Jake Stangel is the maker of some beautiful photographic work. He stopped by the office last week to show us his portfolio and chat about his work. Stangel is Canadian born and works between New York City and Portland freelancing. His work displays a nice range of sublime landscapes, sober architecture, and warm lifestyle. He runs a photo blog entitled 'Too Much Chocolate,' a platform for editorial, fine art , and commercial photographers. Check him out. 

Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn (Haas and Hahn) have recently given Santa Marta, A favela in Rio de Janero, a colorful facelift. The application of color in this context makes an impressive impact on the neighborhood and darws attention to our physiological perception of color iwth -in our built environment. The artists furthered their impact by hiring local painters to install the mural to stimulate local employment. You can read more about Hass and Hahn here.  

Some lovely printed work from Dutch Agency Silo. I am particularly fond of the 'Concert Hall of the 21st Century'  print and web campaign for the Muziekgebouw aan't IJ. The studio has recently been awarded for three of their nominated projects at the European Design Awards in Rotterdam this May. One project in-particular was awarded gold for their book design for the TED x Amsterdam conference 'Breakthrough'. Keep an eye on this Den Haag design studio. 

I'm very excited to post June's PM(mix No.3)S by DJ Kez. This mix is quite the collection of grooves, featuring the likes of Curtis Mayfield, Onra, Flying Lotus, Little Dragon, and the popular Danish duo Quadron. Kez is a founding member of the The Fix and spins along side Dundiggy and Matt Nelkin every third Friday at the Rock Box Dance Party. Download PM(mix No.3)S

Track-listing:
Curtis Mayfield - Give Me Your Love (Tangoterje Edit)
K'bonus f/ Kissey Asplund - Klik
Andreya Triana - Far Closer (Mr. Scruff Remix)
Fatima - Soul Glo
Onra f ... (read more)

Sean Joseph Patrick Carney has recently published a new book that translates Walter Benjamim's 'Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' from English to American. The translation is printed as an edition of 50 and is part of a group show at IGLOO Gallery. The exhibition is entitled 'Pop Coochie' and features artists Alicia McDade, Patrick Rock, Matthew Green, Ralph Pugay, and Jason Traeger with Liam Drain. 'Pop Coochie' opens Thursday June 3rd.

... (read more)

London producer James Blake has carried an extraordinary amount of hype around his music in the first part 2010. Coming off a recently well received and dynamic EP, 'The Bells Scratch', Blake has wasted no time making a presence on R&S Records with his new soul bent release 'CMYK'. This EP just might live up to all the talk and anticipation prior to it's release. You can listen to the album and read about how about much Pitchfork loves up on him here.  

Listen to more of his music here.

Patrick Kelly is a solid gentleman, a hard worker who is rarely home and always in his studio. I took interest in his drawings the moment I saw them. Several questions arose when looking at the photographs of Kelly's work; the application and process were puzzling to me. He calls them Carbon Traces... drawing thousands of curved lines one after another, producing dense fields and shapes with the use of graphite pencils. I gave him a visit in his Portland studio to see his drawings firsthand and to talk with him about his practice, as well as his involvement ... (read more)

James Blake breaks ground with due diligence. Alongside powerful new artists such as Mount Kimbie and Joy Orbison, Blake sets the tone for a new afterthought of UK's dance music. His second release and new single, "The Bells Sketch", is rich in sound and monumental in effect. Between soulful sped-up vocals and twists of synthetic funk, he creates a filthy, yet smooth contradiction against an obstacle course of drowsy audio components. In the last minute of the track, Blake overlaps a gliding bass line with warm tones from an organ that rides the track to its end. I'm ... (read more)