Be C*NTY, BE FIERCE - GLAMOUR OF THE GODS

The Glamour of the Gods exhibition, at the National Portrait Gallery, celebrates Hollywood portraiture from it's Golden Age, 1920-1960.
Selected from the John Kobal foundation, some of these Vintage Prints are being displayed for the first time in History.

In an era overloaded with digital images, being able to experience these prints first hand, was the sonic equivalent of listening to a quadrophonic stereo mix - Sublime, Analogue & full of an entire spectrum of emotions.

I was totally captured by the swirling sensuality & mystique juxtaposed with the animal magnetism that seems to go hand in hand with early Hollywood. 'Glamour of the Gods,' is an aptly titled exhibition for a pantheon of celluloid deities that stare back at you unknowing in their ability to inspire decades of with fierceness.

Hollywood's Golden Age were the architects of an aesthetic & visual language that has arguably dominated a great part of 20th & 21st C culture. They invented icons that changed the world.

My dear friend, Polly Betton, who runs 'The White Blackbird,' made a great point in that the fault with Hollywood today is that they no longer spend time or money creating the mystique of The Golden Age.

They certainly no longer show an interest in creating iconic images of their stars. Their attentions have become transfixed to CGI & 3D. There's always the fast celebrity culture of today, magnified by the gossip industry, the internet & a lust for a public meltdown. And reality TV - let's not even go there.

If you want to sigh at a bygone era- Get thee to the temple, worship & work it children.

Speaking of Hot Nuns...

I saw this fabulous movie the other night called Ms.45.
It's one of Abel Ferrara's earliest pictures & stars the beautiful lip luscious Zoe Tamerlis Lund; who would later go onto develop the script of 'Bad Lieutenant,' with Ferrara.

Tamerlis plays Thana, a mute seamstress, who after being brutally raped twice in a day, swears revenge on all men, murdering just about any man who crosses her path.
The film concludes with the staff Halloween Party, where Thana decides to go dressed as a Nun & a hot Nun at that.

After her boss tries to take advantage of her, she tears onto dance floor in a cold blooded killing spree. The distinctly New Wave dance floor descends into a bloodbath, until a female colleague stabs her to death.

It's rough, It's exploitation & I LOVED it.
Ferrara captures the sleazy wilderness that was Manhattan in the early 80s with a stark brutality. It reminds me of the bleakness of New York City, written in books like Legs McNeil's, 'Please Kill Me.'

He also explores a certain kind of sexism young women have to deal, where they feel they can't often fight back a man's unwanted advances, with a raw honesty you don't often see in the pictures.

Most of all I was relived there was another Nun with red lipstick! Here's one of my official Press shots from my forthcoming release, 'Dia Ti Maria.'

Simon Reynolds, 'Retromania.'

Simon Reynolds, 'Retromania,' is an exploration of a culture gone mad for nostalgia, whether it's bands reforming, albums being re-issued, remakes, tributes or mash ups.

The liner notes read:
But what happens when we run out of past? Are we heading toward a sort of culturalecological catastrophe where the archival stream of pop history has been exhausted?

BISHI SAYS NO!

It's actually a fantastic read for all enthusiasts of music culture, pop culture & the far outer reaches of all things obscure. It's meticulous, it's pedantic - There's an orgy of music, books, films, labels & blogs, I plan to Google at a later date. But even I found holes in his argument.

What surprises me most about Reynolds vast thesis, is his absolute failure to recognise the revolution in home technology & how this affected the culture of music, record labels, DJs across the world.

Programmes like Logic Pro, Pro-Tools & Garage Band have transformed the process for how music is made. There has never been more choice or malleability in Music Production from the world of VST plug ins to inventive software such as Max MSP.

Towards the end of the book, Reynolds rather flippantly skims through a number of more recent genres. But rather than an analysis of why they're not good enough, he winds up sounding like an extra on 'grumpy old men.'

It's easy to bang on about the importance & rise in social media & how this plays in the lives of 21stC artists. There again this is completely ignored throughout the book.

There is an entire movement of interactive art & galleries such as my mates, The Bitforms Gallery in Chelsea, NYC who specialise in digital art.
http://www.bitforms.com/index.php

I even collaborated with Internationally renowned Interactive Artist Oscar Sol at The Whitechapel Gallery last year -

Retromania also reminded me of the amount of Musicians/Performers/Artists/Designers & DJs have nothing to do with employing retro or nostalgia at all. Just check out my 'Favourites' bar to the side of this page  I'm lucky enough to be mates with most of them.

You can check out the work of Patrick Wolf, Simon Bookish, Ada Zanditon, Leafcutter John, PlanningtoRock & Luke DuBois. This is only a small role call of mates. There are thousands of them out there in the world.

Reynold's does try to end on a positive note. 'I still believe the future is out there.'
Yes Simon Reynolds - it's out there and amongst us.
And We're living proof.

Joan La Barbara - ICON

Joan La Barbara has been the single most important influence on me as a vocalist this year.
Throughout her career she has radically explored the human voice as a multi faceted instrument, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the voice.
La Barbara  has a wide history of collaborations with the likes of Phillip Glass, Morton Feldman & John Cage to visual artists such as Kenneth Goldsmith, Bruce Nauman, Judy Chicago & Christian Marclay.

Arguably her most memorable contribution to the mainstream was her vocal composition of the alphabet on Sesame Street. Check out the video below:

This is an amazing front cover from an album, I'm having trouble finding, called 'Tape Songs.' She looks like she is clad in a creation by knitwear master, Craig Lawrence!

Here is an excerpt from Morton Feldman's 'Three Voices,' Sometimes I feel it's the only music I really respond to as I drown trying to catch up in sea of new album releases!

Her website currently states that she is working on a full scale opera as we speak.
Yay - Who gonna be my date?
For more info go to:www.joanlabarbara.com

Bishi New Single Shoot - Nunita Forever!

Dear Bishi World,
This November, I will be releasing my new single, 'Dia Ti Maria,' on Gryphon Records. Expect a lavish launch, which off course you will all be cordially invited to, in due course. The image above is a Production Still from the shoot of the single cover.

'Dia Ti Maria,' is a 9 minute choral epic made from 50 layers of my voice. It's sung partly in Ancient Greek & quotes lyrics from John Milton's, Paradise Lost.'

In Pre-Production talks, we were thinking along the lines of transforming me into an avant garde Nun, for the single cover. The influences for the artwork range from the likes of Byzantine Icons, Powell & Pressburger, Tamara de Lempicka & Busby Berkely. But with a very Bishi Twist.

Check out this link to  the trailer Powell & Pressburger's, 'Black Narcissus'

Red Lipstick & Nuns Habits never looked so tantalising together, have they?

I really enjoyed wearing a Nun's Cowell. I was almost thinking of wearing it down the pub for a pint to tickle the locals - Them rough boys love a bit of entertainment. But by the end of the shoot I wanted to collapse in bed & watch the i-player.
Who says Glamour is easy kids?
There's also this awesome fashion show from Frederico Fellini's 'Roma,' which I'm using as research for more 'Looks,' in the upcoming video shoot.

This Ecclesiastical Fashion Show is the most memorable scene in 'Roma,' by far.

The single cover was shot by Dominic Harris with visuals by Noriko Okaku. They've both been long term Bishi collaborators, back from the days of running Kashpoint. I can't wait to show you all the final result, but you will have to hold tight!
Check out their work:
http://www.dominicharris.co.uk/
http://www.norioka.net/

Until Next Time,
Bishi
x