Michael Okum is an L.A. based filmmaker and visual artist. Originally from New Jersey, he fought hard to leave behind his "working class" mindset for the jet set. He still listens to "The Boss" and does not frown upon those who choose to live a life of material gain. He is currently working on a feature script titled "BULLHEAD."
MELANCHOLIA, Lars Von Trier’s new film, is a complex work from a controversial director with a lot on his mind. It’s a genre-bending, allegorical narrative about the end of the world rooted in melodrama and shrouded in mystery at every turn.
If you are familiar with Von Trier’s past work and especially his major works like Dogville, Antichrist and Breaking the Waves you already know that with each successive film he intends to provoke some sort of extreme reaction from the viewer and Melancholia is no exception. If you are new to Von Trier this film may be one of his most accessible. It’s certainly is one of the most visually ravishing and multi-layered of his career. Continue reading →
Mark Villegas is a 90's era b-boy whose windmills include feet slamming on ground. He is also a Culture and Theory graduate student at the University of California at Irvine. When not reading poorly written theory texts or uprocking, he shoots guerilla-style documentary films highlighting Filipino and Filipino American popular culture. You can check him out at Hip Hop Lives: http://filamfunk.blogspot.com/
“I’m a-I’m a Filipino til I die, til I die,” the “bad” voice repeats as Genius Ears of Paro Paro Beats steps away from the controls and stomps hard at the front of the stage. He dangles his arms and head at the lull of the beat and flexes his neck at the snare in a krump gesture. Children unclasp tiny grips on mothers to commence dance floor bouncing. Continue reading →
The Orchestre Poly-Rythmo can best be described as musical godfathers of the West African nation of Benin, where successive generations of musicians have been inspired by the sounds of funk and vodoun (voodoo) music which first emerged from the homes of young men living in 1960s Cotonou, the economic capital of the country. Continue reading →
Sarah is a Los Angeles bred humanitarian who acquired a penchant for writing early on. Her work has been featured in Vapors and POOLTRADE SHOW magazine. She attends CSUN Graduate School of Journalism, where she is creating a radio documentary about police brutality.
It was 1964. Lagos, Nigeria was a densely populated metropolis, giving birth to a wide range of African music. This was before the civil war, when the city was experiencing an influx of new residents who introduced music that differed in style and purpose. As various cultural groups gathered, an environment marked by new instruments, patterns of movement and cadences melded together. Externally, African music varies in ideological and social perspective, as well as in harmony and instrumentation. Continue reading →
Rick Heffernan dropped out of an Irish design school to move to a pre-EU Vilnius, Lithuania on the basis of running the Baltic's best underground night club, and since then he has never looked back and worked full time in all aspects of the music industry including record deals with boutique labels to outdoor Eastern European raves for 30,000 people. Rick learned the ropes of the music industry from Paul Murphy, 80´s London jazz DJ pioneer, many moons ago and worked with such artists as: Grace Jones, Orbital, Nightmares on Wax, et al. Soon after he took on a 3-year management contract with original Studio 54 DJ legend, Nicky Siano.
Thus far Rick lived in San Francisco, Vilnius, Helsinki and flew extensively to most corners of the planet, before anchoring himself in Barcelona’s music industry. He now calls the Catalan capital of Barcelona, more specifically the Gracia District, his home.
An interview with John O’Connor
*** John Blek and the Rats are brought up on a healthy dose of country ballads and American folk roots mixed with the deep Irish countryside. The Irish four piece is showing Europe that not all new bands have to be skinny jeans, ray-bans and haircuts. With tracks that sound way past their years and arrangements far more interesting than a lot of what’s currently on offer in Europe, it will be exciting to see how the future unfolds for them. Continue reading →
Ethan Holtzman moved to Topanga Canyon when he was two years old. During his childhood years, he caught blue-belly lizards and foraged for edible fungi. He grew up singing folk songs with his family around the potbelly stove, the sole source of heat. Eventually he bought an accordion and studied under the late master, Milton Mann. He currently plays a Farfisa in the band, Dengue Fever, and tours the world.
Interview with Os Mutantes
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It was in 1966 in Sao Paulo, Brazil where visionary brothers Sergio Dias and Arnaldo Baptista teamed up with singer, Rita Lee, to form the seminal band, Os Mutantes. The results were an astounding and pleasurable sonic blend of psychedelic rock and Tropicalia.
The Brazilian music movement occurred in the early sixties, starting from a visual arts installation, but quickly branched out to include all aspects of Brazil’s rich cultural scene. Its philosophies are based on antropofagia or the cultural and musical cannibalism of all societies, generously absorbing influences from all genres and concocting a unique syncretic blend of art, music and film. Continue reading →
An interview with Hank Willis Thomas
*** Hank Willis Thomas’ cousin Songha was the model older brother—talented and charming, he won many academic and athletic honors before almost finishing up a degree in communications to pursue a career in broadcasting. At age 27, his life ended outside a Philadelphia nightclub, where two men held Songha and two friends at gunpoint. Songha had not resisted. He lay prone on the icy floor when one of the gunman, after having taken some money and jewelry, shot him in the back of the head. For the Willis family, Songha’s death, however painful and senseless, was not without meaning. Hank thought about the circumstances of his cousin’s murder—who else but a black male would end another black male’s life over some jewelry? Continue reading →
Sarah is a Los Angeles bred humanitarian who acquired a penchant for writing early on. Her work has been featured in Vapors and POOLTRADE SHOW magazine. She attends CSUN Graduate School of Journalism, where she is creating a radio documentary about police brutality.
Daniel Woodford is a visual artist whose designs encompass elements of spirituality, science and philosophy. His work is self-referential, bearing both meaning and emotion that stems from his background. Born in an impoverished and overcrowded capital of Indonesia and later adopted by an English couple, they moved as a new family to Scotland where Daniel “gained a sense of gratitude and a worldly perspective” early on. With his father as an entomologist and his mother as a ceramist, he developed concepts that connected art and psychology. Many are unaware, including Daniel’s family and friends, that he experiences deja vu quite frequently- actually too often. He explains that this odd synergy occurs by the minute. Continue reading →
E. Tae Cha is notorious for her penchant for puns and crispy fried food. She completed her B.A. in Lit/Writing at UC San Diego and spent a couple of years corrupting university-aged Seoulites before sampling some English Lit at UW Madison. This slow-talking Canuck recently began a William Steig collection. She hopes one day for a bright little kitchen perfect for all manner of makery; for now, she'll content herself with Managing Editor magic to shape grammatical, syntactical masterpieces.
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Architect Bryant Yeh’s “Suprematist” is and isn’t your ordinary bench. It functions as any bench should (i.e., it supports even an ample bottom) and it’s gorgeous to boot. Yet from matter to pattern, this specimen is anything but run-of-the-mill. The piece’s christening also points to something deeper. While the bench’s repurposed material is consistent with its 19th C namesake, a Russian aesthetic championing the “rediscovery of pure art which… ha[s] become obscured by the accumulation of ‘things’, the Suprematist manifests an aspect of Yeh’s approach at every stage of his architectural and design work. Continue reading →
Sarah is a Los Angeles bred humanitarian who acquired a penchant for writing early on. Her work has been featured in Vapors and POOLTRADE SHOW magazine. She attends CSUN Graduate School of Journalism, where she is creating a radio documentary about police brutality.
A feature on Tricia Rose
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In a society where creativity and criticism coexist, it almost seems contradicting that there remains little space for discourse. One category that helms much debate is the state of hip hop. Its reputation is slated as a cultural phenomenon, and although its origin was conceived nearly twenty years ago, the complexities that surround its emergence still remain. Prevailing issues that incestuously relate to hip hop, some of which include racism, poverty and misogyny Continue reading →
Born in Australia, Leon spent a pinball upbringing in places such as Switzerland, Rhode Island and Los Angeles. He studied Industrial Design on the mean streets of Detroit and cut his teeth as a professional at Motorola in Chicago, where he attempted to make design a bit more sustainable. Currently he writes, designs, travels, fights crime and works on VEGA$BROKE, a new fashion line.
This week I had the great fortune to attend the CUSP Conference in Chicago. Following in the footsteps of the TED Talks the conference was about “the design of everything”, which is obviously a broad subject. Though I had no idea what to expect I am still in awe of how unexpected it turned out to be. Continue reading →
Born and bred in the SFC, Terry Hwang is a global citizen and child of the world. As pulsating samba beats dance in her head, she explores her world and writes about art, music, and the cultural manifestations that have shaped her life—diaspora, space, place, and identity.
An interview with Tad Nakamura
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There is a longing for community that we all strive for, and for those of us whose identities dictate that the personal cannot be separated from the political, documentary filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura’s work strikes a resonant chord. His work speaks to the power and passion of young people who have fought to re-claim the narrative of the American experience, an experience that cannot exist apart from ideas of diaspora, activism, and empowerment. Continue reading →
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams + Blake Mills
Royce Hall – Santa Monica, CA
1/27/12
A very special evening highlighting Lucinda Williams’ forthright style and authentic warmth that transcend the genres she works so handily with, from folk to blues and country-rock. Blake Mills will perform a 30-minute opening set, followed by a solo set from Lucinda. Then, Blake will join Lucinda for a duo performance. Lucinda will close the night with her full band, featuring Blake on guitar.
Lucinda has been touring in support of her critically acclaimed 2011 album Blessed, an emotional and evocative album from the woman TIME Magazine named “America’s best songwriter.”
Blake Mills, The 23-year-old L.A. native, formerly of rock outfit Dawes, has forged a remarkable career that has seen everyone from Kid Rock to Cass McCombs solicit his services as a guitarist. He’s been on tour with Lucinda throughout 2011 and recently released his debut solo album Break Mirrors, which comes out of a long tradition of mellow Southern California rock.
When: Friday, January 27 at 8 p.m. (doors 7 p.m.)
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UCLA Live at Royce Hall uclalive.org. Tickets are available starting at $20 via Ticketmaster or the UCLA Central Ticket office at 310.821.2101.
Stones Throw’s Event Kicks Off Tonight! Mr. T’s – Highland Park, CA
1/26/12
Los Angelenos have something new to look forward to after their grueling week of traffic, work or school. Stones Throw DJs starts off a new bi-weekly event in Highland Park, so come out tonight and experience great music from one of LA’s best indie record label! Continue reading →
Godard’s latest (and possibly last) feature film, Film Socialisme The Cinefamily – LA, CA
1/26/12
Tonight will be the final screening of Jean Luc Godard’s latest opus, Film Socialisme. His expansive oeuvre spanned the 60′s and beyond, codifying the French New Wave movement and leaving an indelible impression in the history of cinema. In celebration of this special event, The Cinefamily will also screen his masterpiece on pop culture and political activism in the swinging Parisian ye-ye era, Masculin Feminin. Continue reading →
Young Galaxy‘s “Shapeshifting” is inflective wide expansive dance music. The sounds whirl with romantic cascading guitars, bells and synths. They’ve recently re-released their album “Shapeshifting” along with a remix album, “Versus”, with artists including Austra, Handsome Furs, Junior Boys and more. I got a chance to chat to Stephen Ramsay from Young Galaxy about nomadic travels, genre-less music and Fauvist art. Continue reading →
With her first two films a decade ago (Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar, two masterpieces of poetic realism and arresting cinematic beauty), Lynne Ramsay established herself as one of the most promising and pure directorial talents in the world, but it seemed for many years we would be left in constant anticipation of seeing that promise fulfilled. Now, cineastes can finally rejoice over Ramsay’s return to the screen, and in the tradition of Von Trier’s Antichrist or Nic Refn’s Drive, we also get the bonus pleasure of seeing a favorite arthouse director bending a “genre” subject — in this case the “bad seed” evil-child thriller. Continue reading →
Representing Emerging and Under-represented Artists in LA
Barnsdall Art Park – Los Angeles, CA
6/3 thru 11/2/12
The Hammer Museum presents Made in L.A., the first in an ongoing series of exhibitions focused on artwork created in the Los Angeles region. Made in L.A. 2012,organized by the Hammer Museum in collaboration with LA><ART, will be presented at the Hammer Museum, LA><ART and the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Art Park from June 3 – September 2, 2012. Building upon the tradition of Hammer Invitational exhibitions, Made in L.A. 2012 will feature roughly 60 artists with an emphasis on emerging and under-recognized artists. The Hammer is also pleased to announce that Wells Fargo has come on board as Made in L.A 2012’s Presenting Sponsor, an important and substantial commitment to this inaugural citywide event. Continue reading →
Daptone Records has been delivering the New Sound of Old Soul since the turn of this century and has established itself as a place where quality, heart and feeling are the staple of every on of their releases. The label is celebrating 10 Years of Daptone with a series of intimate shows in New York and Brooklyn — they have already completed four amazing sold out shows by Sharon Jones & The Dap-kings shows in Brooklyn and New York Continue reading →
Lars Von Trier Latest Opus! The Cinefamily – Los Angeles, CA
11/26 thru 11/19/11
Modern auteur, Lars Von Trier, releases Melancholia on Zentropa Films, rounding out his impressive oeuvre for the year. In a sense, it seems that Trier allowed himself to be swept up with the zeitgeist of our generation and created one of many not-so-subtle reminders of the portentous Winter Solstice. However among the various end-of-time films with their ear-splitting natural disasters or alien grotesquery coming to colonize our earth, Melancholia stands apart as a beautiful and lingering kiss goodbye to the world as we know it. Continue reading →
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Stones Throw’s Event Kicks Off Tonight!
Daptone Records has been delivering the New Sound of Old Soul since the turn of this century and has established itself as a place where quality, heart and feeling are the staple of every on of their releases. The label is celebrating 10 Years of Daptone with a series of intimate shows in New York and Brooklyn — they have already completed four amazing sold out shows by Sharon Jones & The Dap-kings shows in Brooklyn and New York 
