More lo-fi video action, this time from Greatest Hits. The video is directed by Natalie Rodgers and we feeling it!

A pretty cool stereoscopic 3D motion-controlled (moco) time-lapse film using Canon 5D's. More info here. You need the red/blue glasses for the Youtube video obviously.

Great track off the new Modeselektor album with Thom Yorke...

Great (old-ish) interview with Pedro Almodovar in Bombsite Mag here. 

Had to share this simple 3D inspired photography of great beauty here.

Good 'lil interview with Redinho tallking through his Ableton set-up...

Excellent forthcoming new Electro/Techno release from Belgian duo GoldFFinch out on Numbers  on November 14th 2011.  

NOVAK (and ¡VAMOS!) went to the beautiful Alnwick Garden a few weeks back to explore the potential of developing work there. A lovely way to spend a Monday afternoon!

With the release of Hugo (not seen yet but want to soon), here's an interesting interview with Martin Scorsese (and James Cameron) on his use of and interest in 3D. Great that someone like Scorsese is using this technology.

Original nuttah Kate Bush has just released her new album 50 Words for Snow and we're listening via Spotify. Putting to one side a sickly Elton John duet (urgh), it's a beautiful and idiosyncratic work - nothing changes there then! Maybe a little too sparse but still a charming, wintery work... Here's a review on Pitchfork.

There's some, ahem bias towards Mr. Nelson from at least half of NOVAK, but even if your not a fan this is a pretty good documentary. It features the classic after party footage with an impromptu Mica Parish duet in '88. It is still available to view on iPlayer here until 16th December - UK only though unfortunately. Thankfully there is much skirting around the mostly crap 90's/00's output but great to see the likes of Sheila E popping up.

If your into your Prince edits then check this chuggy version of the classic Sign 'O' The Times cut If I was Your Girlfriend by Leonidas on Soundcloud. Whilst on SOTT tip - a rare cut that shows Prince at his most experimental (why no more of this?!) in almost Beatles-esque approach 'Crystal Ball'. This was part of the triple album Camille's Crystal Ball that became the double album Sign 'O' The Times. Amazing tune.

Stumbled across this video when looking for info on Nile Rodgers' new biography. Made me smile! 

Not a musical fan but this is a pretty successful marriage of corporate, mapping projection and audience spectacle. 

From the label that previously brought us the brilliant Colombia! The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes (check it on Spotify here), a cool new way to get a taste of new compilation The Original Sound of Cumbia via a musical map of Colombia. Love it!

You can also check other releases by the Soundway label on Soundcloud, here's just a taster from a previous CARTAGENA! comp...  

In celebration of our upcoming NOVAK 3D DISCO™ this weekend with DJ Yoda, here's a great 80's soul mixtape Flight School Vol.1 he put out a few years back... Still love this. 

Some amazing stllls from the amazing Twin Peaks. 

Check them here.

Via But Does It Float. 

Today 1/2 of NOVAK is off to this Polish film festival 'Festival ZUBROFFKA' for a 3D Disco gig tomorrow night. Looks like a interesting programme. Come say hello if your there!

A fun find this one. Mini sized gigs in the NPR Music offices - particuarly love JEFF The Brotherhood's take. The poncho, the tashe and THAT drumming! Check the video here.

Skream dropped a special House/Techno set at The Warehouse Project recently. As you'd expect it's a good 'un - check here.
Although by far the best tune is by Skream himself, Thoughts of You is a belta - check it here!

An article about the goings-ons and company culture behind the scenes at Twitter HQ, makes an interesting read!

Amazing photo gallery in The Telegraph showing Apple's shortlived moved into apparel! Some great pics here.

An oldie but a funny fake on 3D without the glasses!

Been watching this aussie drama based on the fallout after a family, er fallout. An interesting study on the different characters, perspectives and generations affected... Features 'Angel' from Home and (back in the day) Away too!

As we get towards the end of the year and with it the inevitable musical reflections, worth a remind to (re)check Rustie's debut album. It's an extremely vibrant and playful exercise in innovative production. Not entirely consistent (there's a few Calvin Harris nods in there) but still sh*t hot in parts.

There's a brief Guardian feature and check one of our favourite's from the the album 'Surph' on Spotify here. 

As an aside incase you didn't know, NOVAK have a close working relationship with the Numbers crew that the likes or Rustie sprung out of. We recently premiered some innovative real time visuals for his live show. Hopefully more to come on that in 2012...

A bit slow off the mark on posting about this, but the very nice people at Lucky Me have been running a musical advent over at their site. Giving away a free track for each day of advent. Featuring NOVAK favorites Rustie, Hudson Mohawake, Lunice and many other great artists. 

Check it here

As a lover of Metal (I am lone figure within NOVAK on this!) and the associated imagery, these re-imagining of pop artists into Death/Black Metal style logos caught me attention.

The artist, Mark Hall Patch, sums it up quite nicely: 

'A recontextualisation for pop groups who make/made the devil's music.' 

Check them all out here. 

On a Death Metal tip here is a tune by the mighty Entombed!  

Have been wanting to see this new silent film since it was reviewed at the Canne Film Festival earlier this year. Can't wait! If your North East based it's on a Tyneside Cinema from 6th January, more info here. There is also an interview in The Telegraph with the director Michel Hazanavicius here.

A seelction of unpublished photography by Tim Hetherington, who sadly died in Libya this year. The Guardian gallery article is here. The SIDE held an exhibition of his work in 2010 and also had a video archive of the Q+A afterwards with Tim which I watched 6 months or so ago. Inspiring and enriching stuff that I sadly can't find on their site anymore. Will repost if it turns up...

Next level communication with the Sarcastic font.
No more mis-understanding get straight to the point!

As huge fans of Gerald Donald and James Stinson's work and owners of some very worn out vinyl, Clone's announcement a while back that they were to re-issue a huge portion of Drexciya's back catalogue across 4 releases was welcomed with great excitement around these parts! 

Put simply these two guys as Drexciya created some of the greatest electro and techno ever! 

Part 1 is now available on vinyl, CD and digital. This re-issue comes with the highest recommendation. 

Go get it from Novak friends Rub A Dub. 

The new Scion A/V: Skream & Benga EP is free to download here. Our particular favourite is 'Phat Head' by Skream :) 

Long term Novak affiliates Numbers are teaming up with fellow Glasgow crew Vitamins for their NYE party. Novak will be providing be-spoke visuals for this bound to be epic party! 

It’s all happening at Stereo, Glasgow. Kicking off at 22:00 through till 04:00. 

To get warmed up for this check out the recent Vitamins show on Sub City radio here. Feturing Jackmaster, Spencer, Bake & Ryan All Caps, Bamboo Palace and Shaun & Sam Vitamins. 

In their own words.... 

The annual NYE throwdown is on and this time Numbers and Vitamins are teaming up to see off what has been a great year for both crews. 

Tickets Available here: http://bit.ly/sYdYyM

Seeing as it's the biggest party of the year, both teams who are renowned for their attention to detail will be collaborating on a custom visuals and lighting show whilst both rooms will be treated to two new specially brought in sound systems.

DJ's from Numbers and Vitamins, as well as a few friends, will be spread over both floors with the emphasis being purely on the party: 

Bake All Caps 

Bamboo Palace

Bobby Cleaver

Goodhand

Nok La Rok

Ryan All Caps

Sam Vitamins 

Shaun fae Solar 

S Type 

No guest DJ's, no genres to push, just out and out party music. Who knows, it might be your last. It is 2012 after all...

Join the Facebook event here

With some surprise this year, Santa didn't include the Steve Jobs biography in my stocking so post-Christmas I decided to treat myself...

It's a strange read in some ways, detailed beyond the point of interest (so far) for the average person (me included) but at the same time riveting to be reminded of the energy and sense of limitless possibility that was around various groups in the 70's. An undoubtedly he was a real s**t too! You can buy it anywhere obviously.

This page struck me as typographically and word wise quite beautiful so had to snap. Obviously it is in fitting with the subject's ethos too.

Beautiful shot of the iberian peninsula from outer space here!

As it's the start of a new year this post shows some inspiring projects from 2011!

Both my girlfriend and I were plenty fortunate at Christmas to receive lots of nice gifts. One, from my brother, seemed to be part of a continuing trend in gifts to my partner and I. Skulls! 

Now this is by no means a bad thing. We are both lovers of skull related imagery and art. Be that the amazing Día de Muertos sugar skulls or classic skate graphics of Powell/Peralta and Mike Mcgill  or the unmistakable Misfits skull. We dig them all! 

So it was great get a book full of them! The Book of Skulls.

I highly recommend this wee book to any fellow skull lovers!   

We may be based in the amazing Newcastle upon Tyne, but 3/4 of Novak are from North of the Border.  Myself included.

So probably no surprise that I was really taken by these photos of the Highlands by Akos Mojor. 

Check them all out here.

via Fubiz

it's with great enthusiasm I read this post on Pitchfork yesterday. All round French fruitcake and purveyor of bearded sleaze Sébastien Tellier is back with a new album in April!

If anyone was in any doubt that Seb Tell is still loco, read these words from the don himself about the album! "Don't listen to my album; listen to my message. Enter into vibration with my music. Let's merge our dreams, together spreading this communal energy in an immense blue wave that
will wash over the world - and truth will emerge." 

In the meantime check the video teaser and also this remix from his last
Daft Punk partnered album Sexuality'. 

As a footnote it's worth mentioning I caught the live show for the Sexuality album and happened to ask a bunch of French fans stood next to me what Sébastien was on about as he writhed about on the floor talking sexy gibberish to himself. They had no idea either. The man's a legend :) 

On the continuing cultural Steve Jobs fetishization (is that a word?)
here is a slightly amusing exploration of the period where it went very 
dark for Apple's main man in the mid-80s. Alongside this article is also 
an interesting top 10 of other graphic novel's which I will have to get 
round to buying sometime....  

Posted by our friend Four Hands on Facebook check this ultra slow (audio-visual) version of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights treatment!

Check out this excellent new video for Modeselektor feat. Otto von Schirach "Evil Twin" directed by Dent.De.Cuir

Ever since Channel 4 back in the 80's first broadcast NFL games here in the UK I have been an on/off viewer of American Football. 

I sort of understand the rules, I have an NFL app on my phone and most years I will sit up late on a Sunday and watch the Super Bowl.

A few years ago I was shocked and happy to discover how the NFL actually operates. Today I was very happy to discover this very tight pice of motion graphics by Fraser Davidson  based on Bill Maher's short essay.

Sums it up beautifully and in 3 weeks time I'll once again be staying up late on a Sunday! 

It's always a pleasure coming across a beautifully executed pieces of motion design and this is certainly no exception. 

A brilliant piece of work by Sydney based The DMC Inititive 

Via Motionographer

Some stills of our first outing of our Unity developed live visuals system....

Over the past year or so, I've seen a trend in graphic design moving into vintage design. Drawing upon classic design twisted in a contemporary way I've found that design has become very monochromatic and anti digital print. If everything was still printed in letterpress I'd be a happy man.

Design is much more than just image, it's also about the quality of stock it is printed on and the tactile feel. Here is a selection of prints and posters I've worked on recently. If you've got a project that could do with being a bit scruffy around the edges feel free to get in contact!

Elliot 

Check out this recording of the blinding set played by Jackmaster at the Numbers warehouse party in London last December.

Download available here.

Novak were on had that night alongside Remote Location, Thomas Traum and Mike Tucker providing live visuals. 

Hopefully soon some photos and video of the event will surface. When they do I'll be sure to post them here, but in the mean time enjoy this mix!