day, ,glastonbury, ,Hop Farm Music Festival, ,Horsemeat Searchlight, ,Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, ,Katie Eberts, ,krautrock, ,Lexington, ,Pipettes, ,Rose Elinor Dougall, ,Sylwia Szyszka, ,Teeth of the Sea, ,the horrors, ,The Quietus, ,Thom Lambert, ,toy, ,wire

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Amelia’s Magazine | The History Of Apple Pie at Birthdays: Live Review

The History Of Apple Pie by Sam Parr

The History Of Apple Pie by Sam Parr

From the queue snaking up the stairs, I knew it was going to be a busy one at Birthdays. I’d guessed as much, from being at the earlier shows and seeing the chatter online. Closer, ever closer, we edged to the basement, the sound of the support band getting louder, and all the while trying not to get hungry from the aroma emanating from the kitchen back upstairs.

YouTube Preview Image

Finally, we were in, and just in time to catch the last couple of songs by the evening openers, the promising sounding F.U.R.S (apparently their first gig, too). As the bands set about sorting their gear and the DJs employed a bit of tuneage during the interval, it gave me a chance to have a nosey around. This was only the second time I’d been to Birthdays, one of the newer venues in über-hip Dalston, but I could see from the flyers that they were attracting a few of the well known promoters around town.

The-History-of-Apple-Pie-by-Sarah-Jayne-Morris
The History Of Apple Pie by Sarah-Jayne Morris

The crowd swelled once again as the quintet that are The History Of Apple Pie took to the stage. They’ve only been going for a fairly short while, but their take on scuzzy guitar pop, imbued with the spirit of late 80s/early 90s shoegaze bands such as Ride and Curve, has picked up plenty of positive coverage. They’ve supported Graham Coxon and also managed to get their debut single, You’re So Cool, onto the Rough Trade Shops end-of-year compilation album. Kudos, eh? I’d first seen them late last year, supporting fellow upstarts Toy at the Old Blue Last, and a couple of times since (most recently at a White Heat night in Soho). Now they were back in East London to launch their third single, Do It Wrong.

YouTube Preview Image

The Pies kicked off their set with a surging Tug, lead guitarist Jerome Watson typically hunched over his six string whilst unleashing squalls of noise (and sporting a tie-dye top bearing what looked suspiciously like the logo for Maynard’s Wine Gums!) Singer Stephanie Min’s woozy vocals were a constant throughout, backed with harmonies from bass player Kelly Owens. Previous single Mallory got a deserved airing, whilst Do It Wrong and an amped up version of its B-side, Long Way To Go, both rocked, sweeping the crowd up with them.

YouTube Preview Image

Their debut album still seems to be in the works but, with more live dates being added (including a night at the London Palladium, no less!) you can still treat yourself to a helping of the Pie.

Categories ,Birthdays, ,Curve, ,dalston, ,F.U.R.S, ,Graham Coxon, ,London Palladium, ,Old Blue Last, ,Ride, ,Rough Trade, ,Sam Parr, ,Sarah Jayne Morris, ,shoegaze, ,The History Of Apple Pie, ,toy, ,White Heat

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Amelia’s Magazine | The History Of Apple Pie at Birthdays: Live Review

The History Of Apple Pie by Sam Parr

The History Of Apple Pie by Sam Parr

From the queue snaking up the stairs, I knew it was going to be a busy one at Birthdays. I’d guessed as much, from being at the earlier shows and seeing the chatter online. Closer, ever closer, we edged to the basement, the sound of the support band getting louder, and all the while trying not to get hungry from the aroma emanating from the kitchen back upstairs.

YouTube Preview Image

Finally, we were in, and just in time to catch the last couple of songs by the evening openers, the promising sounding F.U.R.S (apparently their first gig, too). As the bands set about sorting their gear and the DJs employed a bit of tuneage during the interval, it gave me a chance to have a nosey around. This was only the second time I’d been to Birthdays, one of the newer venues in über-hip Dalston, but I could see from the flyers that they were attracting a few of the well known promoters around town.

The-History-of-Apple-Pie-by-Sarah-Jayne-Morris
The History Of Apple Pie by Sarah-Jayne Morris

The crowd swelled once again as the quintet that are The History Of Apple Pie took to the stage. They’ve only been going for a fairly short while, but their take on scuzzy guitar pop, imbued with the spirit of late 80s/early 90s shoegaze bands such as Ride and Curve, has picked up plenty of positive coverage. They’ve supported Graham Coxon and also managed to get their debut single, You’re So Cool, onto the Rough Trade Shops end-of-year compilation album. Kudos, eh? I’d first seen them late last year, supporting fellow upstarts Toy at the Old Blue Last, and a couple of times since (most recently at a White Heat night in Soho). Now they were back in East London to launch their third single, Do It Wrong.

YouTube Preview Image

The Pies kicked off their set with a surging Tug, lead guitarist Jerome Watson typically hunched over his six string whilst unleashing squalls of noise (and sporting a tie-dye top bearing what looked suspiciously like the logo for Maynard’s Wine Gums!) Singer Stephanie Min’s woozy vocals were a constant throughout, backed with harmonies from bass player Kelly Owens. Previous single Mallory got a deserved airing, whilst Do It Wrong and an amped up version of its B-side, Long Way To Go, both rocked, sweeping the crowd up with them.

YouTube Preview Image

Their debut album still seems to be in the works but, with more live dates being added (including a night at the London Palladium, no less!) you can still treat yourself to a helping of the Pie.

Categories ,Birthdays, ,Curve, ,dalston, ,F.U.R.S, ,Graham Coxon, ,London Palladium, ,Old Blue Last, ,Ride, ,Rough Trade, ,Sam Parr, ,Sarah Jayne Morris, ,shoegaze, ,The History Of Apple Pie, ,toy, ,White Heat

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