Animal Collective released the album Merriweather Post Pavilion in early 2009 and has received considerable praise for their album, (Pitchfork has gone as far as calling it the best album of 2009).  The internet savvy band have been releasing a lot of material lately, whether it be EPs, LPs, or recordings of live shows.  However, through all of that,  My Girls still remains as one of my favorite songs of theirs.  The verse repeats itself while the music constantly builds up to the eventual climax in the end.  This version was mixed by Montreal based DJ HATCHMATIK.  By adding a simple drum beat and a catchy disco baseline and fading them in and out at the right moments, HATCHMATIK has transformed the track from one that slowly reaches its peak to one that explodes into your ears from the start but at the same time retains a portion of the original track’s build up.  HATCHMATIK, a member of the Peer Pressure Party Crew, has been spinning at shows across the world and making plenty of remixes, but for me, this is his best remix yet.

Listen to “My Girls (HATCHMATIK Disco Bootleg Remix)” Here

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I really like the clean and simple aesthetic of Sjaak Hullekes Fall 2010 Collection – Entitled “ Small Town Boy”. The nice color palette and soft sophistication gives the collection a really German vibe. READ MORE

Not a big fan of the latest Tom Ford Eyewear S/S 2010 campaign, featuring Carolyn Murphy & Nicholas Hoult, love the tan line tho’, and have to say it does have the Tom Ford aesthetic… A bit boring still…

I have always been fond of The Knife, both the music they make and the masks that they hide behind. If you asked me in 2001, when the brother/sister duo released their first album “The Knife”, whether I believed they would be of substance ten years from now, I probably would have answered “no”. Almost ten years later, not only are they substantial but I feel they have created there own niche within the world of music. Although most categorize them as electro-pop, it is hard to escape the very dark, brooding tones their music pervades. Never has this been more apparent than on Karin Dreijer Anderson’s solo project, Fever Ray, which made many top ten list in 2009, including mine.

This takes me to the track “Colouring of Pigeons”, the first track released by The Knife from a Darwinian based opera, “Tomorrow, In a Year”. The group was commissioned by Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma and decided to make it a collaborative effort by asking both Mt. Sims and Planningtorock to help in the music making process. The track is an eleven minute epic that stands alone as one of the most unique and beautiful pieces of music I have heard in a while. It is definitely one of those tracks where although it’s only January, come December it will definitely make my top ten list. I would be doing you a great injustice if I didn’t link you to The Knife’s website where you can download the track for free. I should also mention that there are videos of the opera circulating on the internet, but I will make it easy for you by clicking here.

Listen to “Colouring of Pigeons” Here

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As a little bonus to the Rio Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2010 Runway Recap, I wanted to share some of my favorite croquis illustrations from the designers featured. You know we are suckers for any leaking of the creative process. Enjoy! READ MORE

Marie-Claire did a interesting compilation of the 50 Best Fashion Stores in America, State by State and in alphabetic order. We do not agree with a few of them, and they  also missed some great ones, but hey! Its Marie-Claire after all…. READ MORE