So when we recieved this little treat in our inbox we got a bit too excited for our own good. We’re suckers for film photography ( you probably already know this) and we love the dreamy quality of the shoot against the quite edgy and harsh setting. Ooo I think we may have found a gem, Maja Musznicka, we love you and the blondie in your shoot.
Love this! The winner of a nationwide animation competition for Channel 4 and Red Bull is Nottingham Trent University student Ben Hennessy.
Third year graphic design student won the student prize in the ‘Stop-motion’ category of the competition for his untitled innovative tale of a squirrel making good use of the energy drink’s cans. CUTE!!
RedBull Canimation from Ben Hennessy on Vimeo.
The animations submitted to the Red Bull Canimation competition were judged by a public vote before being put in front of a panel of top industry professionals, and the winners were announced at Empire in London’s Leicester Square on last month.
Ben commented: “I wanted to use a character that relates to Red Bull as a brand and after reading that squirrels get a big adrenaline rush from dogs chasing them up trees I thought they were ideal to base my film on.
“The rest of my idea came about by taking the can apart. Looking at each section of the can I thought about what I could turn it into. When I saw the curved sheet of metal I instantly thought about skateboarding and knew that Red Bull works with skateboarders so thought it would fit in perfectly with the brand.”
Ben’s animation was screened on Channel 4 earlier this month, and he will be joining Aardman, of Wallace and Gromit fame, for a month long placement.
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Ah man, I always forget that Canada is the breeding ground for the best music around - from Suuns to Arcade Fire to Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, Feist, Godspeed, Death From Above, and not forgetting Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and… well, Anvil. And Yamantaka Sonic Youth (YT//ST) are another addition to the list.
So YT/ST is Canadian collective, who wrote a ‘Noh-Wave’ Opera under the same title back in 2008 and evolved the collective through a shared love of mixed cultural backgrounds and a love of Asian and indigenous arts. With performances laid out on monochrome paper sets, they apparently:
“blend the poorly appropriated styles of Noh, Chinese Opera, Chinese, Japanese and First Nations Mythology, Black & White Television, Psychedelia & Rock Operatics into a sensory feast of nigh-monochromatic costuming, unique hand-built musical instruments and their own mangaesque cardboard ‘NEVERFLAT’ style of 2.5D set design.” According to their site/
I mean, get your head around that.
In 2011 they finished their first full-length Opera, which is sometihng I’d like to witness and with it comes their first full length LP that has been on repeat via my computer for well over a week now. It’s a mix of heavy riffs, with elements of electronic music in places and kitsch but not annoying vocals. There are threads of grunge in some of the riffs and since I am struggling to make a comparison to any band that I personally know, I’m lumping with describing them as a scary version of Breeders - who are already a little scary. It moves all over the place from delicate to howling - to chorus to pummelling post rock vibes. It’s great, so go buy it/listen here.
In the meantime, take a listen here.
They’re only upcoming gig is currently at ATP in March (aka curated by Jeff Mangum). Please can someone put them on in London? THANKS.
This little doodle bug Anja Slibar‘s website is such a treat. Pages upon pages of really inspired illustrations of people, doing nothing spectacular, just being … people! Here at Ballad we have a real soft spot for Schiele, and anything that resembles his style, and this is a really cute, cheeky hint at the master.
ALSO here at B-HQ we are reet nosey parkers, and a glimpse into someone else’s life, or mind, or sketchbooks is something we crave on a daily basis. We know you’re the same. Head on over to Anja’s website for more just like this ..!
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WHAT is the most CANDY POPPING day of the year..?! Yep, you guessed it guys & gals VALENTINES, and we have a real treat in store for you! We’ve teamed up with the CANDY POP dolls at Worn By and have five, count ‘em FIVE Worn By T-shirts to give away.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of these fabulous Ts is, Bold As Love - LIKE & SHARE the status on Facebook, or FOLLOW & Re-tweet on Twitter (that’s 2 chances each!). Winners will be chosen randomly on THE DAY OF LOVE, and will be contacted by end of play on 14th.
You know we heart the lovvies at WornBy, dedicated to recreating garments worn by icons of the past, they source photos of legends from the worlds of music, film and sport, capturing seminal moments in time. Something old, something new 
Happy Valentines. WE LOVE YOU
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Our fave illustrator Faye West knows us a little too well…look at these little CANDY POP! doggy stickers, WITH GLITTER, she has sent us through the post!!! Our diaries are currently CANDY POPPED! up to the max. Thank you Faye, and did we tell you? She’s our brand new and shiny in house illustrator!!! Much more where this girl came from, and we can’t bloody wait.
Our hearts certainly lie close to our CANDY POP! theme. We came across these candy hearts and totally fell head over heels with them. You can get your candy heart from www.fairytalesandhiddennotes.
