5 Gum Sense5 Launch party, London
Earlier this Month we were invited to the 5 Gum "Creating Sense5" launch party held in London. 5 Gum is new flavourful gum from Wrigleys. The general consensus is that 5 Gum really is a taste explosion in a chewing gum kind of way.
The launch was conducted by Vice Magazine who ran a a competition in the lead up to the event. They sent out an open call to creatives to create something that like the gum intrigues and exhilarates the senses. And when I say something, the entries could have been anything one felt would represent the gum. Award winning band Hot Chip would then select the winning talent and curate the gig. From The Vice website:
"Thursday, June 4th certainly turned out to be an unforgettable night at The Arches, London Bridge. Hot Chip's two live DJ sets - one featuring Kano - were supported by unique performances from The Penny Serenade, Raf Daddy, Planning To Rock and Noze.
Five winners of the CreatingSense5 competition, whose entries, like the 5 gum, represented and stimulated the senses. Their interactive installations including the "touch wall" and "edible forest" proved to be a huge success - with people finding more than one different use for them!"
Stand out moments for me were discovering Portuguese Sangeres beer (a almost honey tinged malty beer), hearing Planning To Rock for the first time, Hot Chip's awesome live set as well as hearing the sublime combination of Hot Chip & Kano together. Pics & videos to follow in the meantime you can see more pics from the event here!
Launch of Sony's Bravia LCD TV range at "The World First" event in Shoreditch, London
As I made my way through the freezing January evening to the secret location of the launch in the heart of Shoreditch. I was filled with anticipation as the Sony BRAVIA Worlds First launch was promising to be a good night.
Sony Bravia LCD TV installation showing Tal Rosner's short film World First - London, Shoreditch uploaded by Craig Grobler
"Guests will be treated to the awe-inspiring unveiling of these TV’s (the World’s thinnest (ZX1), the World’s fastest (Z4500), The World’s first wireless technology/picture frame TV (EX1) and the World’s first OLED technology TV (XEL-1), with the help of a mind-blowing, interactive and unique light installation featuring a one-off short film, while celebrity DJ Henry Holland and ‘Filthy Dukes’ spin the decks."
Music, Technology, the Arts, Film and a Party! All key words close to my core. Does it get any better? The large warehouse was filled with colour, lights, music and people keen to have a good time. There must have been more well know faces in the crowd than regular Joes it was quite phenomenal.
On entering the large warehouse area I immediately noticed 3 colour beams projected across the warehouse
turned out that this was part of artist Paul Cocksedge's specially commissioned installation. The concept created by Paul Cocksedge, titled 'R.G.B' shined a red, a green and a blue light separately from one side of the venue. All three lights meet at a white dot upon which the four new BRAVIA LCD televisions will hang above. The light concept is based on R.G.B lights within televisions.
Above the white dot - hanging from the ceiling was the reason we were here:
The ZX1 - the World’s thinnest TV, seriously no wider than your finger (if your finger is under 9mm wide).
The Z4500 (with Motionflow) - the World’s fastest TV. This cranks out 200Hz and means that the screen refreshes the pixel rate faster than any previous TV ensuring a smoother picture. Although the benefits of this beast were not immediately clear I suspect that watching a Blu -Ray action film of Sky HD sports the difference would be appreciated.
The EX1- the World’s first wireless technology/picture frame. After some discussion I discovered that this meant that hi def images (& sound) could be sent from a “media” box plugged into your source to the TV. No more HDMI cabling :)
The XEL-1 - the World’s first OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology TV. OLED technology uses materials that emit light on their own and don’t require a backlight. Currently this ultra thin TV (3mm) is only 15 inches big but packs a noticeable higher picture quality (also more eco friendly). Hope the picture quality stays when they rollout the larger screen sizes. OLED is expected to be the next level in the evolution of TVs.
The TVs were showingBafta-winning film-maker Tal Rosner's short film “World First”, featuring historical moments captured on television including footage of the first man in space and the first Miss Universe contest.
Tal Rosner's World First from Craig Grobler on Vimeo.
The evening was set to the ambient soundtrack that Giles Deacon & Henry Holland were outputting from decks for most of the night. Their play list seamlessly transitioning from cutting edge remixes through to experimental trance.
The Mixmag Christmas Party
How do you follow the party of the year? Easy, you step things up to another level.
Gnarls Barkley to play intimate London show
Gnarls Barkley are to play a one-off, intimate London date.
The duo will perform at the 229 Club in the centre of the capital on April 3.
It's expected the band will showcase tracks from their forthcoming album 'The Odd Couple'.
Last.fm BBQ on Rooftop Terrace
With summer on the way, we've decided to do what we do best, second to running the world's best online radio: that is, having a BBQ, drinking beer and playing music.
We’ve always had sporadic BBQs that have taken place on our roof top. Unfortunately, Hackney Council has deemed this activity illegal (boo!)
So we're taking over Herbal’s bar and terrace from 6 – 11PM on July 12th. Join us to create a unique user generated event (there will be food, booze and DJs from the Last.fm team).
A unique user generated event? Yup that’s right, When you click to say you're attending, the Last.fm DJ team will play selections from your music charts.
Hope to see you there!
Note: be sure to sign up at the Last.FM page.
10-14 Kingsland Road
London, England E28DA