Cool Hunting

Soho-based hairdresser and artist, Nelson Loskamp, does a very strange thing. As part of his Electric Chaircut routine, which he performs at various venues around New York and beyond, he ties volunteers from the audience to a chair, blindfolds them, and then—using amplified electric clippers that run through a series of guitar effects—cuts their hair. A mesmerizing art meets noise meets music meets avant-garde barrage of sensory expressionism, it's something to behold. At the end of it all, a handful of people actually emerge with a dashing new look.

So where did the idea come from?

"Some ideas come to you and others are thrust upon you," Loskamp says. "I originally started cutting hair to support myself as a painter. Much of what has become Electric Chaircut started as requests and demands from former friends and customers: "do you mind roughing me up a bit? I think I need to be taped down while I get my hair cut. Can we do this in public, like with an audience? I think the scissors and clippers should be louder."

Continue reading the interview here.