Dicepeople Music Profile

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

This music profile is a particular favourite: Dicepeople is a progressive audiovisual collaboration between Matt Brock and Rafael Filomeno. Brock plays and produces the music, and Rafael is the visual artist.

Dicepeople was originally set up in London, UK in the mid 1990s as an electronic side project when Brock was more heavily involved with industrial acts Noise Union and Replikator. In 2008, however, Brock transformed Dicepeople into his primary musical project and, with it, aimed to go beyond pure electronic music.

Dicepeople – Promo video from Dicepeople on Vimeo.

The tagline for Dicepeople is “dark electronica for the body and mind” because the aim is to create music which combines driving beats with evocative and emotionally engaging harmonies and melodies. The music has an electronic foundation with industrial and EBM components, and it mixes real instruments and voices with synthesisers to add cinematic depth and intensity.

Rafael joined in 2013 as a visual artist to take Dicepeople forward into the audiovisual realm that was always intended for it. The epic, visceral visuals produced by Rafael perfectly complement the powerful filmic soundscapes from Brock.

Dicepeople were nominated for consideration for the 2014 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition shortlist by the judge Mark Muldoon, who said: “I’m nominating this dark electro-gothy outfit mainly for their full Soundcloud collection of 19 songs; there’s a remarkably high standard being maintained here”.

Dicepeople are currently working on a new studio album which will be released shortly.

The name “Dicepeople” is taken from the book The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart, and the comparison to diceliving is reflected in the wide range of influences and schizophrenic moments found in the music and visuals. Dicepeople recordings and performances incorporate a large variety of styles and genres; but the mood, intensity and dark atmosphere provide the necessary coherence and consistency to bind them together.

Dicepeople influences cover a very broad range of musicians, filmmakers and visionaries including Art of Noise, Black Sabbath, Can, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Front 242, The Future Sound of London, Hoodlum Priest, John Barry, John Carpenter, KMFDM, Marshall McLuhan, Massive Attack, Mike Figgis, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Nine Inch Nails, Oliver Stone, Pink Floyd, The Prodigy, Quentin Tarantino, Siouxsie Sioux, Tangerine Dream and Underworld.

London Heathrow Terminal 2 (The Queen’s Terminal) focus on retail… Caviar House & Prunier

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

Thirty years ago, Caviar House & Prunier established their first store at Heathrow selling packaged salmon and caviar products. Following a chance encounter with Count Basie, who delighted in eating the packaged caviar at the airport, the team were inspired to develop a seafood bar concept.

The world’s first Caviar House Seafood Bar opened at Terminal 4 and is now a feature in more than 80 locations around the world, including Sydney and Dubai. Prunier[1]
Opening on 4 June, the new £1.6m restaurant has been designed to put the loved and renowned Caviar House & Prunier menu centre-stage to an international audience. Caviar House & Prunier is the only manufacturer of fine caviar and smoked salmon in the world to serve its products within its own restaurants and at LHR Terminal 2, passengers will be able to enjoy the products along with a spe VIS_9593 cially curated champagne menu. The restaurant will also feature a unique wine collection from Chateau Lafite Rothschild, a collection made up of 336 bottles, 28 vintages in original sealed cases of 12, retailing at €449,00 (price correct at time of print).
The restaurant, which overlooks the airfield, will have iPads at each of the 51 seats displaying multi-language menus, as well as content exploring the heritage of caviar and salmon around the world. It will also feature a phenomenal light structure simulating the movement of a school of fish, designed and commissioned by London-based lighting specialists, Cinimod Studio, the structure is 13 metres tall with a unique, unlimited animated sequence incorporating 350,000 LEDs… you will never see the same sequence within a 10 year period!
Caviar House & Prunier spend ten years bringing their sturgeons to maturity, ensuring their welfare and well-being every day of the year. The caviar is processed and salted to the highest standards possible using recipes that are several hundred years old, from a time when farmed caviar was the closely-guarded secret of a few caviar masters in the caviar city of Astrakhan in Russia.
I sampled Qiandao, the fruit of the hybridisation of two sturgeons indigenous to the Amur River on the northern border between China and Russia and now raised in the crystalline waters of Lake Qiandao, ‘the thousand island lake’ in the heart of the Huangshan Mountains. A firm-grained and delicate caviar with a smooth flavour and beautiful, yet subtle aroma.
The values of the company are impressive, with the whole focus on absolute sustainability and ecological responsibility, which is extremely important in today’s marketplace where the race to be the premium brand sometimes is achieved at the expense of poor environmental standards. The quality bar has most certainly been raised with Caviar House & Prunier.
https://www.caviarhouse-prunier.co.uk
@CaviarHouseP
Photographic credits: Visual Devotion and Caviar House & Prunier

Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Events At Southbank Centre

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Frostie

London’s Southbank Centre will host a series of events in June celebrating the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014.

The first event, an evening dedicated to aspiring writers, will take place on Monday 2nd June. The Baileys Women’s Prize and Grazia Writers’ Evening will be hosted in Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room and will provide budding authors with some of the best advice in the publishing business.

Kate Mosse, Baileys Women’s Prize co-founder and international No 1 bestselling novelist, will chair a distinguished panel who will be sharing their writing tips, giving advice on achieving publishing success and taking questions from the audience.

Kate will be joined by Sarah Waters, award-winning author of Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, and The Night Watch, as well as literary agent Felicity Blunt of Curtis Brown; Baileys Prize shortlisted and 2014 longlisted novelist and Picador editor Charlotte Mendelson; and debut novelist Emma Healey.

The following evening, Tuesday 3rd June, will see the return of the popular Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014 shortlist readings.

The event, hosted in Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall from 6.30pm, will see this year’s shortlisted authors reading and discussing their work with Helen Fraser, chair of the 2014 Baileys Prize judges.

The 2014 shortlist is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Americanah, Hannah Kent for Burial Rites, Jhumpa Lahiri for The Lowland, Audrey Magee for The Undertaking, Eimear McBride for A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing and Donna Tartt for The Goldfinch.

Now in its nineteenth year, the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014 was set up to celebrate excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world. It is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman and also provides a range of educational, literacy and research initiatives to support reading and writing.

For more information on the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014 events at London’s Southbank Centre, head to www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk. For ticket information and purchase, visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Charlize Theron And Sean Penn Win Cutest Couple At Met Gala

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Frostie

Mario Testino’s Instagram feed was a great insight into the Met Gala, the legendary fashion photographer had one dazzling, glamourous picture after another on his feed. One of the cutest was this one of Charlize Theron and Sean Penn, who are now officially a couple. We particularity love the fact that Charlize looks like she is giggling.

Second place went to Beyonce and Jay Z. It was a hard decision but these two always bring the lovey-dovey cute.

Credit: Mario Testino Instagram

What do you think? Do they make a good couple?

The Devine Xperience | Music Profile

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Frostie

Band/Artist: The Devine Xperience
Location: Los Angeles California
Styles: Electronica, Breaks, Dubstep
Similar to: Bassnectar, The Crystal Method, Uberzone, Rabbit in the Moon, The Freestylers.
CD: Self-Titled
Label: Let’s Beat Milo Records
Members/Instruments:
Robert Jaros AKA Robert Devine creates all of the music and also sings backup vocals. Vanessa Garic sings lead vocals and backup vocals. Enki Siruzis a live performer.

About The Album:
The Devine Xperience – Self-Titled debut Album contains classic Electronic Dance Music consisting of the elements of Dubstep, Breaks, Electro, Trance, and Acid. It is the brainchild of producer Robert Jaros AKA Robert Devine and singer & creative director Vanessa Garic. It contains messages in the songs regarding politics, aliens, and various other controversial and transcendental subjects and will elevate the listener to a higher state of consciousness. It features remixes from legendary recording artist’s: Jackal of Jackal & Hyde and previously of Dynamix II, Decoding Jesus, The Duke and The Kaiser, and DJ D-Xtreme. The DevineXperience Album release will be supported by an all encompassing Promotional Campaign consisting of 3 music videos, and full PR, College Radio, and Social Media Promotion. Look out for their upcoming performances at a Rave, Club, Concert or Festival near you.

All Songs Written, Produced, and Performed by: Robert Jaros & Vanessa Garic All Songs Recorded, Mixed, Edited, and Arranged by: Robert Jaros.

Bio:
The Devine Xperience is a live music act that plays a unique blend of electronic dance music with elements ofbreakbeat, dubstep, trap, and trance. Their music has been described as timeless by music critics that have tried to categorize it. Robert Devine creates and records the music. Vanessa Garic is the Creative Director guiding the artistic and visual aspects of the group also lending her skills as a live performer. Enki Siruz is the audio engineer and is responsible for adding the polish andsparkle to the music and is also featured as a live performer.

Robert Jaros AKA Robert Devine began playing the piano at the age of 5, then in junior high school he started to play the drums and percussion then he moved on to the guitar and bass in high school. Robert’s first live performances were with various punk bands that he played either the guitar, bass, or sang in during his high school years, in 1992 he attended what he believed to be a Deee Lite concert but it was actually very much more. This was the first Rave party that Robert had ever attended, that night he witnessed the Rabbit in the Moon performing live and it changed his life forever…. He immediately acquired a Roland XP-80 synthesizer and began work on what would become his passion in life, producing music. Throughout the 90’s Robert produced and performed Breakbeat, Drum & Bass, and HouseMusic Live P.A. Shows in the Southeast Rave Scene under the name of The Devine X-Perience while concurrently MC’ing at various parties. Then in the early 2000’s he began producing Hip Hop for various Artists all over the US and opening for various artists such as Lil Wayne, Young Dro, Cashis, D4L, Pastor Troy, and Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz and others of that caliber while continuing to develop what would become The DevineXperience on the side during what little free time he had. Robert has put his blood, sweat, and tears into this album that he has been recording during the past 6 years, Robert is a raver to the core and Believes in Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect as his guiding principles in life. His dream is to bring his magical and unique sound into the ears of all across the globe in the form of the Devine Xperience.

Vanessa Garic’s passion for artistry lead to her interest in makeup, special effects, and fashion. She attended Sunset Gower Studios Makeup Academy in Hollywood and later became a personnel stylist for Louis Vuitton in Beverly Hills, California. Assisting many of her loyal clients in the luxury of their homes, she helped build their wardrobes; also gaining long lasting relationships.

She later moved into the world of Haute Joaillerie, studying gemstones and providing buying advice to consumers for Chopard, the Swiss based luxury jeweler. Working in collaboration with Hollywood industry events, she worked with stylist dressing several people, often hand delivering a selection of jewels to choose from.

She has a passion for painting and the visual arts and she continues to paint, which had always been close to her heart.
Music and painting have always fueled her energy for finding ways to create new and exciting experiences, which she definitely has delivered with her contributions to this project. Some of her favorite musical influences are New Order, Elliot Smith, DJ Keoki, The DandyWarhols, Brian Johnstown Massacre, Coco Rosie, and The Breeders.

Enki Siruz was born in Los Angeles California and was raised in the San Fernando Valley. He grew up listening to a variety of musical influences such as the Doors, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Sublime, and Nirvana. He loves to watch live performances and is always attending various music events. He is a graduate of Musicians Institute in the Audio Engineering Program. His goal is to make some of the best sounding, high quality albums the world has ever heard by infusing different music genres to create Amazing Sounding Projects.

Yang Sing Manchester | Restaurant Review

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Matthew Radway

I think it’s important to start this review by saying that I’m not an easy person to please, especially with food. I say this simply because the rest of the review is going to be filled with gushing praise, beginning with…

Last Friday at Yang Sing restaurant in Manchester I ate the best Chinese meal I have ever eaten. My colleague and I were served six courses of house specialities ranging from chicken feet to jellyfish amongst a whole array of Cantonese delights and none of them disappointed.
We were seated by our very friendly host in the surprisingly bright and airy basement and were very helpfully talked through the menu and wine list. From here until we left the service was impeccable; we were attended to at all times without feeling like the staff were constantly on top of us.

Our food odyssey began with a truly succulent duck in a sweet soy sauce served on the bone and served with the aforementioned jellyfish which managed to somehow be both slippery and crunchy all in one. To drink we had a 2011 Pinot Blanc which perfectly accompanied the food. This was followed by a deep fried chilli stuffed with prawn that wasn’t to my taste but my colleague enjoyed it. Along too came the notorious chicken feet which were incredibly flavoursome but a little fiddly and two types of dumpling – ginger, shallot and coriander and prawn. Both were among the best dumplings I’ve ever had.

Next came ostrich steak which was probably our least favourite course, although it was perfectly pleasant. Following this, we had steamed scallops served in their shells with an accompaniment of glass noodles which were exceedingly good. I noticed that it seemed to be a popular dish with the diners around me and rightly so.

At this point our wine was replaced with a light and fruity Sancerre rosé that went perfectly with our next dish of stir fried prawns with mixed vegetables, spring onion fried rice with garlic and a Malaysian chicken curry that my colleague found a little rich but I couldn’t get enough of.

By now we were more than a little full but the food train rolled on as a fresh fruit platter arrived which was just what we needed after the oily, starchy food of the previous course. I’m not normally a fan of melon but somehow this restaurant has managed to source the only melon I’ve ever really enjoyed. Finally, our epic meal ended with a little coconut tart that was not too heavy and the perfect size for a sweet.

Overall, as you can probably tell, I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough. If you live in the North West then make your way over to Yang Sing for a truly fantastic meal out.

Sewing Is Officially Cool Thanks To The Great British Sewing Bee & Kirsty Allsop

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Frostie

Sewing is officially cool, thanks to The Great British Sewing Bee, Kirsty Allsop and many more. Meet an entrepreneurial crafter who’s turned her love of stitching into a community event.

Maggie Robb has always been drawn to making her mark with a needle and thread, but it was leaving London and her job as a TV producer that set her on course as a maker.

Maggie Robb (Made by Maggie) at The Spring Downley Makers’ Market

Maggie works with vintage fabric and hand embroidery under the label Made by Maggie. “There’s something magical about hand-embroidering a name, or stitching the face of someone onto a blank piece of fabric. Like a little bit of benevolent voodoo!”

Fiona Emma (Linen and Roses) at The Spring Downley Makers’ Market

In 2011 she and her husband moved to the village of Downley on the edge of the Chilterns and near High Wycombe. At the toddlers’ play-group Maggie met local mums Catherine Smith and Fiona Emm. Somewhere along the line between changing nappies and playing with Lego, they discovered their mutual passion for stitching.

“We were all creating things in the evenings, but dreaming of turning our hobbies into a business. The Downley Makers’ Market was the result.”

Liberty Lavender Cats by Made by Maggie

Aware that there was a gap in the market the three creative mums booked the village community hall for a Saturday morning close to Christmas. “We knew we’d look pretty silly in such a big venue, so we started to advertise for other makers to take pitches, for a small fee. We could have filled the hall twice over and by the time our spring market came along we had three times as many makers applying.”

Brooches by Made by Maggie

The Downley Makers were able to cover their start-up and advertising costs with the fees taken from fellow makers. “We’re not quite running at a profit as we’re using any money left over from the craft markets to expand what we do online.” Maggie explains. “A website is on the way this summer, as well as workshops. Its really important to us that The Makers’ Market is as much about an ethos of sharing skills and information as it is an event at which people can sell.”

You can meet The Downley Makers in person at Downley Day on June 21st and their next market will be later in the autumn. “Things have been so busy since we started the markets that I think we all find it hard to keep up sometimes.” Maggie confesses, “But it’s great knowing that we’ve created something that so many people are engaging with and getting pleasure from.”

Fiona Emm, Catherine Smith and Maggie Robb – The Downley Makers’

Made by Maggie: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MadebyMaggie07

The Downley Makers’ Market: Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/TheDownleyMakersMarket

Those Who Steal Movies Are Also Happy To Pay

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Frostie

People who illegally download billions of pounds worth of movies also love going to the cinema and don’t mind paying to watch movies.

In the first study to examine the differences between movie and music pirates, the key finding was those who steal movies seem to be an entirely different breed from those who steal music.

In addition to movie pirates being less likely to stop paying to see movies alongside stealing them, prolific movie pirates also tend to be wealthier, less worried about being caught and more likely to cut down their piracy if they think they are harming the industry.

The research, by Dr Joe Cox and Professor Alan Collins, economists at the University of Portsmouth, also found that compared to those who steal music, movie pirates are more likely to live in large cities and be ‘early adopters’ of new technology.

The research is published in the Journal of Behavioural and Experimental Economics.

The researchers analysed results from a survey of more than 6,000 people aged seven to 84 to examine the attitudes of those who illegally download movies and music from the internet.

On average, each person had illegally downloaded about 2,900 music files and 90 movie files. Experts claim the cost of piracy in the US alone is $US12.5bn to the music industry and $US20.5bn to the movie industry.

Dr Cox said: “It is interesting to see that people who illegally download large quantities of movie files continue to pay for legal movie consumption to a far greater extent than music downloaders.

“However, it came as no surprise to find that the most prolific pirates of either movies or music tend to be younger men. They have the skills, the motivation and the equipment to between them to steal large volumes of music tracks and movies every month.”

Pirates are generally motivated first and foremost by saving money, and second, by seeing themselves as helping artists bypass middlemen and reach wider audiences, the study found. But it also found significant differences in the behaviour and attitudes of music and movie pirates. Those who illegally download large volumes of movie files are likely to be significantly:

– less likely to cut back their spending on legal movies compared to those who steal music;
– better off financially than music pirates;
– more likely to be male;
– less likely to think they’ll be caught compared to those who steal music;
– more likely to limit their piracy if they think stealing is harms the film industry.

Dr Cox said: “These findings are important from a policy perspective, because they suggest campaigns that emphasise the harmful effects on the movie industry of piracy are much more likely to be effective than similar campaigns focusing on the music industry.

“One of the reasons movie pirates are a different breed is downloading and file-sharing films is much more technologically demanding. It requires faster internet speeds, greater digital storage capabilities and access to a wider range of devices for playback than pirating music, which has now become relatively simple, fast and cheap.”

The researchers, from Portsmouth Business School, analysed a Finnish survey dataset of 6,100 people, which reinforces that piracy is not limited to the US and UK markets and that the behaviours and attitudes are similar worldwide.

Among the reasons people gave for downloading files illegally were that it saved money, allowed access to material not on general release or before it was released, and has benefits such as helping artists bypass record companies or movie studios.

Reasons given for not downloading or for limiting piracy included fear of downloading viruses or malware, content not matching the description, being difficult to find, and being of poor quality.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Dicepeople Music Profile

London Heathrow Terminal 2 (The Queen’s Terminal) focus on retail… Caviar House & Prunier

Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Events At Southbank Centre

Charlize Theron And Sean Penn Win Cutest Couple At Met Gala

The Devine Xperience | Music Profile

Yang Sing Manchester | Restaurant Review

Sewing Is Officially Cool Thanks To The Great British Sewing Bee & Kirsty Allsop