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HΔPPY NYE !

▲✈▲ B≡RL|N ▲✈▲ ->

NYE in Berlin = Ein Klubnacht Total

ECHOES OF SILENCE ▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓████

The Wait for Echoes of Silence is finally over. Just b4 xmas KΔNΔDΔ's 21-year old gift to post-dubstep/dark-rnb MR. Abel Tesfaye finally released the third album from his debut trilogy and at least to me it sounds just as good as I expected.

Just like on the previous two Echoes of Silence has a few tracks that go extra hard. Next, XO/The Host and Michael Jackson cover D.D. have become my favorites so far. I think that if Michael Jackson was alive (and 21) right now D.D. is exactly what he would release so this remake does the original more than justice.

Click to download House of Balloons / Thursday / Echoes Of Silence (via the-weeknd.com)

Releasing three highly anticipated albums completely free shows both courage and understanding of what is happening to the music industry. Having heard these three great albums I'm probably not the only one already waiting for the remastered physical release of the Trilogy wrote about on his twitter. A traditional CD-box would be dope. 3xLP would be two-copies-dope. And even if it's just flac/wav I'll buy anyway..

B☮☮KS

In these hectic times books are a slightly underrated source of inspiration. During the past few weeks I spent plenty of time reading Fashion: A Philosophy by Lars Svendsen. I bought it originally for a study assignment, but I'd say it's worth reading for anyone interested in the fashion industry.

Here's my latest purchase from Innervisions MutingTheNoise online store. The hard cover one was sold out so had to order the paperback version though.

Speaking of Techno and Berlin - one of the Berlin's greatest techno/house DJs Mira Mahn just uploaded a new mix to her Soundcloud.



Mira has an extraordinary capability of building up her mixes into something that feels like a lot more than just a set of good tracks mixed together. I'm going to Berlin again for NYE and will definitely go and check out her set in Katerholzig or Ritter Butzke.

SΞNSUΔLITY

Toolicky is a familiar face from ATHL Squad's underground parties and nowadays also from deephouse-friendly bars/clubs in Central Helsinki. I think his new mix sounds like a perfect combination of simple but effective techno & house music. Enjoy!

DESIGN INSPIRATION: 1980s Group B Rally Cars

Lancia Beta 037 Montecarlo Team Martini

In the 1980s rally cars were really fast and dangerous. Group B was a rally series where there was hardly any limitations to the technical specifications of the cars, but the car body had to be based on an existing mass production model. I find these car designs inspiring for many reasons, one of the being the way the sponsor logos and general colorway of the car are often in perfect harmony. Car manufacturers must've also had their say on how to paint the cars to compliment the original design.

Audi A80 Quattro - not a "real" group B car though.

Series of driver & spectator deaths put a stop to Group B in 1987, but the legend of these insane car designs lives on.

Citroen BX

Peugeot 205 - great colorway & sponsor logo placement

Toyota Celica - not real Group B either but insane photo

Peugeot 405 Pikes Peak

Audi Quattro S1

Lancia Beta West

Lancia S4 - one of the best looking cars ever

Toyota Celica GT Four

Lancia Beta 037 Martini

Photos from various Tumblrs & GroupBRally.com

AZEALIA BANKS

 ΔZ∃ΔLIΔ BΔNKS is a relatively new female acid-mouth from NYC. I can understand why the UK loves her tracks and I have to admit I like some of them a lot too. 1:48 - 2:15 in 212 is something to put on repeat.








Check these out:

Azealia Banks and Lunice - Runnin' by Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks - 212 by i-D online

Wild Honey Vintage Pop-Up Store

Wild Honey Vintage is a new pop-up consignment store in Central Helsinki (Ludwiginkatu 3-5 - just around the corner from where Union Five used to be in the 90s). Homies at All Grey had a similar concept last year from exclusive streetwear point of view, but Wild Honey speaks to a wider audience and also includes more traditional designer items and vintage shoes & accessories to the invetory.

Here's a sneak peek to what the store looks like:

Legit lookin' Gucci briefcase

Decided to sell this almost mint LV French Purse. It's really too big to carry around in pocket so haven't used it for years.

Also selling this VTG NBA shirt from Salem Sportswear

PeeWee Herman SB Dunk Hi's are probably favorite NSB shoes for everyday wear. Not selling my pair.

There will be more stuff added to the Streetwear Section l8r

Wild Honey Vintage Pop-Up opens for public on Saturday 3.12.2011 at 11am. Click over to Wild Honey Vintage Pop-Up facebook page for more info. And shoutoutz to Laura & Iida for making this happen!

THE HISTORY OF FINNISH RΔVE CULTURE

The History of Finnish Rave Culture Part 4 (Scroll to the bottom of the post for parts 1,2 & 3)

Basso Media is releasing an inspiring 5-part documentary about Finnish Rave Culture. Being a relatively young appreciator of electronic music it's inspiring to see footage and hear stories of legendary places and events all the way from late 1980s.

Inspired by this went through my own archives and found some epic photos taken at Misf*ts Rave at Suvilahti in Summer 2009.

select scenes from suvilahti

▼x▼

Young Leo Lotsaless in the place to be.

@IAMjenkemsniffa still going strong. Check out his solid&new deep house mix: http://www.soundcloud.com/jenkem-sniffa

Me, my GF♥ & Anttoni catching the morning sun

I decided to feature this event not only because it was probably the first time I stayed up until 7am, but also because Redrum was the first proper electronic music club I went to when I was younger - and back then Misf*ts at Redrum on Thursdays was the place to go. 

Co-owner and Resident DJ of Misf*ts Erkko Lehtinen was also the head editor of the Finnish Rave Culture documentary. You can check out parts 1-3 at Basso.fi: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. The final part of the documentary premieres Sat. 3.12.2011 noon or l8r at Basso.fi.

// And for all the international readers: the documentary series is completely in Finnish and with no subtitles. However it's still worth watching for anyone interested in the past and present of Finnish nightlife.

LUNCHBREAK INSPIRATION: Cool Cats

CoolCats are the main forces behind the French Ed Banger record label. At CoolCats.fr they don't only host their own blogs, but also have an online store which has evolved into a well established brand that focuses on injecting a bit of SO-ME's endless creativity into modern classics like Wildemasche football scarves or Lacoste polos. On the left is some of my favorites from their latest releases.

SN❄W

Started the snowboarding season at Pyhä (mainly Huttuhippu). Weather & lighting conditions were challenging as you can see from the photo discovered inside @HenriSipilä's steadycam.

Slightly more seriously - here's some of my snow gear for this winter. Nike 6.0 / 2x Nike Pro Tights + Cheap Monday / Nike Vapen.

Here's some other pics originally taken by @henrisipila - there's 1 million more but not gonna post anything where you can recognize anyone. :D

the XO in OVOXO

..imagine the possibilities..

The Weeknd's House of Balloons & Thursday have been on heavy rotation in my iPhone this year. Gotta respect Abel Tesfaye's musical ability and I can only wonder when/how/if he's going to cash out on this. Meanwhile I decided to show some support by buying snapback from XO_Gear on Twitter. Right now that's one of the best ways to show support for the XO in OVOXO.

After 8 months and hundreds of plays Loft Music still sounds fresh. Even as a mediocre dubstep remix.

Closer look at the hat. If you wanna buy one go to xogear.bigcartel.com - and if shipping to your country is not yet available hit @TheWeeknd_FANS on twitter they'll sort it out in no time.

The Weeknd is on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube & Soundcloud.

..echoes of silence..

Nike Running x Undercover GYAKUSOU LunarSpider LT+2

Nike Running x Undercover GYAKUSOU LunarSpider LT+2 & Happy Socks

Jun Takahashi is not only a cult icon and one of the biggest names in Japanese fashion, he is also an active runner. Nike Running and Takahashi's Undercover brand have been collaborating on several GYAKUSOU running collections that present a completely new idea of what running equipment should look and feel like.

View the full collection at NikeRunningPaths.com

Because the style & sizing of these collections is distinctively Japanese (aka too small for me even in XL) I have to focus on the footwear which also available in limited amount of locations in sizes up to US12. I found these Nike Lunarspider LT+2's from NikeTown Berlin - haven't been this excited about running shoes for a long time. They don't only look good, but I think that performance-wise the LunarSpider series could finally be a perfect replacement for the Katana series Nike cut down already in 2009. 

In New DJs We Trust: BERLIN

I visited Berlin for a quick weekend holiday full of electronic music. The greatest thing about Berlin is that you always discover new great places and artists. On this post I gathered three completely different great DJs that really exceeded expectations this time.

Sonja Moonear
We arrived at Renate at around 9am on a Sunday morning and saw this woman with really long hair in the DJ booth playing some lovely records. Her positive attitude touched the crowd too and the minimal/tech house/techno set between 9-12am was one of the best I've ever heard. If you don't have time for the full promo mix embedded below - just click here & listen to see what's up.
sonja moonear by moonear

Emil Doesn't Drive
Our local homie Mr. Marino recommended his set at Loftus Hall and it indeed was worth hearing. Superb cosmic italo sounds - 100% MΔNWIN! Couldn't find a recent promo mix that would really highlight why his set was probably even better than what I've heard from e.g. Aeroplane & The Magician recently. However here's one good track that he played:
N.O.I.A. "The Rule To Survive" by N.O.I.A.

Louis Chapus (Kokolores Berlin)
It describes the high level of electronic music culture in Berlin that one of the musical highlights of the weekend for me was actually a set in a semi-private birthday party in a really small bar in Neukölln by a relatively unknown German dude. It was like listening to DJ Hell at his best. Not 1 or 2 good tracks, but like 10 really good tracks in a row! Check out his promomix:
Seeds sold separately by louis chapus