Uffie

Uffie's new album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans came out in October this year. The kooky 22 year old is claimed to be the originator of the 'sing-talk' style of rhyming (that Ke$ha poorly attempts to champion).

This season Uffie has launched a capsule collection with Diesel that features 12 pieces of leather & denim items. She is also doing a tour sponsored by Diesel and dropped in at Nation of Shopkeepers in Leeds for a free gig (wristband required from the Diesel shop on Vicar Lane).

I'd only really heard of Uffie from seeing her on line-ups and through people I follow on Twitter. Thanks to Spotify I had a listen through of the album before going to see her.

We arrived at the venue and basically I've never seen such an OTT bunch of Scenester's in my life. I've hung out in Hoxton and Shoreditch plenty of times but this night really topped the lot. It made me worry that maybe I'm getting old?

Anyway, the highlight of the night was when Uffie came and walked right in front of me in the crowd and then proceeded to stand next to me chatting to some guy. It was one of those childish moments where, acting like a total starstruck loser, I poked my mate and squealed, 'I swear that's her!!'

It's fair to say she is pretty hard to recognize. If you Google her name you will struggle to get two pictures where she looks the same. And on this particular night she really wasn't quite the conventional little stunner I had expected and I liked that.

After the brief encounter I had of her standing next to me I didn't see much more of her because of the overly keeno crowd that towered in front of me with their wafty hats and big hair. But she sounded good, in fact really good, which surprised me because I secretly expected her tracks to loose out to the albums good production when performed live.

So all in all I've decided she's pretty cool and I actually liked her most because she wasn't a try-hard-wannabe (Unlike the crowd that had turned up to see her) but a genuine little gem.

When I'd first heard her album I instantly liked 'Pop the Glock' and it took quite a few more listens until I got into other tracks. Since then she is now my most listened to artist on my Last FM chart this month.

Therefore bearing that in mind you should try get into her new album. It breaks all the rules of what makes a more clichéd 'good album' and ends up being really addictive.

MCs Can Kiss...

Pop the Glock...

M.I.A

I saw M.I.A last night in Leeds. It's the 2nd time I've seen her. I think she's soooo ahead of the game with her music and performance.

There is a ton of seriously cool production in the gig and she carries the whole thing off so effortlessly. The live show also gives a strong nod in the direction of performance art when she is on stage.

Both times I have seen her she pulls about 30 people from the crowd up on stage with her, which makes for interesting viewing as people react very differently to being unexpectedly put in the limelight.

She also came back on stage after the encore by going up to the balcony and climbing back down the rigging on to the stage. And perhaps most interesting were the two male dancers she had who danced really aggressively like they were on ecstasy and made it look cool.

The third album is really gutsy and shows that she is keen to stay ahead of everyone else rather than churn out a cool but safe record. I like this interview that she did for Nylon recently. It's only short but gives you an insight to how smart and endearing she is.

Did you see Prada's 2010 campaign?

I could watch this on repeat for hours. It's shot on a Red Camera and the images it creates is just stunning. I love the sample of the track too.

ShowStudio

The recession has brought about all sorts of new ways of being thrifty. This season in the fashion industry a few designers have started to make a dramatic move away from showcasing their clothes on a catwalk and moved into a new genre: Fashion-film.

ShowStudio are the most prominent creative outlet behind this shift. The results are very exciting! This is Gareth Pughs new collection.

Kenzo is 40!

First fell in love with this cult Japanese label at 17 years old. I especially obsessed over an advert I found in Vogue and for every year that I moved to a new student house I would lovingly peel the page off my wall and transfer it to my new abode.

It's still just as gorgeous years on!

I changed my tune...

The first time I saw Russell Brand on TV years and years ago I couldn't stand him but now I've moved firmly into the 'love-him' camp. (Along with a love of Katy Perry - who also I couldn't stand at first)

This interview affirmed exactly why I changed camps and it must be one of the most entertaining interviews I have ever seen!

(Part 1 + 2)

Orson Welles

I've made an effort to get back into film recently.

Orson Welles is really high on my list of favorite directors.

I love Citizen Kane and Third Man for completely different reasons. He is an all-round fantastic mind. Check out this interview. He is so intelligent!!