New for
2020 www.communionmusic.co.uk
After a Spring full of albums being delayed due to the
In London, Fran Lobo has impressed with her debut EP
ongoing pandemic, a summer album from Fontaines D.C.
‘Brave’. The artist, producer and DJ talks us through
may have come as a surprise to many. After spending
why she is most creative when doing everything at once.
some lockdown time in Skerries, County Dublin and a
Staying in the capital, LL Burns, Muck Spreader and
stint with the band in the city, frontman, Grian Chatten
Ethan P. Flynn have dropped notable releases in recent
is relaxed, reappraised and “generally happy”. Following
months, with the latter signing to Young Turks. We catch
a jog around London, we discuss the effect of a seaside
up with all three inside. Washington D.C.’s Sneaks is
town, a new found consciousness and how creativity is at
gearing up to release her new album ‘Happy Birthday’
the heart of everything Fontaines D.C.
which has swiftly become a favourite of ours. We review it and give you an insight into what you can expect. Dublin’s
Joining the Dublin band inside are Canadian mixed media
Silverbacks have released an album too. Their debut,
collective, Crack Cloud. It’s our third time speaking with
‘Fad’ has earned high praise and we chat to them about
the band, but the first since the release of their debut
the record, sticking it out and communicating via song.
album ‘Pain Olympics’. We call frontman Zach Choy to
Glasgow is thriving. With a DIY community pushing the
chat about finding comfort in Post-Punk and how art can
boundaries as they bid to improve the city they love, it’s
unify and help find solidarity. Working Men’s Club have
fertile ground for alternative music. Two examples of that
had a chaotic twelve months - enduring line up changes
are inside as we chat to Queer Pop x Post-Punk purveyors
and album delays. On the phone, Syd Minsky-Sargeant
Walt Disco and newcomers Medicine Cabinet. Rounding
tells us about writing for himself, the soul in northern
off the issue, we take a rare trip to Coventry to speak with
music and how free speech is being held back.
Souki plus meet illustrator Naomi Anderson-Subryan and artist Karen Lederer who’s designed the latest t-shirt in our Artist Series.
3 Medicine Cabinet Ignite
30 Walt Disco Young Hard and Handsome
7 Karen Lederer Artist Series
33 LL Burns Get Me Back in the Game
9 Fontaines D.C. A Hero’s Death
38 Crack Cloud Pain Olympics
16 Fran Lobo Brave
42 Muck Spreader Rodeo Mistakes
20 Sneaks Happy Birthday
43 Ethan P. Flynn B-Sides & Rarities
21 Silverbacks Fad
47 Working Men’s Club White Rooms and People
25 Naomi Anderson-Subryan Illustrator Interview
51 Souki Miura
Some of the objects featured in my paintings are things I own, while others are things I would like to own but likely never will, like the Picasso Ceramics. Trained as a printmaker, I’ve always admired packaging and reproduced objects. With many of these choices, I poke fun at a hipster consumer culture with which I The So Young Artist Series is an ongoing project in which
am hopelessly complicit. I am also fascinated by the
we collaborate with some of our favourite artists and
dissemination of art historical images and how replications
designers on one-off items of clothing. In our sixth edition
of them change our relationship to the originals.
we’ve collaborated with artist, Karen Lederer. Karen’s work has featured in the print edition of So Young several
Many of the objects also reference my New York City
times and we’ve been following her work in awe ever
upbringing like Museum of Modern Art mugs and the
since.
Zabar’s paper bag. The objects are selected for the works because they form a dialogue with one another. The table
Our collaboration t-shirt uses 3 pieces, “On the front of
top provides a stage where the objects can interact and tell
the t-shirt is my painting, “Owl”. It depicts a Picasso
a story.
ceramic bowl filled with fruit. The painting celebrates the artwork but also deflates its importance by turning it into
How do you want people to feel when they see your
a utilitarian object. A number of years ago, I discovered a
work?
small catalogue of Picasso’s ceramics in a used bookstore and it began my love affair with his work. As a feminist,
I love color, and I want the viewer to feel joy from
I feel complicated about my admiration of this Modernist
interacting with the color in my work. I also want the
patriarch. On the back of the shirt are two monoprints.
viewer to feel a sense of connection through the objects
While I make paintings alone in a studio, I make my prints
that I depict. A person’s background often determines how
in a bustling community printshop surrounded by people.
he or she reads the references. An Upper Westsider of
The prints tend to be looser and more intuitive than my
Manhattan notices the Zabar’s bag immediately. Another
paintings.”
person might drink the same brand of seltzer. The products help to pull the viewer in, and then he or she can go
How do you go about starting a piece of work?
deeper into the painting.
For my monoprints, I paint and draw onto plexiglass
What can we expect to see from you in the near future?
mostly with water-soluble materials. I lay additional smaller plates over the painting and print the whole image
Most of my shows were put on hold because of
at once through the press. My paintings always begin
coronavirus. I’m participating in a group exhibition
with a drawing. I create stencils for sections of the image
in London at Cristea Roberts Gallery which I am very
and print those onto the surface. Then I work around
excited about. Normally I visit a print shop that gives me
the printed areas with painting and drawing materials.
access to printing presses. It is closed until further notice,
While the work appears collaged, it is actually all one,
so I’m planning to use this time to experiment and try new
continuous surface.
techniques that don’t require a press. I’ve been getting really into colored pencils recently, so expect to see more
I love all the objects referenced in your work. Mugs,
drawings coming soon!
artwork etc. Are you a collector? And how do they make their way into a painting? Is it just by chance that they are in view or is there something about each one that’s selected because it works for the painting?
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Meet Illustrator:
Naomi Anderson-Subryan
Naomi Anderson-Subryan was inspired by her tutor’s
It took me failing out of drama school at 19 and nearly
open approach to illustration, resulting in her beautiful
4 years working in retail to finally go and do an art
portfolio of collage, 2D and 3D works. After nearly falling
foundation and that was the best decision I ever made!!
out of love with “Art” during her early education she was reinvigorated whilst being around other creatives, working
How do you go about starting a piece of work? Does it
in retail. Here at So Young we’re delighted Naomi has
start as a pencil drawing? What is your process?
found her path within the creative world. We caught up with Naomi to talk daily routines and the importance of
It varies a little depending on what I’m making. I often
music.
have a clear idea in my head of a scene or a character or a scenario, and it’s a matter of trying to bring it to life or get
How did you get into making Art?
it down on paper.
I’ve always had this energy and need to make stuff! I think
I write notes and do a series of rough planning sketches!
I fell a little out of love with “art” in the latter years of
Usually if it’s a collage these are very quick sketches to
secondary school.
get an idea of composition and block out the shapes - most of the time they literally look like nothing at all but they make complete sense to me!
25
Meet Illustrator: Naomi Anderson-Subryan
In terms of my ceramics a lot of them start out as collages.
So, when the opportunity to make ceramics on my BA
I have a lot of ideas, I think of little ceramic characters
(Camberwell has a ceramic studio) came about it felt like
and objects all the time that I’d love to make and usually
a natural progression for me and my practice!
I’ll collage them first to get an idea of shape, colour and expression! I don’t usually plan these, I just see what
Does music influence your work at all?
happens - and then figure out how I can make them out of clay afterwards! I love seeing the transformation of
Most definitely! You know when you hear a song and you
something from a 2D image to a 3D object existing in the
can instantly imagine a scene from some imaginary movie
space.
in your mind, that’s what Illustration is a bit like for me! I have a really clear image in my mind - almost like a movie
Tell us about a typical working day.
still - and I have to get it down or make it into a ceramic or something. Music is great at capturing a feeling and a
I’m super focused when I’m working on a specific project,
moment! I’m always fascinated by the way some songs
I’ll usually start at 10am and will be at my desk until
can evoke such strong feelings of nostalgia - sometimes
10pm or later - aided by numerous cups of tea. I usually
harking back to a time way before you were even born,
have my headphones in, Netflix or YouTube on my iPad,
and yet you get that strange feeling of longing and
and just get totally lost in whatever I’m making.
nostalgia. I think I try and capture an element of that in
I’m working from home mostly at the moment - I have a
my work - this idea of making work which feels familiar
ceramic studio that I can go to to make ceramics but with
somehow.
lockdown I’ve not been there so frequently and have made from home mostly. The great thing about working at my
Finally, what can we expect to see from you in the near
studio is working alongside other creatives, I miss that
future?
when working from home! More ceramic mantle dogs! I’ve been working on a How do you want people to feel when they see your
new series including a few new characters that should
work?
be available to buy in the next few months! I love love making these and it has been so fun to explore some new
Someone commented on one of my images on Instagram
characters because I’m constantly having ideas for them!!
the other day that they felt my work was both intimate and comfortable - which I thought was really beautiful.
I’d also love to make some larger scale collages. I love playing with scale and that’s a huge part of my ceramic
Studying illustration, what caused your work to move
practice so I’d like to play around with that in my collage
into 3D ceramic sculpture?
practice too.
When I saw how tutors at Camberwell talked about and approached illustration it was a light bulb moment for me - it felt like the possibilities were endless! Whatever direction my work might take, I felt it had a place in illustration. I remember thinking this is it, this is what I’ve been wanting to do this whole time. So making three-dimensional work was just always on the table for me and I made a lot of 3D work whilst studying! It was a huge part of illustration at Camberwell on foundation and I loved it so much!
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Artists
Josh Whettingsteel
Editors Sam Ford
Josh Whettingsteel
Writers Sam Ford Al Mills
Josh Whettingsteel Ross Jones
Eleanor Philpot Reuben Cross Dan Pare
Antoine CossĂŠ Karen Lederer
Genie Espinosa
Naomi Anderson-Subryan Kezia Gabriella BĂ rbara Alca Jiayue Li
Angelica Liv Lily Kong REN
Cameron JL West
Sebastian Schwamm
Harley Cassidy
Cover Photos
Printed By
Photos for Collage
Matt Bisgrove
Ex Why Zed
info@soyoungmagazine.com
Richard Dumas
Richard Dumas
Maxwell Granger April Arabella Oli Erskine
Website
Art Direction
News
Special Thanks
SoYoungMagazine (Facebook)
Ross Jones
www.soyoungmagazine.com
@soyoungmagazine (Twitter)
soyoungmagazine (Instagram)
www.joshwhettingsteel.com
Jamie Ford
Cameron JL West