I want to share some of my music projects with you. Most were written in English, but several were adapted in to French. Here is one, a ballad called “Tout les Silences”, sung and adapted in to French by Barbara Nicoli. Arrangement was by Mathias Schuber. I wrote this song in my home studio in Paris. It is just one of many Pop-Rock songs I have written over the past 20 years.
Better late than never… I absolutely love this song by Rufus Wainwright“Going to a Town” and for those of you that may not have heard this Muse like tune, hope you enjoy it. Yes it is from 2007, but still as poignant as when it was released.
I would love to hear from readers of this blog what you would like to see, hear and talk about on BK Blog. Would you like to see a forum, workshops, guests in this and other disciplines?
I’ve never been a big RAP person. More in to Alternative Rock, Rock, Pop-Rock and R&B.
But Die Antwoord (which means The Answer) from South AfriKa are really Special. They can Rap at 50,000,000 Miles Per Hour and have some really interesting melodic content blended in to the Mix. Their lyrical content is controversial and worth listening to. It says a lot about the human condition in a sector of South AfriKan culture that is an in your face stark revelation. It also gives one a behind the scene’s look at South AfriKa’s financially underprivileged white minority. Yo-Landi the female in the group is quirky, strange and sexy. I want to call their style of music “Punk wRap”. Why not, it’s like a Punk backlash and Rap wrapped in to a hybridized melting pot. Die Antwoord will be touring in Europe and North America later this year. Could be a real cultural eye opener for all of you Rap Aficionado’s. Have a listen…“Enter the Ninja”
Here is a recent interview with Die Antwoord, just after their first concert:
“Body Of Work” is here, let’s see where this goes…
Someone who designs a single house is not an architect. Someone who writes a single song or set of lyrics is not a songwriter. A person who owns a musical instrument is not a musician. A single drawing or painting or photograph does not make an artist nor a photographer. The raw talent may be there but is only in it’s embryonic stage… As I’m writing this unfettered by preconception, I remember hearing this term, “Body Of Work” for the first time by Dennis Hopper. All we have as artist’s when all is said and done is our “Body Of Work”. A body of work is like a road map that finitely lays out a path, a chronology. The progression of ideas and concepts becomes evident. Perhaps even a unified style becomes obvious. It is the signature and fingerprint of the creative spirit that only an extensive body of work can lay bare for both the artist and the onlooker. Without this vital commodity there is nothing to judge, evaluate or appreciate… It is the essential sub conscious goal, obsession for those who’s paths have been chosen. Without the body of work there is no definitive creative personality, no common denominator. Nothing to discuss.
Asking to judge or critique a single piece of work is meaningless. It’s tantamount to judging someone predicated on a single word, or taste just one spice in a complex recipe.
“Body Of Work” is a series of milestones that establish where the artist began, where he or she is now and even possibly foresee where they are going. The body of work for an artist is his or her legacy as much as a stock portfolio or assets are for those driven by money and material gain. A gallery, or record label, or book publisher will not take you on as an artist based on a single painting, or song, or word. A single work perceived by others as genius may inspire them to follow your progress or even assist in your development, but it is the “Body Of Work” that rules supreme. Without it how can you or anyone else understand where or who you are? This path that has chosen us is not for the faint of He-Art! The Muse has left the building… I will now stop…
You might have read the recent interview of Hedi Slimane by Dirk Standen titled “The Future of Fashion” posted on www.style.com, where he shares his vision on the Future of Fashion. I found his article interesting enough to write about it. Hedi Slimane has a very interesting perspective on the fashion industry. A thought came to me and that was did he become conscious of this radical change and paradigm shift since leaving Dior Homme or was he aware of this change but felt incapable of sharing is view point while in the center of the storm? Now that he is no longer associated with Luxury Holding Group, his shackles have been removed.
This is the first time I have seen a world renowned fashion designer and fashion photographer with such a high profile sharing his views on how the Internet and social networking have revolutionized irreversibly the industry of fashion, as well as the fashion media business. It is also interesting to note that he believed that this change is not only a good thing but is necessary.
How do you think technology—tweeting, blogging, social media, etc…—has affected fashion? For better or worse? It has affected different aspects of fashion tremendously. From commentary to fashion design, communication, and distribution. The fashion Internet community is like a global digital agora tweeting passions and opinions. Anyone knows better, and each one is a self-made critic. This is a fascinating idea, as I always favoured amateurism (”the one that loves”) over professionalism, attraction over experience. It obliges anyone in the industry to think in a fresher way. Of course, it is hard to say if any “authority,” someone like Suzy Menkes, might one day come out and use digital means to lead with integrity, enough background, outside of any conflict of interest. On a design perspective, it has allowed any young designer or indie brand to get an instant audience, if used with wit and invention. I am not quite sure of the future of retail as we know it. This is a truly important thing, maybe the most important one, as it might already mean there is nothing standing between the design and an audience/consumer. Finally, the better and the worse have always been part of fashion, with the Internet only magnifying it and creating a joyful and noisy digital chaos. The bottom line is that any note can create music. It is only a matter of taste.
The worst, the best and the non-significant have always co-existed prior to the existence of social media. This new tool has allowed and has led to its own self perpetuating media: reviewing, critiquing, proposing, promoting within its own community confines. As a result of this new paradigm, the notoriety and the success will come to those who are not only creative, but those who can understand this new model and interact with the public. It is the democratization model that has become accessible to all that the industry will have to come grips with. The natural selection is again what will determine the success or failure of any product.
You photograph for magazines, but you also have a strong presence on the Internet with your Web site. Do you see a difference between the two mediums in terms of the presentation of your work? They complete each other. The Internet is about immediacy. Besides, I also operate my Web site directly, as I can decide if I want to post a story or reportage every day or every month. I also generally have a more complete edit on my Web site, after publication. That said, I do love the strict frame of magazines, and to tell a story in an edit of ten or 12 pages, or to sum it up in a cover. It is a discipline.
Can you envision a day when digital media will replace magazines? I totally do, and I don’t see it as a bad thing. You don’t fight but embrace a natural evolution, really, and try to figure out how it would reveal new creative fields within global access, and multimedia features. The Web site magazine will come way before the print version in the next decade. I don’t see any way around it, really. With the rise of the Internet, fashion did become part of the global entertainment industry in the last ten years, and will follow the digital evolution of the music or film industry. Besides, immediacy is better than old news. The “manufacturing” process of a magazine is far too long for this world, for the definition and idea that fashion is about “right now.” I guess it is more about “right now” now than ever before. That said, fashion magazines, glossy magazines still use their Web sites for daily news and information only. I trust it might be interesting to invest strongly in art direction, besides hiring top editors, top photographers, and top models, which is hardly enough for Internet pages. Quite certainly, the Web sites of the magazines will have to move away from the “blog” format and create an inspiring, tight template for their photo productions or editorial content, a Web site that has the [same feeling of] luxury and glamour as flipping through a heavy glossy magazine. It is interesting to think how someone like Alexey Brodovitch would have investigated this medium to create typography and layouts in motion. It is now an open field for a new generation of editors in chief and art directors. I hear one of the reasons for the lack of investment is advertising, although I trust advertising would follow immediately, if provided a reassuring image template for their costly ads. I finally believe the printed magazine will then become a collector’s item, and hopefully a reference to be kept preciously. Therefore, the commercial issues of advertising credits might move toward the Internet, [while] the most inspiring fashion stories could become exclusive to the printed collectible version.
An organizational and attitudinal change from the current printed fashion books to Web Sites is inevitable. And I share Hedi Slimane’s vision of having printed issues that are perhaps kept as collectors items, however, a shift of advertising budgets to the Web is inevitable. As a result of the drop in audience, and diminishing advertising revenues, costly glossy fashion books are having greater difficulty paying for photo productions (top photographers, super models, hair, make up, stylist, studio, location…). If those collectors fashion books cannot afford those creative and unique photo productions any longer, it will be the demise of them, as it is their raison d’être.
I see two possible outcomes:
A buy out of the “collector fashion press” by Internet Groups who will use them as a high end display tool, a “Haute Couture laboratory” so to speak, which will be financed via the profitability of the company’s overall Internet activity.
For the “Indie collector fashion press”, I see financing by a selected unique advertiser who will sponsor each issue. However, it is problematic to maintain a high level of creative freedom when an advertiser holds the purse strings.
Some people are questioning whether, in an era when information is disseminated so quickly, fashion shows still matter. As someone who has been both a participant and observer, do you think fashion shows are still an important and effective method of presentation? I understand the options, but there is something else besides information. Fashion somehow, for me, is purely and happily irrational. I like the ritual, the liturgy of a well-crafted, emotional fashion show. I will never be jaded with this side of fashion. The “catwalk” is pure anthropology, something like an esoteric encrypted parade. It can totally be replaced but it will be missed. Archaisms do have some reassuring charms, unless the Internet is used creatively, and in a poetic way. The problem is also the number of brands that insist, for vanity or desperation and beyond common sense, to squeeze into the endless fashion weeks of the world for the wrong reasons. Some of them would benefit from different methods to present their collections.
Can you envisage a different method of presentation than a fashion show? Perhaps involving video or photography? Of course, anything can be done, really, and the Internet technically allows any possible medium. This also means you can design anywhere. It is an interesting idea, no matter where and how. “Equality” could come with a random Web address, although sadly some www. addresses are more equal than others.
Between menswear and womenswear, resort, pre-fall, and ready-to-wear, some designers are designing eight or more collections a year. Is it possible for a designer to be creative under those circumstances? Designers end up needing a full-blast studio for this sort of thing, which is totally absurd. I also don’t understand what the hell people do with all those clothes. Less would be better, and shorter collections. Again, e-commerce might change this costly and overwhelming fashion avalanche.
Three of the strongest fashion design talents—Hedi Slimane, Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela—are currently pursuing other interests. Is that a coincidence or does it say something about the current state of the system? I cannot really speak for them. I guess we all have enough time to experiment with different things. That said, fashion, what you call the system, has become quite used and abused with conflicts of interest. The advertising game between the media and fashion houses might have gone too far. The meltdown did not help, to say the least. As far as design is concerned, scaling down would help a lot. The global economy meant partnerships, and partnerships in the last decade came with some risks. But there is something ironic, an absurd ending, a justice after all.
Is the commercial pressure on designers today too great? I don’t know about this. I am concerned about the relevance of strategy. Selling is a positive thing. Of course, the overhead of many global houses is so huge that the pressure is great. I don’t mind the pressure at all; it is stimulating. I mind the lack of a long-term vision, and the lack of sense. It has to make sense, no matter the size of a fashion house.
The evolution of the Fashion industry has opened up new opportunities for young designers to show off their collections without the humongous cost and ritualistic efforts of producing a fashion show. This new paradigm however, implies the need for creative and original approaches in their communications strategy. Their ultimate goal is to differentiate themselves from their competition in using the tools provided to them in social media. Young and independent designers have a great future in promoting and distributing their brand through e-boutiques. They may be picked up later by the traditional fashion press but it will no longer be essential to them, as viable and powerful alternatives are available that can offset the dependence on classic media solutions.
There is also a revolution brewing in the established Fashion Houses. The current job titles of Marketing, Advertising, Communication, Press Attachés and Sales are dramatically changing as a multitude of brand new type of client is surfacing. Those presently holding the reigns either they do not see it or do not want to see it (“it” being the writing on the proverbial wall). Perhaps they fear for their own position and do not know how to handle or adapt to the change nor deal with the inevitable tsunami. Press Attachés can no longer simply limit their jobs to nurturing close relationships to the editors in chief of influential fashion magazines to secure editorial feedback and their own position. They must develop their visibility on the net. The classic “one and one” based relationship is evolving in to the “many to many “relationship dynamic. A new position needs to be developed within their organization: The Community Manager, to communicate within the social media environment. For the Classic fashion houses who are used to controlling every single word and image coming out of them, it is indeed a Rude Awakening!
Will they continue living in glass houses? Or will they take the plunge? We shall see what we shall see…
What effect do you think the rise of fast fashion has had on consumers and on high fashion? The issue was pretty much when at the beginning of the 2000’s high fashion started to embrace (no question they had to) globalization. High fashion started to offer access to luxury and creativity. In a way it was dangerously closing the gap with fast fashion, which was incredibly effective in mimicking the style and standards (stores, merchandising, ad campaigns) of high fashion. It is mathematical. More means less rarity and less quality. This leads to the visual chaos of not exactly knowing what is what, if you forget your contact lenses and can’t read the label.
Would you have any interest in collaborating with a fast-fashion retailer? I have obviously had a few discussions, like any of us, but I don’t really like the “capsule” collection trick, which I won’t do. There is something terribly cheap about it. This validation is somehow dodgy, since fast fashion, with few exceptions, is quietly ripping off all it can, including brands that are too small to defend themselves. I would not mind and would be open to some evolution of fast retail, if it was aiming for an original design and a long-term commitment. It would become something else. Something like Apple computers, for instance, where design meets a wide audience through innovation and sense. In the future, fast-fashion retailers might change their philosophy toward real efforts to create a world of their own. One can only hope.
How can or should luxury fashion stand out from fast fashion? They have a duty to stay at the top of the game creatively and keep a distinctive voice. Luxury houses and brands are meant to be exceptional by any means and not settle for the average. They cannot run the precise wrong race, but rather [should] stick to a strict and dignified etiquette for their fashion developments, assets, and branding. Just like many Parisians, I was sad and surprised to see the historical and mythical store of Yves Saint Laurent, Place Saint-Sulpice, go. I might not have followed some episodes of the “hows and whys,” being an outsider, but walking across Place Saint-Sulpice one day, I saw a fast retailer instead. In general, luxury fashion houses are like royalty. They live to preserve and cherish the crown jewels and the symbols of their divine power, no matter what it takes. Luxury brands did also become monuments, because of the public affection and care. In other prosaic words, it might be all about tightening up long-term strategies in order to keep the respect, influence, and credibility.
What excites you about the future, personally or in terms of fashion in general? Everything, really. It is a fantastic time—difficult, of course, to some degree for many, because it is truly a revolution, led by the Internet, a digital revolution. Distribution and communication are in an ongoing fast-forward mutation. There is also a generation gap, which creates an acceleration of the treadmill for some. Not everyone is accustomed to this Internet world, which is understandable. It is just a different landscape, and as much as one might pretend to keep up, it is a tough one to follow: the freeway toward the musical chairs. I trust fashion will invent new models, shortcuts, somewhere in between luxury (analog) and fast retail (digital). In front of a beyond-informed audience and new generations being born with a wireless processor instead of a brain, it will be about having clear commitments and keeping an original voice no matter the scope and scale of fashion developments.
One more: Is there anything else you would like to say about the “future of fashion” that I neglected to ask?
Oh, well, at the end of the day, the future is always the same story, minus the digital revolution and its collaterals. The future has to be bright. It is the nature of fashion to evolve, only this time it might evolve more than ever, with seat belts optional.
Benjamin Kanarek of www.benjaminkanarekblog.com posted this comment on Style.com. He compares Fashion to what has been happening to the Music Industry.
“As someone in the Fashion Industry as well as a Pop-Rock composer in the music industry, I can see some rather stark comparisons between what has happened in the Music Industry and what is happening in the Fashion Biz. In fact it is happening everywhere. The Democratization of Creativity. When I used to do a Fashion shoot, the approach was so much more insular and Aristocratic so to speak, but in today’s paradigm, you can create your own rules as well as develop your own following, without the ritualistic acceptance of “THE FASHION POLICE”. The Dinosaurs are starting to really feel the pinch, thus one of he reason’s for this sites existence. The huge record companies are just a shell of their past accomplishments, with very little substance left of their original “raison d’être”. In fact, I consider them as a kind of huge Marketing company, picking up artist’s with an established following. Today in most cases the artists come completely packaged with a final product & video. All the record label has to do is get off their somewhat bloated asses and promote them. The Record labels (and this will not come as a surprise to you) are quite parasitic indeed! I must also add that I believe this is a good thing. ‘Better late than never’. None the less Hedi makes some very compelling points, that highlight the fact that, “The Times They are a Changin”". Benjamin Kanarek
Read the entire Hedi Slimane’s interview by Dirk Standen posted onwww.style.com
It’s back. I’m not sure why I was left with “Body Of Work”. It’s obvious to me right now that it won’t be pursued during this writing.
Hoping it’s tossed at me again at a later date. Right now what is resonating within me is, acceptance of praise and criticism and the meaning of Art to the onlooker, the listener and the reader. A seminal moment has been revisited for me. My first major tour with an important artist. I was the drummer. Big show in Detroit. Backstage after the show, we were asked if we would sign autographs. We consented and were led out the stage door to be confronted by security holding back about a couple of hundred people (fans).
A very young couple approached me with the tour brochure. The very young man, also a drummer handed me the brochure nervously. He told me that I had now become one of his favourite drummers and would I sign the the booklet? I immediately started to thank him profusely. I also asked if he wasn’t sure that he wanted the autograph of the artist I was backing up. I continued to humble myself before him and his girlfriend. He snatched the booklet from my hands and they both walked away. The seasoned tour weary artist was within earshot. He approached me saying “do you think that the fans want to know that you are normal like they are”?. Whether you like it or not, you are on a pedestal. In my case it was a drum riser. He went on to say, “just accept the compliment with grace, sign the damn thing, then do the same with every other fan” Do it with dignity and humility. Accept the praise. Don’t be arrogant about it. You have touched someone very deeply. Let them leave with great memories of the “encounter”and especially if it’s a fledgling musician, allow them to be left with the possibility of realizing their dreams. Maybe one day they too will be up there on the world stage. Interesting. Lesson learned.
I know that I can only do what I’m capable of. If it resonates within someone, that’s wonderful If it doesn’t, I’m not going to quit! I have received as much praise as I have criticism. What separated the artists from the boys is the obsessive compulsion to get the work out there. Once it does, the critics and admirers come out of the wood work. A thick skinned resilience is a requirement. A balanced perspective of who you are and what you do is paramount. The realization that you have so much left to learn is the fire that has to keep burning. I guess this applies to all walks of life, but it is a much more intense dynamic as an artist. It gets very personal. You are challenged by emotions that are inspired by both the criticism and the praise.
My first show in Paris was both an uplifting experience and an awakening. The gallery owner insisted that I be available at the opening to speak to potential patrons and collectors. I have always been a performer, but never in that venue. I told the gallery curator that this might be a bad idea. Upon his insistence I gave in. There was an elderly, very well dressed woman who was watching from afar. She sat observing me in a chair, cane in hand. I was helping myself to a glass of wine when she finally approached me. She asked if I could stand in front of one of my paintings to answer some of her questions. I of course had to comply. She was very intelligent and soft spoken. She said to me, and I’m only paraphrasing, “There is a lot of symbolism in your work. I see the suffering of humanity, the Joy of Humanity, highly ordered rhythm and movement, well placed and planned colours, layers of meanings and messages”. Am I correct?”. I stared for a moment avoiding her eyes. I finally said without looking at her “If that’s what you see, then it’s there” I knew that the conversation shouldn’t continue anymore, but she persisted. I/you, have to understand that I wasn’t quite there as a painter who had yet accepted this romanticized “on the pedestal” perception of the artist.
So she asked the inevitable question: “How long did it take you to paint this work?”. What came out of me was “All my life”. She smiled approvingly. I hoped it was over. I was nervous, drunk and under the microscope. She then asked “What inspires you, how do you do this?”. What came out of me was something like: “My inspiration? How does this come out of me?”. “Think of me as a monkey, who with enough time, attempts and lot’s of alcohol and drugs finally puts out something tolerable!”. Both her and her smile quickly went away. I couldn’t deal with being on the pedestal. The gallery owner couldn’t deal with my unpredictability. He suggested that it would be better if he handled the “schmoozing”. My band played. I was relieved. Hadn’t thought about that one for quite a while. I don’t sabotage myself as much as I used to… This one is over… Later?… Again, sorry for typos, etc… It’s the way it is…….
I just had an epiphany, maybe it’s The Muse, I don’t know. So I guess I’m fated to continue at least ‘til the end of this little story.
I’m a true “dyed in the T-shirt” Hippy way back when during the Yorkville days in Toronto. Living the life of music, free love, lots of stimulants, crash pads, communal living and all the other appendages of peace. love, tuning in, grooving, dropping out and just plain dropping anything that’s put in your hand or mouth or both.
I’m sharing a house with I don’t remember how many other hippies and their “old ladies”. Typical night. No gig, so stay home at the pad and wait for the drop ins that are sure to arrive during the evening… The usual joint is passed around the table. Hendrix or the Doors or CSNY or anyone that played at Woodstock is screaming from the turntable.
The music is our constant backdrop. I go to my usual safe spot at the end of the table and withdraw as I do almost every night, unless I’m out playing at a club. I grab my ink pens, my pencils, my paper and start sketching. In those days it was all about Celtic designs, psychedelic imagery, dharma, karma and anything “trippy”. I would fly around my universe while the music carried me from one frame of consciousness to another. After time, I would snap out of my “trance”, realizing that I had an audience to the left, right and behind me. Sitting in silence, they would be transfixed on whatever image I created. Sometimes they would come out of me in minutes, sometimes hours. All the while I was aware of other presences but never dared to look up for fear of losing “the groove”. I only acknowledged them when the graphic trip was over.
This was a frequent activity in the pad or many other places I crashed during the Hippy Days. I usurped Hendrix, The Jefferson Starship, The Doors. They all became my back up band as I sketched away freestyle.
Many of the regulars at the many tables or corners I free form sketched at, would also follow me at my gigs. There were many clubs that I played in during those fertile years in Toronto.
All sounds great to me. What’s the point of the story? Nice as it is getting all nostalgic I do have a point don’t I?
Well I’m guessing that I’m writing about denial and then acceptance. See, as I warned you and myself in the first post, I will only write if The Muse is here. It is,and I can’t stop to ask questions. So, I’m not sure where this going. I just have to follow. I’m sure there will be clarification at the end. I hope so!
Denial and acceptance? Think about what’s just been thrown at you Kanarek. Don’t think to hard, or you’re gonna lose you know who, and then it just becomes bullshit. Okay. So something is bothering me about those days and those tables and those clubs. Yeah, I think I get it. I was getting freaked out by being the source of entertainment. Like some trained animal ready to perform on demand! Is that’s what’s so bothersome? Yeah, that and the fact that I was feeling like freak. I wanted to be like everybody else. I already stood out because of my height. Now I’ve got this “sketching, playing” that sticks out like a huge wart! I’m not saying that I didn’t love the attention. It’s just that I wished someone else could have taken over the helm for a little breathing time. So I get it. I wore my talent like a huge coil of chains. Maybe someone else could of dealt with it more intelligently or with more grace. I didn’t. I wanted to speak, act and be like everyone else / I’m realizing that I still hadn’t accepted who I was back then. It was a great ride, but it would be years until I realized that I could have saved myself much agony if I was just a little brighter back then. Wow, the memory of me constantly dumbing myself down just hit me really hard.
There’s a ton of gifted people out there who are, or are not dealing with who they are. I am not embarrassed, nor do I feel arrogant admitting to myself that I am talented. That was an important step for me. You wear it with grace and thankfulness. If you keep it to yourself that’s fine. It’s one way to protect yourself from close contact. As soon as you put it out there, you are performing. At that point you will be judged, admired, hated, misunderstood, abused, heralded, despised, idolized and all other emotions and acts that happen when put under close scrutiny by the audience. It happens in galleries,book signings, concerts, photo shoots, recitals and any other venue that an iron willed artist puts himself or herself in.
So I wasted so many years not having the balls or nerve to admit I am talented! Multi-talented actually. There I said it! I felt different. I sunk into the miasma of compensating for my inability to accept who I was. Sometimes I’d counter by lack of self-confidence with obnoxious displays of over the top arrogance. Very bad! I’m not a psychologist, but I’m sure there was a whole lot of much deeper demons lurking behind a lot of cerebral real estate! I know most of them intimately now. I even have names for each of them.
So,what am I learning on this trip that the Muse has been so kind to take me on? I swear, I probably won’t know til this particular stream is spent and I finally read it. I know that I tried to downplay my talents so that I didn’t stand out. That’s more than denial. It’s even worse. I’d call it self inflicted repression! As I got older, I seemed to get more of a handle on this possible psychosis. I always enjoyed the performing. The galleries, the concert stages,unrolling a design for a client. It’s all performance. I still felt awkward. The cliché is, I felt that I didn’t deserve the attention. Isn’t that interesting Kanarek? So, it was part repression and part denial. Denial of what? Talent? The fact that I was repressing the talent? Denial that I was an artist? So besides denial and acceptance, there is now repression? Complicated path. The Muse just left. Seriously. I’m stopping.
