Today we’ll be getting all experiential with Sci-Fi London founder Louis Savy, Book Slam’s Elliot Jack and Alex Daw of Spin London. Needless to say, it’s gonna be eventful.
Join us between 1-2pm on NTS.
There’s a lot to celebrate on April 20, 2013, as NTS turns 2. And my hasn’t she grown. Femi, Fergus and the whole family have worked tirelessly to provide a vision of truly independent radio. Thoughtful, eclectic and ready to kick your arse, the station now packs more DJ than a years worth of winter fuel credits.
Come celebrate with the family at 7-9 Crucifix Lane, London Bridge, where Dobie, Moxie, Martelo, Charlie Bones and more will no doubt emphasise my previous point. Early bird tickets are now £13.50, so you know what to do. It’s gonna be a cracker.
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NTS 2 | Jamie 3:26 // Max D // Jon Rust // Dobie // Moxie // Martelo // Charlie Bones // Judah // Nic Takser // Brian Morrison
20/04/2013 | 10pm-6am | 7-9 Crucifix Lane | London Bridge, SE1 3JW | Early birds tickets £13.50 | £15 thereafter
“The first step – especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money – the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.” Chuck Palahniuk
This month’s special guests are Susan Supercharged former model turned artist / filmmaker and recognised as the last ever Warhol Superstar and Chantal Miller from ChantiMedia, who recently produced her first documentary feature: ‘What the Times Cover Girl Did Next’.
We’ll be discussing life in front and behind the lens, defining ‘culture’, and of course, what Andy Warhol was really like.
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LBB on NTS | 1-2pm | Saturday 16th March 2013
For our second show on NTS Radio we’ll be talking ‘paper potential’ with LBB favourites Ronzo and Emily Evans.
Discover how a photocopier can become your best friend, the cosmic influences of Sun Ra, and what it takes to create the worlds first underwater paper craft computer game for Sony Playstation.
All that, this Saturday between 1-2 pm. Join us.
LBB is on your stereo. Yep that’s right. Today was the first of a once a month Saturday slot on NTS from 1pm – 2pm.
The new Let’s Be Brief Show on NTS Radio. Design, music and culture collide on a Saturday.
I seem to have bought all of these items separately, but I don’t yet own the manual. Probably explains my exclusion from the hipster fraternity.
Brand was everything to Marilyn Monroe, as was the element of surprise. I know you’d have never expected to see her hogging the weights bench.
What’s that saying; two things you can be sure about in life is death and taxes. May I suggest that the other inevitability is change.
Civilisations come and go, fashion and cultural trends rotate and someday we’ll all turn into robots. In the mean time, the global economy is imploding and the 99% are voicing their opinions on an economic system that has a few inherent flaws.
So where does this leave advertisers? Well it’s clearly not a time to only ‘sell’. One good and jolly sensible reason being that there’s generally less money flowing in the 99% sphere. This means an opportunity for communications that engage and create dialogue.
Inspired by some art house sensibilities, Motorola have started the conversation with a series of ads that pose an existential question of ‘What does Abundance mean to you?’.
Featuring a range of Japanese creatives and thinkers, each one in turn answers that very question. An interesting and innovative strategy that proves particularly poignant given the Japanese peoples’ attempts to recover from national and personal tragedy.
In times of uncertainty, nostalgia is often the prescribed remedy. An alignment with an audiences real concerns though, has to be the future. I’m not sure how radical the ‘brand message’ will get over on this side of the pond, but the consumers appetite [and taste] is slowly changing; becoming just that little bit more discerning.
Leading brands of the future will have to extend the idea of purpose to more than CSR policies, making them integral to their brand values and indeed communications.
NTS: a new community radio station based in Dalston, launched in April this year. The community in this instance is the bubbling sub-culture of electronic music influenced by a staple of soul, funk and jazz amongst others.
Their recent short gives you a glimpse into the beginnings of the station, their developing culture and a five-a-side football team. Que Umbro’s involvement and the second reason for my musings.
Umbro having taken tips from Adidas and Puma, have been quietly repositioning the traditional football gear company as a lifestyle brand, producing content featuring musicians Chase & Status, Liam Gallagher and Murkage and other sports stars.
En route to embedding themselves in pop culture, the Umbro Industries campaign focuses on supporting fledgling creative entrepeneurs in Manchester with £10k bursaries.
The trend of courting creative communities looks like one that will last for a while for culture savvy brands, ensuring buy in from taste makers and all that goes with it. Thus giving creatives alternative forms of investment from financial to profile raising.
If you’re an avid culture vulture then you’ll know that art, music and style are cyclical: the old becomes new, and the new inevitably becomes the old.
Whether any of the above are in sync with ‘now’ or not has little bearing on the notion of something actually being good or not. Having said all that, I do love to spot a trend or two. And one bubbling under the radar is the returning influence of reggae and dancehall culture.
Maybe it has been the impact of Dubstep that has seduced audiences into the heavy bass lines, but another thing I’ve noticed and been quite happy about is the resurgence of Reggae & Dancehall legend DJ David Rodigan. Recently I can’t turn for the mentions of ol’ DR’s upcoming gigs and features. Whether it be with Urban Nerds, Giles Peterson or his upcoming show that starts this week Thursday on BBC Radio 2 as part of a ten part special on the origins and current stars of Reggae music.
So why am I excited? Because Rodigan was one of the first DJ’s I followed as a kid. My fingers were always on standby to press play & record on the tape deck whilst listening to his evening time slots on stations such as Capital and Kiss. Later on I would go on to hear his live sets at sound clashes and at parties I probably shouldn’t have been at (sorry Dad!).
Looking like a cross between an accountant and a trendy granddad, when he gets on the turntables his skilful selection and feisty wit going toe to toe with the dancehall establishment is a sight to behold.
With a career that has spanned over the last three decades, what has made Rodigan an enduring force within music is his palatable energy, knowledge and enthusiasm for the music he so dearly loves. Here’s hoping that it will keep him going a few decades more. We salute you David Rodigan!