BATHS // MPMF RECAP

I took a lil break from work last week and headed home to Cincinnati for a vacation from the city and to see the Midpoint Music Festival. MPMF is a Midwest smorgasboard of up and coming indie rock from around the US. Some big acts played like the Breeders and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and those were very cool to catch but there was one stand-out to me from the whole weekend.

BATHS

CONFESSION, I've been kind of hugely out of love with indie rock lately. It just feels so cringably twee sometimes, with all of the crafted mustaches, A-line skirts, and bow-ties: I just cannot. Sometimes it's like if Etsy were music (see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes). So I thought heavily about that when I bought the ticket but went anyway, knowing that this whole thing could end up me being bored in an episode of Portlandia. BUT I never fail to have a good time with old friends and the one after party on Friday is always pretty sick (last year the kids who hosted had a whole tub of original formula Four Loko on ice and I ended up laying on the sidwalk for like 10 minutes).

SO BATHS. Baths is a project by Will Weisenfeld, a California producer, musical architect, and total babe. Baths has everything I've been loving lately; associative music, layers of cascading vocals, 2 cute boys with a bunch of soundboards and pedals, and sick beatz. I think music like BATHS is a really important and beautiful step in music creation, and reflects this merging of sound design and music in a way that gets me really excited for the future. I wish I could go to an entire music festival that was just that, or basically anything on the Anticon label. Music that incorporates clicking pens and rushing water gives me goosebumps on the back of my neck (see HOT SUGAR for the NYC version of this).

ANGELO MARANI Speaks 2 My Soul via Milan Fashion Week

TASTE-LEVEL CONFESSION: I worked at Hot Topic in high school.

LORDE // the love club ep

(artwork from The Love Club EP cover)

So *hair flip* I called this months ago, butI just have to write about it.  I CANNOT get enough of her. I listen to this EP on my morning commute almost every day on the train. It's perfect get-up-and-stay-optimistic-while-fighting-crowds music. 

 The way she structures her music is brilliant. Most of it is electronically mixed percussion sounds with overlaid vocal effects. Her sound is elegant and feels like beautifully designed music that sends a profound message of clean simplicity.

Oh, and did I mention she's 16? She's like some kind of prodigy. 

 

 

MAKING THE VIDEO // vensaire's see i'm you

Moving to the city was a little rough, as I had to say goodbye to my DIY style job at Unholy Hips and adopt a new more corporate-ish lifestyle as I got hired as an in-house designer. But New York is about the hustle and always being tired, so I still do way too many little projects on the side.

My most recent finished venture was designing costumes and makeup for my roommate's band's music video. They wanted a lot of Japanese and Roman mythological influence, so we decided to make a kimono out of some beautiful Japanese brocade fabrics. The makeup was designed around the faux ritual story made for the video. And I'm SUPER proud of the almost perfect circle I drew on the model's forehead in lip liner.

Photo by Lauren Gesswein

And Colleen and I looking really cool on set.

Photo by Lauren Gesswein

Had loads of fun filming the video. Check it out, it's one of my favorite Vensaire songs.

See I'm You from Vensaire on Vimeo.