#tai snaith

[snappingthewalls]

[chpkns]

BEST ALBUMS 2020

Some albums I enjoyed during quarantine.

Hon Mentions: Campfire Chords - Arkells, A Written Testimony - Jay Electronica, All In One - Jaunt, Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers, Alfredo - Freddie Gibs and Madlib, Thats What They All Say - Jack Harlow, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs - Colter Wall, This Place Sucks Ass - PUP, Only For Dolphins - Action Bronson, Black Habits - D Smoke, What’s Your Pleasure - Jessie Ware, 3.15.20 - Childish Gambino, Dedicated Side B - Carly Rae Jepsen, Dark Lane Demo Tapes - Drake, After Hours - The Weeknd, color theory - Soccer Mommy, Circles - Mac Miller, Womb - Purity Ring

10) Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

One of the lesser, although still significant, tragedies of the 2020 COVID era was that weddings and sweaty club basements the world over were robbed of Dua Lipa’s prolific output this year. Future Nostalgia is hit or miss in places, but the hits come hot and heavy delivering banger after 80′s-disco-inspired banger. Dominant summer jams “Don’t Start Now” and “Break My Heart” are the highlights here, along with “Levitating” (equally good with or without DaBaby). Sleeper tracks “Cool” and “Hallucinate” round out the year’s best pure pop album.

Highlights: Don’t Start Now, Break My Heart, Levitating, Physical, Cool, Hallucinate

9) Women In Music, Pt. III - HAIM

The third album from LA’s sister act rock trio HAIM delivers consistency and growth for the band. There’s plenty of retro heartbreak rock on Women In Music, Pt. III to satisfy fans of HAIM’s first two albums, but lots of new on offer as well including the jazzy Lou Reed inspired sax of “Summer Girl” and Danielle Haim sounding positively Joni Mitchell-esque on “Man From the Magazine”. The auditory production flourishes of erstwhile Vampire Weekend member Rostam are noticeable throughout and help stretch the bounds of the HAIM sisters’ signature Wilson Phillips meets Fleetwood Mac summer rock sound into something more of the moment.

Highlights: The Steps, Summer Girl, Don’t Wanna, Man From the Magazine, FUBT

8) My Turn (Deluxe) - Lil Baby

I’ve almost given up on trying to enjoy or understand most “new rap” but every now and then something breaks through that I connect with for some reason. Atlanta rapper Lil Baby’s My Turn was that album for me this year. There are many reasons I feel I should not like Lil Baby’s music, from his liberal use of autotune to his mumbling delivery, but something always drew me back to it and, listen after listen, it grew on me. Lil Baby’s flow is persistent when he locks in, with matching driving trap production from Quay Global, Tay Keith and others, mirroring in sound the story of Baby’s rise from the streets to prison to the studio. The standout track is late addition “The Bigger Picture”, Lil Baby’s protest anthem on race in America, policing and the turmoil following the killing of George Floyd by police, a political statement from an otherwise apolitical artist, showing that Lil Baby has much more to offer than bravado and autotune.

Highlights: Grace (ft. 42 Dugg), Forever (ft. Lil Wayne), No Sucker (ft. Moneybagg Yo), Social Distancing, The Bigger Picture

7) Miss Anthropocene - Grimes

The third major studio release from Montreal native Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, doesn’t reach the same highs as its predecessors - 2015′s electro-pop masterpiece Art Angels (which rated number 1 on this list for that year) or 2012′s Visions, the synth-laden fever dream that introduced Grimes to mainstream notoriety (number 2 on this list for 2012) - but it’s still very much worth the time. The vibe of Miss A falls somewhere between Grimes’ previous two albums, and a little darker and messier to boot. Grimes sounds a bit like she’s playing a concert for the end of the world, which feels a bit prophetic for an album released just before a global pandemic took hold. As always, Grimes is out to flex her muscle as a technician and across the album’s ten tracks she mixes diverse sounds ranging from rave synths to banjos showing how far her craft has come since making Visions on Garageband in her Mile End apartment.

Highlights: So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth, Violence, Delete Forever, 4ÆM, You’ll miss me when I’m not around

6) evermore - Taylor Swift

Spoiler alert, this isn’t the highest ranked Taylor Swift album on this list. Surprise released in December, evermore was an early Christmas present to fans of Swift’s surprise summer album folklore (more on that later). evermore continues Swift’s reinvention from pop star to indie singer-songwriter, assisted by songwriting partner Aaron Dessner of The National and a variety of indie darling guest stars - this time around featuring HAIM, The National’s Matt Berninger and another stunning guest turn with Bon Iver. Speaking of Justin Vernon, the album capping title track might be the single best song on either folklore or evermore. And for fans of Taylor’s earlier catalogue like me, the return to country music on “no body, no crime” is like reconnecting with an old friend. evermore is a little messier and less consistent thematically than its sister album, feeling a bit like folklore’s b-sides. But when your b-sides are better than most artist’s a-sides, why not release another album’s worth?

Highlights: ‘tis the damn season, no body no crime (ft. HAIM), coney island (ft. The National), cowboy like me, evermore (ft. Bon Iver)

5) RTJ4 - Run The Jewels

Walking the streets of my neighbourhood with the first listen of RTJ4 in my earbuds, I found myself actually crying at the thought that I would not get to see Killer Mike and el-P perform these songs live in the summer of 2020. The memories of RTJ festival sets past came rushing over me in a wave. That was my first “damn, I miss live music moment” of the pandemic. The fourth instalment of Run The Jewels’ historic rap partnership is more of the same in the very best way. Like the dynamic duo’s previous three instalments, RTJ4 is in your face, moves at a frenetic clip, and takes no prisoners. There’s even another album highlighting collaboration with Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha. The politics of RTJ4′s tirades against inequity and the police state feel even more imminent in 2020 against the backdrop of George Floyd, the ensuing protest movement that gripped America, and the 2020 presidential election. I really hope we get a chance to see Mike and el-P tour these songs in 2021, the world needs it.

Highlights: ooh la la (ft. Greg Nice and DJ Premier), goonies vs. E.T., walking in the snow, JU$T (ft. Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha), a few words for the firing squad (radiation)

4) Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee

The majestically twangy folk-Americana of Saint Cloud, the fifth solo album from Katie Crutchfield (stage named Waxahatchee after Waxahatchee Creek, Alabama, where the singer grew up), is a nostalgic cure for the ails of 2020. The soft bluesy rhythms of Crutchfield’s songs feel like a lazy long summer day spent by the water. That was something we needed this year. The songwriting is just as beautiful. The standout track, “Fire”, speaks to Crutchfield’s journey finding sobriety and reconnecting with her southern roots. It also speaks to a longing feeling “give me something / it ain’t enough / it ain’t enough”.  On “Arkadelphia”, Crutchfield croons: “We try to give it all meaning / Glorify the grain of the wood / Tell ourselves what's beautiful and good”. In the chaos of 2020, the calm oasis of Saint Cloud is certainly something beautiful and good worth enjoying.

Highlights: Can’t Do Much, Fire, The Eye, Arkadelphia, St. Cloud

3) Suddenly - Caribou

Suddenly was my first genuine pandemic listen and, in the early days of lockdown, I found myself going back to it again and again. So much so, that the opening haunting notes of “Sister” became a kind of touchstone as I adjusted to a weird new work-from-home lifestyle. The chilled out weirdness of Caribou was an extremely welcome presence in 2020. It had been long enough since 2014′s Our Love (2014′s number 1 on this list) that I’d forgotten how enjoyably quirky Dan Snaith’s floaty pseudo-house tunes could be. Suddenly is a little more laid back than the club ready Our Love, which maybe suits it more to a world where dancefloors are closed. The tunes are also tighter, more economical in their length and soundscape. The lead single “Home” sounds downright commercial (in a good way) with it’s motown sampled chorus. Other parts of the album, like the closing “Cloud Song” venture into more experimental territories. All throughout, however, are Caribou’s signature warm chord progressions inviting you to lose yourself in them. Whether you’re looking for a guided meditation or an at-home dance party, Suddenly was the perfect 2020 album for it.

Highlights: Sister, Home, Lime, Never Come Back, Ravi

2) Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1 : The Butcher Shoppe Sessions - Sturgill Simpson

2020 was full of unexpected things, many bad but some surprisingly delightful. Firmly in the latter category is Cuttin’ Grass, Sturgill Simpson’s surprise double album made up entirely of bluegrass covers of his own catalogue. A true product of 2020, Simpson recorded the album with a murderer’s row of contemporary bluegrass artists after recovering from COVID-19 and challenging his fans to raise funds for charity in exchange for recording a new album. That album became Cuttin’ Grass, a traditional bluegrass re-imagination of the greatest hits and hidden gems of a country artist who has always strived to avoid being labelled as a country artist. The songs feel effortlessly at home and are given new life amid the frenetic guitar and mandolin picking, flying fiddles, and twangling banjos. If Simpson’s ode to the revelatory experience of psychedlic drug use “Turtles All The Way Down” felt revolutionary on 2014′s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, it feels like an old standard here with its tempo pitched up and enveloped in the cacophony of the bluegrass ensemble. There is some good old fashioned heartbreak to slow things down too. Mandolin player and backup vocalist Sierra Hull shines on “I Wonder” (a cover of a song originally recorded by Sturgill’s former band Sunday Valley) as she joins Simpson on the chorus: “Tell me am I the only one / drinking and cursing your name?” The juxtaposition of Simpson’s unconventional country catalogue with the most traditional of country music styles just works and the entire hour can be listened and relistened for days. And if you’re still not satisfied, the companion “Volume 2: the Cowboy Arms Sessions” released in December brings back the same supporting cast to explore more of Simpson’s catalogue.

 Highlights: All The Pretty Colors, Breakers Roar, Time After All, Turtles All The Way Down, Voices

1) folklore - Taylor Swift

Well, I told you there’d be more Taylor Swift on this list, and here it is. Your number 1 album of 2020 is folklore, the surprise release pandemic project in which the world’s biggest country star turned pop star reinvented herself again as an indie artist. Unlike anything else Swift has put out since RED, nothing on folklore is designed to be played in a stadium. Rather, it’s all more at home in a cabin by the fire, or in your earbuds on a fall walk... basically, it’s music meant for 2020. Like its companion evermore, folklore is the product of Swift’s songwriting collaboration with The National’s guitarist Aaron Dessner. The melding of songwriting styles seems like an odd match at first but sounds like a match made in heaven. Lyrically, Swift’s songwriting makes an evolutionary leap, almost leaving her primary auto or semi-autobiographical comfort zone behind completely (other than, perhaps, in heavily veiled metaphor) in favour of invented stories and semi-historical world building. After a few listens, you discover that the same characters appear in different songs like the imagined history of Rebekah Harkness, the real life former inhabitant of Swift’s Rhode Island home, on “the last great american dynasty” or imagery of “battleships” that “sink beneath the waves” in the ghost story of “my tears ricochet”. In the so-called “teenage love triangle trilogy” of “betty”, “cardigan”, and “august”, Swift tells different parts of the same story from the perspective of different characters. Each song stands on its own, but the discovery that the pieces fit together is wonderful. “betty” is the standout track for me, as a long suffering fan of “country Taylor”. In style, it harkens back to her earlier work, but in substance it’s something new entirely as Swift sings from the perspective of James, the boy who has done wrong by his lover and is seeking forgiveness. The pinnacle of the album is “exile” Swift’s collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The call and response interaction of Swift with Vernon’s true to for emma form baritone is chill inducing. Like so many of the unexpected good things in 2020, folklore came from throwing plans out the window and doing what felt right for the moment. This is Taylor Swift making the music she wanted to make. In Dark Knight fashion, it’s the album we needed, if not the one we deserved. It’s the best album of the year.

Highlights: cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile (ft. Bon Iver), my tears ricochet, epiphany, betty, peace

[ahomeartgallery]

Tai Snaith, The Others (her thoughts were dark and light in equal measures), 2016, Gouache, ink and watercolour on linen board, watercolour and ink on bisque porcelain from our 06.07.16 show.

[adezer]

Tai Snaith

https://art.base.co/event/8830-new-primitives

[educate-empower1]

The family hour By Tai Snaith

The family hour By Tai Snaith

The Family Hour by Tai Snaith. Published by Thames and Hudson

How does your family breakfast time look?

How do you keep your family cool those hot summery days?

Can you imagine living with your family underground?

  Perhaps you have pondered on these questions…perhaps you have wondered what the animal families might do in their family time too?

The family hour by Tai Snaith explores how…

[jeremystrele]

Bookish Gifts For Christmas With Thames & Hudson – And 30% Off!

Bookish Gifts For Christmas With Thames & Hudson – And 30% Off!

Christmas Countdown Thames & Hudson

by Lucy Feagins, Editor

Thames & Hudson is a much loved publisher of titles across architecture, design, art food and more. Whether you’re shopping for Mum, Dad, kids or workmates, Thames & Hudson have all bases covered – and let’s be honest…. you really can never have enough books!

We’ve handpicked out top twelve titles for Christmas, with a focus on Australian art and design titles, and a few extra favourites thrown in for good measure! And the best part? This selection of books is available at 30% off for our Christmas Countdown!

The Design Files’ Top Picks :

Concrete Houses by Joe Rollo – Concrete Houses explores the use of concrete in landmark contemporary residential architecture, from Australia and abroad.

Australia Modern by Hannah Lewi and Phillip Goad – An essential book for those passionate about Australian modernism, featuring 100 significant buildings by Australia’s most revered architects, exploring how modernism has shaped Australian society.

Mirka Mora by Sabine Cotte – With privileged access to the artist and her studio, Sabine Cotte offers a new perspective on the extraordinary Mirka Mora, and her significance as one of Australia’s most compelling and prolific artists.

Del Kathryn Barton – A compact, 96 page monograph on one of Australia’s most celebrated female artists, designed for optimum visual impact!

Step into Paradise – The first definitive survey of two of Australia’s best known fashion designers, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, spanning more than four decades of their creative practice.

I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz – A beautifully designed primer on plant-based cooking.

The Idle Beekeeper by Bill Anderson – Urban beekeeper Bill Anderson draws upon his decades of experience to offer a step-by-step guide to building a hive system to harvest honey and extract honeycomb, make mead and beeswax candles, and to closely observe and understand bees!

Loopy Mango Knitting by Oejong Kim – A collection of 34 stylish, quick-to-make big-knit pieces from cult American indie fashion brand Loopy Mango!

You Might Find Yourself by Tai Snaith – A delightful children’s book from Melbourne artist Tai Snaith, that celebrates empathy, compassion and the power of the imagination.

In An Australian Light – A photographic celebration of the particular beauty of Australian light, this generous publication roams the country, from rugged coastline to arid outback, to reveal how light shapes our wide, brown land.

The Light Fades but the Gods Remain by Bill Henson – Commissioned by Monash Gallery of Art, seminal Australian artist Henson has revisited his home suburb of Glen Waverley to create new work. These new images of Australian suburbia are unexpected, offering a view of what is ‘just down the street’, seen in a new light. The Light Fades but the Gods Remain, accompanied by an exhibition of both series of work at Monash Gallery of Art, celebrates an extraordinary artist at two stages in his career.

Paris by Design by Eva Jorgensen – The definitive Paris book, for the design-savvy traveller! This book combines interviews, profiles, essays, tips, and lists, drawing on an eclectic group of contributors who offer travel tips and insight into Paris’s fashion, design, craft, and art scenes.

The Christmas Countdown offer :

Thames & Hudson are offering 30% off TDF’s Top Picks for Christmas – use discount code TDFXMAS30.

Shop Thames & Hudson now!

[internalisecarlohomedecor]

Home tour: this home was designed by the owner and architect Simon Knott. In every corner you see the touch of Simon Knott and his wife, Tai Snaith. (via tdf)

[snappingthewalls]

[storyboxlibrary]

Slow Down, World - Q & A with Tai Snaith

Photo of Tai Snaith courtesy of Chloe Snaith

Tai Snaith’s new book Slow Down, World is out now and available to watch on the Story Box Library website. Read by the delightful Emilie Zoey Baker, Slow Down, World is a beautifully reassuring and very special story that you'll want to watch again and again. 

We caught up with Tai to discuss her inspiration for the book, her collaboration with Smiling Mind, and the connection she had with her childhood pony, Apples.

1. What inspired you to write a mindful story such as Slow Down, World?

At the time of writing Slow Down World I was actually working on developing another book about how animals make babies (which never eventuated). It was a really busy time in my life, with two young kids, a very busy partner and a million projects and I felt a bit like everything was spiralling out of control. I started working with clay and getting slightly obsessed with carving out more ‘me time’ for me and my kids. I actually ended up ditching the book I was working on, which felt a bit forced,  and pitching this book to my publisher instead. From memory I think I even cancelled a contract! I felt like it was really necessary - for not just me, but a lot of busy mums and kids out there. Time and which direction you are going with your work is actually something we can control! Sometimes we all need to be reminded to slow down and make space for real creativity to grow. 

2. We love how the book was written in conjunction with Smiling Mind, can you tell us a little more about your partnership with them in creating the book?

Yes, I love Smiling Mind! Both my kids listen to it every night before bed, its a great way for them to focus on their breathing and their bodies and get out of their heads and ready for sleep. I just thought it would be great to get them to help me with the guided exercises at the back of the book, with their experience and team of writers. When I approached them they were so into it! It ended up being such a lovely, serendipitous process working with them- no money changed hands! We were all on the same page and really felt like we were fighting for the same cause - saner, slower, happier humans! 

Image courtesy of Tom Ross

3. How long does it take you to create the characters and scenery for a book like this? And why did you choose to use clay as a medium to work with?

It takes me a while to be honest. Some might say my whole life up to this point! The character in the book is based on me as a little girl and the freedom and courage I felt with my pony. The process of using clay grew organically from my fine art studio practice, where I had been working with ceramic wall-based painting and assemblages for the year or so leading up to starting the book. I have become fascinated with clay. A big part of my love of clay comes from the fact that it requires getting my hands dirty and when my hands are dirty I can’t touch my phone! It’s a kind of enforced practice of being in the moment, using my 3D ‘making brain’ rather than being obsessed with flat images and my digital existence.

Images courtesy of Tom Ross

4. Can you tell us more about the 'hidden snails'?

As a kid I always loved hidden things in books. I was a big fan of Graeme Base and Where’s Wally as are my boys now. In my first book, ‘The Family Hour in Australia’, I hid a clock on each page and when I read the book aloud to kids in schools or kindergartens they always became even more engaged when they knew there was something to hunt for! I’m pretty sure every book I make from now on will include a searching element. I’m actually working on a new book idea and I think it will also have a ‘solving’ element.

Image courtesy of Tom Ross

5. What do you like to do to slow down your world?

Clay! But also walking. I listen to a lot of podcasts. I actually just made a podcast too! I like to fallow time in the evening in summer or morning to take myself for a long walk along the Merri Creek and get deep into my thoughts while noticing the incredible beauty of nature. I swim laps, too. Things like that that allow me to escape my routine and my overactive brain for a bit and get into my physical body and offline. ‘Slow' is not necessarily just about speed- it is also a mindset of tackling things in your own time and trying to tap into your own flow.

How do you like to slow down?

Flip to the last page of Slow Down, World to read Tai’s Ways to Slow Down, written in collaboration with Smiling Mind. Our favourite way to slow down is to go for a walk outside and roar into the wind, but you might like to practice gratitude before bed or to imagine you’re under the sea.

[doingfeminism-sharingtheworld]

Residency: Art/Mums Collective

This coming week, we welcome the Art/Mums Collective (Clare Rae, Tai Snaith, Eugenia Lim, Gabrielle De Vietri, Jessie Scott, Claudia Phares, Hanna Tai, Nina Ross) to our residency program from 5 - 11 February.

Clare Rae, 1D18, from the series 20+9+5, 2014-5

Art/Mums is a collective of Melbourne based artists who are also mothers. Working with concerns and restrictions related to parenting and maintaining an art practice, they seek to unpack concepts that give a voice to their experiences. They hope the group represents what it is to work as an Art/Mum and in turn act as a resource for future generations. The group’s members include Nina Ross, Clare Rae, Claudia Phares and Eugenia Lim, amongst others.

[thelittlebookroom]

TAI SNAITH IS COMING TO STORYTIME TODAY!!! ・・・ #Repost @taisnaith_for_kids ・・・ In super exciting news- I have some FRAMED, limited edition prints now available at @little_bookroom ! Such a gorgeous shop with every kids book you will ever need!! 📚❤️✨ (at The Little Bookroom)

[chihilog]

The Northcote home of Tai Snaith and family. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files. http://ift.tt/2AU7X0I http://ift.tt/2ix3Wbx

[ahomeartgallery]

Throwback Tuesday - painting and ceramics by Tai Snaith from our 06.07.16 exhibition.

[wefodanielle]

Quite taken by these @taisnaith assemblages at work @townhallgallery today. Pop in and say hi. I'm here till 4pm... Tai Snaith Pull of the Centre 1-6 2017 Glazed porcelain and stoneware, custom made bronze hooks Dimensions variable (at Town Hall Gallery)