Testing for the 2013 Formula 1 season began earlier this morning at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain. This is a stable year in terms of regulations, not much has changed since 2012. This [should] mean a closer field and some desperate development avenues for the Big 5. Red Bull is [still] clearly the team to beat coming of of their 3rd straight Constructors Championship & WDC after a down-to-the-wire finish at Interlagos in Brazil.
The offseason proved to be the biggest driver shakeup in recent memory, the most sizable of which was Lewis Hamilton making a shock exit at McLaren and forcing Michael Schumacher at Mercedes into his 2nd [and hopefully final] retirement. This inevitably caused a ripple effect to many of the teams and drivers below scrambling to fill – and find – seats, and left one of my favorite drivers on the grid, Kamui Kobayashi, hung out to dry sadly. How all the big money in Japan let this happen, I don’t know. Hope to see him back next year, maybe with a Honda sticker on his helmet.
With some interesting packaging choices and a new Pirelli tire, I’m personally hugely anxious to see how everyone’s form fares over the next few weeks. All teams will be in attendance, the only caveat being that Williams will be running their 2012 spec car in order to finish preseason preperations in time for the next test in Barcelona. Missing from the grid this year is perennial backmarker HRT who folded at the conclusion of last season. Rumour has it that some idiots here stateside are looking to buy in, however, and if that’s truly the case I’ve got a bridge to sell them as well…
Check out all the 2013 challengers after the jump.
Lovely saturated sounds coming from Seagram Murals, I hope to hear more from this delicate Australian.
Jacob 2-2 is back with his signature PBS funk, soo much detail, you’ll need to put it on repeat for at least an hour to be able to take in all the magic.
No Body is back at it, this time with a dose of psychedelia and beautiful grit.
A flooring ambient release coming soon from John Beltran, taking all this atmospheric UK juke into the heavens.
If you’re even remotely serious about editing photos on your phone, Photoforge 2 will quickly become your mainstay. Here’s why:
It’s the best, fully-featured photo editor for mobile.
After years of trying every photo editing app across Android and iOS, I have yet to find anything better. Like Photoshop, it gives you full control over your image with features you thought you could only get on desktop. It’s not for quick edits, so if you’re in one-stop filter kind of mood, or less familiar with terms like “adjusting curves” or “soft light,” Afterglow is probably the way to go. If you are familiar with those terms, it’s easy to spend hours fiddling away on the go just as you would in front of a bigger screen at home. Just be careful not to get car sick.
Layers, layers, layers.
If anything, layer support is what sets this app apart from the rest – you can easily overlay other photos, create 50% Gray layers to add film grain, textures & vignettes, or drag to re-arrange layers as you please. It even supports layer masking, so you can edit-out imperfections or localize adjustments similar to how you would in Photoshop.
Powerful color curves.
Yep, same color adjustments as you would expect in popular photo editing software for desktop. In fact, many of the Instagram filters (Rise, Amaro, Sierra, Willow) were initially designed with this app, using this feature.
You can always undo with the edit history list.
As project management goes, Photoforge 2 preserves every stage of your edit across multiple projects. The one downside is how much space this takes up on your phone. Since we’re dealing with multiple versions of many full-resolution photos, this app will quickly become the heaviest app you have installed. Be sure to delete the photo projects you won’t be revisiting.
This album doesn’t need much explanation, it easily rivals the beloved Tame Impala but with a slower more colorful flavor.
The Holydrug Couple have done a lot of growing since their first release with Sacred Bones Records in 2011. The “couple,” consisting of Ives Sepúlveda and Manuel Parra recorded Noctuary in Santiago, Chile. They put together a home studio and recorded the entire album themselves, from start to finish. Feeling that no one else had been able to capture their sound, Ives decided to take a risk and produce and engineer the album on his own. After four months of obsessively working and barely leaving the house, Ives emerged with a final product of which the band is truly proud. All of this hard work has manifested in a more elaborated, astral sounding album than its predecessor, Awe. While Awe and their Ancient Land EP had a bluesier, woodsy sound, Noctuary plays out like a slow motion 60’s beach party dream that you never want to wake from.
This is not your typical motorik beat kraut album; rather it sounds more like a breezy take on Love or Beau Brummels. The way that songs like “Willoweed” and “Paisley” flow seamlessly into one another, it is easy to see how listeners will become entranced by this new, dream-like world that The Holydrug Couple have created. These two stand-out tracks, as well as “Follow Your Way” really exemplify the growth of this band and signify the new direction they’re headed in.
Mike Norris aka Fort Romeau has a way with dubbing out house to give it elegance and emotion while still keeping true to the dancefloor, here’s the first single off the upcoming EP on his new home Spectral Sound.
Haunting and soo damn skilled, here’s a taste of the new Collin Stetson LP coming out, it will feature Bon Iver somewhere on the LP which will hopefully escalate this mans career even higher.
Soren Lokke Juul of Indians has been the only output from the folk world besides Benoit Pioulard to really catch my ear to seek out an artists album, here’s a glimpse of the live show which now is also on my list of must see shows of 2013.
Jens-Uwe Beyer contribution to the most respected ambient compilation out there is a masterpiece in my mind, its moving without relying on building with colorful accents.
Awhile back we featured a Tumblr called Geometry Daily by German designer Tilman, which has since then become quite popular among many of us that enjoy minimal-geometric designs. So popular in fact, that Tilman says he has been receiving quite a few requests for the use of his designs:
In the last months many people asked if they could use some of the Geometry Daily graphics. As a logo, a cover for their music release, desktop background, even as a tattoo. In fact so many that it became a pain to send it all out manually. And I love to get my graphics out and let them be used!
To cope with the overwhelming response and demand, he has decided to make available for purchase, download and non-commercial use (although you can pay more to use a design commercially) of his Geometry Daily source files, which will be released in monthly installments and set at €69 euro or roughly $100 US dollars.
You get the complete data of all the Geometry Daily posts of a certain month. For each graphic this is:
– A higher resolution JPG (1770 x 1770 px)
– The fully layered Photoshop file (.PSD, same resolution)
– The clean vectors in an Illustrator file (.AI)
This iconic Bubble series was created by fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky for the Harper’s Bazaar 1963 Spring Collection.
Haunted by a particular image from Hieronymous Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Delights,’ Sokolsky experienced a re-occurring dream in which he saw himself floating inside a bubble across exotic landscapes. Inspired, he quickly used the idea for the series. The Bubble was crafted to emulate a Faberge Egg, for which Sokolsky had great admiration for its design and workmanship.
Complicated and unrealistic at first, he was able to realize his dream. Sokolsky commented:
“With the awareness that I was prone to live in my own head much of the time, and inclined to severe self-criticism, I began to have doubts whether I could create images on film that reflected the images in my mind’s eye.”
The Bubble was produced in ten days of Plexiglass and aircraft aluminum for the hinged rings. After a successful test run, Sokolsky was off to Paris to shoot the Spring Collections for Harper’s Bazaar. The challenge was to position a telescopic crane at each location from which the Bubble would be suspended. Using his favorite model at the time, Simone d’Aillencourt, she would get into the Bubble that was suspended a few feet off the ground, (hinged at the top like a Faberge Egg) so that it could easily swing open for entry. After being locked in safely and able to breathe due to the space between the hemispheres; the Bubble was raised into the final position. Sokolsky describes one particular event:
“There were times when this choreographed dance turned into a Laurel and Hardy comedy. The morning we shot on the Seine, the Bubble was lowered overzealously into the water, flooding it up to Simone’s ankles, and in turn ruining an important pair of designer shoes.”
Turning out to be an amazing adventure for him, Sokolsky was praised and congratulated for his unconventional yet triumphant work. He had ignited the world of fashion photography with his innovative style.
This UK trio has had me close to my speaker, their album has just made my week. The album is officially out February 5th on Warp Record. Expect confident experimental vocals and attractive atmosphere as a base for every song.
TRACKLIST
1. Light Body Clock Starter
2. Timeaway
3. Armonica
4. –
5. A Day’s Pay For A Day’s Work
6. Young Heart’s
7. Amplified Ease
8. You Don’t Need A Weatherman
9. Bed Music – North View
10. Hold Me Down
