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rebeccalouisaferguson · 2 months

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Rebecca Ferguson: Wildly subtle

Find out why actress Rebecca Ferguson makes us lose our minds. We show and tell you here. You will surely agree with us.

There are no half measures with Rebecca Ferguson. Her gaze is as intense as her voice and from there comes a sensuality that makes her footsteps feel. If the movie screen were made of rock, surely the footsteps of this Swedish actress have pierced the surface with the steps of her characters, which can never be described as lukewarm.

Rebecca Ferguson: the actress who dazzles with her subtly wild style

On the day of our session with her, the freckles on her chest and face shine like the red spice of the sands of the planet Arrakis from her two Duna films in 2021 and 2024, the result of the reflectors of our great photographer JuankR, who captured each one of their movements during the photoshoot that accompanies these pages, held in the English capital. Pointing. Approaching. Throwing himself to the floor. Feeling the spell of Rebecca, a movie star who has not stopped shaking us with that intense look that begins in sensuality and ends in melancholy. A sort of modern Ingrid Bergman from Casablanca (1942).

This is a dance One that we invite you to hold in your hands in these pages, where Rebecca's photographic plates are added to the words that we captured in this interview by telephone from London. The woman who has been queen in The White Queen, a spy alongside Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible series, a psychic in the sequel to The Shinning, even the mother of a messiah in the Duna series with sorceress powers, was also the muse and impossible love about to drive Hugh Jackman crazy in not one, but two films: The Greatest Showman and Reminiscence.

“As a photographer, JuanKr allowed me a lot of freedom. He let me play and reveal what I wanted to do. Show only what I decided at my own pace. And together with Caterina, the session's stylist, dress the way I wanted. We had an incredible day and that was because there was freedom, in a dance very similar to the Argentine tango.”

And she continues: “You know?… Tango has a lot to do with paying attention to your partner. May you always be willing to lead others, that's why I love it. Think about any relationship, company, any form of collaboration… tango teaches you that in order to move your partner forward you must lean back. You have to provide him with tiny amounts of movement, to make him notice that you are about to move. You can't push your body on the other person, otherwise you will run over them. You must communicate with your body, your foot, the center of your body and then you lean back, activating the movement for your partner to move forward. That represents for me the world I want to inhabit,” Rebecca's melodious voice tells us from the other side of the line, finishing off like a “shoe strike”: “In this case Juan Carlos was the leader as a photographer, but he was inclined backwards to allow me to enter and thus both of us move forward together.”

Listening to her talk about tango makes me realize that she has taken away the first question from me, after reviewing that in her beginnings as an artist she managed to set up an academy of this Latin American musical genre that tells stories of complicity as a couple with double bass hits, violin undulations. and the daring notes of the piano in a rhythmic rhythm.

How would a girl born in Stockholm, Sweden, end up surrendered to tango and then one day to the cinema? She is totally the stuff of a fairy tale. Daughter of Swedish businessman Olov Sundström and Englishwoman Rosemary Ferguson, Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström took her stage name from her maternal ancestry, whose grandmother is Irish and her grandfather is from Scotland. Of the Libra sign, the actress has the year 1983 on her birth certificate.

“I studied at Adolf Fredrik's Music School, very famous in Stockholm, where we even went to sing at the Nobel Prize ceremonies. The arts are the fault of my mother, who encouraged me to be a dancer as much as to learn jazz and funk. She wanted to expose me to everything, I even learned to play ‘forehead poker’ and canasta with ladies her age.”

And Rebecca's mother knew what it meant to soak up the art in your own city. In 1973, Rosemary Ferguson helped the local band ABBA translate the lyrics of their song “Waterloo” from Swedish into English to compete in Eurovision (a contest where the quartet's fame exploded).

As if prophetic, the cover of ABBA's third album in 1975 shows Rosemary's face peeking out from outside the car that transports the group's members, with champagne in hand, looking curious under her wavy reddish hair. Less than a decade later, Rebecca herself would be the one born to walk in that world of art and glamour.

“One day I tried what I would call Argentine dance, tango, and I fell in love with it. Even when I was older my teacher, Danielle, took me under his tutelage and we made a great duo. I had many classes but never became a professional; However, I was good enough to be an instructor,” she clarifies.

And she adds: “I liked teaching the elderly in the fishing village where I lived. That joy of dancing never gets old. You have in front of you 80-year-old men or women dancing with 20-year-old men or women. That didn't matter. The romance and the electricity, the communication without people even knowing their names, nothing gets in the way. Just the existence of that moment between the two,” Rebecca shares, enjoying the memories of her.

For Ferguson, his first flirtation with acting was in the soap opera Nya Tider at the turn of the 20th century to the 21st and at 17 years old, there she was given the opportunity to dream big. The story goes that in 2011, one day at the Stockholm market, director Richard Hobert, after observing her, invited her to be part of his film A One-Way Trip to Antibes for which Rebecca received the Promising Star award at the International Festival. Stockholm Film Festival.

At 28 years old, Rebecca's character in A One-Way Trip to Antibes takes the veteran protagonist, Sven-Bertil Taube, on a Vespa-type motorcycle and helps him rediscover the reasons for living, when he knows that his children want him to leave to steal his inheritance.

That same vitality behind his blue gaze, which also conveys the need to react quickly, such as not letting a definitive moment pass or holding one's hands on the edge of a cliff, has been part of the reasons why actors like Tom Cruise have called Rebecca to be their ally in film adventures.

The British spy Ilsa Faust, who also points guns at Ethan Hunt (Cruise) who allows herself to be lowered from the heights with him, was the opportunity for Rebecca to put her control over her body into practice, even though she herself has said that the heights are dizzying, which he had to challenge in his three Mission Impossible films between 2015 and 2022.

Find out all of Rebecca Ferguson's revelations in our exclusive interview, available in the April print issue of Esquire.

translated from spanish for @rebeccalouisaferguson

#rebecca ferguson #interview #juankr shoot #esquire mexico

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initialsbb · 1 year

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Wild Style (1983 dir. Charlie Ahearn)

#wild style #graffiti #old new york #fab 5 freddy #hip hop #film stills

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savage-kult-of-gorthaur · 6 months

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HARDCORE BAND BREAK-UP INCOMING -- SEAN IS GETTING INTO B-BOY CULTURE.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on primary VOID lyricist and band drummer, the late, great Sean Finnegan rocking a "Wild Style" (1983) sleeveless T-shirt, with "Bubba" Dupree to the left of him looking more glammed out than in the band's earlier days, c. 1983-'84? 📸: Jim Saah.

Resolution at 1080x728 & 640x819.

PIC #2: Behind-the-scenes shot of the 1983 hip-hop cult classic/docudrama, "Wild Style," with the titular "Wild Style" mural by graffiti artists ZEPHYR, Revolt, and Sharp in the background.

Sources: www.picuki.com/media/2629286378490184617 & Dazed Magazine.

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luckybyler · 2 years

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I made two song charts based on ST characters' music tastes, as per their playlists. How did I do?

The first one is based on songs from up to 1989, and the second one on songs from 1990 to the present.

The songs in red are the ones that define each character's musical taste. The ones from the first chart are the first songs in each of their playlists, except in Max's case, which is Running Up That Hill for obvious reasons. For the characters that have no playlists, Eddie's and Argyle's are the songs that identified them, and in Robin's, Erica's, and Murray's cases, I had to take a wild guess. I went from that and extrapolated it in order to make both charts.

The songs in black are the intersections between the characters' musical tastes. Basically, if two characters were in a car and this song came up on the radio, both of them would enjoy it. Here's a summary of how I viewed each character:

El: She's pure pop, bubblegum, euphoria, and joy to explore the world. She provides a little magical flair to other people's music. It's Eleven, bitch!

Will: I thought it would be hard because his music taste stems from Jonathan's, but his style actually seems pretty defined. He looks like he will grow into a hipster style. He probably listened to your favorite band before it was cool.

Mike: I had a rule for him: No US artists, only the rest of the world. He watches the FIFA World Cup, has an opinion on the Gallagher feud and uses the metric system. And judging by his playlist, he's also severely depressed (oopsie!). Anyway, here's Wonderwall.

Dustin: He likes to party, and he likes technology. He's not averse to feeling, but prefers it wrapped up in a sick beat. Work hard, play hard.

Lucas: He's funky, but also nerdy. His heart broke when Kanye went off the deep end. He's the fratboy of an academic-minded college, he's the book-smartest of his basketball team.

Max: She's all about ska, skater culture, and California, although she has a more poppy, feminine side as well.

Erica: I can't shake the idea of her as a little girl, even though realistically she'd be in her late 40s right now. So she brings out a fun, childlike vibe to our matrix.

Nancy: She's a powerful woman, and her music reflects that. Her taste is more eclectic, and a little grown-up.

Jonathan: Whereas Will grows into hipster rock, somehow Jonathan was grunge since 1983, and remains so to this day. Rock is not dead.

Steve: He likes to move it, move it. He tried to recreate Tom Cruise's dance scene from Risky Business and openly flirts with his wife, even decades after getting married. He's sexy and he knows it.

Robin: Lilith Fair-core. She's proud and loud (as much as she can be, anyway).

Eddie: Surprisingly (or not?) the hardest to match. Metalheads tend to be purists, and I had to make him influenced by the others, who have way different tastes from him. This is a pretty open-minded version of him (death has a way of doing that to you).

Argyle: I was gonna write a description of him, but then I got high.

Joyce: A total mom, but she tries to keep up with the times. She loves a good ballad, but definitely knows how to have fun as well.

Hopper: He's all country and Grandpa rock. He's weathered and rough, and that's reflected in his music taste.

Murray: Shame is a word that doesn't exist in his vocabulary. He likes what he likes and does what he needs to do, to hell with societal expectations. He's a master at revealing the truth, and that extends to music.

#stranger things #byler #jane hopper #will byers #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #erica sinclair #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #steve harrington #robin buckley #eddie munson #st argyle #joyce byers #jim hopper #send me asks related to this playlist

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todayinhiphophistory · 1 year

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Today in Hip Hop History:

The movie Wild Style premiered March 18, 1983

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kstarlitchaotics · 5 months

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Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) died 18 years ago today at the age of 81. Her singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby", which were both US Top 10 hits. Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world". Kitt began her career in 1943 with the Katherine Dunham Company and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway production of the musical Carib Song. In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 hits, including "Uska Dara" and "I Want to be Evil". Her other notable recordings include the UK Top 10 hit "Under the Bridges of Paris" (1954), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl" (1963) and "Where Is My Man" (1983). She took over the role of Catwoman in 1967 for the third and final season of the Batman television series, replacing Julie Newmar. In 1968, her career in America suffered after she made anti-war statements at a White House luncheon. Ten years later, she made a successful return to Broadway in the 1978 original production of the musical Timbuktu!, for which she received the first of her two Tony Award nominations. Her second was for the 2000 original production of the musical The Wild Party.

She voiced Yzma in both the 2000 animated film The Emperor's New Groove and the 2006–08 TV series The Emperor's New School, winning two Emmy Awards, the second shortly before her death. Kitt won a third Emmy posthumously in 2010 for The Wonder Pets.

#eartha kitt #dc #selina kyle #dcu #batman 66 #yzma #emperor's new groove #santa baby

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justforbooks · 1 year

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The musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who has died aged 71 of cancer, spent his life as a restless traveller, both personally and musically. “I was born in Japan but I don’t think I’m Japanese,” he said in 1988, two years before he moved to New York. “To be a stranger – I like that attitude. I don’t like nationalities and borders.”

A founder member of Tokyo’s pioneering computer-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose work between 1978 and 1984 has proved a lasting influence on hip-hop and electronica, Sakamoto was able to combine his skills as an academically trained musician with an aptitude for electronic music and an ear for countless musical styles. He sustained a lengthy partnership with the British musician David Sylvian after first working with his band Japan on the track Taking Islands in Africa from the album Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980), following which the duo collaborated on the double A-side Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music (1982).

In 1983, Sakamoto achieved a peak of commercial visibility by not only writing the soundtrack for Nagisa Oshima’s film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, but also co-starring in it (as Captain Yonoi) with David Bowie. The soundtrack, which won him a Bafta for best film music, contained the Sakamoto/Sylvian composition Forbidden Colours, a vocal version of the film’s main theme, which was a Top 20 hit in Britain.

Soundtrack work became one of the main planks of Sakamoto’s career. He won an Academy Award (along with his fellow composers David Byrne and Cong Su) for his soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987), in which he also had an acting role, and worked with the director again on The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Little Buddha (1993).

Sakamoto scored the 1990 film version of The Handmaid’s Tale, Pedro Almodóvar’s Tacones Lejanos (High Heels, 1991), and Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes (1998) and Femme Fatale (2002). Oliver Stone hired him for the soundtrack to his TV series Wild Palms (1993). Alejandro González Iñárritu used some existing Sakamoto recordings in his 2006 film Babel, then recruited him to write the score for his multiple Oscar-winner The Revenant (2015). For the opening of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics he provided El Mar Mediterrani.

Sakamoto released solo albums regularly between 1978 and 2017, many of them reaching the Top 30 in Japan but not registering on charts elsewhere, as well as six live albums and a string of compilations. However, Sakamoto’s subtle, exploratory music earned him a charismatic reputation that drew international guest stars to his projects.

On B-2 Unit (1980), he collaborated closely with Andy Partridge from XTC, and the electrofunk track Riot in Lagos proved inspirational for the likes of Mantronix and Afrikaa Bambaataa. Thomas Dolby featured on the pulsating Field Work from Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (1986), the track accompanied by an ingeniously conceived video, while for Neo Geo (1987) Sakamoto enlisted Iggy Pop, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Sly Dunbar.

Brian Wilson and Robbie Robertson appeared on Beauty (1989), an album that spanned rock, technopop, flamenco and classical Japanese music. Heartbeat (1991), on which Sakamoto tried rap, funk and jazz, and lyrics in French, Japanese and Russian, numbered Youssou N’Dour, Arto Lindsay, Bill Frisell, Sylvian and John Cage among its contributors. In 1993, Sakamoto co-produced Aztec Camera’s album Dreamland.

Born in Tokyo, Ryuichi was the only child of Keiko (nee Shimomura), a hat designer, and Kazuki Sakomoto, a literary editor. While attending the same progressive primary school that once taught Yoko Ono, he was already writing music for the piano with their encouragement.

The American presence in postwar Japan introduced new western influences to the country, and Sakamoto was enraptured by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He attended Tokyo’s University of the Arts to study music composition, and felt a strong affinity for the compositions of Claude Debussy, in which he discerned an Asian influence. However, in addition he soaked up the work of contemporary composers such as Cage, Pierre Boulez, Györgi Ligeti and Stockhausen, as well as jazz musicians including John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

His early compositions were in an avant-garde vein, while he also performed with free jazz bands and played keyboards with the folk singer Masato Tomobe. He graduated with BA and MA degrees, having studied classical and assorted world and ethnic music, and taken his first steps in electronic music by working with Moog and ARP synthesizers.

He formed Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 with Haruomi “Harry” Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, whom he had met when they worked together as session musicians. Combining electropop with stylish graphics and costume design, the trio brought wit and warmth to the use of electronics, which contrasted with the studied alienation of European counterparts such as Kraftwerk or Gary Numan.

YMO released eight studio albums during their original lifespan, all of them climbing high in the Japanese charts, and three of them reaching No 1. The group inspired Beatlemania-like hysteria in their homeland. “We were very big, that’s why I hated it,” Sakamoto said. “We were always followed by paparazzi.”

YMO’s albums made little chart impact outside Japan, but their influence was nonetheless widely felt, not least in their innovative use of electronic sequencers, drum machines and sampling. Firecracker, from their 1978 debut album, was itself sampled in Afrika Bambaataa’s Death Mix. In 1980 they had a Top 20 hit in the UK with Computer Game (Theme from the Invaders), which chimed with the craze for the Space Invaders game. Behind the Mask, first conceived for a Seiko wristwatch commercial and then included on their album Solid State Survivor (1979), became a Top 20 UK hit for Eric Clapton; a version by Michael Jackson appeared on the posthumous album Michael (2010).

YMO paused their activities in 1984, though the trio continued to collaborate on each other’s solo work, and they reformed to make the album Technodon (1993). They subsequently reunited several times for recording and live performances, their last shows being for the No Nukes 2012 festival in Chiba, Japan, and the 2012 World Happiness festival in Tokyo.

In his teens in the late 1960s, Sakamoto had been a hippy with leftwing political beliefs – “not 100% Marxist, but kind of” – but he gradually became disillusioned with the failure of political movements to effect significant change. He decided that his music was not the place for social or political messages, observing that “I’ve changed from an avant-garde person to a pop person,” though he would subsequently support causes he felt strongly about.

He campaigned for changes to music copyright law, which he considered outmoded in the internet era, and founded Commmons, a collaborative platform to assist aspiring musicians. He formed a group of musicians called NML (No More Landmines), which featured Brian Eno, Sylvian, Kraftwerk and the other members of YMO, and in 2001 they released the single Zero Landmine.

In 2006 he launched the Stop Rokkasho movement by releasing the track Rokkasho (by a group of musicians dubbed Team 6), in protest at the building of Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, and he campaigned to have the Hamaoka nuclear plant shut down to avoid a repeat of the 2011 tsunami disaster at the Fukushima facility. He and Byrne teamed up to record the single Psychedelic Afternoon to aid tsunami survivors.

His solo work continued to explore a huge variety of styles. In 1982 he had ventured into medieval and Renaissance music on the album The End of Asia, a collaboration with the Japanese early music group Danceries. Smoochy (1995) was a detour into easy listening, while Discord (1998) comprised an hour-long orchestral composition.

The album 1996 was a selection of Sakamoto pieces arranged for piano trio featuring the Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, and Sakomoto reunited with him and his wife, Paula, a singer, for two albums in celebration of the bossa nova composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, Casa (2001) and A Day in New York (2003). In 1999, his multimedia opera, Life, was performed in Tokyo and Osaka.

Meanwhile, he struck up a fruitful collaboration with Alva Noto (a pseudonym of Carston Nicolai), which resulted in a string of electronica albums including Vrioon (2002) and Insen (2005), culminating in Glass (2018). With the Austrian guitarist and composer Christian Fennesz he recorded Sala Santa Cecilia (2005), Cendre (2007) and Flumina (2011).

In 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, but by the following year was feeling “much much better”. His recovery from illness inspired the creation of his last solo album, Async, hailed as one of 2017’s finest forays into experimental electronica. Its making was documented by Stephen Nomura Schible in the film Coda (2018).

His final album, 12, was recorded during hospital stays in 2021 and 2022, and released in January. In December, he livestreamed a solo piano concert from Tokyo.

Sakamoto was first married to Natsuko, then to the musician Akiko Yano; both marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his third wife and manager, Norika Sora, and their two children; and a daughter from his first marriage and another daughter from his second.

🔔 Ryuichi Sakamoto, composer, musician and producer, born 17 January 1952; died 28 March 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Ryuichi Sakamoto #in memoriam

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c-40 · 1 year

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A-T-3 014 Graffiti Rock

Following on from the Beat Bop post yesterday here's a list of personal favourites when it comes to graffiti on records sleeves (it's mostly the classics)

[1981] Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love James Rizzi did all the sleeve artwork for Tom Tom Club's breakthrough 1981 set and its follow-up in 1983 (A-T-3 002). Not strictly thought of as a graffiti artist he exhibited his work outside though

[1981] Trouble Funk - Pump Me Up single picture sleeve

[1982] Futura 2000 - The Adventures Of Futura 2000 Just one of a series of five records released by Celluloid that fit together to show a complete Futura 2000 artwork. The records were used to publicise the New York City Rap Tour in Europe. The tour featured Rammellzee of Beat Bop fame. More info here A-T-2 388

[1983] Malcolm McLaren - Duck Rock

Duck Rock insert by Keith Haring

Duck Rock was Malcolm McLaren's first album under his own name thanks to the musicians that would become The Art Of Noise. Nick Egan produces the sleeve and employs Graffiti legend Dondi to create the lettering for Duck Rock and Keith Haring for the illustration. Egan talks about the project here. When talking about customising I'm surprised he didn't mention mods and their mopeds, I suppose that was The Jam's territory https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/interview-with-nick-egan-the-making-of-the-album-cover-for-duck-rock/

Dondi and Haring's work gets used throughout the releases from this set, including print ads and videos. The 12" cover for the single Duck For The Oyster would be even better if McLaren's face wasn't on it. Overpriced and overrated streetwear brand Supreme saw this too and went to town sticking the Duck For The Oyster artwork on their overpriced and overrated streetwear

Here's the long version of Hobo Scratch, check the bit A Tribe Called Quest ref in Award Tour. I write about Buffalo Gals here A-T-2 102 and share She's Looking Like A Hobo because I really like this track!

Malcolm McLaren - Hobo Scratch (She's Looking Like A Hobo)

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[1983] N.Y.C. Peech Boys - Life Is Something Special Keith Haring does the sleeve artwork for Peech Boys album, this artwork is now reproduced on all sorts with no reference to the album. Unlike the McLaren album above Haring and Larry Levan were friends, in 1984 Keith Haring would have his birthday party at Paradise Garage where Madonna performed for him

Don't Make Me Wait and Life Is Something Special are released as singles in 1982, the later gets put on the Pumping Iron II: The Women soundtrack. Here's the dub of On A Journey released in 1983

N.Y.C. Peech Boys - On A Journey (Dubmix)

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[1983] Wild Style OST with the piece by Zephyr, Revolt, and Sharp on the cover. The film follows graffiti artist Zoro played by LEE. The film is a slice of history, it's clunky but it was how many of us were introduced to hip hop Here's an interview with Zephyr about the animated title sequence https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/wild-style/

...and this is Cold Crush Crew and Fantastic Freaks from the soundtrack

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[1984] Digette - Fred From Jupiter The sleeve features artwork by Kenny Scharf. This is an odd one just look at the people involved and the thank yous, it's like a kitchy Club 57 cabaret record. Most importantly though the record is dedicated to the memory of Michael Stewart who was a graffiti artist murdered by the police in 1983 https://www.insideedition.com/the-case-of-michael-stewart-the-new-york-artist-some-say-was-sentenced-to-death-for-drawing-on

[1984] Jellybean - Wotupski!?! one of the best graffiti record covers ever produced which is no surprise as it's by Duster and SEEN. There's a lexicon of graffiti terminology on the inner sleeve. Here's the SEEN and Duster bit from the landmark 1983 documentary Style Wars. SEEN's had heart surgery this time last year, hopefully his health is much better now

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[1984] Rock Steady Crew - Uprock Doze from the Rock Steady Crew did the graf on all their sleeves, they are all good but Uprock is a masterpiece (unlike the album by produced by Stephen Hague)

[1984] Subway Art - by Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant The bible. Martha Cooper's Spray Nation came out last last year

[1985] Mantronix - Needle To The Groove artwork by Gnome & Gemini

[1985] Sleeping Bag Records - Greatest Mixers Collection by Konk (the painter not the band)

[1985] Schoolly-D - Schoolly-D - Schoolly-D

[1985] MC ADE - Bass Rock Express this is just his logo on the labels but the I want to make a point in saying graffiti and Miami bass/booty bass was linked from the get go, it would catch my eye in shops (it was the graf not the booty)

[1986] Just Ice - Back To The Old School Gnome & Gemini's other classic sleeve

[1986] B-52s - Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland Crazy dub on this record. Kenny Scharf sleeve artwork, the sleeve artwork to the album Bouncing Off The Satellites is also one of his

[1987] Street Sounds Hip Hop 17 (to 20, and 22) massively influential sleeves on the UK graffiti scene. The first records in the series to include Miami Bass and the first with a graffiti sleeve by Artful Dodger of The Trailblazers who went on to become The Chrome Angelz

[1987] Bomb The Bass - Beat Dis Who watches the watchmen? also by Artful Dodger, he also did the sleeve for Three Wize Men's 1988 Rhythm King album G.B. Boyz

[1987] Spraycan Art - Hendy Chalfant and James Prigoff The New Testament, Chrome Angelz on the cover

[1989] Unique 3 - The Theme the design is by System. In the UK graffiti also begins to appear on the labels of underground records like Blapps and rave flyers like Sunrise, Dec 89 and Weekend World

[1992] The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde sleeve artwork and pissing hydrant by OG Slick

[1993] Alte Schule German compilation with sleeve/label art by Mode 2 of Chrome Angelz

Graffiti Rock was a pilot show made for American television in 1984

#1983 #graffiti art #malcolm mclaren #trevor horn #anne dudley #keith haring #dondi white #larry levan #peech boys #michael de benedictus #cold crush crew #wild style #style wars #hip hop #disco #80s music

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madmarchhare · 6 months

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Report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs

October 20th, 13:00:00, 1983

Iveshnya had not appeared at the directorate for three days following Sunday, and neither had Dǎi, bar from a few fleeting hours on Monday morning before he silently left the Ministry building. On some level, Deriabin was relived, no longer having to fear the silent wild animal that loomed in the back office like a Siberian tiger. Yet, at the same time, he felt oddly uncomfortable without the presence of the man who so inspired his terror. There was an uncertainty that gripped him, even with his short time at the directorate, with the absence of the official who was so thoroughly in control of it and with the lack of a substitute.

Thankfully, though ironically instantly making Deriabin remember his fear, Iveshnya had returned in the afternoon of the third day. He had suddenly appeared in the doorframe of the room, dressed in a reserved sandy coloured suit, worn over a striped white-brown shirt hung at the neck by a narrow army-style tie. He had walked into the space directly over to Volkov and Slava, as if he had never been absent from the directorate for a moment and began to ask them a few things. As soon as they spotted their supervisor, the employees seemed to bend back into order, both from relief and wariness.

Deriabin glanced up at the man with frightful eyes, smoke tumbling from his mouth as it seemed to run on his wary breath. Despite his sense, his curiosity could not help but wonder what had detained the supervisor for so long, but his appearance didn’t give any clues, remaining entirely non-descript as usual as Deriabin studied him past his stooped shoulder, almost hiding behind it.

… Only, after a moment, he did notice a large bandage covering the back of his left hand, along with the knuckles.

As he stared deeply at the him, Iveshnya glanced at the man, not even turning his head. Deriabin snapped around to avoid his gaze, accidentally long drag of his cigarette which all but burnt it down to a stub, hot ash falling into his lap and singing his black slacks. He kept his head down, only moving to snappily brush the ash to the floor, a slight tear budding in one eye from the pain, afraid to look up and see if the wild creature had crept up to him. He needn’t have worried.

Deriabin saw Iveshnya leave the room, his bandaged hand held behind his back. At his exit, Deriabin relaxed, removing the remains of his cigarette from his mouth as he grimaced regretting the man’s return already. “I deserve milk for this…”[1] he hissed, grabbing the documents set in front of him and pulling one closer, brushing aside the novel he had brough to read to make room.

“Deserve milk for what?” a voice asked above him, making the rabbit jump, splaying his arms out in front of him and nearly tossing his pen. Zablud turned to look up at Volkov who loomed kindly over him, a warm expression on her terrifying face.

“Ah, eh, uh… N-nothing, I was just thirsty,” he sputtered, stammering before he nervously forced out a response, hemming slightly from embarrassment and fear, the latter only feeding into the former. Volkov looked at him with a passive expression, not letting it show that she could see past his weak lie.

“If you’re thirsty I’m sure there is some orange seltzer down in the cafeteria, its quite nice,” she played along, attempting to invite the man along.

“Ah, no thank you,” Zablud nervously turned her down, putting a hand up in apology as his other moved onto the top document on his desk, “I’ve got a lot of work to get done so I’ll have to pass,” he weakly excused, a strained smile on his face. Volkov nodded, assuming that the man was disinclined to chat she continued on. Zablud nervously watched her leave before turning back to his work. The document rested at the head of the pile instantly made him wary. It was thick, about a hundred pages long with small typeface, eerily neat yet marred by singular block of censorship on the first page. He examined it as if it were a live bomb, seeing that little needed to be done to the document, if anything at all, making his role harder to ascertain. Then, at the final page of the document, stamped over in red ink, was an order for the document to be archived as replacement for some coded file.

His first though was one of clarity, ‘ah so that’s it,’ his second, of course, was that he had no idea where this archive was located. He looked around for Alek, hoping to ask her, but found that she was nowhere in sight, having left with most of the others for lunch. He gripped the filed under his arm and stood up from his desk, deciding to go and find her, or anyone else who might be able to answer. He couldn’t let any more work pile up.

As soon as he left the room he felt a chill. “Where are you going, Mr. Deriabin?” Iveshnya asked in a flat tone that clutched at Deriabin’s heart like a rabbit snare. He turned to look up at the man who loomed over him, attempting to calm his expression.

“I wanted to ask Citizen[2] Slava about this document as I don’t quite understand-” he explained, resorting to over-formality out of nerves as Iveshnya held out his hand for the file in question. Nervously Deriabin handed over the document, a defeated look falling over his face before he could stop it. The supervisor scanned over the document quickly, stopping as he came to the last page. He looked down at his subordinate with a sedated expression, seeming to take a moment to decided something in his head.

“Come with me,” he ordered calmly, striding forward with even steps, Deriabin following in his wake, lowering his head out of fear. He was lead down into the depth of the building, sunlight soon becoming unable to reach them as heavy white lights blazed overhead in pithy substitute. Fear began to drown the younger man, pooling around his neck in an inky black-red noose of terror, as his fear suffocated his senses he reached his shaky hands to his pocket and grabbed a cigarette and shoved it into his mouth before lighting it with his presumed killer’s lighter. If he was going to die, he wanted a last smoke.

“Citizen Deriabin,” Iveshnya stated cooly, making the younger man freeze, looking up at the still form of his addresser, “there is no smoking allowed down here,” he finished, tapping a notice on the wall to his side with his unwounded hand.

“A-apologies,” Deriabin answered weakly, snuffing the cigarette between his fingers, his fear snuffing out his pain. Iveshnya didn’t respond and simply continued on down the concrete hallway, the floor made of dark blue linoleum, contrasting with the light grey walls, a tri-colour set of lines that traced the wall on one side. At the end of the short hallway Ivsehnya pushed open a single pair of swinging doors, a digital chime sound off as he did so, holding the door for Deriabin to come through.

He stepped through with some nervousness, believing he may soon be sent off for interrogation for what he did not know. But, as soon as he came past the threshold he saw Volkov stood at the other side of the room near a large cargo elevator surrounded by chain-link fencing. The room itself was made of bare steel, painted army green, almost bomb-proof, the rear of the doors he had stepped through being far thicker than he had thought, covered in heavy locks… Yet Iveshnya had opened them with ease.

The man in question walk towards the elevator, nodding to Volkov as he did. “Excuse me, Comrade Supervisor?” Deriabin asked nervously, trying to steady his voice.

“Yes, Mr. Deriabin?” Iveshnya replied flatly, turning to look back at the man.

“I, I’m afraid I’m rather confused… Could you explain where you are t-taking me?” Deriabin managed to force out, faltering slightly as he finished. Iveshnya studied the man silently.

“As part of your duties, a number of files will be need to be taken to the archive so it is best you know where it is and who to look for to access it. That is why Miss. Volkov is here, as she is a new archivist. I trust that clears things up for you?” Iveshnya finished in a droll tone, monotone exasperation, turning and stepping into the elevator, not needing to gesture for the other two to follow him.

As soon as they were all in the elevator Iveshnya pressed a button on a panel that stood by the rear wall. The doors shunted shut behind them then the whole structure began to descend, Iveshnya still looking straight ahead to the chain-link wall that the panel was attached to staring at the greenish concrete sliding upwards as they descended. The sight was the same for a number of minutes, the space consumed by an undertone of electric motors and grinding gears as the elevator descended.

“How deep is this place?” Deriabin muttered to himself, glancing around nervously.

“A lot of space was needed to store all the files safely,” Ivehsnya answered, the rabbit flinching as he realized he had been heard. Then the concrete fell away, leaving the elevator suspended in the dim open air for a moment before floodlights erupted with heavy mechanical grunts, illuminating the cavernous space. Both Volkov and Deriabin balked at the sight.

The walls were sheer, white faces of salt, the air dry, and suspended in the centre of the space were great suspended buildings, resting on steel supports dug into the clear salt walls, branches diving deeper into tunnels in the salt as the complex sank deeper into the ground than either of the two, even with their impressive sight, could see the bottom almost seeming to fall down straight into nothingness. “Originally, Nizki-Gorod was the site of a salt mine, but it was decided to use the mine as archive space due to it’s protected location and the dry atmosphere prevents damp and keeps the space a good temperature,” Iveshnya continued, unfazed by the sight, in fact glancing up at a group of workmen all stood on one of the higher beams, welding something, sparks falling down before fizzling out. The pair where speechless as the elevator continued to descend, unable to muster up a response to the megastructure that was sat underneath the Ministry building. Eventually the elevator came to a stop level with the entrance corridor of one of the levels, having simply slid past earlier ones. When the doors of both the elevator, this time the side Ivshnya had been facing, and the corridor entrance pulled open a trio of armed guards, all wearing the uniforms of MVD Internal troops[3], though one wore a KGB badge on his lapel to demarcate his position.

They saluted to Iveshnya as he stepped forward, which he returned and which his subordinates mimicked. “The document you are delivering is one this floor, Miss. Volkov will be able to help you with the filing number while Captain Tevlov will escort you,” as he explained this the captain subtly glanced at his supervisor, which Ivehsnya flatly returned, getting a nod in return as Tevlov slung his carbine over his shoulder, beckoning the pair forward while Iveshnya remained in the elevator. He watched them leave as the elevator doors clucked closed and the machine began to re-ascend.

As they walked Tevlov turned back to the pair, “what room does the file need to go?” he asked in a glassy voice, watching the pair carefully with unnerving crystal clear eyes.

“Room Ж-7-5,” Volkov answered quickly while Zablud struggled to understand the stamp, the latter glancing up with a look of both embarrassment and appreciation. Tevlov nodded and led the forward, having to use a card reader as he went between certain wings. The rooms were all painted army green, the floors made of cream linoleum as the walls were lined with thick pipes that covered cables, along with pipes that seemed to run into sprinkler systems. When they cam to the room it bore a humble code designation and not much else, the door held to by a heavy lock that Tevlov briskly unfastened.

The smaller room was filled wall to wall with filing cabinets, along with two rows stood unsupported in the centre of the room. As Zablud stepped in, still uncertain, Volkov tapped him on the shoulder and guided him forward. “Your file is in this particular cabinet, you should be able to figure out the rest,” she encouraged, leaving him in front of a tall cabinet. Zablud gave a slight start, turning back to Volkov with a question but losing the nerve to ask it. He glanced again at he stamp on his file then opened the drawer he thought was correct and dropped the file into it. Not hearing that he had made the wrong choice he turned back, murmuring to himself.

“All this for some files when a computer would save so much…”

“There is one planned,” Tevlov answered, Zablud again jumping as he was heard when he had not wished to be, “but there has been some difficulty supplying the necessary resources while OGAS still has priority, we do have some systems active for more pressing information,” he finished glassily, smiling to the rabbit cheekily the Captain seeming to relax outside of Iveshnya’s presence. Zablud returned the smile, his handsome face for once less crowded by nerves. They were led back to the entrance, Zablud glancing curiously around the site, oddly less unnerved by the armed Captain than his supervisor.

“I hope you both have a good evening, Citizens,” Tevlov bid them as they stepped back into the elevator after it had been called by the two remaining guards.

“And you too, Captain, Comrades,” Volkov retuned, Zablud following her example before the elevator door closed and began its ascent. Zablud watched the complex slip past them as they went, the lower floodlights shutting off as they ascended back up, still stunned by the scale of it. He sunk into though over how much information could be stored here, or whatever else the Soviet government would want to keep hidden.

When the elevator finally came to a stop, the doors opening behind the pair, Volkov turned to Zablud. “Whenever you have any files that need urgent filing, just come find me or leave the file on my desk,” she explained in a formal tone.

“Right, thank you Lyudmila Yurievna,” Zablud thanked, smiling at her as he moved away from her, still unnerved by her appearance.

“Before you go,” she began again, making the smaller man pause, “would you care to join me for a drink?” she asked, confusing the man slightly. “I’m going with Alek, Molcha and Rin and I wondered if you might come as well?” she continued. Initially Zablud felt tempted to turn her down, but with Shigemitsu going, or more succinctly his ride home, he had little choice.

“Of course, that sounds nice,” Zablud agreed, smiling pleasantly at the taller woman. She smiled back in return then told him the details of the meeting, taking place just after work, and that she would meet him after she had finished. Zablud left the room then made his way back through the short concrete passages feeling exhausted already. Thankfully, the rest of the day passed calmly, Zablud ascending back up the stairs to the second floor, placing his final cigarette in his mouth with some worry about making it last. Then as he came to his desk he saw a pack of Soyuz-Apollo cigarettes, the same ones Ivshnya had offered him, laid neatly on the face of the grey and mint-green paperback he had brought in. He looked at the pack with some nervousness as smoke drifted from the smouldering end of his cigarette, glancing around to see if anyone was around to have left it there. He was torn, his discomfort with the situation brokering a solution with his avarice. After a moment’s self-negotiation he picked up the pack and tucked it into his jacket pocket before sitting down to work.

As the day came to a close he spotted Alek and the others get ready to go and, after a moment to steel his nerves, rose to his feet himself and walked over to them. “Good evening, Za!” Alek called as she saw him approach.

“Good evening Miss. Slava,” Zablud kindly returned, flashing a handsome smile on his face.

“Please, call me Alek, now I heard you were going to come with us for dinner?” Alek questioned, an eager yet relaxed expression on her face.

“Yes, that would be correct,” Zablud confirmed amicably, glancing at Shigemitsu as he spoke, the bakeneko not paying him any mind, “though I am curious about where, I was under the impression that most places are not yet fully constructed yet, let alone staffed…” he continued, curiously. Alek gave a light chuckle in response.

“Oh dear soul, your Muscovite is showing. Your correct that nothing official is done as of yet, but you don’t seriously expect that this many people haven’t found some place to sneak a drink in the evening have you?” she teased good naturedly, a warm smile coming across her fox-like features.

After that the quartet led Zablud through the city to the same Cooperative that Shigemitsu was a member of, then walked deep into the complex until they came to a pair of peach-coloured shacks. Outside there was a collection of workers from both the construction sites and the ministry building all gathered on makeshift tables outside them both, men pulling out bottles from the car in the left shack while soup came from an oven built into the right. Zablud looked at the scene with mild surprise, having seen similar sights in Moscow, but was surprised by the number of officials in the crowd. The party sat down at a round table that was free Zablud sat between Alek and Molcha, as soon as they sat down drinks appeared at their table, Alek turning up to the man who served them and thanking him with a sultry smile.

As he imbibed the vodka Zablud reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette about to put it to his lips before he paused and turned to Alek, “would you care for a cigarette?” she put a hand up dismissively in response.

“No thank you. My mother always said that the only women who smoke are actors and whores,”[4] Alek replied, unaware that her conversation partner had often shared the company of both. Zablud nodded amicably and lit himself up, offering one to Molcha who also refused, leaving him the only one smoking at the table, sparks seeming to come alive in his mouth while it was still doused with vodka.

The conversation was pleasant, the evening mostly spent with Alek asking the Muscovite news about the city, with a few small discussions with Molcha about the university, the unusual man asking about a few lecturers who were on the brink of retirement, in addition to one that Zablud had heard no mention of. The last individual caused the man to fall into silent thought for a while. Shigemitsu joined in after a few drinks, attempting to match pace with Zablud out of a sense of rivalry the latter quite unaffected even as he surpassed eighteen glasses. The cat, however, came out completely soused. He mumbled pleasantly under his breath, a bemused smile twitching at his lips as he teetered side-to-side occasionally breaking out into melodies of Japanese that collapsed like cherry blossoms into warm reveries and wails of a lost love in an Oni[5]… not that Zablud had much clue what that was. After a while, when the rest of his table was reaching their limit, bar himself and Volkov, they all gave their farewells.

As Shigemitsu attempted to stand, he seemed to forget about his weak leg and collapsed on one side, cursing confusedly as Zablud came over and hefted him up, supporting the staggering cripple as they made their way to his car. “I’m fine, I’m fine… let me get there on my own you stupid rabbit!” Shigemitsu grumbled irately his strong leg buckling under him as he asserted his own self-reliance.

“You can barely stand man, how will you get there, by crawling?” Zablud snapped bitterly before feeling ashamed and trying to calm himself.

“If needs must,” Shigemitsu answered determinedly, as if he was a soldier refusing surrender rather than a drunk refusing help. Zablud ignored his protests and caried on.

“Look, we’re here now so just let me open the door and I’ll take us both home,” Zablud soothed, taking the key from the man and opening the door, the other man disappearing inside while he was not in Zablud’s purchase, the sound of the car’s engine yapping into life before shifting forward rattling the thin metal structure.

“Get in,” Shigemitsu ordered gruffly, jerking with his thumb for the other man to get in the passenger’s side.

“I can’t let you drive! You can barely stand,” Zablud began to insist but Shigemitsu would hear none of it.

“Either get in or you can walk back,” he re-iterated flatly.

“Fine,” the rabbit caved, walking around and getting in the car after shutting the garage door. The drive, against Deriabin’s expectations was fine, with only a few moments of concern as a number of trucks came towards the car. Over the drive, Shigemitsu continued to babble in pining tones, occasionally glancing wistfully in the direction of Zablud, though the latter assumed he was looking out into the evening’s sky beyond.

When they finally reached their destination it was in the depths of night, the only light were the sparsely lit street-lights, leaving the car back-lit as they came to a stop. “…Thank you, Shigemitsu, I’m sorry for doubting you-” Zablud began before his adresse grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him close, kissing him full on the lips the younger man too stunned to pull away until he was released.

“I miss you so dearly, Uoni[6]-Senpai[7]” he whispered softly, staring dull-eyed at the man he likely didn’t recognise, a loving yet mournful expression worn on his face. Zablud was still too stunned to speak, pulled back against the passenger door as the man stared at him with a warm smile until he seemed to no longer recognize whatever dream had occupied him and he fell back into his seat. “Give me a moment… I just need to get my senses then I’ll get out,” he stated calmly, as if the last moment had not occurred, the only proof being the taste on Zablud’s lips and the seconds that had been lost to time.

“Right… yes, of course… C-comrade Shigemitsu,” Zablud answered in an unsteady voice, flustered voice, as he felt behind him to open the passenger door before stepping out and shutting it, leaving the foreigner in the car as he made his way to his apartment building attempting to settle himself.

[1] In the Soviet Union, for jobs that were considered dangerous or harmful to your health, such as a paint sprayer, miner, machinist or otherwise, you were given free milk at lunch, contained in triangular cartons. So, the expression arose that, if a job was considered hard or unpleasant a Soviet citizen might say ‘I deserve milk for this…’ and an exclamation of complaint.

[2] A common form of address in the Soviet Union. It was often used by soldiers or police officers referring to civilians or a more distanced term than Comrade.

[3] Paramilitary forces, equivalent to French or German Gendarmerie, under the authority of the MVD. They were frequently used to put down unrest and were the decadents of the Checka and NKVD internal troops. Were a separate force to the border troops under MVD control.

[4] Despite the high level of smoking among the male Soviet population, it was generally frowned upon by society for women to smoke, indeed the only people who were seen smoking in public were often actors and those in the sex trade. They were by no means the only women who smoked.

[5] 鬼. Similar to a troll or ogre in western myth, Oni are a type of yōkai in Japanese folklore. There are multiple different types, with various manners and personalities and stories.

[6] 羽鬼

[7] A Japanese honorific used to refer to one’s senior in work or education.

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Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // here

#original writing #creative writing #writing #writeblr #fiction #eldritch?#HMAD #this may have spelling errors #sorry if so but I am too tired to notice them #hope you all enjoy this!!

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