MF: Works in Progress

Some of the new FW13/SS14 pieces!

Miniscapes: Landscapes within Landcapes

Landscapes. For me, they exist everywhere.

While to most, landscapes encompass your stereotypical mountain range that casts shadows over a valley, to me, the most interesting landscapes lie within broader scenes such as these-- even in our everyday lives: what one sees when standing eye level with a desk scattered with objects, or even when simply lying on the ground, looking at a bed of flowers.

It's about the details within nature; it's about the details in objects we take for granted. But most importantly, it's about scale and transformation: the ability to see the beauty and shifts in such details, and the magical power the camera has to make such details look vast and its viewers, small. Almost like Alice in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass (only without the "eat me" cookies).

A miniscape.

And so, since around 2004, I've been playing the role of Alice. Using either an iPhone or G12 to find such "miniscapes" wherever I go, I have compiled a collection of images depicting "miniscapes" throughout the seasons, my travels, and in my everyday urban life.

 

 

2/6/08

dropped petals

these feet 

(not my own)

onto the thin blades of kelly grass

talked to by the tongue of

a single caterpillar

inching along the solemn earth

stubborn with anger,

stubborn with grief. 

two lips, not tulips

touch the tips of

the tops of the tallness

kelly, you are

the clouds merrily fleeting above,

cross the top of the steeple,

golden glare of tripping light (a sore on the pupils)

corneas burned, stamping the outline

of its symbol onto the caterpillar below

shrinking, her fingertips are,

and drawrfed, she becomes

the blades of grass,

above her now

her arms,

unable to engulf the

bottom 

of its now trunk

caterpillar eyes stare into 

the depth of her gaze,

 big,

and twice the

size of her body

and the creatures so microscopic appear,

befriending her quickly,

as her feet begin to move

sun, pink

sun, red

sun, yellow not:

change colors, now,

because I say it so.

sun big, sun: set

caterpillar inching along

propped petals: my bed made.

and, now, sleep my heart (not my own)

A Little Bit of History: One-On-One with JJ of Fading Yellow

Everything sounds better on vinyl, that's for sure! Jörgen Johansson, an avid collector based in Sweden, would most certainly agree.  Since he was a small child in the 60's, Jorgen (Who goes by the name JJ)  has gone through exorbitant lengths, digging up lost 45s and LPs.

But how did I find JJ, and why an interview? 

 Faced with the dilemma of finding "fresh" oldies for my DJ sets, I discovered JJ while digging up old 60's music.  You see, in the boundless sea we call the Internet, I discovered that there exists an enclave of music bloggers who I like to call "vinyl junkies."  These vinyl enthusiasts are just like JJ-- passionate about collecting and finding lost 45s and LPs, and then, sharing them; ultimately giving these tracks the listening credit and exposure their creators only dreamed of receiving.

While I uncovered a lot of great tracks that were upbeat and fun, I also found a great deal of tracks that were ambient and mellow.  My secret dream job being a music supervisor for film and television,  I would save these tracks into their own folder as well-- you know, just in case!

 And that's when I discovered JJ. During my music search  routine, I stumbled upon a blog which contained compilations of tracks from lost 45s. Fading Yellow was the name of the compilation that landed me on the blog, as it contained a track from the band I was searching for-- a band called Vigrass & Osbourne. 

As I navigated through the pages, I soon realized that Fading Yellow was in fact a compilation series: an impressive thirteen volumes total at the time (there are now fifteen), each containing rare and obscure 60's and 70's psychedelic rock tracks. I obtained each and became an avid listener-- so much so, that months later, recognized The Interest Group's cover of "The Boys and the Girls" as a track from one of the volumes!

When I stumbled upon Facebook page for Fading Yellow, I had to ask him a few questions about the series, himself, the music, and of course, the 60's!

MF

Just by glancing through your website and the extensive series Fading Yellow, I can tell that music must have always been a huge part of your life-- Where did you grow up?

JJ
I grew up in the small town of Lidköping, which is in the Southwest portion of Sweden-- and I still live there! 

 MF
What do you recall to be your earliest musical memory?

JJ

My mom and I used to listen to the radio together a lot!  I remember (and she also told me!) that whenever a song came on the radio and I liked it, I would sit under the kitchen table "digging it." Whatever that means, I was only about three or four years old!!  I'm happy to report that I still do this.

MF
Do you remember the first record you ever purchased? What was it? 

JJ

I remember that day very clearly, I was quite young-- it was the Swedish release of Yes I will/Nobody, by The Hollies.  I've collected vinyl ever since.

MF
Your first concert? 

JJ
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky. Mick and Tich, here in Lidköping 1968..... All is remember is that there were an insane amount of screaming girls upfront.

MF
The Hollies is a group that seems to be a bit far from 60's psychedelic rock! Fading Yellow has so many rare obscure psychedelic rock gems. What attracts you to this specific genre?

JJ
It's difficult to explain really-- all I can say is when a song connects with me, magic happens inside. Pop psych just ignites something within me. I can't quite pinpoint why. 

MF
Is this what made you begin to search and collect vinyl of this genre? How many records would you say you have total?

JJ
Totally-- I would say I definitely have well over 500 LPs, and then... gosh.. maybe around 1000 45s?

MF

That's insane! So what made you sift through everything and decide to start the "Fading Yellow" series? Did you have any specific goals in mind ?

 JJ
 I don't know-- There are many psych compilations out there, but Fading Yellow filled a gap.  You see, the majority of the bands featured on Fading Yellow only made one 45-- and then sank in oblivion!  My mission was (and still is) to dig up these records just so they could get the attention they deserved.  I find a ton of records, but I'm very picky with the track selection process. I try to pick only the best!

MF
When was the first volume released? How exclusive was it?


JJ
 1995 marked the release of the first Fading Yellow volume, which at first was on vinyl only:  330 copies, all numbered! This now a big collectors item.   Consequently, the first Fading Yellow CD  was released in 2002.  This included  a tight selection of eight songs from the original 1995 LP, and then also, an additional seventeen tracks.

 MF
How did you know you had something special?  What kind of response did you receive?


JJ
I was surprised!  A lot of 60's buffs reached out to tell me the series was pretty much groundbreaking-- the tracks were that good, and just unheard of.  Just so much popsike and other delights! Since the series is now nearing 16 volumes total, I have certainly developed a following. I also feel it ignited people to the genre, and the mere act of collecting and discovering such rare 45s. For example, if you do an eBay search for "Fading Yellow," you will find my volumes on CD, but then, also a ton of 45s just as I look for during my search. It's almost as if "Fading Yellow" is becoming it's own little niche of a genre!

MF
Pretty neat! So how long does each volume take to compile?

JJ
  Between compiling the tracks I'd like to use, making the cover art, mastering the 45s, the actual record production, and then releasing the cd, I would say a volume takes around six weeks!  Believe it or not, choosing and organizing which tracks to use is the easy part for me--  At the moment I have the tracks chosen and set for about 4 upcoming volumes!   The artwork is fun and also a cool process- I'm very lucky to have a friend from the UK who professionally does album artwork for a living. He makes all of my covers.

JJ's 8 Favorite Fading Yellow Songs from meghanfarrell on 8tracks Radio.

MF
Your favorite 8 songs from the Fading Yellow series?

JJ
1. Fading Yellow, Mike Batt
2. Remember Me, Ted Mulry
3. And Now She Says She's Young, Timon 
4. Cover Me Babe, The Sunshine Trolley
5. Forever Autumn, Vigrass and Osbourne
6. Once On A Windy Day, Gracious
7. What The New Day Will Bring, Disraeli
8. Sad Soul, Ronnie Bird 

MF
When you're not making the Fading Yellow series, what are you doing?


JJ
In 1982, I took my love for 60's vinyl to the next level, and opened a store in Sweden called Tracks on Wax. I sell all rare 60's stuff!

MF
What artists inspire you?


JJ
   The Zombies and their Masterpiece LP, Odessey & Oracle is my all time fave LP and still blows me away when playing it.

 MF
Do you listen to new music? What are some of your favorite modern day bands?


JJ
Jacco Gardner is my current fave, amazing young Dutch guy with a strong 60´s vibe/sound, Check him out!



MF
Favorite films?

JJ
I'm a film buff so, wow--  My favorite directors are probably Kubrick, Powell/Pressburger. Have you seen "The Red Shoes" from 1948? Fantastic! I also love "Sweet Smell of Success," "Black Narcissus," and "Being There."

MF
Your favorite year in history:

JJ
1968: my first girlfriend. I was twelve; Innocent times.

<3

#badmetaphors

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

New Music: IS TROPICAL - Dancing Anymore

While the music video isn't my speed (controversial is an understatement), this track is highly addictive-- perfectly produced and composed. Can't. Stop. Listening.

romance in art

VIDEO: Patti Smith's Advice to the Young

One on One: The Interest Group

Hailing from Philly, the psychedelic-pop aficionados who call themselves The Interest Group had the music blogging world enchanted almost immediately.  It was only back in May that the collective of five musicians released their take on a rare 1960's psychedelic rock song:  a track called The Boys and the Girls, originally recorded by a band that called themselves The Network!  To some, this might seem like a tall order-- to find and translate such a lost and obscure track-- but The Interest Group did it with musical aptitude and ease.  With this, the group took the concept of being 1960's aficionados to the next level,  proving themselves as a highly inventive and musically captivating bunch to be watched!

With a wildly accumulative intro followed by a string of echoing "bum-bum-bums," the track is ambient, lo-fi, and hazy-- but undeniably full with a distinct weave of fun; an uplifting feel.

 I later realized that the song appears on one of my favorite compilations of all time: an untapped fifteen volume gem, Fading Yellow!





Then in June, the band released their second single: an original song titled, "Fear," which proved to be an impressive spectrum of sound: an eerie drone of vocals over lullaby worthy guitar riffs transitioning into ethic and outer-wordly sounding cries and melodies.


The Boys and the Girls was on heavy rotation during the production of the FW13 season, and so, I had to include it on my first compilation, Romance Never Dies. Though overdue by a few weeks, I was so excited to interview this bunch, who had me enchanted immediately, and revealed themselves as quite the playful, funny, and inherently gifted group of comrades!

FACEBOOK
TUMBLR

MF

Love you guys! Who makes up the band? Who does what?

IG
There are five of us total: Marissa, Yohsuke, Kyle, Matt and Steve. Marissa and Yohsuke are the songwriters-- they sing and play guitars. Matt is the guitar king, Kyle makes us swoon on bass, and Steve is our human metronome on drums!

MF
So I know that there are only three songs currently available online... But what I want to know is how many are in your repertoire thus far! Super excited to hear more tracks!

MARISSA

We're still pretty new, a baby band, really!  But I guess we have about an album's worth: just about twelve completed songs that we've built together over the past year.

MF
Do you have plans to release an album anytime soon? What are some of the themes we will notice, and what does it sound like?

YOSHUKE 

Currently, we are working on a 7" which we hope will be out in the next few months! And we're mixing a full length album right now as well-- though it's taking some time. The themes are probably best left up to the listeners to decide. Maybe in a few years we'll better understand what they are but right now I'm not sure we fully understand them yet.

MARISSA

Hopefully the full length is done within the year. But that may be wishful thinking! I will just continue to nag Yohsk every week about it 'til we get there.

MF
Your cover of the 60's song "The Boys and the Girls" by The Network appears on Romance Never Dies. It's a pretty rare track! How did you stumble upon it and why did you decide to cover it? Does it hold a certain significance?

YOSHUKE 

 I found it online-- it was featured on a compilation CD. I just really enjoyed it so I started recording a cover version on my own, and then I asked Marissa to sing backup.

MARISSA  

This song is really important to me as it pretty much brought the two of us together musically. We first met each other in a film class in school, and by pure coincidence ended up in a completely different class together the following year. Just around this time,  Yoshuke was in the process of recording "The Boys and the Girls" on his own, and I joined in! After recording this together and singing on a few of his other original tracks, I started sharing my songs with him, collaborating as well. And so the band just grew up from there!

MF
If you could write a song and perform it with any band in history-- who would it be and why?

MARISSA
I think we'd all agree writing and performing with Bjork would be a dream come true. And oh duh, Dusty Springfield!

YOSHUKE

or Linda Ronstadt! Francoise Hardy!

MF
So I really love this question-- but do you guys remember the first song you ever wrote? What was it about?

MATT 

I think it was on acoustic guitar. But then again, I was in a band in middle school called Grace Keller (supposedly funny because I had no grace, and because it sounded like 'Grace Kelly'), and I remember those songs were pretty grungy/alt rocky and about girls that we were just making up. We liked At The Drive-In and Piebald a lot.

MARISSA  

I wrote my first song I think when I was 11, on electric guitar. It was just instrumental and I used just two chords and performed it in my music class. It wasn't until I was about sixteen when I started writing lyrics as well. I wrote songs on piano and started a band with one of my school friends. I still listen to those songs from time to time and giggle a bit. They were songs about love and full of teen angst. Like Matt I was kind of making everything up too, writing about a future self maybe.

MF
Do you remember the first time you ever played an instrument?

MATT

 I remember when I was really little, my mom got me a Mickey Mouse drum set! It had a snare, kick drum, floor tom, and a crash symbol, which all sounded like cardboard boxes.   

MARISSA

When I was six I remember trying to play my uncle's Gibson in his basement. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but that it was awfully heavy and too big for me to wrap my hands around, so I just strummed the strings while it sat in its stand.

MF
And now, the 8 songs you couldn't live without:

1-on-1: Matt & Steve from the Interest Group from meghanfarrell on 8tracks Radio.

MATT
Scatterbrain - Radiohead
Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
Wooly Mammoth's Mighty Absence - Mount Eerie
On A Neck, On A Spit - Grizzly Bear
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
It Takes Alot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry - Bob Dylan
Sloop John B. - The Beach Boys

STEVE
Stevie Wonder - As
Spacemen 3 - Big City (Everybody I know Can Be Found Here)
Neu! - Isi

1-on-1: Yoshuke from The Interest Group from meghanfarrell on 8tracks Radio.

YOSHUKE
Can - Future Days
Jesus and Mary Chain - The Hardest Walk
Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody
Scott Walker - The Old Man's Back Again
Broadcast - Long Was The Year
Bob Dylan - Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Miguel - Adorn
Fleetwood Mac - Angel

1-on-1: Marisa from The Interest Group from meghanfarrell on 8tracks Radio.

MARISSA
Ella Fitzgerald - Cry Me a River
Beach House - Take Care
Supertramp - Hide In Your Shell
Heart - Barracuda
Dusty Springfield - Do Re Mi
Elton John - Crocodile Rock
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows

MF
Favorite city to tour?

MATT

Montreal

STEVE

Berlin. Tons of great record stores, restaurants , and cool shops all over the place. It's cheap, and the whole vibe there is just incredibly open and free. It's kind of like Philadelphia without all the bad stuff.

MF
So I know you guys are new, but do you have any cities in mind that you haven't toured, but would like to tour?

MATT

Austin/ anywhere in Europe

MARISSA

Yes, I'd go anywhere in Europe. I'd love to go to Melbourne, too!

YOSHUKE

Tokyo, Barcelona, Paris, London, Melbourne, Siberia, Rome, Montreal.

STEVE

Whichever town or city in Japan Yohsuke's live in so that I can meet Mr. and Mrs. Araki

MF
What about idols and inspiration? Who do you admire as artists?

MATT

David Lynch, Grizzly Bear, Neil Young

MARISSA

Beach House, Diane Arbus, Marina Abramovic

YOSHUKE

Andy Goldsworthy, Scott Walker, Bill Cunningham

MF
Are you guys involved in any other kinds of art forms? if so, what are they?

MATT

Filmmaking, when the right thing comes around.

MARISSA

I love to write. Lately I've just been working on songwriting, but I have a few screenplays that I'd like to finish up. I also like to paint and draw from time to time.

YOSHUKE

Film here as well. I love trying to explore spaces by capturing pretty shots and I love writing screenplays.  Maybe one day we'll work on a film together. A band of filmmakers.

MF
I need to laugh. Tell me a joke please!!!!

MATT

You know what they say about big feet........big socks.

MARISSA

What's Beethoven's favorite fruit? (sung) Ba-na-na-naaaa.

YOSHUKE

Man walks into a bar and he's with a horse. They sit down at the bar. Horse falls down. Man gets up to leave and the bartender says, "HEY. You can't just leave that lyin there." The man says, "That's not a lion...it's a horse...."

MF
Hmmm what about the last dream you had?

MATT

My roommate was in my living room eating a giant bowl of marinara sauce that I for some reason knew was from TGIFridays.

MARISSA

One of the worst kinds of dreams…I was in a play, nothing specific... but right before I went on stage I couldn't remember a thing and basically just made up all of my lines and all of the songs. Luckily for dream-me, the band was amazing and played along. I really don't like those dreams, those and the ones where you lose your teeth, eck!

MF
Now onto tastes. Literally! What about your favorite... meal?

MATT
Meatloaf.

Marissa & Yohsuke: 
AND I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE!!!

KYLE:
 BLT's with tomato.

YOSHUKE
Donuts.

MARISSA
Chocolate chocolate...I mean pistachio frozen yogurt.

MF
Your life philosophy?

MATT
 I believe in saying Thank You.

YOSHUKE
 BREATHE.

MARISSA

The only thing better than singing is more singing - Ella Fitzgerald

KYLE & STEVE
 YOLO

march sights

 

snow angel, sunset park, brooklyn

chrissy farrell, metro, paris, rance

dog shoes, maison kitsune, NoMad Hotel, new york, ny

felicity sargent, dream baby, new york

galleries lafayette, paris, france

milkshake hearts, los angeles, california

nanny, glen cove, ny

renee mudd, new york, ny

staple street, tribeca, new york, ny

maison kitsune x olympia le tan pins, NoMad hotel, new york, ny

threats, le baron, new york, ny

metropolitan museum of art, new york, ny

street artist in front of the louvre, paris, france

threats, le baron, new york, ny