Other Music is our friend. They unveiled an inaugural collection of vinyl and CDs at Ace Hotel NYC in February. Now they’ve sent forth another to make our lives even better. Here’s what they have to say about their latest collection:
The Drums have been tearing the blogs up since mid-2009, and have quickly become New York’s most buzzed about indie-pop band, garnering fans worldwide with their songs and converting the masses with their stellar live shows. Their faces (and phenomenal ’80s hair) have been on the cover of the NME, and they have been touted as 2010’s best new band, resulting in a furious worldwide tour and an A&R bidding frenzy. Well, what does the album sound like? Summertime is a gloriously joyous romp through C86 pop and the early Factory and Postcard Records sounds. Think the Wake, the Smiths, Orange Juice and contemporaries like Tough Alliance, Legends, and pretty much any band on Slumberland. “Don’t Be a Jerk, Jonny” is probably the most twee track that I’ve heard in a long time; with its Casio drum beat, boy/girl vocal, and ultra-catchy chorus, it brings a smile to my face every time it comes on the iPod. “Let’s Go Surfing” is a sunny California jam that evokes the Wake at their best — it’s a great tune, and the obvious single that has had the masses drooling since it was released. Summertime is filled with seven great songs that will have you longing for fun times, ocean waves, and summer sun.
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Ryan Huber of Context invited Cultural Engineer and Curator for Ace Hotel New York, Jou-Yie Chou, Andrea Westerlind of the Swedish Outdoor brand Fjällräven, Annemarie Ahearn of Salt Water Farm and his friend and Wisconsin native, Colin K. Hughes of The Institute of Transportation & Development Policy out to Madison this February to get a taste of winters in the Midwest and the local sensibilities and delicacies involving good local beer, local cheese, new friends, old friends, cheese curds, whiskey and the promise of some fishing on frozen lakes in the great outdoors. What ensued in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the Porcupine Mountains (The Porkies) was much of that and a little more; minus the fish. Here are some pictures. Read the full story on Context’s Eye to Eye.
We also have a special backpack exclusive with Fjällräven — the Mudd colored Kanken pack. It might be better suited to city, or even light country, rambling. But it certainly makes itself useful.
In the fall of 2009, Ace Hotel New York teamed up with Massify and Killer Films to launch a project supporting emerging filmmakers. We courted short vignettes that used Ace NYC as their background (or foreground). The winning films would be “original, concise narratives that are intelligent, artful, and comedic.” Maya Kazan shot just such a film, and placed as one of the selected filmmakers to shoot a longer project at the hotel. Massify sat down with Maya to ask her about her film, herself, and working with the Ace NYC team. Here are some pictures from her shoot for “Lulu at the Ace Hotel.”
Photos courtesy of Tessa Treanor via Massify
We joined our friends at Levi’s and Converse for SXSW and created a very special VIP area for performers. A room from Ace Palm Springs sprung up in the Levi’s Fader Fort where the bands hung out while Will Bryant customized their Converse kicks.
The festival was packed with new and old friends, including Andrew and Andrew — who were there interviewing bands and DJing — and Jason Thome from Converse. The lineup this year was as brilliant as it was diverse — Curren$y, Hauschka, The Morning Benders, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and Those Darlins give you an idea of the musical feast we were treated to, and the friends hanging out in the Ace Palm Springs Texas outpost.
Photos top to bottom: Ace PSP at the Levi’s FADER Fort, Will Bryant customizing Converse for Ace founder Alex Calderwood, Alex with Andrew and Andrew, Alex with Jason Thome of Converse, Levi’s FADER Fort.
