Off to Russia

Sorry for the lack of posts-laptop still down. Am off to Russia on holiday Saturday, will purchase new laptop upon my return and promise lots of interesting Russian pics! Sadly spilt an entire bottle of water over my camera the other day too but that too will be replaced somehow. Anyway, the dog ate it, basically.Fashion Slant will be back with a fashiony vengence soon though, promise miss!! Xxxxxx

A Seagull Saga

I know it isn't fashion but I couldn't resist posting some pictures of this cheeky chappy!

Beautiful Brighton!

Ooh I love Brighton. Went with the girls a little while ago, it was so fun! Love the summer!

Summer Make-up

It's hard to work out what to wear make-up wise when the weather is so hot. I liked this summer look I did for a party recently. Most of what I used is from Mac, Chanel and Dior.

Jonah Maddox: Together We Are Taller

Jonah Maddox

Went to the album launch of Jonah Maddox's new album 'Together we are Taller' at the Slaughtered Lamb. It was a really fun album full of foot-tapping folksy sounds and a real feel-good vibe. Jonah is brilliant on stage, his sound is really uplifting and members of his multi-talented band included a banjo player and a girl who seemed to be able to play about a million different instruments including the flute and the keyboard. Jonah was supported by Jose Vanders who Perez Hilton (my fave!) described as ‘one of the most exciting things to happen to British music since Amy Winehouse.’ I really liked her voice-goosebump-inducing stuff. I have included the press release below for you to have a read through (because I'm lazy and also because it's interesting!).

JONAH MADDOX

ALBUM: TOGETHER WE ARE TALLER

RELEASE DATE: 26/07/10

www.jonahmaddox.com

'Pandas Fighting is beautiful' BBC Cambridgeshire

IT’S time to forget madly rush-released, poorly thought out albums – which has become an all too common trend of late – and support the acts who are taking the time to nurture and craft great songs and well rounded albums.

Jonah Maddox is a prime example of this breed of musician, 27-years in the making and he’s just about ready to bloom. With songs that essentially adopt a folk infused vibe with sincere lyrics that guarantee to send tingles in every which way. Then there’s his on stage presence – an element of cheeky charm that will get the most serious of sorts giggling like they were 13 again. This all immediately begs the question, ‘Why on earth hasn’t the music industry snapped up such a great talent sooner?’ Or perhaps Jonah has actually been swimming away from the jaws of the giant whale? Allowing his sound to develop creating a catalogue of songs that will come together to create an honest and brilliant album.

Just over a year of dedicated hard graft in the studio and Together We Are Taller is here. Produced by Simon Walker, ex-fiddle player for Dexy’s Midnight Runners; this carefully crafted coming of age album was purposely grown organically with no involvement from any major labels. Jonah explains: “I spent every spare penny I had on the album and enlisted the help of kind and talented friends to work with.” This is where the title Together We Are Taller came from and has manifested into Jonah's mantra since then.

Inspiration from Andy McKee and John Martyn shines through in full force in this moving 12 track album. After being knocked down by redundancy in March 2008, Jonah decided to focus his efforts on his lifelong passion and subsequently he began penning from scratch his debut record.
An album that is accessible to all, Together We Are Taller addresses the issues that we all face day to day, financial frustration, the trials and tribulations of love and where our lives are heading. Jonah explains: “Half way through my twenties everything suddenly became a lot more serious and apparent. I was on a career path, whether I liked it or not; I was not earning very much, my love life suddenly went from being about the now to being about the future and it set me thinking. I think this is a point everyone reaches and I felt I had to cast my eyes from my feet to the horizon.”

Together We Are Taller draws you in from the first chord like an addictive book; the tale unearths from Fold a song of hope and the expectancy of new beginnings. Soon it’s the End of Summer a walk through the great outdoors allows us all to step out and gain some perspective when things are stacking up. Jonah’s journey to London takes him to French Place, featuring up and coming artist Jose Vanders, he finds solidarity in the history of the city’s streets during a murky winter. When the days are tough our Happy Places lift us up and even when the odds seem set against him the strength of unity in family can conquer illness in A Sad Soul Can Kill Quicker Than A Germ. On a final note, the story closes on Butter Stone, reflective and compelling the realisation of time passing before our dreams are fulfilled – it’s time to make that change and move forward.

LIVE DATES

14/07/10 - The Slaughtered Lamb, ALBUM LAUNCH WITH JOSE VANDERS – Clerkenwell, london
15/07/10 - Radio Reverb live session/ Latest Music Bar with Autumn Red support - brighton
18/07/10 -The Corner House - CAMBRIDGE
20/07/10 - The Canteen - BRISTOL
29/07/10 -The Gallary Café - Bethnal Green, london

10/08/10 – ronnie scott's - london
25/08/10 - The Gallery Café - Bethnal Green, london

www.myspace.com/jonahmaddox

Press Enquiries Contact: press@jonahmaddox.com | 07512 365 601

Jose Vanders

Rankin: Portraits

Went to see the new Rankin exhibition last Saturday, ‘Portraits.’ It’s on at the Annroy Gallery until July 18^th and features photos from his new book by the same name. The exhibition was small but perfectly formed (ah that old chestnut!) with only about 10 portraits as far as I could see. I didn’t realize that the new Kelis ‘Fleshtone’ album cover was shot by Rankin too. A selection of Rankin’s previous publications were also on display at the back of the room by a seated area which meant you could sit and browse through them after looking at the lovely glossy photos. I particularly loved the Alex Box book – definitely going to research this amazing make-up artist more.

My favourite photo was the one pictured above of Selma Blair. Wonder what he told her to make her cry?!

To get to the Annroy Gallery, go to Kentish Town tube, turn left and walk down past Tescos, Sainsburys etc. then go right and then right again. Walk under the bridge and its right there. Look at Rankin’s website for further info: www.rankin.co.uk

ACNE Dover Street Store Launch Party Pics

Ivy and Lil’s Awesome Adventures

Join amazing Octogenarians Ivy and Lil in their quest to complete 25 off-the-wall tasks before they turn 100! By day they are seamstresses for White Stuff but the rest of the time they are charity fundraisers. For every mental task they successfully complete (so far DJ-ing with Groove Armada) £1000 will be donated to the White Stuff Foundation.

Join their group on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137490419604186&ref=ts#!/group.php?gid=137490419604186&ref=mf

Become their friend here:

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/profile.php?id=100001364941686&v=wall

And follow them on Twitter here:

http://twitter.com/IvyandLil

Lil: Hi everyone, we’ve been White Stuff’s seamstresses for nearly 25 years, and we don’t mind telling you we’re both in our 80’s! So when White Stuff set me and Ivy the challenge of raising £25,000 for the White Stuff Foundation, we jumped at the chance to help the young ‘uns.

Ivy: Our challenge is to do 25 things that everyone should do before they turn 100!
For every extraordinary (and sometimes dangerous!) thing we do, White Stuff will donate £1000 to the White Stuff Foundation, a charity which supports disadvantaged young adults and kids.

Lil: You can follow our adventures on Twitter as we DJ with Groove Armada to start to raising the £25,000 needed for charity!

Ivy: You can read all about the White Stuff Foundation and how our £25,000 raised will help look after the kids.
http://www.whitestuff.com/foundation

Lil: Don’t forget to join in the fun and sign up for our tweets to hear more about our outrageous adventures!


Love Ivy and Lil

xxx

Acne Store Launch

Just heading home from the new Acne store launch on Dover Street. The shop is cool if not a little narrow-that could have just been the hoards of people there though making it look a teensy bit smaller. Most importantly, the man of my dreams was there- David Gandy, male model extraordinaire. The stuff dreams are made of. Other celeb spots included Daphne Guinness (my style icon), Jaime Winstone, Daisy Lowe, George Lamb and Jade Parfitt. Pics to follow.

Oops I Bought it Again.

A friend recently visited my house for the first time. I ran down to the kitchen to get a drink and when I went back upstairs I found her sitting on my bed, gaping. 'How can you have so much stuff' my minimalist one marveled.

Think it's time for another clothes swap/charity shop visit soon!

Perez Hilton's One Night in London

I have been a fan of Perez Hilton for years now so when I heard he was hosting a ‘One Night in London’ event I jumped at the chance to go along. Held at the O2 Indigo venue, opening acts included a show choir (which we missed thanks to Sunday Replacement Services!), the Hoosiers and Diana Vickers. These ones were not really my cup of tea my friend and I spent some time in the swish upstairs bar sipping vodka sodas before heading out to the viewing gallery to watch Peaches.

The last time I saw this wild woman was at Durr club in Holborn where (a few months pregnant) she sang, screamed and bounded from floor to bar-top and back again. She began this set wearing what can only be described as a giant mop before stripping to reveal outfit after outfit (pictures below). Typically high-energy she worked the Kelis-anticipating crowd into a fervor before attempting to ‘Crowd Walk’ as she performed. A slim Perez looked on from the front of the stage. The view I had from the gallery were really incredible and I got some great birds-eye pics.

Before we (drunkenly) knew it, it was time for Kelis herself. She took to the stage in a skintight purple outfit and beaded wig; she looked like something straight from Studio 54. A true diva, she sang hit-after-hit including ‘Milkshake,’ my favourite ‘Millionaire’ and her latest ‘Acapella.’

A truly amazing evening – long-live the Queen of the Media!

Plane Beautiful

Burberry's aviation-style shearling coat actually has the power to make me wish for cold. Vogue describes it as being 'tobacco-coloured sheepskin' and if, in the same feature, it is described as a 'fashion masterpiece' (and featured about 300 times in this August edition) then it is probably a style to keep a summery, sleepy eye on. The bad news is that it costs over two grand. If you'll excuse me I am going to start scoured Ebay for a worthy equivalent. I'm thinking shearling jacket over a long-sleeved Breton tee, dark indigo skinnies and ankle boots; truly delish.