Ted’s Tees!

With his signature, marker-penned tees proving quite the hit, Ted Pearce returns to this seasons’ rails, with a fresh new line of caricature emblazoned, cotton, short-sleeved, round-necks.

Rolling out a three man strong selection of light-weight, bright white tees featuring Ted’s illustrations of his all time, TV heroes, Ted’s Draws’ AW12 collection channels some seriously strong looks. Featuring Christopher Walken (King Of New York), Eddie Murphy (48 Hours) and Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), seven foot something, Dalston-dwelling Ted regards his boutique fashion label, as his financial security, explaining ‘Theses shirts are the three kings who bring gold to my (un)stable flat, that I share with an ass.’ Retailing at a very reasonable £20, Ted’s latest, limited edition line, is designed to be worn out and get accompanied home. Ted penned us a diagram, detailing the complex formula behind the tees’ formidable, flirting force.
tedsdraws.com
Text: Milly McMahon

Sleep walking and PillowTalking

Dropping a sample into the inbox of Wolf + Lamb, PillowTalk lifted their heads the following day to find the label reciting tune ‘Weekend Girl’ right back at them, live on Skype. Swing.

Irresistibly seductive and smooth; Sammy D, Ryan Williams and Michael Tello have been laying down damn sexy tunes since 2005. Making waves with their early Wolf + Lamb releases , these three, San Fran. based boys have gone on to capture attention of electronic music-taste makers and forward-thinkers Visionquest and Life and Death.
Meeting through mutual mates, PillowTalk draw influence from an eclectic mix of genres and have risen fast, famed for keeping themselves looking particularly sharp. Compulsive ad-libbers, they’re always changing-up their live shows, keeping their loyal following on their toes. When it comes to having fun and creating new material they’re seasoned Lotharios, with all the right lines and a whole lotta love from the laydees. i-D online caught up with the band of boys to find out how they like their eggs in the morning and to scoop an exclusive peek at their new video, ‘Heaven’s Gate’.
Tell us about your musical backgrounds… Sammy D was a choir boy and lettered in adjudication and sight reading. He DJ’d for close to twenty years, with releases on Classic, Dirtybird and Buzz’n’Fly. Michael Tello started playing keys, producing beats and DJing at the age of 12. He’s taken piano, music theory and electronic music classes since Junior High, and completed his BA in Audio Engineering at the age of 21. Michael has also released several original tracks and remixes for labels such as OM Records, JIVE, Cadang, Gemini Records, and Bombay. Ryan Williams never had any sort of real musical upbringing. But he has been making bedroom recordings for the better part of this last decade.
What inspired the new music and lyrics on The Come Back EP? A lot of things. We all listen to and collect northern soul, motown, indie rock, yacht rock records, and the ideas just came from our late nights in the studio. We are really influenced by so many types of music.
What artists, musicians and bands have had an impact on your sound? Sam Cooke, Beach Boys, Quincey Jones, The Tams, Hall & Oats, Frankie Valli, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Brenton Wood, Aretha Franklin, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Al Green, Otis Redding, Apparat, Aurthur Russell, Bill Withers, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Broken Social Scene, Animal Collective, Dr. Dre, Bon Iver, James Blake, The Pharcyde, CFCF, Caribou, Aphex Twin etc…
Why did you decide to name yourselves PillowTalk? Sammy’s drag name was Raven Pillowtalk at Floating Man. When it came time to decide upon a name, Pillowtalk seemed like the most appropriate one.
Which side of the bed do you prefer to sleep on and why? Sammy’s on the right. Ryan’s on the left. Mikey’s in the middle.
What are your top five tracks of all time?
1) One Step Ahead, Aretha Franklin
2) Ain’t No Sunshine, Bill Withers
3) Lost and Looking, Sam Cooke
4) Surf’s Up, Beach Boys
5) This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Talking Heads
What’s next? We’re playing live this NYE in NYC at Verboten, the BPM Festival for the Life and Death Showcase, hopefully SXSW, and Berlin along with the rest of Europe for the summer (and possibly Japan). On top of that, there will be lots of new music that will be coming out throughout the year, collaborations, remixes, and a debut album.
How do you like your eggs in the morning? Poached.
PillowTalk’s ‘Far From Heaven EP’ is out 19th Dec 2011on Wolf + Lamb
soundcloud.com/pillow-talk-1
Text: Milly McMahon

Mario & Vidis feat. Ernesto - Changed

i-D online November Mixtape 2011

i-D Online: November 2011 Mixtape by i-D online

Born ready, i-D online’s November mixtape is a melting pot of proper hot, pedigree chunk-sized choons: 2 Bears, Maya Jane Coles, Jaymo and Andy George, Iggy Azalea, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib bring it with their spirit-laced, sound-bite sensations. Get high, press play.

Don’t get stressed, be an extension of the best, enter i-D online’s sonic sphere of phonetic perfection. Lie down, stand up and stop. Good things should be savoured and no matter how fast-paced your life is, the only thing that should be getting your undivided attention is the downpour of snowball streams that we’re bringing. November has brought nothing but long nights and stormy weather and when the heavens open over i-D towers, we pour our hearts out through the medium of dance. Button-up and pack a mac, ‘cos this month’s play-pen of tuneful infants is fully-equipped to pelt you with a heavy coating of super slick mixes.

With the electronic likes of Storm Queen, Elphino, Blawan, L-Vis, Tale Of Us, A1 and Erol Sabadosh flanked by straight-talking, fast chatterers Lil Wayne, Azealia Banks, Daley and THEESatisfaction, topped off with the more ambient likes of Iceage, Aaron Ross and Sunless ’97, this is music to get your sweat on to. Drippingly decent.

University of the Arts graduate and East London skinhead Daniel David Freeman is the cheeky scamp behind this month’s inspired, cassette box cover-art. A man of many talents, he’s resident illustrator for DIY T-shirt label Ranks, right-hand man to Get Me! ring leader, Alexander Hislop and a part-time DJ too. Double D spends most of his time with his best pals; ‘Pen’ and ‘Paper’, that’s when he isn’t travelling about town faster than a speeding bullet on his bike or hanging out with the lads down at Leisure. Working for himself, Daniel’s open to new friends and new opportunities so hit him up if you’re after something sketchy, he enjoys drawing people. Fact.

Browse the full monthly mixtape catalogue by clicking here.

danieldavidfreeman.com

Text and selection: Milly McMahon
Illustration: Daniel David Freeman

i-N Conversation: Billie JD Porter

Fresh from the success of directing her very own short film, guerrilla journo Billie JD Porter talks stalking stalkers and creeping club-land dance-floors, all in the name of art.

Establishing herself as a writer, honing her craft contributing to zines, newspapers,Platform and VICE, Billie began working as a journalist when she was just fourteen. Quick of wit and sharp of intellect, she is shameless in the face of adversity, her tell-tale techniques appear to be making her subjects feel anything but at ease. Scouted by Channel Four to be the face of their salacious series ‘The Joy of Teen Sex’, she boldly proceeded to interrogate a host of hormonal scamps about their under-the-covers activities. Fruity. After taking stock of her generation’s less than savoury, extra-curricular activities, Billie decided to shift the focus of her attention from the troublesome teenage masses to the endearing niche. Produced in collaboration with Director of Photography, Jamie Lee Curtis Taete, Billie’s recently unveiled debut film ‘Roseboy’ has received acclaim from eagerly-waiting critics. Featuring in this year’s London Raindance Film Festival, the 25 minute documentary short follows a series of celebrity obsessed, super-fans, quite the departure from Billie’s usual, sexually charged, teen subjects. i-D online caught up with the pocket-sized, broadcasting babe to chat Beiber fever, rain-dancing and the joy of teen sex.

billiejd.blogspot.com

Text: Milly McMahon
Film and Photography:George Harvey

i-N Session: Delilah

Equipped with a powerful voice to match her striking looks, Delilah is the 21-year-old, Atlantic-signed, singer-songwriter from London, who has got the music industry at her size fives, all wanting in on her sensational vocal prowess.

Besotted with all things musical, be it dub, jazz, soul, breakbeat or reggae, Atlantic’s prized pearl, Delilah grew-up kindling one burning ambition; to teach the world to sing and furnish it with joy. Named after her Grandmother and raised by her Mum on a heavy diet of beats and rhythms, she was always encouraged to express herself through the medium of noise. Writing all her own material, Delilah’s lyrical focus is inward-looking. Losing her stepfather in a tragic car accident when she was growing up, she eased the emotional pain by penning exactly what she felt. Unafraid of painting bold, graphic pictures with her poetic verses, her sound is beautifully honest and her dulcet tones rich and full of conviction. Delilah finds making music cathartic, “I think of it as turning down the colours a little. In the past I have written in metaphors, I wasn’t brave enough to write about myself, but a lot of the songs really are about me and my life.” Discussing the tracks on her debut album, which feel closest to her heart, she goes on to explain ‘Love You So‘ was the turning point. “This song allowed me to start finishing my record! It’s a song about love and the fight for it.”

Keeping her plans for 2012 well under wraps and her quickly accumulating fans on tenterhooks, Delilah remains tight-lipped about what’s next. Already counting Chase and Status and Plan B amongst those desperate to have the long-haired lovely in their corner, many other producers and artists are über keen to double up with Delilah. i-D online pushed to the front of the queue to get an exclusive preview of Delilah doing what she does best, killing it with her incredible vocals. Hey there Delilah, what you do to me.

myspace.com/delilahmusicuk

For more delicious Delilah-ness, pop over to our new YouTube channel here and hereto see more from i-D online’s i-N Session series.

Alpines: "Why" F. Maya Jane Coles (Carly Simon Cover)

Alpines + Maya Jane Coles - Why by Alpines

Frank Ocean - American Wedding

i-N Conversation: Kelly Rowland

Reclined on a circular, leather sofa in a deluxe suite at the W Hotel crunching on some ice, former Destiny’s Child, Kelendria Trene Rowland is arguably one of the most famous women in the world right now.

A vision of perfection, she has a mane of impossibly glossy, ebony tresses, smooth skin and the kind of “come get me” attitude that drives men wild. First shimeeying onto the scene back in 1997 with her girls Beyoncé and Michelle, Kelly paid her Bills, Bills, Bills as a front-woman for old school, hip-pop troupe Destiny’s Child. Topping the charts time and time again, selling forty million albums and twenty million singles, these three, all-singing, all-dancing girls could sell out stadiums in minutes.

Amicably parting ways with her soul sisters in 2005 to pursue a career as an independent woman, Kelly hit the high road and began singing her own songs, her own way. With enough platinum records to pave her way to the moon and back, spurred on by her fans undying loyalty and overwhelming support, Kelly’s back and will officially release her fourth album ‘Here I Am’ on November 28th. Citing dance and classic R&B as the inspirations for the new material, Marvin Gaye and artists of the Motown era were Kelly’s key influences, she explained “I went to Hitsville USA when I was on tour with Chris Brown over the summer, and we were in Detroit in the studio where the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay, The Supremes were recording. I just listened to all their music and everything was a story. I’m actually taking that and putting it into the new album.”

Listing Down For Whatever and Motivation as her favourite tunes from the new album, Kelly has collaborated with a host of heavyweight talent, making this her most ambitious compendium to date. Big Sean, Alex Gaudino, Lil Wayne and David Guetta have all played a part in her honing a pick’n'mix of potential number ones. With her stint as a judge on The X Factor only having helped to secure her place as Queen Bee on both sides of the Atlantic, i-D online caught-up with the one-woman whirlwind to find out what’s up next on her international mission…

kellyrowland.com

Text: Milly McMahon
Photography: Bella Howard
Film: Asylum Films

Benetton, unhate

Driving change and encouraging tolerance by taking a moral stand against social inequality, ethical high street clothing label United Colors of Benetton have taken to international billboards with a single, poignant and controversial message: Unhate.

Making its voice heard without uttering a single sentence, Benetton’s latest advertising campaign caused quite the stir, hitting headlines on Wednesday this week. Featuring an array of the world’s most powerful leaders in passionate clinches, the Benetton Group launched their most controversial strategy to date in a bid to to shake up the world’s conscience and stir people towards greater individual and collective commitment. Hoping to encourage a shift in balance, breaking down the social barriers which segregate individuals though prejudice and political ignorance, Benetton have labelled the initiative, the ‘Unhate campaign’. Launched online with an accompanying viral, shot by French director Laurent Chanez, a short ‘Unhate’ film tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love. Seeking attention through positive reinforcement, Benetton has created a ‘kiss wall’ and an ‘unhate list’, located on their official website, which encourages subscribers from all over the world to interact and spread the love.

i-D online caught up with the creative minds behind the media storm to find out more about the forthcoming Unhate Foundation and their plans for spreading world peace.

What appealed to you specifically about the message of the Unhate campaign? We are living in complex times: widespread economic crisis and inequality are heightening distrust and social conflict. But these are also times of new hope and zeal, as we have seen from the unrest and protest movements, starting with the Arab spring in Tunisia, spreading through Egypt and Spain, to the Occupy Wall Street initiatives in New York. This is the scenario within which Benetton wants to be a part of the drive for change and participation. It wants to make its voice heard, taking an approach of dialogue and respect for diversity, with a clear, simple message.

How did you go about collating the images for the campaign?The campaign was created by Fabrica, Benetton Group’s communication research centre.

What areas of the world is the campaign focused upon at the moment? We had live actions in New York, Paris, Milan, Tel Aviv and Rome. It is anyway an international campaign.

How do you hope to go about spreading the message of Unhate more? Through the UNHate foundation which is an extension of the campaign. The objective of the foundation is to oppose and undermine the culture of hate, with campaigns meant to exorcise “fear of the other” and to promote closeness between cultures, races and religion. The Foundation will organise initiatives involving different stakeholders, from the new generations to the institutions, international organisations and NGOs, right through to civil society. We hope the foundation will have a real impact on the international community, especially through the vehicle of communication, which can reach social players in different areas.

How do you hope to bring the signature political Benetton attitude back onto peoples’ radars and keep the messages feeling current for today’s consumers? Through the use of both traditional media and the digital world. This is an interesting aspect of the campaign, this interweaving of different languages to reach the broadest audience possible. But also, with an outlook of open democracy, to invite people to take an active role, to have their say. To be protagonists. Via the “Kiss Wall” and the “Unhate List”.

Who is your target audience? All races, cultures, religions and ages.

Tell me more about the Lana Sutra installations the Fabrica Group worked on for yesterday’s launch? Celebrating the Benetton key elements of Wool, Colour and the idea of Uniting people “Lana Sutra” is a collection of 15 art installations (created by Erik Ravelo from Fabrica – Benetton’s communication centre) that express the idea of love cancelling differences and binding humanity. Each installation is made of plaster sculptures of a man and a woman covered in coloured woollen threads. The contact between their bodies, where the colours mingle and the threads merge, symbolises the natural love that cancels differences and binds humanity as one. It is also symbolic of the values of United Colors of Benetton, an all-encompassing brand whose fashions, composed primarily of knitwear and colour, bring together persons, points of view, passions, peoples and trends.

How will you deal with any negative feedback the campaign receives? We will reiterate and explain the concept behind the idea. The campaign was conceived this way because we truly believe in its message. We certainly did not intend to be offensive and we continue to believe that scandal is often in the eye of the beholder. We have been touched and saddened by some reactions but we are increasingly convinced that we must continue our battle against hatred. We maintain our belief, but the last thing we wanted was to further hatred or misunderstanding, particularly when the spirit of the campaign is to “unhate.”

If you could deliver one, United Colors of Benetton message to the entire world right now and everyone was listening, what would you say? UNHATE.

unhate.benetton.com

Text: Milly McMahon

Russ Yallop And Taymor Zadeh - U Know

Russ Yallop And Taymor Zadeh - U Know by Russ Yallop

N.A.S.A.‘S The Spirit of Apollo UK Screening, Q+A & Afterparty

Justin Martin & Ardalan - Mr.Spock