I was recently in London for a few days. I guess the main point of the trip was to check out Benji B‘s night called Deviation. Its on the first Wednesday of every month at Gramaphone. It was one of the best club night’s I have been to this year. Electric Wire Hustle were playing live and although I had never heard of them before they were pretty tight, check them out if you can. Joy Orbison was there as well playing a house set rather than what he usually plays, which was great, but the real reason it was great was Benji B DJing, it was just like his radio show, which I have been listening to every week for the last couple of years. It was great to hear Quest’s Smooth Skin as I went into the club. The tune that got me on the dance floor was the instrumental of Mingi by Mim Suleiman. He just played loads of great music. The venue was tiny and the drinks were reasonably priced. I’ll definitely be heading back there again next time I am in London.
As usual I checked out some shops. Bought some new t-shirts from Slam City. I bought the Penrose Triangle t-shirt from Palace, a new dry fit pocket tee by Nike SB and I also bought the Emerica charity t-shirt which sees all the money going towards the Southbank project. More info about it in the video below.
I went to an amazing Japanese restaurant called Koya. It specializes in Udon noodles. It was super busy and we were lucky to get a table looking into the kitchen. I had hot noodles with beef, which was great. I think the highlight of the meal was seaweed salad, which tasted of the sea. I also checked out the Design Museum and also the maps exhibition at the British Library. Oh yeah, I also bought this cheeky little t-shirt too.
I meant to stick this up at the beginning of the week but forgot until just now! I am DJing at this tomorrow night. It should be good. I’ll probably be a bit rusty but still, I’ll try and play some good tunes. Come along if you are in Glasgow.
I didn’t like these when I first saw them, but now I am warming to them. Nike SB are doing something different. Some of the t-shirts and socks that are coming out as well are pretty cool. All of these are available at Flatspot.com. His shoes should be dropping soon as well.
When I ordered my Emperor Machine t-shirt from Sixpack.fr I also order this t-shirt. I have always been fascinated with mushroom clouds, so when I saw this t-shirt I had to order it. Its by a studio called Ill Studio who are based in France. The t-shirt comes with a little fanzine, which you can see some images of below.
I always feel a little bit sad when I complete a collection. Its a great feeling to have tracked things down and to know you have them all, but at the same time the thrill of the chase is over. Today I finally completed my Emperor Machine Aimee Tallulah Is Hypnotised collection. There is the CD version of the album, the LP version, the screenprint of the artwork and this t-shirt. I got my La Boca t-shirt from Sixpack.fr. I ordered this ages ago, but got it sent to France. I just got it from my brother who was out there last week. Brilliant! What else to collect now? I hope they release some Emperor Machine toys.
Finally after what seems like five years of talking shit, LBLISM tees are here. This is more my friend than me, but I guess I tell him what to do really. Hopefully there will be another design out soon. Freshness in 2009. Anyway, these are available to buy for excellent price of £25. So head over to the site and place your order.
Kelpe has produced these excellent t-shirts featuring the inkwork of Alex Jago. They come in a variety of colours, which is cool. I like the green one, but then I like the colour green and also seaweed is usually green too. They are only £15 and you can read more about them here over at his myspace blog post. Seems like he is going to have a new album out soon as well as a couple of EPs. I am looking forward to these! Should be good. His music is always interesting and I want to see how he has progressed since last year’s Ex-Aquarium which was one of my favourite releases of last year.
Check out this old skool Apple t-shirt. I used to wear this all the time. I got this back in 1998 when I was in California. We drove past the Apple HQ at 1 – 8 Infinity Drive, so we stopped for a look. It wasn’t that exciting, but they did have a shop where I bought this t-shirt. I love the old Apple logo.
