Chris Jordan Revisited

by Ami Kealoha

Last month we highlighted Chris Jordan's "Denali Denial" from his latest body of work that visualizes otherwise unfathomable statistics about contemporary American culture. If you haven't already perused his website, this is a reminder to check out it out; Jordan's arrangements transform the dizzying numbers into serene patterns. "Cans Seurat" (pictured) uses an image of 106,000 aluminum cans—the amount consumed in the U.S. every 30 seconds—to reproduce the famous painting.

2xist Soy Underwear

by Evan Orensten

2xist's recently released Soy collection features several styles of briefs and a t-shirt made with 95% soy-based fabric (the rest is Nylon).

The soy fabric has natural antimicrobial properties, is very breathable, provides natural UV protection, is moisture wicking and is touted as feeling "more luxurious than cashmere." Similar properties to clothing made with bamboo or high performance fabrics derived from corn and other materials.

MSRP start around $19. Retail and online locations available at 2xist.

Haworth Zody Office Chair

by Josh Rubin

I was very reluctant to give up my Aeron but decided to give Haworth's Zody chair a try. It comes with all the bells and whistles you come to expect from high end office chairs but with less of a jaw dropping price tag.

A number of cranks, pulls and buttons create a fully customizable fit—the most innovative being an adjustable lumbar support (above right), developed in association with the Human Performance Institute at Western Michigan University. The arm rests feature pivoting action to offer proper support for mousing or typing, and move vertically and laterally according to arm length and shoulder width (I found the pivoting to be a little loose). The chair is made with 51 percent recycled content and is 98 percent recyclable at the end of its life span. Even better, the Zody chair is made using 100% green energy from wind power. Now our intern is sitting in the Aeron.

The Zody chair is available for $699 from Haworth.

The Kings of Reggae

by Ami Kealoha

The latest in the series of DJ-curated (but not mixed) compilations from BBE Records, The Kings of Reggae, is one of the best yet. Like the other seven “Kings of” double CD or vinyl LP comps, the tunes on each disc have been handpicked by a notable DJ and record collector in their field of expertise, in this case, London’s David Rodigan, and New York’s (via Jamaica) Sting International. Besides their encyclopedic knowledge of the music, what they have in common is decades of experience playing these tunes live to dancing audiences.  

Classic selections like The Abyssinians’ “Satta Massa Gana,” Burning Spear’s “Marcus Garvey,” Junior Murvin’s “Police and Thieves” and Freddie McGregor’s “Big Ship” are not only great tunes, but they are certified party-rockers. And they are balanced out by many lesser-known tracks like “Arleen“ by General Echo, “Toyan” by Toyan and “Informer” by Cocoa Tea.     Also represented are many of the great producers, like Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, King Tubby and Linval Thompson, who innovated these now-classic reggae sounds in their Jamaica studios.  

  The series has stood out from the constant onslaught of "Best Of" genre collections because of the music, but also because of the cover artwork. All the preceding Kings of releases have featured original covers by 65-year-old South African photographer Michael Joseph, who is best known (outside the world of advertising) for his work on The Rolling Stones’ Beggar’s Banquet LP. His BBE covers have been characterized by stylized and chaotic social scenes depicting a stereotypical European bourgeois wealth and excess from cabaret to orgy. This is perhaps a nod not only to the royal implications of the series titles’ theme, but also to the luxury of the connoisseur.

  Either way, I guess BBE didn’t think that a throng of bohemian 60s revelers in the Buckingham Palace library would complement the reggae aesthetic for some reason, so in the place of a Michaeel Joseph original is a simple but elegant image of a huge speaker and bassbin. Speakers like this have become commonplace, and they are now icons of every club subculture. But this cover reminds us that it was the Jamaican DJ crews (known as “sound systems”) and their huge custom built PA’s that first took amplification to such heights and made possible the entirety of DJ culture that followed.   The Kings of Reggae artwork is also unique in the series in that there are three different editions, in red, gold, and green highlights, for the colors of the Ethiopian flag, which, having been adopted by the Rastafari religion, have become the official colors of reggae itself.  

Due out 28 February 2007, pre-order from Amazon.

by DJ Scribe

Also on Cool Hunting: The Kings of Diggin'

Surface To Air São Paulo Boutique

by Ami Kealoha

When in São Paulo recently, I was excited to check out Surface To Air's new store that opened in the city's Jardin neighborhood in October 2006. The third boutique to their name (they also have spaces in Paris and New York), the all-white space houses the best of Brazilian clothing and accessories as well as S2A's own line. Standouts include Adriana Degreas, Alexandre Herchcovitch Black (a unique collaboration with S2A), Neon, Oestudio, Fabia Bercsek, Ayra Design and Paula Ferber. Stay tuned as CH brings you selections over the next several days found at S2A São Paulo.

Surface To Air São Paulo Boutique
Alameda Lorena n1989 Jardins
São Paulo Brasil
tel. +5511 3063 4206