Gonzo scribbler, internet entrepreneur and backing vocalist for Eliza Carthy, Ralph Steadman spills the beans on being ripped off and Hunter S. Thompson’s mother. Chris Wood listens. “I felt savaged a bit by the whole thing… Hunter was in the middle of institutionalising his mother at the time, for her drinking. Great lady, by the […]
The Artists’ Book: A Matter of Self-Reflection
This essay was originally written by Thyrza Nichols Goodeve for the exhibition catalogue One of a Kind: An Exhibition of Unique Artist’s Books, curated by Heide Hatry for Pierre Menard Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Spring 2011. One of a Kind continues at the HP Garcia Gallery, Chelsea, NYC, from 19th April-14th May, 2011. Many thanks to […]
From Mali to Paris: Donso
Malian pop meets Daft Punk electronica with Krazy Baldhead’s Donso project It is no surprise that Pierre-Antoine Grison should gravitate to African music. His 2009 album The B Suite (put out under the name Krazy Baldhead)was a beguiling mix of tricky time signatures and polyrhythms. Originally from Marseille, Grison made his name as part of […]
Kafka’s Other Trial
Perhaps Josef K will get to testify in the ongoing wrangle over Kafka’s manuscripts in an Israeli court. The Czech author instructed his friend Max Brod to destroy his papers, instead two-thirds eventually made its way to the Bodleian Library via Kafka’s niece. The remainder ended up, after Brod’s death in 1968, with Esther Hoffe. […]
Vusi Mahlasela: Say Africa (ATO Records)
Reviewed by Eric Saeger Mahlasela, a David Ortiz-lookalike African singer-songwriter and inspirational anti-apartheid voice, has become a cause célèbre among the ATO crowd and beyond to Josh Groban and others who’ve recorded with him with the aim of spreading his messages. Say Africa, Mahlasela’s 7th album since 1992, finds him parked comfortably in Dave Mathews’s […]
Voices of Nigeria: An Interview with E.C. Osondu
Nigerian writer E.C Osondu won the 2009 Caine Prize, otherwise known as the African Booker, for his short story Waiting. An anthology of his stories, Voice of America, has been published to widespread critical acclaim. Here, he speaks to Mary-Claire Wilson from his home in Rhode Island, where he is assistant professor of English at […]
Pinewood Studios in the Dominican Republic
Spike’s brief travel guide to legendary films studios around the world So far, 2011 has been a bumper year for the film production Pinewood Studios Group. The company has just announced a 31% rise in pre-tax profits and now plans to invest in British low-budget filmmaking through direct funding. Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said, “Although […]
Branching Out: Peepal Tree Press
Peepal Tree Press is dedicated to expanding the Caribbean library and keeping it in print. Spike interviews its founder Jeremy Poynting Working out of the Burley area of Leeds, Peepal Tree Press has been a vital hub of independent publishing for just over 25 years. Founded by Jeremy Poynting to specialise in Caribbean writing, the […]
Brazil: Phonobase Music Services
Brazilian label and distribution company offers artists a unique way of doing business What: A music services company and record label with an emphasis on innovative digital marketing strategies. The company blog is a stimulating source for stories about copyright and technological issues around music. Where: São Paulo, Brazil History: Founded 2007 by Juliano Polimeno. […]
Rhythm Methods: The Physical TV Company and Dance in Second Life
The Physical TV Company is taking dance beyond the body and into virtual worlds. Its founders tell us about movement on screen and the rhythm of editing As much as we love contemporary dance – Siobhan Davies, Wayne McGregor, Liz Aggiss, and others, it isn’t covered by Spike’s remit. We do, however, write about film […]
Australia: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
The Australian government believes in supporting the arts as the annual Prime Minister’s Literary Awards demonstrates Where: Canberra, Australia What: Australia’s richest literary prize, the winning book in each category receives a tax-free award of AUD80,000. The categories are fiction, non-fiction, young adult and children’s fiction. Entries opened in January. The fiction panel is chaired […]
Sick Puppies: Teaching Vets Some New Tricks
Joseph Spencer catches a quick backstage audience with Australian band Sick Puppies The house lights faded and the recording of a slightly ominous string quartet ensemble could be heard lingering daintily over the din of conversation from the crowd. It was as if there was suddenly the presence of ghostly apparitions in the small Watertown […]
United You Stand: National Anthem in Indian Movie Theatres
Sourav Roy from Mumbai argues whether standing up to the national anthem in Indian movie theatres stands to reason The old man stood in attention. But instead of looking straight ahead, he kept stealing glances at the girl seated next to him. The stolen glances soon became stares and the stare turned into glare. Soon […]
South Korea: K-pop for the Rest of Us
There has been an explosion of South Korean music in recent years but, apart from slick pop, what else is on offer? Thanks principally to YouTube, South Korea’s videogenic K-pop is reaching a staggering audience around the world. Earlier this year, boy band Big Bang’s EP Tonight received high placings on iTunes charts in various […]
Hanoi: Cityscapes 2011 Blog
Germany’s Goethe-Institut is running a year-long project bringing together bloggers from different cities around the world “Diverse, fascinating, vibrant tales: Responding individually to a collective impetus, teams of three young bloggers from twelve cities upload texts, photos, and multimedia. Every month, they will be given a new topic, so every month, their entries will be […]
Enmeshed: Gay & Lesbian Latino-Americans in Los Angeles’ Eastside Scene
Los Angeles author and filmmaker Vanessa Libertad Garcia writes about the subcultural life that informs her writing The Voting Booth After Dark: Despicable, Embarrassing, Repulsive delves into the unique subculture of a specific, and frequently overlooked, group of Latino-Americans. The book’s protagonists are comprised of first generation Latino-Americans in their twenties who were born in […]
Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski’s LA Bus Tour
Take a ride on the wild side with Esotouric’s tours of LA’s underbelly “We’re not your ordinary tour company,” suggests the website of Los Angeles-based Esotouric. Indeed. Rather than curb crawling around Laurel Canyon squinting at George Clooney’s house through binoculars, Richard Schave and Kim Cooper offer tours the rest of us want to see. […]
James Turrell: Roden Crater
James Turrell’s Roden Crater project has been in the offing for several decades, will 2011 finally see it open to the public? James Turrell, Dhātu, 2010 Mixed media, dimensions variable Courtesy Gagosian Gallery “I’m very American, very direct. I don’t want something to be about light, I just want to use light. I want light […]
Dino Buzzati: An Introduction
Russell Mardell, author of Silent Bombs Falling On Green Grass, offers a personal introduction to the Italian writer I have to thank the writer Stephen Volk for introducing me to the wonderful short stories of Dino Buzzati. Such was the eagerness with which I took to them I found myself questioning why I had never […]
Contemporary Russian Authors
Russian fiction is on the rise. Spike profiles some of the key authors in translation At the London Book Fair 2011, the Market Focus will be on contemporary writing from Russia. Fifty writers and 60 publishers will present new books, representative of an explosion of literary activity during the past 20 years. Poets such as […]
Twisted Spoon Press
An interview with Prague’s publisher of essential Eastern and Central European writing Prague’s Twisted Spoon Press produce some of the most beautiful books currently in print. Founded in 1992, by Howard Sidenberg, Kevin Blahut and Lukas Tomin, the publishing house has translated a string of classic and contemporary Central and Eastern European titles. Beginning with […]
Vija Celmins: Desert, Sea, and Stars
Museum Ludwig in Cologne presents a retrospective of the artist’s remarkable work Vija Celmins, Untitled (Web 4), 2002 Drypoint and photogravure on paper, 51.1x61cm © 2002 Vija Celmins and Gemini G.E.L. LLC Courtesy McKee Gallery Webs are an appropriate subject for Vija Celmins’ images. Reworked from photographs and built with painstaking precision, sometimes over years, […]
Leader: The Group Mind and Collaborative Communities
Jason Weaver goes in search of the creative city and loses himself in the collective mind Where does creative work originate? Anybody who has worked collaboratively can tell you about the mysterious processes at play. The excitement and flow of a creative project appears psychic at times. When things are going well, serendipity seems predestined. […]
Ben Ottewell: Shapes & Shadows (ATO Records)
Reviewed by Eric Saeger Of the three main singers in the Guster-style folk-infused, Brit-alt band Gomez, Ottewell is the one who sounds like Eddie Vedder (Ottewell sang ‘See the World’ and most of their other sellable stuff, thus it’s awful white of him to downplay his importance to the band in the press release for […]
Donny McCaslin: Perpetual Motion (Greenleaf Records)
Reviewed by Eric Saeger Given that he’s as comfortable with standards and fusion-workouts as he is with modern experimentation, it’d be correct to tag jazz sax player McCaslin as a firebrand voice of the current New Yawk pack. In this ninth solo record, he’s free as a bird, his flights accelerated by the whizz-bang keyboards […]
