Another in a seemingly endless string of new and unique musical gems spawned amongst the hubbub of Portland, Oregon is Musee Mecanique. This, their debut single, “Like Home” will lull you gently into the beginning of 2010 with it’s subtle and elegant folk-pop.
First conceived in a museum of antique arcade machines, this quintet play sepia-tinged nostalgic melodies that you could compare to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel or Beirut, but that’d be unfair because their magic is entirely of its own creation. Paying a glance to decadent times gone by but with their eyes firmly fixed on the future, Musee Mecanique’s multi-instrumental enchantment is one of Crossfire’s main tips for the start of the next decade.
We recently witnessed Musee Mecanique playing as a stripped down two-piece and was amazed to find that, rather than playing less instruments, Sean Ogilvie and Micah Rabwin simply play them all at once, by themselves. Their hushed and magnetic set saw Rabwin at one point playing glockenspiel with one hand, keyboard with the other and bass drum with his foot which, aside from being quite a spectacle to behold, is just a token sign of the ridiculous talent Musee Mecanique have to offer. Check them out!
Comanechi have been on the gigging circuit for a while but with singer Akiko Matsuura’s numerous other bands (Pre and more recently and famously, The Big Pink) taking the lime light, only now have they managed to throw together an album.
A Crime Of Love, put bluntly, is half an hour of utter filth. Drum kit smashed to pieces by a yelping and purring nymphomaniac, greased up with Simon Petrovitch’s distorted and syrupy guitar lines. Think Bikini Kill meets Melvins-style sludge… think Melt Banana meets Nirvana. Hell, don’t think at all, just turn it up loud and prepare to be bruised.
Sexed up to the max, dripping with scrappy and erratic sleaze, screeching and unpleasant yet somehow delicious in an under-the-counter kinda way, A Crime of Love is a carnal delight. Just don’t tell your mother, she’d be appalled.
The brand new street course at Bryggeriet Skatepark. Grand opening on the 18th of September. Designed by Pontus Alv and Bryggeriets Tobias Henriksson it is very different from the normal indoor park. A mix of different materials of concrete, wood, steel and bricks it reflects raw natural street but under a nice roof with constant sunshine. More info here
It isn’t often that an album like Blakroc works. When rockstars try their hand at being hip hop or when rappers try to be rock [Weezy, I love you man, but c’mon now] it usually induces cringing and head-shaking, but when The Black Keys teamed up with Damon Dash and brought in luminaries such as Mos Def, Billy Danze, RZA and Ludacris, the signs weren’t as bad as first thought.
In fact, it’s much more than just a non-catastrophe, it’s a quality album that draws the best out of the Keys’ bluesy excellence and combines it with some excellent verses that make it seem impossible to think that this wouldn’t work. The album kicks off with a track that brings Luda and the ever-enjoyable O.D.B. together telling stories of women that have got them wrapped around their little finger and the record never looks back.
A softer side of the collabs arrives in the form of Nicole Wray who does a sterling job of sounding sultry over the more understated guitars, but for the most part it is the filthy fuzzy numbers which stand out on the record, Dollaz & Sense featuring Pharoahe Monch and RZA, Stay Off The Fuckin’ Flowers with Raekwon and What You Do To Me with it’s excellent hammond organ backdrop.
The track you can hear by clicking the player above is Ain’t Nothing Like You [Hoochie Coo] featuring Mos Def and Dipset’s Jim Jones on the best cut from the album. Mos Def’s hook is a guaranteed singalong just waiting to get into your brain.
The No Pain No Gain crew down in Bournemouth have unleashed another trailer this weekend following their recent Younited Nations entry being recognised at the Berrics. Look out for their full length DVD in March 2010 and enjoy the fun from Danny Bulmer, Ewan Bowman and more here.
Christmas came a week early this year for Blueprint Skateboards as the full team’s recent trip to LA will be documented throughout this week at www.theberrics.com. Look out for daily video updates on the site from today.
Rage Against The Machine have beaten the X Factor clowns to the Christmas number 1 spot here in the UK today. Over half a million downloads of the classic 90’s rock tune beat Joe Schmo and Simon Cowell’s multi million pound TV machine by thousands to take the UK’s biggest pop accolade. The band have promised to play a FREE show to celebrate this achievement and have also donated thousands of pounds from MP3 sales to the charity Shelter. Watch the band below playing live on the BBC’s Five Live radio show last week playing the Xmas Number 1 – Killing In the Name Of.
You can tell that an event has really become part of the landscape when it becomes the possession of the crowd. This year’s Crossfire Xmas Jam had more people skating than ever before. Skating in the walkways, and on the flat. 4 people in the mini ramp at all times, etiquette out the window. Been waiting too long for the year’s biggest winter event to stand on niceties and not get some action. That’s what we’re all here for, right? Action!
Above: Jak Tonge-Backside Lipslide-Photo: Dom Marley.
And so action it was. For the older crew clutching their teas and trying not to get run over. For the youngest dudes, brought along by Mum or Dad who then nipped down to the Mutate Britain exhibition down the road for a wider dose of alternative culture. This day is about and for you, which is why we always build new stuff and leave it for everybody to get acquainted with. This year was no exception; if you have been following the Crossfire Facebook you would have seen the car we have been toiling on for frozen days and nights to make skate able. The Mad Max overhaul courtesy of the Mutate Britain artists was a final flourish before the beast was unleashed on Britain’s top headbangers for an afternoon- long assault.
Below: Jess Young-Frontside Feeble Grind-Photo: Dom Marley.
It was amazing to see just how quickly the top boys can get to grips with something they’ve never skated before. Ben Grove’s frontside bluntslide on the pick up seat being an early standout before he wrecked himself, get well soon mate. The car was a something for everyone affair- thoroughbred streeters like Rob Mathieson,Snowy, and Joey Pressey taking quick hits across it or over the bonnet, Jess Young all the way from Wales with the hippy jump clean over it as his board sailed through both windows unseen- total mayhem. Dave Snaddon somehow pulled a flip backlip on the flat bar welded to the roof, a treacherously high bar that took some people down during the onslaught! Casper kickflipped the entire set up all afternoon, Mikey Patrick cleared the same space with huge ollies, Harry Lintell made his Crossfire debut a memorable one, Shaun Currie kickflipped the windscreen, and Neil Smith made lines from the back end of the park to switch lipslide the top rail. But it was Daryl Dominguez who proved yet again that his skating does the talking wherever he goes. Varial heelflip 5-0 was the trick of the day but he had them all over the car- signature tre flips, hardflips, floating ollies and he took the accolades accordingly.
Below: Greg Nowik-Melon Fakie-Photo:Dom Marley.
This was a skate with-, not a skate for-, though so even with all the organised chaos on the street course, there was still a strong squad of attendees just having their own sessions all over, which is how it should be. The manny pad beside the car saw as much action as the rail from crews who came to ride along and feed off the energy, and the mini ramp never saw a break all day. We also got the annual police/noise pollution complaint at 5pm which meant that we were headed in the right direction.
Below: Jak Tonge-Indy Fakie-Photo:Dom Marley. (check Andy Evans facials on the RHS!)
The midi ramp became the focus of the final hours, with heavy hitters from across the UK scene sparking it off. Ben Raemers, just back from his stint in America as Britain’s new breakthrough talent, showed that he’s getting even better, as, seemingly, is Greg Nowik, who on that ramp is a match for anyone in the world, beardy and the judo dude included. Vert prodigy Sam Beckett was all about it in a padless fashion and managed to make the ramp look as tiny as it probably feels to him, and Gav Coughlan came from Ireland to show his all- terrain credentials in a session that looked at times like an illegal dog fight. Sam Pulley and Jak Tonge sessioned hard as did Rogie and Chris Oliver who should have stuck at his 540′, he looked like he was having one of those days where he could have landed it.
>Below: Casper Brooker-Kickflip-Photo:Dom Marley.
As the seconds were counted down to the last man standing finale and we turfed out some T- shirts and boards from the UK teams who made the trip to West London to keep our culture’s flame alive, I looked around at the loving faces, the family atmosphere and the camaraderie of those people. Age, sex, postcode, nobody gives a fuck. Look, it is no secret that we’ve all just come through a rotten year in terms of being able to find the money to put on the events which act as a social glue that helps keep our scenes together and spirits high. Apart from Crossfire and the Backroom Productions crew, only a few other independent events went off in 2009 due to recession, and so it is important here to recognise those who go the extra mile to make it happen. We cannot do these events without the involvement of the people who keep it alive, which is you and all of the UK skate companies.
Below: Neil Smith-Switch Lipslide-Photo:Dom Marley.
Big thanks to Sidewalk magazine, for never failing to support and send bods along, to Nic Powley, and the Shiner squad, bright and early. Don Brider, Greg Nowik, Andy Evans and the south coast contingent, all present and correct. Lee Dainton and the big Kill City squad who came through in convoy from Wales, love your work; the Crayon, Slam,Unabomber,Landscape, Heroin, Lovenskate,Motive and Science brethren who repped hard, the Death squad without whom no event can truly be called such, Drawing Boards, The Harmony (Yes Fam Pietryga), Blueprint, Paul, Dave and Mike at Bay66, and also to the skaters who came along and took ownership of the gig for themselves. Now this is truly a jam and not a demo. It’s about all of us. That’s how we feel and, for that glorious Saturday, that’s how it seemed we all did.
Below: Jason Cloete-Tre to Flat and Felipe Dal Cin-Hardflip-Photos Sam May.
2010 will be the year of the rise of the small devoted skater-run enterprise. Teams, events, media and initiatives. We can trust only ourselves; but it is clearly enough. Big ups to all the skateboarders of Britain. It’s getting cold now players- stay up! Checkout the official edit from this year’s jam here thanks to Niall Kenny, Alan Christensen and Lee Dainton. Thanks to Dom Marley and Sam May for the photos and Alex Wreckage and Garfield at Mutate Britain for car infused art malarkey.
Season’s Beatings from your friends at Crossfire. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Audio Bullys have dropped another new tune from their forthcoming album called London Dreamer as part of a Christmas video message with Slade. Press play for the sweets.
Another in a seemingly endless string of new and unique musical gems spawned amongst the hubbub of Portland, Oregon is Musee Mecanique. This, their debut single, “Like Home” will lull you gently into the beginning of 2010 with it’s subtle and elegant folk-pop.
Comanechi have been on the gigging circuit for a while but with singer Akiko Matsuura’s numerous other bands (Pre and more recently and famously, The Big Pink) taking the lime light, only now have they managed to throw together an album.
It isn’t often that an album like Blakroc works. When rockstars try their hand at being hip hop or when rappers try to be rock [Weezy, I love you man, but c’mon now] it usually induces cringing and head-shaking, but when The Black Keys teamed up with Damon Dash and brought in luminaries such as Mos Def, Billy Danze, RZA and Ludacris, the signs weren’t as bad as first thought.
