Books 103 Items

Five years in the making, an in-depth survey of Pentagram from its beginnings in 1970s London to its current status as one of the powerhouses of international design.

Pentagram: Living by Design (two volumes) is the definitive statement on 50 years of Pentagram. This is an in-depth survey of the group from its beginnings in 1970s London to its current status as one of the powerhouses of international design.

Book one, The Biography, offers a comprehensive analysis of the group, its partners, its achievements, its multidisciplinary approach, and its unique business model. This is accompanied by a plethora of images (some never published), a visual essay of Pentagram’s work across four main sectors, a selection of partners writings, a Pentagram family tree, and much more.

Book two, The Directory, has profiles of 50 partners, past and present, accompanied by extensive coverage of their work. It’s a stellar roll call: from the five famous founders to some of the most celebrated names in contemporary design. It also includes a list of everyone who worked in the firm’s various offices.

Both books are designed by Tony Brook and the Spin design team and use a range of paper stocks and special colours.

'If you want an in-depth look at some of the best work created by some of the best designers in the past fifty years, this book is for you' Creative Bloq

About the Author: Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer, writer and senior tutor at the Royal College of Art, London. He has written numerous books, including a recently published compendium of his design journalism, Scratching the Surface, and monographs devoted to legendary designers Herb Lubalin and Ken Garland. He regularly contributes to design publications and blogs such as Design Observer, Eye, Creative Review and Design Week. In 1988, Shaughnessy co-founded design studio Intro; today he runs ShaughnessyWorks, a consultancy combining art direction, writing, editing and lecturing, and is a co-director of Unit Editions. He is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. Tony Brook is primarily a designer, but also a publisher, collector and curator. Brook founded Spin, his south London-based studio, in 1992, and is a co-director of Unit Editions. He is currently a visiting professor in Graphic Design at the University for the Arts, a specialist arts university in the South East of England.

Format:Hardback Size:27.1 x 21.7 cm Extent:1392 pp Illustrations:3500 Publication date:12 October 2023 ISBN:9780500027462

400 page hardcover large format book - Includes CD with 10 Japanese Jazz tracks - Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden - Only 2000 copies printed - Largest picture book on Japanese Jazz ever printed - First and only picture book devoted to Japanese Jazz covers to be produced outside Japan - Extra sections on non-Japanese artists and Blue Note albums produced exclusively for the Japanese market - Includes intro by Terumasa Hino plus articles by Yusuke Ogawa, Mats Gustafsson, Tony Higgins and interview with Tohru Aizawa - DJ J Jazz Top Tens from around the world BBE Music is thrilled to present J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan 1954-1988, a remarkable large-format book covering some of the deepest, rarest, and most innovative jazz music released anywhere in the post-war era. Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, co-curators of BBE Music's acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series, the book also features a foreword by Japanese jazz icon, Terumasa Hino.

This is the first time a book of this type has been published outside of Japan and the first anywhere of this size and scale. It is a unique collection of over 500 albums of free and modern jazz released in Japan during a period of radical transformation and constant reinvention. An era that saw Japan return from the ravages of World War Two to become a global economic power and emerge as both a technological leader and an international cultural force.

Through a unique gallery of albums, J Jazz charts the development of jazz in Japan from the first stirrings of the modern jazz scene in the mid to late 1950s and on through the hard bop and modal jazz of the 1960s. It steers the reader into the radical directions of the 1970s when free jazz, fusion, post-bop, and jazz-funk opened up a growing number of Japanese jazz artists to a new global audience before consolidating in the mid to late 1980s with a musical scene that laid the path for the contemporary jazz generation to follow.

Over 500 full-colour sleeves from many of the leading names in Japanese jazz sit alongside rare and private pressings that tell a story of constant change and musical exploration. J Jazz includes profiles of several leading record labels such as East Wind, Frasco, King Records, and Nippon Columbia as well as critical independents such as Three Blind Mice, ALM, and Aketa’s Disk. J Jazz includes interviews with celebrated jazz photographer Tadayuki Naito, and pianist Tohru Aizawa, bandleader on the totemic spiritual jazz album, Tachibana Vol 1, as well as free-jazz record collector and jazz musician Mats Gustafsson.

The book also features a chapter on albums by non-Japanese artists that only received a Japanese release, with collectible, rare, and obscure releases by figures such as Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy, and Art Blakey. J Jazz includes Japanese jazz charts from some of the world's leading jazz DJs including Gilles Peterson, Toshio Matsuura, Paul Murphy, and Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino. Among the specialist content is a feature on obi strips by record dealer and Japanese jazz expert, Yusuke Ogawa, plus a special article on Japanese Blue Note albums.

Across its 300-plus pages, J Jazz includes a detailed introduction contextualising the music, tracing the story of Japan's fascination with jazz back before the war. It also features biographical information on many of the key artists involved in shaping the post- war Japanese jazz scene including Sadao Watanabe, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita, Fumio Itabashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Takeo Moriyama, Isao Suzuki, and many more.

With a text by Michelle Kuo.

An updated and expanded edition of the acclaimed in-depth monograph on one of the most influential artists of our time

Conceived in close collaboration with the artist, this updated survey tracks Eliasson's artistic practice from the 1990s to the present day, including recent exhibitions at Tate Modern, London (In real life, 2019) and the Beyeler Foundation, Basel (Life, 2021).

Through hundreds of illustrations bracketed by writings on and by Eliasson, this book provides an unparalleled overview of his remarkably accessible output, from such large-scale interactive experiences as The weather project at Tate Modern, London (2003) to smaller, more delicate works on paper or made of glass, and includes photography, painting, and film.

About the author: Olafur Eliasson is an Icelandic-Danish artist whose works have been exhibited globally in institutions such as MoMA, Tate, and the Venice Biennale. He works and lives in Copenhagen and Berlin.

Michelle Kuo is the Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She was the Editor in Chief of Artforum International from 2010 to 2017 and has lectured and published widely, on the work of artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Anicka Yi, and Le Corbusier.

Anna Engberg-Pedersen directs research and communications at Studio Olafur Eliasson.

Reviews: 'This weighty compendium of essays, interviews and mind-bending colour images spans three decades of innovation and experimentation.' – Aesthetica

'Succinctly brings the artist's myriad ideas, installations, architecture, performances, philosophies and philanthropies, (a catalogue of achievement difficult to express fully under one roof) together, under one, bright yellow cover.' – Wallpaper*

'An unparalleled overview of [Eliasson's] remarkable output.' – Aesthetica

"Olafur Eliasson's Reality Projector installation at the Marciano Art Foundation "is a smashing immersive environment guaranteed to elicit an immediate 'Oh, wow' from visitors"." – Los Angeles Times

Specifications: Format: Hardback Size: 305 × 238 mm (12 × 9 3/8 in) Pages: 488 pp Illustrations: 560 illustrations

The Shadow Ring (1992-2002) presents a comprehensive overview of the work produced by British musiciansGraham Lambkin, Darren Harris, and later Tim Goss over the course of a decade. Throughout theirlegendary ten-year run, this shambolic rock outfit, formed by a group of teenagers in the port townFolkestone, were an enigmatic force on the international musical sub-underground. The group have leftbehind a mighty run of eight LPs, a handful of 7-inches, and a spate of raucous live shows and cryptic zineappearances on both sides of the Atlantic. In aggregate, this significant collection not only plums the depths of theband and its attendant lore, but reveals a vivid minor history of mail-order networks, bedroom recordingsessions, cross-USA couch-surfing, and encounters with fellow travelers such The Dead C, Harry Pussy,Charalambides, Richard Youngs and the No-Neck Blues Band. Where is the connecting thread between RalfWehowsky and Squirrel Nut Zippers? Inquire within.The roughly 200 songs in this set trace the band from its earliest days recording in Lambkin's parents' house(SHP Studios), through its brooding mid-period, garnering word-of-mouth notoriety that peaked with the trioturning down an invitation to tour with Pavement, to a string of increasingly uncompromising experimentswith electronics, voice, and tape. Although the band's sound morphs considerably during this time period,from spartan beginnings using pots and pans as a drum set to their ultra-deconstructed latter-day approach,certain core sensibilities are apparent throughout: brash youthful rawness, wry and m...

Entropy is Tuft's fourth monograph capturing the sublime and awe-inspiring beauty of nature as it is radically transformed under the unrelenting pressures of climate change.

A photographic exploration detailing the poetry and fragility of nature amidst the tragedy of climate change

Since 1998, mixed-media artist Diane Tuft has traveled the world recording the environmental factors shaping Earth’s landscape. Entropy is Tuft’s fourth monograph capturing the sublime and awe-inspiring beauty of nature as it is radically transformed under the unrelenting pressures of climate change.

The exquisite collection of photographs provide a captivating glimpse into the rapidly changing landscapes of our world. Tuft focuses specifically on water as its subject, contrasting global sea-level rise with water depletion in Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Compelling essays by prominent figures in art and science contributed by Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University and twentieth-century art historian Stacey Epstein, Ph.D. add depth and insight to Tuft’s work and its significance in the context of climate change.

Weaving passages of haiku with her beguiling photographs, Tuft's newest monograph is packaged in a luxe-cloth-wrapped case screenprinted with her artwork Journey’s End featuring the Great Salt Lake. An extraordinary book, Entropy is a dramatic call to arms inspiring collective action for the critical preservation of nature.

About the author

Diane Tuft exhibits and lectures at institutions across the globe. Her work is included in such esteemed collections as the Whitney Museum of American Art; Nevada Museum of Art; International Center of Photography; and Parrish Art Museum, as well as many private collections. Tuft’s previous publications include UNSEEN: Beyond the Visible Spectrum (2009); Gondwana: Images of an Ancient Land (2014) and The Arctic Melt: Images of a Disappearing Landscape (2017). Tuft is also an award-winning producer of multiple short films, including Coastal Requiem (2019). She lives and works in New York City.

Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D. is Professor of Biology at Westminster College, and is founder and director of Great Salt Lake Institute, which serves to connect people to Great Salt Lake through research and education.

Stacey Epstein, Ph.D. is a specialist in twentieth-century American art and founder of Stacey Epstein Fine Art, where she advises auction houses, museums, corporate collections, artist foundations, and estates.

Reviews

‘A fascinating book.’ – Frames

‘This book offers a glimpse of the beauty we may be losing.’ – Blind Magazine

‘One of the most captivating books on the market linking fine art with climate change. The viewer can easily just enjoy it for its fantastic photography; it is literally one of the few books in the category where every image is a ten out of ten. For those interested in a more nuanced understanding of the work, the accompanying text manages to provide actual scientific analysis in an enjoyable, accessible format.’ – New York Journal of Books

Specifications:
Format: Hardback
Size: 350 × 260 mm (13 3/4 × 10 1/4 in)
Pages: 136 pp
Illustrations: 70 illustrations
ISBN: 9781580936705

Renowned curator and scholar Dr. Kim Hong-Hee’s book is the first to delve into Korean feminist artists’ impact on the East Asian cultural landscape.

This unprecedented visual survey celebrates the work of 42 contemporary artists, from rising stars to globally recognized names, including Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Kyungah Ham, Kimsooja, Lee Bul, Mire Lee, Minouk Lim, Haegue Yang, and Yun Suknam. Organized by themes including queer politics, eco-feminism, the diaspora, and abstraction, Korean Feminist Artists features artworks across painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installation, handicrafts, and performance. Through rich imagery and insightful writing, the book explores the quest of these pioneering artists for social, cultural, and sexual equality, from their confrontations with the mainstream art establishment to the significance of their aesthetic and political interventions.

Richly illustrated with nearly 260 beautifully reproduced images and closing with a personal and thought-provoking essay from influential South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon, this vital and timely survey reveals the impact of women artists on Korean culture at large.

Dimensions: approx. 22.5 x 30 x 3.2 cm. 360 pages; language: english.

"For A Fleeting Moment" is the result of the dialogue between the Swiss photographer Simone Kappeler and the Japanese musician Tomotsugu Nakamura initiated by Iikki, between March 2023 and May 2024.

Tomotsugu Nakamura is a musician and graphic designer residing in Tokyo, Japan. His primary artistic practice is to compose music with some fragments of minimal acoustic and electronic tones and some field recordings. In Concert, he he has played with various genre of musicians and his works have been released by Kaico, Audiobulb Records, and more recently by the French label Laaps.

Born in 1952 in Frauenfeld (Switzerland) where she lives and works, Simone Kappeler started taking pictures at the age of 11. After studying German literature and art history, she studied photography at the Zurich University of the Arts. During a three-month trip to the United States in 1981, she took her first pictures using cheap cameras, especially the Diana camera. Hasselblad, Leica, Diana, Brownie, Polaroid, disposable camera, expired or infrared films, since 1970, Simone Kappeler has explored all types of photographic techniques. Her work, experimental and poetic, reveals to us the curiously foreign world that surrounds us. Since 1982, ongoing projects in southern France and the Grisons.1982/83, studio in New York, conceptual photography and Super 8 films. 1983/84, theater photographer, Schauspielhaus Zürich. 2009, six-week photographic study of Japan, 2015 studio in New York. Her work was the subject of a first monograph: "Seile. Fluss. Nacht. Fotografien 1964–2011", edited by Hatje Cantz and is regularly exhibited in Galleries and Museum in Europe and United States. For A Fleeting Moment is her first book gathered exclusively a part of her wide polaroid works from 2011 to 2023.

Fine Art Book, Ltd. to 700 copies: Hardcover book printed on Glossy Modern Paper 170g/m2 // 104 pages, 19cm x 22.5cm, 66 photos // Front cover points and back cover logo embossed // Selective UV varnish // Hand-numbered.

The first longterm appraisal of the photography of Daniel Schwartz.

Daniel Schwartz's photographs explore human activities set against an immense range of political geography and cultural history, touching on such monumental themes as imperial warfare, ancient history, environmental collapse and the vanishing cryosphere. Tracings reveals a body of work that is humanistically motivated and anchored in reality, blurring the divide between photojournalism and art.

Positioning Schwartz’s work to date in the wider history of the medium, Tracings draws together themes tackled in five monographs concerned with cultural history, political geography and the environment published by Thames & Hudson between 1986 and 2017. Essays by Beat Wismer, Giovanna Calvenzi and Carolin Emcke examine the ways Schwartz’s documentary photography intersects with the arts; look at photographic affinities and methods in Schwartz’s work, analysing the narrative of his previous books; and study Schwartz’s depiction of the individual at work, and how photographs of human activities are interwoven with photographs of nature.

Tracings is not so much a retrospective as a project tracing and continuing an evolutionary line through all Schwartz’s projects to date.

'Invites the reader to interact with its pages … an intricate and sophisticated volume that rewards the time spent with it' Black + White Photography

About the Author: Daniel Schwartz is a Swiss photographer. He is the author of While the Fires Burn: A Glacier Odyssey (2017), Travelling Through the Eye of History (2009), Delta: The Perils, Profits and Politics of Water in South and Southeast Asia (2004) and The Great Wall of China (2001), all published by Thames & Hudson. Beat Wismer (b. 1953) is an art historian. He has curated numerous exhibitions of historical and contemporary art, on which he has also written and published widely.

Format:Hardback Size:25.4 x 23.8 cm Extent:192 pp Illustrations:150 Publication date:14 September 2023 ISBN:9780500026342

A retrospective of Third Earth Visual Arts and the career of AbuQadim Haqq who as many of you know created art for Transmat, Drexciya and Underground Resistance.
The book covers his early life in Detroit to his last project for Third Earth Visual Arts in 2023.

Over 100 pages of art.
Over 100 pages of photos.
258 pages

San Francisco rock’n roll bleeds through Michael Goldberg – an innovative, inspiring figure who always has been quietly pioneering something interesting for the past 50+ years. Hozac Books is thrilled to present the first-ever collection of his photographs in Jukebox, featuring an impressive array of underground figures and outcast luminaries captured in their natural habitat, most seen here for the first time anywhere. Also the author of our critically acclaimed Wicked Game book, Michael’s body of work extends farther out than we’d ever imagined, and we’re so excited to get his first major photography collection out into the world. Bridging the gaps between the late ‘60s psychedelic era, primitive first-wave ‘70s punk and soul & reggae, as well as never-before seen images of country & folk iconoclasts and rule-breakers across the spectrum of all that is captivating, and even including some modern artists still making waves, Jukebox is a riveting photography collection that truly feels as good as it looks. Addicted To Noise founder and former Rolling Stone senior writer Michael Goldberg’s new book, Jukebox, is a book of distinctive, full-page photographs of musicians taken between 1967 and 2023. Goldberg is best known as a writer, but for over 50 years he’s also been photographing musicians and the photos in Jukebox are drawn from the thousands he’s taken over the years. Included are photos of the Sex Pistols, Crime, the Ramones, the Avengers, Devo, the Nuns, the Clash, Tom Verlaine, Lou Reed, John Cale and the Dils as well as Tom Waits, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, Janis Joplin, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Muddy Waters, Toots and the Maytals, Patti Smith, Bettye LaVette, the Who, Neil Young, Jonathan Richman, Townes Van Zandt, the Flamin’ Groovies, and many many more. Softcover First edition of 400 10″ x 9″ – 252 pages

Especially For Record Store Day 2013: A limited edition of 500 books, signed by the author, hand-numbered, stickered with RSD logo, and with a free gift in the form of a sheet of errata including a long-lost letter from Thurston Moore (providing the concluding piece of the SY controversy!)What they said about Ablaze!: "There are other people to condemn, Karren - aren't there?" - Morrissey. "I forgive and hope for Karren A" - Thurston Moore. "Fuck off!" - Ian Brown.And when you read the section of the book entitled Record Shop Skulkers, you'll know why The City Is Ablaze! And Record Store Day are a perfect match.Ablaze! fanzine was published in Manchester and Leeds in the late eighties and early nineties by Karren Ablaze! The best bits of this notorious and outspokenly passionately zine are now available in book format, to be published on 5th November 2012. Alongside hundreds of zine pages, The City Is Ablaze! features new writings by Karren and other members of the Ablaze! team, as well as interviews with fanzine writers John Robb (Rox), Dave Haslam (Debris) and Richard Johnson (Grim Humour), essays by DIY cultural commentators Lucy Cage and Deborah Withers, a re-examination of the Riot Grrrl movement, and an epilogue by Gary Jarman. This 320-page A4 book also covers other zines that Karren produced in Manchester and Leeds between 1984 and 1994, capturing an era where DIY was de rigueur and indie actually meant something. You'll be able to read original interviews with the following bands (in chronological order). Eyeless In Gaza The Membranes The Stone Roses The Inca Babies Tools You Can Trust The Bodines Inspiral Carpets The Pastels The Janitors Happy Mondays King of the Slums The Dust Devils The Shamen Cud Sonic Youth Dinosaur Jr The Pixies Throwing Muses The Sundays Thrilled Skinny Rapeman UT Dog Faced Hermans Edsel Auctioneer Mudhoney AC Temple fIREHOSE Band of Susans Henry Rollins Live Skull Kilgore Trout The Sun and The Moon The Breeder...

Swiss Hardcover, cloth binding
240 pages
17 x 24 cm
ISBN 978-3-00-079721-7
Edition of 600
Published by JB. Institute, 2024

Contributions by
Dinho Araujo, Jan Brokof, Britta Brüning, Jana Duda, Lukas Feireiss, Elke Giffeler, Lenia Hauser, Łukasz Polowczyk, Dr. Sebastian Möllers, and Andrea Sunder-Plassmann

“ENSEMBLE” is the first book by 44flavours and showcases a 20-year creative journey.

Sebastian Bagge and Julio Rölle have been working together as the artist duo 44flavours for over 20 years. The book contains a careful selection of their projects and works from the last two decades, documenting the development and dynamics of their artistic collaboration.

“In the book, we look at our backgrounds and the dynamics of our collaboration: What context do we come from? How did we develop together? Another focus is on our installation work and our experimentation with different materials, with bricolage playing a major role. Overall, our research into painting and the exploration of physical and imaginary spaces is covered.

The main influences on our work can be filtered out as follows: encounters with other positions, investigating certain materials and learning techniques, discovering new places and ways of thinking, social exchange, and the activation and exploration of work processes in exchange with others, the development of a dynamic that leads to new ways of working and results, playful exploration, discovery, trial and error.”

Julio Rölle & Sebastian Bagge

Out of print since its initial 2012 very limited first edition run. Contains exclusive 7" featuring previously unreleased 1983 interview with Barney Sumner conducted by the author. Over 400 unique-to-this-publication photos of the band and 200 plus images of rare memorabilia.Forewords by Peter Hook and Stephen Morris. Introductions by Moby and Paul Morley.Hardback: 198 full colour pages - 252mm(H) x 305mm(w), landscape, art book-style format in slipcase. No one has ever documented the early live career of a truly iconic band in such detail. Dec Hickey saw every New Order UK gig between Feb '81 and June '84 - some fifty plus nights!"Up until about 10 minutes ago I thought that the depths of my Joy Division/New Order obsession were untouched/unmatched. Then I looked through this book. Ah boy, I'm beaten. And in awe_ " - Moby"I can very much understand someone having an obsession with New Order... It was inevitable that a fan, a loyal, attentive follower, of such a group on such a meticulous label releasing records packaged with such scrupulous suggestive care would themselves be particularly obsessive... The fan(atic) symbolises the idea that without obsession, life is nothing... For the fan, New Order are an ideal object of desire, the perfect pop group - in the form of a perfect puzzle, an actual sign of fluid intelligence - to obsess over, to collect, analyse, interpret, treasure and ultimately possess." - Paul Morley (Tiny extract from his Introduction to the book)"The epic book... one amazing tome... a cultural history and an essential addition to any New Order fan's life... a much-treasured item..." - John Kennedy (X-posure/Radio x) Rough Trade, London - "Lavish and stunning book" Damaged Goods Books, DAMBOOK5. ISBN: 9781916232730

A landmark publication celebrating the life and work of American musician and composer Arthur Russell, the man the Guardian called 'One of the 20th century's true musical visionaries'

The music of Arthur Russell defies classification. From his pioneering compositions as part of New York's vibrant avant-garde scene (alongside artists including Philip Glass, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, John Cage, and Allen Ginsberg) to his genre-expanding disco productions, from his new wave and art pop to his posthumously released folk songs, Russell crafted timeless and foundationally influential work until his premature death in 1992 from AIDS-related illnesses.

Now, in a landmark publication assembled by critically-acclaimed writer Richard King, Travels Over Feeling collects the extensive ephemera found in Russell’s New York Public Library archive, along with pieces from the personal collections of those who were closest to him. Combining unseen visual material—handwritten scores, lyrics, photos, letters, and drawings—with new texts by King and extensive original interviews with Arthur’s collaborators, contemporaries, family, and friends, Travels Over Feeling paints a portrait of Arthur Russell unlike any which has come before, revealing a true picture of one of the most distinctive artists of the last fifty years.

Charles Arthur Russell Jr., better known as Arthur Russell (May 21, 1951—April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classical music in California, Russell relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he became involved with both Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and the city's burgeoning disco scene. His eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his distinctive voice. He died from AIDS-related illnesses in 1992.

Richard King was born in South Wales and for the last twenty years has lived in the rural county of Powys, in mid-Wales. He is author of Original Rockers (2015), which was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize, and How Soon Is Now? (2012), which was Sunday Times Music Book of the Year. The Lark Ascending was published in 2019, and was a Rough Trade, Mojo, and Evening Standard Book of the Year. His latest book, Brittle with Relics, was published in February 2022.

As Torch describes it:

In 2015, I decided to fly to NYC again. When I told Robert about it, he responded briefly: „I’m flying with you. I’ve never been to New York. Just book me the same flight as you.“ To my surprise, that’s exactly what happened. Our trip was from April 9th to the 21st, 2015, flying from Zurich to Newark. I had the contacts and knew my way around. He had the camera and captured everything. I was his guide on the ground, and he became my eyes.


Photography: Rob Hak
Texts: Frederik Hahn aka Torch
Authors: Robert Hak & Frederik Hahn


Written in 2024 / 1st Edition 2024
Editing: Adam Silverstein &
Bernd Kammerer / textonaut.de
Cover Design: Rob Hak / www.studiohak.de
Layout: studio hak, Rottweil
Printing: Otto Druck, Oberndorf a.N.
Bookbinding: Spinner, Ottersweier
Paper: Munken Print Cream

A crossroads of reggae and punk; a travelogue of Jamaica, UK, and Japan from 1982 to 2023, written and photographed. To resist is to live. 1982-2023. Jamaica, UK, Japan. The intersection of reggae and punk. There are photographs that take on new meaning as time passes. The lifework of photographer Masataka Ishida, who has been following the world's rebel music. A record of his 41-year journey in search of true freedom. The first product from Type Slowly.

At long last, we’re got the massive biography on THE Bangles and it is nothing short of a whopper. This monumental project, started by author and unofficial band historian Eric Shade back in the 1990s has had quite a journey from start to finish. This insane overview of the early days of the members’ obscure early groups, as well as an amazing snapshot of the sorely-undocumented Paisley Underground scene of early 80s LA, all the way up through the core band members’ current projects, is a feat we never though we’d see fulfilled. For a band as huge and omnipresent as The Bangles still in are 2023, the revelation of their earlier efforts, such as the mind-blowing story of Micki Steele in the first lineup of the fledgling Runaways, while the Peterson sisters were rocking out in bands such as THE Muze, Hollywood Girls, and THE Fans right around the same period is the legendary stuff mostly outside of public knowledge. The intertwining stories of Susanna Hoffs meeting David Roback (later of The Rain Parade) and getting inspired by The Last, with Vicki & DEBBI’s growing interest in garage bands like The Unclaimed around town, All Over The Place shows how many moving parts were swirling around, generating a indescribable electricity around Los Angeles as the hardcore scene raged on the other side of the coin. As the Paisley Underground scene evolved during its short window, bands such as Salvation Army/the Three O’clock, Long Ryders, and Dream Syndicate are given their long-overdue historical appreciation here. 438 page softcover book. First edition of 600 copies.

DUB, The Sound of Surprise is a detailed chronicle and fascinating guide to the captivating history of Jamaican dub music, the first of its kind. This archetype of the remix style grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The book presents over 200 illustrations and some rare album covers, and describes the origins and development of a unique technique created in Jamaican recording studios which would change the world of music production forever. Author Helmut Philipps has visited the places dub happened, and met its pioneers, inventors, and key figures.

In addition to analysis, Philipps includes essays and conversations with and about King Jammy, Scientist, Style Scott, David Rodigan, Bunny Lee, King Tubby, Lee Perry, Dennis Bovell, Ernest Hoo Kim, Errol Brown, Linval Thompson, Tippy I-Grade, Victor Rice, Mad Professor and many others. The gripping narrative also takes a look at the development of dub in Europe, the UK, and the United States.

Helmut Philipps is a journalist and passionate collector of dub, who has mixed dub music himself. He has written two award-winning books about reggae that have been published in Germany.

Translator Ursula “Munchy” Münch is an internationally active reggae author who has lived in Jamaica. Reporting for Reggaeville, the online magazine, she regularly visits the scene there, and has conducted more than 500 interviews.

Helmut Philipps and Ursula “Munchy” Münch share a life-long love of Jamaica, its people, its music, and its culture. Both write for Riddim, the internationally renowned reggae magazine, and are trained sound engineers.

History – Interviews – Sound Systems – Engineers & Studios – Discography Original English Edition translated by Ursula Münch. 256 pp. with over 300 pictures in color and b/w. Hardcover with extra strong boards 25 x 25 cm.

The extended play recording. Not quite an album. More than a single. And not only an artifact of the vinyl era—the EP has survived and even thrived at every turn of the music industry’s evolution, from vinyl to tape to CD to stream. This definitive book unearths the EP’s origins, history and cultural impact and enlists nearly 50 music-industry veterans (musicians, scribes, producers, executives, superfans) to create a list of the 200 Best EPs ever recorded and shapes these opinions into a book that seeks to trace the arc of the EP’s development and, in so doing, chart the history of the music industry writ large. From Dangerhouse to Touch & Go to Sub Pop to Flying Nun, and all roads in between, savvy labels have used the EP to great effect and its been the way to introduce bands in a less risky mid-sized format for decades. This super-interesting guide shows how the format developed and how it took on a life of its own, from early jazz & rock’n roll through the beat & psychedelic rock era, right on through punk, new wave, and post-punk, and into the alternative/indie rock era, right up to the modern age. This rousing guide through the mid-sized mindset features a huge swath of guest writers galore, each offering up their enthusiastic opinions on which EPs deserve your attention, divided by decade, along with all of their details on long-forgotten B-sides and extras that couldn’t fit on the 7” version, yet easily pad out a 12”. 202 pages, softcover. First edition of 600 copies.

“Raghunath’s transformation shows how one person’s choice to evolve can change the lives of so many. This book is real, funny, and inspirational.” – Jay Shetty The heartfelt memoir of Ray Raghunath Cappo, a legendary hardcore-punk musician-turned-monk—and pioneer of the straight-edge movement—told with warmth, candor, and humor. Ray Cappo was a hardcore-punk singer and pioneer of the straight-edge movement living on the Lower East Side of New York City in the ’80s, where his band Youth OF Today played to packed clubs and touched thousands of people across the globe. But despite the accolades from fans, the popularity of his records, and the positivity he’d brought to the punk music scene, none of this success gave Ray joy. He felt stagnant, and he yearned for something more. This, along with his father’s untimely death, led him to abruptly quit the band and buy a one-way ticket to India in pursuit of the answers to life’s great mysteries. Living as a monk in the sacred city of Vrindavan and traveling across the country on a series of train trips, Ray embraced the rich, spiritual culture he discovered there. As his unusual adventure unfolded, he encountered extraordinary characters, witnessed deep acts of devotion, and experienced profound moments of divine connection, leading to a radical transformation that was ego-crushing and blissful all at once. Inspired to write music again, Ray returned to the US, where he and other monks founded Shelter, a band dedicated to spreading a message of faith, hope, and love. Told with warmth, candor, and humor, this heartfelt memoir chronicles Ray’s emotional and

Take a trip through alien worlds and bizarre scenarios in a psychedelic Hero’s Journey of thrilling and surreal art from the mind of celebrated artist and composer Jem Panufnik. The Legend of Kaptain Karnival is highly original lavishly illustrated book that also includes a CD soundtrack recorded under his Jem Stone moniker.

The book is 24.5cm square and the 96 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 150gsm paper with a hardback cover.

A documentation and reinterpretation of the liturgical incredible heritage of the mysterious Mount Athos.

Spaces of Worship

A Journey Through Spiritual Landscapes

Taking us on a journey through the history of sacred art and architecture, Sacred Sites explores the myriads of ways in which we imbue our environments with profound and enduring meaning. From our early designation of nature and the body as temple to our futuristic embrace of imaginary realms, we travel the vast and mystical landscapes of myth, religion, and imagination.

Through gathering, we ignite our spaces with spirit, we circle the bonfire, bow down at the forest altar, give praise at the temple to our chosen divinities. Through pilgrimage, we carve indelible pathways, making our meditative way across continents, generations of footsteps treading, again and again, upon sacred grounds. And through our creative offerings to spirit - we envision new worlds, wildly imaginative odes to what we deem as holy; golden temples hewn of rock, enormous spirals sculpted from sand and soil, silent sanctuaries hidden among wooded groves. We paint the ancient cave walls, carve petroglyphs to mark the way, place roses in veneration at the candlelit shrine.

Slowly, stone-by-stone, we build monuments to our gods, a cosmic geometry held within our sacred architecture of worship. These hidden patterns can be found in the mysterious, towering pyramids found across the globe and throughout an astounding diversity of cultures, in the marble sanctuaries built to house the Greek and Roman goddesses, and in the windblown mountain monasteries of ancient Asia and the indigenous cliff-dwellings of the American Southwest.

Nature, art, beauty, these are the common elements found both within the places made sacred by our ancestors and in the multitude of environments where we strive to connect to source, and to ourselves. Tracing a hallowed route from rugged stone temples to transcendent works of modern architecture, the fifth volume in The Library of Esoterica celebrates the collective history of spaces made sacrosanct through human worship.

A visual pilgrimage through holy mountains, great pyramids, and golden shrines, Sacred Sites celebrates the ways we transform the world around us through ritual, creativity, and worship. Essays, interviews and more than 400 images explore spaces ranging from ancient temples to modern works of spatial art.

“From Machu Picchu to the Louvre—the book journeys through sacred sites in art and ancient history.”
Artnet News

“Sacred Sites celebrates how we traverse and transform the world around us through ritual and art. Compiled by Jessica Hundley, [the book] surveys a remarkable array of places and artworks through more than 400 images centered around pilgrimage, performance, and devotion.”
This is Colossal

“A decadent feast for the eyes, laced with belladonna.”
The New York Times

The editor and author
Jessica Hundley is an author, filmmaker and journalist. She has written for the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and has authored books on artists including Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, and Gram Parsons. Hundley often explores the counterculture in her work, with a focus on metaphysics, psychedelia, and magic.

Sacred Sites. The Library of Esoterica
Hardcover, quarterbound, 17 x 24 cm, 1.77 kg, 520 pages
ISBN 978-3-8365-9060-0
Edition: English

How You Make Me Feel: The Life & Legacy of Marcus Intalex is a tribute to the late, great producer/DJ and a genre-transcending story of passion, creativity and timeless underground music. It has unprecedented insider access to his life and legacy with interviews with Goldie, Calibre, DJ Flight, Doc Scott, Mark XTC and many more. It’s also visually captivating, packed with over 100 rare photos, artwork, and memorabilia.

The book is 24.5cm x 17cm with 176 pages.

You Out Tonight? is the first book from Tough Luck, the Instagram account with over 46k followers that spotlights up-and-coming youth culture photographers from around the world. It features the work of 15 photographers from different backgrounds and styles, all united by their passion for capturing contemporary club culture with over 300 photographs from around the world. The book is 17.5cm x 24cm, and the 160 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 150gsm paper with a hardback cover.

Step into the vibrant and pulsating world of nightlife through the lens of Tough Luck, the Instagram account that has become the heartbeat of contemporary club and rave photography. Through the lenses of their talented photographers, they unfold the stories of the night, spotlighting clubs, festivals, and the diverse characters shaping nocturnal culture.

While many rave photography books reminisce about the past, You Out Tonight? offers a fresh, contemporary experience. As you flip through the pages, you’ll find yourself immersed in the kaleidoscope of lights, colours, and emotions that define the modern clubbing experience. The book features photos from:

Aaron Wyld
Alfred Golding
Alice Palm
Amelia Valentiner
Bruna Blumenberg
Daniel Fennessy
Distorted
Edward Pascall
Max McDonald
Peter Aallyn
Roffa Archive
Selina Paton
Tara Sammouri
Tia Payne

Whether you’re a seasoned partygoer or a curious observer, Tough Luck invites you to experience the magic, the chaos, and the indescribable beauty of the night. Prepare to be transported into a world where time stands still, and the only currency is the rhythm of the music.

Quotes:

“Anthropology for the masses… Tough Luck bottles what it feels like to be young and out now” Matthew Whitehouse, editor of The Face

“It’s always a joy when I experience a spontaneous night out, even if vicariously while scrolling. It’s often an image from a photographer I’ve never heard of and excited to discover. The posts always make me smile and wish I was young again. For others like me who want to feel something fresh, exciting and real, check out Tough Luck UK, it’s the one place on instagram where I’m more than happy to go down the wormhole.” Elaine Constantine, BAFTA nominated writer/director and photographer

The definitive overview of the artwork of seminal Manchester-based Factory label, covering its iconic record sleeves, posters, ephemera, venues and packaging.

Between 1978 and 1992, Factory was one of the most important record labels in Britain. It launched the careers of Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays, to name but a few; it opened the legendary Haçienda club and Dry bar; and it introduced to music the concept of high-quality, cutting-edge design. The visual languages developed alongside the music, by designers such as Peter Saville, Central Station Design and 8vo, are still widely recognized and imitated today.

Factory Records documents the label’s entire visual legacy and its role in bringing design into the mainstream. Every item with a famous Factory inventory number is illustrated or listed, including album sleeves, singles, special editions, flyers, posters, stationery and architectural projects. With a foreword by Tony Wilson, Factory’s charismatic record label owner and nightclub manager, this book amply conveys the energy, creativity and enthusiasm of one of the most dynamic (and chaotic) record labels ever.

'Its depth, detail and sheer brilliance put other coffee-table music books to shame' NME

'A lovingly compiled collection' Independent (10 of the Best Rock Books)

'By the time you reach the Happy Mondays’ explosions of graffiti and goo you’re properly convinced of the genius of everyone involved' The Word

'A collectible item in its own right' iD Magazine

'As an indicator of time’s passing, a document of an important pop-culture moment and just as great a book of superb looks, serial number Fac 461 is the business' GQ

'Breathtaking … a must-have reference for music aficionados' Computer Arts Projects

About the Author: Matthew Robertson works as a designer in Bath, England. His personal collection of Factory items includes a number of rare pieces, and he works alongside several former Factory artists.

The now deceased Tony Wilson co-founded Factory Records in 1978.

Format:Paperback with flaps Size:29.0 x 25.0 cm Extent:224 pp Illustrations:400 Publication date:10 September 2007 ISBN:9780500286364

After being out of print and in high demand for years, Cholo Writing is finally available in a beautiful hardcover edition. Cholo Writing is the 20th century’s oldest form of graffiti, a Mexican-American phenomenon evident in Los Angeles long before the appearance of tags and pieces in the late 1960s New York. It has had a major influence on the visual expressions of Californian popular culture, including the lowrider, surf, skate and hip-hop movements. «Placas» are territorial inscriptions created to define a gang’s turf, a genuine, constantly evolving urban calligraphy with strict codes used by Latino gangs for street writing since the late 1930s. Here, the aesthetic evolution of Cholo Writing is documented and the influence of blackletter typefaces and calligraphic models such as Old English is traced through two collections of photographs. One by Californian Howard Gribble, who photographed Chicano gang graffiti over a wide geographic area in the early 1970s, and one by French graphic designer and writer François Chastanet, who traveled to the same Los Angeles neighborhoods in 2008 to document early 21st century inscriptions. The main essay of this second edition has been updated according to the latest historical research on lettering sources. With foreword by Dr. Chaz Bojórquez, East Los Angeles graffiti pioneer and Godfather of West Coast Cholo Writing for over 50 years.

High Energy / Disco Mexican Flyer 1980 – 2000 is a collection of sonidos music event flyers collected in Mexico City by Hector Mosko.

It gathers more than 120 artworks in the fantastic art style. Originally hand printed on different sort of papers, sizes and colors to promote Sonideros or club parties.

Second edition 100ex Format : 17×17,5cm 92 pages

A cacophonous cabinet of curiosities, gathering other musics channeled from the spirit world, the fairy kingdom, outer space, secret societies and occult lodges. Compiled by musician, historian and archivist Doug Skinner, this unique collection of esoteric earworms gathers, and examines, music from other worlds. Notation is also included for several tunes so that you can play along at home. Over eight themed essays you’ll find tunes hummed, strummed, and sung by spirits, sprites and fairies, extraterrestrial elevator music, dreamed ditties, marches for occult ceremonies, secret musical codes and languages, music made by animals, and more.

About the Author Doug Skinner has contributed to The Fortean Times, Cabinet, Fate, Weirdo, Nickelodeon, and other periodicals. In addition to his books of stories, comics, music, and translations of Alphonse Allais, Charles Cros, and Alfred Jarry, he has written many scores for dance and theater, most conspicuously for Bill Irwin’s The Regard of Flight, which toured for decades. TV and movie appearances include Ed, Crocodile Dundee II, several of George Kuchar’s videos, and a smattering of commercials.

Every Sneaker Story Worth Telling!

An anthology of cult magazine Sneaker Freaker

Back in 2002, Simon “Woody” Wood was dreaming up schemes to get free sneakers. Two weeks later, he was the proud owner of Sneaker Freaker and his life was never the same.

From its early roots as a punk-style fanzine to today’s super-slick print and online operations, the fiercely independent publication has documented every collab, custom, limited edition, retro reissue, Quickstrike, Hyperstrike, and Tier Zero sneaker released over the last 20 years.

Woody’s original premise that Sneaker Freaker would be “funny and serious, meaningful and pointless at the same time” has certainly been vindicated in The Ultimate Sneaker Book. With more than 500 pages jam-packed with insider knowledge and his own irreverent observations, the insane historical detail and otaku-level minutiae is beyond obsessive.

Traversing 100 years of history, each chapter paints a rollicking picture of the sneaker industry’s evolution. Air Max, Air Force, Adi Dassler, Converse, Dapper Dan, Dee Brown, and Michael Jordan—along with obscure treasures like Troop, Airwalk, and Vision Street Wear—are all exhaustively documented.

This is a definitive source of knowledge. This is… The Ultimate Sneaker Book!

Sneaker Freaker has been at the forefront of the global sneaker scene for over two decades. With over 500 redesigned pages, fresh photography, immense historical detail, and otaku-level minutiae, this anthology combines the magazine's finest and content created exclusively for this book into one big celebration of sneakers.

“The most definitive sneaker culture magazine on the planet!”
MTV

The editor and author
Simon “Woody” Wood established Sneaker Freaker in 2002 as the first and only international magazine dedicated to footwear. Today, Sneaker Freaker documents every colab, custom, limited-edition, and retro reissue in exacting detail across multiple digital channels and print projects. Based in Melbourne, Woody is recognized worldwide for his encyclopedic knowledge, inimitable writing style, and steadfast role as an authentic ambassador. His TASCHEN titles include the best-selling Ultimate Sneaker Book and The World's Greatest Sneaker Collectors.

Hardcover, 15.6 x 21.7 cm, 1.11 kg, 512 pages

Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), or “German New Wave,” was made extraordinarily popular in the 1970s and 1980s by the likes of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and Trio's "Da Da Da"-and then left as quickly as it came. Conventional wisdom among artists dictates that it's better to burn out than fade away, but this doesn't tell the full story of NDW-the reason for its rapid rise and fall, the historical context that necessitated the genre, and where the energy of the NDW movement went after its end.

The genre has international influences but still demonstrates a uniquely German desire to build a new, sanitized identity in the aftermath of World War II. Originally quite subversive and underground, NDW became exponentially more mainstream until it could no longer sustain itself creatively. And rather than disappearing, it helped give rise to the post-Cold War rave craze and is still an important touchstone in music history.

Claudia Lonkin is a historian of popular music and culture based in the United States.
Her research focuses on global music trends in the 1970s and 1980s, examining congruences and points of contrast between scenes in Europe and the Americas. She has been published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies and Punk & Post-Punk.

168 pages
197 x 127 mm

A bold, stylish look at the global rise of Korean culture and style in the words and images of those shaping and living it.

K-pop, K-fashion, K-drama, K-beauty: over the last decade, K-style has exploded onto the global scene. What is behind this phenomenon? Where does K-Style go from here? Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-Style makes no attempt to define or categorize, instead celebrating the eclectic, multi-faceted nature of K-Style and its home city of Seoul.

Through interviews with eighteen tastemakers who are shaping K-style across creative sectors, from 1Million Studio's Lia Kim to rock band leader Hwang Soyoon, world famous tattooist Doy to Asia’s leading designer Teo Yang, Fiona Bae tells untold stories from true insiders, exploring a sense of identity in their work, how living in Seoul affects them and their creative output, and the decade of changes that has brought about the current K-style. Interwoven with these texts, five distinct photo-essays from celebrated photographer less_TAEKYUN KIM (recent credits including Vogue Korea, GQ Korea, i-D Korea) capture the vibrant energy of Seoul's streets and the incredible style of its youth.

Contributors such as Blackpink songwriter and A&R Danny Chung, add their own vital perspectives on the scene, while fashion journalist Sukwoo Hong sits down with brands to watch for his K-fashion directory such as PAF(Post Archive Faction). Designed by Hezin O, with a distinct typography that blends Hangul and Roman writing systems, this is an inventive, genre-breaking look at K-style in the words of those shaping it.

'For me, constantly thinking about Korean-style storytelling, Make Break Remix is an amazing inspiration. Storytelling consolidates all cultural phenomena from design, fashion and music, and this rare and enchanting book, filled with intimate interviews with trailblazers and images of the daring youth in Seoul, will open your eyes to how creativity across fashion, music, and lifestyle in Korea is collectively generating explosive energy' Kim Ji-yeon, producer of Netflix series Squid Game

'None of the musicians, fashion designers and other young artists in this book are K-pop superstars. They are rather pioneers in subcultures, where K-pop mass trends have often germinated. Through interviews and a rich photographic illustration of the artists’ work and attitudes, this unusual but essential book helps explain what drives K-style today' Choe Sang-hun, Seoul bureau chief, The New York Times

'Make Break Remix takes a deep dive into the cultural juggernaut’s impact on fashion and beyond … this unique ability to “make, break, and remix” has birthed incredible talent via South Korea’s underground' Dazed

'There seems to be a shortage of publications with a credible explanation for the peak popularity of Korean culture. Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-Style takes on two major questions: Why has K-style garnered so much attention and popularity globally? And what lies ahead for the Korean cultural trend? Deep-diving into 16 Korean creators’ creative processes, the book extracts the essence of each creator’s distinct identity and their perspective on the rise of K-style' Wallpaper*

'Introduces readers to some of the Korean stars behind the scenes, the style makers whose creativity and daring make k-style so vibrant' Forbes

About the Author: Seoul-raised and London-based, Fiona Bae consults with artists, designers, architects, and cultural institutions through her communications consultancy.

Format:Paperback with Jacket Size:22.0 x 15.0 cm Extent:304 pp Illustrations:303 Publication date:22 September 2022 ISBN:9780500024546

deadHYPE is back with the 3rd issue of their magazine deadHYPE CLTV. As always you can look forward to various interviews, articles and photo series from and about the community of the Berlin based creative collective.

Will Sheff of Okkervil River has long been recognized for his writing: a contributor to McSweeney's, Sheff was nominated for a GRAMMY for his liner notes for Roky Erickson's 2010 album True Love Cast Out All Evil, and The New York Times declared that "Sheff writes like a novelist". It is with great pleasure that Jagjaguwar presents I Am Very Far: The Lyrics, a hard bound lyric book containing the full scope of Sheff 's vision for his latest and most refined album to date, Okkervil River's I Am Very Far. Meant to function as a distinct entrance point into the content of the music, "I Am Very Far: The Lyrics" is set for release in advance of the album. Functioning as much more than a complement to the albums themselves, Sheff 's prose weaves tales both subtle and dynamic, and enriches the content of his songs. Including the lyrics for the single "Mermaid" and other songs recorded during the "I Am Very Far" sessions, "I AmVery Far: The Lyrics" is a complete work in its own right.

Bill Direen is a legend of the New Zealand underground. He has given us poetry, novels and a catalog of important and challenging underground music. Weaned on a garage band youth in the late '60s, Direen started producing 7" records in the early '80s, all of them total stunners. These releases—Six Impossible Things, Die Bilder, Soloman's Ball and High Thirties Piano—were self-financed and distributed through Flying Nun. 100 Years Of Darkness, his latest book, is a homage to a century of films and film music. The front cover boxes represent film aspect ratios (1.17:1 up to 2.35:1) as used worldwide between 1888 and the present. The films are drawn from many countries, such as Japan, U.S.A., France, Germany, Russia/Ukraine, Vietnam, Sweden, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Lebanon. Since some of the films may not have been commercially distributed in all countries, the chosen films are carefully listed in a detailed index of sources at the close, which corresponds to the order of the poems as listed in the contents. This makes it easy for film and music lovers to find the films' directors and years of first appearance, and eventually see them for themselves. It is very limited in an edition of 200 and beautifully printed with textured jackets in the spirit of vintage Black Sparrow Press books.

Prince of Grass is the debut poetry collection from Dan Wriggins, songwriter and frontman of the band Friendship. Loving and absurd, Wriggins' poems are overflowing cauldrons of metaphor, always inviting, always in motion. For fans of James Tate, C.D. Wright, David Berman, and pie for breakfast. Dan Wriggins is a writer and musician from Maine. He records and tours solo and with the band Friendship. His debut poetry collection, Prince of Grass, is coming in July of 2024 from Dear Life Records. He lives in Philadelphia with his dog, Roy.

Biz Markie, Busta Rhymes, Chuck D, Cypress Hill, Da Brat, DJ Kool Herc, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Nas, Sean “Pu!y” Combs, Wu-Tang Clan The Notorious B.I.G., and many more...

Foreword by Ice-T
An inside look at the making of Hip-Hop documentary Rhyme & Reason, over 25 years
since its ground-breaking release. The ultimate back-stage pass. Over 130 photographs from 1994 to 1997. Released to mark 50th anniverary of Hip-Hop.

THE BOOK: In the mid-nineties, documentarian Peter Spirer embarked on a three-year odyssey to o!er a realistic view of Hip-Hop and the people and culture it encompassed, interviewing over 80 artists involved in the art form. Spirer managed to capture a seminal moment as the culture balanced on the cusp of the mainstream. As Ice-T comments in his foreword to the book, “Rhyme & Reason is one of the few films that was there to document us before Hip-Hop truly exploded.”

While filming, Spirer took accompanying stills using a medium format Rolleiflex camera. It is these photographs that form THE BOOK OF RHYME & REASON. “The Rollei allowed me to capture some amazing moments: Pu!y getting a trim in his o"ce while doing three tasks at once, Biggie opening record plaques on his couch, Ice-T and Mack 10 hanging
with their homies, Heavy D at the barber, playing pool. There was the Jack The Rapper convention with Death Row making a statement, at a Disney World Hotel, that ended in chaos. There were magical moments such as Redman and Erick Sermon freestyling on the mic to amazed onlookers at a block party in Newark and watching Wu-Tang Clan chop it up on the block in Staten Island on a cold winter’s day before they exploded.”

This co!ee table volume features over 130 of Spirer’s photographs from 1994 to 1997. As Hip-Hop commemorates its fiftieth anniversary in 2023, it is particularly fitting that many of these images from this formative period are being seen and published for the first time.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter Spirer is an Academy Award and Emmy Award nominated director and producer, particularly renowned for documenting Hip-Hop culture.

Mit den Büchern von Christiane Rösinger, Bernd íBegemann und Carsten Friedrichs starten wir eine Reihe, in der die Texte deutscher Musiker:innen erstmals in Buchform zugänglich gemacht werden. Texte von Musiker:innen, die die hiesige (Sub-)Kultur mit ihren íSongtexten in der Retrospektive ebenso geprägt haben wie die ausschließlich schreibende Zunft. Eine längst íüberfällige Würdigung außergewöhnlicher Songwriter:innen, deren Texte nicht bloße Anhängsel ígroßartiger Musik sind, sondern ebenso auch für sich stehen. Christiane Rösinger, geboren 1961, zog 1985 aus dem íBadischen nach West-Berlin, wo sie mit Almut Klotz und Funny van Dannen die Lassie Singers gründete. Nach deren Auflösung war sie Kopf der Band Britta. Rösinger war zudem eine der Betreiberinnen der legendären Flittchen Bar und betrieb das Label Flittchen Records. Sie veröffentlichte zwei Soloalben, mehrere Bücher und schrieb zahlreiche Theatermusiken. 2019 hatte ihr erstes Musical "Stadt unter Einfluss" Premiere im Hebbel am Ufer. "Was jetzt kommt" ist die Würdigung einer außergewöhnlichen Songwriterin. Ob Lassie Singers, Britta, Solo: das Buch enthält Lyrics aus allen Schaffensphasen, Geschichten und ein exklusives Christiane-Rösinger-Glossar.

The Radio Phonics Laboratory explores the intersection of technology and creativity that shaped the sonic landscape of the 20th century. This fascinating story unravels the intricate threads of telecommunications, from the invention of the telephone to the advent of global communication networks.

At the heart of the narrative is the evolution of speech synthesis, a groundbreaking innovation that not only revolutionised telecommunications but also birthed a new era in electronic music. Tracing the origins of synthetic speech and its applications in various fields, the book unveils the pivotal role it played in shaping the artistic vision of musicians and sound pioneers.

The Radio Phonics Laboratory by Justin Patrick Moore is the story of how electronic music came to be, told through the lens of the telecommunications scientists and composers who helped give birth to the bleeps and blips that have captured the imagination of musicians and dedicated listeners around the world.

Featuring the likes of Leon Theremin, Hedy Lamarr, Max Matthews, Hal 9000, Robert Moog, Wendy Carlos, Claude Shannon, Halim El-Dabh, Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Henry, Francois Bayle, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Milton Babbitt, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Edgar Varese & Laurie Spiegel.

Quotes:
“From telegraphy to the airwaves, by way of Hedy Lamarr and Doctor Who, listening to Hal 9000 sing to us whilst a Clockwork Orange unravels the past and present, Moore spirits us on an expansive trip across the twentieth century of sonic discovery. The joys of electrical discovery are unravelled page by page.” Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner

“Embark on an odyssey through the harmonious realms of Justin Patrick Moore’s Radio Phonics Laboratory echoing the resonances of innovation and discovery. Witness the mesmerising fusion of telecommunications and musical evolution as it weaves a sonic tapestry, a testament to the boundless creativity within the electronic realm. A compelling pilgrimage for those attuned to the avant-garde rhythms of technological alchemy.” Nigel Ayers (Nocturnal Emissions)

“In this captivating exploration of electronic music, Justin Patrick Moore unveils its evolution as guided by telecommunication technology, spotlighting the enigmatic laboratories of early experimenters who shaped the sound of 20th century music. A must-read for electronic musicians & sound artists alike—this book will undoubtedly find a prominent place on their bookshelves.” Kim Cascone

Very limited edition document to accompany the Various Artists - Noho EP: Turning THE Crank EP. 68 page, A5 size 'Zine' Printed with Risograph in grey scale.

Northampton, Massachusetts. The Five Colleges. Hampshire College. Forward-thinking education. Electronic Music studies. A vast student population created and sustained a vibrant cultural scene. This is but a snapshot of a fraction, but a fertile and significant one that impacted the lives of many who came in contact with it. The book follows a tight group of people who got together, made music, promoted and released it, created the conditions for others to record and release music, booked bands and then scattered throughout the Midwest and East Coast.

First person memories and memorabilia from Christopher Vine, Craig O'Donnell, Elliott Sharp, James Whittemore, Nicholas Brown, Sean Elias and others, patch up a story of joyous action, firm and enthusiastic DIY endeavours to make things happen as they would like them to happen. It is about a local scene and some key protagonists and it communicates values and methods that are still current — and probably will always be in some form or another among young people with a serious drive to act upon their artistic inclinations. This is also a depiction of what was in fact a model of a music scene. A complete ecosystem was in place during this period. Northampton, sure, but extended across the whole of Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts. Bars, music and record stores, live music, College radio, electronic music studios, written press and a lot of energy going into creative work. The immediate "punk effect" motivated the appearance of numerous bands, many short lived, others evolving into New Wave / Power Pop territory, eventually crossing into Post-Punk experimentation.

Turning The Crank is also a companion to an EP of the same title, including music played, produced and recorded in Northampton between decades (1970s going into the 1980s) by different combinations of individuals resulting in The Higher Primates, The Scientific Americans and Human Error. Music in turns mechanical and austere, gorgeously loose, in love with Dub.

This is the definitive biography of rap supergroup, Wu-Tang Clan (WTC). Widely regarded as one of the most influential groups in modern music--hip hop or otherwise--WTC has released seven albums [including four gold and platinum studio albums, as well as the genre-defining Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] and has launched the careers of famous rappers like RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and more. Beyond the musicians in the group itself, WTC has also collaborated with many of the biggest names in the game-from Busta Rhymes and Redman to Nas and Kanye West), and one is hard pressed to find a group who's had a bigger impact on the evolution of the hip hop genre.

Though there have been biographies written about the band, both from members (like RZA) and collaborators (like Cyrus Bozorgmehr), most of the material that's been published so far has either focused on a single member of the group's story, or a narrow timespan of their work. This book will not only feature interviews with all living WTC members and a comprehensive look at their discography, it also includes never-before-revealed insight into their childhoods and the neighborhoods that shaped them growing up. It's unique in its breadth, scope, and access--a must-have for fans of WTC and music bios more generally.

Hardback, 528 pages, 24cm x 16cm, 796g