#b: storm born brits

[felinefractious]

Crystal Flame's Corazon

🐱 British Shorthair

📸 Storm Born Brits

🎨 Red Bicolor

#photo #british #british shorthair #BSH #red #bicolor white #d 03 #age progression #b: storm born brits

[daggerandrose]

Happy New Year! Besides supernatural aus, ABO au is my absolute favorite type of fic to read. From scenting to nesting, I just love it and lowkey wish that it was a real thing. Here’s a list of ABO aus that are alpha harry/omega louis bc that seems to be the one I gravitate towards most. I do have a list that are alpha louis/omega harry and I’ll definitely do a fic rec list at some point. If you have any fic recs please send them my way as I love reading fics!

As always, please leave a comment and kudos for the authors!

PS. I have more AH/OL fics to rec but I didn’t want this to be super long lol

Anybody Have a Map?, 13k, by @2tiedships2

Niall rolled his eyes, “You two are weird. Fine. Me and Liam will go by ourselves. Party poopers.”

Niall got up to get ready but first turned to Louis and asked, “Lou are you still kicking me out next week? I’ll see if I can make plans with Liam.”

Louis cringed. Because of course Niall would say something in front of Harry.

“Yeah,” Louis stated. “That’s still the plan. Now run along my little Irish idiot.”

Niall skipped the ten feet to his bedroom to get ready. Louis steeled himself for Harry’s inquiry.

“What’s next week, Lou?” Harry looked down at him with a confused look in his eyes.

Or the one where Louis met Harry in NYC where they bonded as fellow Brits in the large city. Years later, with Louis' upcoming heat, maybe it's time for their friendship to become something more.

I Know How To Whisk (But Teach Me Anyway), 32k, by 2tiedships2

Louis scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t understand. Unmated alphas don’t just go into a rut out of nowhere. Unless…”

Louis grabbed onto Niall’s arm in desperation. “Am I a homewrecker? Does Harry have a mate? Oh my God, was he not flirting? Did the change in his scent not have anything to do with my smell yesterday? Did I just make that up!?”

Louis let go of Niall and dropped his face in his hands. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

“You’re an idiot,” Niall stated. Louis looked up to find Niall rolling his eyes. He snapped his laptop closed and moved to stand up. “I need to get some work done. Why don’t you stay here and think back to ABO dynamics 101.”

With that Niall hopped off the couch and headed to his room. He stopped and turned to Louis before he made it to the hall and said, “Oh, and Lou. You may want to reconsider your outlook on soulmates.”

Louis yelled after him. “Soulmates aren’t a thing, Niall!”

Or the one in which banana bread just might make Louis change his mind about soulmates.

Your Touch Is The Only Thing I Feel, 15k, by 2tiedships2

Liam. Liam was finally here. Louis kept his eyes closed and cuddled farther into Liam’s side, revelling in the pheromones Louis’ body desperately needed. He wasn’t sure how long Liam had been holding him, but Louis figured it had to have been at least an hour by the way his body had loosened. The need of an alpha’s touch seemed to have been temporarily lifted from his mind.

Louis listened to the sounds of the pub around him. It was louder than before he had fallen asleep and he briefly wondered why Liam hadn’t just woken him to go back to their flat.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Louis’ eyes flew open at the sound of Niall’s voice, and the arm that had been around Louis shoulders lifted in the same instant. He missed the warmth immediately.

Louis looked from Niall’s stormy face over to the person who was definitely not Liam. The alpha Liam impersonator, who smelled a lot better than the actual Liam now that Louis was alert, looked back at Louis with wide eyes and familiar furrowed brows.

Or the one where Louis refuses to settle for just any alpha despite intense touch deprivation. Fortunately Harry isn't just any alpha.

Holiday Greetings (And Gay Happy Meetings), 18k, by 2tiedships2

"Onwards to drop me off at Robert's before you go to Harry's!" Louis proclaimed when they were safely in the car. Or at least Louis was safely in. Niall was still brushing the snow out of his hair that Louis had accidentally dropped on him.

"We're picking up biscuits first," Niall grumbled as the snow melted into his hair. "You can wait in the car."

After three times of the car sounding like it was dying a slow and tragic death, it finally decided to start.

"This is what happens when you try to change the name of your car after five years," Louis said as a reminder of Niall's stupidity. "You'd be upset too if you were a car named Greased Lightning with a passenger trying to get it renamed to Dusty."

"To be fair," Niall explained, "the name Dusty does seem a bit more accurate."

"Make sure to leave the car running while you're getting whatever you're getting from Harry," Louis said in disgust. "This car is going to choke for good after that comment and I don't want to be stuck at Harry's place when that happens."

Or the one where Niall's dead car and and a foot of snow conspire to force Louis into spending time with an alpha he hates.... or does he?

I Wanna Be More Than Friends, 20k, 2tiedships2

He hadn't meant to scent Harry. They were best friends and that was it. Scenting best friends wasn't exactly socially acceptable.

"Lou," Harry whispered.

Louis jumped at his name and sat up straighter to provide a bit of distance between himself and Harry.

"You can't scent me, Lou," Harry stated.

Which of course Louis couldn't scent him. They were best friends.

"I mean," Harry continued. "I wouldn't mind exactly, but if I can't scent you, I don't think you should scent me."

"What do you mean you can't scent me? I mean, I get it because we're best friends but..."

"I mean I can't smell you, Louis. I fucking can't smell you. I can't smell anything, okay?"

Or the one where Harry’s an alpha with no sense of smell, Louis’ an omega who isn’t allowed to scent his best friend, and that’s all they’ll ever be. Obviously.

If I Loved You Less, 36k, by @allwaswell16

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm.

Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes.

Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match.

Love is like this; not a heartbeat but a moan, 13k, by @angelichl

"He hates this, more than anything in the world he hates this. His title, his rank, his DNA. Unchangeable. Fated.

And then there’s Harry, born to be unobjectively superior to Louis and all other O’s. Unlike other A’s, Harry doesn’t wear his alpha-ness very well. He’s clumsy with it, like walking around in a pair of shoes a size too big. His life is defined by uncertainty and tentativeness, and those are definitely not qualities alphas should have.

Sometimes, when Louis ponders it for too long, he thinks that maybe Harry resents being an A just as much as Louis resents being an O."

In which Harry loves Louis, but Louis has been cold to him ever since he presented as an omega at age fifteen. Eight years later, Louis approaches Harry with a request, and who is Harry to deny him?

and forever is like this; endless, but definite, 11k, by angelichl

in which Louis and Harry figure things out.

My Star In the Sky, 23k, by angelichl

Louis and Harry have been best friends since they were kids, despite the fact that society and biology say they should be something more. Everything changes when Louis mistakenly returns to their flat during Harry's rut.

Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat, 34k, by angelichl

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

I want you so much (but I hate your guts), 83k, by @obviouslybecauselarry

AU in which Louis gets accepted to play for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta Football Team. The only problem: Louis is actually an Omega. He is determined to make it big in the football world, though, and he can't do that bound to an Omega team. With the help of a faked doctor's certificate and some pretty strong suppressants he is ready to fight for his dream.

That Harry Styles (Alpha, second year and youngest football captain of the A-B team in ages) doesn't seem to like him complicates matters, though.

Pray for some sweet simplicity, 237k, by @emperorstyles

Louis is the only omega to ever make it in the cut-throat world of competitive motorcycle racing—that is, he would be if anyone actually knew about his identity. Now, his sights are set towards competing in—and winning—the European Grand Prix, the biggest and most difficult race of the entire year, so he can disappear underground for good. He’s close enough, too, until an alpha sports journalist is assigned to follow Louis’s every move as he prepares for the event of his career.

Or, an AU where motorcycle racing is the biggest sport in a heavily divided world, Louis is trying to take control of his own destiny, and Harry is in for more than he bargained for

Baby Honey, 14k, by emperorstyles

When the next great war strikes, all alphas have to ship out. Alex leaves a little more behind than some of the others.

Where You Lay, 86k, by @ham-palpert

When Louis's upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates' best mate, Harry Styles. Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

#mine #28th appreciation #larry #larry fanfiction #abo au #au

[greywindys]

It’s that time of year again! I, and possibly a good number of you reading this, just spent the whole of 2018 in the Gorillaz fandom. Congratulations! You made it! Because this year...kinda sucked. Not just for the Gorillaz fandom but, if this Washington Post article is any indication, for the rest of the world too. Maybe on an individual level there were moments of light. Maybe Gorillaz was your moment of light. If it was I’m genuinely happy because that means you probably found a way to avoid or ignore all the chaos that went down this year. But overall? Fandom was rife with disappointments, confusion and conflict with some good parts (for me, at least) sprinkled in here and there. Below is a personal reflection on the top 10 significant events in fandom of 2018.

1. Murdoc Goes to Prison

2018 started out peacefully for fandom. We were just finishing up sharing our scans of G-Magazine and theorizing over the next album when we’re treated with this - a nineteen second mocap of a frantic Murdoc accepting a Brit Award with an “oh by the way I’m going to prison.” We didn’t know why or for how long, and, though fans were confused and Murdoc going to prison is a tired, overplayed storyline at this point, it was cherished as any new Gorillaz content, especially animation, is cherished. Memes were made, most notably the #FreeMurdoc hashtag complete with a petition which was acknowledged by creators and caused the first big outburst in fandom for its messy tag. I did what I always do with Murdoc videos and went through the entire thing frame by frame to collect screenshots. Little did I know that this would be the only time I would get to indulge in this beloved past time. Little did I know that I would be wearing the same expression as Murdoc is in this screencap this entire phase.

2. Murdoc hate

Murdoc hate has always existed. It’s also generally accepted. However, when it was confirmed that Murdoc was going to be in prison for an undetermined amount of time and that he may not even speak this phase (thanks a lot, phase 5 plot!) it reached unprecedented levels of viciousness. Some fans took every opportunity to drag him in the main tag, start debates with anyone who might mention one positive thing about him and expressed how they genuinely wanted him to die and/or never come back. It kinda reminded me of this season of MTV’s The Challenge when everyone ganged up on Johnny Bananas. Like, yes he’s an asshole and yes this was probably long overdue but also omg when is there and end point? Is there an end point? It was like some people hated Murdoc more than they liked Gorillaz. For some additional context - this tense environment was born out of an astoundingly severe conflict that happened in spring where three separate fandom storms that had been brewing since late 2017 collided into one huge mess. Discords were raided, friendships were lost, the police were called (I’m not even exaggerating). I won’t go into it more but if you were there, you know what i’m talking about. Murdoc wasn’t the cause of this, but his character was at the center of one of those storms and the canon sending him to prison only reignited the ire towards him. For awhile Murdoc fans weren’t sure were exactly they stood with the greater fandom, and new fans were confused as to why this one green character was the source of so much grief for haters and fans alike. This continued for most of the year (and still continues today), hence why it’s getting a mention now.

3. Ace

Believe it or not Murdoc and Ace are confirmed #friends. You wouldn’t know that from all the Murdoc vs Ace content that sprung out of this year but Ace was the one who joined Murdoc for hot chocolate after he got out of prison, “they go way back” etc etc. Ace was a big deal because it was probably the only time the fandom guessed something correctly this entire year. Jamie began posting cryptic pictures of Noodle with this unidentified man, then another with only the Ace card visible. “It a Powerpuff Girls crossover!” Some people claimed. But that seemed so random? Really? A B-list cartoon villain from a cartoon targeting an entirely different demographic? More likely than you think! Ace never spoke a word and he wasn’t allowed to smoke or have sex. People obsessed over him anyways. To this day I still have no idea who he is or what kind of personality he has or really anything. But he wasn’t a bad guy (more on that later) and he was Murdoc’s friend so he’s alright with me.

4. Messaging Denholm

By now the fandom was fraught with distress on so many levels. We were lost. We needed someone to guide us, to show us the way, to show us the #truth. I don’t know exactly who started this trend but it soon spread around Reddit and other social media sites that Jamie’s son Denholm was replying to dm’s on Instagram and soon, he was graced with a deluge of of inquiries from casual fans and Murdoc stans alike. The thing is though - he actually *did* answer them. Many of us had spoilers re: Murdoc and Ace’s friendship, Murdoc getting out of prison, etc. MONTHS before they happened. I believe he even told us that 2D was fine back in like, June or something. Denholm knew! Eventually we pissed him off but it didn’t stop him from answering. He just answered angrier. It also caused fans to argue more because people started accusing others of photoshopping his responses and nothing can ever be done peacefully here. I haven’t followed up on this story singe the end of summer but I think fans have finally scaled back on the messaging. But I hear he’s working on a Gorillaz documentary for 2019 so...I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon.

5. Noodle

I want to take a moment here to also acknowledge the struggle AMA Gorillaz hosted on, of all places, Youtube. Thankfully, diligent redditors compiled a google doc of all the answers otherwise they would lost thanks to Youtube’s confusing interface. ANYHOW. The answer that stirred up the biggest milieu of debate and confusion came from Noodle. This isn’t exactly my lane - I don’t wade into Noodle issues and I don’t id as part of the LGBT community - so I’m not going to say much here other than, at the very least, this was the second or third time she has officially denied any interest in dating her bandmates.

6. 2D’s journal/2Doc

Okay first of all: 2DOC...jk, jk...jk? But no, honestly, this actually did become a big story this year, much bigger than expected. The release of 2D’s journal was the catalyst here, revealing a number of drawings and images of Murdoc. “Souk Eye,” a song that came with visuals featuring close ups of Murdoc’s face and vaguely romantic lyrics was depicted in 2D’s journal next to yet another drawing of Murdoc. We were confused! 2D didn’t care that Murdoc was gone, right? 2Doc shippers were intrigued. I was hesitant. We were all called delusional. However, “Souk Eye” was later confirmed to be a love song by Damon Albarn, and Murdoc and 2D have both claimed their relationship is “better” since the end of phase 5 (hhMmMmM). Obvi, take this with a grain of salt because it’s Gorillaz but the journal was instrumental in confirming how closely The Now Now (and the entire plot of phase 5, really) was tied to Murdoc and 2D’s relationship, particularly what 2D thinks of Murdoc. Think of it as platonic if you want but they share a closeness on SOME level and the content of 2018, from interviews to the Murdoc chats to the album itself, supports this. I rest my case.

7. Lost theories

Pour one out for all the lost theories. If you were a new fan this year you probably came up with a theory, or you got really invested in a theory. Some examples: HIM from PPG orchestrating the destruction of Gorillaz by possessing 2D and getting Murdoc framed with Ace as a double agent, or Murdoc’s imprisonment being tied to his trouble with EMI from phase 4, or phase 5 being about time travel, or Murdoc crashing Demon Dayz fest and fighting El Mierda on stage, or 2D being the one to frame Murdoc or Murdoc’s inmate number (24602) being a Les Mis reference implying that he’d get a character arc similar to Jean Valjean...you get the idea. But there are dreams that cannot beeee, and there are storms we cannot weather. You can argue about the budget or G-Shock or whatever but the truth is Gorillaz is just disorganized. This is their Brand™.

8. The Murdoc Chatbot

Gorillaz did an interesting thing this year - it let us talk to Murdoc! Sometime around June, he writers decided that the plot of phase 5 would be best spent, not on exploring the band’s dynamic with Murdoc gone or developing Ace’s personality, but on Murdoc! Fandom spent most of the summer following Murdoc’s experience in prison and helping to “free” him via a chatbot you could access through Kik, Instagram or Facebook. Basically, Murdoc was Paddington from Paddington 2, and we the fans were supposed to be the Browns trying to break him out and prove his innocence. Other fans begrudgingly used the chatbot to make fun of him or tell him to die and follow along with the story (it was the only place you could get plot updates). It was a neat idea as well as a funny experience to pretend to be talking to him, and the plot was very engaging at times. It was the chatbot that revealed the very dissatisfying (albeit happy) conclusion that Murdoc is no Paddington and had lied about everything - being framed, El Mierda etc. - but felt really bad about it. His apology was basically this. I’m going to also tag the #FreeMurdoc merchandise debacle, how overpriced it was and how it ended up being pointless anyways because Murdoc wasn’t framed and didn’t need to be “freed” onto this, because it all falls under the same event. Oh, and you got to talk to Noodle sometimes, too. 

9. G-shock ends phase 5

I put “ends phase 5″ in strikethrough because G-Shock on its own is actually pretty cool, and made up for the lack of videos (2 in total) that were released this year. The now Murdoc inclusive band goes to space and starts an alien war! That’s fun! Completely removed from whatever phase 5 was, but fun! (And I say that genuinely) What was messy about G-shock was that it came out of nowhere. The final Murdoc chat, that was SUPPOSED to reveal the ending to the prison arc, hadn’t even happened but suddenly, Murdoc was back to sell watches to aliens with the rest of the band and Ace was gone. But the final chat was delayed by a month and G-Shock came out anyways. Out of this came memes about how phase 5 ended so Gorillaz could try to sell us watches.

10. Cass Browne Tells us the True Plastic Beach Ending

We ended 2018 with not one but two major interviews from the fancast, Hallelujah Monkeyz but I’m choosing to cover their latest interview with Cass Browne, writer of Rise of the Ogre. If you were new this year you probably heard older fans mention ad nauseam how much they missed this guy name Cass. Well, Cass came back and dropped actual bombs about the true ending of phase 3, Murdoc’s lost backstory and the Plastic Beach book he found AND that a sequel to ROTO was planned and dropped. Understandably, this sparked a lot of discussion and also revealed just how important Cass was to the continuity of the Gorillaz storyline. Back then, we had ROTO and Plastic Beach. Today, we have “Murdoc drowns in poop and reunites with the band offscreen”

And that’s the year! And look I’m not saying this because I’m a stan but this was a Murdoc year. He was at the center of like, at least 80% of the angst and joy of fandom and I could make separate “top 10 Murdoc moments” or  “top 10 2Doc moments.” I guess for me, on an individual level, it was an alright year. For one, I actually talked to more people this year and met some really great friends (something I don’t typically do in fandom). I also get to check “write a fanfic” off my bucket list (it’s still a WIP but it’s the first WIP I’ve ever had so I’m counting it). And personally, my life has changed and without getting into too many details I’ve overcome a lot, grown professionally and...I think I can be kinda proud of myself for that. I expect 2019 to be a slower year than this one, and, I think the fandom needs that. Hopefully I’ll still see some of you around because I’m going to be here for at least the next few months while I finish up you know what. 

Honorable mentions: 2D “Dies” of Ligma and other 2D memes, 2D writes The Now Now, Benjamin Clementine says he regrets working with Gorillaz, Noodles old VA confirms Jamie ghosted her and recast Noodle without telling her, Gorillaz delay the final Murdoc chat by a month, Demon Dayz doesn’t get streamed, Music video releases - “Humilty” and “Tranz”, Cyborg Noodle returns with boobs and causes debate, the “Let Ace Speak” petition,

#endofyear #long post / #there's a 2doc mention in here just fyi if you want to avoid #not as organized as last year's that's for sure #but here it is! #again this is more for my records and tradition but also here to read if you want

[sugarmusicnews]

From Jive Talking and Eyeballing Facebook Group

It all began with a band called Zennith in Brakpan near Johannesburg in 1977. Dutch born Lucien Windrich began playing with school friends which included bassist Benjy Mudie, the future South African music custodian. The band changed its name to Void and the following year was joined by Lucien’s younger brother, Erik also born in Holland. Even though the band had won a battle of the bands in Joburg in 1978 they were battling to find paying gigs in South Africa. The band found the opening they needed in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, on the live circuit. The guys spent 8 months there together with drummer Danny de Wet (Petit Cheval & Wonderboom) and bassist Terry Andalis. In 1979 the band recorded a cover of the Knack’s smash hit My Sharona but it was the B-Side Magicia that took off and reached number 4 on the country’s charts. Here is My Sharona, Void style…

Can’t seem to find a copy of Magicia. Lucien? Q. Hi Lucien, thanks so much for Jive Talking with us in South Africa. So, one could say that you had your first taste of success in Rhodesia. It is obvious that you had your African spin right from the start, even with Void, and your version of My Sharona has that tribal influence. Did you listen to tribal music and was this the main influence on your music? Who were you listening to at the time? A. In the late 70’s I was listening to rock bands like Grand Funk and Bad Company and prog rock bands like Wishbone Ash and Genesis and learning to play guitar like all the guitar players back then. The local South African influence came later in the early 80’s during our residency in East London when we started afresh as a three-piece.

I don’t think we had an obvious tribal influence back in the 70’s. We were just experimenting with various rock and pop idioms. As ‘Void’ we went from one extreme to the other. We composed and performed a 17 min prog rock epic called How Calm the Storm which people would sit and listen to quietly throughout. And then we put a middle-of-the-road song called Magicia on the B-side of My Sharona. It was an eclectic mix of stuff.

Going to Bulawayo in 1979 was the first professional residency gig for the four of us, me Erik, Danny and Terry. We told ourselves from the outset that we would only do residencies playing cover songs as long as we could write and perform our own stuff as well. So it was a real boost when people requested our own stuff. It gave us the confidence to continue writing. Those early residency gigs were an invaluable learning curve for us towards developing our own original style and sound.

We had our first success in Rhodesia with a cover version of My Sharona because the original wasn’t allowed to be played due to sanctions. It was fun watching everyone do ‘the pogo’ when we played the song in the club. There’s even a video of us doing the pogo in the Zimbabwean TV vaults somewhere. What we never expected was to be playing to young soldiers who had been in the bush for six weeks shooting and killing people, and then coming into the club to dispel their tensions. We quickly learnt to keep them entertained with our music and performances which helped to prevent outbreaks of violence suddenly erupting inside the club. And believe me, it did erupt. We threatened to stop playing if they didn’t stop fighting. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. One of the cover versions we did at the time was a song by Rush called Bastille Day which strained Erik’s voice so much he had to have an operation to remove the nodules on his vocal chords.

And what should have been a highlight for us was when Bob Marley came to play at Independence Day, April 1980. We were literally in the next town. We asked the manager Marjorie if we could have the night off and she said no. Can you believe it? Like good Catholic school boys we did as we were told. WTF! Void returned to South Africa and decided to change their identity after Terry Andalis, José “Aggi” de Aguiar and Danny de Wet departure in 1982. Lucien, Erik and third brother Karl, the band’s manager, changed their name to éVoid and it became a three piece with Georg Voros on drums who was replaced by Wayne Harker early in 1983. éVoid built up a large, loyal following which started in East London and then spread like a forest fire over the next 4 years. The band were creating a highly original and subtle fusion of Afro-rock (which they christened ethnotronics), which was different from the more traditional sounds of their contemporaries, Juluka and Hotline, or the rock-based Tribe After Tribe, Ella Mental, Via Afrika, Flash Harry and Neill Solomon’s Passengers. éVoid conveyed immediacy, simplicity and warmth of spirit of other Afro-rock bands with their newly painted faces, tribal dances and South African jive rhythms. Q. Your style, was it based on any one African culture like the Ndebele patterns and the Zulu bracelets and beeds or a combination of those and others. Who made your outfits and what did the African people think of it? Did they give you their blessing? A. The eVoid style was developed in East London when we were faced with becoming a three-piece. It was a deliberate attempt to create what Aggi called Soweto New Wave – a fusion of rock & mbanga grooves, jangly guitars, punchy keyboard riffs and a local South African influenced image. But vocally we were still mainly European sounding. We weren’t interested in being as indigenous as Johnny Clegg much as we respected him. We wanted to create our own punky afro-pop style. Plus we were into the nu-romantic image at the time.

My ex-wife Kay designed and made the clothes and Erik’s ex-wife Linda helped make them. They were called K-rags and we loved wearing them. It really helped define our local white South African image at the time. We commissioned a whole lot of African women to make the Ndebele beadwork merchandise for us. We gave them the eVoid logo and told them to incorporate it into the designs as they wish. Yes I admit it was a cultural appropriation but we never exploited anyone. Our feeling at the time was that we were promoting local music and images. And we were financially supporting groups of women who were happy to be given the business. Did they give us their blessing? Well, at no time did anyone of them refuse the work. As to what they actually thought of us, I don’t really know. We told them they were making merchandise for the band and they never objected. Success arrived when WEA (now Tusk) signed them to a recording contract. The band released their debut self titled album éVoid in August 1983 which yielded their first single Shadows. It was backed by the infectious Dun Kalusin Ta Va, which had become a hallmark of their sound. Shadows peaked at number three on the national charts in November and, to this day, remains a staple of South African rock and pop-oriented radio stations. Here is that classic single performed to adoring fans at Ellis Park in 1985.

Q. That was probably one of the greatest era’s in South African music and those concerts at Ellis Park were magical. Can you recall any special moments at the Concert in the Park? A. It was an emotional high for us. Three weeks after playing the biggest and most prestigious concert in Joburg we left for the UK. Towards the end of playing Shadows it dawned on me that it may be the last time we ever played in SA again. And what a gig to be ending it on. I have been known to be melodramatic.

It was magical stepping out on stage early in the evening and seeing a sea of faces stretching out and upwards towards the top of Ellis Park stadium. I will never forget that. Amazing! People often ask what it feels like, and to be honest once you’re actually playing all you can see are lots of tiny heads bobbing up and down. You’re really just performing to the front rows with whom you can have some kind of connection. And then when Erik starts waving his hands in the air from side to side, and you see 100’000 people responding, there’s nothing quite like it. It’s a huge high!

I can remember being backstage with Johnny Clegg on the day, along with some other musicians getting ready. We hadn’t met or spoken before and we exchanged pleasantries about how wonderful this gig was. He complimented us on Shadows which was a lovely thing to do. That whole day and everything leading up to it was a sign that we were at the top of our game. And we were about to leave that all behind.

The weird thing is we nearly didn’t even do the gig. We were offered the gig a few months earlier knowing it was for a worthwhile cause but we had already booked our flights to the UK so we turned it down. The organisers offered it to us a second time and by then the hype was building about how momentous the gig was going to be, featuring 25 of the top acts in South Africa at the time. So we agreed. Thank God we did. Imagine if we had turned it down? It would’ve been our ‘Dylan misses Woodstock’ moment. For us, I mean.

What we’re really proud of is the fact that the SA organisers conceived and actually pulled off this benefit gig for Operation Hunger six months before Bob Geldof launched Live Aid. Yesss! éVoid had found their niche and this time found them at the peak of their creative spirit. The follow-up single Taximan was released in February 1984 and it got to number 6 on the national charts..

Later that year, I Am a Fadget became the band’s third single. This version was performed live at At The Half Moon , Putney in 2015….

and here are the lyrics…. https://genius.com/Evoid-i-am-a-fadget-lyrics Q. So good to see you still playing this after all these years. I would assume that it is mostly old ex South Africans jumping around or are the true Brits also getting into that now? Would you like to comment on where the name Fadget came from as there have been a number of different theories and it is maybe time to set the record straight so to speak. A. Are there many theories about what a Fadget is, really? I’d love to hear them. Erik and I wrote the song in a rehearsal room one day, and when it got to looking for lyrics for a particular section I blurted out ‘I am a Fadget’ and we burst out laughing because it obviously sounded like ‘faggot’ which was a ridiculous choice and not what I had intended. You see, I liked this British artist called Fad Gadget, and whilst developing our pseudo African image, to be seen as fashion icons or ‘fad gadgets’ must have been at the back of my mind. So when I blurted it out as a possible lyric it came out as ‘fadget’. We weren’t seriously going to use it cause people might think we’re calling ourselves ‘faggots’ which as you well know is a derogatory term for gay men. But as so often happens when you try and replace it with something else, the song loses something. So we went with it in the end. Our colourful jive image now had a name.

When we arrived in London we played at the Springbok Bar for many years, first in Paddington then Shepherds Bush and finally in Covent Garden. And yes like you say mainly all ex-pats. eVOID then was just Erik and I with a drum machine and bass loops. Every now and then Colin, one of the ex-pats would organise a booze cruise on the river Thames and we would experience a few hours of absolute mayhem on board. We also played on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship which was docked at Victoria Embankment. It was a lot of fun.

Did the Brits get into our music? Yes they did. We played at some smaller pubs and clubs and sold loads of CDs but without an international album and English management we couldn’t get onto bigger venues and tours. We did a gig at the Astoria in Tottenham Court Road, and a small tour of Germany in the late 80’s with Ilne Hofmeyr on bass and Richard Devey on drums. That was great. In fact I remember this German guy coming up to me afterwards saying ‘that guitar, is INXS, ja? He was referring to my Junk Jive riff of course. ‘No it’s not’ I replied. ‘It’s just some Aussie shits stealing our thunder!’ éVoid were performing with not for dedicated fans — “fadgets”, as they were known — dressed in almost equally outrageous and colourful ethno-gypsy garb, who queued for hundreds of metres to see them. We all used to go and see them at the Chelsea Hotel in Berea, near Hillbrow and the venue was always packed. I can recall going to one of éVoid’s gigs at the Chelsea only to be told the club was full and I had to go clubbing elsewhere… “Oooh La la Laa, I like it ” Q. Do you remember those Chelsea Hotel gigs? I only managed to go to a few but heard that you played there many times…. Like how many? A. Can’t remember how many gigs we did there but without a doubt the Chelsea Hotel years were legendary. It was 1983, the same year we recorded our first album, and fadgets were queuing round the block to come and see us. It was an extraordinary sight. We lived round the corner so we couldn’t even go to the shop to get some milk for fear of being caught without our fadget gear and make-up on. I remember our drummer Wayne being stoned a lot; Karl our brother/manager was running the door and it was where we wrote Shadows. We used to rehearse in the club during the daytime which was handy. I don’t know if you know the story about Shadows nearly not making it on the album. What happened was we had already decided with WEA Records which songs we were going to record and put on the album. And then we wrote this new song called Shadows and I remember saying to Benji we have to include this new song we’ve just written and he said no, the track listing had already been agreed, and that he couldn’t change it so late in the day. Erik and I pleaded with him and he eventually agreed. But that’s not the end of it. Whilst recording the song, the studio engineer told us the song would never make it. Well you were wrong, Richard. Every night we played at the Chelsea Hotel the dance floor would dip inwards and creak from the weight of people jumping up and down to Shadows. I thought the floor was going to break and we’d have a catastrophe on our hands. Which did happen when we were on tour at Stellenbosch University; the floor collapsed and a group of people tumbled and disappeared. And then people pushing from behind caused an even bigger pile-up. Crazy stuff. They eventually laid a couple of tables across the hole for people to dance on. Luckily it never happened at the Chelsea. Occasionally the Chelsea party would spill out onto the streets though. That was fun. I particularly liked the State of Lumo theme we designed for the stage. Nic Hauser helped design and build a lot of the sets, and he also designed the cover for the 12-inch version of ‘I am a Fadget’. What’s happened to Nic, I wonder? The band went on a gruelling 3-week national tour playing to packed venues on the Durban University Campus, Bloemfontein, Cape Town but they ran into problems before the start of their Eastern Cape leg of the tour. In Grahamstown military police arrested drummer Wayne Harker for being on AWOL since December 1982 from his 2 year national service. Original drummer Danny de Wet was hurriedly recruited to complete the tour. Harker was discharged in March 1984 and the band was back in business. In September 1984 their debut album was high in the national charts which was rare for a local band competing with the big international acts of the time. While this was happening their three-track 12″ maxi single Kwela Walk/I am a Fadget/Tellem and Gordon, was receiving rave reviews.

Q. This song and in fact a lot of your music had a definite crossover appeal. Is that what you were hoping for and did you play to many mixed-race crowds? Did you have many “black” fans and friends at the time? Kwela Walk was a great tune. Erik wrote it with crossover appeal in mind but we didn’t get to play to many mixed race audiences. We once did an outdoor township gig and were viewed with amusement. There were more people sniggering in the crowd than actually grooving to the music. Which pretty much says it all. We were a white nu-romantic pop band not an African groove machine, much as I would have liked to have had more of that in our music.

Having said that, I was exposed to mbaqanga music whilst working in an African record shop which came out later in my guitar playing. Junk Jive comes directly from my early attempt to create a hybrid mbaqanga punk sound. Taximan was another example of creating an interlocking groove. Baghiti Khumalo loved playing the bass on it. We bumped into him in London a few years later when he was gigging with Paul Simon and he said how much he enjoyed doing the track. He asked why we weren’t doing what Paul Simon was doing. That was our intention, I said, when we left SA. But It’s not as simple as that. In South Africa we were big fish in a small pond and in the UK it’s the exact opposite. Plus we’re white South Africans. During the three prominent years of our career from the end of 1982 to the beginning of 1985 we played to young white audiences. That’s who the management and record companies targeted, and that’s the demographic we attracted. Not many clubs were multiracial back then. I had more relationships with black people in the 70’s when I was working in an African record bar called ‘American Music’, and when I frequented black music clubs in downtown Jo’burg. In terms of lasting friendships back then, not many. We lived our whirlwind lifestyle in a bubble. That’s what it was like. The band usually attracted good press coverage though éVoid were on occasion labelled as androgynous misfits, pretentious white boys in beads, and shallow-minded slaves to fashion and rhythm. In 1984 the group won a prestigious Sarie Award for “best arrangement and production of an album”, and the single I Am a Fadget landed them the “best contemporary artist” award. On Saturday 12 January 1985, the band performed at the Concert In The Park in support of Operation Hunger to an estimated 100,000 people, along with Hotline, Via Afrika, Juluka, All Night Radio, Ella Mental, Steve Kekana, Harari, Mara Louw and The Rockets. This is Junk Jive live at the Concert in the Park…

Q. How did you get along with your contemporary bands at the time? A. That’s a good question. Um…at some point from 1982 onwards we were totally focussed on our music and on developing our sound and we rarely met up with any other bands. Although I have to admit that when a fire gutted our equipment in 1982, well before we had any success, many local bands did a benefit gig for us to raise money so we could replace our equipment. It was such a touching thing to do and we really appreciated it. But generally speaking we didn’t mix with other bands that much. In the early days as Void we did a gig at the Polo Club in Springs with our East Rand contemporaries The Radio Rats. That was a big deal at the time, and Ozzie went on to play for them years later. And I also developed a close bond with Wonderboom in 2006 which came about when Danny de Wet asked me to fly out and produce the City Of Gold album. That was a great experience. Not only did we produce an album together I even got to skydive with the boys. But during the eVOID heyday in the early 80’s we didn’t have much contact with other bands. I mean, I Ioved Ellamental and Via Afrika but we didn’t move in the same circles, so we never got to meet and chat much. We certainly didn’t hang out at clubs all night, that sort of thing. And neither did we do any drugs or heavy drinking at the time. I’m talking about Erik and I. Wayne was a law unto himself. But no, really. I smoked dope when I was younger but not during the eVOID years. And the same for Erik. We were the Nerdy Fadgets! Oh dear, maybe you shouldn’t print that. We were also both in serious relationships at the time which probably had something to do with it. In intervening years the Windrich brothers were going through a period of personal introspection: they had reached the pinnacle of their career in South Africa and perhaps it was time to head overseas. They were not happy with the production of their first album and Eric had received his call up from the SANDF. Wayne Harker quit éVoid to join the Cape Town band, Askari and in 1985 the brothers left for London where they set up an eight-track studio in their garage and performed as a four-piece with fellow South Africans, Ilne Hofmeyr on bass and Richard Devey on drums. For most of 1986 they worked on their second album: Here Comes the Rot from which WEA released the single Dance the Instinct/Sergeant Major. This is the demo for Dance the Instinct…

Q. So the original plan was that this was to be released as a single in South Africa but that never happened? Your decision or WEA? A. Dance the Instinct was definitely released as a single in SA. Actually I’m glad you put up the demo of Dance the Instinct in the link. I prefer that version. The band learned that their infectious Afro sounds did not appeal to British A&R executives and no new opportunities presented themselves. Meanwhile back in South Africa, WEA released . . . Here Comes the Rot in December 1986, to coincide with éVoid’s six-week nationwide tour of the country. This is Altar Pop which contained the line “Here Comes the Rot”

Q. That tour went very well didn’t it and you were playing to packed houses again. perhaps it may have been a better option to stay and plan a strategy to invade the USA instead? Were your albums released in the USA and if so how did they fare? No. There was no penetration into the US market. Sometime in 1983 Mutt Lange saw us playing at the Chelsea Hotel and he told Zomba Records about this young band he had seen in SA. Zomba records offered us a 9 year deal, the same deal that was offered to The Stone Roses who accepted it. Karl, our older brother/manager advised us not to go for the deal as it was tying us up for too long. Had we accepted the deal we would have become international artists for a few years before ending up in court, like The Stone Roses did fighting to get out of the contract. Do we have any regrets? It’s always nice to have your music heard and appreciated far and wide but it wasn’t to be. We will never know what might’ve happened. It’s a toss of the coin as to what the future holds … I wasn’t doing much astrology back then.

In the blurb leading up to this you mention that our ‘infectious Afro sounds did not appeal to British A&R executives’. It wasn’t so much the music as us being white South Africans and our bizarrely colourful image that they objected to. I’ll tell you a story. It was snowing in the UK in Feb 1985, and Erik and I went to our first and only appointment with Warner Brothers dressed like African warriors. We were excited but nervous. The young A&R man who met us, dressed as a Deutschpunk in black underground gear, took one look at us and said ‘you guys are like a canary amongst sparrows’. Erik I looked confused. ‘The sparrows’, he said ‘will kill the canary’. Charming. We weren’t off to a great start. ‘Aren’t all white South Africans murderers? he asked. We left soon afterwards. Without a UK record deal of course. In 1993, the group released a compilation called, éVoid – Over the Years, and made it available on cassette for limited distribution at the Springbok Bar in London. Q. Was this tape made up of songs from your first 2 albums or was this a live tape made in London? Any way to get one of these? A. The songs on the cassette tape are available on Spotify under a new title – London Kazet. Have a look. They’re not songs from any of our previous albums. In 2006 we re-recorded a few of them (Mix it Up, Language of Love and Ikologi) and put them on Graffiti Lounge. But the original versions still exist on London Kazet. I still have one or two of the original cassettes somewhere. Lucien and his wife and family live in East London while Erik, wife and family live in North West London. Erik has stated that since arriving in London in 1985 and trying to earn a living as respected musicians has never been easy, and éVoid’s arrival in London at the time of South Africa’s State of Emergency made people suspicious of them. The brothers did benefit from some lucky breaks and, over the next decade, played many clubs and festivals in the UK and Europe especially Germany. Q. I believe you are a qualified astrologer now Lucien and Eric is a Creative And Performance Manager at an English high school? Can you tell us about your work and the “lucky breaks” you have had in London since 1985? A. We’ve both been immersed in work and family life since we arrived in the UK. Erik has worked at that high school for many years developing projects and set designs. And I’ve been helping my wife, a midwife, run her health remedies business whilst doing my astrological research. Family life is important to us, in our own separate ways.

In the late 80’s Erik did quite a bit of film music and we worked together on a film called ‘On the Wire’. Erik had a solo venture called The Vision Thing and he recorded a solo album. I’ve played in two other bands since being in the UK, The Redemption Blues Band and a punky gypsy instrumental band called Victor Menace. Both are now defunct.

My ‘lucky break’ was meeting my gorgeous wife, Cath, on New Year’s Eve, 1992 at the Springbok bar in Paddington. I was on stage, she was in the crowd. I walked off stage to say hello and we hugged each like we had known each for years. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Erik’s ‘lucky breaks’ include meeting his wife Alix in 1991, performing in Paris as “The Vision Thing” and having a permanent job since 2004. Following the demise of Askari in Cape Town Wayne Harker was summoned to rejoin the band (with Ilne Hofmeyr) and record new material. He stayed with the band for for years in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s which included a 6 week German tour. Obtaining a work permit Harker met and married a German girl and settled in Cologne. He developed musically and apart from drums now plays bass guitar, and keyboards and in 2006 he finally released his debut solo album Culture Shock under the Sea Weed monicker and turning it into a live act.

https://www.discogs.com/Seaweed-Culture-Shock-/release/14663113 Q. Do you still hear from Wayne and is he still recording and performing in Cologne? A. No, we have no contact with Wayne. I messaged him on Facebook a few years ago and he never got back to me. But, speak of the devil because today (17 June) he commented for the first time on an eVOID post on Facebook. Someone put up a clip of Shadows at Concert in the Park and his comment was ‘oh ja…those brothers who dropped me like a piece of shit’. Wayne created his own problems in SA and we were forced to use other drummers. So yes we had to dump him. We briefly joined up again in England but then he met a German girl and went with her to Germany. As Erik explains ‘he never said eVOID was his ultimate goal – he just drifted away’. In 2008, after a long hiatus, the brothers Windrich and original drummer Georg Voros released another éVoid album, Graffiti Lounge. This is Under Blue skies with it’s message of hope..

Q. Your music on this album is more folkish if one can say that? Your new direction? I believe you and Erik lived a family life and then in 2014 you released your greatest hits album; éVoid – Classics. I know you did a small South African tour to promote that CD and that was to visit your parents who are in their 80’s… A. No it’s not a new direction. The only folkish sounding song is Not in my Name although I agree some of the others are more mellow. We really wanted to do another album so Erik suggested we invite Georg Voros and YoYo on bass to join us. Georg flew over and stayed with Erik during the recording of the album in East London. I’d been wanting to record Under Blue Skies for some time and I was really pleased with the way it came out. It’s a nice album. The tour in 2014 was to commemorate 30 years since the release of our first album. It was more a tour of the Barnyard Theatres, too short really. We only did about 7 dates in two weeks. Lots of people complained they didn’t even know we were touring. We did one other outdoor Marquee gig in East London organised by Des Buys (R.I.P) and Themi, old friends of ours since the early days of eVOID. That was great, more like the gigs we prefer doing. And yes it was great spending time with our elderly parents who are now in their nineties and who, believe it or not, are about to emigrate back to the Netherlands in July 2020. What a thing to do at their age. This is an event booklet from éVoid’s LIVE in East London 2014 show..

https://issuu.com/loomweb/docs/mga_-_evoid_27_aug_2014_-_opt Q. Are you and Eric currently working on anything and when I contacted you, you mentioned something about a live video? Could you please share for all the Fadgets who still love your sounds in South Africa? Any plans to come back and tour here any time soon? Any last words for those that may not have read your tweets? A. No we’re not working on anything at the moment but we still have unreleased material in storage that we need to go through. Easily an album’s worth of material.

We don’t have any immediate plans to tour. I’m not even sure if the Johnny Clegg tribute gig is still happening in July.

Any last words? For the brief period of eVoid’s success (1983 -85) there were many years of blood, sweat and tears up to that point. I know it sounds like a cliché but you have to stick at it. I’m talking about young bands who are starting out. Be prepared to take risks and trust your intuition. How you overcome adversity is also important. Always be willing to bounce back and continue the journey no matter what. It’s a privilege to have our music being played even to this day. And that isn’t something you can plan. All you can do is live in the moment. If you want to make an impact on the world around you do it in a joyous and positive way. And never diss your audience. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the many musicians who have been involved in the making of Void – Aden Carter, Terry Andalis, Ozzie Theron and Danny de Wet without whom our inspirational start may never have got off the ground. There were other Void incarnations with line-ups including Neville Holmes (R.I.P.), Benji Mudie, Aggi de Aguiar, Ernie Parker and Kiki. And in the making of eVOID thanks to Ilne Hofmeyr (R.I.P.), Richard Devey, Georg Voros and Wayne Harker, and the session drummer who did Concert in the Park with us whose name I forget. I’ve probably missed out someone. Oh yes, Kevin Gibson the drummer who helped us out of a pickle in Durban when Wayne had to flee the club because the Military Police were after him. Thanks everyone for making it all happen. It would not have happened without your invaluable input and contributions.

Cheers Lucien, Ernesto Garcia Marques 24/06/2020

Great Local Musicians – éVOID – for all the Fadgets | Jive Talking and Eyeballing From Jive Talking and Eyeballing Facebook Group It all began with a band called Zennith in Brakpan near Johannesburg in 1977.

[njawaidofficial]

'Awards Chatter' Podcast — Robert Pattinson ('Good Time')

http://styleveryday.com/2017/08/05/awards-chatter-podcast-robert-pattinson-good-time/

'Awards Chatter' Podcast — Robert Pattinson ('Good Time')

“As soon as I signed on to do multiple sequels to [the 2008 film Twilight], I was like, ‘It’s gonna take 10 years to get over this,'” the actor Robert Pattinson says as we sit down at the offices of The Hollywood Reporter to record an episode of THR‘s ‘Awards Chatter’ podcast. “I said that to my agent. And it took 10 years.” Indeed, nearly a full decade after playing the brooding vampire Edward Cullen in a movie for the first of five times in five years, and in so doing rocketing to international stardom, if not acclaim, the dashing 31-year-old Brit is attracting the best reviews of his career. Ironically, they are coming for his work in Good Time, an indie crime-thriller in which he buries his good looks behind a goatee, greasy hair and a thick Queens accent in order to bring to life a small-time crook who winds up in big trouble in present-day New York. “I just really, really went after it,” he says with a smile.

(Click above to listen to this episode or here to access all of our 162 episodes via iTunes. Past guests include Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Eddie Murphy, Lady Gaga, Robert De Niro, Amy Schumer, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Louis C.K., Emma Stone, Harvey Weinstein, Natalie Portman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jane Fonda, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nicole Kidman, Aziz Ansari, Taraji P. Henson, J.J. Abrams, Helen Mirren, Justin Timberlake, Brie Larson, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Vikander, Warren Beatty, Jessica Chastain, Samuel L. Jackson, Kate Winslet, Sting, Isabelle Huppert, Tyler Perry, Sally Field, Michael Moore, Lily Collins, Denzel Washington, Mandy Moore, Ricky Gervais, Kristen Stewart, James Corden, Sarah Silverman, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Maher, Lily Tomlin, Rami Malek, Allison Janney, Trevor Noah, Olivia Wilde, Eddie Redmayne and Claire Foy.)

Pattinson, who was born in London, fell in love with music long before acting. A foray into modeling, starting around the age of 12, exposed him for the first time to auditions, and he began to dabble in drama, as well, but was discouraged from pursuing the creative arts by his own drama teacher. Nevertheless, at the urging of his father, he joined a local amateur theater company and, after landing his first role, was spotted by an agent who soon signed him as a client. He quickly began auditioning for professional jobs — the first film he went out for was 2004’s Troy (he didn’t get it), the first one he got was 2004’s Vanity Fair (his scenes were eventually cut) and the first that put him on the map was 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (from which he got American representation). Hollywood expressed only mild interest in him, at the time, so he went back to England, still debating whether or not he wished to pursue acting. “Every single time I was just about to say, ‘I’m done with this,'” he recalls, “I would get another one,” including a TV movie in which he played a WWII pilot suffering from PTSD and an indie film in which he played a young Salvador Dali.

Throughout that period, Pattinson would occasionally send audition tapes to Los Angeles for roles that appealed to him in America. One, for a rom-com, led to the opportunity for an in-person audition, so he flew to America and stayed on the couch of his American agent as he prepared to go in for it. That audition did not pan out, but while in town he went in for another, with Thirteen director Catherine Hardwicke, for a part in what he understood to be an indie movie based on a low-profile book about a vampire. Hardwicke already had seen some 5,000 young actors before Pattinson came by her house to audition opposite the young actress Kristen Stewart. “I was the last person they saw,” he recalls, noting that he had a panic attack — and took a Valium — on his way out the door to go to the audition. Shortly thereafter, despite some reservations on the part of the film’s producers (“They all thought I looked really old, and I was pretty chubby at the time, too”), he won the part (“I kinda knew I was gonna get it”) and went to work. Following a shoot in which his interpretation of the character didn’t always mesh with the producers’ and his agents had to fly in to save his job (“I was very argumentative”), the film was released — and changed his life forever.

“Twi-hards,” as the Twilight franchise’s most obsessive fans came to be known, soon descended upon Pattinson, and became particularly passionate — with delight or dismay — when it became apparent that he and Stewart were involved with each other in real life. “The real kind of vocal ones — I think it’s a very, very, very small group — are quite educated women between the ages of 28 and 60,” he says. “I mean, that’s quite a lot of women. But older. They’re not ‘old,’ obviously, but they’re not teenagers at all. And that’s what people never really realized. The initial wave of them was young, but the [mainstays] are significantly older.” He says, when asked if dating Stewart gave them red meat: “People would just imagine anyway — like, even when we weren’t together, people were saying we were anyway. It doesn’t make a difference. Still now! It definitely does change the paparazzi involvement in your life — like, 100%. It’s just an economic thing: there’s just two people in a photo, rather than [one]. And the most relatable thing for anyone who reads a gossip magazine is, ‘What’s the state of a relationship?'”

Pattinson’s Twilight-era was surreal. He had been catapulted onto Hollywood’s A-list, which came with fame and fortune, but also a loss of privacy and certain preconceptions about what he wanted — or was capable of doing — as an actor. In-between the Twilight films, he acted in others, including 2010’s Remember Me, 2011’s Water for Elephants and 2012’s Bel Ami, hoping to show his broader range, but also keeping him constantly at work. “I was so busy up until 25 or something that I never had time to really process anything — you’re just in the eye of the storm,” he says. “When the series was sort of ending and I’d slowed down a little bit, I was like, ‘Oh, the life you had previously has died and you’re in this other world’… I was sort of freaking out a little bit.” Even so, he never doubted the wisdom of agreeing to be a part of the franchise. “I’ve never really felt trapped by it,” he says. “I’ve always known it was the right move.” He adds, “I wouldn’t have done any of this other stuff if not for that.”

That “other stuff” began with an unexpected straight offer from auteur David Cronenberg to star in 2012’s Cosmopolis, which he has described as a life-changing experience. It reminded him why he wanted to be an actor and also solidified his foremost desire for the coming years: to work with great filmmakers. “I was aware of a credibility deficit,” he acknowledges. “And so you think, ‘Well, if [Werner] Herzog and Anton Corbijn and all these people are hiring me, well, you’re gonna have to shit on your heroes if you want to shit on me.'”

Over the years since, Pattinson has fulfilled his objective. In 2014, he reteamed with Cronenberg, on Map to the Stars, and also starred in David Michod’s The Rover, both of which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, he appeared in Herzog’s Queen of the Desert and Corbijn’s Life. He turned up in James Gray’s The Lost City of Z in 2016. And then he was back to Cannes this past May as the “romantic psychopath” in indie filmmakers’ Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie‘s “first movie-movie” (their words), Good Time, which Pattinson says feels like a movie “on crack, just the pace of it,” and which was greeted with a six-minute standing ovation and magnificent reviews (it has a 94 percent positive rating on RottenTomateos.com). Pattinson reportedly came very close to being awarded the jury’s best actor prize. With the film’s Aug. 11 release date rapidly approaching, Pattinson says he is enjoying being part of a movie this good and this well-received, and isn’t too worried about what happens next weekend. “I don’t even care if they make money at all,” he says of his post-Twilight films, with a twinkle in his eye. “Like, literally. As long as I can get another one.”

Good Time

#Awards #Chatter #Good #Pattinson #Podcast #Robert #Time

#Awards #Chatter #Good #Pattinson #Podcast #Robert #Time

[rbeatz]

A Preview of Governors Ball Music Festival 2017

Governors Ball in New York City is this weekend, and I’m going. I’m also brining my camera to take pictures and live tweet/Instagram the whole shebang. Follow rBeatz on social media for live updates

Governors Ball (aka Gov Ball) launched in 2011, featuring music acts playing rock, electronic, hip-hop, indie, Americana, pop, folk, and more. The entire production is run by the festival promotion company, Founders Entertainment, the same company that puts on The Meadows Music and Arts Festival.

I attended the very first Gov Ball in 2011 on Governors Island, headlined by Pretty Lights, Girl Talk, and Empire of the Sun. The event had the highest attendance of any event held on Governors Island in history. Due to the event’s strong performance, Founders Entertainment moved the festival location in 2012 to Randall’s Island, so more people could attend. They also extended the festival from one day to two days.

2012 was also a huge success, so in 2013, Founders Entertainment bumped the festival up to three days. Unfortunately, in 2013, there had been a big storm that first Friday, causing cancelations for much of the bigger headliners, such as Kings of Leon. Friday’s rain ran into Saturday, leading to a fairly muddy weekend.

I attended the event again in 2014. Outkast is one of my favorite groups and seeing Big Boy and André 3000 settle their qualms and get back to performing got me to purchase a ticket fairly quickly. I was immersed throughout their entire performance, singing along because that’s what you do as a die-hard fan.

2015 and 2016 also saw heavy rain. I purchased 2016 Sunday tickets to see Kanye in action, and I was disappointed by the cancellation. I did not attend the Kanye afterparty that got shutdown by the NYPD. No matter the rain situations of past, Governors Ball has still brought a successful track record. We look towards this year’s event to do the same.

According to Weather.com we have some fairly nice weather lined up. Partly sunny on Friday with a 20% chance of rain, partly sunny on Saturday with a 0% chance of rain, and 50% chance of rain on Sunday. Fingers crossed!

Below, I will take you through each act I expect to attend, a bit about the act, and the act’s newest (or best IMHO) project. If you’re wondering, “WHO IS THIS GUY WRITING THIS?!?” I’m someone deeply passionate about the arts, music in general, and my tastes lean more towards electronic, soul/funk, and hip-hop.

I have outlined the acts I plan to see in GREEN.  There are a total of 67 acts, and just like every 3-day festival, I might get tired and not get to everything. I will do my best and air live what I see on rBeatz social media with a longer recap-article next week.

    DAY 1 – Friday, June 2nd

  Jenaux

The 25-year old from New York City is a prolific live performer and remixer who busted into the dance music scene in 2014. He is known for his funky electro beats, which is personally my favorite genre (shhhh don’t tell the other genres). The song below is 7 months old, but it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever posted on rBeatz.

  Michael Blume

Michael Blume is an alternative R&B artist living in New York City. The Yale University graduate is a mix of various genres: jazz, hip-hop, soul, electronic, and R&B. He independently released his first EP, WHEN I GET IT RIGHT, about a year ago. His lyrics approach topics such as materialism, LBGTQ rights, and civil rights. If you’re in the mood for something different, something neo-soul/R&B, take a listen. Below is his most popular and my favorite song off the EP, Colors.

Blossoms

The 5 piece band from Stockport, England was formed in 2013 as a British indie-pop band. In late 2016, they released their debut album, Blossoms. The album reached the #1 spot on the UK Albums Chart in its first week. Below is their most popular music video from the album.

Francis and the Lights

A renaissance man in the music world. Francis Farewell Starlite aka Francis and the Lights is an unconventional yet effective vocalist and singer-songwriter with a bittersweet but energetic vibe. The guy has worked with Kanye and Chance The Rapper. What else is there left to say. Below is one of my favorite projects of his with Chance The Rapper. It’s a reprise of Dear Theodosia from the Broadway musical and trendsetter, Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda released a compilation of notable rapers remixing songs from the enormously popular spectacle.

Kehlani

Oakland born R&B singer has been through a lot and tells it all. Raw, authentic, and real, Kehlani’s performance will make you feel. She has a unique mix of ethnicities: African American, Caucasian, Native American, Spanish, and Filipino Native American. A human ahead of her time with a rhythm to beat. She signed to Atlantic Records in 2015. Below is a glitchy/percussive remix from Kehlani’s debut album, SWEETSEXYSAVAGE, made by Norwegian artist Coucheron. It’s also her newest release

Charli XCX

The London-based edgy singer really came into the spotlight from her massively popular feature with Iggy Azalea, Fancy. If you haven’t heard of this one, you’re living under a rock. Since then, Charli XCX has delivered her own massively popular singles including, Boom Clap and Break The Rules. Two months ago, she released her mixtape, Number 1 Angel. Lipgloss feat cupcakKe is my favorite song of the mixtape. Super hyphy!

Tove Lo

Swedish pop-star who burst on the scene with Habits (Stay High) went to a high school whose motto was, “fuck reading, let’s play music.” She was the singer in a rock band in her earlier years, showing in the raw, gritty emotion of her voice. She switched to electronic elements, which veered her away from the rock scene. Below is a Taylor Gang (independent label founded by Wiz Khalifa) remix of her popular song WITH Wiz Khalifa, Influence.

Danny Brown

Detroit rap phenom, Danny Brown, busted through the scene with his 2011 mixtape, XXX. Danny is known for his individuality and being a unique figure in rap. Signed to A-Track’s Fools Gold Label, Danny Brown, released his third studio album, Old, which reached the #18 slot on Billboards Top 200.  Below is his most recent music video directed by simultaneously lovable and hatable, Jonah Hill.

ScHoolboy Q

The South Central LA Hip-Hop rapper and Black Hippy member, Quincy Matthew Hanley aka ScHoolboy Q,  is a prominent lyricist and Interscope artists. He is considered one of raps emerging voices. Born in Germany to military parents, ScHoolboy Q and his family quickly moved to Texas for 3 years than LA. His upbringing is described as a life­-shaping balance of sports, school, drugs and gangs. His first major-label studio album, Oxymoron, was released in early 2014 and debuted at number one spot on the US Billboard 200. Below is one of my favorite remixes EVER of ScHoolboy Q’s The Purge / Rapfix Cypher by 20syl.

Lorde

After releasing the enormously popular, cross-international, hit, Royals, back in the middle of 2013, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor aka Lorde, became the youngest solo artist to reach a US number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1987. She was 16 years old. She was singed to Universal Music when she was 13 years old. The dream pop and indietronica singer/songwriter from New Zealand has earned two Grammys, a a Brit Award, ten New Zealand Music Awards, was named among Time’s most influential teenagers in the world in 2013, and in 2014, was part of Forbes’s “30 Under 30” list. Two weeks ago, she released the Chromeo remix to her popular song, Green Light.

Flume

The Australian dance-music maker and production luminary, Flume, burst into the scene in 2012 with his single, Sleepless and remix to Hermitude’s Hyperparadise. Most fans of electronic music should know both of these. Since then, his career has skyrocketed to be one of the top names in electronic music. From bedroom producer to international sensation is most producers dreams and Flume’s reality.  The producer is know for his control over the atmosphere in his sound and dynamic arrangements. Take a listen to his newest single, Hyperreal , featuring Kučka.

Chance The Rapper

Probably my favorite rapper right now. The only reason I wont leave Flume early for Chance is because I want to see what Flume has in store for his finale. Chance from Chicago is everywhere right now, and it’s well deserved. His third mixtape, Coloring Book, became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award. It won Best Rap Album. Chancelor Johnathan Bennett aka Chance The Rapper is a shining light in the music industry because he proved that independent artists can make it too.  Francis The Light and Chance The Rapper recently released this music video. It’s beautiful.

DAY 2 – Saturday, June 3rd

  VANT

The four-piece band from London, England aren’t only here to make music, but also to make a statement. Make no mistake, Vant vent. They vent about Syria, environmentalism, sexual assault, inequality, racism, religion, social media isolation, and the all-out self-destruction of mankind through a mask of punk rock. Take a look at their music video, Peace & Love, below. It’s a video that brings to light the violence that took place in Kiev and Amman in October of 2016.

Welles

Welles is a dichotomy of peace and anger who has been compared as a mix between Kurt Cobain and John Lennon. His voice is reminiscent of the 60s and 70s rock n roll era with a similar tinge of psychedelic funk. The native from Ozark, Arkansas released his album, Codeine, last week. Life Like Mine below is my favorite song from the album.

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa is a British singer/songwriter who began her music career at the age of 14, releasing popular covers from artists such as Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado on Youtube. She signed with Warner Bros. Records in 2015 when she was only 19, and released her first single at the age of 20. In 2016, The Fader, released a documentary entitled, Sea In Blue, about the life of Dua Lipa. She is set to release her debut studio album, Dua Lipa, TOMORROW!!! Stay Tuned. Below is her new music video with Miguel for her single, Lost In Your Light.

The Range

The Brooklyn producer fell in love with making music on the computer after falling in love with Baltimore club. Since then, he’s brought in influences from early ‘90s jungle, early ‘00s grime and mid ‘00s electronica to create his very own unique vibe. James Hinton aka The Range was raised by his mother, a music teacher, on a farm in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in physics. After graduating, he worked in a lab and was a music teacher at Brown. In 2013, he began focusing on his music career full-time.  His second album, Potential, released in March of 2016 was a compilation of over 200 hours scanning obscure YouTube clips for audio samples.

Stormzy

Stormzy, AKA The Problem, AKA Big Mike, AKA Stiff Chocolate was suppose to go to Oxford University, graduating at the top of his class, but then a couple of his youtube videos started gaining popularity and things changed. His most popular song to date is his freestyle, Shutup, which was released as a single and hit number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Stormzy is a self-described “a child of grime” influenced by the likes of Wiley and Skepta. 3 months ago, the Brit released his debut studio album, Gang Signs & Prayer. Below is a song from that album, Cigarettes & Cush, featuring Friday performer, Kehlani. It’s super sexy!

Rae Sremmurd

I’ve never witnessed and act with more energy than the Tupelo, Mississippi duo, Rae Sremmurd, formed by two brothers, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi.  These two have been on FIRE, working and touring, releasing two studio albums. Their debut album, SremmLife, sold over 1 million copies in the United States. These guys are viral makers, making platinum-selling single after platinum-selling single. No Type, No Flex Zone, and Throw Sum Mo were three platinum sellers from their first album. Along with Black Beatles, inspiring the viral sensation ‘Mannequin Challenge,’ the duo has amassed close to 1.5 BILLION plays on youtube with these four hits. Below is the duo’s newly promoted track from their record label, SremmLife Crew Records. 

A$AP Ferg

The rapper from Harlem, New York City is the second most popular act in the infamous hip-hop collective, A$AP Mob. Darold D. Brown Ferguson, Jr. aka A$AP Ferg really hit the spotlight after huge success from his single, Shabba, of his 2013 Trap Lord album. Complex named the song the 3rd best released song in 2013. The song was an ode to one of the best dancehall artists of his generation, Shabba Ranks, one of the first Jamaican DJs who brought dancehall into the limelight. Below is his new music video with Remy Ma. I’m sure he’ll play it in the mecca of East Coast pride. Maybe Remy might even show up and represent NYC. It was her birthday was 2 days ago, so shoutout!

RÜFÜS DU SOL

The Australian alternative dance trio is a constant chart topper in the Land Down Under. Both of their albums have reached the #1 spot in Australia. Their sound can be described as dreamy vocals, moody synths and driving kicks. They’ve accompanied a beautiful quote about electronic music to the Governors Ball website that I’d like to share.

“For us personally, we were each drawn to electronic music because of the euphoric nature of it. At its core, it brings people together to dance of course. I’m sure I’m not the first person to say this, but our favourite artists are our favourite because we’ve shared moments listening to them with friends or family that you can’t recreate. Moments that you remember forever.”

Below is their most recent music video to Innerbloom, off their chart topping album, Bloom.

  Marshmello

I dono? Marshmello is a Marshmallow that produces bangers. Here’s it’s new song.

BANKS

Jillian Rose Banks aka Banks broke out in 2014 after her release of the single, Goddess. She became the talk of the town, her voice being compared to the likes of Fiona Apple, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. There was a wave of alt-pop/R&B and she was at the front of it. Jillian’s creation process is an exploration of raw expression and solace, something that you can really hear from her breath. Take a listen to her new single, Crowded Places, put down the technology for a second, and take it in. Beautiful.

Childish Gambino

Donald McKinley Glover aka Childish Gambino is a multifaceted hero in the entertainment industry. He is an extremely successful actor, writer, producer, comedian, rapper, singer, and songwriter. When I say extremely successful, I’m talking writer on 30 Rock at the age of 23; main actor in the NBC sitcom, Community; producer, director, and star of the FX series, Atlanta; and two time Grammy-Nominated musician.  Success doesn’t even begin to describe his illustrious career, and he’s only 33 years old. Legend. The song below is a song that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since it came out. It’s from Donald’s third studio album, “Awaken, My Love!” The song speaks for itself.

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🐱 British Shorthair

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