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DVD Reviews

Transworld – And Now

Pics by Blair Alley

So it’s that time of year again; the season of worn-out rewind buttons and wide-eyed expressions of utter confusion. Freshly scrubbed and ready to take on the world in this year’s Transworld compilation of rad are David Gravette, Matt Miller, Richie Jackson, Kenny Hoyle, Nick Trapasso and Sean Malto.

Woah. I mean, woah. Hold up. I know that Transworld have always been renowned for hand-picking an eclectic mix of up-and-comers but a line up like that is rarer than a pot-pourri mixture of golddust and the shaved horn of a unicorn. We may have reached the end of the rainbow with this one. Let’s count ’em up: one quirky rail killer, one styled out nollie popper, one powersliding and pole-jamming magician, one ledge innovator, one nonchalant motherfucker and on top of all this, probably the most talked-about am in history. Alongside the guaranteed high-quality audio/visual jiggery-pokery that comes with a Transworld production, there is very little that can go wrong here.

Rather than a perhaps overly-expected ‘and now…‘ dialogue-laden series of non-diegetics prior to each section, the video instead chooses to introduce each skater with a short, sharp montage foreshadowing the awesome that waits ahead. This is a fabulous move from Transworld, keeping things simple so that message board nit-pickers can’t overshadow the fantastic shralp-stick action with the little things that never really mattered anyway. Come on, who can argue with truly epic skating? No one. Great, let’s get this party started.

David Gravette kicks the action into a warzone with this monumental first section. At the same time this is a solidification of his position as a Creature pro: this one is rightfully deserved. A steadily-thrilling riff-fest from Consortium compliments Baby Lamb’s perfectly timed lines while the cinematic chorus only enhances the sheer shock power of his – rightfully slowed down I might add – bangers. Now, I hate that word, but this is a bangers and mash feast that you should skip to the front of the dinner queue and gorge upon. We’re off to a rocking start.

Matt Miller‘s ‘pop, lock and drop it‘ massacre is nudged in by a the kind of sequence in a video that gets me wet. Camera lens distortion and a fuzzed out title construct a gnarly oxymoron over a time-lapsed sunset that makes me wanna high-five everyone. Then before anyone has so much as settled into their armchair and picked up their drink he cracks the most enormous nollie I’ve ever seen over some sort of globe. And now I’m standing up and shouting involuntarily as if my body was possessed by the spirit of gnar. Instead of reaching for a towel to clean up the pepsi that is quite literally everywhere I’m grabbing the remote. REWIND. Nothing downhill from here either; this guy pulls off a huge selection of awkward manoeuvres with little difficulty and a blind ignorance towards pitiful human restrains like, you know, gravity. Don’t sleep on this guy, whatever you do.

Richie Jackson may look like the hippy lovechild of Captain Hook and a 1960s magician, but he is certainly not a victim of prioritising style over substance. Polejams might have placed high on the imaginary NME Cool Skate List of yesteryear, but this section is a display of nothing but innovation and progression. Richie has the ability to turn the obscure hazy thoughts of an obstacle course dream into reality and pull it off with envy-inducing ease. In addition to all this mind-bending is a dark and drunken rant drizzled over smoked guitar licks making the whole thing that more psychedelic, if that were even possible. The Feetch is slicker than The Stig. Call me a blasphemer all you like, but I’m not even kidding. He’s totally ruling in this.

After the traditionally énorme montage section, Kenny Hoyle takes the dusty road-less-travelled by knocking out some lesser-seen gems on traditional street spots. The composition remains pleasant and simple, but it’s those little tweaks and effects that transform this into something really special. Much like the video as a whole; a simple, respectable format with a staggering amount of personality that can dazzle without any hint of pretention. Right now I seriously have to cross my legs to suppress that tempting itch. No, not there you filthbags. I got the skate itch y’hear?

I struggle to comprehend Nick Trapasso in general. Sure, the fact that he has a natural talent for skating goes without saying; but how can anyone pull off such barrier-leaping shit while appearing to be in the middle of a light nap? On landing, he seems to jerk awake in a sort of, ‘oh, what just happened?’ daze. Unfathomable levels of nonchalance. If you enjoy a well shuffled trick bag with style then you’ll want to buy this section a bottle of wine and try and lure it into bed. Enders man… climax in less than 5 minutes or your money back.

It would seem redundant to explain Sean Malto‘s talent, after all the coverage the kid has been getting I’m sure you were as hyped to see this section as I was. Mine was more out of curiosity, seeing as I hadn’t really caught the Malto Bug yet. Suffice to say, I’m calling in sick for weeks on end after viewing this. I’m converted. No, really. Malto goes beyond hype in this delightful end to one of the finest Transworld videos in years: I’m talking Modus Operandi good. Style, substance and a huge push forward to be felt by everyone – this one will not so much have you on the edge of your seat but up in the air, floating on your own disbelief.

Delicious skateboarding and picture-perfect filming without the slightest hint of fromage. If you haven’t picked this up already, do yourselves a favour. And Now is out now and now and now. Get on it.

Joe