Tag: cool

What day is it?

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing today? Getting through the quarantine okay? I’m gonna guess you’re all as fed up with all that #stayathome and people telling you to be happy and just read a book or something and shoving their sourdough bread in your faces. As for me, I’m so irritated, I think if someone tells me to try that relaxing yoga fitness lovey-dovey Ayurveda session one more time, I’m gonna freak out. But hey, people are bored and they are all probably as frustrated as I am, so I’m gonna let it pass. Just don’t show me your bread anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread, probably more than I should. But no, stop, please.

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So that’s Instagram in a nutshell right now – bread and yoga and books and people telling each other to stay at home. Not the best days that platform has seen, I know. But there’s also this one small corner left of people sharing real moments from their real lives and that’s what I love. I love seeing those crappy pictures taken with their iPhones. I love seeing photographs of dogs and cats sprawled across feet on couches, dinners on plates and flower bouquets lighting up the rooms. Because that’s what life looks like right now. And it’s just a strong reminder that, at basis level, now that we’re all stuck at home, there is only so much that parts and differentiates us. Of course today would be different if I lived in a villa at the beach or had tons of money to spend on stuff online (like the Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing on top), but at the end of the day, that’s all there is. They still watch the same shows, read the same books and only get to leave their houses for those small moments every day. We’re all the same. We’re literally all in this together (*instant HSM flashbacks*).

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And because I love those snapshots from current basic normal life so much, I thought it would be nice to share some moments from my life right now too. In short, most days have consisted of me sleeping in late – as always -, going for walks with my parents and Molly, cuddling with Peaches in bed, doing some uni work, watching TV or YouTube and then reading my book before bed. On a more interesting note, I’ve been cooking a lot for my family and myself – I even made my first pickles yesterday, with chard stems -, I have taken up drawing again and of course I’m always tending to the little jungle in my room. I recently bought two new plant friends, who seem to be super happy with their new home and are quite literally thriving. And another positive thing to come out of this shitty quarantine is my parents and me being forced to find new trails to walk on every day, which has led us to (re)discovering our home and the surrounding lands. We literally got lost in the woods yesterday. I didn’t even know that we had those woods. I do now.

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So, now you know what I’ve been doing. Time for you to actually see. I chose my favourite pics from the past month of my camera roll, all taken with my iPhone, and I hope you like them – for all see down below. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk or just to share your opinion. Also, I’d love to see what you’ve been doing this past month, so please feel free to share your favourite moments on here. And until then, I wish you all a great week and hope that you’re doing well. I’m sending you all the tightest of hugs and, of course, thanks for reading. x

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My Level Of Concern

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. How are you all doing so far? Are you getting through your quarantines okay? Here in Austria, we’re slowly reaching the end of ours, thank god. So far, it’s planned that most shops will reopen next Tuesday, but it all depends on how the numbers will look at that point. I’m hoping for the best, naturally. Maybe they’ll “give” us even more if the numbers are super low. Kinda insane though, when you think about it, isn’t it? We’re all stuck at home, waiting for men in a higher power to finally tell us that we can go out again. Very very freaky. But oh well. We’ll get through this together, right?

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And speaking about quarantines – guess who just saved 2020 for me? Made my day. Made my week. Mady my quarantine. That’s right. My boys. Ty and Josh did it again. Twenty One Pilots resurfaced to save the day. And they did it well because their new song with the title “Level Of Concern” brought smiles and tears not only to my face but those of countless others. The title was trending for hours on Twitter, the single swooped the charts within minutes and right now the uber-cute video has over 4 million clicks on YouTube. That’s what I call taking over the world in a heartbeat.

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It’s not just that the song is absolutely amazing and such a huge surprise as well, but also its backstory makes me incredibly emotional. Apparently, Ty’s mum told him to release a song for the fans in these tough times, to give us something to get our minds off all the negative stuff that’s happening right now and put a smile on our faces. And so Ty went and wrote a song about the time he last felt this lost and isolated. Once again, he dedicated it to his beautiful wife Jenna and turned it into a hopeful, shiny love song. And that’s how “Level Of Concern” came to be. How incredibly cute is that?

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On a personal note, the song really did save me yesterday and really managed to take my mind off things. In a nutshell, it feels like a well-needed hug from my favourite boys. I was actually in the middle of my online class when it got released, so, obviously, I had to leave the “room” for a few minutes. I was lucky, as the teacher had just given us a few minutes to discuss our current projects, so I could disappear without anyone really taking any notice. And then I heard the song and it just changed everything. For those three minutes and a few seconds, I was able to forget everything around me and just be with the guys, back in my comfortable clikkie cloud. The one that I had missed so badly. And after that, funnily enough, I watched the video while being back in “class”. Basically, I watched the video and had a bit of a fangirl freakout live on camera. Apparently, my teacher recorded the whole session for everyone to watch later on. So everyone will be able to watch me have a happy breakdown. Fun stuff. I know, it sounds very strange now, but once you watch the video I’m sure you’ll understand. It’s peak cuteness. Jenna and Ro are in it, glowing as bright as the stars, and Debby has the sweetest scene with Josh.

 

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Also, although the song and the video were released without the boys being cryptic in any way, it still manages to be cryptic, at least a tiny bit. The scenes for the video were all filmed in their homes, their own studios, and they all feature their families and loved ones. But what we also see are the past versions of Twenty One Pilots. Their past eras. Ty is literally wearing the same shirt he wore in, like, 2011. Back when it all started for them. So, while being so simple and sweet, the video and the song still stand for something more. They stand for everything. Another masterpiece, basically. Oh, and let’s not forget that it’s all for a good cause as well, as the parts of the proceeds go to the charity Crew Nation, which is supporting all the people that were supposed to go on tour with various artists now. I can just repeat myself over and over again – I love this band so freaking much.

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To be honest, ever since I heard the song for the first time, nothing much has been of any concern to me. Naturally, I’ve had the song on repeat all day and all night and I’m not even considering changing that. And another thing the song did is that it brought me hope. And an even bigger urge to see Ty and Josh in June. My mum and I still have our tickets for their show in Dublin on the 25th of June. One of 14 shows they’ll be doing this year. And their only headline show. I just have to go. I can’t have that be canceled. I just can’t. And if I can’t be in Dublin, I’ll go to one of those other 13 shows. I will see Twenty One Pilots this year. I swear to god and everything and everyone else. I will see them.

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In the end, I can just highly recommend you listen to this song. It will put a smile on your face, guaranteed. And hey, by listening to it you’ll actually be doing something good as well. I mean, how great is that? It doesn’t get better than this. And until you give it a listen, I’ll be here, blasting it on repeat and waiting to hear your thoughts and opinions and hoping you love it just as much as I do. I even did a photo shoot yesterday, after I had noticed that I was unintentionally dressed in the colours of the single cover – see pictures down below. That’s what I call fan love.

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Again, I hope you enjoy the song and please don’t hesitate to get in touch. And until then, I wish you all a lovely weekend and a happy Easter. Please continue to take care of yourself and others and spread positivity. We’ll get through this. I’m sending you all tight hugs and, as always, thanks for reading. x

‘Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz’

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and another Friday – not really a New Music Friday, but something more exciting than that. Here in Austria, I can slowly start to see the finish line of our quarantine and maybe it’s because of that or maybe because I’m sitting outside, enjoying the glistening sunshine and some fantastic music playing the background, but I’m feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago. I’m already imagining how we’ll talk about this crap of a spring in a few years. The time we couldn’t go outside anymore and hugs were illegal. Crazy times.

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But speaking of fantastic music – today’s a very good day for music. Specifically for the phenomenal indie band Peach Pit, who just released their new album today – it’s a banger – and who I got to interview a few days ago. And I couldn’t be any more excited to share the finished article with you guys. Please enjoy. And please go and give the guys a listen. They’re honestly so good. And the album is literally the perfect addition to any playlist. And we’re all in need of some great music right now, aren’t we?

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‘Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz’

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It’s safe to say that 2020 has already been one hell of a year, and while that’s not necessarily a positive sentiment for a lot of people, for the members of Vancouver-based band Peach Pit, it’s been an unforgettable year for all the right reasons, with their newest album “You and Your Friends” just having been released. Intense, fun and with the warm breeze of a day at the beach, the album makes a perfect addition to any quarantine playlist. And it’s true – Peach Pit is the type of band whose music is always, and without fail, good, with their second full-length effort being no exception. To celebrate their special release, I got to chat with lead vocalist Neil Smith about the early beginnings of his band, the importance of teeth and their plans for when we all finally get to leave our rooms again.

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Let’s start right at the beginning – how did this band start off?

Well, our guitarist Chris and I met in high school, but him and our bassist Peter actually go all the way back to kindergarten. The four of us didn’t really become friends though until we were in our early twenties. That’s when we all connected and actually became good pals.

Did you think you’d end up where you are now back then?

We were always hopeful, which is how you have to be when you start out trying to make music. But no, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since playing in Chris’ dad’s basement 5 years ago.

What do you enjoy most about being a band? What do you dislike most?

Getting to tour all over the world and have fans in every city wanting to see you play is very surreal. That’s probably my favourite. And my least favourite is being stuck in the van with Mikey when he starts to feel cooped up. He goes crazy sometimes and just starts playing his drum machine super loudly to annoy us. It sucks!

Looking back on your career so far – what is your favourite memory?

Probably playing our last big hometown show in Vancouver. It was on Halloween and at a big theatre that has always been on our bucket list to play. All of our family and friends were there and we dressed up in full KISS costumes. It was sick pretending to be Gene Simmons for a night.

How would you describe your band to someone who didn’t know you?

Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz!

I read you like to describe your sound as “chewed bubblegum pop” – could you explain the meaning behind that?

We only said that because people always ask what kind of music we play, and because Indie music steals from rock and pop and more down tempo stuff it can be hard to pick which “genre” you belong to.

What was the process of producing and creating your new album like?

The writing portion was pretty challenging, we all spent a lot of time in our rehearsal space and I spent a ton of time at home alone trying to write songs last year. The recording of the record was the best though. We got to work with John Congelton and we hit it off immediately with him. He’s one of the funniest and most fun guys to have to hang around for weeks on end. I hope we can record another album with him in the future.

Do you follow a certain formula when you write your songs or is the process different every time?

Yes. Usually I come up with either the song title or the first line of the song and write it down in my notebook. Then I try and come up with a chord progression that I like and add a melody and lyrics to it. Once the song is done being written, then I bring it to band practice and the guys and I mess around with it until we’re happy with all the parts and the arrangement. The song generally changes a lot from when it’s just me at home to the full band playing it.

Why are teeth so central in your new album?

Because their highly underrated, how hard would eating be without them!

What is your favourite track of the album and why?

My favourite has changed a lot since we finished recording the album. But right now, it’s probably a two-way tie between Brian’s Movie and Your Teeth. With Brian’s Movie, I really like that Chris is playing a 12-string guitar with a slide (he’s never done that before) and Your Teeth I just really love the melody, it’s kind of creepy but also sad and pretty.

What has been your most enjoyable song to write so far and why? What’s your favourite song to play?

Shampoo bottles was written really fast, like in two days which is way shorter than normal. I love when a song just falls out of you super easy. And my favourite to play would be Brian’s Movie, I just can’t get enough of that 12 string.

How do you try to stand out of the crowd?

We just try to be ourselves as much as possible. I think people can sense when you’re being fake so you might as well avoid trying to be something that you are not. This would be my strongest piece of advice to any young bands starting out.

What are your plans for the future, after all of this is finally over?

Well once all this shit dies down we’ll be able to get our touring schedule back on track. We were so excited for this spring but unfortunately staying at home is the most important thing we can do right now. So, in the meantime we’ll just be on Instagram live as much as possible. Please tune in.

What does music mean to you?

It means everything to me. Besides my family and friends, it’s the most important thing. Not only is it our livelihood but it’s just our favourite way to spend our time. Being able to pick up a guitar and entertain myself while being stuck inside has been a huge blessing.

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Peach Pit’s latest album “You and Your Friends” is now available in stores and on all download and streaming platforms. 

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And there you go, guys. I hope you enjoyed the interview. Please do go and give Peach Pit and their new album a listen – it’s uber fantastic, it truly is. And just so much fun to listen to. And besides that, I hope you’re all doing good and not going too insane at home and wish you all a lovely weekend. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

Meet Vincent

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing on this beautiful Monday? Another week, another new start, am I right? Actually, this is the last Monday I’ll be spending in London for over a month, as I’m flying home for my birthday and the Easter holidays on Saturday. And then, when I’m back, I’ll have about two months here and then summer will have come and my second year at BIMM will end. I’m sure the last year at uni will go by just as quickly as this one. And then it will be time for me to get a job and become a real adult. Ugh.

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But hey, let’s not think about that just now and worry about stuff that’s still in the future. Because, right now, I’m doing absolutely fantastic and I don’t think I could be doing any better. This is partly because of me living in London, basically the greatest city ever, and my amazing friends here and all the crazy, exciting stuff we do. And today, I’d like to show you some pictures of one of the events I went to with my very good friend Lauren a few days ago. It was beautiful. Please enjoy.

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As some of you might know, I’m a huge fan of art and painters, especially Monet and Van Gogh, and whenever there’s a chance for me to go to a museum or some cool art installation, you can bet that I’ll be there. So when I saw a few months ago that there would be a special Van Gogh exhibition coming to London, I immediately added it to my list of things I wanted to do in the city. And after a bit of a wait, it was finally time for us to the step into the magnificent world of Vincent Van Gogh.

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I’m not going to lie, it was pretty amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen. I don’t want to completely spoil it for you, as some of you might want to go and as I would totally recommend doing that too, so I’ll just say that the exhibition lets you get to know Van Gogh unlike any other museum or exhibition I’ve ever been to. It truly is absolutely magnificent. And if you go see it, don’t forget to take your camera with you, because there will be multiple occasions where you will want to take a picture, trust me. And speaking of that, here are some of my favourite pictures that I took that day. Some were taken on my camera, some with my phone. But all of them are fantastic and I’m so incredibly happy that we got to go to the exhibition. What a wonderful experience.

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And with that, we’ve already come to the end of today’s post. I hope you enjoyed reading about the exhibition and my pictures. If you’re interested in the installation or just want to find out more about it, here’s the link to the website. As always, I’d love to hear your opinions, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. And until then I wish you all a great week and thanks for reading. x

My favourite photographers

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog, a new Monday and a new week. I hope your weekend was good and that you’re all feeling well and happy. Can you believe February is already coming to an end? Because I can’t, at all. It’s gonna be March in just a few days, which means my birthday is already lurking around the corner. And then I’ll be 24. Oh wow. Time really flies by. And I know this sounds a bit sad or dramatic, but, I think, I’m happy about growing older, because, generally, it means growth and moving forward and that’s exactly what I want to do. To grow and to do more and to see more. Make the most of my life, basically. And to continue sharing all of that with you guys. Which I also want to do today, but, as you could see by the title of this post, we’re not going to focus on my life today, but on that of someone else. That of Louis van Baar, to be exact. Welcome to part four of the “my favourite photographers” series. Let’s go.

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Louis van Baar

Let me introduce you to Louis. If any of you are fans of Marty – Martin Garrix – and/or have ever taken a look at his Instagram, you will most definitely have seen some pictures that were taken by the wonderful Louis. You will surely have, because ever since 2014, Louis has been Marty’s official photographer and has thus spent the last five years and a bit traveling the world with him and taking pictures of him and the beauty that can be found on our amazing planet. And I’ll say it right upfront – Louis definitely is one of the best photographers I know and it happens more than just a few times that I look at one of his pictures and wonder how he managed to get such a perfect shot. In the end, he makes a living shooting EDM gigs, which are probably the most thrilling and rapid concerts ever. There are lasers and fire and the hyped-up crowd and, of course, the DJ, who’s jumping around like there’s no tomorrow. Getting a super clear, stunning shot in such circumstances sounds like the most difficult thing ever to me. But somehow Louis manages to get those perfect shots every single time and that’s only one of the reasons why I would call him a genius behind the camera.

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There is also the fact that Louis is super freaking young. I mean, just 26 years old young. That kind of young. And that’s his current age. Which means he started touring with Marty when he was just 21, which, looking at the pictures he took at that time, is mind-boggling to me. I know it might be a bit weird to base it all on age, but somehow, for me, talent definitely must be on another level when it develops that early and leads to such a career that early on.

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Obviously, him being that young, also Dutch and that talented in one, makes him the perfect photographer for Martijn. Because he isn’t just his photographer, but, more importantly, he’s also a really good friend. Actually, their story is super cute – in 2014, Martijn and his team were looking for a photographer for his summer tour and found Louis. They toured for a few weeks and it all went so smoothly, they decided to keep on working together. And now we’re in 2020 and they’re still together. How cute is that? And on top of that, a bit more than a year ago, they published a photography book, made up of Louis’ best shots and some background stories from Martijn. And yes, I have that book. Twice. It’s freaking stunning.

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When you take a look at Louis’ pictures, you can clearly tell that he has a special style. Big shots with lots of colours and a feel of dimension that makes it seem as if you’re in the picture. He quite frequently takes pictures of landscapes, architecture, and cities they visit, most of the time during helicopter flights. In short, the photos are breathtaking. In my opinion, they are so grand and aesthetically pleasing, that I could easily see them hanging in someone’s villa or be part of some special photography installation at a gallery. That also goes for all the shots he takes during Marty’s gigs, which never fail to perfectly capture the feeling of his shows. The lasers, the fire, the energy, and excitement – you can feel it all through the pictures. That’s why Louis is such a genius photographer. He doesn’t only capture the colours, the view, but also the feeling, the moment. What an artist.

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I highly recommend checking out his and Marty’s Instagrams as well as Louis’ website to take a closer look at his art. I’ve also gone and picked out a few of my favourite shots of him, which you can see down below. I hope you like them. Obviously, none of them belong to me, all the rights go to Louis. Additionally, here’s the link to their photography book, which I can also highly recommend. It’s one of those books you can have lying on your table as a piece of art or decoration. It is that pretty.  And yeah, besides that, I hope you enjoyed this post and getting to hear Louis’ story and to see his amazing pictures. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And, of course, I wish you all a nice week and thanks for reading. x

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Indie goodness with The Jungle Giants

Hola everyone.

I’m so sorry for posting this late today. I haven’t really been feeling well all day, so I spent most of my time tucked into bed after uni, where I still currently am, cuddling with Maisy (our cat here in London, obvs) and writing this post. I hope your Monday and your weekend have been great and that you’re doing well.

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I spent most of the weekend working on my uni projects, but there was also this other really exciting event on Saturday, which I would like to tell you all about today. And who would’ve guessed it, it was a gig. Surprise surprise. A The Jungle Giants gig, to be exact. But, in all honesty, it was a fantastic show and I enjoyed every second of it. Naturally, the day afterward, I had to sit down and write a little review on it, which I would like to share with you. I hope you enjoy it. Also, if any of you ever get the chance to see this band live, please don’t let it slip. It was my second time seeing these Australian indie rockers live and I would go and see them again any day if I could. Because the show was just so much fun, so exhilarating and, yeah, just really really really fun. But I’ll let the review do the rest of the talking. Please enjoy. Also, as always, please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below – I’d love to hear what you think. And, of course, I wish you all a nice week and thanks for reading. x

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Live Review: The Jungle Giants @ Electric Brixton

 

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and The Jungle Giants’ Brixton gig seemed to be no exception from that, as it was over just a second after it had started. Or at least it felt like that.

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As band members Sam Hales, Andrew Dooris, Keelan Bijker, and Cesira Aitken took to the stage, the already hyped up crowd exploded in screams and cheers in anticipation of what they knew was going to be an incredible live set. Limbs were loose and smiles were big, with everyone seemingly being ready to dance through the following one and a half hours of pure Australian indie goodness.

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Throughout the whole night, there was no denying that whether you’re a casual listener or die-hard fan, The Jungle Giants have something to offer for everyone. Handpicked from their magnificent discography, the setlist was packed with timeless hits and fan-favourites such as ‘Feel The Way I Do’, ‘Anywhere Else’ and ‘She’s A Riot’ – which instantly caught on fire and left the dance floor in flames. But of course the band also didn’t want to miss out on the chance of showcasing their amazing transformation of the past eight years, moving seamlessly between their classic indie pop-rock moments and their newer, more electronic-based tracks, peaking with the eclectic and infectious ‘Heavy Hearted’.

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And while the band kept banging out hits throughout the night, it was Sam Hales as their frontman, who particularly stood out on the black, colour-struck stage. From square dancing, to the constant crowd engagement and even letting an ecstatic girl in the crowd play his guitar, he sure knew how to hold the audience in the palm of his hands.

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It was that enthusiasm and love from the Australian four-piece which radiated through the room and shone in the eyes of the dancing, singing and cheering crowd, that confirmed that The Jungle Giants really are the new indie sweethearts. With their fully sold-out second ever show in London and their ability to flawlessly transition from their old rock times to indie electronic excellence, The Jungle Giants have proved that they are not only here for a good time, but a long one as well.