Zara Shearlings Will Keep You Warm

London as been hit with more snow that usual this winter and it is only December! If this is any indication of what winter has to offer I’d suggest pulling out the heavy artillery or hitting the shops and purchasing something uber warm because we will be freezing to death come February. Unless, you’ve been hiding under a bolder, or, trapped in avalanche of snow, shearling is the trend of the winter season thanks to UK’s own Burberry who, if you ask me, set the trend with the plushiest of shearling. Let’s get real for second, not everyone can invest in a Burberry shearling or Burberry anything for the matter. Thank goodness for high-street options! Zara has given us two shearling options and they are quite nice. An all black military inspired double- breasted leather shearling with epaulets that is long enough to cover your bum so you’re not literally freezing it off and a cropped asymmetrical brown with cream shearling that is quite delicious. You cannot go wrong with either. I recommend putting your Christmas money to use and purchase something warm and lush. 

By: Ryan Davis

Contributing Men's Editor

Bonobo at The Troxy

The night after something of a homecoming show, Brighton born Simon Green AKA Bonobo hit East London’s gorgeous Troxy for one of December’s most highly anticipated events. IDOL was lucky enough to be there to catch the magic. Flanked by a 12-strong band, their entrance to the stage was impressive enough before they even got down to the music. A saxophone, flute, trumpet, trombone, guitars, drums, keyboard and a 3-piece string section accompanied the mastermind behind it all, as the lights went down and violins flurried everyone there knew they were witnessing something quite special. Over the next 2 hours they weaved their way through material mainly from 3rd album ‘Days To Come’ and 2010 highlight ‘Black Sands’, playing mostly without pause between songs. But after a few openers the crowd went wild to the appearance of the talented Andreya Triana who did backing vocals on the latest record. She totally lit up the night with her incredible voice; most powerful during an accapella solo where she constructed her own backing with layer upon layer of her own voice put together with a loop pedal, building to a soulful climax. She came on and off a couple of times, also contributing vocals on tracks from ‘Days To Come’ originally sung by Bajka

The most memorable moments however all came in form of the more recent tracks; the playfully tribal opening of ‘We Could Forever’ and the stunning violins and cut-up vocal samples of ‘Kiara’ among the best. The way Green has forged an act that so perfectly blends electronic beats and samples seamlessly with such an impressive selection of live instrumentation put the gig a head and shoulders above anything we’ve seen recently. It’s a pretty rare thing to find that many good musicians on stage at one time, and to have them still come up with something so easy to completely lose it to. The whole night was conducted with faultless skill and grandeur which was only heightened by the beautiful venue, epitomised with an introduction to the musicians followed by a mini solo from each – very classy. Special mention should be given to Jack Baker, whose drumming was pretty much the best we’ve ever seen. Towards the end of the set, he carried on playing this mind bending drum solo while the others left the stage. It went on for a blissful eternity with a single spotlight resting on his shoulders. Yeah they were showing him off, but it had to be done. 

The encore saw the band return and play the closing from ‘Black Sands’ of the same name, a sprawling 7 minute epic which rounded everything off nicely live just as it does on record. Everything clicked together so perfectly that it was a near overwhelming spectacle. Credit has to go to Bonobo for drawing such a diverse crowd where everyone absolutely loved every minute, and I think we all felt pretty lucky to be present on a night where the boundaries of a live performance were pushed to their limits.

by Callum Stannard

BLACK EYEWEAR

I’m not going to pretend to be ashamed that I’m already thinking about sunglasses, in fact it was sunny this morning and it’s the middle of December so really I’m totally justified in getting a little ahead of myself. Perhaps it is just wishful thinking on this snowy morning but I have just spent a good thirty minutes lusting over the Black Eyewear website. They are absolutely gorgeous, and with thirteen pages of different styles there is something for everyone. My particular favourites, located on page nine, (so there is plenty of time for browsing before you get to them) are the Monk II BS. With their thick rims and huge circular frames they are the perfect sturdy accessories to complement the dark hues coming through for summer. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this shape to finally overthrow the reign of the wayfarer, and really I don’t think you could find a better pair to do it than these.

Find them at: http://www.blackeyewear.com/

Words by Ben Schofield

Abs-olutely

I have a new all consuming obsession: the crop top. I would try to put an m on the front of this item (see:- megging) but mop top really doesn’t have much of a ring to it. But, yes I am a boy, and I have been gagging to get my hands on a crop top. I will gladly admit that it is a bit of a ridiculous desire, and no I am certainly not brave enough to bare my belly to the world. Aside from wishing to avoid mentally scarring people on the street, I am sadly just too much of a pasty weed to ever pull it off with any kind of masculine elegance. It has to be said though, that on the Calvin Klein SS/11 boys, with their glistening, undulating torsos, there is something incredibly alluring about this trend, and were the streets populated with such perfectly carved and coiffed specimens, this is certainly a look that we could get used to. However, for those of us slightly less fortunate in the hunk department, crops look absolutely killer over a t-shirt in a different shade of the same colour. The tier effect bestows an immediate big-shouldered-small-waisted look upon the male frame, which I have to admit; I’m a pretty big fan of.

       
So last week, I caved. My shoddy Christmas budgeting having left me far too deep in the recesses of my overdraft to even dream of the Calvin Klein version, I had to get creative. My advice: Old sweater plus scissors works an absolute charm.

Words by Ben Schofield

BANGERS & MASH VS FASH BASH SOUND CLASH FRIDAY 17TH DECEMBER 2010

The IDOL team can’t wait for the BANGERS & MASH VS FASHBASHSOUNDCLASH Christmas Party
 @ The Queen Of Hoxton tomorrow!



Bangers & Mash are back at Hoxton's finest to warm up your Christmas with plenty of festive cheer and excitement, and we have teamed up with the awesome Fashbashsoundclash who are coming with a serious line up so read on! 

Phil Clifton, presenter of Channel 4's 'Freshly Squeezed' and the MTV Rock Chart is Bangers & Mash's guest Dj downstairs. 

Upstairs, FASHBASHSOUNDCLASH take over proceedings. 

Hosted by Wale Adeyemi & DJ NIKKI Beatnik with Statis & The Beatnik Soundsystem with live show, featuring the mighty Terri Walker !!!! Back from NY for Fashbash exclusive performing Beatnik feat Terri Walker 'People Start Talking' (!) XOMAN & ZEST both rockin the mics- Zest performing his Beatnik produced smash 'Who I Am' & DJ's & XO's taking control with his new Beatnik hit amongst others. Last but not least Six-3 and Nimblefingerz will be holding down the party tunes.



 Extras include free face art and caricatures alongside Bangers & Mash Djs djs Emily Rawson, Jimmy Napes, 7oel & Vibes&Vice. Live are the wonderful north Londoners Faithful Child, Tom & the Tides, Sysma, Live Politics & My Lover The Priest. All +'s £7


Email wale.style@gmail.com or djnikki@beatniktv.com for Fashbash guest list



Times: 8pm-2am

 Address: 1-5 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3JX

 Tube: Liverpool Street / Old Street





WE’LL SEE YOU THERE! ;-)

SLEIGH BELLS

As soon as supporting DJs The Knocks were off, the audience swarmed towards the stage to see Derek Miller, one half of the American noise pop duo Sleigh Bells appear. Rushing around plugging things in, he then disappeared backstage again leaving the highly-charged expectant crowd with a couple of pop songs (I think it was George Michael) to tide them over. Minutes later Miller remerged with front woman Alexis Krauss, sending the crowd wild. Krauss, wearing a black leather jacket and some funky spotted leggings, went straight into “A/B Machines” a song off of Sleigh Bells debut album, Treats.  
The crowed immediately dissolved into a jumping, screeching, mosh pit and grew even rowdier when Krauss sang tracks including “Infinity Guitars”, “Rill-Rill” and “Treats”. The atmosphere in The XOYO Bar was electric; whenever Krauss turned the mic on the audience everyone screamed the lyrics back to her, and shouted for more when she and Miller ended their immense set. Moments later, Derek Miller smoothly walked back on stage, strumming his guitar as Krauss answered the audience with an encore. If it was possible for the crowd to go any more mental, they did when Krauss climbed onto one of the speakers and leapt off onto the crowd, surfing back to the stage to close the show. 

Sleigh Bells sold out The XOYO Bar in London, a venue with a capacity of 800, proving they are well worth a bigger location and a huge amount of recognition. Signed to M.I.A’s N.E.E.T (not in education, employment or training) Recordings, Sleigh Bells look set to wake up and radicalise an often dry pop scene with the raw talent I witnessed at this electric gig.      

Words and photography by Andy Shamoon

BRUGAL RUM – WET PAINT PRODUCTIONS

Last weekend saw street art return to Covent Garden for the first time in over 20 years - all for a worthy cause of course – RUM.

Brugal Rum hosted the two-day event in which artists took to the street to work on purpose-built wooden columns, creating different designs to represent the Caribbean rum. Navajo Joe’s and Roadhouse Bar and Grill also got involved with rum tasters, and ‘pimp your t-shirt’ workshops where street artists jazzed up free t-shirts.

The Brugal Rum campaign has been running across three other UK cities, Brighton, Manchester and Edinburgh, with a range of street artists exuberantly spreading the brand’s message of embracing vibrant street culture with brightly coloured graffiti installations.

Artists, DON JEBA and VENTZA from the Brighton-based urban art project, Wet Paint Productions, spent the weekend out in the cold working their creative flair for the campaign, merging the vibrant culture of the Dominican Republic with UK’s urban art scene.

Wet Paint Productions, headed up by husband and wife, Guy Harris and Fay Macdonald began in 2009 to promote street art in Brighton. Guy’s long-time passion for graffiti merged with Fay’s background in marketing and they put on a live street art event as part of Brighton Fringe festival. Since then they have turned the street art event - ‘The Beautiful and the Canned’ – into regular fixture at Brighton Fringe Festival, produced numerous street events and have many more projects in the pipeline, all in an aim to bring art out of the gallery and onto the pavements and the walls to promoted the urban art scene.

Keep up to date with Wet Paint Productions at http://www.wetpaintproductions.co.uk/

Words by Emma Hurwitz

Pictures by Big Partnership & Diosa Media 

AWARE ART FASHION IDENTITY

Next month the Royal Academy is hosting a truly unique contemporary fashion experience, the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Contemporary Aware Art Fashion Identity exhibition. With work from over 30 international contributors including, Marina Abramovic, Alexander McQueen, and Yoko Ono, the event promises to be a success.

Running into its third season, the exhibition focuses on how artists and designers use and examine clothing to help communicate and reveal elements of our identity, dreams and aspirations. The exhibit takes fashion beyond its icons, towards a more heavy focus upon unconscious personal expression.

Made up of four sections, the exhibit looks at themes such as Storytelling, which explores the role of clothing in personal and cultural history, Building, which shows clothing being used as forms of protection and shelter in modern life, and finally the Belonging and Confronting section which examines nationality and social confrontation between cultures and traditions. The final section comes from Yoko Ono, and contains footage of her New York performance at the Carnegie Recital Hall in in 1965. During her performance, Yoko Ono asked the public to cut strips from her clothing in a bid to show the unveiling of her body highlighting a destruction of barriers imposed by convention.

Charles Saumarez Smith is the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Art, he says: “The Royal Academy of Art is delighted to be working with GlaxoSmithKline again on bringing contemporary art to Burlington Gardens."

With assistance from the London College of Fashion, the exhibition is running from now until the 30th January in Burlington Gardens and is open from 10am till 6pm daily. For more information, visit www.royalacademy.org.uk/aware or call 0844 209 0051.

Words by Eleni Cashell

Edited by Jane Tranter

Ellie Goulding Review

Ellie Goulding opens wither debut single “Under the sheets” a perfect song to set the tone for this intimate gig, organised by Radio One DJ Jo Whiley. Followed by crowd favourites, “The Writer” and “Guns and Horses”, Goulding and her band gave one strong solid performance after another, even when a PA failure forced her to wing it and sing without a mic.
Holding her own during both the quieter and more powerful songs, Goulding exuded such energy and passion that the gig was a definite success. Comfortable playing the guitar, singing solo, or banging the almighty life out of a tambourine, Ellie proved herself to be an authentic musician. Making the gig even more intimate was Goulding’s tendency to chat to the audience, wanting them to be as much a part of her evening as she is theirs. She seemed relaxed making small talk with the crowd, who she thanked continually for supporting her, not only on this evening, but throughout her career so far. She’s clearly grateful, and it’s nice, albeit a tad gushy, to hear such a heartfelt acknowledgement of the relationship between artist and fan.
Giving a fantastic rendition of her new single “Your Song”, Goulding closed the night with the enthusiastic drumming and joyous cheers which accompanied the second single off of her debut album Lights.
Supported by bands Tinashe and The Stornoway, the gig was a great success, one which proves why Goulding topped the Sound of 2010 poll, and walked away with the Critic’s choice award at this year’s Brits. 



Words and photography by Andy Shamoon 

Le Rev - Lucky You Single Review

You may not have heard of them before, but you soon will, with their self-produced debut single, Lucky You highly tipped for success, Le Rev are slowly creeping up as the band to keep on your radar.

The LA duo, a formation of guitarist/producer Nico Chiotellis and vocalist C.C. Sheffield, are pinning their hopes of getting noticed in the UK with their debut single, Lucky You. Refreshingly, this two-man-band describe their work as truly collaborative from the writing to their sound, describing their songs as a ‘scrapbook culmination of the four years’ since they started working together.

Lucky You is enticing as soon as Chiotellis’ guitar line hums down and Sheffield’s seductive and haunting vocals start, the drum beat keeps it compelling and a restless energy hammers through out. It seems to tease us with the promise of something explosive but by the end of the song we are still waiting – frustrated - knowing it is lurking just beneath the surface.

The Ernest & Amz Remix included on the single is a lovely little electro treat, and provides a more intense sound, apt for the dancefloor. The vocals and beat work perfectly in the remix that may be even better than the original.

If Lucky You fails to convince, maybe their forthcoming EP will, which includes tracks co-produced by The Killers’ Jeff Saltzman. Definitely worth keeping an eye on when it's released early next year.

Lucky You is released on the 6th December.

Words by Emma Hurwitz

The Noisettes at All Star Lanes

All Star Lanes hosted a fabulous night fuelled with great beats, fantastic cocktails and tip top bowling.  The 50's retro themed venue was the perfect setting for The Noisette's glamorous lead singer, Shingai Shoniwa, to get behind the decks and spin some of her favourite songs.  Playing the likes of 'Eye Of The Tiger' accompanied by a couple of her own tracks the crowd and the band were singing along in a karaoke-esque performance.  If you couldn't make it along on the night here is what Idol saw, amongst the cocktail haze and the bowling lanes.