What about the covers? no 14

For 2009 - no.14 - Fischerspooner - Entertainment

These guys are primarily an art performance duo, giving more importance to their live performances than their studio music. They even write songs for dance and other performances. It is no strange thing then that the photography of their current release is theatrical to say the least. Like an American version of Pet Shop Boys mixed with a dose of Gilbert & George, they project a distinctly arty image, kabuki yet space-age. The photography is by Dusan Reljin and their styling by Nicola Formichetti, the creator of Dazed & Confused magazine. So what does Casey have to say about their image: "With this album, I wanted to create a world of style where you couldn’t really decipher what the sources were. I first started with having garments based on a sauna suit. They were non-descript, no gender, no references, zero. The Wooster Group brought in Japanese references, initially for us to copy the movement. Warren wanted to use a documentary about the space program in the Sixties. Then we started borrowing from Mark Twain – that’s where the straw boater comes in. All these themes connect and they connect to the music as well. It was a new, interesting way to frame music." Clothing by Elise Fife-Martinelli, Romain Kremer, Alexander McQueen, KTZ. The hats are from Nasir Mazhar, Lite Brite Neon. Art direction and design by Jack Dahl assisted by Enrico Bonafede. Jack Dahl was responsible for kickstarting a visual presence and direction for international mens fashion publication HE magazine and Cover magazine (Copenhagen). Among others Jack has worked with Self Service magazine and Work in Progress advertising design studio (Paris) on some of todays leading fashion references including Jil Sander, Prada, Pucci, Chloé, Celine, Colette and Virgin Records.

For the 00's - Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

The album was designed by Stefan Falt with photograph by Tammy Karlsson who is Jens' drummer (!). The cover shows Jens getting a haircut by a pair of hands coming out of the clouds, with a distinctly retro look (black and white coloured looking photo). The clouds image is at the back cover too and that's about it. A red diamond marks both covers (at the front it is inside the transparent case spine). Simple but beautiful. Like his music.

Top 20 Countdown - no.14

For 2009

No.14 - Fischerspooner- Entertainment

The (strangely enough) American duo has released a theatrically electronic album that takes advantage of this year's nostalgic return to 80's synth-pop (and everything 80s for that matter). Their use of brass and other instruments makes them a tad different than your average electronica group - they do their own vocals too. One thing is for sure - the album sure lives up to it's name!

For the 00's

No.14 - Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

With this album, his third but first proper one, the Swede makes his mark on the world music and is poised to conquer it. The thing is he probably does not even care about it.

Where does a Blue Frog swim?

Answer: in Mumbai of course! Designed from architectural firm Serie, a new entertainment space that creates new dynamics in the staid world of night entertainment establishments.

One might never think India as a place to find pioneering interior design, but things are changing fast all around the world and the vast exotic country is no exception.

A large north lit industrial warehouse within the old mill district in Mumbai is converted into a complex of sound recording studios and an acoustic lounge. This lounge will consist of a restaurant, bar and a live stage. Beyond this amalgamation of provisions, Blue Frog seeks to stage an acoustic experience par excellence.


Based on this desire to have it all, the question is: how do you collapse a theatre, restaurant, bar and club into a warehouse whilst maintaining all the performance characteristics of each individual type?


The deep structure that was employed is of a cellular organization composed of circles of varying sizes in plan approximating a horse-shoe configuration.


The differential extrusions of these circles encapsulated at different levels as tiered cylindrical seating booths, allow the eye level of diners and standing patrons to be distributed across staggered levels that increase in height away from the stage.


These booths seat between 4-10 people and are arranged around an open centre that can either double up as a potential 360 degree stage or accommodate standing patrons, bringing them closer to the main stage to create an intimate viewing experience.


These mahogany panelled cylindrical booths maintain not only uninterrupted views to the stage, but also constant distance between diners irrespective of how crowded the lounge gets.


The undulating height of the seating booths is gently modulated by a glowing acrylic resin surface, ...


... which unifies the disparate types together and retains the presence of the architecture even in the midst of the spectacle of a state-of-the-art sound and light show at the Blue Frog.

Client: Blue Frog Media Pvt. Ltd
Area: 1000 sqm
Duration: October2006- November 2007

Design: Chris Lee / Kapil Gupta

Project Team: Tomas Ruis Osborne, Santosh Thorat, Purva Jamdade, Suril Patel, Dharmesh Thakker, Niti Gourisaria, Vrinda Seksaria and Udayan Mazumdar.
Acoustic Design: Munroe Acoustics (UK)
Lighting Design: Abhay Wadhwa Associates
Project Management: Masters Management Consultants
General Contractor: Zigma Enterprises

And a bit about Serie:

Formerly Chris Lee Architects and Contemporary Urban, Serie is an international practice based in London and Mumbai. Serie works in the diverse field of architecture, urbanism and design.

The practice is fascinated by the evolution and mutation of building types in today’s cities and the projection of these forms of intelligence into spatial solutions. Working typologically, or in our terms, thinking and exploring in series - harnessing the cumulative intelligence of building types - is key to the work of Serie.

The practice consistently pushes the boundaries of architectural and master planning projects worldwide and provides full architecture and master planning services for private and public sectors.