Cover artwork by Walter Hugo
ARTHUR AND ALBERT “Celebrate or Ignore” London: thriving concrete jungle, an ever-evolving electric utopia. It is time for the hidden gems of our city to be wrenched out from the dark crevices where they are kept. Time to shine a light on the strange and beautiful things that flourish in our underground clubs and dingy back streets. Time for its creatures of the night to be exposed for the cutting-edge individuals they are. Housed within our minds for such a long time has been the desire to create a publication that celebrates all the creativity and wonder that we are constantly stumbling upon, and uncovering in bizarre places throughout this labyrinth of a city. Everywhere we go we meet people telling us stories of what they’re doing, what’s going on around them, from the extraordinary and the fascinating, the absurd and the hilarious. Things that we would never have known about, had we not ventured upon them first-hand. Since setting our sights on this endeavour, we have been avidly scrabbling away, making notes in the darkness of clubs, rolling studio rocks over to see what’s underneath, screeching to a halt in the street when we spy imaginative treats, and following whispers that come from every corner of London. Arthur And Albert magazine aims to seek out and celebrate the highest caliber of talent in London. We are no longer interested in the culture of ‘cool’. AAA persists, not to establish a uniform trend of what we ‘should’ be in London but to emphasize the inspiration all around us in our own city. In this, our first issue, we’ve purely started to scratch the surface of these, ever evolving, subject matters. We are poised to dive in further and bring you more delights. We hope you enjoy it! If you want to get involved, we are also open to submissions.
Maybe Words: Constance Jones Image: Simon Santhanam If only MAYBE wasn’t such a nebulous word If only MAYBE didn’t carry such potential hurt If only MayBe REALLY Meant YES Or TRULY meant NO. If only Maybe set you free Or gave things a go. But as it is It just lingers Brings on the worst thoughts Draws out sentences Leaves ajar doors. It should get in a cab and get some direction Or drive around London until it gets bored. Then battered and worn out it knocks at your door Says: ‘I don’t want to be indecisive any more.. I’ve seen all the back streets and alleys at night I’ve given hope to so many Started too many fights. I’m done with being the root of confusion I’m done being used to create the illusion That something may happen If only someone was free To say YES or NO And not just use me. I’m tired of being cute Used to tease open hearts Or loaded to shoot The entangled apart. To sow seeds of doubt In minds that were steady. To send feet rushing forward That clearly aren’t ready. How is it that I, just a word of five letters Could make people think so much worse Or much better, Of those that they know,
That they love, or they hate. How can I get so many in such a state… Of excitement, or confusion, dependent on my use I feel I’m taken as some form of abuse.’ If only MAYBE was YES If only MayBe was NO If only maybe I knew what I wanted to know. Then, maybe, I’d be happy And smile and shout Maybe, I wouldn’t feel so much dreaded doubt But MAYbe’s the Smack of the Literary world Tempting the weak minded to give words a whirl. ‘in my purest form I can challenge Great Minds to develop new paths to confusion free times. But the mindless use me in my lowest manner Make me the king of their wavering banner. I should be sprinkled, lightly as salt To add a taste of question to the open mind. But hooked on confusion to a default I’m countlessly used to be basely unkind MAYBE is a fucking drug And I wish I was free From it’s heady doses of sweet fantasy Taking my mind to the places it creates Indulging in the highest and lowest of states. MAYBE, I could just use you at weekends In a social environment, Or just with close friends. Maybe, then I’d have you under control Maybe that’s the way we should roll.
I know I shouldn’t do you late at night, On my own. But that’s when my mind’s most tempted to roam. I know I shouldn’t do you and drive in my car, As I cry enough tears to turn headlights to stars. Maybe, one day I’ll stop holding back my arms And try giving in to your darkest of charms Let them steer me off the edge of my pressurised world. Then in seconds, I’ll become a definite girl. Let others question What happened at night Let others be initiated into your rites, Of question And answer Then internal doubt. Of wondering, And sensing, What it’s all about. Of wanting to know With no true response How exactly they managed To get so ensconced In questions… With no answers… Because MAYBE doesn’t have a dance partner. Had no one noticed? He sits there alone Desperately seeking a definite home. But while YES and NO are tucked up in their beds, MAYBE roams the streets with questions in her head. ‘why can’t I be YES?’ ‘why can’t I be no?’ ‘why CAN’T I say lets give this a go?’ If she knocks at your door. Late at night. Just be sure.
Journey Words: Claire Wigington Image: Danny Hall
Wake up. Hit snooze. Wake up. Hit snooze. Wake up. Have fear of being late AGAIN. Get out of bed. Wash (body), brush (teeth), comb (hair) Waste unnecessary minutes sticking cotton bud into ear whilst boyfriend moans from under the duvet to “stop sticking that cotton bud into your ear”. Stop when dribbling starts. Get dressed. Get bag. Get out. Walk down the high street. Head down on Central Line. Alight at Stratford for DLR services
to Crossharbour. More of the head down. Shuffle, scuttling across platforms, interweaving between anonymous faces of commuters trapped in TFL Hell. The grey, the dreary, the dead inside. All suited and booted and ready for another day in the office, in the markets. Rah rah rahing on their Crackberrys, all pink ties and shoes from Austin Reed. Jeez Louise, how can I have so much rage at this hour of the day? Bubbling up inside me like a chilli ragu on simmer. And then I see it. Oh great majesty – the Olympic village. So vast is the progress now on the Newham site that you can almost see ghosts of the
future sitting and waiting to support their homeland. Cleared away are the warehouses from an era now unknown. Wiped clean to be replaced by buildings in which man will race. Where children will cheer and a spirit of fair competition and equality to all men shall reign forth. Ah, my sweets ‘tis a beautiful sight. The curves of ‘swim’, the slopes of ‘ride’ and the simple grandeur of the stadium. How did it get here so fast? Shit, we’re actually going to get something done on time! Hurrah! Well done, us! I exhale deeply thinking of one world, one dream. Out of the window of the DLR on this humdrum day I feel inspired, inspired to share the spirit.
Words: Kofi
Love, our predominant emotion, is the theme of a majority of song lyrics. It’s reassuring that a Google search for “love” turns up, at 1330 million results, seven times those for “hate”. All manner of other subjects have been covered by song writers; songs of hope and joy, irony and absurdity, songs telling stories or celebrating places (including the sea), protest songs, music hall songs about food, songs about work or post-impressionist painters, blues, lullabies and in the persona of a fan. Eddie Cochran covered “Three Stars” about the Buddy Holly plane crash and, after his own death a year later, was celebrated in “Just Like Eddie”. Singer-songwriters, even famous ones, sometimes tell of their own musical tastes even if “star
as fan” comes as a surprise. A few songs about other performers: Bessie Smith sang “Cakewalking babies from home “. A syncopated joy celebrating some unnamed dance champions ... “ When it comes to business not a soul can compare.” (The track that put “Strut your stuff” into widespread use.) Jonathan Richman wrote “The Baltimores” about an a capella group. “ They bring their clothes when they sing ... In fact that’s all they bring.” (A summary that’s hard to fault.) Joni Mitchell’s lyrics to Charles Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” are a wistful memorial to Lester Young. “ The sweetest swinging music man
... ...A bright star in a dark age ” Arthur Conley’s “ Sweet Soul Music ” is a pantheon of his fellow singers “ Spotlight on Otis Redding, now. Singing fa fa fa fa fa fa. Spotlight on James Brown, now. He’s the king of them all....” Ian Dury’s “Sweet Gene Vincent” is a wonderful cascade of images crossing a dramatic tempo change. (A tribute to one master of a manner from another) They make music, which they love, so what could be more natural than for it to become their subject matter.? Additions to this list? There must be plenty. If they come to you, share them with your friends.
Obscure Nexus Playlist
Songs about other performers
Hand Land All watches by Casio G – Shock Sculptures by Gary Card Photographed by Anthony Warner Art directed by Millie Brown Nail art by WAH Nails
Glass, Brick, Blood, Sweat and Tin Words: Brett Fenn Images: Walter Hugo Walter Hugo: artist, alter ego, erratic scientist, photographer, inventor… when it comes to suffixing his name one wonders where to stop. Each element of Walter’s multifaceted self vies for distinction within his work, enabling him to create pieces that are not only exquisitely beautiful but also hold a staggering depth of process, structure, and experimentation behind them. His pieces which, in their own right, stand free from the necessity of explanation (a breath of fresh air itself, in the current world of modern art), encompass another dimension of fascinating back-story.
project you would be required to stand motionless, perfectly still, for at least the ten seconds of exposure time required by the camera. This is endlessly more difficult than it sounds, given the blazing lights shining directly into your face for the entirety of the experience, and with the somewhat harrowing knowledge that even the slightest movement will irreparably alter the final piece. However, the resulting images give substantial justification to any momentary physical discomfort. Each one is a unique work that Walter develops directly in front of his subject. Each piece of glass is effectively a giant negative that Walter has hand made, personally painting the layers of chemicals on. The brush marks of his painting and the nature of the shooting process have given him the ability to create images that are eerily enchanting and show his subjects, though clearly modern, to be from another era altogether. The glass portraits give a glimpse into why photographic portrait subjects from centuries long-gone feared the camera would steal their souls. Indeed, Walter’s subjects come across as so deeply feeling, with sometimes the most surprising of emotions exhibited.
The current incarnation of Walter’s artistic exploits is in the form of his Glass Picture Piece. For this work, Walter has captured the souls of his creative social circle in black and white and developed them onto glass or tin sheets to make a fresh marker of his time. The fact that he resides (most unassumingly) in the chaotic centre of the fashion, art, and music scene has given him access and ability to create amazing portraits, some of faces we recognise now, others of those we will, no doubt, recognise in the future. The Glass Picture Piece required that Walter build a giant camera, (bigger than some London The photographic process itself is bedrooms) which he uses to take from the 18th Century; Walter has the photograph and also to perform purely adapted it to suit his own half the development process Rory DCSideas and designs. This application Photography: within. The camera is shrouded in and progression of the technique is Stylist: Steve Vyse interest, created by Walter himself heavily scientific and experimental, from an ancient lens he purchased which has entailed a tireless and ‘at whilst scouring flea markets for many times frustrating’ workload photographic paraphernalia. for Walter in the past year. If you were asked to pose for the His sister project, and forerunner to
this one, is a series of wall prints in public places. Again, these pieces utilise early photographic techniques to create a series of pieces developed directly onto walls, seemingly making Walter the world’s first photographic street artist. Painting his personally developed emulsions directly onto the wall, and using his bespoke, hand-built mobile dark room, it would seem that Walter delights in the difficult. The final pieces are inevitably textured by their placement upon brick or concrete or any other surface he has chanced to emblazon. Making his first ‘wall prints’ a series of nudes in renaissance poses, the works have a feel almost akin to modern day frescos. Though overtly intricate, scientific photography would seem to be Walter’s forte, this is certainly not the limit of his talents. The sparks of his artistic nature are taking him on a plethora of journeys towards further obscure ideas. The singular thread seems to be that just as each of Walter’s works is deeply imaginative, each one also requires a highly complex practical challenge in order to be created. In a time where some of the most flippant of concepts are heralded as great works, it is inspirational to see an artist working so fervently to develop processes which require such dedication. Walter Hugo will be exhibiting his Glass Picture Piece later in the year. In the meantime, keep a look out for his Wall Prints on a facia near you.
Vital
Dominic Jones Words: Alice McCraith Images: Sean Michael
London’s favourite party boy is known for his hard edged yet beautiful jewellery collection of thorns, claws and natural defences. From living in a squat in Elephant and Castle, where he created his first collection, to being one of the most sought after jewellery designers, Dominic Jones talks about his inspirations, new collection and plans for the future. What was the catalyst for your interest in jewellery design? When I was younger my uncle had a long-term girlfriend, who was a jeweller, so I had it in my head from quite early on, although it wasn’t my only option. Did you imagine that things
would take off so quickly? No never, it’s quite overwhelming to be honest. It feels like a bit of a joke. I know I chased it, worked my arse off and pushed every angle, but it still seems surreal when I stop and look back at what I have accomplished in one year and off the back of one collection. How would you describe your design aesthetic? Elegant, tough, it’s kind of a cross between Art Nouveau and punk. Where did you draw the inspiration for your first collection from? My first collection was based on natural self-defences; claws, thorns, fangs. I like the idea of looking outside the context in which they
are designed. They are all built up of really feminine elegant curves; I wanted to translate that juxtaposition. As well as modeling for you, what sort of impact has your friend Alice (Dellal) had on your first collection? She was instrumental to it, she backed it all, from the workshops, to production, and sampling. She’s been there for all the meetings and has been a great support and ambassador from the beginning. Who do you envisage wearing your jewellery designs? Anyone with the desire to wear them, I love the diversity of people who are passionate about what I do. It really excites me when different
Present
ages and genders, people you wouldn’t expect, are wearing it. What can we expect to see from your upcoming collections? It’s a whole new collection but with a similar aesthetic. It’s very important to me to try and get everything right. There is a lot to consider, from the right mix of editorial pieces and sellable work, to building on my own recognisable style and showing progression and growth. There’s a lot of attention on me now, so I have to live up to the hype, it’s scary. Has life as a London party boy helped shape your style? Hugely, I lived for it. I felt like I grew with every new friend I made. I’ve always been a butterfly/chameleon/ fake dipping in and out of all the
different sides of London. I love the escapism of being involved with different subcultures that wouldn’t really mix or get on and I have become a bit of a mongrel because of it; loving it all but never really committing to any of it. Anna Wintour was instrumental in your designs being sold in New York. How did that come about? By chance I caught her attention at London Fashion Week and I went and had a full interview with Mark Holgate from American Vogue. I think she liked the fact that I was trying to do something new by creating my own market place. She offered her support and backing. How has going from designing
“I love the escapism of being involved with different subcultures that wouldn’t really mix or get on and I have become a bit of a mongrel because of it; loving it all but never really committing to any of it.”
“Stick to your guns with your own vision, but make yourself open to the advice of others.” in your bedroom to being the fashion world’s favourite young designer affected you? I don’t get much chance to pat myself on the back as it’s been nonstop. To be honest it hasn’t really sunk in, I can recite all these amazing accomplishments but it won’t feel real until I can pay myself properly and know my company is fully independent and secure. You recently met Beyoncé, what whas going through your mind? I was shitting it. I felt so out of place, there was Christopher Kane and his sister, Nicolas Ghesquière; the creative director of Balenciaga, Gareth Pugh and his boyfriend Carson and then lil’ old me, and Alice. To say that I felt out of place would be a huge understatement. As we were waiting to go in her two massive man mountains of security guards, barked at us in a threatening and intimidating way. They put us in our place saying “You will not be over– familiar, you may shake her hand once, and once only. You will leave your phones and cameras here, we have our own backstage photographer and we will send you the picture after the tour!” FEAR! We went in, in twos, and as soon as Alice and I went in she ran up to me and hugged and kissed me on both cheeks. I thought I was going to get pounded by the guards but they were fine. She was so sweet, a lot smaller and so petite not the curvy Amazonian diva I was expecting. She was genuinely lovely. It’s such a blur, but I remember her thanking me for my talent and saying she was a huge fan of my work, which was so weird, and that she wanted to look as fly as Alice. Who are your personal
inspirations and idols? Elsa Schiaparelli, Andy Goldsworthy, René Lalique, and the makeup artist Kabuki. What advice would you give to other creatives on pursuing their dream? Stick to your guns with your own vision, but make yourself open to the advice of others. There are so many
different components to building a brand, know your own limitations and enlist the help of others and their strengths. Think about your market and who you want to sell to. Be aware of the industry as a whole, designers, stylists, journalists, buyers, PR, sales agents, photographers, these are the people who you will have to work with so learn about them! “It’s better to die scared, than to die bored”
Thread
All About The Boy Words: Lily Silverton
BOY: You may not have heard of it but you have most probably been influenced by it. BOY London was a seminal fashion label and concept store located on the Kings Road in the times when the Kings Road was somewhere other than Sloane city. Along with Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McClaren’s SEX store, BOY changed the face of punk and the course of fashion history. I caught up with one of its founders, John Krivine. How did BOY come into being? Steph Raynor, Don Letts, Jeannette Lee and me were the Acme crew. The crew were evicted from Antiquarius in February 1977. I signed a lease for a shop on Kings Road, can’t remember the number. I met Peter Christopherson and Little John through Sheila Rock, and they had a concept ready-to-go. The shop would be called BOY after the (fictional) vagabond who started the fire and was burnt to death. The fire was inside the shop, applied charred wooden beams lined the ceiling and walls, the remains of the boy were in three pristine display cases hanging in the window, exhibits; a) a bit of stomach attached to the fly section of 501s; b) a Doc Marten with a human stump in it; c) a finger with a ring on it. And how did that go down? We opened on the Friday and Kings Road came to a standstill outside the shop. On Monday, following six written complaints from prominent local citizens, a detective from Chelsea Police Station came to seize the display and arrest Don Letts.
Don was released the same day, I was prosecuted under the Act of Vagrancy (1815) for displaying a severed limb in public. Peter Christopherson was approached by the forensic department of the Metropolitian Police to produce more of the same for their upcoming textbook on wounds. It was in all the papers, Womens Wear Daily in New York picked up on the story and gave us an outraged two-page spread. What was the atmosphere like in the shop? It was loose, stuff was getting nicked the whole time because the staff were not serious about their responsibilities and the management was lazy. Miles Davis Landesman helped the girls undress in the changing rooms, Mark Wilkins dreamily doodled designs and put money in his pocket every day. We had dozens of assistants; they all loved the job so the atmosphere was pure fun. When Chelsea FC was playing at home the shop would come under attack and the fans would surge in. Our bouncer, Tiny Tim would be drunk by about the time they arrived and he would hold them off with a tyre iron like Leonidas at Thermopylae. Do you remember the first thing you ever sold? A T shirt designed by Little John. It had a legal waiver printed on the back which the owner of the T shirt had to sign in indelible ink. The waiver stated that anyone who assaulted the wearer of the T shirt was indemnified against prosecution or any civil action. We produced about twenty of them, they sold for
five quid, they sold out in two weeks, and I have never seen any of them again. What was/is your favourite piece of BOY clothing? We sold all of Vivienne’s (Westwood) Muslin shirts under license from 1982-1984. All the Seditionary prints were used, and this was as good as it got at Boy. What do you think of Vivienne Westwood now? Has she changed much? Vivienne was the most wonderful character in London. In about 1984, after the Soho Mud debacle and everyone thought she was washedup, she appeared at the St Martin’s fashion show, and at the end stood up in her rags and screamed at the top of her voice, ‘What a load of bollocks’ and ranted as she made her way to the exit. She was fearless, cared deeply about fashion, and the nearest thing I ever met to a genius. I really liked Malcolm also. So why did you sell it? I had no more fashion ideas whatsoever, I was a lousy manager, and I thought Steph Raynor would be better-off without me; and he was. Acme Crew today… Steph Raynor runs SICK, a boutique on Redchurch Street, E1 which carries on the BOY legend selling studs, leathers and the likes. Don Letts continues to work as a film director, musician and DJ. Jeannette Lee coowns Rough Trade Records. And John Krivine runs a guesthouse in the depths of the Israeli desert.
In the Woods Photographed by Ellis Scott Styled by Max Ortega
Adam Grunfeld Media student Skateboarder since 1998 T-shirt, Alpha 60; jeans, Adam’s own John Zulu TV presenter in Denmark Skateboarder since 1995 T-shirt, TROVOTA
Martyn Thomas Director Skateboarder since 1992 Vest and trousers, Cos; t-shirt, Alpha 60
Toby Marrow Prop-Master Skateboarder since he was eight Sweatshirt, Cos
Matthew Taylor Shoe designer Skateboarder since he was 13 T-Shirt, Vintage; trousers, Matthew’s own
Sean McLusky’s Rite of Ridiculousness Words: Ed Lilo and Tiger Brown Images: Sean Michael
Thirty years of parties, music and teetering on the impossible chasm between the underground and commercially-viable, Sean McLusky is yet to be sucked in and spat out, to become the cliche many of his peers have. Rather his notoriety is at odds with his growth as a promoter; while others age out of ‘the scene’, McLusky is growing into it. We meet in his sometimes-gallery space in Shoreditch, currently a dimly-lit, black-walled office filled with scraps of his history: the 1983 top-twenty JoBoxer’s LP he drummed on, posters for events long-passed, stacks of music magazines. The interview is a welcome break from organising his the third 1234 Festival, a celebration of Shoreditch, an amalgamation of the underground, new and old. His current trajectory’s birth coincides with that of The Sonic Mook Experiment, encapsulating McLusky’s oft-lauded creation ‘Future Rock and Roll’, a meshing of oldschool rock with future electronics, taking the form of compilations, club nights and culminating in a four-day festival at the ICA. “Sonic Mook?
Best thing I’ve ever done. Anything before is just fucking ridiculous stuff I did in my youth.” What inspired it? “Just all the bits I’d picked up in New York, something completely against the grain. There’s always enough desperate people, people disillusioned with the mainstream, out there. It’s just a matter of putting on the best party ever and making it as ridiculous as possible.” Returning from a sabbatical-ofsorts in New York in 1995, nearbroke and without the contacts he’d accumulated prior, McLusky stumbled upon Shoreditch. “It reminded me of The East Village, just a fucked-up area with a few old rag trade shops hanging on in there and a couple of lofts with parties in.” The 333 had just changed hands, “a big gay cruise pub into a straight party venue,” and it was there that Sonic Mook was born. “We had a breakbeat floor, as that was the OKish end of dance music at the time, and downstairs we managed to un-ghettoise live music by incorporating the new wave of rock and roll bands. But it was the upstairs room that was most influential, a
bunch of skateboarding kids making up stupid punk rock aliases playing terrible soft-rock anthems.” Was McLusky responsible for the birth of Shoreditch irony? “We started all that, intentionally ridiculous garden-shear haircuts, crowd-surfing to Eye Of The Tiger, a bad joke basically. The floor used to shake, I’d climb the scaffolding and film kids going mental, fighting the security hired to stop crowdsurfers landing on the decks.” “Now it just sounds like a bad Eighties party, in fact Guilty Pleasures has picked it up and ran with it, making an industry out of what was essentially a piss-take.” Sonic Mook led to a trio of compilations, the first signaling a new era of guitar music and its convergence with electronics, the second heralding the beginnings of Future Rock and Roll, the third assembling a genre-less essence of the scene McLusky created. While many of the artists fizzled out, taken as a whole each record perfectly sums up the chaos, fashion and perceptionshifting ridiculousness of the era. “The second release was tied to a four
Indispensable
“We started all that, intentionally ridiculous gardenshear haircuts, crowdsurfing to Eye Of The Tiger, a bad joke basically.”
day festival at the ICA at the same time as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the chaos led to armed police showing up to escort kids out of the area. It really pulled the threads of the new scene together, into what was essentially just a massive party.” With his legacy secured, McLusky tried to step up. “I tracked down the owners of the old Scala cinema and talked them into launching it as a live venue and nightclub.” Does he still have anything to do with it? “They booted me out as soon as they’d nicked my numbers and I’d done the job. We moved Sonic Mook there and it killed it off. The venue was too big, and essentially, not in Shoreditch.” Undeterred, McLusky moved on to his next project. “I hooked up with Arthur Baker to put together something really special. Something London hadn’t seen for decades.” The result was Return To New York. “We got this hotel, the Great Eastern, that was full during the week with city boys but completely empty at the weekend. They let us sell tickets for rooms with PAs in half of them.” “It was a huge, super-glamourous event. We had some real coups line-
up wise, it was basically on the money for the time. Soulwax were residents, LCD Soundsystem’s first London show, Debbie Harry played alongside Tom Tom Club, Princess Superstar, Grandmaster Flash and Zongamin.” The next project was back in Shoreditch, McLusky’s spiritual home. “I’m really proud of 1234 Records, we did the first Babyshambles single, the first Whitey album, who I used to manage. That album’s just a fucking classic, it’s still used on TV adverts to this day. Thing is, he’s gone, disappeared off to Berlin, owes a lot of people including me a fortune, mostly for getting grams
in. I think it’s worth that last sixty quid for the penny to finally drop.” The festival came next, but what was his incentive? “It’s part of my plan to make Shoreditch the home of live music, the new Camden.” But isn’t Shoreditch ‘over’? “Yeah, it’s gone to money. Now, anything in Dalston works, I guess, it feels like round here did eight years ago. Though London Bridge is worth a shot, as is Whitechapel. Just not fucking Peckham, I mean, who the fuck’s going to go there? I refuse to acknowledge it.” McLusky is no stranger to starting scenes. His CV extends back far
beyond Sonic Mook. He started one of the original House nights, Brain Club. “That was my first place. We converted a tiny old rent-boy bar, painted it fluorescent, and lived in it. Seven nights a week, back when I had energy, an all-night every-night rave club.” Love Ranch followed, a night laden with then future stars like Leftfield, D-Ream and Underworld, which he casually claims “could have been bigger than Cream.” McLusky dabbled with the wrong kind of notoriety during the Club UK era. “I got headhunted by two proper villains. Not literally, though it was close. I worked with them to turn an old freezer storage section in Wandsworth shopping centre into a rave venue, three thousand people every Friday and Saturday, but it became apparent after the first weekend that I’d created an E supermarket for some proper crooks.” “I walked out after a couple of weeks. Good job really. They ended up shot dead in a Range Rover. They’re immortalised now though, in Essex Boys.” His commercial heyday was probably running The Complex and booking festivals for Mean Fiddler, though he plays it down. “I had to start doing
stuff like Fantasy Ashtray just to keep myself sane. I found a fucking brilliant tranny bar in Soho, and just put on rock and roll bands there. They’d have cabaret starting just after and it would fill up with lorry drivers watching men in frocks, getting handjobs in the toilets. “ I realise he’s talking about Madame Jojos, “definitely not the same place it was back then.” McLusky is described as a nascent scene and tastemaker; yet when pushed to divulge predictions seems stumped. “I’m just a very old person hanging with kids and it’s not my place to say. But McLusky is still picking and choosing what the next generation listens to. For many of the bands on the 1234 bill, it will be their biggest show to date. He’s assembled what is essentially a who’s who of bubbling under new-future rock and roll. “I’m greedy when booking for the festival, so as well as the headliners, the exclusives, I don’t really know where to stop. I look at what the kids putting on nights at Catch, at the Old Blue, are booking. Half those bands only have ten MySpace friends but they’re making this amazing music. All the new lo-fi stuff I love.” What does he have lined up next?
“I got headhunted by two proper villains. Not literally, though it was close.” “Continue the festival, obviously. I’d love to do another Return To New York, something that big, but it would require the right venue. I’m doing a film that’s being written now, but can’t divulge any more on that. S.C.U.M. who I manage are just getting signed and have written some real songs which is a surprise.” “I want to avoid mixing with the mainstream again, selling sticky black fizzy liquid to fuck-wits. It’s all about the scene for me, and that’s constantly evolving. When a scene becomes populated by the lowest common denominator I’ll move onto whatever is next.” “One step backwards, two steps forward, that’s kind of my philosophy for how things move on, how I move forwards. People just grab a bit from behind and push it forwards again.” McLusky still exists on that precipice, on the brink of the mainstream, adopting and adapting. And hopefully he’ll still be trying to put on the most ridiculous party in another thirty years.
Ask An Artist
Save me from the Bright Lights Images: Amelia Karlson
Suzanne Pettigrew and Mark Batlow collaborated on their performance art piece at the AAA Creation Party. Set within their installation’s world, created out of corrugated cardboard furniture and painted cartoon-esque backdrops. Batlow painted Suz’s body with an array of altered Disney characters whilst she lounged in the pose of an archetypical femme fatal on her cardboard chaise lounge. Their words ensue. Suz: ‘The project is a visual conversation about corporate
seduction and how we live in a society obsessed with the consumption of products. A prime example of this is Disney, it catches your imagination when you are younger and then subvertly manipulates this into a brand identity. We used my body as a “canvas” to translate the concept of brands and corporations being part of who we are, and how we think. Being dressed as a generic version of a seductive female is the personification of a corporation. I don’t see it as trying to convey a message, it’s just a reaction to our environment.’ Batlow: “We first met a couple years ago when I was body painting live in a club and she was a willing participant. We hit it off creatively and since
then we have worked on a number of different projects together, including a mural for the Nike 1948 space in Shoreditch a year back and a couple of different street projects. I’m one of the artists on Suz’s ‘Over It & Co’ and Suz is involved on all of the projects I work on. She has covered the whole spectrum; managing, displaying, assisting, being a muse, helping with public relations and she has secured a fair few commissions for me. This current body painting display is part of a bigger body of work we are working on titled ‘Save me from the Bright Lights’. It is a work in progress, encompassing a whole bunch of finished pieces including film, photography and print.”
Arthur And Albert Creation Party Images: Danny Hall
On 22nd of May 2010, an intensely hot and sunny Saturday, we held our first ‘Creation Party’. Not satisfied with the prospect of simply creating our first magazine, we wanted to share the process of putting it together by hosting a great big event to give everyone a glimpse of how we work. For the day, our massy studio in Shoreditch housed multiple fashion shoots, art installations, musical endeavours and lots of excitedly inebriated people, drinking an abundance of cocktails and
devouring more cupcakes than one could shake a sticky finger at. Adhering to the universally acknowledged fact that it is always far more entertaining to watch other people work than doing it oneself, guests consequently enjoyed a multitude of visual prospects to keep them occupied whilst the Fashion, Art, and Music teams ran round like blue bottomed flies. All in all, it was a great success. The shoots from the day are housed within these pages, and if you had the chance to see us put them together then you can finally
see what all the fuss was about. We were given a great deal of help to put the event on and would like to thank everyone that gave their time, alcohol, and assistance. To name but a few: Peroni Beer, Havana Club, Grey Goose, Vitamin Water, Barefoot Wines, Pro Centre, Sound Masters, End Of The Line, BanJam, Vulture House, and the whole team of people working on the day. You were all brilliant! Thanks also to those who attended for showing your support, and we’ll see you at the next one…
The Outsiders Photographed by Sean Michael Styled by Millie Brown
Left: Zander wears Bamboo razor trim shorts, Topman and coral necklace, Marjan Pejoski at Kokon To Zai
Above: Ed wears Wheeling Shorts 1, Illionaire and Boots, Dr. Martens. Archie wears hot pants, KTZ at Kokon To Zai and Boots, Dr. Martens. Zander: same as before
Above: Ed wears trousers, William Richard Green at Machine-A; Boots, Dr. Martens and Lions and cubs sterling ring, RabidFox. Zander wears Barbel wool trousers, b store; Leather cyril shoes, Pointer and Thorn Cross necklace, Tobias Wistisen
This page: Ed wears sleeveless denim gilet, Topman; Knee-length silk shorts, Calvin Klein and Delirium necklace, Tobias Wistisen Archie wears Some sleep short 4, Illionaire; Rail half bangle, Tobias Wistisen and Cow Bone necklace, Marjan Pejoski at Kokon To Zai
Above: Archie wears Brazilian Fist Necklace, Marjan Pejoski Left: Archie wears double pleat wool turn-up trousers, b store and TMD Boots, Topman. Ed wears trousers, William Richard Green at Machine-A, boots, Dr. Martens; socks, Tabio and Dark Knight Necklace, Johnny Ramli at Kokon To Zai. Zander: same as before
Above: Zander wears mesh t-shirt, KTZ at Kokon To Zai; Coral necklace, Marjan Pejoski at Kokon To Zai and Crocodilian love ring, RabidFox
Right: Ed wears short sleeve shirt, American Apparel and ‘All Things Change’ black bow tie, Lavsh Archie at M and P, Ed at Models1 and Zander at Premier
Battle of the Muses Photographed by Rory DCS Styled by Steve Vyse
Previous page: Nina wears long black dress, Alice Palmer; boots, Bernard Chandran and black wicker face wrap, J Smith Esquire This page: Alena wears dress and jacket, Gemma Slack at MACHINE-A and boots, Bernard Chandran
Right: Margo wears dress and studded tights, Alice Palmer; bolero jacket, Iris Van Herpen and boots, Bernard Chandran. Keisha wears dress, Romina Karamanea at MACHINE-A and boots by Bernard Chandran. Nina wears dress, Iris Van Herpen; boots, Bernard Chandran and black wicker face wrap by J Smith Esquire
Art Director: Lily Silverton Digital operator: Tim Hill Make-up: Jo Sugar using Dermalogica and Bobby Brown Hair: Adelemarie Davidson at Toni&Guy (Gloucester Road, London) Nina at FM, Alena at First, Margo and Keisha at Premier Thanks to End Of The Line Graffiti for their artwork
iTreasure Words: Claire Wigington Image: James Trimmer Although it launched a decade ago geo-caching (pronounced geocashing) is only just coming out into the open thanks in part to the spread of the i-phone. Similar to the old ‘Letter boxing’ Geocaching is a global treasure hunt where users hide containers of treasure at a certain GPS locations giving clues to enable other uses to explore and find the caches. Perhaps its secret nature and undercover codes have been put in place to keep their own community tighter and to protect the worldwide game from ‘muggles’, the Potter inspired name for those outside of the geocache ‘know’. Being an inquisitive sort with an almost obsessive nature to not miss out, once I heard about this geo thingy I wanted to find some treasure for myself! I first heard about it from my fella. He was gigging in Kings Cross and had a few hours between sets when his bass player pulled out his iPhone and said there were loads of caches nearby. Not knowing what he was talking about but intrigued enough to follow, the two went off in search of treasure. They found three nearby. Two were 35mm film cases which is the standard ‘microcache’, a tiny cache which contains just a log book and pencil, the other was a Tupperware box around which a small boat had been built containing cracker toys, playing cards and a bracelet. The boat was so detailed yet completely hidden from public sight. Free from all ostentation these geocachers do not play the game for fame or fortune, just for the love of the hunt and to give joy to others playing their game.
There aren’t many rules to the game according to the official sites: If you find a cache sign the log book, the log book and pencil must remain, you can remove any other items from the cache but in the ethos of that paper clip dude from ebay you must replace the item with one of similar or greater value. No plundering! Like most things once you hear about them they seem to pop up everywhere. I was trying to have a snooze on a bench on the south bank and had two school kids scampering around the bench whispering and running their hands around the underside of the bench I was on. After a few minutes of their irritation I asked them what they were doing and between the sly glances and hushed voices I was told that they weren’t allowed to talk about the hunt as I was a mere muggle who may interfere. Once I opened up that I was a newbie of their GPS brigade, they imparted some other unofficial rules. Always hide a cache and retrieve it out of sight of others, do not attract attention and if you are out in the countryside searching take all your rubbish with you, or ‘cache in trash out’. Having a Geo GO My first cache was called ‘Unexpected Heroes’. The GPS coordinates led us to a car park next to a PDSA hospital. Behind the hospital is a graveyard for some of the animals who had passed away and so with trepidation I moved onwards to my first cache hunt in pet cemetery! A few of the esteemed occupants were armed forces animals and we must move from grave to
grave searching out those animals who fit the clues given to us on the geocache instructions. “I saved a judge” is one of the clues which hints: Find Lt Col A.H.K. Campbell’s saviour. When was he buried?” Another asks us “Find ‘Beauty’” who gained her award for “Work in Battle of Britain Rescue Squads.” When was she born? These clues continue until we have six sets of numbers from the dates on the gravestones which we must put into a set equation, again within the geocache clues, until we eventually get the coordinates of the cache. I can’t tell you where exactly it is, of course, I don’t want to be breaking any rules official or not. I wouldn’t want a band of geocachers coming at me brandishing i-phones and tiny pencils. But aside from finding any of the caches, it’s the exploration of your local area or that nice, sweet, warm milk feeling of comfort with your fellow man. I’m gunna go all humanitarian on your arses now but it is amazing to know that literally millions of these exist internationally. Especially as the majority are left intact and the treasure does evolve through the good vibes and upgrading of treasure by geocachers. Also as you explore in your hunt you will be taken to some beautiful places right on your doorstep which you never even knew existed. Now AAA readers I am trusting you to be educated, refined and inquisitive enough to enjoy, explore and not fuck with the cache shit! Get involved. It will make you feel good again. Where to start: www.geocaching.com www.ukgeocachers.co.uk
Words: Roxie Warder Images: Mark Simpson and Dmitri Galitzine
Behind every show, performance and piece of art, an artist has their minions, people crafting away to ensure everything is created, hung and displayed to adhere to the artists aesthetic vision. As an alternative perspective, we pull focus on to those unsung heroes. Spritely 23 year old Dmitri Galitzine is one of them. Dmitri completed his BA in Fine Art at Central St Martins last year, and has since been feverishly working away in his studio. To support his artistic endeavours he has been working for young British artist, Gavin Turk, for the past year. Turk along with his partner Deborah Curtis, has been running a project based troupe of artists, The House of Fairy Tales, which is designed to further community art education projects. Unlike the usual part time bar or call centre job (or just about anything to pay the rent) working three days a week for Turk, Dmitri has ample time to focus on his own practice. “I suppose I’m lucky. Admittedly, it’s a fine balance and one has to make sacrifices, but a nine to five would be much more of a struggle for me.” Unfortunately, for most young
artists this opportunity remains an illusive ideal, not many fifteen year olds get the option to intern for one of Britains home grown greats. Initially introduced to Turk by his brother-in law, Dmitri was underwhelmed at the prospect of working as an artist’s assistant since he “didn’t like art much at school and couldn’t draw realistically.” This soon changed when he saw decks in his studio. “We ended up spending the week playing Biggie records and making a record box from ply wood. It was pretty cool. When I left school two years later, I called him up and asked for a job. I spent the next six months sanding bin bags in Hackney Wick.” The other people working there were much older than him “. . .(they) listened to weird experimental music and used to talk about, ‘the space’ and started every sentence with, ‘for me...’ I pretended they were lame, but deep down I thought I might be missing out on something.” One of the team persuaded him to apply to a foundation course, so he went to Kingston for a year and “messed around with stuff from skips.” After finishing his BA, he was offered his old job back.
“So four years later and thousands of pounds in debt, I’m back in the same warehouse but can now I can join in the conversation.” Turk is not the only artist Dmitri has worked for. Since he also does the odd bit of ‘tech’ work, he has helped many well-known artists hang and organise their shows. “They are usually pretty unbearable . . . understandably so I guess. If I ever have anyone helping to hang a show of my own, I promise to just hurry up and make up my damn mind!” Operating within his current environment isn’t always easy. “Artists working for other artists is a difficult dynamic to get right. Everyone does things so differently and there’s a lot of ego in a room of eight artists. I try not to think too much about Gavin’s work conceptually because getting too immersed in someone else’s practice (and mind) I think can really affect your own work. I try and stick to the pragmatics, as much as I can. I suppose thinking so practically about art, makes you lose a certain respect for it somewhere; I can’t help but see works of art as annoying objects that need to be fastened to a wall, stretched or sanded.
Sub Rosa
The World is your Lobster
Catalogue Saturdays mixed media, 2009 5 sculptures on plinths
I find myself in a gallery crouched down on the floor, looking at how pieces are made or installed before I really think about their artistic merit. But it’s good experience to spend all day making things, and thinking about how things are made or put together…it means you can make mistakes on someone else’s time. Gavin has a knack of making complicated things seem very simple . . making it all look easy, which I suppose it is, if you want it to be. This is the most important thing he’s taught me.” The reality of working for a critically acclaimed artist is obviously extremely beneficial, but conversely presents certain pitfalls. A practical ethos appears to be the more pertinent resource, opposed to a mind submerged with conceptual theory, so where does an artist’s assistant draw inspiration if not from his master? For Dmitri his surroundings inspire and provoke him. He confesses an obsession with the tender mundane moments within every day life, “its not the landscapes or sunsets that inspire me but the little things, the
little moments in people’s front gardens or broom cupboards”. The beauty in the accidental is another source of creativity. He’s always stopping on the street, surprised by the way the roots of a tree can push up through gaps in the tarmac, or the way a pipe can snake around a window sill. Mainly he works sculpturally, but wouldn’t class himself under a particular genre as he doesn’t like to confine his work by the restrictions of categorisation. Dimitri views sculpture as his default vehicle “probably just because I can’t paint. To get a handle on art we are inclined to try and divide it up by discipline or by country or by aesthetic in order to make it more easily penetrable. I try my best not to see it like that.” Recently, he has been experimenting with collages as a different medium, to explore his artistic parameters. So does Dmitri have any advice to give other artists who want to get involved the way he has? “Don’t listen to all those annoying people who tell you how important it is to ‘network’. I don’t know anyone who has ever
gone to an opening and chatted up a stranger who just so happens to be important enough to give them a job or buy their work. I guess it’s a bit about being ballsy. A guy who used to work at Gavin’s stapled some pictures of his work and a letter to the studio door one day, which worked for him.” Dmitris’ upcoming show is called ‘Died For Want Of Lobster Sauce’. The inspiration for the title is drawn from a reference to the grand feast given by the great Condé to Louis XIV. The chef, was told that the lobsters intended for his sauce had not arrived, where upon he retired to his room and ran a sword through his body, unable to survive the disgrace brought upon him. His work is showing alongside work from Daniel Kelly and Ben Washington. The thematic aesthetic of the show is to explore ‘Englishness’ and the evolution from old to new. They take recognizable aspects of landscape, tradition and architecture from English history and fuse them with more contemporary cultural oddities.
ARTHUR AND ALBERT Editor – Zoniel Creative Director – Sean Michael
Contributors:
Advertising: Executive Director – James Sindall Sub–Editor – Sara Rourke Art Editor – Roxie Warder Contributing Arts Editor – Suzanne pettigrew Fashion Director – Millie Brown Fashion Co–Editor – Lily Silverton Fashion Co–Editor – Max Ortega Fashion Intern – Jessica Riches Music Co–Editor: Tiger Brown Music Co–Editor: Ed Lilo Feature Editor – Claire Wigington Poetry Editor/Staff Writer – Ottilie Wright Staff Writer – Daniel Lomas Designer – Lisa Novak Assistant Designer – Danny Hall Design Intern – Simon Santhanam
Contacts:
Art/Features/Music Intern: Michelle Kirk Studio Intern: Vincent Blasselle
info@arthurandalbert.com submissions@arthurandalbert.com advertising@arthurandalbert.com
Submissions:
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Thanks:
Arthur And Albert Magazine is open to submissions, if you would like to get involved, or to submit some of your work to us, please email us.
To continue our celebration of creativity, we hold an ‘AAA Celebrates…’ event at our studio, on the first Thursday of every month. All details on the website.
Casio G-Shock, Penelope Chilvers, Models1, M and P, First, FM, Premier, Bordello, Wythe Retinue, and Griffin Construction. As well as to all those who support and believe in us, and give us things for free. THANK YOU!
Photography: Rory DCS Stylist: Steve Vyse
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