Born on may 20th, 1932 in Wiesbaden, Dieter Rams is a German industrial designer considered as one of the founders of the functionalist school of industrial design. His work is closely linked to the Braun company, for which he designed radios, record players, scales and calculators from 1955 to 1995 A synthesis between Ivy League […]

In 1927, Carl Jung had a dream about Liverpool – citing it as “the pool of life.” Literally, it’s true, as England’s North West city is historically a major port for trade and exploration. But Jung’s phrase is equally apt for Liverpool’s cultural scene, because the city has mastered an output of music which, to […]

“The greatest club of all time” – Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Record New York founder, 1977. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager decide to open a new nightclub in 1977: Studio 54 is born. Located at 273 West 54th, the club quickly became the temple of Disco music. It was a time of recklessness and the opening […]

In the early 60s, the first wave of Japanese students born after the Second World War entered university. Japan is then in economic expansion and takes part in this new consumer society. These young people became the Miyuki-zoku – the “Miyuki tribe”, named after a trendy street in Tokyo. The gakuran: traditional uniform of Japanese […]

“In [Joy Division’s] songs, ordinary life achieves an epic grandeur. There’s no bombast or emotional theatrics; instead there’s a modernist starkness as pared down as a Samuel Beckett play.” – Simon Reynolds, The New York Times Joy Division (originally titled Warsaw) formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1976. After a slight re-shuffle on drums, it […]

“Marquee Moon is a 24-carat inspired work of pure genius, a record finely in tune and sublimely arranged with a whole new slant on dynamics.” – Nick Kent, NME 1974. New York. East Village. CBGB. A young band by the name of Television surface on a dead Sunday night. They hint at what is to […]

Mike Smith: “Britpop in general encouraged competitiveness – it was a clash between art school traditions and classic British R&B.” England. Mid-1990s. Music was reinvigorated with the rise of Britpop: a thrilling new style which soundtracked youth, subculture and class defiance. Among the big players were Pulp, Suede, Elastica and Supergrass. But the biggest battle […]

Manchester, late 1970s: cotton mills are closing one after the other, workers’ brick houses gradually give way to concrete housing estates. Manchester has just entered the post-industrial era, and becomes the catalyst for a new musical and aesthetic vision. 1976: Sex Pistols shockwave On June 4th, 1976, the Sex Pistols suddenly filled the cultural vacuum. […]

Sheffield is a city of seven hills – rural, bleak and bursting with wavelengths of sound. It cracked the codes of Northern post-punk but it purveyed more: blues, synth-pop, electronica, industrial, dance, techno, indie rock, baroque pop. The style in the city transitioned with the sound. An integral timeline, in order of formation: 1963: DAVE […]

Ex-NME staffer Andrew Collins called it “the most indie thing that ever existed”. C86 was a cassette compilation released by British music magazine NME in 1986. It had two sides: A and B, each with 11 tracks. The bands featured came from Britain’s underground guitar pop scene: all kindred spirits but all largely unknown. C86 […]