Smash 137 Interview

A nice interview with style-head Smash 137 over here...

Mike Giant Neighbours Interview

A very informal video interview with legend, Mike Giant...


Neighbors: Mike Giant (Full Length) from Agency Charlie.

Cheers Adriana Wong!

Greg Craola Simkins Interview

Greg 'Craola' Simkins has a nice interview over on Don't Panic, via Mysterious Al's own interview with them....

Artists Analysing The Evolution of Graffiti 2011

Graffuturism has just posted a really interesting article/interviews with many top 'alternative' graff artists entitled, "A Look at Graffiti’s Evolution and Progression 2011 in the Artists own words. Part 1".. well worth a read!

Bruno Borges

There's a good interview with Brazilian graphic designer & illustrator, Bruno Borges over on PSDTuts....

See lots more of his work HERE

Preys UPS Interview

Nice interview on Graffuturism with US-Writer, Preys (UPS)...

Gein KMag Interview & Guest Mix

A brief chat with American drum & bass duo Gein (aka Adam Darby and Ronny Eremija) leads us through their new release with Dieselboy's Human Imprint, touches on hometown scene politics, introduces their label Bad Chemistry and the whole thing comes together with an exclusive mix packed with new music.

Tell us about The Human Chemistry EP on Human Imprint, how did this release come about?

Adam was living in Atlanta about a year and a half ago, and started collaborating with a good friend, Mayhem. Together they got the tune Ghetto Dope rolling and when Adam moved back to Milwaukee we took it from there. Around the same time, Silent Killer and Breaker sent us a start to the tune 6 Feet, and after a few months of fine tuning both tunes were finished.

Dieselboy caught wind of Ghetto Dope and wanted it for the relaunch of Human Imprint and after hearing 6 Feet decided that they would fit perfectly together for an EP on Human. And seeing as how Human Imprint is one of the biggest drum & bass labels in America, we were happy to work with them on it.





Your tracks are well known for their dancefloor appeal while maintaining a strong dose of darkness, with new subgenre names popping up every other day, what do you call your own stuff?  

Simply put, our music is drum & bass. We really do not like to get involved in all the separation of styles, because the more divisions and subgenres you have, more thought goes into what to name the new subgenres than actually listening to the quality of the music. If you had to actually put a name to our music, drum & bass will suffice just fine because our style is changing every day with every new influence we gain from life's daily complexities.

The blending and evolution of music styles is an ongoing process, and drum & bass has been at the front of the pack in that regard for the past ten years, where do you see it going in the next ten?

Drum & bass, to us, has always been a very fast growing style of music that has progressed considerably in the past ten years. It seems that this style of music fits well with all sorts of influences, so we see the next ten years as being basic limitless. We've seen artists use techno, minimal, dub, reggae, hardcore, hip hop, dubstep, and rock 'n' roll influences over the past ten years, and there have been some amazingly groundbreaking tunes coming out. We believe that the next ten years will be very interesting to listen to, because it could go anywhere.
  
A large chunk of your catalog includes hip-hop / rap vocals, so how do you choose the samples you use, and what other influences do you pull from when working on beats?

Our samples, as a group, come from our individual influences. We all listen to different styles of music on a day to day basis, so when we all get together we draw from each other, expressing where we want a project to go, and work from there.

The name Gein has some pretty dark connotations, how did you choose it, and why does it fit you guys so well?

The name "Gein" comes from a well known serial killer from an area near our hometown, Ed Gein. The name wasn't necessarily chosen to represent death, darkness, etc. but more to represent the complexities and unknown brain patterns involved in such actions, which when transformed into music gives you the power to really explore the direction your music will take, without much outside interference.

We felt the name gave us the ability to basically do whatever we feel is right with our music and not worry so much on what people wanted us to do.

Six years of working together in the studio and playing shows all over is no small feat, have you had any trouble balancing your friendship with the work involved?

Of course. We have been friends for a long time and nerves tend to flare up at moments, but somehow we always tend to work everything out for the best.

What kind of reception do you get playing out in your hometown, and has it always been that way? Where are the best crowds you've seen, and what are your favourite places to play?

When we speak about our hometown, Milwaukee, there are some positive and negative things about it. It's a small city, which helps when you look at things like people knowing what you're doing in the music world, and local support for shows you play at. The past few years though, the scene has become somewhat divided and local support is very hit or miss, which is very disappointing, but at the same time it's okay because we are not confined to our hometown. Gein has toured all over the United States multiple times, and the European tours have all been amazing. Some of the greatest crowds we've seen in the USA have been in LA, Atlanta, and Portland, and Europe as a whole has been pretty amazing, with unbelievable responses in Russia, Portugal, Serbia at the Exit festival and countless others.

Do you have any side-projects or alias stuff we should be watching for?  

We thought about side projects and naming them different things, but we decided to stick with the name Gein for any projects we do together in any style of music. So anything we do musically will be pushed on our Bad Chemistry Recordings imprint or on saintGEIN's Habit Recordings.

Thanks for putting together a mix for us, what can listeners expect?

First and foremost thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this mix. We are proud to represent our new label Bad Chemistry and the music on it, as well as all the artists we support and labels we are on worldwide. We have done this for a few years now with our Skinsuit Sessions mixes that have done quite well for us and, more recently, our Bad Chemistry podcasts have helped us really push our label's sounds. So for this, we fused all ideas together and came up with a mix that showcases upcoming Bad Chemistry releases, great music from our friends and, more importantly, what we believe is music that has staying power.

Words: Ty 'Dubcomm' Metford

Download Gein's guest mix

Tracklisting

1. Cooh and The Panacea - The Large Hadron Collider (Prospect)
2. Forbidden Society - Sad Truth (SPL Remix) (Counterstrike)
3. Demo and Ewun - Tek Jam (Bad Chemistry)
4. Arsenic - Aneurysm (VIP) (Bad Chemistry)
5. Counterstrike, Silent Killer and Breaker - The Visitor (Guerilla)
6. Gein and Counterstrike - Pentagram (Gein VIP) (Human Imprint)
7. Counterstrike and Zardonic - Hardcore Will Never Die (Human Imprint)
8. Demo - O.D. (Gein and Counterstrike Remix) ( Human Imprint)
9. Demo - O.D. (Counterstrike Dubstep Remix) (Human Imprint)
10. SPL and Triage - Valhalla (Hollow Point)
11. Symbl and Bare feat. Messinian - Bad Habits (Sub Human)
12. Two Fingers - That Girl (Spor Remix) (Big Dada Recordings)
13. Gein and Mayhem - Ghetto Dope (Human Imprint)
14. nPHONIX - False Flag (Lost Soul)
15. SPKTRM feat. Dark Cube - F.W.C. (Bad Chemistry)
16. SPKTRM - Anomalous Singularity (Bad Chemistry)
17. Dylan and Kitech - Lights Out (Freak)
18. Dub Elements and Venganza - Dick Brain (Resistance)
19. Telekinesis and Neurotech - Filth (Breed 12 Inches)
20. Thought, Dstruct and Kantyze - Midnight Dogs (Vampire)
21. Gein, Silent Killer and Breaker - Six Feet (Human Imprint)
22. Forbidden Society - The Smasher (Kathrsys Remix) (Freak)
23. Gein and Cooh - Schizm (Bad Chemistry)
24. Gein - Motherfucker (Bad Chemistry)

VIA

"This Fear You May Know" Exhibition And White Walls Skinner Interview!

Skinner’s solo show “This Fear You May Know” opens on Saturday, August 14th at White Walls from 7 – 11 pm.  If you’d like a sneak peak of Skinner’s work and to learn more about him, check out this exclusive interview!

This Fear You May Know opens on August 14, 2010 and runs through September 4, 2010. Blending variant sources of fantasy art accented with nuances of social commentary, Skinner’s works in this exhibit illustrate his observations of a growing obsession with destruction and conflict, and how fear guides the course of social action.

The artwork in This Fear You May Know will be comprised of 24 medium and large-scale acrylic and airbrushed paintings, sculptural pieces, and custom air-brushed masks. These pieces are based on the artist’s interests in mythology, the occult, cultural myths and folk tales, and modified by his nostalgic approach to comics and magazines.




1. How long do you spend on an average sized painting?
I can spend up to a week on an average size painting…If life goes easy on me for a week straight, I can get a considerable amount of work done…but things happen…design jobs to pay immediate bills, music, rabbits need to get neutered, fixing cars…business and meetings…if that stuff could stop then I would be getting paintings done at an exponential rate…which I have essentially tried to do for this show…

2. Your favorite comic book?
My favorite all time comic book would be the Hulk from growing up…But as a strange and very particular adult of bizarre tastes I would have to say Black Hole by Charles Burns…there are many strange zines out there right now as well!..Super Gods by Warren Ellis is amazing right now and The Walking Dead of course.

3. What does your studio usually look like?
You know right now its been pretty clean…Once I started freaking out about keeping these new paintings safe, I started cleaning it out…I took all my big sculptures and giant heads from previous show/ installations and went to the packing place I send my paintings from and they let me do a giant installation there that is permanent so I wouldn’t have to worry about it…Theres Giant severed heads hanging from the ceiling of this rad shipment center now.

4. Your biggest fear as a child?
As a child my fears were very dream based…and now that I examine them as an adult, they are very clearly psychology 101…my fears were all based on the needs and reactions of adults around me…what they wanted, how I should react and what emotional needs I could supply for them…If they would have just not used me and my sister as bargaining chips in their selfish emotional tug of war I would be chillin’…I cant stand people who have children to fulfill some kind of shallow self appreciating, pseudo cultural tradition of reproducing themselves…get over yourselves, do some personal/emotional development and earn the right to lovingly care for another person…Jesus Christ!

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A really famous, narcissistic asshole who hates what he has become. Or a total fucking burnout.

6. Despite sex, race, and cultural differences, do you think there is something that connects all humans together?
Oh yeah…emotions…whether they are oppressed, damaged, open or distorted…we all have them and are all trying to be “okay”…The lucky ones have been fostered at an early age to accept their emotions..You cannot get away from them…it is best to learn to live with our feelings in a natural healthy way so we can be all happy and supportive of each other…and not punch each other out and road rage on folks…the problem is, we have unhealthy cultural/social conditioning that tries to mold the way we behave in our roles as feminine and masculine people…we are taught that it is best to act a certain way and then it leads to complete douchery and insensitivity. Magazines, ads, and media are there to reinforce it as well in case you ever forget that there are standards that you will never live up to.

7. Best childhood memory?
Anytime I was allowed to be….running around with other kids just wailing on some kickball or wrecking some water slides…I really really loved it when I could just ride my bike for hours behind my house alone.

8. What does your cosmic mayhem look like?
There is a formless and writhing mass in the center of the universe that is slowly pulling everything towards it…it is all colors shifting and folding unto itself and none you can comprehend…It is hideous, liquid, and horrible. It moves as a fleeting dream never to be waken from…It speaks in your mind with aching whispers and sickening memories that send you into a feverish  illness not unlike dying…There are no rational laws your mind can abide, no emotional parallels your form can distinguish as  a frail mortal body shatters at the absolute inability to understand. This cosmos is not for you and I…we are les than a ripple in the smallest puddle.

9. What does bliss look like for you?
Wrestling with some puppies! Oh…and camping by a river with Kristie and some friends…Go on a hike and take some mushrooms..AND! No deadlines!

10. Favorite thing to eat and drink?

I love vegan Thai food! Indian food! And I started going to this Ethiopian restaurant that rules! Queen of Sheba!!

Check out White Walls for more.

JABA

Sous le titre « Jaba, itinéraire d’un graffeur surdoué », le magazine WAW Wallonie met Didier Mathieu, alias JABAONE à l’honneur dans son numéro de juin 2010.



Six pages sur son parcours où se mèlent la Colombie, Liège, George Lucas, Singapour et son amour des trains. L’entretien se termine par la question : « le graff, est-ce de l’art ? »

Voici sa réponse :

« Oui, mais pas que cela. C’est aussi de l’adrénaline, celle qui pompe dans les veines quand on sort sa bombe, la nuit. Parce que le graff, c’est illégal. Et comme c’est illicite, pas question de dessiner avec un crayon. Il faut aller vite, faire grand, visible, monumental. D’où le recours au « spray can », rapide, puissant,facile à transporter, à cacher, à utiliser sur presque tout : bois, murs lépreux, béton, verre … »

« Il faut qu’il y ait quelque chose sur les murs. Pas que cela soit beau. L’esthétique, cela vient après. Le graff, ce n’est ni l’art de la rue, ni la mode. Le graff, c’est l’honneur et l’amitié. Le graff, ce sont des visages, des mains et des yeux, la colère et la joie, l’amour et les différences, la passion et l’âme. »

JABAONE site : JABAone.com

Source : WAWmagazine

Texte Alexandra Burton, photo Sabine Leva.

SKINNER Update

SKINNER has 2 new toys The new Lurker and Lurker Wolf figures! Only 50 of each at San Diego ComicCon courtesy of The Brothers Washburn and ColorInk Book (booth #5569)!

The Toyroom has a couple of new, super-limited prints of his up.

Lurker Thrash Omega

and Malevolent Child Collector.

Both are signed 4- and 5-Color screen prints in editions of 75. They come with a bonus Sticker Sheet for $35. You can follow the links to buy them directly using paypal.

DISCLAIMER: The first 20 orders come doodled.
If you are offended by a penis or a vagina images (which some prints have)
then you MUST make a note in the "Special Instructions Box" when you order the print/s
that you don't want a doodled print.
Skinner said while doodling the prints "I think these are funny, you might not"

 

Also check out the three-part studio tour/interview Skinner did over at Spanky Stokes. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Back Talk With Jay Howell

San Francisco based artist-author-DJ-record label owner-curator-party lovin’ dude Jay Howell (Juxtapoz #113) clearly, does a lot of things. We focus on his artwork in our current June 2010 issue; now get into Jay’s head by reading his answers to our 20 Back Talk questions.

One reason you make art:

It makes me laugh.

The last good movie you saw:

Wild Combination, a Portrait of Arthur Russell

Something you’ve always wanted to do, but have yet to:

Indoor skydiving looks fun.


Favorite country or city visited:

Los Angeles, I like to go to Canters Deli and then to Family bookstore across the street.

A few words that sum up your philosophy on life:

Blast music, drink beer, yell all the time...then reflect on that.

Something you want the world to know about you:

I've never ridden a motorcycle.

Something that annoys or frustrates you about people:

Kids walk down the street and all they talk about is beating people up. They should be talking about boobs and doing awesome jumps.



Something that concerns you:

My mental stability.

Artists you admire:

Porous Walker, Kelly Tunstall, Ferris Plock, Michelle Blade, Skinner, Marci Washington, Deth P Sun, Matt Furie, Jason Jagel, Henry Lewis, Chirs Sullivan, Jesse Balmer, Bill Dunlap, Chris Johanson, Will Laren, Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, Anthony Lister and lots more, but mostly Porous.

Favorite quote(s):

I remember dirty jokes not quotes.


The first record or CD you ever bought? The last album you downloaded?

First CD was Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction, the last thing downloaded was Sonny and the Sunsets' new record because the store was sold out of vinyl.

Something you do when you’re procrastinating?

Words with friends. I go under the name Howellman if you wanna play.


What is your most defining characteristic?

I'm tall with a pointy nose.

What is your greatest fear?

Last call and watching the sun rise.

The moment you realized you were an ‘artist’:

Recently.

Your greatest quality:

I will wash the dishes if you cook for me.


Something you wish you could change or alter about yourself:

Nah, I can deal with what I got dealt - slowly balding, terrible asthma, and all.

What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken and was it worth it?

It's all risks, there's never a moment where I'm comfortable. I’m constantly on the edge of blowing it.

Something you wish you had known five years ago:

Work harder, like way harder.

What do you hope to accomplish in the next five years of your life?

Feature length animated movie, win an eating contest, skate more, get a dog, and have even more fun than I'm having now.


Follow Jay on his blog jayhowellart.blogspot.com

VIA

ESPVisuals Interview With Chris Mars

I am absolutely amazed by Chris's art and am glad to present this interview with him.


Tell us about yourself , when you first started getting into art and how has the journey been since?

As far back as I can remember I’ve been compelled to express myself through drawing. By my early- to mid-twenties I began to pursue this compulsion with more vigor. I discovered pastel drawing and dove into them for about ten years until I figured out Oils in 1999-2000. Since then Oils have remained my medium of choice. Thus far it has been a fulfilling journey.


When did your dark art style begin and how has it progressed over time?

I think the vision I have has always been there, though different media can bring out my vision in different ways. The capability that oil paint offers has been a great vehicle for me. Generally the paintings tend to come out like they do as I am listening to the world around me, and how the paint and surface are speaking to me. I don’t think of my paintings as being dark so much as figures and environments that are unique. I think that nature’s own design can presents itself in such bizarre fashion that a human being can be startled by it at first glance. I don’t think that this is because there is “darkness” but rather that there is unfamiliarity. Hopefully my paintings allow the viewer to ponder this wider point.


You have your own unique twist on Zombie like creatures. What do they represent / relate to?


The figures that I express can represent friend or foe depending on the theme and composition of the particular painting that I am working on. I try to avoid repetition, especially when it comes to faces. I try to keep what I am painting interesting to me. If my work is in any way a challenge to view, I would hope that from here a conversation might extend to examine why, and to the tendency of how we as people might judge another whom we deem “different” or “challenging”. Much of this tendency of mine to force this conversation comes primarily from growing up with a brother who suffers from schizophrenia and how, due to a lack of understanding of his “different” state, there was, at times, ostracism and avoidance of him.


The creatures are often in numbers within ancient city type environments, what is your idea behind this?

I have always been inspired by the pale faces and severe poses of the medieval Dutch and Flemish school of painting. The figures in my paintings are often on the outskirts of a city or town. To me this represents their outsider status. At times I will include numbers on figures to represent their Cog Status. At other times I place letters, numbers or symbols for mere graphic aesthetics.


3 words to describe your art?

Expressive, informative, enjoyable.


How do you achieve these haunting color schemes? What techniques, mediums etc. do you use?


There is a certain mixing procedure I have developed to complement the background colors that I have applied as a base. I try to always allow for the the right amount of texture or tooth to grab the paint. I shoot for a mood of “Fall in the Midwest” (where I reside); a sky just before a storm where the hues are surreal; a light that is between day and night.


Which other artists do you admire and how has their art influenced your style?


There is so much that inspires. I’ve seen such great, fearless art on trips to Mexico, so much stunning art in Europe - both traditional and contemporary - and inspiring work right here, in museums or schools or fairs. There is Ivan Albright, Zdzislav Beksinski, Sally Mars, Rembrandt, Otto Dix, so many expressionists and surrealists. There are also many contemporaries that are doing such amazing work, here in America and all over. I am influenced by so much that is visual - this includes movies as well, and nature. How any single thing might influence me in particular is hard to pinpoint, I only know that many things do.


You have also done various films.
How do you find that relates to your paintings and what message or output did you have in mind?


Though painting is my primary means to express, filmmaking is yet another medium that allows me to, from time to time, express myself in yet another way, apart from painting. I usually take the same approach as I do with painting: I think about the world I’m in, what the medium - the film, the image, the motion - is saying to me and what I want to say through it. Though there are similarities in mood and message, the process is quite different.


What has been most memorable during your career as an artist?


I think when, after so many years of starts and stops as I tried to say what I meant to with oil paint, and was met so many times with failure, a very memorable moment was when some switch was flipped inside me, so to speak, and I began to crack oil paint’s code. I knew that some door had opened. I remain transfixed and mystified by the medium.


What projects are you working and what are your future plans?


I just finished a short film called “Flowers For Jupiter” that will appear soon on my website chrismarspublishing.com. Currently I have an exhibition up at Mesa Contemporary Arts in Arizona that runs through August and which will continue on to the Erie Art Museum in Pennsylvania in October. I plan to keep painting and creating wherever my inspirations might take me.








Check out his site as well as his store.