ISSUE 002 FREE - Borne Magazine

ISSUE 002 FREE
BORNE

Contents issue two
3 Contributors Who got roped in this month
4 Borne to... Shine
5 Masthead Still us
6 Check this out The things people will part their hard earned cash for
10 In Memory of the Chateau The creative hot-house lives on in lycra
14 Cool stuff Things we like and want you to know about
16 Martin Klimas A German photographer with gravity on his side
19 Sruli Recht Officially the reason for those ten little piggies
20 The Denim King He makes jeans that fit like a glove... well, like jeans and less like gloves
22 When the Lights Go Out Jump on a plane to Nevada or pop one too many pills
26 How to... Survive a Night Out in Glasgow
28 Bad Food Gone Worse Doesn’t look so bad to us. You should see our kitchen
30 Paul Ryding He draws people but not hands
34 Our Man Sam In... Zimbabwe, Words: Sam Mayer
36 Tommy Carruthers Jeet Kune Do Jedi
42 Bright Lights, Small Bikes Photography: Mark Irvine
46 The Sprezzatura Maze Drawings. Lots of drawings
56 Quit your job and... Skateboard, Words: Luther Blissett
58 Dressed to Kill, Photography: Paul de Luna
64 Borne to Shine, Photography: Armando Ferrari
74 Susie Bubble Introducing our shiny new fashion contributor
75 Anni’s Gonna Beat Your Face Just in time fo’ Crimbo
76 Blinded by the Light, Photography: Paul de Luna
82 GRAS Architects New kids on the block
84 Tunes Enough said. Read, listen, enjoy
85 San Sebastian, Words: Ian MacBeth
86 Sons and Daughters, Words: Ian MacBeth
88 Retro Games Don’t believe the hype!!!
90 Boo, you whore ... Harsh...
Contributors
Armando Ferrari,
Photographer, Borne to
Shine. He drinks lattes.
With two sugars. It’s a
pretty girly coffee but
don’t hold that against
him, he takes amazing
photos.
Susie Bubble, Fashion
writer, Susie Bubble. We
found Susie floating about
on the net and thought,
we like this lady, let’s allow
her to spread her wisdom
through Borne. We’re
Borne Bubbly.
Luther Blissett, Writer/
Skater, Quit your job
and... This just the
beginning for our new
friend. First he masters
the skateboard, then the
Apache helicopter and
then the government.
Before long he’ll be ruling
the country with an iron
fist.

BORNE | 4
Hi.
Here we are again.
You guys seemed to quite like the
first one so we thought we’d do
another.
Oh, and we’ve spread as far as London and a few
places in between - so if you’re reading this in
Covent Garden right now, howdy.
This issue we’re Borne to shine. It’s for those people
whose desitiny it is to stand out from the rest, it’s for
those who’ve made it their objective to be a little bit
different, it’s for the fact that things always get pretty
glittery at this time of the year and it’s because we
all need a little light in our lives as the days get
shorter and shorter.
Borne to shine.
Borne Magazine
Founders
Iain Nevill and Lindsay Lees
Editor in Chief and Creative Director
Iain Nevill
iain@bornemagazine.com
Fashion Editor
Lindsay Lees
lindsay@bornemagazine.com
Assistant to Iain Nevill and Lindsay Lees
Carrie Cat
Beauty Director
Ana Cruzalegui
ana@bornemagazine.com
Music Editor
Ian Macbeth
ianmacbeth@bornemagazine.com
Contributors
Armando Ferrari, Paul McGeachy, Paul de Luna, Eilidh Weir, James Leal-Valias, Ana
Cruzalegui, Gary Lees, Sam Mayer, Gavin Cumine, Sam Stevens
Cover Image
Photography Armando Ferrari, Fashion Editor & stylist Lindsay Lees, Hair & make up Ana
Cruzalegui, Model Emma D @ Superior Model Managemant
Borne Magazine is basically owned and run by Iain and Lindsay. If you want to advertise
with us, submit something or have anything on your mind worth sharing just contact one
of us at the email addresses above or call us on 00 44 141 552 1092
All unsolicited material submitted for publication in Borne must be accompanied by a stamped addressed
envelope if it is to be returned. Borne does not accept any liability for material lost for any unsolicited material
whatsoever. The entire content is copyright of Borne Magazine and cannot be reproduced in part or in whole
without written authorisation by us. So don’t even try it.
BORNE | 5

You’ve probably already heard that the AK47
is the most successful piece of product design
in history, bar, maybe, the wheel. That either
makes you weep into your floral hankie for the
sorry state of humanity or question what the hell
product designers have been doing with their
time for the past 60 years. Either way, to celebrate
this dubious honour Martin Postler has
designed this totally sweet paper cut-and-paste
version of the rifle available from German publishers
Die Gestalten Verlag. Start you own revolution
at www.die-gestalten.de.
BORNE | 6
If street art, graffiti and all things slapped on walls floats your boat then
you’ll love www.woostercollective.com - a blog featuring the best of the
best from around the world. However, we couldn’t find our “get it up ye,
ya munt” tag anywhere.
Can’t beat
this.
While the majority of the population
will just see a rather tragic piano
tee the rest will be creamin’ their
pants right now as this is the same
T-shirt worn by Jacko in the beginning
of the Beat It video when he’s
on the bed in his little box room.
You know you want it. www.cafepress.com/buy/80s
Now, I knew they were pretty tough over in Canada,
you know with the whole minus 30 winters,
lumberjacks, grizzlies the size of buses, etc., but
little did I know just how motherfuckin’ hard Canadians
actually are. While the rest of the world
tell their children not to sniff Tipex, felt tips or, you
know, glue, Canadians actually make their markers
scented to encourage the little bastards to
take a good lungfull! No wonder Americans don’t
like those Canadians, they’re scared to death
of them!! Get a
pack for £9 in the
UK from Hitherto
www.hithertoshop.
co.uk or start
pumping some
iron and head over
to moose land.
Check this out.
Dry Clean.
Dry shampoo isn’t new and neither’s
the concept of not having
a shower but this sweet little tube
of Hair Powder by Lulu Organics
makes it something we want in our
lives. Hand printed packaging and
natural organic ingredients make
not washing the thing to do.
www.luluorganicsnyc.com
There’s something a little reassuring about these
scales from angryretail.com. You’ve just eaten
a Chinese that could have kept a small village
in kung po heaven for a week, you polished off
that family sized chocolate trifle even when the
shakes set in and you still managed to force down
the Mr Kippling that had been lurking at the back
of the cupboard (exceedingly good, as always).
Now you somehow manage to remove yourself
from the sunken settee and stagger to the scales,
oh, look! You weigh less than an average ostrich.
Well, in that case crack open the Minstrels, baby,
I’m light as a
frikken feather.
Welcome to
the future.
This is the future. Ok, I’m pretty pissed
off that there aren’t any flying cars, too,
but it’s official. A bunch of scientists
from Leicester University, Travelex and
the National Space Center made it so
when they developed the QUID. This,
friends, is space money. Your crumpled
fiver means diddly squat a 500 miles in
the air but these bad boys will keep you
in space burgers and moon juice for as
long as you like. Each QUID (Quasi Universal
Intergalatic Denomination) is worth
about £6.25 and you can just picture the
meeting now, can’t you? “What the fuck
can we call them so it shortens to Quid?
Think, you fools, think!!!”
Ummm...
You know, we still can’t make up our minds on these ones. I mean,
are they cool 80s Reeboks that turn into mad Tron-like things when
the lights go out or are they just totally stupid glow-in-the-dark shoes?
Will you be the dude with the cool trainers or the loser with the fucking
Power Ranger feet? Sorry, guys, we just don’t know. Only way to find
out is to camp outside Footlocker until they’re released over here or
go to www.atmos-tokyo.com and get them from Japan. Either way,
drop us a line and let us know how it turned out, will you?
Halfway through making this issue
our laptop went belly up. Thankfully
we had these - our trusty PC Dice!!
One roll and we knew exactly what the
problem was and fixed it. Ok, that’s a
lie, we took it round to PC World and
they whipped out their trusty PC Dice,
and in one roll found the problem and
fixed it. www.pcdice.com
This is the new Royal Assets range from
MAC’s Holiday collection featuring lip and
eye shadow compacts. Each one looks like
it was inspired by one of those gold vintage
carriage clocks and we figure if the Queen
carries a clutter of make up in her hand bag
like the rest of us then surely it looks like this.
I love ghold!
www.maccosmetics.co.uk
Change the world, smell good.
Russel Newell and his family have created their own line of handmade scents. Rebel Ambush is supposed to invoke images of a
guerrilla army sitting around a campfire in the thick jungle, while Utopian is developed with the post war optimism of 1950’s Britain (fair
enough). www.socialcreatures.com goes into a lot more detail and uses far fancier words but the point remains that they’ve created
a bunch of original smelling, cool looking ‘fumes that aren’t endorsed by a C-list celeb. Surely never a bad thing. Get a bottle online
or, for roughly the same price, personally fund one of those small rebel armies.
Check out the various remixes of that
monkey ad on youtube.com. The 50
Cent and Total Eclipse of the Heart
are the best.

Photo Isabel Asha Penzlien
Now I usually hate it when trainers and proper shoes try to get all cosy
together. I think it usually looks, well, pretty crap. A shoe is a shoe and a
trainer a trainer. Let’s just keep things that way, thought I. Well, Puma have
only gone and wrecked another of my hard and fast rules by which I live
my life. I saw these bad boys and liked ‘em. They work. They’re brogues
but they’re also trainers and I like ‘em. A lot. What next? Is someone gonna
come along and tell me that peanut butter and jam go great together or that
I should start putting salt and vinegar on my chips or something?
Puma’s new collection available online
through Oki-ni. www.oki-ni.com
Ok, so we only see about 2 hours of daylight now and even then
you’d be hard pressed to actually need sunglasses but these are
still worthy of a mention, surely. The work of New York designers
Slow and Steady Wins the Race, these sixties-esque plastic
delights make it perfectly acceptable to wear shades indoors. We
admit that this is one of those annoying articles that shows you
something you just have to have and then tells you that there’s no
way in hell of buying it, although you can always get in contact with
the team behind the frames at www.slowandsteadywinstherace.com
and see if they’ll send you one in exchange for some cash. Worth
a shot.
Re-Silicone.
Lucy Fergus is obsessive about a lot of things
and rubber silicone’s just one of them. She’s
found a way to recycle waste pieces of silicone
and transform them into these beautiful lights
which can be arranged, shaped and draped to
fit their surroundings. She describes them as
“a collection of aesthetically exciting, eco-conscious
interior products, utilising the concept of
waste and re-use to inform the design process.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
A textile graduate of Glasgow School of Art and
recent MA graduate of Central St Martin’s, her
work has just gone to Tokyo with Designersblock
for Tokyo Designer’s Week and she’s also
won the Bellhouse Foundation Award, which
basically means she has a paid studio space
at Cockpit Arts Studios for the next 3 years. So
here’s hoping there’s a lot more to come.
www.re-silicone.co.uk
www.designersblock.org.uk
www.c-channel.co.jp/en/exhibition
BORNE | 9

In Memory of
THE CHATEAU.
We were lucky to have the Chateau; a space that
artists made their own. A space outside the establishment
where they put up with leaky roofs, pigeon poo,
smashed windows, dodgy electricity and were left alone
to create something bloody brilliant. The Chateau was
spiritual home to a whole host of artists, including Franz
Ferdinand, before its ultimate demise a few months ago
when the floor caved in and then it went alight... We
found these shots that we’d taken just weeks before of a
friend of ours whose studio was based there.
We’ll miss you, Chateau.
BORNE | 10 BORNE | 11

BORNE | 12

“Whoops”
BORNE | 16
Sometimes a photo comes along that just stops you in your tracks. These stopped us dead.
They’re a collection of shots by German photographer, Martin Klimas, from a series he describes
as “temporary sculpture”. Captured using porcelain figures, a hi-speed camera and gravity, each
shot is the result of countless attempts to get just the right chance composition.
The kung fu fighters are just a stroke of genius (that dude down there even looks like Chow Yun Fat) and the crazy
Chun Li figure looks like something out the frikken Matrix, it’s so damn cool. If you want to know or see more of Martin,
he’s represented by the Galerie Michael Cosar www.galerie-cosar.de in Germany and the Michael Foley gallery
in New York www.foleygallery.com and has more at www.martin-klimas.com. Someone get me my camera and pass
me that vase.

Rockwell’s
weird.
We like.
These crazy designs are the
work of prolific Dutch street
artist and graphic designer
Parra. This artist, that artist...
do you really care?
Probably not. They look
pretty weird and they look
pretty cool. That’s why
they’re in the mag and
that’s why you’d go buy
them. I mean, what is that
crazy bird thing anyway?
Apart from damn cool, who
gives a fuck?
All available from
rockwellclothing.com for
about €35.
Sruli Recht
One thing you should know about Sruli Recht
is that he completed Street Fighter 2 in less than
seven seconds. Another thing you should know is
that he makes bloody amazing shoes.
Sruli’s on a one man quest to infect us with the
world in his head. He began drawing to create a
window to this world, sculpting to bring it to life and
sewing to make himself a part of it. It’s a world that
exists somewhere between the 1800’s and 2180;
a world of bad cyberpunk novels, renaissance
and robots. Sruli would have us all wearing the
most exquisite tailoring where lines come together,
jar and meet in ways that shouldn’t work but do.
There’s a heavily militaristic feel to most of his work
but not in a superfluous way, think less tassels and
epilates and more sleek futuristic Gestapo. In his
own words, his work is a process of deconstruction
and recreation, taking things apart to put them back
together the Sruli way.
Sruli Recht has only gone and created the reason we have feet. All
that stuff scientists tell you about needing them to stand upright?
Nonsense. They’re there so we can clad them in these amazing
leather objects and strut around looking like the cross between a
pirate and highwayman.
round master cobbler - and each are numbered,
making them more like sculptures than anything
else. Sruli made sure he didn’t have to relinquish
any control though. He’s sure they would have
looked a lot more ‘Brendan’ and a lot less ‘Sruli’ if
he had. Instead he took regular trips down under
to supervise, cut, direct and instruct. Basically, do
everything but the gluing and sewing. Like I said,
for Sruli it’s all about the process of creation. Reacting
to unexpected changes, forms or accidents as
they happen is all part of it.
the cubic work of Martine Bedin Cittá
and sci-fi lines of Frederic Molenac but
at the same time Ladysmith Black Mambazo
and Paul Simon are also rating pretty high. Oh,
and the Pogues, too, he kept banging on about the
Pogues.
The shoes above are in a range of leathers, suede,
bovine, kangaroo and minkle dork (whale foreskin).
Yep, whale foreskin. Why? Well, that’s what I
wanted to know and he answered, “It hadn’t been
done. And that is what I like to do. The undone.”
Born in Jerusalem, he’s spent time in South Africa,
Sruli is now a core member of the keystone design
union and you can find these creations at Liborius,
Sruli’s base store, which he stocks regularly with
all his limited edition and one-off pieces. Any
Australia and London, where he worked for Mc- other enquiries should just be made to contact@
Queen, but Reykjavik in Iceland is where he feels at
home now. The people, weather, air and landscape
srulirecht.com.
BORNE | 18
This collection of footwear was released this year
and each shoe is handcrafted in the workshop of
Brendan Dwyer - expert Aussie shoe maker and all
make it so. But travelling is in his nature and is
where he refuels his inspiration and is exposed to
new influences as well as old. He’s currently loving
www.srulirecht.com
www.liborius.is
www.thekdu.com
BORNE | 19

All
hail
the
denim
king.
Robert Watson may just be what a lot of people have been
searching for for most their lives - he makes bespoke, made
to measure jeans. Oh yes, he can make you the perfectly
fitting pair of denims. We wanted to know more.
Where did the name come from? It’s always pretty hard to pick
a good name, how’d you get yours?
Haha, my name came from one of my nick names – Rabii (pronounced
Rabeye!) I also thought it was catchier than a bit of
Zep slide.
Gimmi some background info on you and your jeans. Basically
tell me your story. Oh, and how did the whole Che Camille
collaboration come about?
I started off designing garments when I was twelve, my self
taught wizard of a mum would then make me them – to my
amazement! She would eventually get sick of my demands
and, by the time I was 18 told me to piss off and make my own.
So I went to college for an HND in clothing tec, then started as
a junior tailor – instead of bolting to London or Manchester to
gain ‘fashion experience’. After a while I got sick of the factory
and decided to get into my own line, soon after Che Camille
found me in severe limbo – her idea sounded good, very good.
Camille would help me, and I would help her.
BORNE | 20
Who did you make your first pair for?
The first person I made jeans for would be me; I had to get ‘em
right before I made an arse of myself, haha!
So, what are the prices like? Are they mad expensive or not
too bad compared to other designer stuff? Be honest, they’re
mad expensive, right?
For what my jeans are, they’re pretty cheap. One off jeans that
you have a say in are cheap at £180-£250! You pick the thread,
pockets, fit and badge, I take your measurements and away we
go.
True. Ever been tempted to just go work for Diesel, Replay,
Levis or someone?
I was tempted to work for Levis before I left college but the
thought of starting my own label seemed to me to be a whole lot
better.
Dude, I’ve never heard of Rabii. Why not? Why not promote
yourself through a high street chain or someone?
I have done a small bit of marketing on my own but I do feel
if something’s good people will find a way of discovering it on
their own accord. I like being exclusive to Che Camille and not
having to sell my soul to the high street fat cats for 30 percent of
what’s mine.
So is it mostly blokes you tailor for or do you get a lot of
women too? Surely it’s more challenging to make the perfect fit
for a woman..?
Men or women. Of course, making guys’ garments is easy cos
they’re shaped like planks of wood but it is more rewarding
seeing a pair of jeans fitting a lady well first time.
What are the typical requests? What are most people looking
for in their ultimate jean?
In jeans people generally look for something individual as it’s
quite exciting for them to be able to choose unique features but
my fitted skate fit is also real popular.
Where do you source the denim from?
What my denim source is? I could tell you but I’d have to slit
your throat.
Heh, fair enough, mon ami. Do you sell abroad? Are you big in
China?
I generally sell my gear anywhere, I do a lot of internet orders. I
had a guy contact me last week sayin’ cos of my jeans he’s now
the coolest dude in Toronto. Shit like that makes my day.
Make anything else out of denim? Jackets? Hot pants? Teddy
Bears?
I can do anythin’ in denim if need be. If you’re willing to pay
enough. But not just denim. Anythin’ from any material. As you
can see from the pics.
Which style is your favourite – the skinny jean, the baggy
skater jean, Levi 501s, the high waister??
Probably the fitted skate fit. I came up with it for myself.
What’s the ultimate denim no-no? Turnups?
ULTIMATE DENIM NO-NO, DENIM JEANS AND JACKET FULL
SUIT. FUCKIN’ WRONG!
Photography Chris Anderson
The man himself.
Everyone in the above pic is wearing something from Rabii, be it
denims or jackets. In fact even that green chord
skirt is one of his.
Get designing at www.checamille.com
or head along to Che Camille,
98 Saltmarket, Glasgow
BORNE | 21

When the lights go out
Photography James Leal-Valias
This is the Neon Graveyard. It’s where all the flashy,
brashy and good time signs go when they no longer
attract us to part with our cash in the heart of Sin City.
Somewhere in the Nevada desert is a collection of
sights that would make you think you’d been in the sun
too long or popped one too many little white pills. James
Leal-Valias was kind enough to show us the light.
BORNE | 23

Sharpen your pencils, please.
We saw Paul Ryder’s work a few months ago and kept meaning to get
in contact with the guy. As it happened, he called us so thankfully our
laziness went unpunished. We thought we’d do some work though and
ask him a few random questions to shed some light on the man behind
the HB.
Ok, Paul, where you from?
I’m from Barrhead just outside Glasgow. It was home to Christopher Brookmyre, Armitage Shanks toilets and Adem
recently played gig in the local library for some reason.
What gets you going, illustration wise?
I’d like to say ‘the joy of mark making’ or something enigmatic like that. Truth is, I have a mind that won’t stop thinking
and the only way I can get it to shut up is drawing.
What are your plans for the future? Are you Glasgow based for the foreseeable future?
I hate to say this but I wouldn’t mind jumping ship to the Big Smoke sometime soon. I visit London about 4-5 times a
year for business and pleasure and get fantastic commissions almost every time. Not to say Glasgow is devoid of any
opportunity but every established illustrator I read about did the “London Thing” for a year or two. I just hate the idea of
swapping my beautiful tenement flat for a cupboard apartment for twice amount of rent.
How long have you been working as an illustrator?
I’ve been working for 4 years. But if you count the day job then it has been about 2 years. I didn’t get any real paid work
‘til very recently. Of course I do this for the joy of it but my landlord doesn’t see it the same way.
What was your worst job?
Working in Gap as the meet & greet pleb when I was a student. I had to stand at the front door for 9 hours a day hungover
with one of those stupid Madonna microphones strapped to my head mumbling, “Welcome to Gap”. It was like a
modern day version of being in medieval stockades.
What would be the perfect job? The Holy Grail of illustration?
As an annoying and self-righteous Guardian reader I would have to say the
G2 section like Charlie Brooker’s column, which David Foldvari illustrates?
I did get to paint a mural of Daniel Johnston on Route Master bus that
he himself saw and shouted “ALRIGHT!” in response. That was incredible.
Can you skateboard? I can’t but just wondering if you could…
Oh God no. I tried to learn when I was 21 but I am 6 foot 4 so gravity is my
enemy. I looked like a statue of Lenny from ‘Of Mice And Men’ being slowly
dragged along the ground on castors.
What’s the process to creating your illustrations? (Do you use computers?
Pencils? Paper?)
After graduation I took up screen-printing and adopted the same construction
methods into my design process for illustration. I am not one for sketching ideas.
I like my illustrations to grow organically from the subject matter which begins with
several detailed pencil drawings, scanning them into Photoshop and arranging the
layouts from there. It is really time consuming and am sure there is an easier way
but I am pretty stuck in my ways when it comes to my working methods. I still use
the prehistoric Photoshop 5 as the new versions just frustrate me.
BORNE | 30 BORNE | 31

BORNE | 32
Where did you study? What did you study? Did you enjoy it?
I studied at The Glasgow School Of Art doing Visual Communication specialising in illustration. I am doing a talk there next month, though, so
better watch what I say! Chicken!
Sega, Nintendo or Play Station?
Sega. They made some of the greatest arcade machines in the late 80’s. Nintendo are innovative but the Wii is just annoying and gave me
terrible tennis elbow. Although, I did loose 3 months of my life to Grand Theft Auto on the PS2.
Where abouts do you work? Tell me a little about your studio.
Right now I work from my flat. I was based in the Glasgow Print Studio for a few years but trying to do commissions using screen-prints with a
24 hour deadline is just impossible. It will do for just now as I have very quiet flatmates.
Any exhibitions lined up?
I had a show at The Arches over the summer that really took it out of me. I am starting a new series of
portraits for a new exhibition that I will propose to some gallery spaces. If anyone reading this is
interested then drop me an email?
Whose work do you wish you had done? Anyone you really admire?
I really admire Chuck Close. I don’t know if it is too obvious in my work but have had some
people say it reminds them of his ‘Big Self Portrait’ which is a ridiculously good compliment.
I read his biography recently and really admire his level of ambition and attention to the
craft of drawing and painting. I think that is one thing lacking in the present illustration
scene.
Is there anything you can’t draw…? I always struggle with horses… Well,
any animal with four legs, really…
Hands! You wouldn’t think so as all I ever draw is people. If I have to do it I will spend
hours (and I mean hours) drawing them, rubbing them out and starting again as they
always come out looking like pig trotters or like they have been smashed with
hammers. My folio is just full of crap hands strategically hidden behind text.
You’ve got a lot of figures in your work, are they real people or
imaginative?
They are all real. I began using found images and working from them as it made
my work more random and subjective. I then started asking my friends to pose
for me which they all hated doing but am eternally grateful for. It feels a bit more
honest and more personal to include those around you and obviously gives you
more control. My friend posed for a portrait and became a minor celebrity as it
was published. He became known as ‘that guy with the mad hair’.
Are PaulTruths all real facts…?
They are true in the sense I thought they where true. I read a lot of articles and
soak up useless knowledge that gets muddled up in my head. My friends all
shout ‘PAUL TRUTH’ when I make some wild statement that cannot be
backed up by any proof but I swear it is true. Pope John Paul II always
dried his socks on his radiator: FACT!
What scale do you like to work at? We can’t really
tell from online. Are the figures bigger than life
size??
I would ideally like to work on a massive scale
each time but it just isn’t realistic considering
the turnover of jobs. Although I have just
taken a batch of new photographs for
some new portraits so think I will rise
to your challenge and make them
larger than life.
Sweet.

BORNE | 34
SAM
OUR MAN IN
ZIMBABWE.
The world’s a big place and yet somehow Sam always ends up somewhere, well, somewhere
we wouldn’t. This time he had a bloody good reason, though, as he was helping out
an AIDS charity. We commend you, fine sir, it’s because of people like you that the world
is a better place while the rest of us sit and eat pies... hmm, wouldn’t mind a pie right about
now...
Having said I wouldn’t get up to my usual check-in antics and try to scam an upgrade or anything it turns
out I didn’t need to. I get to the desk and simply ask if I could possibly sit at one of the exits for a little extra
leg room (okay! I also said I had a sore knee, but that was it, honest) and what did Sam, the luckiest traveller
of them all, get? That’s right, a free upgrade to BA’s World Traveller Plus class, close to Business, but not
quite. Nice. It really did make a huge difference on an 11-hour flight. Two congealed meals and a Raging
Bull later I flicked to the MAP channel on my little TV and it hit me. Seeing my little plane right above the ‘H’ of
SAHARA DESERT made me realise, properly, that I was travelling to a sub-Saharan African, disease-ridden,
politically dictated Zimbabwe. Sweet.
Harare airport was baron, cold and a little spooky, like the despotic smile of Zimbabwe’s leader, Robert Mugabe.
Like every other public building in Zimbabwe, all wall space in the airport was filled with picture upon
picture of this man, each in the same flaking faux-gold framing. Tired from the eleven hour flight, I wandered
past an unmanned desk (where I should have paid for my tourist visa - a serious and expensive mistake I
had to rectify two weeks later), picked up my luggage and headed for my connecting flight to Bulawayo.
Aside from the “FIREARMS STORAGE” sign, the domestic terminal bore a striking resemblance to an East
Lothian barn I had worked in one summer as a kid. It was 6.30am, two hours before my flight, so I sat outside
in the dry heat. Looking out over the runways, it was hard to tell where the concrete ended and the dry, unattended
grass began. I decided to prepare myself for the coming weeks by reading Paul Theroux’s Dark Star
Safari. 100 pages later I couldn’t stand it any more. I felt ‘that feeling’, like someone is watching you. I looked
around but I was still the only civilian around, but then I glanced up and saw it: yet another, larger, picture
of Mugabe, this time sun-bleached but just as imposing. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was
sitting next to me on the plane.
Anyway, I was met in Bulawayo by Lucien (“Loosh”), a friend of a friend and a three-year vet at the NGO I
was going to work for. He drove us to what would be my home for the next month. Driving through the rural
slums of Bulawayo, the most poverty-stricken place I had seen by that point, I couldn’t quite believe what I
saw when we arrived. Think plush, 1950s, Miami condo; long, flat roof, surrounded by palm trees and floorto-ceiling
beige. Whilst to me it was only lacking a coked-out Sharon Stone screaming on the lawn, to most
of Zimbabwe this place represents an unattainable paradise. It’s the second home of a local businessman
turned football fanatic who puts up volunteers like me while he’s living in that retirement paradise, Florida. I
definitely couldn’t complain about the treadmill, cable TV and pool - three luxuries I was not expecting to find
in Zimbabwe.
I was travelling to a disease-ridden, politically dictated Zimbabwe. Sweet.
The next day we get to working. In order to get more funding, we hand out questionnaires to the kids pre
and post teaching, hoping the results will show the positive effects of our work. As Loosh is the only one
out here right now, he’s lumbered with all the data-entry into Excel - hardly a fun task. Meanwhile, my fondly
remembered year of quantitative research at Strathclyde kicks in, and I already have ideas on how the
questionnaire can be bettered and on fund-raising etc., but I’ll keep those to myself until I get the experience
of teaching, in about 10 days or so. Reading the answers given by some of the kids, though, has really had
a big effect on me. They conjure up thoughts far too disturbing to be associated with 12 year old children. In
response to the statement: ‘I have no control over whether or not I will get HIV/AIDS, True or False’ one girl
said, “True, because I go to the beer hall and I just don’t care”. She is 12, and that’s not an uncommon kind
of answer.
On a lighter note, here are some of the people I’ve met so far (spelling permitting): I’ll begin with Opa. She
appears to be the head maid in the house I’m staying in. Based on what she told me about her working
conditions at the owner’s house in Florida, where she worked for the last three months, she seems to be the
head slave. When over there they made her sleep on the floor inside a closet, work 18 hour days with no
food or breaks. I’ve often wondered why I’d ever need to purchase that “Fuck you, you fucking fuck” t-shirt
I saw in Camden Market once. Now seems the right time. Opa’s eldest daughter, Sethli, and niece, Shopa,
also help in the house. I think they were all a bit flummoxed when I tried to clean up my dishes the other day
but we all are getting along well. Then there’s Yupa (quite how you go from Herbert Dick - his real name - to
Yupa, I’ve no idea) and Kupa, two local professional footy players who work with us. They were cool, laidback
and, particularly Kupa, seemed to have all their fingers in all of Bulawayo’s pies, so to speak. I would
say that Kupa is definitely the ‘Del Boy’ of this city, wheeling and dealing, ducking and diving, but also getting
16 caps for the national team.
A few days into my trip, Kupa took Loosh and I to a Highlanders match (the local football team that Kupa had
just signed for). We went into town to pick up Kupa on Saturday morning and, while we waited out on the
main road, the pre-game tension and excitement was like that of an Old Firm game. We forced ourselves
through the commotion of supporters and, eventually, arrived at the stadium. Looking for a parking spot
among the sea of supporters was only made tougher by the fact that we’d left our windows down. Dozens of
kids swarmed around the car as we continued our search for parking at a snail’s pace. Their small, needy
limbs were stretching in through the windows; some offering hats, food, drink to buy, others just through
mere speculation. We met Kupa’s friend Yellow outside the stadium and, as we shook hands, I was surprised
to see that Yellow just didn’t let go of mine as we walked into the grounds. I saw that Kupa had done the
same with Loosh and that it was clearly a friendly gesture - a sign to others that these two khiwas were with
them and were not to be mugged, hassled or touched in any way. Okay, I’ll take that.
Once inside we scrambled our way up the gigantic stone steps, through the throngs of black and white
scarves and shirts, and squeezed into a space never big enough for four towards the back of the south
side of the stadium. I don’t know if it’s because I just haven’t attended enough live footy matches in my life
that I’d never believed it when commentators say, “yes, Terry, the atmosphere here really is electric”. Well,
Terry and Co., I believe you now. Over 40,000 fanatics, screaming in Ndebele, surrounded me. Screaming
at each other? At the players yet to emerge from the tunnel? At the two khiwas up the back? It didn’t matter.
All that mattered was their screams, shouts and whistles vibrating through my body, making me feel like one
of them, a Highlanders supporter, if only for 90 minutes. The next hour and a half filled me with suspense,
highs, lows, but mainly with the weed smoke that dominated the stagnant air, even at the top of the stadium.
The game ended 2-0 to the good guys and the place was on fire. I hadn’t noticed, but Yellow, sitting right
next to me the whole time, had managed to consume enough weed and scud (a local brew) to incapacitate
him. We helped him down to the car, dodging the flurry of kids scurrying up and down the steps picking
up empty cups, bags, everything that they may be able to sell or at least trade for something, anything. We
eventually got back to the car and, after politely declining Yellow’s drunken yet serious offer to head to the
local brothel, we headed home.
I could get used to it here.
Yellow had managed to consume enough weed to incapacitate him.
BORNE | 35

BORNE | 42
Photography Mark Irvine
Riders Drew, John & Scott
bright lights
small bikes
Sorry, Glasgow City Council, we told
them not to but they just wouldn’t listen.

BORNE | 44 BORNE | 45

BORNE | 46
draw it
like
you
love
it.
Firstly I want you to wipe the thoughts of a white gallery and glasses of red wine from your
mind. Yes, this an art exhibit but this one, The Sprezzatura Maze (initial kudos has to be given
for the name), is definitely something a little different. Sprezzatura is some old renaissance
term that kind of means making the artful look effortless, (in other words doing something
amazing but making it look like you knocked it up in 5 minutes). And it’s pretty spot on for the
majority of the artists featured - both the media they use and the style of their work is often
simplified to the point of child-like but the images they create are stunning.
Over 20 artists from both the UK and around the world have been brought together to showcase
their unique style of illustration. Names such as Arjulo, Mehdi Hercberg, Zane Kozak,
Dylan Martorell and the Sumi Ink Club may not exactly be household but there’s definitely
something about their way of working that will feel strangely familiar to anyone who’s owned a
set of felts when they were young.
The Maze is being organised by Good Wives and Warriors who are Becky Bolton and Louise
Chappell; two GSA graduates who’ve been working together since meeting in the 2nd year of
their drawing and painting degree. While they like to express their creativity through a number
of outlets which include wall paintings/installations, graphic design and illustration, essentially,
drawing remains the root of everything they do. This exhibit is the first time the pair have
collaborated with fellow artist Christina Corfield and the three have found the response from
the international and local artists they contacted overwhelmingly positive. Maybe it reflects the
strong reputation the city has for art an all things creative or maybe it just reflects the style of
most of those involved – friendly.
The Sprezzatura Maze is an exhibition taking place in
December at the SWG3 studios. Well over 20 artists are
coming together from around the globe (Italy, UK, France,
Canada, USA, etc, etc) to show their work. It’s a little different
though. And that’s why we think you’ll want to go along.
Arnaud Loumeau
There’s something about Arnaud’s
(AKA Arjuno) work that really really
reminds us of the drawings we used to
do at the back of our jotters or school
folders. Aliens, robots and weird
animals all feature heavily and the
compulsive detail also makes us think
of a kid making sure they got it just
right. On his website he has hundreds
of these bright and weird pictures
ranging from organic creatures to
almost aztec patterns. We can’t wait to
see them in the flesh.
BORNE | 47

The artists in this show are fun. It’s as simple as that. Most of the work, say GWAW, is “very
intricate and demonstrates a form of dedication to the activity of drawing but is often made
using felt-tip pens or on quite low-fi formats.” The fact that almost all of us have owned and
used felt-tips at some point makes these drawings so much more, well, accessible, I guess.
The bleed of the ink onto the other side of the paper and into adjacent colours and the fact
that the colour got stronger on bits where you overlapped are all things we’ve faced while
struggling to colour in that picture of a house or dinosaur or random monster. It takes you
back to a time when you used to arrange all your coloured pencils into the perfect spectrum
and were always a little annoyed that the black or the green seemed so much shorter than
the others... We’re not being insulting when we say it’s the kind of art we did when we were
kids. That’s a compliment because now we all work in call centres and behind tills and aren’t
half as creative as we once were. It’s an exhibit of work that wouldn’t normally be given the
chance to exhibit. Work that makes you smile, and, c’mon, it’s not often you can say that
about an exhibition these days.
Good Wives and Warriors aren’t out to drastically change perceptions of art or anything,
they just want to show the work of artists they love. It excites them and they want it to excite
others. Well, we love it, that’s for sure. The exhibit will be held at the SGW3 warehouse
space where the collaboration are permanently based and plan on creating a maze-like
space so that you’re permanently surrounded by colour, pattern and drawing. Although selling
sure isn’t the main aim of this exhibit, there will also be both art and merchandise on sale
and seeing Shoboshobo’s sweet sweatshirts I know we’re planning on heading over with a
wad o’ cash. If you want to know more or buy a load of sweet stuff get in touch with Louise
Chappell at info@booboutique.co.uk or get yourself to the exhibit which runs from the 7th to
the 21st of December. We’ll see you there.
Shoboshobo
Shoboshobo is headed by Mehdi Hercbeg, an illustrator,
musician, artist and teacher of multimedia graphic design at the
Ecole Estienne in Paris. Originally Shoboshobo was a project
that involved a group of Japanese visual artists and musicians
and “toured through Japan as an art bus with interactive and
collaborative happenings taking place in different places”. Fair
enough. Mehdi’s been featured in a ton of creative mags and
showed his work across most of Europe. This dude is a
heavyweight of this crazy style and just one look at Shobo’s
website shows the almost obsesive compulsive nature of his
doodles (there are literally thousands on there). These cool
sweatshirts will be available at The Maze but we don’t think
anyone should buy one for fear of death - that way we can
get the lot.
BORNE | 48 BORNE | 49

Dylan Martorell
Music plays a big part in this Aussie’s life and influences
his work greatly as does the natural world, the elements,
geographical oddities, human rituals and mythology!! We
just can’t stop wondering how long that took?

Maybe it’s just the comic geek in
me but I really love this stuff. It’s
just psychedelic enough, just trippy
enough, to have that seventies
Robert Crumb feel about it but the
mad intricacy takes it to a whole
other level. I dig it. I dig it a lot.
Zane Kozak

Borne
to
shine.
Photography Armando Ferrari
Fashion Editor Lindsay Lees
Pink top £135, black trousers £165 both Pinko @ Cruise Jeans
Fur jacket £495 Matthew Williamson @ Cruise
Blue zip shoes £200 Kurt Geiger @ House of Fraser
Gold necklace £16 Monsoon
Gold bracelets £10 (above), £12 (below) both Aldo

Black dress £1,195 Matthew Williamson @ Cruise
Ring £75 Rings Eclectic @ Cruise
Earrings £7 Accessorize
Tights model’s own YSL necktie & diamante bracelets stylist’s own
Jumpsuit £670 Diesel Catwalk Collection @ Cruise Jeans
Black & gold shoes £190 Strutt @ Cruise Jeans
Hoop earrings £5, Gold clutch £25 both Aldo
Bracelet £10 Accessorize

Green dress £220 Malene Birger @ Cruise
Gold shoes £310 Gucci @ Cruise
Green dress as before
Headpiece made to order by Mhari McMullan

Green satin jacket £180 Arrogant Cat @ Cruise Jeans
Purple dress £195 Coast @ House of Fraser
Pink tights £5, ring £15 both Accessorize
Purple shoes £290 Prada @ House of Fraser
Necklace £59.95 Whistles @ House of Fraser

Photographer Armando Ferrari
Fashion Editor & Stylist Lindsay Lees
Make up Ana Cruzalegui using NARS and Philosophy www.anacruzalegui.com
Hair Gary Lees for Lees & Thompson using Tecni.art by L’Oreal Professionnel
Backdrop and headpiece created by Mhari McMullan www.madebymother.blogspot.com
Model Emma D @ Superior Model Management
Make up Assistant Lynsey Reilly

Susie Bubble.
So Borne Magazine has deemed my credentials as a London-based fashion blogger who goes by the pseudonym
of Susie Bubble (http://stylebubble.typepad.com... shameless link plug), interesting/insightful/informative
enough to give me this page space. Or they were desperate for a space filler that would hopefully just blind
people with pretty images of cool things. Either way, I’m happy to oblige by spouting off about things that I
randomly love, mainly of the fashion ilk and sharing my passion for the undertalked-about, the slightly odd and
the renegade. Let Borne and Bubble come together in a messy, amalgamated heap then...
All the fash mags keep impressing upon you
that chunky knits are so ‘in’ and ‘very this
season’ but I’m not quite sure they were
thinking of the extremes of chunky knitting that
Sandra Backlund goes to. It’s not about hiding
in a big fat wooly sleeping bag sweater but
sculpting shapes and intricate detailing with
wool. The meticulous knitting actually makes
my brain hurt, trying to think how Backlund
managed to make the garments all by herself.
Backlund hails from Stockholm and works in a
quite isolated way, leaving her collections free
from the pressures of fashion trends. I’m very
much into the idea of making things ordinary
seem extraordinary so Backlunds’ clothes
peg dress and peg-inspired wool structures
tick that box perfectly. www.sandrabacklund.
com (Photography Ola Bergengren www.
olabergengren.com).
Staying on the subject of wearable
art, DJ/stylist/designer all-in-one Nova
Dando has really got me thinking about
the possibilities of light in garments. If
Hussein Chalayn’s LED sci-fi creations
seem all too lofty and static-looking (as
well as coming with a migraine inducing
price tag), then Dando’s dresses made
of neon tube loops are surely meant for
fun and frolicks. I’m dying to get hold
of one to wear over my scruffiest grey
jersey t-shirt and American Apparel
tulip pocket skirt matching the colour of
the light tubes. The term ‘nu-rave’ may
well and truly be buried but this doesn’t
mean all outfit associations with the term
need to be exiled too. www.novadando.
com (Photography Craig Cowling www.
naughtyjames.com).
For further adornment, I’m looking at
the reassessments of materials that
make 21st Century jewellery all the more
interesting. Wooden jewellery isn’t necessarily
going to be the African-inspired
new-age hippie sort you would conjure
up, because Bethan Laura Wood has
used 3mm birchwood ply to make
sharp, graphic chains of various-sized
hexagonal links. The hexagon shapes
are also coloured partially with blocks
of bright colours. I like the fact that you
can go minimal or max with the jewellery
formed with these wooden links, making
heavy necklaces or simple bracelets.
www.woodlondon.co.uk. Available @
www.no-one.co.uk.
Another material that has been reassessed
is Perspex. Used shoddily, you
get ASOS-style rough edged butterfly
pendants. Used precisely and you get
House of Flora’s clear moulded headbands
in apt Crimbo colours of red and
green. I’m pretty sure if Santas’ elves
got a high fashion makeover, they would
be wearing these headbands paired
with Christopher Kane’s velvet jeweltoned,
skater-skirted dresses. www.
houseofflora.net.
Ending on a red note (by the by, I
didn’t really mean for this to be as
Christmas themed as it was with
the knits, the lights and the Crimbo
colours…), I really can’t get the idea
of a red pvc trenchcoat out of my
head and it was Maaike Mekking’s
version that first slayed me. It doesn’t
help that the collection from which the
trench hails from is called ‘She’s Lost
Control’, named after my favourite
Joy Division song. So I’ll be willing the
trench to hopefully go on sale as it
can’t be healthy going into 2008, still
obsessing about it. www.maaikemekking.com
A warning sign “DO NOT EAT” should be applied to
these tasty smelling Philosophy products for the holidays.
Warm up to the Gingerbread Man exfoliating
hot salt tub and shower scrub. With sea salt, plankton
and salt extracts that help moisturize, tone and
smooth the skin this is just what the doctor ordered.
Follow with the foaming bubble bath and shower gel
for added spice. Gingerbread Man Scrub, £20.00
Gingerbread Man Shower Gel, £17.00, John Lewis
or www.philosophy.com
For a delicious mix of fresh cranberry and sweet floral,
try Philosophy’s ultra rich 3-in-1 shampoo, body
wash, and bubble bath in Cranberry. Don’t forget to
follow with the moisturizing body lotion. This decadent
fragrance will last with you all day and put you
in the holiday mood. Memory Cranberry Set £18.50,
John Lewis or www.philosophy.com
Add some metallic sparkle to those peeps with
L’Oreal’s Colour Appeal Chrome Shine in Brown
Lame and Starry Night. Available at Boots or
Superdrug.
I so love this folding lipstick holder from Penhaligons
in metallic silver leather, a perfect evening
accessory. Lipstick Holder £45 Penhaligons Princes
Square or try www.penhaligons.com
Anni’s gonna beat your face.
I get around…
The holiday season has snuck upon us quicker than we can say “I know you’re Christmas
shopping, but friends don’t let friends wear glitter before noon!” This is a fantastic time of
year to spoil yourself and the ones you love with luscious products that will keep you
smelling sweet, sugar kissed, and shining like a late night disco ball all throughout
New Year.
Pucker up, Buttercup... get your shine on!
Long Lasting Lip Shine from L’Oreal in Always
Pink and Cinnamon Addict... great alone or layered
over lipstick. Available at Boots or Superdrug.
Tinte Cosmetics Flavoured Lip Shine in Pink
Lemonade... tastes as good as it smells with a
subtle pink iridescent shade. Tinte Flavoured Lip
Shine £12.00
Pair up with Tinte Cosmetics Shimmering Face
Pearls in Rose Petals and Sun Kissed. Gorgeous
on the eyes and cheeks for instant attention!
Tinte Shimmering Face Pearls
£10.00 Available in the UK through
www.powdersandpotions.com
Add a sparkle and sweetness to that pout with
Philosophy’s Lip Shine in Raspberry Sorbet and
Sugar Cookie. Philosophy Lip Shine £10.00,
John Lewis or www.philosophy.com
For sheer natural rose tint, try Korres Full Colour
Gloss (£11) in 33 Nude, with added Cherry Oil
for extra lip hydration. Korres, 220 Buchanan
Street Glasgow, www.korres.com
To cater to those lovely faces of ours this winter, give
yourself some TLC and a radiant glow with these fab
finds...
Try Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse oil (£23.50) for a simple
way to break down even the toughest of make-up,
environmental pollutants and residual skin products
that build-up during the day. A plant-based cleansing
oil, fortified with Olive and Kukui oils.
Follow with the soap-free, foaming Special Cleansing
Gel (£19.40). Purifying lavender extract and naturallyfoaming
Quillaja Saponaria removes impurities and
excess oils while Balm Mint cools and calms the skin.
Available at Brown Cow 130-132 West Regent St
Glasgow 0141 221 2500 or try www.dermalogica.com
L’Oreal’s latest day cream Derma Genesis has become
a favourite. The texture is smooth, hydrating, instantly
absorbed, and gives skin a light-reflecting dewy glow
while Pro-Xylane and Hyaluronic Acid helps the
renewal of surface skin cells. Derma Genesis Day
Cream 50ml £18.99 at Boots
For a simple once a week regime to smooth skin and
cleaner pores try Korres Olive Stones Natural Face
Scrub (£14). Great for getting rid of black spots and
dead skin cells... post shaven boys take note!
The ultimate dull and tired complexion fixer upper... try
Korres Wild Rose Mask (£16) once a week for instant
brightening and illuminating effects. With Wild Rose, vitamin
C and a complex of herbal extracts. Use once a
week for clear and radiant skin! Korres, 220 Buchanan
Street Glasgow, www.korres.com
From killer music videos to adverts with pant wearing youths at a gig, I’m glad things are ready
to kick into the low gear shake what yo mama gave you months. I’ve been diligently preparing
my homemade lip balm pots to give to friends this Christmas... yes, I’m crap with surprises! And
in the coming days will jet off on location, to Toronto and Los Angeles to collaborate with some
amazing new talents so watch this space! Oh, and... Caring is sharing guys, Happy Holidays. XX

linded by the light
Photography Paul de Luna

BORNE | 78 BORNE | 79

Photographer Paul de Luna
Hair & Make Up Ana Cruzalegui using MAC Pro & L’Oreal Professionnel Tecni.art
Model Kristy @ PH
Associate Producer Brandon Booth

Britney Spears
Blackout
(Jive Records)
From being a lollipop sucking, sex denying clean teen Britney Spears has evolved into a vagina flashing drunken time bomb. There have been the rehab visits, weird asexual MTV
Awards performances, shaved heads and lost custody battles over her children. Her demise seems the epitome of the American dream gone wrong. However, when this madness is
taken in a musical context it seems the perfect concoction for a fascinating musical project. Indeed, ‘Blackout’ is the sound of a mad woman’s scribblings and it seems the songwriters
and producers alike have had a bloody ball with this fruitcake. It’s a surge of warped sound waves, electronically perverted vocals, drum loops and glam rock theatrics. Song
after song is executed with bizarre intent that showcases the rupturing Spears mindset. Lead single ‘Gimme More’, is ultramodern, seething with a rage aimed at Spears’ critics that is
progressively asphyxiated by tides of electronic detonations. Such rage is apparent in the media hating ‘Piece of Me’, which sees Spears’ voice disembodied amid thrashing synths.
Indeed, just as tedium develops, bizarre vocal gymnastics and sonic oddities surprise the listener. At times Spears sounds like a mad man wailing from a padded cell (‘Radar’ and
‘Freakshow’) as her vocals are bent inside out. Maybe I’m a freak, but I don’t really give a damn/I’m crazy as a motherfucker! Spears declares at one point. Yes you are love, but it
sounds pretty good. Gavin Cumine
Junior Boys
Last Exit
(Domino)
Following the success of Junior Boys’ rather fine second LP ‘So This
is Goodbye’ last year, Domino treats ‘Last Exit’, the moody Canadian
duo’s 2004 debut, to a reissue just in time for Christmas. Fans of the
lush, futuristic melancholy electronica (melancholica?) of So This is
Goodbye will likely find plenty more to enjoy amongst Last Exit’s dubby
spaced out house and clipped, but highly melodic electropop: ‘High
Come Down’ is cut from the same cloth as Hot Chip’s early lo-fi updates of the classic Prince formula, while
‘Birthday’ is a terrific yearning electronic ballad pitched somewhere between New Order and Erland Oye
that easily justifies its reappearance in remixed form towards the end of the album.
The trouble is that, impressive though Last Exit is, at an epic 72 minutes, it all starts to feel a little one-paced,
a little bloodless, a little too tasteful for its own good almost, and thus ultimately unsatisfying. Ian MacBeth
Lightspeed Champion
Falling off the Lavender Bridge
(Domino)
Remember Test Icicles? Now they really were shit. And not just run-of-the-mill, bog-standard, Sturgeon’s Law
kind of shit, but especially, exceptionally awful. So it’s something of a shock to discover that ‘Galaxy of the
Lost’, the opening track from Falling off the Lavender Bridge, the debut solo album by former Test Icicle Dev
Hynes AKA Lightspeed Champion, is actually rather lovely: a winsome, willowy indie folk gem, that mercifully
could hardly be more different from the clamorous, ham-fisted
rave-metal of Hynes’ former band. Hynes fails to sustain
the quality beyond ‘Galaxy of the Lost’ however and willowy
and winsome soon give way to simpering and insipid.
Though they were dreadful, at least Test Icicles provoked
a response, even if it was just the irresistible urge to run
shrieking from the room, but Falling off the Lavender Bridge
actually is just run-of-the-mill, bog-standard Sturgeon’s Law
kind of shit. And maybe that’s worse in a way. Ian MacBeth
Tunes.
What you should or shouldn’t be listening to as you read Borne. Words Ian MacBeth Photo Sam Stevens
Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
(We Are Free)
Gone are the days of skinny jean and tie bands flooding
out of New York. That retro scene has died. What is evolving
is something far more forward thinking as bands like
Vampire Weekend and Santo Gold are sonically employing
the sound of the African jungle. At the apex of this scene
are Yeasayer, a hip four piece from Brooklyn, NYC, who
lather their sound within the sun beaten blanket of Afrobeat.
While this may raise some eyebrows, debut album ‘All Hour
Cymbals’ dispels any negative preconceptions as quickly
as a lion devours a zebra’s testicles. What we get are indulgently
ethereal vocals, ancestral drums and enraged hand
clapping as seen on opener ‘Sunrise’. The brilliant ‘2080’
radiates with celestial charisma that if played at the top of
Kilimanjaro would surely call followers of a new religion to its
peaks. Yeasayer could effectively soundtrack the birth of a
new world or even Attenborough’s Planet Earth and everything
would just make sense. What they leave us with is the
sound of the world descending into a violent stampede and
Yeasayer’s ambitious desire to escape any defining scene
must be applauded. Gavin Cumine
To Rococo Rot
ABC123
(Domino)
If the prospect of an album composed to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Helvetica typeface sounds rather too dry an endeavour for you
taste, well, that probably wouldn’t surprise me greatly, but ABC123, the new mini-album by influential German electronicists To
Rococo Rot, is just such a musical tribute to that most ubiquitous of fonts. Though ABC123 sees the trio eschew their usual earthy analogue
style for a more digital approach, they lose none of their personality in the translation; performed live on unsynched computers, at its best
ABC123 has a spontaneity and a playfulness that is sadly absent from so much digital or pre-programmed music. Inevitably this
approach doesn’t always work but there are enough ideas here to justify the modest running time (a mere 20 minutes).
I do wonder what this strange, at times uneven, record has in common with the perfectly ordered passivity of Helvetica though. Ian MacBeth
One of the San Sebastian boys drinks in our local and that’s
how we got to talking about the band. We wanted to take
their pic and ask them some questions. Unfortunately 30
mins before this pic was taken a bunch of bottle
weilding junkies thought they’d be away with one of the
band’s mobiles. So, if you work for a phone company and
want to show your support for new music, please send a
shiny new handset to the boys.
They’ll be your friends forever.
‘The way Niall and I first got to know each other,’ says San Sebastian’s Vinnie
Black ‘was in First Year Home Eekies when we all had to make a toilet bag with a
design on it and Niall did the wee Nirvana face. After that we started listening to
tunes together and trying to learn them on the guitar. Then Craig came along and
played bass.’
‘We weren’t like: “Let’s form a band!” or anything though,’ Niall Gahagan explains
‘it just kind of came together.’
What came together was a three-piece called Epsilon, formed when the boys
were but a mere fourteen. Epsilon, however, wasn’t fated to survive its members’
maturing musical tastes, and in particular a prog epiphany that seemed to render
redundant the ‘very, very standard’ diet grunge they had been playing previously.
‘Pink Floyd was a real turning point’ says Vinnie soberly.
‘After we discovered Pink Floyd,’ says Craig McGinnis ‘we just stopped writing
tunes.’
The crisis of confidence wasn’t terminal though, and a few years later the three
friends, with the addition of new bassist Mark Stansfield, regrouped. Whereas
Epsilon had been fettered by conventional verse-chorus-verse song structures,
inspired by Pink Floyd and their spiritual successors Radiohead, San Sebastian
sought a more experimental, intuitive approach; Craig cites electronic music, ‘the
dynamics of dance music and the way it’s put together… the flow of it, the way it
swells and builds and breaks down’, as another influence. It’s a sound that made
this writer nostalgic for the shoegaze bands I listened to as a teenager: Slowdive,
Ride, Verve (no ‘The’, d’uh), even the mighty My Bloody Valentine.
The Pyramids
The Pyramids
(Domino)
San Sebastian.
From left Mark Stansfield, Niall Gahagan, Craig McGinnis and Vincent Black Lightning.
‘At our first gig we only had four songs and then this 12 minute jazz-fusion freakout
thing in the middle just so we could fill out half an hour’ says Niall ‘It was only
when someone said we sounded like them that I started listening to My Bloody
Valentine though, but now I’d definitely say they were one of my favourite bands.
Maybe we’ve started sounding more like them since I started listening to them
though, I don’t know.’
San Sebastian are due to release their debut single ‘Opaque Veil’/’This is Modern’
on Prestel records in the New Year, but in the meantime they also have an upcoming
audiovisual extravaganza at The Arches to plan for.
‘One of the criticisms we got when we were first starting out is that, because
Niall and Craig both sing lead and play guitar, we don’t really have a front man,’
explains Vinnie ‘so that’s why we tried to incorporate visuals into gigs. It distracts
from the fact that it’s just four guys on stage, it’s something more to look at so
maybe people won’t be looking so much for a frontman.’
Niall goes on: ‘For the gig at The Arches we’ve pretty much built a wall of TVs that
we’re going to have hooked up to a laptop, and play videos off that in time with
the music. Hopefully, it’ll be pretty amazing.’
‘Opaque Veil’/’This is Modern’ will be released through Prestel records in early
2008. www.myspace.com/sansebastianband
During the marathon jam sessions that would eventually result in their band’s excellent Derdang Derdang LP, Archie Bronson Outfit members Mark
Cleveland and Sam Windett found themselves mining a vein of deeper, dirtier, more ragged rock and roll than would eventually appear on that
album. There were glimpses of the real beast beneath Derdang Derdang’s feral holler throughout that terrific record, but now Sam and Mark have
decided to give full expression to their freer instincts in the form of a full-length debut under the name The Pyramids. Written and recorded at speed
in a barn specially converted for the purpose, The Pyramids is a frenetic, aggressively raw mutation of the Derdang Derdang formula that manages
to find a voice of its own out of the primitive racket of the music. Opener ‘White Disc of Sun’ is a brilliantly overdriven surge of primal proto-punk and
current single ‘Hunch Your Body, Love Somebody’ is an exhilarating nervous breakdown of a song that bears comparison with labelmates Clinic,
though has a deranged darkness that Clinic haven’t exhibited since their early singles. It’s no Derdang Derdang, but nor should The Pyramids be
viewed as a mere by-product of ABO, and the promised live shows next year ought to be a blast and a half. Ian MacBeth

Contemplation of 2007’s Top Ten Best LPs lists
has hardly started and already Glasgow’s Sons &
Daughters are throwing their hat into the ring for next
year’s honours as they tour the UK giving audiences
across the country a taste of their forthcoming third
album, This Gift, the first great record of 2008.
While Sons & Daughters’ last album, 2005’s The Repulsion
Box, saw the band adding flesh to the bare,
raw grooves of their debut, This Gift is the sound
of that flesh tautening into lean, strong muscle; the
wiry and wild-eyed street brawlers of Love the Cup
have grown into agile and powerful prizefighters.
It’s an album that is unashamedly accessible and
ambitious, yet sacrifices none of the distinctive
drama and menace, that unique ‘Scottish gothic’
sound, that made the band such a thrilling prospect
when they first appeared on the Glasgow scene
a few years ago. This is partly down to producer
and former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, who’s
collaborative production methods during recording
SONS AND
DAUGHTERS
Words Ian MacBeth Photos Eve
sessions brought out the pop already inherent in the
band’s new songs, and helped the group achieve a
sound to match the scope and ambition of their new
vision. Less Gun Club, more Fleetwood Mac and
terrific for it, This Gift could easily crossover into the
mainstream (anti-celebrity battle cry ‘Gilt Complex’
is already on rotation on Radio 2, and it’s easy to imagine
‘Darling’, an itchy-footed re-write of Iggy Pop’s
‘Some Weird Sin’, following it), so before the start
of what’s sure to be a long, strange and hopefully
hugely successful year for her band, I spoke to lead
singer Adele Bethel about pop, fame, escape and
learning to let go of control.
How has the tour been going?
“Yeah, really well. We’re in Cambridge tonight, so
hopefully there’ll be lots of bookish types. I’ve been
surprised by the audiences, it’s been quite a mixed
audience, a little different from before; there’s kids
there but there’s also some older people as well, I
think because we’ve been getting quite a lot of plays
of the new single on 6 Music and Radio 2.”
How’s the rest of the new material going down?
“Well, we’re quite a humble band so we’re always
shocked when anyone likes us, but people have
been really loving it and it’s bizarre to see someone
singing along to something they don’t know. It’s
been really good, really encouraging, so I just can’t
wait ‘til the album comes out.”
This Gift seems a far more accessible, more ambitious
album than either Love the Cup or The Repulsion
Box; were you consciously seeking a more
commercial sound this time around?
“Well to be honest, the last two records have not
been commercial records at all so I think this album’s
commercial for us, but I’m not sure that it’s got
a massive commercial appeal. We didn’t write it for
that purpose really, but we did consciously decide
to write a pop record. We just got bored of the last
record, playing it live a lot, and we just thought, you
know what? We want to write something really poppy,
because we love pop music and it just seemed
like the right thing to do. I don’t mean pop music in
the sense of, y’know…Girls Aloud, I mean pop music
in the sense of The Smiths, The Breeders, The Pixies,
that’s pop music to me. Everyone likes pop music
though; we’re not ashamed to like it.”
Well, you recently covered 'Killer' by Adamski didn’t
you?
“We started playing (The Temptations’) ‘Papa was a
Rolling Stone’ and were really getting into it when we
thought, “Actually, this is just ‘Killer’ by Adamski.” So
we listened to ‘Killer’ on an iPod and there was a line
in it “All the sons and daughters know how it feels”,
and we thought this is a sign, let’s cover this, so
we did. I think it’s a great song, it’s a political song,
it’s about racism and depression more generally. I
just think it’s a great pop song. I like pop songs that
have got something to say and I think that song has
something to say.”
You covered Parliament’s ‘Comin’ in out of the Rain’
on another b-side, and that’s another powerful, uplifting
pop song with a strong political message.
“I love that though, I love when lyrics actually mean
something; that’s the reason I buy records. I mean,
I’ll buy records for music but if the lyrics are bad I
won’t. It really is that important to me and it always
has been. The band I fell in love with when I was
fourteen was The Smiths, so when I buy records, the
most important thing for me is what a person has to
say. I think you can get feeling from instrumental music
too, but I personally prefer lyrics that have some
sort of poetic quality, or political message.”
While I was listening to This Gift, especially during
songs like ‘Flags’ and ‘Iodine’ near the end, I was reminded
of PJ Harvey’s Stories from the City, Stories
from the Sea, in that that album saw PJ Harvey retain
the intensity that had characterised her early work,
yet also manage to channel it into a more polished,
less raw sound and win a bigger audience in doing
so. Was it ever a struggle to hold onto the distinctive
Sons And Daughters dynamic while still trying to
develop this new poppier sound?
“I think Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is
maybe my favourite PJ Harvey record. I think it’s her
definitive album; I really love it. But that’s what we’re
aiming for, never to get away from being ourselves,
but to write something that’s not as scratchy and raw
as our earlier stuff. I think we know how we sound as
a band and I think anyone could produce our record,
or we could write a song in any style, and it would
still sound like us. I mean I really hope that’s the
case. There’s still Scottish accents on there, there’s
still dark, depressing lyrics on there, so I don’t think
we’ve gotten away from what we’re about and I don’t
think we ever will.”
How was working with Bernard Butler?
“It was hard, it was really hard to begin with. It was
really difficult because we got someone who is an
artist-producer and we were a bit taken aback at
first. He came to our rehearsal room in Glasgow to
hear the songs and… he didn’t rip them apart but
he certainly told us what he thought of certain parts,
and we’ve never had that before. It was almost like
having a fifth person in the band to turn round and
say “Don’t do that”, “Move the chorus to there”, and
it was really quite scary for us to have that. He really
sort of blew us out of our comfort zone. So we were
really worried on the first day when he came up, but
then we all started settling in and we realized that we
needed to do something different, that we wanted
to do something different, so we pushed aside our
pride and let Bernard take a bit of control. It was
strange at first, but he brought the best out in us in
the end.”
I think This Gift
will be a big
success for
you; how do
you feel about
the prospect
of a bigger
level of fame?
The songs 'Gilt
Complex' and
'Darling' suggest
a cynicism
about celebrity:
do you worry
about being
sucked into
that world?
“I think a lot of bands have that (attitude towards
celebrity). I would shudder to think that I would ever
grace the cover of Heat or anything like that. I really
am quite repulsed by that entire world. The fashion
world doesn’t scare me that much, but I am a little
wary of it. I don’t think it would change us. I think a
band like Arctic Monkeys are a good example of a
band that criticizes a lot of the superficiality of celebrity
and yet they’re a really famous, big band. I think
it’ll be fine if it happens, fingers crossed that it does.”
Some of the albums songs, 'Flags' for instance, or
'House in my Head', address themes of escape
or release, but also the danger that our means of
escape can sometimes become traps themselves.
“I think there’s definitely a linear progression from the
last record, which was really about being trapped
in your head and this one’s really about escaping,
escaping modern society, escaping depression,
having your own freedom. But there are still a lot
of dark ideas. It’s about escaping from your own
mind, but not necessarily to better things. The song
‘Iodine’ is basically about predicting the end of the
world and running away on a boat to possibly die by
your own hand. Things like touring so much, being
trapped in a van, make me think about these things.
There’s that element of almost going insane when
you’re in a real claustrophobic period of your life,
when you’re stuck somewhere. It’s not how I feel all
the time, but those ideas would come to me and I
would dwell on them when I got home and decide to
write a song about it.”
Your homecoming gig in is in the Grand Ole Opry
(the excellent, authentic country & western social
club on Glasgow’s south side), which is a quite an
underused venue: is it one Sons and Daughters have
a particular affection for?
“I’ve only seen one show in there which was Smog
a few years ago, but I just think it’s a really nice
venue and we wanted to do something different in
Glasgow. We could have played somewhere really
obvious like the ABC, but we wanted to something a
bit more intimate so that’s why we chose the Grand
Ole Opry. And the bar’s cheap.”
You were recently in New York; how was that?
“It was pretty hectic. It was mainly a press trip so
we had lots of things to do, but we played a show
in Bowery Ballroom and that was really great. I love
New York; it’s my favourite city next to Glasgow. I
love that venue as well, I love that whole area, the
Lower East Side, there’s some great places to find
great food, great clothes, great records, I just love
being there in general. And Blondie lived there,
which is quite exciting.”
Sons & Daughters play the Grand Ole Opry on 6
December; This Gift is released through Domino
Records on 28 January.

Oh, man... And we thought it couldn’t get any worse...
how naive we were. We’re gonna get sued, we’re gonna
get sued, we’re gonna get sued...
We all know the Glasgow Massive live and die for fashion. Whether it’s the dollyburds,
painted orange with Internationale bangles up to their elbows or the
Wags’n’slags blandly fake smiling in Armani as some hungover townie wannabe
retail slut lugs over their latest black ensemble. Scotland has style, baby! (well,
like, umm, most of the time?) That’s why this year’s Scottish Style Awards and
particularly the surrounding events of the week were such a resounding success.
Instead of the polite applause of London Fashion Weak, only in Glasgow
would one feel drinks would actually be sloshed on the stage in delight, such
was the reception given at the New Glasgow Fashion show. Even though it
was sponsored by Silverburn Shopping Centre (a fashion mecca?!? Smacks of
goddamn high street commercialism. Where was the Moet sponsorship?), the
designers for the most part were awesome, especially Deryck Walker’s sharp
tailoring and Aimee McWilliams, in particular, a stunning gold metallic dress - I
would have head-butted Kelly Cooper Barr to get my hands on it.
Yes it’s quite frankly all about party dresses right now as the xmas shindig season
steps up to warp speed. Although it seems like Halloween was just the other
day. I ventured out in a suitably fabulous Supergirl costume on the aforementioned
holiday. I hit Lulu’s in Edinburgh with my sparkly lip gloss to see if I could
find a Clark Kent type to mount. Why is it that 99.78% of the Boys In Edinburgh
(yes that’s BIE!!! Which is what I said to most of them) A. Speak with a terrible
English/Scottish boarding school bumboy drawl? B. Wear a Ballantynes navy
jumper or a top with a rugby reference on it? C. Think a pearl necklace is what
mummy wears at Christmas. Jesus Christ, I am strictly dickly but it’s enough to
send a blonde stunner like myself straight to the nearest attractive lesbian (there
was a Batgirl...) whilst glugging frantically at my Flirtini. I found myself back in
Glasvegas later that week where I ventured out onto Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday
night. It’s not unlike the Gaza Strip, but with more ambulances as drunken
students in cheap stilettos stumble pavement bound. Thankfully I found refuge
in BOX – a live music venue and great slightly grungey/electro bar. You can see
bands thrashing in the window as you walk past! It rocks.
Most early Saturday evenings find me in front of the television at the moment.
I am getting a LOT of inspiration for festivity wear from Strictly Come Dancing
(Listen people, Saturday night TV is Uber bloody the rage at the moment. It’s the
new high waisted wide trouser!) I’m not ashamed that I Heart watching schlebs
sashay around interspersed with Brucie’s Alzheimersy nattering. I adore the
costumes too. Even if Kelly Brook does look like she has coated herself in Pritt
Stick and run through Accersorize. And is it just me or is Letitia Dean actually
Miss Piggy’s twin?
I can’t mention the ballroom blitz without raising the ugly pantomime head of X
factor. I mean I much prefer Dermot O’s presenting (God. How actually terribly
shit was Kate Thornton and she wasn’t even fat or thin – just that terrible place
in the middle!) I’m boooored of the singing though. I’d MUCH rather see the
psychosis and mental illness of the auditionees! Or watch how much more Sharon
and Danni’s faces stretch every week. (Danni – spelling her name with an ‘i’
bless her. Makes her so much more feminine, sexy and cool, ehh... No!)
My favourite episode was where the finalists went home to share the ‘good news’
with their families while Westlife or Celine Dion songs played over the reunions.
“Well, my nana’s dying wish was to hear me sing on the telly and I have got half
an ear and no feet and I start the day with Prozac – But I feel whole again when
I sing, Simon!!” The homes of the finalists I am convinced were in fact all shot in
the same house as surely they can’t all have the same Ikea furniture, laminate
flooring and mums in Next’s finest. Picking up the award for Best Dressed X
factor staff member ’07 is Sinitta who styles those under Simon’s so macho wing.
In one episode the ex-popstrel rocket was wearing a top which was basically a
Boo, you whore.
plastic flamenco style fan. She looked highly flammable. Pass the lighter.
Talking of having no feet... What the hell is going on with that muppet Heather
Mills McCartney? Anyone would think she had lost a leg the way she has harped
on about her life lately. “Dormant volcano” of feelings indeed. She should go and
bring out a range of vegetarian sausages or learn to do charity work quietly. At
the very least she should get a stylist. Why does she always wear scuffed black
platforms and such ill fitting garments? No wonder Stella never liked her. She is
so OTT serious. I hate those lacking in the superficial things that really matter.
Another star in need of dire fashion first aid is the train wreck Ms Britney Spears.
I mean honestly, where does one even begin? She dresses like a two bit ho that
has shopped in Selfridges. That MTV performance was a joke, the only person
she has being saying ‘Gimme More’ to with any conviction lately is clearly the
Domino’s delivery boy. She looked obese with her sausage supper stomach
hanging out over that bejewelled bikini she had sourced from QVC’s Dimoneque
Day. And when the camera zoomed in on her jaded face I screamed with horror
at her ratty hair extensions. Perhaps she was preparing early for Halloween.
That’s what happens to your hair when you shave it off in front of the world’s
press at a salon called ‘Esthers’. Where has the highly potent sexual pop image
gone? Costco’s by in large.
I dislike seeing those like Amy Winehouse too, who I see as genuinely talented,
literally going Back to Slack. She never really gives that many interviews so one
never gets the opportunity to ask... Do you ever get a chance to wash those
denim hotpants?? Have you contacted the World Wildlife Fund to commence a
rescue operation on the woodland creatures nesting in your hair? Are you aware
that injecting drugs into your toes A. Completely RUINS silk ballet pumps? B.
Although it keeps you nice and slim (cool!) it’s not so good for your heart...?
Readers let not these shameful celebrities allow you to carelessly dress and
accept slovenly ways in the run up to the Christmas Holidays and beyond. And
remember ladies that as you stuff rice cakes down your throat in an effort to
shoehorn yourself into that Little Black Dress - a diet is like a puppy. It’s for life,
not just for Christmas.
Stuff, I, like, totally LOVE!!
• Boutique Hotels, mmmm! I spent a few illicit nights recently in Tiger
Lily in George Street and Marks Hotel in Bath Street, beautiful flash décor and
fabulous food in both. Live a little and take someone apart from your girl/boyfriend
away for a sumptuous night of passion.
• Every Fashionista should find a copy of ‘Vogue Covers: On Fashion’s
Front Page’ (£40.00) in their thigh High Kurt Geiger/Pantherella over the knee
sock with contrasting border. The stunning book has 250 images selected from
Vogue’s archives of pure fashion fantasy.
• Winter Trends! Larger than large PVC handbags – I’ll finally be able
to carry everything with me – (check out Prada) and shimmery metallic/leather
garments for winter ‘07. I am still looking for someone to whip me into shape in
one of them. Ahem! Check out Dolce & Gabbana (bypass the fact that Leona
Lewis looks like a bit of a heifer in D&G in the Bleeding Heart video)… and M&S
(they have a great versatile black leather shift dress).
• Zeitgeist the movie, it’s had over a million hits on Google Video. It is a
grabby, cranky, can’t stop watching it documentary that purports to tell the truth
about 9/11, Christianity and International Banking. Alternatively just go to the
GFT and catch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ before Christmas.
Ciao Whore fans xx