Le Nice

At last I have reached the pinnacle of my writing career. For the first time something I've written, about something I love, has been emailed off and featured in a magazine. The feeling of seeing your name on a page is one that can't be beaten. That page is one of the pages of the fabulous new magazine Le Nice. It's a collaboration of all things wonderful and contributed to by wonderful people.
A few weeks (or months) ago the idea for this magazine was born, and although it sounded like a great idea to me to write something for it, I honestly had no idea and when I did get an idea it took me the week of the deadline to finally put finger to key and type it up. I decided to play it safe and write about something I've written about many times before - music from our wonderful continent of Europe. You can pretty much guess what I included if you've read past posts on here. I must admit, I did have some hang ups about writing about the somewhat unknown bands that I love, purely because I don't want to share them but at the same time I want everyone to like everything that I do. It's complicated. However, I sent it off anyway and now I am a published writer at last. I feel honoured to be able to be part of something that I know (or hope) is going to be great and take the world of journalism by storm. Here's hoping the editor of some super-hip German culture magazine reads it and offers me a job....

Le Nice can be read here and the accompanying playlist to my article is here   for your listening and reading pleasure.

New Sounds from Denmark: Seven - Vinnie Who

Now I know what you're all thinking, and yes this is yet another post about wonderful Scandinavian music. Once again I have travelled to Denmark in search of cool new tunes, and boy have I struck gold. This however was almost completely by accident, and with all new/old discovery posts - there's a story to go with it:

Sunday night - November 9th. A seemingly normal evening until I logged onto Facebook to discover a new post from Soundvenue (which is safe to say served as my bible back in 2010) with a link to the new single from Denmark's Vinnie Who (aka Niels Bagge Hansen). What followed was 3 minutes and 31 seconds of pure dreamy bliss that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but also reminded me of lazy summer evenings and that feeling you get when you've had a couple of glasses of wine and become very affectionate towards everything. With vocals that I can only describe as creamy and a beautiful melody that almost sends you to sleep (but in a good way), 'Seven' is fast becoming my favourite single of the year and is a sharp contrast to the more pop-py, disco synth-y sounds that can be heard on his first album. It's a welcome change. Of course, not to say I don't love the likes of 'Remedy' et al. but sometimes it's nice to have something softer to listen to, y'know?

'Seven', I believe, is the first single from the third Vinnie Who album, due out in early 2015, and if it's anything like that, I can't wait. Of course, as with all good things those of us who live outside of Denmark and continental Europe will probably have to wait 6 months or so to be able to listen to it - let alone buy a physical copy. However, I have high hopes and I'm sure it'll be fantastic. For those of you who want a slice of the action right now, 'Seven' is available to listen to on soundcloud via the Soundvenue website and will be available to purchase worldwide from Friday 14th November. Enjoy. 

How To: Learn A Language

So. You've just booked that dream two-week holiday to Sweden but discovered you know absolutely no Swedish. What do you do? Although the majority of the world does speak some level of English, going abroad and knowing none of the language can seriously limit your range of activities and make you appear an ignorant tourist, and no, shouting in English does not magically make the person on the receiving end understand you. Asides from the obvious holidays, there are millions of other reasons to learn a new language. Maybe you want to woo your new French colleague or buy some exciting new treats from the Polish delicatessen on the corner? There are also numerous health benefits to learning a language as it has been proven that multilingualism can help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease by about 4 years. It's also a pretty impressive skill to have. I myself have been learning at least one language for about 10 years now. I started in primary school aged 8 with Spanish, and then progressed to French and German once I started secondary school. I've dabbled with various other languages along the way: Danish, Russian, Japanese...I even studied Latin at GCSE (I don't recommend it), and now i'm considering moving abroad to either a French or German speaking country to further improve my skills,

Learning a new language, whether it be the first one outside of your mother tongue or your 20th, can be incredibly rewarding and even more so if you teach yourself it. I'm a huge advocate for teaching yourself things. You can go at whatever pace you like and spend a week learning the words for various foods if you can't remember them. You don't need to worry about that know-it-all in the class who takes every opportunity to remind the rest of the group how easy they're finding it. Everything's down to you. There are downsides to it though, it's easy to get caught up in other things and forget that you're supposed to be learning Serbian since you have no structure and no classes to attend or homework to hand in. Juggling work and your everyday life and still finding time to sit down with your notes can also pose a problem for learners of whatever age, unless you're retired and have all the time in the world. It can also be quite hard to find people to practice speaking with, unless you happen to know someone who can already speak the language. (Alternatively, persuade one of your friends that they want to learn this language too, it can be your secret code.) In order to make your journey to bilingualism easier, I've complied a list of some handy tips that I use to learn new languages and help with the ones I'm already studying. Of course, some of these will vary according to where you live, your age, and whether or not you speak another language already, etc, etc.

1. Use the internet. The internet is a fabulous resource for learning something new. There are thousands of websites dedicated to anything and everything so it shouldn't be too hard to find one to help your new language adventure. However, depending on what language you want to learn there will be various levels of resources available, and for various prices. For example, more websites have French resources than ones for Xhosa (I imagine). A quick Google of something along the lines of "learn Spanish" or "Spanish for beginners" should turn up many websites with helpful information. Personally, I like to use YouTube as many native speakers of various languages make videos explaining topics such as their alphabet and grammar to pronunciation and translation; and it doesn't cost anything to use it. Again, the amount of videos will vary according to the country and the number of speakers. There are also many other videos that explain how to learn a new language that could prove helpful if you need more guidance from more knowledgeable people than myself. 
2. Change the language of things you use everyday. Many smartphones, whether they be iPhones or an android alternative give you the option to change the language of your phone. Take advantage of it! I wouldn't recommend doing this just as you're beginning if you're learning a completely different language to ones you already know as it can be quite confusing, but if you already speak German well and are looking to learn Danish (two Germanic languages), why not! If you don't understand, you can always change it back (just so long as you remember how to). Following on from this, change the language of your Facebook account or another website you use often that gives you the option to change language settings. 
3. Download apps. Following on from point 1, there are many resources for phones and tablets that can help you learn a language. These are good as you can go over some key vocab or grammar on your way to work (provided you're not driving) or when you have a spare moment with nothing to do. Apps can vary from dictionaries to ones that give you the ability to make your own flashcards, and many others inbetween. Two favourites of mine are WordReference, an online dictionary that has an app for looking up words on-the-go and a German verb conjugator that has many verbs and has proved very very useful for written assignments. 
4. Listen to music and watch films or TV shows. Watching films and TV shows can be a great help when it comes to getting used to hearing a language and becoming familiar with the pattern of speech and pronunciation. It can however be daunting at first when you realise the people are speaking so fast that you can't understand them, but don't worry! Persevere and soon that'll be you too! Listening to music isn't just for pleasure, and although it may be nice to listen to some French songs once in a while it can really help you to learn a new language. Look up the lyrics, sing along, and maybe translate the songs that you really like, Not only will you not look stupid when you put on your favourite Croatian song at a party and someone asks you what it's saying, but you'll also be expanding your vocabulary. But learning a language isn't just about how many words you know and whether or not you know all the tenses; the cultural side is equally as important. and watching the latest drama series can also give you a picture of life in that country (depending on what it's about). Many films are available online, either on YouTube or via services such as Netflix, and music can be found all over the internet. 
5. Read. Read things in the language you're learning from day one. It may seem daunting, but you'll get through and feel so much better at the end of it. I'm not suggesting you go and buy all the works of that country's most prized author, there are things that are much cheaper and easier. Follow some twitter accounts that are in foreign languages, find a blog on a topic that interests you and read that, find a magazine and read that either online or in print form if you have an international newsagents nearby. The more the merrier. You don't need to read every word, skim over it, just get a feel for the style of how that language is written, and jot down any interesting words you think may come in later. Not only will your language improve, you'll be more clued up on interesting things too. Remember, you don't just have to read non-fiction texts. There are many short stories and poems that can be very easy to read too.
6. Try to talk to native speakers. This may be easier depending on where you live. For example, if you live in Spain but in a largely expat community where everyone speaks English and really want to learn Spanish, it shouldn't be too hard to find a Spanish person to talk to. If however, you live in America and want to learn Icelandic, it may be harder for you to find an Icelandic person to talk to. However, if you live in an area that many people move to from abroad, it shouldn't be too difficult. Take a trip to the expat area of your town or city, you may discover a new and exciting snack, make some new friends and be able to practice your language skills at the same time. 
7. Actually go to the country that they speak the language in. It may seem obvious, but there are many factors that can prevent this from happening depending on your age, where you live, and how much money you have. For people living in Europe who want to learn another European language it can be quite simple, especially if you live close to the border or if your country isn't that big. There are many train and road networks that make learning a language easier and can be inexpensive depending on the time of travel and the country you're in. Immersing yourself in the language is the best way to learn it, as you're forced to speak it and are hearing and seeing it everywhere you go. 

 Asides from these seven tips there are other things you can do to help you learn a language, such as buying various books to help you understand grammar, but these can often be fairly expensive and I wouldn't recommend doing so until you're certain that you really love the language and want to learn it more in-depth. Learning a language can also become expensive even without buying books, as many websites will ask you to sign up and pay a small fee in return for access to many services that may not be as good as you think. Language programmes such as Rosetta Stone may be helpful, but with prices up to £300 for a complete course it can sometimes be cheaper to visit the country of the language you want to learn and learn it by being surrounded by it. Remember that if you're intending on visiting another country alone to stay safe. In poorer countries kidnapping and pick-pocketing can be devastating for obvious reasons, and even if you want to explore the real country and not just the tourist hotspots, it's advised to not go out into "rough" areas and not to take unmarked taxis. 

Learning a new language is a journey in itself, from the day you learn how to introduce yourself to the day you finish reading your first novel. Remember that these things take time, you're not going to wake up fluent so keep going and don't give up! As cheesy and cliched as it may sound, the key to being good at anything is perseverance and knowing that it'll all be worth it in the end. 

Yugoslavia? Yugosuaveia...

I'm not entirely sure how I ended up last Friday night listening to various new wave tracks from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but I'm glad I did. Once again I was on the search for new things to listen to, whether they be rock, pop, or another genre entirely. It seems I've left the 90s world of britpop and fringes behind (only briefly I hasten to add) and have found myself in need of synth solos and questionable music videos. But this time I sought to find something different to the usual synthpop/new wave tunes I know and love. Something unlike anything I'd listened to before. What happened next is a bit of a blur - partly because it happened at about 2AM and partly because in periods of excitement I seem to forget everything. For some reason I decided to read the Wikipedia page for Yugoslavia, and then decided to visit this page on it's popular music (I thoroughly recommend visiting that link - hours of fun to be had). I'm no stranger to music from Europe. Who can forget the days of Oh No Ono and all those other Danish bands I used to (and still do to some extent) adore; and through studying various languages I've used music as a way to understand a country's culture and further my knowledge of the language in question.

After studying various Wikipedia pages in various levels of depth I turned to YouTube to try and find some of the songs and artists that had been mentioned. I chose bands that I thought sounded interesting based on name and what their style was described as and ended up exploring the music of Dorian Gray and Električni Orgazam, among others. Despite not understanding any of the lyrics due to my lack of Serbo-Croatian language skills, I thought they were great. That night I listened to a handful of songs from various artists and two Električni Orgazam albums which surprisingly are available on iTunes. I also watched the 1981 film "Dečko koji obećava" (The Promising Boy in English) which served as a showcase for various bands of the new wave and punk scenes. Spoiler: it's very very good. A band that has really stuck with me over these past few days is Film, a Croatian rock group who formed in Zagreb in 1978, and who were also one of the most popular groups in Yugoslavia in the late 70s and early 80s. They also supported Lene Lovich (whom I love a lot) on her 1980 Yugoslav tour. Unfortunately I haven't been able to track down any of their albums yet and have been thriving off singles for the past few days. Specifically the 1982 single "Zona Sumraka" or Twilight Zone in English. When you start to sing along to a song that isn't in a language you know it's probably a sign that you've listened to the song in question too many times...

I've only been listening to this stuff for a few days so it's hard to write a full post on it, but my first impressions are that if I ever manage to get my hands on a time machine I am 100% going back to 1980s Yugoslavia (if not to just experience life in a Socialist state...but that's a story for another day). I'm sure I'll write another thing about this after I completely exhaust everything the internet has to offer and end up booking a flight to Croatia to try and find some records, but for now - doviđenja!

Summer vibez

At last! The summer holidays are here. The time when once again I can stay up until 6AM watching The X-Files and listening to dreamy music (and not doing the summer work I've been given). However, as I am at last nearing the grand old age of 18 this is to be my last summer holiday that actually involves school, for next year I shall be heading off to university or quitting education altogether and becoming a penniless artist on the streets of some European city (I haven't quite decided which yet). Last Friday I visited the Universität der Künste in Berlin and it's safe to say I've fallen in love with it. It was their annual 'Rundgang', a three day event where you can wander around the university and look at the student's art, see the studios, and get information on applying. As time restraints meant we could only go to the main building in Charlottenburg, I didn't get to visit the Visual Communications faculty and only ended up seeing the Fine Art faculty. I'm incredibly glad though - all the art was amazing and 100% the stuff I'd like to end up making in the future. As I sat in the courtyard drinking a very refreshing bottle of lemonade and trying to translate the information sheets I'd been given, I suddenly realised that I don't really want to do fiddly complicated things with computers, I want to paint and be expressive and do drawings and sculptures! Thus, I shall be applying to study Fine Art instead of Visual Communication. (The language requirements are also a lot lower.....which is a relief.....). Sadly I was only in Berlin for two days, and didn't really have time to wander around leisurely and explore, and when you're there with people that have never been before all they really want to do is go to the iconic (and very busy and touristy) sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the East Side Gallery. Nonetheless, I did enjoy going back to these and seeing them in nice sunny weather rather than the -14 degrees C temperatures of the last time I visited. It also made me realise that I need to brush up on my cycling if I'm going to live in a city where at least 80% of the population cycle, and that I'll probably need to cycle everywhere to burn off all the delicious (and very cheap) food from Back-Factory.

I don't really have anything else planned for the summer, apart from a few exhibitions, lots of TV-watching and once again trying and failing to learn the guitar. Speaking of musicy things, I've noticed over the past few years that my taste changes according to the seasons. (I've tried to write my reasoning for this about 20 times and I can't put it into words it just doesn't work.) In the summer I tend to like things such as:

• 60s bands such as The Mamas & The Papas 
• Dreamy shoegazey things
• 1990s American alt-rock indie stuff with guitars
• Surf rock

I think that's sort of made it a bit clearer....maybe....it's still only a very, very brief list. I think it should be noted that my favourite band at the moment is Pavement. For the past two years or so I've listened to them (fyi: only during the summer) but it's only really been their singles and most popular songs. There's some bands that for me never really 'click' until a certain time. It happened with Pink Floyd, then Manic Street Preachers, and now this. (Maybe my brain gradually becomes more receptive to things over time and it needs little bits here and there to really like something. I don't know.) The other week I decided to look past the singles and venture down into the world of album tracks, and boy, am I glad I did. It's dangerous for me to write about things that I'm really really into; I'm so blinded by love that I can't seem to write anything coherently that isn't extraordinarily biased, so I'm going to stop here and say that my current fave album of theirs is Terror Twilight and it's pretty much all I've listened to for two weeks and that you should definitely check it out. I might chuck a few songs in at the end of this post, just like I used to do back in the old days......

In other news, Treefight For Sunlight's second album 'Pizza' is finally being released in the UK! If anyone's been here long enough to remember when their first album came out, you'll know how excited I am for this. However, if it's anything like last time we'll get given a different album name and artwork.....(still not bitter about that). They're another band I like to listen to at this time of year. If 'Come Closer' isn't on all your summer playlists you're seriously missing out. I'll hopefully have a review type thing up next week. I'm trying to get back into those..... Speaking of which, I'm toying between changing up this blog and starting a fresh with a new one. A more grown up one. After all, this has been going since 2009, and although the style and quality of posts has changed (for better or for worse, you decide) and is slightly more professional, I'd still like to start over again and have something that I wouldn't mind showing off and not living in fear that someone will find my old posts from back in the day. I could always delete them though......but can I bring myself to do that? 

I'm rambling again, aren't I. 

 

Harkive 2014 etc

Jeez, has it been a year already? It seems like only yesterday I was compiling the list of albums I was listening to as we once again celebrate Harkive - a day in which people document all the funky tunes (or otherwise) that they're listening to. Unfortunately due to being out all day I haven't been able to immerse myself in said tunes like I did last year, so here is a brief list of things I have listened to today:

1. Pixies // Doolittle 
2. The Cure // Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
3. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Wig Out at Jagbags
4. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Mirror Traffic
5. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Real Emotional Trash
6. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Dark Wave
7. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Pig Lib

Now I know what you're thinking and yes I did just come home and stick SM & The Jicks on and leave it at that (they're so good though can you blame me?).To be honest, I haven't really had much diversity in the music I've been listening to recently - I've been on my "summer playlist" which is probably about 99% Pavement. I've also really been into German and French artists such as Nena, Indochine, Nina Hagen, and Housse de Racket, among other things. I recently discovered an album of "Ostrock" on Spotify and it's been on non-stop ever since. I've been playing Grace Jones and The Mamas & the Papas quite a lot too, and in terms of new music I've really been digging Arcade Fire and Teleman. Once again, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks' new-ish album Wig Out at Jagbags is also really ace too, and although it came out in January this is the first time I've listened to it (I highly recommend you do the same - if you haven't already) They're playing a few UK dates this summer, and I'm hoping to catch them in Brighton in August. 

In terms of non-music things, I spent a week in Japan back in April and should have a post up about that shortly (if I remember). In the meantime, I've stuck a load of pictures up on my flickr if you're interested. I'm also considering making some changes to this blog. I hopefully should be moving to Berlin next year to pursue my art school dreams and maybe I'll try to integrate some of that stuff onto here. I might try to document my "journey" to moving abroad and start to do some exhibition reviews and perhaps showcasing some of my own art on here. I currently have an art tumblr, but I feel on here I could perhaps write a bit more and write about the artists that interest me. I don't know. It's just a thought. I do want to start writing properly again though, and when you study two foreign languages you can almost forget how to write in English....

Maybe I could write things in French or German, but I doubt anyone'd be interested in that.