HAZEL NICHOLLS

Την Βρετανίδα Hazel Nicholls και την όμορφη δουλειά της, την γνώρισα και την «ανακάλυψα» τυχαία, προσπαθώντας να κανονίσω μια συνέντευξη με έναν άλλο αγαπημένο μου καλλιτέχνη, τον Rob Ryan (http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/). Τελικά από τον Rob συνέντευξη δεν πήρα, αλλά με την Hazel ανταλλάξαμε τόσα διασκεδαστικά emails, που εκτός από τις δημιουργίες της με κέρδισε κι η ίδια με την τόση ευγένεια της.It’s nice to be nice που λέει και η ίδια. Για το τι ακριβώς δημιουργεί θα το διαβάσετε παρακάτω και επισκέπτοντας το blog της.

How do you describe your work and what inspires you to create?

My work is text and image based, I like playing on words and try to incorporate humour into the things I do. I think it's important to believe in what you do, but you don't have to take yourself too seriously.

I want to send messages to people and I want to make them happy. I feel really fortunate to be able to make a living out of my work but for me it's not about the money, it's about the feeling I get knowing someone wants to own something i've made, that they share my idea and want to live with it on their wall.

What do you find the most playful and exciting in the process?

I really love screenprinting, every time I pull the squeegee over the silkscreen and see the ink appear on the paper I am filled with a sense of delight, I don't think i'll ever lose that feeling.

What makes you choose the current media and execution approach for your work? Is there any other media would you like to challenge yourself with?

I like to be hands on with my work and although I do use a computer, everything originates from a drawing. These drawings then become hand sewn pieces of work, but because they're so time consuming I  produce some of them as screenprints as it's a  great way to produce multiples.

But at the same time because all my printing is done by hand, human error does occur and this can sometime lead to little mistakes which make each print unique.

I would love to find a way of combining screenprinting & embroidery.

Who in the field catches your attention the most recently? Who would you like to collaborate with and why?

I really love Emily Sutton's screenprints & the fabric design she made for St Judes,  the colours she uses are just brilliant!

If I could work with anyone in the world then i'd choose Stefan Sagmeister, he's been a bit of a hero of mine since college.

What’s your top five favorite music bands? Any new music you would suggest?

I love so many different musicians & groups that it's impossible for me to pick just 5!

 It all really depends what mood i'm in.

I love Johnny Cash, Lee Hazlewood, Badly Drawn Boy, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wild Beasts, Grinderman, Bruce Springsteen, I could go on forever!

80's cheesy tunes are my favourite for dancing badly to.

But my most played album at the minute is 'The English Riviera' by Metronomy, it's so upbeat and even though supping an ice cold beer in the summer sun seems like a distant memory now, each time I hear 'The Look' i'm transformed to the top of a double decker bus where me and my best friend are singing along (me badly) like we're teenagers again.

Look out for a band called 'Other Lives' they're awesome - especially their song 'For 12'  They've been around for ages but i'm not that cool and have only just heard of them!

Do you remember when and how you started messing with art in the first place? What would you like to be if not an artist?

I can't remember when it started, it's always been there and i've always loved making things. When I was at school I really wanted to be a Marine Biologist but when I realised i'd have to drop art in order to study triple science I just couldn't do it and my future started to map out in a different direction before my eyes, nothing was ever intentionally planned  but I think the choices I made so many years ago and the people I've met along the way have all led me here.

It seems to me that in the last couple of years, d.i.y. techniques have become very popular. You think is just a fashion tendency or it is that people are becoming more aware of how many things they can make themselves and be creative at the same time?

I think the creation of online marketplaces like 'Etsy' & 'Folksy' have definitely encouraged something that may have started out as a fashion tendency to become a more grounded approach to making money from what may have previously been regarded as a hobby.

There also seems to have been a real influx of publications on craft. People are learning how to make their creations into a business.

You often use proverbs and phrases in your prints. Anything that stands out as a motto for you?

"It's Nice To Be Nice"

My mum always told me I should treat people the way i'd like to be treated, it's such a simple idea but so many people don't seem to follow it. Wouldn't the world be much better if they did!

What are you up to at this time? Any new project we should know about?

At the moment I am working with a fantastic accessories company called NV London Calcutta, we're going to make a wonderful bag together which should be out in time for Christmas. I'm also making some illustrations for a magazine called 'Lost in London'

Please close your eyes and draft the first image in your mind.

I tried to draw an english breakfast...

http://www.hazelnicholls.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/people/reapwhatisew

(Η συνέντευξη μεταφρασμένη στα ελληνικά στο http://www.inculture.gr/ )

SIGNE TOLLEFSEN

Είναι απ' αυτές τις περιπτώσεις που σου εμφανίζεται μια μπάντα-τραγουδιστής απ' το πουθενά.  Που δεν τους παίζουν όλη μέρα τα ραδιόφωνα, ούτε παίζει να τους πετύχεις στην τηλεόραση, ούτε φιγουράρουν σε γνωστά μουσικά blogs. Απλά κάποιος φίλος πέφτει τυχαία πάνω της στο internet κατά την αναζήτηση νέας μουσικής και μετά απλά ξεχνάς να απενεργοποιήσεις το "repeat" στο music player σου.

Ο λόγος για την Αμερικανο-Ολλανδέζα Signe Tollefsen. Η πρώτη δισκογραφική κυκλοφορία ήταν το ομώνυμο της album τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2009, τον περασμένο Γενάρη ακολούθησε το ep "Baggage" με έξι διασκευές από έξι διαφορετικά ονόματα (προσωπικά να με κερδίζει το “Down by the water” της PJ Harvey), και αυτόν τον μήνα κυκλοφορεί το νέο της album "Hayes". 

So let’s start with some personal questions! Where are you from? And where in the earth are you living now?

I was born in Utrecht, Holland, my dad was American and my mom Dutch. We moved to England where i went to highschool and university and i moved back to Holland to make music. That’s where i’m living now.

What is your music background? Any past projects? How you start playing music?

My background is classical music. i was trained as a classical singer and since i was 8 i wanted to become an opera singer. that didn’t happen and i’m really happy with my choice to write and sing my own music. I started playing the piano when i was five, went to choir school at 7, sang in the choir and had singing lessons there. I bought my own guitar at 14, got friends to teach me chords and the rest is history.

Who are your music influences? And what’s your favorite new bands or artists?

Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd.

Music i listen to now: Efterklang, Talk talk’s fenomenal album “Spirit of eden”, Le mystère des voix bulgares (female bulgarian choir that sings traditional bulgarian music), Cocorosie, Elbow, Kaizers orchestra, Mindpark (amazing dutch band), Philip Glass, Poulenc, Bach and other calssical music.

  
Your new album “Hayes” (btw what it means? Is it a name?) is out on September. Tell me some things about the songwriting and recording process and what makes this record different from your older material.

Hayes was my father’s middle name. He died in february. Instead of putting “this record is dedicated to my father”, i called it Hayes. I like the name too, so thought it the perfect way to honour my father.

Hayes is a transitional record. 
I changed a lot in between my first record and this one. I traded my acoustic guitar for an electric one, it’s got a lot more balls than the first one. Not only sound-wise, also composition-wise and textually. My producer Ralph Timmermans and I have a great relationship. Me are on the same wave-length with music, we understand each other and we push each other to expand our borders and horizons. We wrote some songs together which was a first for me; three amazing songs i would not have been able to write by myself, were the result (“daddy”, “here is what” and “scared”).

Are you enjoying performing solo or with a band?

I like both, but i prefer playing with my band. Music is sex and sex on your own is not as much fun. It’s fun to flirt with each other on stage, and to experience music together.

How you feel about selling music online and how you feel about illegal music downloads. Do you think digital music will ever completely replace cd’s and vinyls?

Selling music online came too late. not that it would have prevented illegal downloading, but instead of sueing and fighting, they should have thought a bit a little earlier.

Not sure if it will ever completely replace cds and vinyl but i mostly listen Spotify and vinyl. Cds are for ripping and the booklet. After ripping them, i rarely touch them again except for checking lyrics. I love Spotify and my record player. I inherited an amazing 70s amp and b&w speaker from my dad so it’s a real pleasure to listen to music through those. And then records…. oooh! they sound fantastic.

I do miss having to go to the shop to actually buy something, and coming home all excited. I do still do that sometimes.

Is making and playing music what earns you a living? 

Yup. Only just, though. I’m very poor. But very happy.

How would you define the word “success”?

When you achieve your goal. A goal can be filling a stadium with you fans, writing a number 1 hit, but also making a record you are proud of.

How common is music and politics for you? 

I’m not a political musician, but music of course has played a big role in politics. Especially during protests (think of the American civil rights movement and all the songs that we were during and after it).

Future plans after the release of the new album? Have you planned a tour?

There’s quite a few shows planned during the release of Hayes. All of them are on the site.

What's the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?

That’s a difficult question. I would think one of the kindest men i knew was my father. Once he sent me one postcard a day, for a week. I was somewhere where i wasn’t happy. My dad wasn’t much of a writer, ever, so the fact that he did his best to think of something to write every day for a week was very special. I didn’t realize it at the time because i was a kid and didn’t understand him yet. But now that’s how i like to remember him.

http://www.signetollefsen.com

http://www.myspace.com/signetollefsen

(Η συνέντευξη μεταφρασμένη στα ελληνικά στο http://www.inculture.gr )