Culture

Bubba

Issue section: 
Music
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Rena Niamh Smith

Despite the digital art form, Bubba is brimming with old-fashioned musical ability. The second full-length release from Haitian-Canadian producer Louis Kevin Celestin has an ever-evolving sound of swung, syncopated rhythms, hip hop beats and woozy house grooves.

Kaytranada’s music is constructed drums-first with complex patterns in percussion that twist and turn, layering synths and vocals with intricate brushstrokes. Each track takes the listener in a totally new direction, from the beat-switching “10%” to 80s-inspired “Midsection” to sultry house number “What You Need”.

Limbo

Issue section: 
Music
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Elizabeth Adofo

London-based Irish poet Sinéad O’Brien ended 2019 giving us a gift of pure punk poetry darkness with her single “Limbo”, the follow-up to her release A Thing You Call Joy.

On my commute watching London go by, O’Brien’s transfixing sound lulls me with her musings on death, drugs and life. It is utterly soothing, and a great addition to her work including debut EP, A List of Normal Sins. Airy guitar riffs and solemn beats are offset by a catchy chorus and I can’t help but find myself pressing repeat again and again.

Uncut Gems

Issue section: 
Film
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Sally Campbell

There is a moment about half way through this panic-inducing film, where Howard Ratner’s (Adam Sandler) soon-to-be-ex-wife stares him in the face coldly and says, “I think you’re the most annoying person on the planet. I hate being with you, I hate looking at you, and if I had my way, I would never see you again.”

It’s funny because it takes you out of the film for a moment, to acknowledge that this is, indeed, how you normally feel about Adam Sandler.

But his performance in this relentlessly stressful tale about a needy, creepy, diamond dealer in New York is spot on.

Midnight Family

Issue section: 
Film
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Esme Choonara

There are just 45 public ambulances in Mexico City, serving a population of around 9 million. The rest of emergency care is provided by an informal system of private ambulances, competing to make profits out of their patients.

This observational film follows the Ochoa family’s fortunes as they run a private ambulance in Mexico City, trying to make a living out of attending to some of the many casualties that public ambulances don’t get to.

Sex Education

Issue section: 
TV / DVD
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Sophie Squire

The eagerly anticipated second series of Sex Education is currently on Netflix.

The first and second series documents the loves, relationships and sex lives of students at Moordale Secondary, a suspiciously American looking school in a town that is perpetually sunny.

Despite its stylised look, Sex Education is an honest and realistic depiction of young people navigating their sex lives.

Dead Dad Book

Issue section: 
Art / Exhibitions
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Dave Clinch

This exhibition displays some of the extraordinary pots and plates made by ceramicists Vicky Lindo and Bill Brookes, who won a major prize for this work.

The pieces represent the journey of Vicky’s dad Michael, aka Mick, from Jamaica to Britain, part of the Windrush Generation. He eventually made his way to Wexford in the south east of Ireland, where he lived in a cabin in a wood for some years and where he died.

It’s a story of migration, fractured relationships, sadness and loss, as seen by a daughter who has been and remains intricately involved. It’s her story too.

John Baldessari: The godfather of conceptual art

Issue section: 
Art / Exhibitions
Issue: 
February 2020
Author: 
Noel Halifax

John Baldessari, who died last month, was called the godfather of conceptual art. He played a pivotal role in the development of western art in the second half of the 20th century, both in its move away from painting and sculpture and in its relocation from New York to California, and in particular Los Angeles.

After the Second World War the centre of the art world moved from Paris to New York. Artistically it was dominated by abstract art, and in particular abstract expressionism, with the work of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and others.

Uncut Gems

Issue section: 
Film
Issue: 
January 2020
Author: 
Sally Campbell

There is a moment about half way through this panic-inducing film, where Howard Ratner’s (Adam Sandler) soon-to-be-ex-wife stares him in the face coldly and says, “I think you’re the most annoying person on the planet. I hate being with you, I hate looking at you, and if I had my way, I would never see you again.”

It’s funny because it takes you out of the film for a moment, to acknowledge that this is, indeed, how you normally feel about Adam Sandler.

But his performance in this relentlessly stressful tale about a needy, creepy, diamond dealer in New York is spot on.

Starts Again

Issue section: 
Music
Issue: 
January 2020
Author: 
Nick Grant

After a globetrotting decade as a backing singer, Tawiah finally releases an album of her own. Ironically titled “Starts Again”, it is the fruit of collaborations in those years with Sam Beste and Alex Reeve of Hejira. She honoured Sam by singing the standard “For All We Know” at his father’s funeral last year. Other backing musicians at its live launch last October in her native Deptford now play in Michael Kiwanuka’s band.

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