EDIE NOW CHLOE

Chloe Sevigny as Edie Sedgwick in SISSY MAGAZINE

HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW

"I’m usually very miserable, so I reward myself with a fur coat every year. "
- Daul Kim

A THOUSAND SOUNDS THAT WOULD AWAKE ME #8 VISAGE

In 1978 Visage came to be, Steve Strange and Rusty Egan had been running a now renowned club night in London. Yet found themselves lacking in new music to play; the clear and logical option was to produce their own. It would however have to suit the nature of The Blitz Club, where Egan favoured post punk, kraut-rock and electronic disco; thus the sound of Visage was born. Not the only act to be inspired by the Blitz, the club also holds links to the musical career's of Boy George, Spandau Ballet and Pete Burns, amongst others.

They were true musical pioneers,and when asked about the orgins of the band's name, Strange claimed that it is derived from two elements 'Vis' referring to the visuals that the band so favour and 'Age' representing the dawning of a new age in music. Furthermore he also held a fondness for French language, which would become apparent in one of their most widely celebrated singles.

Signing to Radar Records in 1979, they released their first single 'Tar', though this did not reach the charts it did enable them to be scouted by a more prolific label. Polydor and they signed the next year. It would not be long before their hit 'Fade to grey'(1981) came into the public eye. An idiosyncratic yet danceable single, notable for its use of spoken French and bleak undertones, a staple of New Romantic set lists:

'Feel the rain from an English summer
Hear the notes from a distant song
Stepping out from a back shop poster
Wishing life wouldn't be so long'

One issue with the band, and likely the reason they produced so few albums was the varying commitments they already had. Ure and Currie had Ultravox, McGeouch was working with Siouxsie and the Banshees; and Formula was also playing with Magazine. Still, somehow they made time to produce their second studio album 'Anvil' in 1982. More polished than their first album, and far bolder, 'Again we Love' blended new wave disco with atmospheric nuances. But this album showed Visage as not simply a defined synth band, the track 'Move Up' exposed their harsher rock edge. Their highest charting album, some say this album marked the end of the band's golden era.

Sadly the impetus for Ure to leave the band became too great, as Ultravox looked to be gaining success and a much larger and more dedicated following. This led to the band taking a two year long break from releasing new materials, as well as suffering from contractual issues. Though Polydor, keen to cash in on Visage for as long as they could issued a 'Best of' in 1983, including all prior singles and the unreleased 'In the Year 2525'. The year 1984 saw the re-emergence of Visage and allowed the band to bring out their album 'Beat Boy'. This proved to be a flop, monetarily and amongst their critics. Even the single 'Love Glove' appeared to be a pale immitation of earlier works, no wher near the quality of their first two offerings. Taking this as the cue for a swift exit from the music industry they disbanded. Overall Visage were a short lived yet venerable band; and their iconic imagery truly captures the New Romantic spirit of eighties Britain.

MICHELE SENESI

VISIONAIRE #58

In the spirit of Lee Alexander McQueen, contributors including Nick Knight, Lady Gaga, Steven Klein, Mario Sorrenti, Steven Meisel, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, David Sims, Mario Testino, Sean Ellis and Sebastian Faena, share images inspired by his unbridled creativity. The collection of images is printed on paper embedded with wildflower seeds. When planted, watered, and given sun, the pages blossom. The satin case features metallized brocade from McQueen's Spring/Summer 2010 show.

Purchase here

GREAT MAGENTA COVER'D OPUSCULUS

BLAST MAGAZINE

A Bristish vorticist magazine curated by Wyndham Lewis, with fellow modern art activists.
Only 2 editions were ever published: Blast 1 in 1914, Blast 2 in 1915. Blast 1 included the text of a play, a review of art as it existed at the time, poems by TS Eliot, and articles by Wyndham Lewis and Ezra Pound.

With its notorious cover (Splash of magenta in 1914), it was very visually influential due to the way the type was laid out: the lines were often broken up by an occassional word in a much larger font than the surrounding text.

YOUNG GIRLS RULE THE WORLD

Carine & Anna, back then.

AND ALL THE ROADS THAT LEAD YOU THERE

Winding Road, ANDREAS GURSKY

DANGEROUS DAUGHTER

American Vogue 1969 Feburary
by Norman Parkinson

THE LIVING ROOM #4 - MOON DUO

MOON DUO

San Francisco's Moon Duo was formed in 2009 by Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson (Wooden Shjips). Inspired initially by the legendary John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, Moon Duo counts such variant groups as Silver Apples, Royal Trux, Moolah, Suicide, and Cluster as touchstones. Utilizing primarily guitar, keyboards, percussion, and vocals, the pair plays space against form to create a primordial and disorienting sonic stew. They released two acclaimed records in 2009: the Love on the Sea 12-inch single on Sick Thirst and theKilling Time EP on Sacred Bones. Escape, their debut long-player on Woodsist, marks the fullest realization yet of the young group's evolving sound.

1. WHAT IS MOON DUO? DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND.

We are a duo from San Francisco. Sanae Yamada - keyboards, Ripley Johnson - guitar. We're sort of a drone-rock outfit.

2. WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATIONS?

Suicide, Velvet Underground, 39 Clocks, German Oak.

3. WHAT WAS LIFE BEFORE MOON DUO?

I play in another band called Wooden Shjips, so this is just more music.

4 . WHAT ARE YOUR COMING PLANS?

We have a single coming out in March, some SXSW shows, then a Europe tour in the summer.

5. HOW IS YOUR SONG WRITING PROCESS?

Just sort of mess around until something sounds good, then build everything up from there. Sort

of like building a sculpture.

6. HOW IS THE MUSIC SCEN IN YOUR AREA OR TOWN?

It's great. San Francisco seems to always have good music happening but right now it's

especially good.

7. FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME?

I'm Sick of You - Stooges
You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory - Johnny Thunders
96 Tears - ? and the Mysterians

8. WHAT ARE YOU SICK OF?

Rainy days.

9. WHAT WILL YOU GUYS DO EITHER THAN MAKING MUSIC?

Drive around.

10. WHAT IS THE WOWWOWWOW THING IN YOUR LIFE?

Moon Duo

Myspace of Moon Duo

PRADALPHABET II

M/M PARIS for PRADA

'pradalphabet' designed by m/m paris, is a collection of 26 letters created for prada.
initially, the pradalphabet was solely based on the letters P-R-A-D-A-M, creating
an ephemeral prada logo printed on limited edition t-shirts. since then, 'pradalphabet'
has been expanded to an entire alphabet set.