It starts off as “hipsters who can’t be bothered to hear another new synth pop track” and slowly transitions into “even hipsters can’t resist the overcoming power of music and hormones” until it ends as “it’s a free world and we are all high on love” – this is GARÇON GARÇON’s music video for their new hot single “Instant attraction”.

Already months ago, I dubbed Nick and Nathan as the next big thing in hot homo pop. Their new single is different than what we’re used to hearing from them – a more sensual, mellow sound makes you slow dance and make out with everyone around – hence the video. Mixed by Jimi Frew (Mutant Recordings) and mastered by UK music legend Mike Marsh (Bjork, Hot Chip, Phoenix) ‘Instant Attraction’ is a soft electro pop track with a nod to the 80’s.

The new single is on sale today on iTunes – get it here.

Read my interview with the duo here.

Noel Coward:  Twinkle.

memetically yours,

matthias vriens mcgrath.

Rica is not your typical Berlin expat. It goes without saying he chose Berlin because of its free spirit and limitless possibilities. Besides taking in all the delights the city has to offer, he makes sure the young talent doesn’t get lost and unnoticed – Rica Amaral is one of the creative partners at Artconnect Berlin – a creative hub based in the hert of Neukölln (where else?) that gives young artists access to dissemination tools and audiences they’d otherwise never get (if they don’t wanna sleep with the creative elite at least) Find out how Rica’s day goes in the Artconnect office and what his personal favorites for the upcoming 48 h Neukölln are. Meet Rica Amaral – and read the interview till the end – there is a surprise which took a lot of convincing to get published. 

Hey Rica, where am I finding you now? 

I’m sitting on Artconnect Berlin’s office looking the people enjoying the sun while I’m freezing here.

Which is the most important art event connected to your work in Berlin? Gallery Weekend?

Not at all! As in Berlin there are many great art related events, we always have an overview from what’s going on during the whole year, so we can plan Artconnect Berlin’s activities in the best way. We normally participate actively at the events we like the most such as Transmediale, 48h Neukölln, Pictoplasma, Social Media Week, Month of Performance Art, etc.

What’s Artconnect and what is its role in the Berlin and international art world? 

Artconnect Berlin is a project created to help the creative mass find their way through the city. It started as an online platform where creatives could connect, share, offer and look for opportunities and jobs and it was also developed to be the meeting point for the creative scene in Berlin. Artists and creatives connect online, help each other with new ideas and projects and project these new possibilities into reality.

Since last year, we have also a space in Neukölln where Artconnect Berlin provides a coworking space for creatives in need of some structure. There is a full list of workshops given in our HQ to help our community find their way in the city and develop new skills. We use the space for community events: the Networking Brunch is one of these activities, in addition to several exhibitions, artist talks, book launches and many other things we have done so far…

Besides all of that Artconnect Berlin is also an agency, which works in the background of the platform: we provide services for both companies willing to integrate themselves into and/or reach the creative scene or artists who need a little special push.

The whole motivation of Artconnect Berlin is to be the hub for the creative community in Berlin – to which everyone can turn when help is needed. We don’t want to be one more social network – we want to be part of people’s life, on & offline. That’s the role of Artconnect Berlin: we want to give a helping hand and a voice to all talented people in Berlin and in the world to inspire, to encourage, to provoke, to democratize the creative environment – we want to be a trigger for change!

We are a free tool for creative people in the community to use, to help themselves and others in the process.

What’s your work routine at Artconnect? How does your work day look like?

My routine at Artconnect Berlin is quite relaxed, although tight. We are all friends at Artconnect Berlin, even the new people that start working with us become our personal friends. It’s cheesy and cliché to say that but we are like a family.

Most of the people start working at 10am, but I’m definitely not a morning person, so I normally start later than everyone, but normally I end up staying longer too, but I prefer it this way. My sleep is sacred!

As we have an open door and huge window to the street, we have people coming in and out the whole time at our HQ in Boddinstraße and for me that’s amazing as I have the opportunity to meet so many new interesting people. We don’t have a fixed routine there, what I think for me it’s very good, so it doesn’t get boring.

Does that business pay the bills or do you have another day job?

Artconnect Berlin pays itself and makes money yes, but we are all freelancers too on the side, for example I work in an advertising agency here in Berlin.

Is this what you wanted to do before you came to Berlin? 

Before I came to Berlin, I knew already that I wanted to work with art, I was just not sure yet how or with what. I was an actor/ play writer for some years before I have chosen to follow my advertising career. After 7 years in advertising I realized that I was missing the creative part of myself, that’s when I decided that it was a time for a change and I came to Berlin. The good thing is I came to Berlin very spontaneous… I decided one week before I left Brazil that this was my destination – I didn’t speak any German, I didn’t know anyone here nor I had been here before. So I was quite open-minded about Berlin. Good that it worked!

What did you have in your suitcase when you moved here?

I had what I need from now on. I told my mom: “What I leave behind you can give away, I’m not coming back.” And besides some books that I couldn’t bring all at once, it was exactly what she did. So I had with me only summer clothes (even my “winter clothes” from Brazil I will consider as summer clothes. I guess I don’t need to say why), my toys, some books and the curiosity to know what it would be from now on.

What do you miss from Brazil?

Food, fresh fruits and the sun of course!

Does the Berlin art scene inspire you? Would you change anything in it?   

Yes it does. I really like the underground scene here in Berlin. This one is the most inspiring for me. It has a free spirit with no fear, censorship or rules. It’s where I see the most interesting and mind puzzling pieces, it’s where I have my best experiences for sure.

I think Berlin has a good balance of underground and mainstream art. My only concern is that all the changes the city is going through will smash this fresh and “free” scene and Berlin will become a city like all the others in Europe.

What upcoming art shows for 2013 locally and worldwide are you most excited about? 

Well in Berlin we still have the 48hs Neukölln, Berlin Art Week, the Social Media Week where Artconnect Berlin is responsible for the whole art day, Nacht und Nebel…

Worldwide is difficult to be excited about if I’m not going to see it live… I get frustrated… But I would say the Art Basel in June, Frieze Art Fair in October, the Whitney Biennial in New York in 2014 and the Echigo Tsumari Art Field in Japan in 2015. Ok the last 2 ones are not in 2013, but those happens only every 2 years for the one in New York and only every 3 years for the one in Japan.

What are your must-sees during 48 h Neukölln? 

I’m actually quite excited about our own exhibition that’s part of 48 h Neukölln - ”REALITY SWAP: THE ALTERNATIVE STATUS QUO” – featuring artists Sonja Trabandt, Sadie Weis, Dariuz Fronczak, Laura Gianetti & Daniele Jost, Ralf Obergfell, Erica Smith. Learn more about it and the opening hours here.

Where are you going after this? 

I will sleep to prepare myself for the weekend.

It’s a well-known fact that Grateful Grapefruit never seized to surprise with show-stopping trends – mostly hand-picked finds by our skillful fashion editorial staff. It’s a heavy cross to bear, but also an exciting quest to embark on. True to our adventurous spirit and hardcore fashionista beliefs, here comes the latest necessity for Summer 2013 and it is NOT a perfect body.

It’s rare that China produces in stead of reproduces a trend – The face-kini is the latest fashion must have coming right from the beaches of Qingdao in Eastern China’s Shandong province. It’s daring fashion statement and a mysterious provocation as well as the perfect addition to your full-body swim suit. If you’re obsessed with preserving your fair hued skin or preventing it from aging faster or if you’re an Asian woman who thinks that it’s shameful to have darker tan “like peasants” then the face-kini is definitely the item to sport this summer. More than anything, the face-kini is fun – they come in fun yet a bit boring neon bright colors. Wearing the face-kini is also the perfect way to extend your protest in support of Pussy Riot on the beach – and prove your revolutionary devotion.

You can order your pair for 15 to 25 yuan or $2.40 to $4.00 – or if you want a unique touch just DIY your swimming balaklava at home.

Images: source

We’re going back to basics with FUR_11; embracing hair in all the right spots and looking for masculinity in all the wrong places.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6

There’s no bad music coming from Sweden. In the last 2 years however it seemed like all the music coming from there was desperately trying to mimic Robyn and Röyksopp’s success. Say Lou Lou are different. Say Lou Lou helps you unwind. Say Lou Lou carry sensibility, feminine energy and spread this light feeling you get on a careless hot summer day without leaving you bored or empty-handed. The duo just released their first single Julian the vinyl of which includes a B-side with Chet Faker.

Reece is a witty nerd with amazing sense of humor. If you don’t believe me, take a look at his work.

Reece Terris is a Vancouver based artist whose work alters the expected experiential qualities of a place or object through an amplification or shift in the primary function of an original design. Past projects include a six-storey apartment building temporarily installed in the rotunda of the Vancouver Art Gallery, a pedestrian wooden bridge connecting two residential homes, and an architectural false front added to the existing false front of an artist-run centre. His practice is manifest through a variety of media, including sculpture, performance, installation, and photography. Quite often through their hybrid execution, he complicates the traditional definitions of each of these.

If more than 12 hours of your daily life take place online, then you definitely have heard about this, so you can carry on. For the rest of you people with better things to do than browsing genitalia on Tumblr, here comes COSMARXPOLITAN – Fun Fearless Freedom From The Oppression of Capitalism – the perfect magazine for all communist chicks out there. This is an ongoing (art?) project consisting of reproducing communist and socialist history in COSMOPOLITAN style. I can recommend gems like “Viva La Ereccion! 140 most radical sex tips EVER”; “Mao’s little red book of sex secrets”; “Stalin strips down!” and “Your va-jay-jay called! It wants to talk about anarcho-syndicalism” Check out more on the devoted Tumblr. 

Who are you people?

Smug college students with too much time on our hands.

Did you know that Castro wasn’t alive in 1850?

Yes.

Are you really laughing even though these dictators killed millions of people?

Yes. We are. We know that it’s messed up. And we are sorry when our jokes hurt people.

The intention of Cosmarxpolitan is to ridicule the awful advice and backwards attitudes of magazines targeted at women; not to poke fun at those who suffered under communist rulers.

For those of you who think that we promote stereotypes that marginalize certain groups and privilege a deeply distorted narrative, it’s because we’re doing our best to channel Cosmo.

Are you actually marxists? 

Ken is. The rest of us are just bourgeois scum, to varying degrees.

It wasn’t until I met Martin that I heard the expression “serial monogamy” I’m usually the last to jump on the “cool relationship phrases people use” bandwagon. That’s valid also for all alternative words and abbreviations used to describe obscure sexual practices like bondage, horse markets or sounding. However this shouldn’t be brought in direct correlation to my sexual experience. Having said that, let me go back to the serial monogamy.

Martin claimed that he’s never been single in his life. First was this 8 year relationship, then this 3-year one and then the current one which goes more than 10 years now. He’s used to security, being the half of a whole and having a subscription to intimacy. Martin and I met in the gym – after shamelessly flirting and feeling like I am an extra in an Eric Prydz video, I nervously gave him my number after he came to introduce himself. We’ve met three times and had sex twice since. He’s over 40, hairy and flexible – makes great conversation, remembers things I tell him and is a great kisser. “A catch” – I would think if it wasn’t for his boyfriend, whom he’s reminding me of after sex or during dinner. It’s apparently something weird for him as well – being in bed with me, receiving calls from his hubby in the same time – however he’s open about it and makes it clear he’s just having fun with me to cure his relationship frustration.

I usually go for emotionally unavailable guys – I’m codependant in this way. I guess that makes me the emotionally unavailable one too. And yet I long for intimacy as well a relationship flat rate. But not one like they have them for mobile Internet. So far all the guys I’ve met were more like a 1 GB package – after reaching the limit I either get bored or they stop calling. In both cases, it’s an unsatisfactory situation. Nonetheless I seem to be bringing it on myself. And going to the next emotionally retarded person is obviously not the solution.

No guy who lives outside of Berlin or Germany or who is in a relationship or recovering from one, would be what they call “boyfriend material” Just reviewed some old conversation with Benedikt – a very cute lost boy from Austria who visited me in June 2011 and never called back afterwards – this seems to be a reoccurring pattern since even before then – my first love – if you can call it that – was a ginger guy from Western Germany – who obviously came to Berlin for some sex tourism and nothing more. Then there were the couple of guys, who just moved to Berlin and want to explore the city. And the others that are in a relationship, but haven’t had sex since 6 months. So how do I break the pattern? Is it like a bad eating habit you have to break, but it’s so hard because it’s so crunchy and tasty you don’t wanna stop. I guess the world has more pressing problems right now than thinking how to introduce relationship bootcamps for homos who can’t put their shit together.

Even mainstream gay media doesn’t offer quizzes titled “Am I a slut? Or 10 steps to combat serial polygamy” because they’re too busy reporting on the marriage equality hearings.

So I decided to test celibacy. Will delete all apps and deactivate all accounts and see where that gets me – closer to finishing my education or closer to insanity.

Will report back.

images: TijsB,  Vincent Gouriou

Sampo is an audio-visual perfectionist. Evidence for this bold opening of the feature is his music project BOUNCE CAMP where he carefully handpicks slightly forgotten aesthetics of music genres that have degraded into minimal umtsa-tumpsa and left the beauty of music behind. Sampo Hänninen comes to pick up disco music where it left in the 80s. His BOUNCE CAMP alter ego incorporates the groove and visuals of “honest disco” – that’s how he self-defines his genre of choice. Sampo is born and raised in Helsinki, Finland; graduated Graphic Design at Alto University in 2004 and already has over a decade-long career in advertising in diverse agencies in Helsinki and Berlin where he moved in 2007. We sat down for an online chat and drank coffee together in front of our monitors.

Hey Sampo, where am I finding you right now?

Sitting in a backyard office in Kreuzberg, drinking filter coffee.

You call your music honest disco – how is it different from other disco genres which are popular among homes right now like e.g. Italo disco?

Let’s say that what I’m trying to do is to stay in a classic song format – with choruses and verses, bridges, intros and outros… I’m influenced a lot of the era when the disco sound died, or actually merged into contemporary (black) music. At the moment the disco aesthetic is popular as a sound, but a lot of producers use it to make tools for the dancefloor, wich means everything is repetive and reduced. That is nice too, but for me it’s difficult to stay minimal, when making music.

Where can people hear your music except on Soundcloud? Do you do live sets?

At the moment it’s quite limited – I’m working on my first complete album wich is an ambitious project and takes a lot of time. Hopefully when it finally gets released, my tracks will spread more. I haven’t got a PR plan yet, but it would be a shame to first put so much effort on the music itself and then just let it be buried deep into the Internet. Therefore, I think the promotion has nowadays become more important: how to get your stuff out there in the right channels so that people can actually hear it.

Is it true what they say about DJs?

What? That DJs get laid more? That’s an urban legend. Besides, isn’t everyone in Berlin a DJ-blogger-designer? Personally, I think DJing is overrated. It’s on the same level of craft as washing dishes, but still everyone wants do do it, just because they think its cool… The DJs that impress me the most are the ones that have the taste, and that are brave enough to introduce surprising things. Otherwise it’s just boring: everyone can copy the “hot right now” playlist and play it.

What’s your day job?

I work in advertising as an Art Director.

Which record are you most excited about in 2013?

Dunno yet, I hope this year brings a lot of fresh things!