New Nike Dunk High Designs

The Nike Dunk High is back in another new form, once again proving that it has developed into a subcultural icon in past 10 years alongside other notably recognisable trainers such as the Adidas Superstar. The Dunks were first released as a basketball trainer in 1985, originally released in numerous different colours for players of different college and university teams, for what was known as the legendary 'Be True To Your School' collection. The trainer's shape and style has been maintained throughout the years and rightly so, but with numerous re-designs the trainer has developed more into an inspiration for fashion and streetwear culture.

The new designs, as can be seen below, will be released in July, and from what I've seen I've been impressed. Each design takes the classic Dunk mould, and dresses it with a mix of leather and nubuck that really complement each other. An interesting element of these designs is the decision to included lace colours which are at odds with the canvas of the trainers. At first I didn't really know what to think of these, it'll probably be one of those elements that you either love or hate, but I've grown to think this is quite a cool addition, and unique to the Nike Dunk brand. The new designs have been released in three well selected colour designs, with green and navy (yellow laces), brown and blue (red laces) as well as black and grey (fluro laces).

The new designs are obviously not touch on the original 1985 dunks, but I like how they've been adventurous in the colourways and materials, resulting in what is a really nice product. As I mentioned before, the new dunks will be released in July, and they could be hard to find. The best places to try will be your nearest independent trainer retailer, and try looking online at both http://size.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_10701_11551_-1 and http://www.crookedtongues.com/.

New Nike Dunk High Designs:

Vice - The Creators Project Party: London

Vice Magazine have teamed up with Intel to produce The Creators Project, a new network which is dedicated to discovering and celebrating creativity and experimental works in arts across the world. The Creators Project has set up with two main aims: the first is to act as an up-to-date media channel which identifies and praises the most visionary artists out there. Secondly, it aims to act as a type of creation studio, an organisation which will help to facilitate future projects of these identified artists. Artists identified by the project include the likes of Diplo, Phoenix, N.A.S.A, Peaches, Muti Randolph, Mark Ronson, Boys Noize, Fools Gold, Spike Jonze, DJ Mehdi, Vera Wang, Yuksek and United Visual Artists.

Throughout the summer The Creators Project will be throwing a number of parties which will promote and celebrate their work, with many of the artists founded either playing or collaborating at these events. The first, which took place on the 26th June in New York, was a huge success, with appearances from the likes of M.I.A, Mark Ronson, The XX, Animal Collective, Nick Zinner and Muti Randolph. The next event takes place in London on the 17th July, and you can apply for your free ticket now.

The event will take place at Victoria House and will run from 9pm-3am. The event will feature live performances by Kele Okereke, Mark Ronson & The Business INTL, Filthy Dukes, Trevor Jackson, Mumdance, Flats, and Hudson Mohawke. The vent will also provide you with the opportunity to experience exhibitions, attend film screenings, and interact with multimedia installations from Radical Friend, Karl Sadler, United Visual Artists, Felix's Machines, Nick Zinner, Spike Jonze, Takeshi Murata, Mark Essen, Peng Lei, Animal Collective, Ladj Ly, Patrick Jean and Sun Haipeng. The event is amazingly free, and the only way you can get a ticket is by applying online now at http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/en-uk/london.

The event is also posted on facebook, so look up the page if you fancy a bit more information on what's going to be happening on the night(http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105617792823164). I would highly recommend applying for this great event, with so much to experience in the night. If you would like more information on The Creators Project, visit the project's website by clicking here.

George FitzGerald - 'The Let Down/Weakness' (HTF012)

First Germany beat England, and the following day we see the debut release from George FitzGerald, life couldn't get much better. Today sees the release of young London producer's debut EP, 'The Let Down/Weakness', on the Hotflush Two label which specialises in finding the best in experimental 'dubstep' (e.g. Joy Orbison, Sigha, Mount Kimbie etc...). The so-called protege of Joy Orbison has been making noise on the scene for the last 6 months, and his first release is one I've been highly anticipating for a while now.

FitzGerald really came to attention when his best known track, 'Don't You?', after it was featured in Scuba's February released mix 'Sub:Stance'. FitzGerald's mix for the Take Flight Club back in December also caught a few listener's attention, with his intelligent track selection which creatively moved between dubstep, 2-step, techno and house gaining a few plaudits (Download the mix by clicking here). Many have been impressed by his early works, and it has drawn comparison's with the work of Joy Orbison, who has recently signed FitzGerald up to releases on his own Doldrums label.

FitzGerald fits perfectly into the post-dubstep group that has really started to develop in numbers after the landmark track 'Hyph Mngo'. His tracks have a trademark, soulful emotional numbers which contain a 2-step beat with heavy sub-bass as well as chopped up soulful vocal samples.

'The Let Down/Weakness' is a brilliant debut EP, one which firmly establishes FitzGerald's merging of 2-step, garage and techno, resulting in emotional music for the dancefloor. 'The Let Down' builds tentatively, with wonderfully repetitive percussive elements in sync with harmonious chopped up vocal samples. After around 1:30 the track starts to kick in, with an increased tempo and heavier sub-bass introduced, as well as the added layer of gorgeous diva vocal samples crying "no no no".

'Weakness' is equally as good, and follows a similar template to the first in slowly building up until the 1:300 mark, an approach which has been similarly adopted by the likes of Joy Orbison and James Blake. The track's deep driven sub-bass is complemented well by the warm percussive synths as well as the lovely sampled vocals which results in resonance of the spoken words "my weakness" throughout the track. You can listen to these tracks on FitzGerald's soundcloud page by clicking here.

This debut EP is a must listen for fans of Joy Orbison, Mount Kimbie, Instra:Mental and James Blake. On this evidence FitzGerlad is without doubt one of the greatest prospects on the experimental dubstep scene, and without doubt we'll be hearing many great releases from this man on both the Hotflush and Doldrums labels in the near future.

MAH Sonar Stage - Recorded Sets from MAH, Joy Orbison, Flying Lotus & Roska

The Barcelona based Sonar Festival is the International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art. With the growing emergence of the experimental electronic/dubstep scene in the UK, in 2006 Sonar asked as the queen of the genre, Mary Anne Hobbs, to provide the best dubstep from the UK on her own stage. This is something which has continued ever since, and I think 2010 may have been the biggest year for the stage yet.

This year's line-up excited me so much that I stayed up from 2-4am to listen to the recorded sets from the MAH stage, and after a couple of listens I regret not joining the 10,000 others that attended the festival and got a ridiculously good exploration into electronic music. The line-up comprised of MAH, Joy Orbison, Flying Lotus and Roska, the latter 3 undoubtedly among the best and most exciting artists of the year.

Undoubtedly the man I was most excited about hearing was Joy Orbison, without doubt my favourite artist of the last year, with numerous brilliant releases ('Hyph Mngo', 'Brkln Clln/J.Doe', 'The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow' EP). I was in no way, shape or form disappointed, he delivered a quite wonderful set, which included the fantastic 'Miniluv' by Martyn, plenty of Orbison's own work as well as a few unknown and unreleased tracks that were absolute gems, and which I'm desperate to find details about. The set is very well mixed, with smooth, slow transitions from one track to the next, just the way it should be done, moving through dubstep, UK garage/funky and house. This kid is so talented it actually scares me slightly. This is a must listen.

Roska and Fly Lo also provided really great sets, sticking to their respective sounds of UK Funky and glitch-hop/electro which fill the basis of their sets. Both these men have come off the back of a huge year, with Roska releasing his debut album 'Rinse Presents Roska' (which is actually a good listen) and Fly Lo releasing his third album 'Cosmogramma', which is a work of art, and album that takes you on a journey you will never have experienced musically before.

And as usual, MAH once again provided the goods with her great set, which included the latest releases from Sepalcure, Kode9 & The Spaceape, Altered Natives and Dorian Concept. You can listen to the highlights from these sets now by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00srzn8, and listening to the podcast for MAH's show. Please do it, you will not be disappointed.

Joy Orbison

Flying Lotus

Roska

Adidas x Ransom Valley Low SS10

For the past couple of years Adidas has undertaken the surprising yet innovative collaboration with outdoor wear retailer Ransom. 'The Never Ending Path' collaboration sees the creation of 5 new shoe models which stray away from Adidas's classic 3-stripe designs, and focuses more on a North American based heritage outdoor model. I was impressed by the adventurousness of the collection, although there not quite the style of shoe I would normally wear, apart from the brilliant Valley Low design though. The collection of shoes are also extremely well made, using premium leathers, suede's and heavy canvases to provide a aesthetically pleasing as well as sturdy and durable shoe.

The Valley Low as I have mentioned before is my favourite design of the collection, and the one most suited to streetwear, with it being more of a trainer style with a less bulky exterior. The Valley Low is a really nice design, taking influences from both 30's era basketball as well as hiking. The trainers are a really nice shape, merging that trainer style with the more durable outdoor shoe. The Valley Low has been made available in 3 different colourways, black, chili and my personal favourite purple. The trainer comes with 3 different sets of laces, and the only real recognisable branding on the shoe is Ransom's trademark 'cutlass' which can be seen on the outside of the shoe.

You are most likely to find these trainers in specialist independent trainer retailers. You can also find them online at http://size.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_10701_11551_-1 where they are priced at £64.99.

Adidas x Ransom - The Valley Low SS10:

Plan B 09/07/10 - Darkstar, Mosca, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Kavsrave & Young Montana?

Plan B have bee hosting some great events recently (Mount Kimbie album launch, Doldrums label launch, as well as Kode9's 'DJ Kicks' launch party this coming Friday), and the venue looks to be continuing this trend with information of its latest confirmed event unveiled. The event is the first night hosted by 'Ballast Presents' (make sure you join there facebook group - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1447535330#!/pages/Ballast-Presents/131756950185609 - there will be a few more great nights coming your way), and the line-up they've managed to collate for the event really launches the night, with these artists gaining growing acclaim for their experimental works in the fields of dubstep, 2-step, electro and glitch-hop. On the 9th July Ballast Presents Darkstar, Mosca, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Kavsrave and Young Montana?, a line-up which really excites me.

Darkstar are a real catch. The dubstep producing duo produce innovative tracks with a soulful bent, and they really announced themselves on the scene with their debut single 'Aidy's Girl's A Computer', which is a movement away from bass heavy dubstep with its dominant beat and percussion as well as brilliant chopped up vocal samples. Also, this year they've had a couple more releases on the leading label Hyperdub with 'Dead 2 Me/Break' and 'Need You/Squeeze My Lime'. Mosca is the artist which I know the least about, but from what I've heard and read he is a promising young artist emerging with the small group producing what has been labelled future/post-dubstep. His style is faster and more energetic than that we hear from the likes of Joy Orbison and James Blake, but it still seems to retain the same intelligence, as heard in his debut track 'Gold Bricks, I See You' where brilliantly samples female vocals are incorporated into frenetic but well arranged beat pattern with a resonance of bloops throughout. Also, listen to his most recent EP 'Square One' which follows a similar type of vein.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the most exciting experimental artists within the world of dubstep/electronic world at present. His reputation has grown hugely after his 'Sketches' EP was released in February. The EP is fantastic, displaying his penchant for mixing dubstep with a more soulful and slightly hip-hop influenced sound, as can be heard in the tracks 'Sketches' and 'If I'. The young producer from Wolverhampton has had a number of opportunities since his EP success, playing at the HYP! HYP! HYP! and Deadly Rhythm nights in London. To get an idea of what one of his sets is like, download his HYP! HYP! HYP! SET from his soundcloud page which is http://soundcloud.com/fantasticmrfox.

Kavsrave is probably the one act I'm most excited about seeing, especially after the recent release of his 'Quotes' EP which has been on repeat the last few days, and has had numerous plays on MAH's show. From Croydon, Kavsrave grew up playing alongside big names like Joy Orbison and A1 Bassline, and his work follows a similar sort of trend. 'PClart' and 'Baggage Handler' are soulful and emotional dubstep tunes made for the dancefloor, with periods of heavy basslines, combined with mellow moments accompanied by looped female vocals. His set will be an interesting one, and if it includes his tracks as well as those by mates Joy Orbison and Joker, well then we're in for a treat. For more information check out his myspace page which is http://www.myspace.com/kavsrave .

For regular readers, Young Montana? needs no introduction. I have written about his brilliance on numerous occasions, and I cannot wait to see a live set of his. His own brand of glitch-hop, if I may call it that, is wonderful, so unique and innovative. The tracks 'Sacre Cool', 'Bad.day' and 'Twenty3Skidoo' are prime examples of this electro/hip-hop infused sound which hearkens to the works of Fly Lo and Hudson Mohawke, and his latest track uploaded on Soundcloud is another gem with a beautifully composed beat matched by the distorted sampled vocals (You can listen to the brilliant 'Repetition' on Montana's Soundcloud page - http://soundcloud.com/young-montana). This is a performance I'm anticipating greatly, and I have no doubts that the man from Coventry will no doubt live up to the praise MAH gave him earlier in the year.

The night is on the 9th July, and runs from 10pm-4am. Tickets are £5 in advance and £8 on the door, so make sure you get them early, which you can do so by visiting http://www.wegottickets.com/event/85823. If any friends of mine are reading, let me know if you fancy the event, would be nice to get a decent number going. This is an event and line-up you're not going to want to miss, and I will be keeping you informed on other great events which Ballast Presents will be throwing in the near future.

2K By Gingham

Founded in the late 1990's, 2K By Gingham is an independent t-shirt designer. The brand was established after the brands owner's were inspired by a series of t-shirts which they found in Japanese fashion boutiques as well as museums. This led to the establishment of 2K, which works with a variety of new emerging artists and designs sources to produce the art and sub-culture images for their t-shirt lines.

Since 1998, the brand has travelled around the US, Japan and Europe in order to research and scout the artwork from the most talented artists in the world. This is also the same sort of time that the brand started distributing its work within Japan, where it was quickly recognised as an innovative and growing brand. By 2000 demand had spread, with the lines being quickly distributed to the US in 2000, and Europe in 2002. The brand continues to grow and grow upon its previous successes.

The latest line of t-shirts can be seen below, and as you can tell the brand is very much focused on slim-fit tees with a good quality graphic to act as the highlight of the t-shirt. In terms of this collection, I'm especially fond of the Run DMC tee, the L.L. Cool J tee as well as the brilliant BPM tee design. You can find these t-shirts online now at http://www.2kbygingham.com/, and the brand is stocked exclusively by Harvey Nichols in London (Knightsbridge).

2K SS10 Collection:

Stussy x Greensleeves Records Collection

Over the past few months Stussy have made a number of collaborative releases in order to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Their latest collaboration sees them team up with Greensleeves Records who are also incidentally celebrating their 35th anniversary this year, giving the partnership that something extra in terms of history and meaning.

Greensleeves Records was founded in Isleworth in 1975 by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. The label is particularly famous for specialising in reggae and dancehall, with releases from artists such as Scientists, Eek-A-Mouse, Mad Cobra, Yellowman and Shabba Ranks all featuring in the catalogue of the label.

This special edition collection of t-shirts takes the labels previous releases and celebrates them on the platform of the classic fitting Stussy tee. Their are a number of different graphics from album cover releases by artists that featured on the label, which highlight both the work that the label has done in the past as well as Stussy's very own work in providing top quality and innovative tees for the past 30 years. In particular I think the Prince Jammy and Wayne Smith tees stand out, with the great graphics accompanying the Stussy fitted tee really nicely.

You can browse these items as well as purchase them online now at either http://www.stussy.com/ or http://www.size.co.uk. You will also find these items in your nearest Size? store, with your most likely stockists being the Covent Garden and Carnaby Street stores.

Stussy x Greensleeves Records Collection:

Barrington Levy Tee

DJ Clash Tee

Eek-A-Mouse Tee

Greensleeves Tee White

Greensleeves Tee Black

Josey Wales Tee

Osbourne Tee

Prince Jammy Tee

Wayne Smith Tee

Yellowman Tee