Charades – “Revolución Solar”

¿Cómo serían el pop y la psicodelia de los Beach Boys, Os Mutantes o Love en el año 2010 de nuestra era? Charades tienen la respuesta. Tras varios meses desaparecidos, inmersos en su particular revolución y decididos a hacer lo que les da la gana, Charades regresan, constatando que las promesas que forjó “En Ningún Lugar” (BCore, 08) son una sólida realidad. Tras la excelente acogida que supuso dicho trabajo -aluvión de excelentes críticas, la edición internacional y decenas de conciertos-, este es uno de los discos más deseados del año. Pero que nadie espere que la formula se repita. “Revolución Solar” suena más a Charades que nunca, pero unas Charades que jamás habíamos escuchado.

Esta nueva entrega abraza de nuevo los valores de los 60: imaginación, libertad, belleza, amor y experimentación, pero estamos en el siglo XXI. Aunque los referentes y su cultivado gusto están claros, no hay aquí un ápice de revival, ni mimetismos pop, rock o folk. “Revolución Solar” un álbum de pop psicodélico, tribal, profundo y bello; donde, tomando elementos de todas y cada una de las cosas que les inspiran, Charades han construido una maravilla de principio a fin. Extraños y locos ritmos se entremezclan con preciosas y distinguidas melodías; sintetizadores de todo tipo (hasta techno!) armonizan con guitarras acústicas, percusiones orgánicas se dejan envolver por una nube de delays y sus letras -más sinceras, dolorosas y bonitas que nunca- nos abren la cabeza. Charades experimentan, construyen y deconstruyen a su antojo y salen ganando. Porque siguen haciendo canciones redondas, perfectas y conmovedoras. Grabado y producido impecablemente por Santi García (repiten con él por tercera vez), estas diez canciones vienen a emocionarnos y a hacer del mundo un sitio mejor. Este es su disco definitivo: ¡comienza la Revolución Solar!

Charades:
Isabel Fdez. Reviriego: Voz y guitarras
Antía Moure: Voz, percusiones y teclados
Coki García: Teclados y piano
Toño Castro: Bajo
Guillermo Llansó: Bateria
Eric Uguet: tourmanager y talismán
Jose Vázquez: técnico de sonido
Santi García: productor fantástico

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YikeBike – Urban Freedom

YikeBike is a statement about using smart technology to solve the problems of our increasingly congested, polluted, stressful cities. It is the first commercial expression of the mini-farthing concept, created up by a bunch of successful entrepreneurs, engineers and dreamers. We sat down to try and answer:

• What is the simplest way to get from A to B with the aid of a machine?
• What is the smallest wheel you can have to get a stable, safe, comfortable ride?
• Can you make something small enough to be able to go with you anywhere in a city?
• Wonder if we could make a unicycle dramatically easier to ride and fold?

We were intrigued by creating something that could dramatically change urban transport, enabling city dwellers a fast, safe and easy way to navigate their environment.

The result was the mini-farthing concept and its first expression, the YikeBike. It employs state-of-the-art technology, engineering and industrial design to create a new class of personal transport.

More on the history of the development of the concept can be found at www.minifarthing.com

A Fine Frenzy

Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984), known professionally as A Fine Frenzy is an American alternative singer and songwriter and pianist. Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, reached number one on the charts, putting her on the map around the world thanks to her sultry, romantic ballad ‘Almost Lover.’ After ‘One Cell in the Sea,’ Alison Sudol followed with the album ‘Bomb in a Birdcage,’ which hit Number One Top Pop Album, and hit the top of the digital charts. Wasting no time following up their acclaimed second album, A Fine Frenzy released a six-song EP ‘Oh Blue Christmas’ which like the bands other work, is a must for any music collection.

At the age of 24, Alison Sudol is a rare being, filled with a passionate soul, magnificent voice, stellar songwriting, and an incredibly sweet personality backed by a unique, worldly intelligence.

Read the interview by Bruce Edwin.

Deolinda

Her name is Ana Bacalhau and she is old enough to realize that life isn’t as easy as it seems. Merrily unmarried, in love and out of love, born in Lisbon, she inhabits a ground floor apartment somewhere in the suburbs of the capital. She writes her own songs by peeking through the curtains of her window, drawing inspiration from the old gramophone records that once belonged to her grandmother and by the bizarre and strange life of her neighbours. She lives with 2 cats and a gold fish…

Deolinda is a project from Lisbon inspired by fado and its traditional roots in order to create original songs based on portuguese traditional and popular music. It came to life in 2006, by the hands of 4 young musicians with diverse musical backgrounds and experiences (such as classical music, jazz, ethnical and traditional music), searching to recreate a sound rooted in popular music through the crossing of different musical languages and musical research serving as a base for the group’s original compositions.

Read the review from The Times

Urban Junkies

Urban Junkies is a daily e-magazine; need-to-know information that drops into our inbox every morning for free. They provide insider information about urban gems and new openings in cities around the world.

They announce things the day they happen. Whether it be an exhibition opening or a restaurant launch, a limited edition product release, or a secret sample sale, they find out what’s going on so we don’t have to.

Urban Junkies is made up of a team of experienced freelancers, trend forecasters, fashionistas, food lovers, art directors and graphic designers, who come together to add timely content and expertise from all areas of media and urban life.

Get your daily fix: Barcelona | London

Carminho

Carminho is one of the strongest names of the new generation of Fado. A name with a history and a legacy of another great fado singer, that is Teresa Siqueira.

Carminho started to hear fado very early. The mother was the owner of “Taverna do Embuçado”, one of the houses of Fado with the best reputation that Lisbon had.

Now, she gives life to everything what she have heard. She has assimilated emotions, styles, life and poetry. Has an unmistakable style, a serious and melodic voice that makes everything and everyone “hypnotised”, to breathe, feel and hear her singing.

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‘Millennium Foundation’ launches MASSIVEGOOD

MASSIVEGOOD is powered by the Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health.

MASSIVEGOOD is a new global citizen solidarity movement aimed at saving lives by treating and fighting life-threatening diseases among the world’s most vulnerable populations.

This movement is based on voluntary micro-contributions (USD $2 or equivalent in other currencies) that people can add on top of their reservation ticket price each time they fly, book a hotel room or a rent a car.

Through these simple and inexpensive  acts relayed all around the world,  MASSIVEGOOD will enable citizens to play a major role in rebalancing the world. Indeed billions of travel products reservations are sold every year (including more than 2 billion air legs), representing an unprecedented fund-raising potential for individuals hardly seen before.

The technology solution for MASSIVEGOOD was developed by Amadeus and can be integrated into all GDS systems and embedded in the regular booking system for airline tickets and other travel reservations. As a result, MASSIVEGOOD will make it easy for everyone who travels to make their micro-contributions through a simple click each time they book their reservation, whether online or through an agent.

This is the first major fundraising initiative launched by the Millennium Foundation, whose mission is to mobilize new sources of innovative funding to achieve the three health-related Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000: to treat and fight life-threatening diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; to reduce childhood mortality; and to improve maternal health.

Lisbon Coast: Holidays & Corporate Housing

Holidays in the coast of Lisbon

Oeiras is on the coast between Lisbon and Cascais, it is 15 minutes on the train to each side. The landscape is full of lighthouses and coast fortresses overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The apartment is 15 minutes walk to the beach. It is a spacious fifth floor, charmingly decorated, with a spectacular terrace so as to enjoy the spectacular views over the ocean. Visitors may benefit from different leisure and sports facilities, such as the Maritime Walk (a seaside promenade) and the Poets Park (a vast green space). There is also an Oceanic Pool with a Marine with night bars and restaurants.

It is a haven for walkers and bikers!

Folclore

A new store & a new style

Folclore

Folclore, Portuguese fashion designers in Barcelona

Designers:
Anabela Baldaque
Daniela Pais
Elisabeth Teixeira
Luis Buchinho

Frida Hyvönen

Frida Hyvönen (born 1977) is a Swedish singer-songwriter. She grew up in Robertsfors, a small place just outside Umeå in the north of Sweden (which is also the hometown of the band Sahara Hotnights), and currently lives in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. Piano-based antecedents and contemporaries such as Carole King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Plush, and Antony and the Johnsons generally feel like appropriate touchstones for discussing the Swedish singer-songwriter’s recorded work. Lyrically, however, Hyvönen is in more open waters, as she forges her own stylistic path as a songwriter.

M. Ward

Matt Ward, known by his stage name M. Ward, is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who rose to prominence in the Portland, Oregon music scene. Ward says that “Amazing Grace” is probably his favorite song. His favorite piece of musical equipment is the TASCAM 4-Track Recorder, which he uses to start every song he writes.

Emmy The Great

Emma Lee-Moss (born 1984), known by her stage name of Emmy the Great, is a London based singer-songwriter. Moss was born in Hong Kong, and as a child she emigrated with her family to London. She has toured with Tilly and the Wall, Martha Wainwright, Jamie T amongst others and collaborated with several other artists, most notably Lightspeed Champion. She usually plays live with a band including Euan Hinshelwood of Younghusband, Tom Rogerson of Three Trapped Tigers, and Ric Hollingbery of Pengilly’s. First Love was produced by Moss, Hinshelwood, Rogerson and the Earlies.

Spotify

Spotify is a new way to enjoy music. Simply download and install, before you know it you’ll be singing along to the genre, artist or song of your choice. With Spotify you are never far away from the song you want. There are no restrictions in terms of what you can listen to or when. Forget about the hassle of waiting for files to download and fill up your hard drive before you get round to organising them. Spotify is instant, fun and simple.

Post a comment to get a free invite to join Spotify

Asobi Seksu

Asobi Seksu

While Asobi Seksu‘s (colloquial Japanese for “playful sex”) creative core explored music at an early age (lead vocalist/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate got standing ovations at child prodigy recitals when she was just 8; guitarist/vocalist James Hanna bounced between sludgy hardcore and Mogwai-schooled post-rock in his teens), their potential ‘career’ wasn’t put into perspective until a stint at the Manhattan School of Music. And by put into perspective, we mean finding out what they didn’t want to do.

Emíliana Torrini

Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of 7, she joined a choir as a soprano, until she went to opera school at the age of 15. In 1994, she became well-known in Iceland after winning the song competition of junior colleges in Iceland, at the age of 17, singing “I Will Survive”. Her father is Italian and her mother Icelandic. She grew up with her parents in Iceland. Her father owns and operates a well-known Italian restaurant in Iceland, where she once worked as a waitress.

futureduty

futureduty is a young organisation using provoking & striking design to raise awareness and funds for global issues.

Interview with Huibert and Paul Evekink, foundering brothers of futureduty

What is the idea behind futureduty.com?
Well, it is really simple. We feel a moral duty to do our small part for the future, fighting climate change, poverty, water shortage, bird flue, cancer, old age and any other global issues. It is about using our present skills, experience and contacts to positively influence the future. We highlight issues in our designs, sell them and use the profit to fund sustainable projects.

Which sustainable projects?
For now we are particularly interested in organizations like KIVA.org, which manages micro-funds, supporting small businesses all over the world. You can choose where you invest and follow progress; it is all very real and tangible!

And supporting charity projects does not mean buying a one-way ticket to Africa?
No, this is about doing our future duty without abandoning our present lives.  Making good use of our experience, skills and contacts we can do more than than actually being in areas which need help. We think many people feel the same and we want to contribute and form part of our network.

So are your customers funding their fashion or philanthropy needs?
It is kind of ‘double dipping’ in happiness: get more cool looking stuff and score social responsibility points:do good, look good or the other way around.

What is who is your target customer?
As our products are a mixture between striking design and message, it helps to have customers who are smart enough to understand what the issues are about. However, we aim low, so the product should sell on design alone across various ages and cultures.

So what products will you sell?
First we will focus on building up our T-shirt fall collection by tapping into a friendly pool of like minded design people, who are prepared to sacrifice some time on their future duty. We are lucky enough to work with outstanding design agencies from around the world and nobody will escape our request for help!  We feel T-shirts combine with the Global Warming theme.

You mention “unique” designs…what is so unique?
We are convinced that thought-provoking, unconventional, striking design can capture more attention than the misery communication  we have have become immune too. We will not shy away from anything, unless it is likely to get us killed, like selling anti-Mugabe mugs on a Harare street corner.
With our “global warming fall collection we are tapping into the highly marketable eco-hip, green-pop-culture market.

So why would designers or design agencies contribute?
It is all about doing their futureduty and some prestige: do good, look good

My playground

A trailer  for an upcoming documentary, MY PLAYGROUND by Kaspar Astrup Schröder. It is a film about movement, tricking, freerunning and parkour engaging fully BIG’s recent project the Mountain Dwellings as backdrop. The Mountain Dwellings recently were awarded the Best Housing Project in the World at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona.

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Charades

Charades

Lo que sí conservan Charades, afortunadamente, es su enorme capacidad para sacarse de la manga excelentes melodías pop , aunque sus letras

Olympic Games

20minutos

YouTube Video Awards

Google announced the winners of the 2nd edition of YouTube Video Awards for 2007 – the Oscars for the web.

You can see the winners for each of the 12 categories here. ‘Human Tetris’ won the category for the most creative video and is my favorite: