Hello again, it’s been a while. Nothing much to report: My big camera hasn’t seen much action lately what with one thing or another but I have at least managed to scratch the photographic itch in other ways. I am (of course) referring to, Field Notes, which recently saw a massive upsurge in page views which freaked me out a bit. Then I realised that it was because Coudal Partners had linked to me (they are the folk behind those lovely Field Notes memo books).

I must also say a big thank you to Breaks of 10 for their recent featurette  and link to this site. I was as surprised as anyone to here I have, “big plans.” To  be honest, I am only habouring the vaguest of inklings but I do certainly have a few ideas up my sleeve. I occurred to be that the average time frame for an idea forming in my imagination to actually being realised is currently about two years. Anyone who has had to hear me prattle on about Project Shed™ will attest to this.

Enough introduction and onto the blog:

David Hieatt has left howies. I realise this is not earth-shatteringly important, even in my own small world but it has set me thinking. I mean it’s not even that much of a shock but what I do find surprising is that how many people other than myself seem to find this turn of events important to them. I am also intigued by what is percieved to be brand loyalty is actually loyalty to the people (or the ethos) behind the brand.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I was geniunely shocked to read that Robbie Morales has quit Fit (I am still confused by this: who are FitBikeCo without Robbo?). I was also more than a little surprised to see Brant Richards leave On One to start Ragley/Shedfire. Still, if Mr Hieatt’s new ventures turns out as well as Ragley then I don’t think he has anything to worry about.

I find myself more interested in what Mr Hieatt will do next rather than worry about the future of howies. Mind you, lots of people seem to be over looking the fact that Mrs Hieatt will still have her hand firmly on the tiller: That is enough to assure me of a pleasant future for the brand. I don’t think it will will turn out like Zoo York after the Ecko buyout but it may be a little like Stüssy after Shawn Stüssy left the company.

That said, the Spring range was launched yesterday and I am decidedly underwhelmed. For the most part it’s the same old ideas with colours from the same boring palette (the women’s range is rather more exciting in terms of colour). This really irks me because it was only eighteen moths ago that they were producing some fabulous colour, from bright red that is more akin to safety orange and a royal blue with a positively regal hint of heathery purple.

There are a few chinks of light, the Vantage Point jacket for one and last season’s Pembroke for another (a wee bit beyond my price range though and I am also confused as to why they aren’t part of the Hand Me Down collection).

I’ll tell you who is doing it right though: Finisterre. Their baselayers are a perfect fit and use the softest merino on the market whilst their sweatshirts are made from a proprietry mix of 100% cotton outer with a merino inner (and once again, the fit is spot on). Just to avoid any accusations of sycophancy I will say that I thought the hood on Arcus hoody the was too big and the sleeves too short, especially if you want to use the thumb loops (I do have arms like spaghetti though…).

All the videos from last year’s Do Lectures are now available online. My favourite talk from 2009 has to be Tony Davidson. I absolutely loved Alice Taylor’s presentation. If you haven’t seen last years Lectures, they are still available (and my favourite was the Matt Jones/Russell Davies tag team, though Trevor Baylis is a must see!).

I have only recently discovered that The Little Big Voice series of lectures are still available to download (though these are audio only I’m afraid). If you fancy something even more heavyweight (technology-driven and geeky) all the talks from last year’s dConstruct event have been released as podcasts (if you would like to listen to Russell Davies’ effort, he has provided some nice visual aides for you to follow along with).

I have been thoroughly enjoying Matthew Halsall’s Mancunian blend of spiritual jazz. I love the typography on his album covers, the colours have got a wonderful Hanna Barbera vibe. All release are available from Matthew’s on his own label, Gondwana Records (be sure to check out Nat Birchall’s record whilst you’re there).

There is, sadly, little justice in the world and thus: Jonathan Jeremiah will likely never be as huge as he deserves to be. Still, he has scored a record deal with Island and I wish him every success. His first two E.P.s are available from iTunes and I suggest you get them both (though if I’m honest I would worry about the remixes or his cover of Protection, the rest is golden though). The official video for the single Happiness can be found here. While you’re on Youtube you should check out Laura J Martin’s Doki Doki (I got it stuck in my head for days).

Speaking of Protection, Massive Attack have a new album out this week but you already knew that because you’ve bought a copy right? Seriously, it was worth the eight year wait. The tracks featuring Elbow’s Guy Garvey are particularily special, make sure have the deluxe edition of the L.P. so you can listen to the remix of Fatalism: It’s music to get lost in.

I am absolutely in love the the sound of Washed Out. The is a solid write up and an interview on Pitchfork. The première E.P. is called Life of Leisure and is available from Mexican Summer. The production isn’t perfect: The track breaks are abrupt and one track suffers from a noticeable period of dead air at it’s end but in a way that’s part of the appeal. I can’t vouch of the vinyl edition but I wonder if these mistake were intentional as a way of augmented the analogue, lo-fi feel of the music well…. maybe, go with me here. There is actually a second, very limited editon release that is only available on cassette (which you can buy direct from the Washed Out website). If you would like to see what the music sounds like before hear it then take a look at the photography on Ernest Greene’s blog.

The main difference between myself and my internet/creative homies is that they have their act together. Case in point: Gorm has just just produced It’s called Analogue Soul Steal, it’s available for purchase from Blurb (if you follow the link you’ll be able to see a full preview).

My good friend Thomas has put his ‘Scarfboy’ moniker to rest and is now recording as: The Bright-Eyed Sky. He has not spent the winter months idle, preferring instead to keep the cold at bay by writing some new songs (and refreshing some old ones too). Thom maintains a myriad of online profiles and I’m not entirely sure which is the best to send you to.. I’d suggest you start out at his Facebook page an work your way on from there.

Consummate ivory tickler, Stephen McCleery, has a brand new Facebook fan page (well, it was relatively new when I started writing this post, it’s still fresh though). You owe it to your ears to take a listen to his particualr brand of cinematic jazz piano. I am totally clueless about Facebook, I thought there was musical widget on there..? You can definately hear all the tracks from his first E.P. here.

The Arts Desk is an inspiration. For an even better feel for who they are you should read the following interview. Highlights for me so far have been Graeme Thomson’s profile of the late John Martyn and Joe Muggs review of the last decade in electronica.

I can’t read a word of what they write but I still adore Blue Lug’s blog. They’re always coming up with the wackiest of almost implausible (but not never entirely useless) ideas. They’re like the It’ll Never Work of the fixed gear scene. They always seem really stoked in all the photos so after a while their enthusiasm becomes infectious despite the language barrier. Besides, anyone who could come up with the Lollee is alright be me (I’ll leave you to work out what it’s for).

If you’re reading this then I would imagine there’s a fair chance you’ve seen a certain Nigel Sylvester edit or the NYC Bridge Riders videos that were doing the rounds recently. Both were created by 13th Witness and he has since released a follow up, this time featuring Shingo of the T19 crew. The production on all three videos is fantastic and each one has a really youthful, energetic vibe.

It’s taken me ages but I’ve finally caught up on all of Barton’s Britain. If are going to pop over to the Guardian site to take a look then you should also have a gander  at All round the houses (slide No.19 is my favourite). I’m still really digging these soundslide thingies. They seem to have been cropping up more regularly lately and sometimes they work better than a straight forward video.

If you’ve managed to read this far you deserve a reward: I know it’s taken far, far too long but I have bashed together some new mixtapes for your delectation. You can stream them all from the new Radio section (or from my Mixcloud page if you prefer).

Right then that’s enough of my rambling. Thanks for reading (remember, you can leave any comments or recriminations in the box below). I’ll leave you with the fruits of a determination that I find very humbling: Uganda’s first skatepark.