Words by Justin Lintag

I know you’re on the road touring, so tell us where you’re at and who you’re currently touring with.
I’ve just finished the Canadian leg of my Popular Music album tour and am laying low in London, Ontario right now. I’m touring alone in support of the album and the US dates start this weekend with St. Louis and Chicago.

What would you say is your favourite place to DJ and play your music and why?
I’ve always really enjoyed playing in Berlin. It’s such an amazing city with a great young/artistic vibe.

Can you describe a day in the life of Felix Cartal on the road?

Wake up and find my way to whichever airport I am headed to that day. Waiting for planes gives me time to respond to emails, and on the plane I’ll usually sleep or work on music. Once I land I check in to my hotel, do any interviews if there are any, go out for a nice dinner and then DJ at the club that night. Then off to bed for sleep. Wake up, rinse, repeat.

You just had a show in Vancouver last Friday amidst all the Winter Games hoopla, how was it playing for the home crowd in that atmosphere?

Amazing!! I was so excited and fortunate to be a part of the Olympic festivities, it was hard not to be taken over by the Olympic spirit. Lots of friends came out as well so it was a great time.

Now I just found out you came up in one of our very own cities, New West; that small city let alone Vancouver doesn’t breed too many entertainers of your calibre. How did you “make it” as that kind of needle in the haystack?

Well I owe a lot to New Westminster because our highschool had two things that really helped contribute to where I am today. First off we had this amazing course called ‘Music Composition’ that taught production programs like Reason + Cubase. I still use Reason to this day to compose, so to learn at a young age benefitted me a lot. Secondly, we had a recording studio in our band department that I used with some of my band teachers, so to have access to that was amazing. Just kind of sticking with it and networking has helped me get to where I am today.

Would you say coming from a small town influenced your career in music in a good or a bad way?

It was a good thing for sure because of all the facilities my school provided access to. Also, New West wasn’t overly removed from the Vancouver scene, so to get out of town to the city was never a difficult thing to do.

You’re on quite a big stage coming from some humble beginnings, what kind of advice can you give artists trying to come up in djing and production on more than just a local scale?

Stick with it, find your own sound and try and ‘master’ one program rather than 10. Networking is a huge part of it too.

Can you speak on the “tangible” projects you’ve got out that fans can get their hands on? Downloads, your album?

My record ‘Popular Music’ just came out digitally on Feb 23rd. You can get it on iTunes and Beatport. The physical release will come out on March 30th in stores on CD/Vinyl. I also released my first EP last year called ‘Skeleton’, it’s digital-only. Aside from that I’m always doing remixes and those can be found on iTunes and Beatport as well!

What’s next on the slate for Felix Cartal?

Recently I worked on a single while I was in Belgium with my friend Keatch, and that will be coming out later this year on a European label. Other than that, it’s a busy year touring the clubs and jumping on some festivals. I’ll be doing Europe in May and Australia in June as well! Busy busy busy!

Despite the many efforts we make to go green, let’s face it, our efforts are much like our new year’s resolutions; we (and myself included) tend to fall off track when it comes to following goals for the betterment of anything these days.  And although we are given the help of environmentalists and pro-eco activists, sometimes their efforts to get the rest of us lazy bunch active in saving the earth, bats at zero when we become guilty as creatures of our own bad habits.

So where can the average person turn to, to contribute, when the most minimal of efforts to avoid littering and recycling become almost, always “forgotten”?

Me + You. And with no pun intended, “together we can help…” says Jenny Hughes founder  and designer of Me + You, a local Vancouver company carrying eco-friendly, reusable shopping bags that have become the talk of the town (to say the least).

Influenced by the changes in life, nature and people, Jenny puts her designs to life using eco-friendly, high-quality materials and adds a little flare with logos and statements to grasp our attention. And grasp it she did indeed. Me + You carries an array of fashionable bags not only bought by Vancouver locals, but celebrities, who are among the many being spotted carrying her designs. “There [are] many celebrities that have a passion for being eco-friendly such as Woody Harrelson [who] got a bag and that means a lot to me cause they have so much influencing power… Showcasing the bags as swag bags for the celeb’s at TIFF was an honor.”

As Me + You reusable shopping bags continue to stir up the fashion biz and the environment across Canada, the US and Europe, Jenny Hughes strives to continue to help us (lazy bunch) with easier ways to contribute going green. “We are starting an ambassador program and are taking our message globally. We want to not only supply a great quality alternative to plastic bags but also educate and inspire others to get off of plastic!”

So while we indulge in her creative designs and get lost in the excitement of consumerism and this absolute must-have item, Jenny Hughes reminds us why she started this company in the first place.  “The best part of Me + You… is knowing that the brand is helping to spread a message to STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

***EXCLUSIVE TO MODLINE READERS!

Me+You would like to offer YOU 20% off their bags, online.
Visit the many styles available here; http://www.meandyou.ca/shop/catalog/on_sale
…and don’t forget to use promo code: eco when checking out.

http://www.meandyou.ca/

**UPDATE** the concert is no longer at the Commodore, it has been moved across the street to VENUE Night Club.

Both of their first times here. Wednesday, March 10, 2010. 9:00 PM – 2:00 AM. Go get your tix on ticketmaster before they sell out!

An Awesome Showcase + The Modline from Justin Lintag on Vimeo.

by Justin C. F. Lintag
Videography by Alex Y.

To keep the momentum for An Awesome Showcase going before its closing show this Sunday we have some more footage of what went down at the opening party last week! We took shots of some of the artwork that’s on display and even got with two of the participating artists, Colin Moore and Christine McAvoy. You can still catch Christine down at Shine Nightclub during the day as she is blogging live and capturing any interesting stories from visitors from our city and around the globe.

A while back I got the chance to interview Tom and Liza from The Wind Whistles. They’re an incredibly ambitious duo that has certainly experienced the ups and downs of being DIY in the digital age.

With the release of their fantastic follow-up to their 2007 debut, Animals are People Too, The Wind Whistles toured Europe and Canada extensively.

Earlier in December, a delicious dinner and banter over Björk’s accomplishments as an actress, we discussed their latest record, their Secret Album, and the different things they experience while touring Canada and Europe.

So this past year, you guys put out your follow up to 2007’s Window Sills, Animals are People Too. Although Animals is pretty much the same idea, acoustic based folk-pop, the album is noticeably shorter. Was that a conscious effort on your guy’s part to strip down song structure?

Liza: Well our songs got shorter. I think it happened pretty naturally though. I think that our first album has more of the ‘country-type’ folk songs, and those are more ballads. So those songs got drawn out a little bit more., where our new stuff is poppy. I guess they naturally just end quicker.

Tom: I guess we might have just gotten anxious

L: We started playing faster too! We get through live sets a lot faster now

T: I personally prefer shorter songs. When I see a band, I don’t think I’ve ever complained that a song has been too short, but I’ve certainly have if I’ve heard a song that went on too long. I’d rather here a whole whack of short songs than a few long ones.

There’s something comforting about putting in a record that’s 13 songs, and having it only 35 minutes long.

T: Yeah, well we were listening to the Ladyhawk album, Shots, around that time and we start thinking “is our album too short?”. But their album has nine tunes on it, so I’m happy with the length. It does fly by though.

L: How long is it? 40 minutes?

T: No, its 34 minutes.

L: As long as it’s over half an hour (laughs).

T: Or, there’s this really great band called Married to Music, which changed their name, I have their first album, The World’s Gotta Go ‘Round. Ten songs. Done in 25 minutes. And it’s an awesome album.

When I listen to Animals, I don’t notice that songs are shorter. You get to the point nice and quick. It’s part of what I like about it. Anyways, what were the next steps after putting out the record? How busy was the year for you guys?

T: OK, well our year went something like this. We got back from our tour about this time last year.

L: After 6 months of touring.

T: Yeah, six months. And we’re like “ok, we’ve got to record a new album”. So we we’re supposed to start around this time last year, but for some reason things got delayed.

L: We worked on it a bit in Decemeber…

T: Yeah we just did ghost tracks and prep work and just practicing. But we didn’t start tracking until mid-February and we knew that we were leaving by mid-May. So in order to have CDs in hand before we left, we had to get things done by mid- April.

Anyways, after we started, we got be hand and sent things in a week late and we got our CDs a day before getting on the plane, which was a bit scary.

But in that time that we were waiting for our CDs to get back to us, we recorded the Secret Album. That was really a lot of fun to do because we did it all ourselves. We could work on that at any given moment.

It was funny because the weekend before we left, we flew out on a Tuesday morning, the last weekend we were here, we mixed and master both the Secret Album and the Bad Fate (Liza’s other band) album. So we did three albums pretty much all in the spring.

So yes, it was a pretty busy year.

T: Yeah, and then we left on tour and got back on October 11.

L: Yeah we toured Europe end of May until mid-August and then came back to Vancouver, and right away we had our CD release party at the Biltmore. And then we left again at the end of August.

T: Well, we did the Island

L: Yeah, we did a short Island tour at the end of August too, and we put on a yearly festival called “Beanstalk”. And then we left on September 2 for a six-week tour across Canada with our friends from Holland called Paper Tiger.

So yeah, right from the start to the end of the year we’ve been really busy.

T: But since then, we just had that one Ohbijou show and right now were taking it a bit easy and focusing on other things.

L: Yeah, I’m playing more with Bad Fate right now and Tom’s going to be starting something new.

With Wind Whistles, we’re casually talking about what’s next. We don’t really have any solid near future plans, except for talking about the possibility of vinyl.

T: But you know what though, 2008 was really awesome because we again spent 6 months on the road, and was a super busy year, we thought we were just going to run out of money.

We thought we were going to have just one epic year of touring but at the end of it we still had money in the bank and a whole bunch more material so we were like “let’s do it again!”

We got super ambitious and we managed to pull it off. And now we’re a bit out of steam, but I think we just need to make some more epic plans I guess.

L: We didn’t have time for writing on this tour like last year though. Like last year, by the time we got back from touring there were enough songs for at least half of our new record.

T: Last year, most of Animals was written in the prairies because we booked a tour and we were supposed to see a really good friend of ours that lives between Winnipeg and Regina, where it’s all just farmland.

We left a week to hang out with him, but a couple weeks before we were supposed to show he sent us an email saying “hey listen I got some time off work, so I’m going to Vancouver”.

We had our tour booked, and there was nowhere to play between Winnipeg and Regina, except for maybe Brandon, but we had a whole week. Anyways, he hooked us up with his parents, who hooked us up with a cottage to stay in for a week. So we just loaded up on food and stayed by ourselves in this cottage.

L: Yeah, in the prairies, nothing around. No Internet, not computer, no TV to watch movies on or anything.

T: Yeah, no media at all. And we just played music.

You guys had the perfect writing environment.

T: Yeah, we had nothing else to do, except visit the cows or hang out in the little grove of trees that we affectionately called the forest. I’ve never been to a quieter outdoor place.

We were trying to do some field recordings there, and I was wanting to record the pond. So we were sitting by the pond and it was dead quiet. Like I could hear myself totally think. And this leaf just falls off a tree, and when it hit the surface of the water it was so loud. It was nuts how quiet that place was.

Did you guys use any of those field recordings on the record at all?

L: There’s a little bit. Not from that farm, but on the Secret Album, we have some seagulls from Broadstairs, in the south of England on the beach.

T: Actually, on the Secret Album, the very first track is a pond in Saskatchewan.

L: Yeah, just off of a roadside stop we did so people could pee.

T: Yeah, I recorded the pond because there were frogs and crickets.

L: And then those seagulls. I think those are the only two field recording we have on an album.

T: Wait, wait, there’s the train!

L: Yeah, from the Czech Republic I think.

T: We have a 30 second song on the secret album about waiting for a train. It starts with a sample of the train.

That’s so punk rock.

T: That song was written on a train platform actually. We had just played a festival about an hour out of London. We could have stayed at the festival but we decided to boot it back to London because it was only an hour away and it was already dark.

L: And we’ve had really terrible experiences staying at festivals.

T: So while we were waiting for the train, we were looking down the track, and just as a joke this song came.

Do you guys find that you have more success in Europe than you do here?

L: We do, yeah. It’s more successful. More people come.

T: We’re exotic there. People come to see the Canadians (Laughs).

L: And you always have a place to stay, food to eat, and drinks. So all around, it’s more successful, but it’s less exhausting because cities are so close together there.

That makes sense!

T: In Canada, you have to do a lot more work yourself. People promote you over there. Like, you book a show, and they’re just so stoked that they spread the word and people come.

L: A lot of venues that you approach and book a show with will give you a place to stay, food and drinks, do posters, book you in with the local radio, and just everything is done by this one person you just wrote to.

T: Everything that Liza just mentioned, you have to do yourself in Canada. Unless you hire somebody, you pretty much have to do all the work yourself.

L: There’s the odd place that has a promoter, but there are a lot of places that don’t have a promoter.

T: And you have to find other bands to hook up with, you got to spread the word, get your name out, and find a place to stay. If you’re lucky, you get discounts on food and drinks. Some places, you don’t get any of that.

Do you think that they supply that to you because you aren’t from there, or is it pretty standard?

L: I think it’s pretty standard. They have better funding for the arts there. Or at least in Germany they’re really good about that. In Germany, we played a show in a high school that has a club. Kind of like a nightclub, but alcohol free. They have like punk rock shows there.

When we played there, there was like 15 kids there, and it was a free show with no alcohol being served, so there was no money coming in, and they gave us a 200 Euro guarantee. And these were like, 16-year-old girls. We were like “how does this work?” They said they had a grant from the town to do this, so it doesn’t hurt the school at all.

Over there they seem to be a lot more open and the laws are a lot better to that kind of thing. Like in Leipzig, Germany apparently like 30 – 40% of the city’s buildings have been abandoned since the War. And these buildings are awesome because they have super high ceilings and are stone buildings.

They have one in a neighborhood where the whole neighborhood is abandoned. They restored some of the apartments so people can live in them and they hire exchange students to come live and work there. On the bottom they have a bar there, and a venue, and a community centre.

You would never be able to do that here. It’s like legal squatting. They’re doing something positive so they’re allowed to stay.

T: On the contrary, here, a little while ago, Bad Fate was supposed to play at a place called ‘The Woods’. The night before they got threatened by the police that if they have live music they’ll get a $25 000 fine. So they had to cancel the show.

L:. Or places like Café Deux Soleils had their liquor license taken away because people were dancing and they aren’t licensed as a cabaret or a nightclub, or whatever you had to be.

T: Hoko’s is gone because they got fined twice. They got fined the first time, and then after they got fined the second time they couldn’t afford to keep it open. That was a very special venue.

I guess that’s why you guys probably try to get out of here in order to get your music out.

T: Yeah, like Vancouver’s pretty cool. It has a really awesome scene.

L: Yeah, I really love Vancouver. I love how supportive people are getting of the scene, too. I really like what’s going on now, and new venues are popping up and there seems to be a ton of bands in Vancouver right now, all of which seem really positive.

T: It’s kind of funny, because while we were touring in Europe after we put out Animals, we were getting reviews in every day or two from people.

A large majority of them were really positive and we were really stoked on the reviews, and some were ok, and one bad review. Keep in mind that all of these reviews are coming in from all over the world, and the one review that totally trashes us is from Vancouver. We were like “this is our home!”

L: And we read it while we were over in Europe, and we were like “oh, you don’t love us anymore”.

One more thing, I just wanted to talk about your Secret Album. How did you get the concept, what was the idea.

L: There wasn’t an initial concept. It was just some many songs were written and when it came time to record Animals we had to choose 12 or 13 songs out of about 30 or 40. We had decided how to do it, so we decided that we should stick to a general mood. We ended up going with the upbeat, poppy stuff.

T: Or that were the most fun to play live.

L: And we were left with the slower, sadder, more experiment stuff.

T: Or the more oddball stuff.

L: Anything that didn’t fit on the album that we still wanted was on The Secret Album

T: We had closer to 40 songs before we started recording Animals.

L: And a lot was written during recording. Lie the songs were written, but certain parts were written during recording. Pretty much all the bass was written while recording, and the drums were pretty spontaneous, and the harmonies were thrown in spontaneously. We were actually really happy with it, actually.

T: Because we did it completely ourselves and because it was a Secret Album we felt like we could do anything we want with out worrying how well it’ll go over live.

L: We weren’t overly worried about production either. We didn’t know if it would be lo-fi and we’d just add what we want.

T: We just had fun with it, and it turned out a lot better than we thought it would.

L: And the idea for The Secret Album, which we didn’t even think we were going to call it that, but you know how you’ve just been working on something for so long you just come to call it that. We have our music online, downloadable for free, based out of Germany from a net label called Aaahh Records.

We wanted to give people an incentive to donate to get us to come back to Europe. So anyone who donated over 8 Euros also got The Secret Album as a gift. Same thing on tour, whenever somebody bought a CD they’d get a copy of the secret album.

You don’t have any pressed though, right? You’d just give out a password?

T: Yeah, it’s all digital right now. But it’s basically for the people who do care about us and care about the music. Sure, people can be like “The Wind Whistles are alright” then have our first two albums for free, listen to them, and put them on your iPod, but this one is for people who actually really want to support us.

L: Most of our donations do come from Germany and we always want to return to Germany. So I think that’s where the idea of donating to us comes from.

T: And to make more music too. I think that’s kind of the big thing now. Like there’s a ton of music out there, and you can pretty much get it for free.

So how do you keep bands like us, who don’t get money for labels, and are completely do it yourself and independent and pay for everything ourselves, how do you keep bands like that going? You need to provide incentives and do special things for people.

L: And now, pretty soon, The Secret Album will be out there for about a year, and we’ll have a lot of people along the way ask us for vinyl. I think if we do press vinyl, that album is the most suitable for vinyl. Just mood-wise I think it works the best. In which case we would press a limited amount and sell it on vinyl too, alongside the download code.

What are your current plans with The Wind Whistles? Are you guys playing anytime soon? I know you said you were going to take some time off.

L: We don’t have anything planned right now, but I know that the Biltmore wants us back and wants us to open for bigger shows and also wants us to organize our own shows there. We’re thinking maybe around March or April.

T: I’m kind of craving a creative break, where I want to focus on getting new things written, not necessarily for Wind Whistles, but in general.

We’ve been touring like animals, and these songs have almost been around for about a year now, so we need to get some new songs to get us stoked about playing shows.

But right now, all this touring is done and we’re tired and we just want do other things right now.

You can find their albums at Zulu Records, on iTunes or the Aaahh Records Website

My first experience at a b-boy battle was at the MIGHTY 4 held in December, at Oakridge Centre Mall.  I really didn’t know what to expect, but I came away impressed and bouncing with energy.  The dance, the music, it just gets to ya.  The whole time I had the urge to get up there and dance.  If only I could dance like the b-boys who were there  could.  Before the battle started, I had the opportunity to speak with some of the best in the b-boy scene, and they really helped me understand the history behind b-boy culture.  Here is my interview with Dennis (Liquid) Arriola, fellow Vancouverite, long time b-boy and founder of the clothing brand, Killa.

For people who don’t know, can you tell us a little about what this event is and how it came to be?

D: This is hosted by Mighty 4.  This is a b-boy competition that happens all over the world, in twenty different countries.  The Mighty 4 is twelve years old going strong and this is the first time it has come overseas here to Canada.  There are guys from California, San Francisco, San Diego, here to do a universal event with hip hop, break dancing, and popping.  Now we are opening the doors and channels in Vancouver to the rest of the b-boy world.  We are hoping that Canada will become a b-boy destination, like Australia, Paris, Japan, and France.  So Vancouver can become one of those destinations.  We are bringing this brand, Mighty 4, here.  It is good for kids, to learn about the history of b-boying, and the international scene.  And this is for all the people who are paying with their blood and tears to get here.  They travel, with no pay, well barely any pay.  It gives people an opportunity to get into the scene, without battling in the United States, and other international places.

This is done in collaboration with my shop, Architect, and my brand, Killa. C1rca footwear donated to this event so they are a part of this too.  We have Jheric  Hizon, who is one of the co-founders of this event.  Me and him are part of the same crew, called Dead Reckoning.  So we are giving people the opportunity to battle closer to home, which is something we never had.

Can you explain the different styles that will be featured here today and who will be judging?

D: All the styles will be here today: hip hop, break dancing, and popping.  And the judges today are: Bionic Man from Supreme Soul and Rockforce Crew, Eddie Stylez from Jabbawockeez, Paulskee is also from Rockforce Crew, and Vietnam from Killa4nia and Rockforce crew.  And we have Kelly Konno, who is part of Janet Jackson’s company called Triple Threat.  They have a great dance program there.  But basically, we’re all trying to give youth a good start.

So this is about giving more exposure for the kids?

D: Yeah exactly.  For me, I use to battle, you know, in the scene, and I use to do this every week and now I am doing this to give back.  We are trying to give the youth the opportunity that we never had before, so it will make it easier for them to gain experience and recognition.

Are you hoping that this event will be an annual thing?

D: Yes we will have a big event every 6 months, and smaller ones every month.  And it will be positive.  It will keep kids out of trouble and give them something to work toward and practice.   I mean, the people we have here today, they are athletes.

Later I had the chance to chat with Vietnam, and when I asked him what he hopes MIGHTY 4 can do for Vancouver, he said:

“We’re hoping that it’ll give kids something to do, other than get into trouble in gangs and stuff.  We want to bring more people into the wonderful world of hip hop.”

This is what Bionic Man had to say about Vancouver’s b-boy culture:

“It’s always different, wherever you go.  Everyone has different taste.  But especially Vancouver, you guys have mad style.”

For information about upcoming events, check out Mighty 4’s website here.

Two young lyricists from Vancouver also known as Kai and Atlin have teamed up to rise to the top of the Vancouver music scene and taking it by storm one show at a time.  Although the word “shottas” arises from a Jamaican slang term for gangsters; who are often feared and given a bad rep, this lyrical hip hop duo are certainly anything but.  While one half of the duo quickly accommodates listeners with his cheerful charm, the other balances his counterpart with his chill, calm and collected swagger.

The two collaborate as the Shottas; holding down a style that breaks the lines of categorizing musical genres. Their talents bring their separate identities together resulting in mind blowing verses, vocalized over three extremely different musical styles—hip hop, rock and reggae; all mixed in one.

From its birth, to their influences, to the upcoming anticipated mix tape, “I am the V” and their present success; get to know these guys as they make their mark in the hip hop scene and take the meaning of  ‘shottas’ to a whole new level.

Where are you guys originally from?

Kai: I grew up in Burnaby…Vancouver like all over Vancity…
Atlin: Pretty much the same thing…Vancouver…

How’d you guys meet?

Kai: We went to the same school… he was in grade 10 I was in grade 9 and we played ball together and we both ended up leaving.
Atlin: We met through his older brother pretty much.

Well you both hold talents as solo artists, when did you realize you wanted to collaborate and work together?

Kai: I think it was the end of ‘08, so about a year and a half now, we were making songs together anyways….recording at the same studio kinda thing so it was almost like, why not, right?

Ya of course, put two minds together and it’s even better…

Atlin: Ya it worked out, it worked out…

So how did you come up with the name “Shottas”?

Kai: Shottas is like a pats wow word from Jamaica it means like mobster or  gangster, but we’re not really gangsters,  its just like the aggression part of it right…
Atlin: It just hit and it all just came together…

Nice, nice…well it seems the aggression goes hand in hand with your drive, you guys have performed at various club venues around Vancity for about a year and a half?

Kai: yea we’ve been doin’ shows for about a year now…

Do you guys still remember your first show?

Kai: We opened up for Moka Only at Pub340, that was one of our first shows…
Atlin: Ya that was like…a year ago…

So what kind of experience did you take from your first show?

Atlin: I kind of got over the nerves right there….doing stuff  like that is like really natural, like I have no problem standing in front of people being like ahhh (waving hands around)

Ya, ya like wildin’ out…

Kai: Ya and

when you get even like a little bit of positive reinforcement than you’re like good right. You always believe in yourself but when you see someone else believe in you its like “Oh! I knew I was dope!”

Hah…nice….so I’ve also got to sample some of your tracks from your new mix tape, “I am The V”….when’s that being released?

Kai: It’s done….it’s just not out yet…it’s just getting mastered right now…its gotta sound perfect..

What does “I am The V” mean?

Kai: I am the V just means I am Vancouver….the “I” just means….since there’s no “I” in team, we’re such a team that we’re just one person kinda thing but the “V” (holds up two fingers)…it’s two right? So, the “I” is one and the “v” is two right… so… “I am the V.”

Atlin: It’s just something different, cause  most people in hip hop are really one dimensional, we just don’t want to be one thing, but we’re not hatin’ on club records, commercial stuff, we’re not even hatin’ on underground, but like if you have a little bit of everything … it’s always better.

I guess that’s kind of why you guys mixed in some rock, and reggae with your style…what made you guys want to incorporate rock into your music?

Atlin: We just listen to a lot of rock!
Kai: We just started out just really wanting live instruments like guitars, bass guitars and so we were like, if we’re going to use live instruments than why not influence the live instruments into hip hop right….cause sometimes we start with a reggae song and it’ll end up being a rap song…or a rock song will end up being a reggae song you know, we just start and have no barriers…
Atlin: Kind of like just go with whatever’s going on in that moment.

Do you guys write your own music?

Kai: Ya we write….but for the beats, we have producers and usually we’ll get a couple musicians  like a guitar player who can play their own stuff and  the guy playing the guitar will play it like this and the drummer would play his part [a certain way] and conduct it that way and once we get the music we just write and do it and we all do it in one day. If we’re gonna start a song one day we’re gonna finish it the same day.

You guys are going hard…What influences you to write?

Atlin: Everything….like whatever’s going on in the world…
Kai: It’s so like sub conscious I guess right, when you go around you use up everything and when you write you just let it all out…

Well it seems to be working well…with your growing popularity, how do you guys feel after a year and a half?

Kai: We’re just hungry you know. We don’t even feel like we even there yet. We don’t take it for granted…the more successful we get the more humble we get you know? Instead of it being the other way…When we get something, we still realize the competition and every little variable in the world right..

Atlin: We just feel lucky. Relieved that people are respecting our rap in such a good way so far…
Kai: We haven’t even put out a release yet….so far it’s all just Facebook pages and word of mouth all over the place and its finally startin’ to work ‘cause we’re putting work in it…
Atlin: And our personalities too right, when people meet us.
Kai: Ya if they don’t like us they ain’t  gonna like our music right…

From the studios to the live shows, there’s no denying the Shottas are heavy on their grind.

For show dates and more search:
‘Shottas’ on Facebook & become a Fan!
http://myspace.com/vancitykai
http://myspace.com/actuallyatlin

A few months back, I had the pleasure of chatting with VCC graduate/fashion designer Mandy Lau. Throughout the interview she mentioned a love for fashion illustration and that her new website would be updated soon.

Inevitably, soon has become now, and mandy-lau.com has surfaced, highlighting more than just Mandy’s passion for fashion design. She demonstrates a broad talent for illustration that diversifies outside the refined aesthetic of fashion illustration.

At the moment, her work is organized into seven galleries that isolate style and content. For example, she bends around normative notions of fashion imagery through a hybridization of photography and illustration in “The Black Stroke Series (Feat. Model BB)” but gravitates towards dark, unsettling, and relentlessly moving fantasy/gothic in the collections “The Goblins are Going to Get Me in HB Series” and “The Fiction Collection”.

Considering her background in illustration, however, stylistic diversity is unsurprising.

Drawing since she could first lift a pencil, Mandy cites the drawing portion of the classic children’s program Mr. Dressup, as well as an extreme inadequacy in sports, that initially inspired her interest in art and illustration. Whether it be discovering new things to draw, or cultivating the fundamentals that underlie her education, drawing developed into a form of escapism for Mandy. Paired with an insatiable desire to further immerse herself in the medium, she became fluent in programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver, during her Undergrad at Ryerson University.

From there, she took an interest in fashion design, prompting her to enroll at Vancouver Community College. Previously without any official training in fashion illustration, Mandy developed a strong attachment to the field under the guidance and mentorship of one of her professors, Lisa Gellert. The product of which was unveiled at the VCC Fiat Mode XXII Fashion Show, through a line that embraced practicality but also demonstrated her artistic sensibilities.

Fresh off of her first major success with the printing of one of her fashion illustrations in the Anniversary Issue of Vancouver Fashion Ezine, Mandy has decided to engage in the world of Freelance Illustrating. She currently is exploring opportunities in magazine editorial, advertising or commercial promotions, book stories or any other project that peaks her ambition.

Upon uploading the revamped website, Mandy has not only provided easy access to a thorough and impressive portfolio, she has provided an accessible venue for her to display her talent to the masses.

It’s certainly worth checking out.

To view her online gallery or to contact for work, hit up the website: www.mandy-lau.com

“Create, Destroy, Repeat”
That is the basis of Die Constant’s vision.

“F*ck the environment…”
That is the designers’ advisory on being fairly environmentally conscious.

You can love it or hate it but Alexis Moreau is the discreetly dashing, in-genius, witty mind behind Die Constant who stays true to his game.

“…it’s not always going to be your cup of tea”, says Moreau about some very few opinionated… fans if you will.

A designer, who has a keen eye for urban, abstract art, holds a fashion line for controversially attention grabbing, tastefully dirty, and stylistically designed graphic tees.  Available local for both men and women, Die Constant carries itself uniquely with details that are so mind blasting it’s as if the designer takes a plethora of dreams (and dirty thoughts) and spits it on a tee (no pun intended).  Designs made for the street are embellished effortlessly with a can of spray paint using vivid colors. And just when you think you’ve heard it all before, Moreau definitely aims high for shock value (and never misses) by adding humorous tag lines and famous quotes of political irony.

The Modline.com got the pleasure to meet with Alexis and catch a behind-the scenes peak at where it all goes down; the Die Constant domain.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in art and fashion?

Alexis: Well I’m a professional graphic designer. I love doing design and artwork but I found that doing artwork for design studios really took the fun out of it. Understandably catering to clients just kind of zapped. The last thing you want to do after a long day of work is to go home and do more of it… so I’ve worked a number of projects where I can be my own boss and I guess its ideal for most people…

How long have you been in the fashion industry for?

Alexis: For probably 4 years..

Could you tell us a bit about the history of Die Constant; from its vision to it’s establishment?

Alexis: Well doing graphic design, I’ve done work for a couple of apparel companies. I’ve worked as a freelance designer for a number of fashion lines…I’ve found the same routine, it’s just to kind of fill up …no real message, no substance…it’s just very trendy ….even street wear brands, it’s just trivial and silly…I don’t want to hate on anybody but it’s just that…there’s no substance…

So you came up with Die Constant.

Alexis: Yeah, [a line] kind of where the content and the message comes first and then [it can] visually reflect that—which [is what] graphic design is…

But the Fashion industry is constantly changing….with Vancouver being such a city with a variety of expressions in fashion…How did you find the right style for Die Constant?

Alexis: I used to put the little flower girl with the rifle and post it around Vancouver and I know people took pictures of it and put it on flicker and there was discussions and stuff…I suppose it could be seen as selling out as far as graffiti goes –putting it on t-shirts and making money out of it, but I’m not getting rich so….yeah that was probably the first for Die Constant.  But it was also, always really looked at, especially in the states when I lived there, they’re really militarized and familiar with just day to day acceptance of military and military action such as driving hummers and wearing camouflage clothes…so yeah still putting it out there…[it] was a hit so…

In art, there’s really isn’t a right or wrong and a good or bad, how do decide what’s good enough to showcase?

Alexis: I don’t really do a lot of market research or try to come out with graphics that are going to sell the best but more to a certain extent of what I would like to wear or what I like…

That’s the best way.

Alexis: Yeah, a good friend of mine, a real talented artist, that’s what he, had told me; his words of wisdom, he said: “just be true to yourself, don’t try to appeal to whatever demographic or whoever”. ….especially if it’s controversial, more people need that …or want that…

Well a lot of people like that (controversy) right…

Alexis:  …yeah, but not controversial for the sake of it. Shock value; something that brings attention to a certain subject.

As a designer, I’m sure perfection is always what you want to achieve, do you ever look at a finished piece and wish you did it differently?

Alexis: Oh yeah, all the time. And I have re-worked old graphics that never went in or never got finished and spruce things up. I believe in not to half ass it and not to second guess and work smart. Don’t always second guess yourself or hum and hah, but always move forward.  If you have a secret idea or a secret weapon or some big idea, well use it and you’ll come up with a better idea and constantly move forward and profess and you always get better right…

I guess that’s how you “loosies” came about?

Alexis: Yeah, that’s pretty much how it came about. Also a lot of my friends have old clothes they had given to me and said, “hey why don’t you print on this…”  And yeah it all came about like that…

Let’s get into your 2010 line, what do you hope the kind of theme/message the graphics in the new line portrays?

Alexis: I guess the on-going theme of girls, guns and graffiti. But then, not everything has any of those three in it…I’m trying to diversify; I like to talk to different artists and mix it up with different styles.

Die Constant is showcased at a lot of shops and galleries as well as contributes to various elements of art from literature to tattoos, are there any plans to open up shop with retail and service?

Alexis: Oh yeah …well I actually owned a shop a few years ago in Gas town; Defcon 5, but it had a break-in and it was kind of in a dicey area…still is but from that experience…it’s a lot of work. I prefer to be behind the scenes. I have grown a lot in that area doing a lot of trade shows and craft fairs…being forced to talk to people.  …What’s great is I always get such a response from people….y’know it’s not always going to be you’re cup of tea…

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http://dieconstant.com/

Die Constant can also be found at these local boutiques:

The Goods – 335 E. Broadway, Vancouver

Planet Claire -  212 Abbott Street, Vancouver

Riot – 1395 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

The Fall – 644 Seymour, Vancouver