Journal
Steely cold heartbreak, breathless haunting urban sass - FKA Twigs ('formerly known as' simply Twigs) recalls Grimes by way of Sade, mainstream r&b via The xx's ghostly minimalism. Fitting then, that the Gloucestershire-born London-based...
The Edit
Hello sailor. Taking place this weekend, Josie and Rob da Bank's family festival may go by the name of Camp Bestival, but its grown-up counterpart Bestival would do well to share its moniker this year. Born in 2003 with the mantra of being all a...
Journal
Rules, protocols, accepted conventions, norms... BORING! Whatever your opinion of The xx, they're a 21st century band doing it entirely their own way. Free from the shackles of guitar band ritual, the Wandsworth trio have dared to craft their own...
Journal
Most people probably don't, or won't, remember their 20th birthday. You'll have been having too much fun. You're young, up on the latest trends, determined to have a fucking good time, at all costs. Fast forward twenty years and you'll probably be...
Journal
Having been regularly attending gigs in Manchester for 22 years (a mixture of showing my age and starting early), there's scant that can surprise in terms of the city's venues. I've encountered the great, the not-so-great and the down-right shoddy...
Journal
It was late-2009, early 2010 when I fell in love. A spiral of bewildering Tumblr blogs, brimming with collages and post-political meanderings led to a sparsely recorded primal scream of a pop song, set to monochrome war footage and a zeppelin...
Journal
100 things you'll never hear a DJ shout during a set #69: "somebody call this party an ambulance"... Ambulances at raves typically mean all's not well, however, the one we stumbled across at this year's Sónar was more about dancing than...
Journal
For any music lover, lost classics are the Holy Grail. Years spent digging through crates of vinyl in a bid to upstage your friends and peers - an unheard gem, a rare b-side; it's like scientists and conservationists spending months camped in...
Music
These days any old Tom, Dick or Harry can foist their dubious artistic talents onto the unsuspecting general public. If you've got enough patience to write 90,000 words that more or less relate to one another, you can self-publish your book. Are you...
Journal
Joining a growing roll call of metropolitan festivals in 2007, celebrating the city's 800th birthday, we dropped in on Live at Leeds as it hosted its 7th annual session over the May bank holiday. The festival may be a mere puppy in festival years -...
The Edit
It's a popular criticism of art that it takes itself too seriously – not a charge that can be levelled at illustrator Jack Hudson and set/prop-design magicians Lord Whitney regarding their project Mock 'N' Roll. Inspired by famous album covers...
Journal
Fresh from trying to reintroduce good old manners to his fellow New Yorkers as part of his Subway Etiquette and Metropolitan Etiquette Authority series, artist Jay Shells returns to his familiar street sign reinterpretations (that echo the brilliant...
City Notes
Chefs Karina Mejía and Israel Montero combine the tradition of Provençal cuisine with the soul and passion of Mexico in Saint Jacques Bistrot, their new gastronomic spot in the capital city's affluent Polanco neighbourhood. Allowing diners to...
City Notes
Located next door to Hotel Wilmina, which is housed in a former Berlin-Charlottenburg women's prison, Lotta Tagesbar has opened its doors, the café cum deli and bar designed by the same team behind Wilmina and serving an exquisite menu of healthy...
City Notes
With an enviable seafront location close to Barcelona and its airport, and having undergone a recent refurbishment, AC Hotel Gavà Mar is a 69-room hotel that is ideal for the business traveller, but also a surprising destination for the discerning...
City Notes
With interiors inspired by the Art Deco of Palm Beach County in Miami, and serving delicious ice cream on a newly pedestrianised street just off Barcelona's renowned Passeig de Gràcia, Amiko is not simply a 'heladería', rather it's a sensory...
Dispatches
Minimalism and elegance, too, are gaining fast as popular choices for serene, sophisticated interiors. Simplicity, clean lines, and curative approaches to decor are all that these two styles are made of, bringing home really calm and clarity within...
Dispatches
Finding the best Botox experts in Toronto can feel overwhelming, given the many options available. To focus your search, consider professionals with extensive experience and positive client reviews. A key step in identifying top specialists is...
Dispatches
Wellness Trends for 2025: A series of posts designed to uncover the most progressive concepts in wellness for the year ahead. Number Eight: Restorative Home Design. In the pursuit of wellness, many people are turning their attention homeward....
Dispatches
Austin’s housing market has seen a significant boom in recent years, with many homeowners looking to boost their property’s value through home improvement projects. In a city where home prices continue to rise, updating key areas of a property,...