A collection of inspirations called to mind

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The one and only...never to be forgotten but to live on eternally through an astounding legacy.

RIP Thin White Duke. A true inspiration.

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I have been running this blog for 5 years. I’ve appreciated all the followers and moreover enjoyed sharing things I love, but I think the time has come to let the blog gradually come to a close.

I might post now and again but it’s felt like a bit of a task in recent times and I’ve lost my love for ‘Tumblring’. So enjoy the archive for now and thanks for rolling with me.

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A view of October.

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EGO, ID, SUPEREGO: I have been listening to the second set by Disclosure consistently over the past few weeks. Despite sounding relatively similar to the the first set, there’s no denying the slickness and hypnotic quality of a lot of the tracks on the album.

Perhaps my favourite of all, ‘Superego’ is particularly fantastic. Featuring vocals by new UK artist Nao, it’s a cutting, slick piece of future soul pop with its endeavour of bringing an egotistical lover’s sense of self-confidence back to human levels.

One that merits the repeat button, at least at this moment in time.

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WINTER WEAR: Back to a favourite of mine, inspired by the sudden change in temperature that often occurs in October. Whilst full on winter combat gear ma not be called for just yet, a slouchy knit worn casually and loosely, as envisioned here by Karl Templer does the trick perfectly.

In Michael Thompson’s image of  a Malo and Yohji Yamamoto clad Suzanne Diaz, a timeless quality with hints of style ranging from the 1940s-1990s permeates, creating one of many sensational and memorable portraits; making this one of the most engaging fashion stories of all time for me.

Image sourced from Jedroot.com via The Fashion Spot forums.

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BLEND IN: The protagonist in this photo, a svelte wolf makes the viewer play a game of ‘Where’s Wally’ in this hypnotic, autumnal photo by Paul Nicklen, entitled ‘Bough Wow’.

Shot in British Columbia, the coastal wolf is camouflaged by cedar bough’s at the forest edge in an image that has a rustic, fantasy element to it. The animals make the forest its home, in part due to the opportunity to find food both in this area and by the shore.

This image was sourced from National Geographic, where it was featured as ‘Photo of the Day’ on Wednesday October the 7th 2015.

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DELHI’S DOORS OPEN: A panoramic view of a site that I assumed that I would be familiar with but was not upon further inspection. Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art is seen from all angles here in this clean open space. 

Although one cannot see all the works of art on display on the different floors up close, there appears to be a startling variety of work on offer. A site or sight for sore eyes if I were to visit it one day no doubt and moreover an intriguing cultural location that I did not expect to be as visually enticing as suggested on paper (or Internet screen!)

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The Algar Lakes in the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area of the Sierra Nevada, California.

Sourced from Wikipedia.

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Calm Skies. Courtesy of aleemsm’s Flick R account.

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NIGHT TIME LISTENING: Based off of what I have heard from Disclosure’s second set ‘Caracal’ so far, it doesn’t seem that much of the Lawrence brothers’ original sound has changed or evolved much.

However, sometimes the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ formula does work. Case in point, the grower of an opener featuring man of the moment Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye, ‘Nocturnal’.

A sleek houseified R’n’B mid-tempo, it certainly renders imagery of a night spent very much alive and awake, as the title suggests. A potential single? Well with the star factor I wouldn’t doubt it. As good as the Mary J Blige remix of ‘F For You’? Time will tell.

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THE AMERICAN WAY: A flashback on mini proportions; looking briefly to 2014 when this editorial was published in Interview. I remember being in New York when I saw it and remember the grittier setting set against the amped up layered styling catching my eye.

Jansson’s image of Julia Hafstrom set in a relatively desolate part of upstate NY has a wind-blown, off-kilter charm to it. The clothes that Karl Templer picked to style here may not look particularly wearable (as Prada often isn’t) but create an illusion of rustic warmth on a chilly day, which renders the whole scenario in this image fairly believable...in a fantasy kind of way.

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DANCE WITH ME: A flick through some old magazines (some of which needed to be disposed of) brought me back to a typically Nick Knight cut and paste dance editorial from AnOther Magazine Spring 2011.

A flurry of fabrics, a girl named Jac and a dancer by the name of Benjamin Warbis come together in a series of images styled by Alister Mackie, which cleverly reference flowers (although this one is less of a direct allusion to them than some of the others). This particular image goes to show that strange shapes and composition formed by a bit of dance never get too old; there’s an offbeat appeal to this particular shot.

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STREET ART: There’s something that’s really exciting about seeing the mundane rendered extraordinary. A sidewalk seen from above in ‘Concrete Abstract’ by Larry Abraham renders an abandoned area of Tacoma, Washington into a piece of post Pop-Art photography.

Faint, burnt out red, bright yellow, rusty brown, black and faded grey don’t really sound like a winning combination on paper, but do really work beautifully together here, contained within rigid shapes.

A fresh way to look at the street, without a doubt. This image was sourced from National Geographic, where it was featured as ‘Photo of the Day’ on Sunday September 27th 2015.

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PERSPIRING ICE: On what is sure to be one of the last sunny days of the year; at least in the summery sense, a bit of a cool down is needed. An ice cube caught up close reflects varying shades of darker and lighter blue within its uneven borders, resembling both a waterfall and the insides of an Antarctic ice cavern.

Like all things temporal, the ‘perspiration’ of external water drops on the outside of the cube suggest that the heat is getting to it slowly; at this time in September the reverse in happening with cold increasing as hotter days fade away. 

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A view of the Galápagos Islands.

Sourced from Best Tourism’s Website.

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Terwilliger Parkway in Oregon.

Image sourced from Terwilliger Friends’ website.

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COLOURS OF THE WIND: A recent discovery (thanks to Miu Miu’s Fall 2006 soundtrack for their men’s show), ‘Forbidden Colours’, taken from the soundtrack to the 1983 film ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’, starring none other than Bowie, is quite the pop masterpiece.

Technically a cover of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Furyo’, David Sylvian and Sakamoto’s re-interpretation touches on homoerotic themes from Yukio Mishima’s novel, although in many senses can be viewed as a direct love song, only with further layers.

The beauty of the track is evident, and despite being released over thirty years ago, it certainly feels as fresh and timeless now as it probably did back during the 80s.