Q & A with L’Amour Des Rêves. ‘Get a room…but please can you leave the door open?’
Sheffield duo L’Amour Des Rêves are the “Love Is…” cartoons made flesh, playing Paradox Pop, a copy of a copy of a retro-futurist classic. Drummer/singer Jessie Love is a tropicalia glamourpuss with a Bardot up-do and a vintage reporter’s mic, streamlined for...
Molecular Gastronomy – Fad or Revolution?
Of all the trends popularised by the British foodie explosion of the last two decades, none quite sums up the excitement and bafflement of the new vogue as molecular gastronomy. Heralded as a progressive and potentially groundbreaking new approach to cooking by its...
Blind Dining: Dans Le Noir?
Voices seem amplified when sight fails you. The feel of wood under the hand too becomes exaggerated, every grain rubbing against your fingertips. The subtle scents of a glass of red hit you hard in the sinuses. When your eyes aren’t seeing, your body sends out other...
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – What is Cool Anyway?
Live at the Electric Ballroom, December 2012. Every day, hour on hour, London dispenses dollops of cool into endless freight trains and viral memes that scorch paths into the suburban minds of England. When teenaged Vienna arrived in London from the provinces, I...
The Boundary Hotel – Style, Art, Food and Ancient Olive Trees in Shoreditch
The Boundary Hotel opened back in 2008 in Shoreditch and is now a vital part of the life and vibrancy of the area. It all seems so simple now. Plant a boutique hotel cum quality culinary experience smack bang in the cool but slightly rough around the edges Shoreditch...
Death: A Self Portrait – Grizzly Goings On at the Wellcome Collection
"Ars longa, vita brevis” - Life is short, Art eternal. ‘Death: A Self Portrait’ at the Wellcome Collection in London exhibits an array of around 300 diverse works devoted to the iconography and aesthetic that surrounds the theme of death. Richard Harris, a former...
Ceviche Restaurant – For The Love of Music & Peruvian Cuisine
“Fresh and zingy and full of life.” This is how Martin Morales describes tiger’s milk, the marinade used extensively in the dishes of his Peruvian restaurant Ceviche Restaurant, the first of its kind in the UK. Fresh, zingy and full of life are, incidentally, the...
Burger and Lobster: Doing Two Things Rather Well
Burger and Lobster has enjoyed overwhelming success since its debut in Mayfair last year. There are now three establishments of which the largest and most recent addition is on Dean Street, Soho [update January 2016: there are now 9 London restaurants plus launches in...
David Shrigley & his Anti-Psychotic Tea Party
Internationally acclaimed artist David Shrigley and Manchester based artist curator Mike Chavez-Dawson have collaborated with Teacup to create a new herbal tea. Aptly titled ‘David Shrigley’s Anti-Psychotic Tea’, it delivers an unequalled uplifting infusion of...
The Idea Behind Nose To Tail – Interview with Fergus Henderson
From Offal to Ears: On Fergus Henderson, Nose to Tail, Ersatz oranges, and the dodginess of Chicken Kiev It's a freezing October morning and I’m sitting in the glorious warmth of St John Bar & Restaurant in Smithfield. The buttery scent of pastry wafts from the...
In and Amongst: Tim Davies solo show at FOLD Gallery.
FOLD Gallery is currently showing a solo exhibition by Tim Davies until 22nd of December. Davies lives and works in Swansea and was chosen to represent Wales at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. As a researcher, artist and curator, his work is often conceptual and...
London Food Safari – The Honey Tour
The Hidden Hives: Gon’ Honey Tasting with the London Food Safari In recent years, Bermondsey has become something of a hive of food production. Disused warehouses have been brought back to life and, behind the thick brick walls, beers are being brewed, coffee is being...
Sightseers – Ben Wheatley’s Darkly Comic Camping Horror
Ben Wheatley was present for a preview screening of his latest film Sightseers and introduced the film by joking that “it was made with cynicism…there were lots of focus groups”. This statement sums up Wheatley’s work quite well. Having worked as a writer on comedy...
Unique Flavours, Rich History – Our Belgium Brewery Tour
A man walks into a bar and asks for a beer… Innocent words from a simpler time when our imaginations, where beer is concerned, were limited to Fosters, Carlsberg or, if you were feeling particularly daring, Guinness. Beer has been with us since the dawn of...
Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2012 – Report & Thoughts by Vienna Famous
(Dedicated to Desmond and Jamie) “I pretended to be someone I wanted to be until I finally became that person. Or he became me.” (Cary Grant) As you can tell from my name, I am a pop culture construct. I’m no Cary Grant but I did try to follow his advice and can...