Interview

Ten Men Magazine interviewed and shot the mind of madness avant garde designer Bernhard Willhelm for their 20th issue.  Photographed by Christian Anwander and interviewed by Richard Gray, get ready for Bernhard’s wacky answers!

(more…)

Not Chaca the genus in the catfish family, in fact, Chaca is the name of the new must have jewelry collection of designer, Chaca Jacoben.  Her unique work is always ahead of the Copenhagen street trends, hand made and very limited.

Living in London now, in her 2nd year of study in jewelry design.  Femmething is glad to catch up with Chaca herself for some Q & A.

(more…)

Hey girls, welcome to femmething.

What did you have for lunch?

PLOI: Boat noodles with thai spicy salad (SOM-TUM)

Pompom: Actually It’s brunch. I had avocado with crab sandwich and star fruit juice

Sounds yummy. Diet pills before or after meal?

PLOI: DIET PILLS after ofcourse! so you can eat first ! hahah

Pompom: Before and After please! haha

(more…)

Best known as part of the duo Guns ‘n’ Bombs signed to tres chic French label Kitsune late in 2006.  Their mind blowing single “Nothing Is Getting Us Anywhere” had shredded U.S dancefloors throughout 2007.  Formed by Ima Robot bassist Filip Turbotito and Chicago DJ Johnny Love, and their treatments of songs by Chromeo, the Teenagers, and the Gossip already became popular blog favorites and club staples.

Parted from Guns ‘n’ Bombs, Jonny Love now renowned himself as Deathface collaboration of entro mc the occasional influence of lucifer and the occasional sojourn with 2ce according to his myspace page.  This quirky and party loving DJ is now ready for some serious top bangers and we’ll have a chat with Johnny Love on his work and of coz, his summer parties.

(more…)

William Rees and Kai Fish of UK indie band, Mystery Jets made it to our shores the 2nd time around (after the 1st one got cancelled) for their DJ set at Zouk couple of weeks ago. We managed to snatch some time with them just before their set, talking about Bricklane in the UK and their love for spicy food.

First thing first, what really happened last week?
Haha, well, our flights really got cancelled; Emirates said that it was cancelled and we couldn’t make it in time for the gig.

How has the response been so far for the latest album Twenty One?
It’s been 9 months in and it was a growing process. No one really talked bout it at the beginning and it gradually built a life on its own. It’s been great so far. Our new album is coming out in 2009.

How different is the first album compared to the latest one?
Well, the first album was really more rockish and mostly experimental because we were still trying to form our own identity. We had a bit more confidence come the 2nd one and there was definitely more direction. Then we got into DJing just about 2 years ago with Erol being a huge influence on us. It’s almost like discovering a whole new other side of music and we just really got hooked onto it. So the latest one is more of a mix of indie and electro mish mash. Our new album is more of a mix of DJing-electro-indie.

A lot of bands are DJing now, do you reckon it’s a trend?
We wouldn’t put it that way. We love dance music and making people groove; it’s just really a form of art that we enjoy. We’re planning a lot of things and making a lot of remixes now; so we’re taking DJing really seriously.

Do you guys see yourselves as fashion icons?
Hahaha, we love dressing up no doubt, but the real fashion guru has gotta be our drummer, Kapil. He’s always messing around with fashion and stuff. He’s also a trainers geek, he just loves them.

Do you see yourselves, say, coming up with your own fashion line in the future, seeing how everyone loves your whacky sense of fashion?
Definitely something to think about, in fact we’ve actually started our own line of T-shirt designs at our online shop. So, yeah, who knows?

Any tips for our readers on where’s best to shop in the UK?
Definitely Portobello Road, you get the craziest things there and it’s a great place to dig. Bricklane’s another good place to go. Camden used to be just as good, but it’s lost its touch these days somehow, too many tourists and stuff; but yeah, definitely Portobello Road and Bricklane.

Guess we’ll know where to hit for our future shopping escapades in the UK now. To the 10% of you out there who doesn’t already know, The Mystery Jets will be performing live in concert at 9pm on January 11th, 2009, at Zouk Singapore.

Femmething interviews multi-disciplinary artist/designer Idris Johor aka PrettyFreakyFantasy, best known for his current exhibition at Cloth & Clef, where a whimsical collection created from recycled materials such as abandoned body parts of mannequins, was brought to life in the form of functional art.

Trained in architectural drafting and graphic design, Idris left his career in architecture about 10 years ago to pursue his passion in multifaceted art and design. With a spectrum of eclectic projects in his portfolio, his work has developed in diverse areas encompassing both artistic roles and design work. From product design, set/event design & styling, to fashion and interior design as well as artistic installations, his boldness bridge the gap between the separated worlds of art and design, whilst injecting the two with his individuality.

You began with architectural training and later moved on to specialise in arts. Did architecture remain a decisive influence that denotes your style and creative discipline, in terms of practical application of architectural principles in your art?
I took up a graphic design course after architecture drafting. I always like drawing and producing art so I decided to move on to become an artist. Now I run my own design company which allow me to produce art. My company does design and decor construction for events, interior decor, styling for photoshoots, set design as well as costume designs. Architecture drafting has a slight influence in terms of application in my interior design work, such as Blu Jaz on Arab Street. Mannequin legs with lights are used as part of the decor, which preserves the relationships of functional art in design.

What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?
Smile. I want people to smile when they see my works, not to stare and try to find out the meaning behind it. All my life, I’ve been looking for something that makes me happy. Through my art, I can create my own world and characters. Like a gardener, I plant in some characters full of colours, layers, textures and shape to my work, creating a surrealistic fantasy with pretty butterflies and flowers and freaky eyes with tentacles.

You mean, you were not on acid?
Haha. No. Putting a smile on people with my work truly inspires me.

(more…)