Heya Hifi Records: Music and Food

by Ami Kealoha

Have you ever wondered what Giles Peterson likes to cook for his wife after a long day traveling the globe, deejaying and being a musical tastemaker for all the world? Try Spaghetti and Sea Urchins?!

Answering these questions, the dapper pair that is SUMO (aka Combo and Alf Tumble, pictured right) run the fabulous Heya Hifi Record label out of Sweden. Not only do they serve up a smooth and sexy blend of beats, but their website is also home to a veritable cookbook's worth of fancy food recipes, all contributed by some of dance music's elite. Want to know what kind of wine goes best with Rainer Truby's Fillet of Veal? Curious about how Dimitri from Paris managed to give his pasta that Japanese essence? It's all here.

Let's not forget about the music now. SUMO has been cooking up impeccably produced and endlessly funky remixes, or Rebounces, as the boys like to call them, for some time now on record labels like Raw Fusion and Compost. Meanwhile, 2006 saw the release of Combo & Alf's debut artist album, The Danceband, covering the full flavor spectrum of house, from old-school Chicago, to broken beat, to Afro-Latin spice. Vocalists Aaron Phiri and Clarisse Muvemba added a touch of sensuality to some already sweat inducing deep club bangers.

Their more recent output has a much harder edge, while still remaining playful and sexy. Under their Bangana alias, Combo and Alf turn out the analogue squelchers, while enlisting MC Ayesha for their recent 12" "Gravity" b/w "That's Erotic." And who better to remix "That's Erotic" than the booty-bass master himself, DJ Assault? For even more upfront fare, seek out Clarisse Muvemba's solo 12" "Roses" b/w "Time is Now," released 14 May 2007 and featuring a Bangana remix.

This and all back catalogue are available to buy on 12" from Juno Records or to download at: Beatport, Traxsource, and the iTunes music store.

by Jesse Mann

ICFF 2007

by Jacob Resneck

Attended by more than 20,000 design furniture devotees for the past two years, the ICFF now in its 19th year returned to Manhattan this month with top designs from more than 23,000 designers form 33 countries. We'll have a video on New York's biggest design event (with a little help from one of Holland's current renowned designers) later this week, but in the meantime here are the highlights of the highlights uncovered by some of our esteemed colleagues.

Design*Sponge singled out the "Extruded Swarovski" chair developed by the furniture team at Rhode Island School of Design.

The leading manufacturer of cut crystal, Swarovski worked with RISD student designers to collaborate with the student designers to develop innovative furniture from an unconventional material. The results are impressive. (Pictured right.)

Strolling for trends, Manhattan's Metropolis Magazine shone the light on Isamu Noguchi. At the convention center, the reissued Kenmochi Chair and Settee made their North American debut.

We agree with our friends at MoCo Loco that the designer JoeVelluto of Coro's Snow Chair is a worthy addition out of the thousands of exhibits. Perfect for relaxing and daydream, it looks dynamic enough to do some serious sledding down icy slopes. If Coro were generous to send us a test model, we'd have the CH Alpine Bureau give it a go off Monte Bianco. We're not holding our breath.

Of the scores of eye candy on Notcot, we liked "Big Bang & Little Bang" from ModernTots of Brooklyn. They're arresting light fixtures reminiscent of an astronomical event suspended from your ceiling. Here's a link to their website; they say they ship immediately and at less than a hundred bucks and designed to handle energy-saving bulbs, are a practical item for the design conscious without unlimited means. (Pictured below left.)

And finally, Core77 cut through the hype to find the most comfortable piece of furniture inside the 145,000-square foot convention hall. That must've been a lot of test-loafing, but hard work is its own reward. Surprise, surprise, of the thousands of entries the winner goes to a beanbag chair. A what? That's right: a beanbag chair; albeit, a beanbag chair designed in France. Seriously, the French designers Hatch are reinventing the beanbag chair. According to the sales pitch, it's the first beanbag chair to mix reinforced polystyrene beads and plyoflefin foam, these are the same materials used for car security components. Their animated website has the skinny on this amusing product. (Pictured above right.)

Auto Wedding Bands

by Ami Kealoha

Having already become a haven for unconventional jewelry designers and funky wearable arts, the shop Auto has commissioned 15 of their favorite jewelers to re–envision the commitment ring. Running the gamut from more classic diamond bands to coiled mythical serpents with diamond eyes, designers including Philip Crangi, St. Kilda, Hannah Clark, and Auto have crafted pieces for just about any soulmates–to–be. And with the evolving meaning behind matrimony these days, it's the perfect time for this new breed of commitment rings to start making their way down the aisles.
—by Christene Barberich

Lion in Love Boutique

by Fiona Killackey

Lion in Love, a boutique in Melbourne, Australia, is causing a wave in the local fashion community. An antidote to knockoff Marc Jacobs pumps produced en masse and replicas of the latest Miu Miu dress in stores before it’s even left the catwalk, the store is a place to do the impossible and find something truly unique. Created by one of the city’s most stylish young things, and the former buyer for a major Melbourne boutique-chain, Nikki Cremasco, Lion in Love specializes in one–off pieces that ooze a vintage feel but are made with quality modern materials. Cremasco spends time every few months overseas, sourcing young Korean designer pieces to bring back and share with the market down under. Having recently opened at is injecting a much–needed shot of originality and eclecticism back into fashion. Ooh la la.

Lion in Love
848 Glenferrie Road
Hawthorn, VIC 3122
Melbourne, Australia map
tel. + 61 3 9818 8137