Carnival

Today we played our debut DJ set at The Earl of Portobello in the heart of Notting Hill Carnival. For better or for worse, everyone comes together and I would like this chapter to celebrate the wonder of carnival across time.

COCOON 12 INCH VINYL

From today Cocoon is available on iTunes. The 12 inch vinyl, which includes remixes by xxxy, Nocturnal Sunshine and Benny Page, is also available online and in all good record stores including Rough Trade, Juno and Banquet Records.

Susie Lau: Float like a Bubble

Susie Bubble (aka Susie Lau) is one of those people in life who is meant to be seen and known by everyone. She is an individual and to those that know her, a fashion icon. She is currently the commissioning editor for Dazed Digital and has a blog entitled: Style Bubble. This blog is a beautiful and comprehensive expression of her thoughts and discoveries on and in the fashion world. The parts of her blog I love the most however, are the photos of her trying on all manner of clothes and accessories to fulfil the theme of each chapter she writes, as seen below:














So, if you ever have, what I like to call a 'wardrobe moment', look to her blog and realise that expression and freedom in what you wear is everything. Be yourself every step of the way and in Coco Chanel's words:

'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.'



www.stylebubble.co.uk/

Where The Wild Things Are

Last month Alpines played on the 'Where The Wild Things Are' stage at Secret Garden Party. Minutes before we departed on our trip I realised I was without a camera. Bob's dad kindly lent me one of his many analogue (c.1990 at a guess) cameras, here are some of the results of a truly memorable weekend...








After the festival we once again hit the open road and went to the beautiful Norfolk coast for a whirlwind tour:

COCOON VIDEO

Cocoon Single + Video

Our new video for Cocoon will be online on Monday.
In the meantime here is a still :

See this & more on our Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpinesmusic/5915123589

Thanks to Nick Grimshaw for supporting us and giving us a few plays on BBC Radio 1 so far.

We had amazing team making the video, which was directed by Hope, who also co-directed 'Drive'.

We can't wait until you can see it on Monday.

ΛLPINES

Capture the Moment

I thought I would make a post on the polaroid. These photos of Bob and I were taken as part of our first ever shoot with the photographer George Garnier. He felt the polaroid shots were just as important as the digital. Having looked through the hundreds of photos he took, the polaroids had a magic to them which the digital shots didn't master. It is this magic that I want to explore.



A good friend of mine, Cyrus Mahboubian, recently held an exhibition entitled '1/1' on the polaroid and in his own words:

'Polaroids are real, unique originals. There is no negative or digital backup from which to make additional copies. In today’s world they are increasingly special, with their singularity, small scale and erratic image quality in contrast to the razor-sharp digital photographs of today. They are mysterious, rich of feeling and loaded with nostalgia.'




These were two of my favourite polaroids of his. In my opinion, he has captured the moment in a timeless and immaculate manner. There is nothing erratic or flustered about the quality or composition.

Knowing that there can only ever be one of something makes it all the more special. Today I discovered this amazing website: http://photooftheday.hughcrawford.com/, where this guy, Hugh Crawford took a polaroid everyday for nearly twenty years. Sheer dedication. These were some photos of his that captured my attention:








Along the way, I have discovered many photographers who have taken wonderful polaroids. These two were taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, who was fascinated by the polaroid when he started out experimenting with photography. Patti Smith being his eternal muse:



Andy Warhol:




Guy Bourdin was one of the first photographers to create a complex narrative with polaroids, sometimes sinister and surreal. Working for Vogue, Bourdin was influenced by his mentor Man Ray, photographer Edward Weston and the surrealist painters Magritte and Balthus. Even though much less well known to the public than his colleague Helmut Newton, he has possibly has been more influential on the younger generations of fashion photographers.







These polaroids were taken by Victoria Birkinshaw. I couldn't find much information on her, but I thought they had a certain charm and nostalgia about them:






The fashion photographer Jonathan Leder has an amazing collection of polaroids. He grew up in New York in the 1970's and these are some of my favourite of his:





The only information I could find on this polaroid taken by Grant Hamilton, is that he 'strives to find beauty in the mundane'.



I love this polaroid taken by Jon Austin:



One way of capturing a moment and keeping it about your person is to have it digitally printed on a silk scarf, which is what the French handbag and accessory designer, Phillipe Roucou has created:



Wherever possible I have attempted to identify the photographer of each of the polaroids seen in this post, but there are many that have no source. Here are some polaroids I have found, that I love, which are unidentified:









Long live the polaroid.