Swarovski Fashion Rocks 2007

"Music is fundamental to complete an outfit," said Frida Giannini, Gucci's creative director at the Swarovski Fashion Rocks 2007 on Thursday night at London's Royal Albert Hall. The evening proved her point as 15 designers, including Gucci, sent models down the runway to tunes of their inspirational rock star collaborator. Armani paired with Alicia Keys while Chanel chose self-proclaimed Chanel fan, Lily Allen. Versace models strutted, bright as canaries, as they dodged a writhing Iggy Pop. Dolce & Gabbana preferred a loud and proud soundtrack from rapper Timbaland.

The evening's star quotient was exceptionally high. Uma Thurman, who wore a stunning crystal-scattered Valentino gown and Samuel Jackson, in a series of Armani suits, played hosts while Gwyneth Paltrow presented the evening's highlight: a lifetime achievement award to her dear friend, Valentino, who recently announced his retirement. "I want to leave when the party is still full of people," said Valentino of his half-century in the fashion world. "This is very emotional for me." The audience stood as Valentino accepted the award and later his fans cooed over his talent. "Valentino is frills, bows and dots," said social Tamara Beckwith, who arrived in full-length red Valentino dress. " He makes you feel like a million dollars."

Other surprises included the unconventional Scottish designer Christopher Kane's runway show with Beth Ditto and The Gossip. Ditto has a reputation for making fashion 'don'ts' - like spandex and horizontal stripes - into fashion 'dos.' Kane fully supported her with a magenta crystal skirt suit. Ditto kicked her shoes into the audience during the last extended shout of the performance.

"Chris Kane and the Gossip were definitely the stars of the show," agreed Charlotte Hamlett and Miguel Pascal, ASW members who moved on to the Kane after-party at Paper club on Regent Street. Other attendees also dispersed into the night. Jasmine Guinness, Elizabeth Saltzman, Harvey Weinstein, Calum Best, Courtney Love and Princess Beatrice headed to the official after-party at Baglioni.

Bungalow 8 attracted the sophisticated set, which included members of the Armani group while Punk Club drew fashionista and rock offspring Peaches Geldof. The parties continued well into the wee hours – evidence, if any was needed, that fashion indeed rocked.

— Taraneh Ghajar

Joshua Bell

As one of the top concert violinists in the world, Joshua Bell plays in approximately 100 cities a year. With his concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall approaching, ASW catches up with this brilliant musician to talk about The Red Violin Concerto’s recording, touring the world and what it means to be dubbed a ‘Young Global Leader’.

Q. How and when did you become a member of ASW?
Joshua Bell: I was invited to ASW by a friend two and a half years ago and tested the waters soon after by tentatively posting a thread concerning my upcoming trip to Berlin. Since I had a few friends there and had some extra comp tickets for my concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, I asked if anyone might want to use them and perhaps meet up for drinks afterwards. I was surprised by the warm response and we ended up with a very large group of ASWers at the concert (and LOTS of drinks afterwards!). I have instigated several such gatherings in cities around the world and have made some really wonderful friends this way.

Q. How do you use ASW and what’s your favorite site feature?
JB: Since I travel to 100 or so cities each year, I find the city guide very useful for restaurant recommendations.

Q. You’ll be playing at the Royal Albert Hall for the Last Night of Proms in London. Sounds exciting. How do you feel about this particular opportunity?
JB: The Proms is one my favorite events and I play on the series almost every summer. The Royal Albert Hall seems to attract a younger audience, partially because of its uniquely casual atmosphere (the whole lower level is without seats and the ‘Promenaders’ stand throughout the concert) and The Proms sells out night after night (7000 tickets) throughout the season while maintaining a serious classical programme.

In an age when sceptics question the future of classical music, The Proms proves that there is a big audience for the genre, given that the conditions are right. September 8th will be my first time playing on the Last Night of the Proms. I’ll be playing mostly selections from my last album Voice of the Violin, including a duet with the amazing (and beautiful!) soprano, Anna Netrebko.

Q. You go on tour a lot. What do you like/dislike about it?
JB: I’ve been touring for more than 20 years now (since I was fourteen) so I can hardly imaging a life without travel. I play 120 concerts a year which keeps me away from home about two thirds of the time. I love the variety and unpredictability of living on the road. Sure, I’m pretty sick of airports (ah, I wish I could afford to fly privately, but this is rarely an option for me) and I miss my friends and family at home, but I wouldn’t trade my ‘job’ for anything.

Joshua Bell

Q. Which has been your favourite place to play thus far? Why?
JB: Just this week I returned to Moscow after 17 years (last time I played there it was still the Soviet Union) and participated in a concert on the Red Square – an amazing experience. It’s fun to notice the ways different audiences react to music, and Eastern European audiences rank among the most appreciative.
As thrilling as it is to play for big audiences like those in the Red Square or the Hollywood Bowl, my most enjoyable musical moments have been in places like the intimate Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna and of course, the magical Carnegie Hall in NYC.

Q. You were the only American musician to be named by the World Economic Forum as one of the 250 ‘Young Global Leaders’. How do you feel about that title?
JB: Well, I’m not exactly sure what ‘global leading’ means or why I was chosen for this list, but it certainly is an honor. It also makes me happy to see that artists and musicians were included amongst the politicians and entrepreneurs on the list. Personally, I avoid getting involved directly in politics and I’m sceptical of any art that calls itself political. I feel that the greatness of art and music transcends politics and speaks to more elemental and profound truths of the human spirit. However, it is precisely because of this that art can have a powerful effect on the world as a community.

Q. What would be your advice to the young, budding musicians out there?
JB: I’m often asked what advice to give budding musicians and it’s hard to say. Should they get a ‘real job’? For those who make music, it is more of a way of life than a job. For many, even many great musicians, making a living can be a struggle, but if one truly loves music then it becomes something that one simply must do.

Q. As your most famous work, The Red Violin must be extremely significant for you. How does it feel to revisit the score for a concerto?
JB: The Red Violin was my first experience working with film and I’ve since sought out other film projects. One of my recent favorite collaborations was in a film called Ladies in Lavender with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. However, it will be hard for me to ever find a more involving movie project than The Red Violin.

I think it’s an incredible piece of music and an example of how a modern composer can write something that sounds new and inventive, yet melodic and beautiful. Sony/BMG will be releasing my recording of it just this week and I’ll be performing the concerto often this year.

Q. You released a new CD this year. Tell us about The Essential Joshua Bell.
JB: The Essential is essentially a compilation of my favorite bits from all the albums I’ve done for Sony. The pieces are mostly drawn from my more recent Romance of the Violin and Voice of the Violin, as well as more serious classical stuff like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc. It also includes some crossover collaborations with other musicians like Bela Fleck and my bluegrass buddies Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, and Mike Marchal.

Confusingly, my old record company, Universal, has also recently released a recording of the exact same name (The Essential J.B.), but this is just a haphazard mix from my ten years of recording for Decca, done without my consent or consultation, so I’d recommend the Sony one.

Joshua Bell

Q. You live in New York. Do consider NY to be the musical centre of the world? How does it compare to other music capitals?
JB: I’ve lived in NYC for 18 years and can hardly imagine living anywhere else. Basically in New York you can eat anything, see everything and hear almost any kind of music on any given night. For classical music, New York is perhaps the ‘centre’ of the world, although London is a close rival. In general, Europe is in many ways the place to be for classical music – and I spend almost half my year there – but I am always happy to come home. Furthermore, I’ve spent the last two years building my dream home in the Gramercy Park area. And after a gut-job renovation, I’m finally getting ready to move in – I’m so excited!

Q. If you weren’t a violinist, what would you be? Why?
JB: If I hadn’t gone into music I would have gravitated toward something in the areas of science (I love physics), medical research or psychology.

Q. Where is your favorite travel destination?
JB: I love Italy, Asia, South America… too many places to name. Since I travel for work, I rarely travel for fun. But I’ve been known to go on the occasional golf trip or catch a last minute flight to Las Vegas for a fun escapade.

Q. What is your greatest vice?
JB: I definitely have an addictive personality. Luckily, I’ve never done any drugs, but I did waste countless hours playing video games as a kid when I should have been practicing. I also have a weakness for gambling, which I inherited from my mother who plays poker three times a week at the age of 72! Did I mention Vegas?

Q. What are your top 5 hotels?
JB: Calistoga Ranch in Napa (those outdoor showers!), The Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC, The Baglioni in London, The Plaza Athénée in Paris and pretty much any Four Seasons.

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
JB: In NYC, Sushi of Gari and Eleven Madison, French Laundry in California and Girardet in Switzerland (now taken over by Phillipe Rochat).

Q. What is your favorite museum or gallery?
JB: MOMA in NYC

Q. What is your favorite beach?
JB: I prefer the mountains, but I do like spending time on the beach when I’m in Rio – watching the waves, of course.

Q. What book has had the greatest effect on you? Why?

Joshua Bell

JB: I was most affected by The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand as a teenager. It helped me in regards to issues of individualism and self-respect. I would recommend this book to any artist (or architect). I love to read and particularly enjoy Kundera, Updike, and John Irving among others. I also like British humor – P.G. Wodehouse for instance.

Q. What is your favorite film?
JB: Breaking Away, a brilliant, but not too well-known film set in my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. Also, I like lots of Woody Allen.

Q. What is your favorite ski resort?
JB: I love both Aspen and Verbier – I spend time in both during the summer because of the music festivals

Q. What cause is closest to your heart? Why?
JB: I work mostly with causes involving children, like Education Through Music, which puts music programs in schools that have none (usually in low-income neighbourhoods). I also do a lot for Paul Newman’s charity, the Hole in the Wall Gang camps for kids with terminal illnesses.

Q. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself?
JB: I really wish I had more discipline. Unless I enjoy doing something, I tend not to do it if I can put it off for a later time.

Q. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
JB: I once got dragged onto stage by Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea after stupidly agreeing, just before the show, to improvise a song with them in front of thousands of people. I’m sure I sucked and probably made a fool of myself, but in the end it was a thrill and I was glad that I did it.

Q. Who is your favorite historical figure?
JB: A toss-up between Einstein and Newton. Both epitomized ‘thinking outside the box’ and changed the world.

Q. What upsets you the most?
JB: Dishonesty and poor communication skills. The world would be a much better place if people just dared to communicate properly –I’m still learning this myself, of course.

Q. What gadget can’t you live without?
JB: My laptop, a Macbook Pro, as my life seems to revolve around the computer. I’m loving my iPhone, too.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
JB: Death. Not so much the act of dying, but never living again. I’ve been obsessed with death since I was a kid.

Q. Where do you love to shop?
JB: I could shop for gadgets for hours on end at the Apple store on 5th Ave. I like clothes, but hate shopping for them. I’ve recently started paying someone to do it for me.

Q. What’s your favorite drink?
JB: A good milkshake, vodka or perhaps a milkshake with vodka in it.

Q. What are your top 3 songs?
JB: Um … Bach, Beethoven and Brahms

— Alonso Dominguez

Festival Season in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the most exciting place to be on the planet in August when Scotland’s capital hosts not one but six major festivals plus a spectacular Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle, which packs in over 8,000 people every night. Visitors flock from all over the globe to be amazed, stimulated and entertained or just revel in the giddy ambiance of a city that knows how to party.

The International Festival is the most established, offering three weeks of top class international talent from the worlds of music, dance, theatre and opera. The hottest musical ticket was the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Conducted by the charismatic 26 year-old, Gustavo Dudamel, the 200-strong youth orchestra – including many musicians who were living in deprivation before being given the opportunity to learn music – wowed audiences with their dynamism and energy.

This year’s focus on early music has seen crowds flocking to Monteverdi’s madrigals, an inspired contemporary burlesque of his Poppea and the ravishing seventeenth century opera L’Orfeo conducted by Jordi Savall. The viola da gamba player came to fame with his film score for Tous Les Matins du Monde, starring Gerard Depardieu.

Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert

Of course star spotting is de rigueur in Edinburgh with the film festival attracting a slew of celebrities. Among the stars on the red carpet this year were Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) promoting his horror film WAZ, the cult filmmaker, John Waters, for the UK premiere of This Filthy World and Julie Delpy, closing the festival with her romantic comedy Two Days in Paris. Actors Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe generated a lot of interest with their thriller Breach, written and directed by Billy Ray and based on a true story of a traitorous FBI agent.

Stories of every shape, form and genre provoke a variety of intense literary discussions at the Edinburgh Book Festival, the jewel in UNESCO City of Literature’s crown. This year, for the first time, those who couldn’t come still managed to make an appearance. Confused? Norman Mailer and Alice Munro were not only beamed live to the festival via satellite but were able to sign books thanks to an extraordinary invention by author Margaret Atwood called the Long Pen. As the name suggests, signatures appear on the page, as if by magic, thousands of miles away.

But for sheer originality and outlandishness, you can’t beat the Fringe Festival – there’s something here for everyone. ASW member Marysia Trembecka in her show, Find me a Primitive Man, dispensed valuable tips on dating and finally answered all our questions as to why so many women find David Beckham attractive.

-- Susan Nickalls

The White Strips Speak to ASW About Their Latest Album, Icky Thumb

Icky Thump album cover

When Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes first came to our attention ten years ago, they had us all intrigued, wondering whether the pair were brother and sister or former husband and wife. It turned out that the raven-haired garage folk rockers were in fact once bound by marriage (a copy of their certificate surfaced as evidence). They
divorced in 2000 but have continued to make music together since.

Their sixth studio album, Icky Thump, follows the Grammy Award winner
Get Behind Me Satan, and is a perfect return for a duo who breathed new life into the two-piece concept.

The duo's do-it-yourself work ethos continues on Icky Thump. There is no sign of negotiation; the songs are fresh, catchy, tight and perhaps a throwback to some gritty blues that first made the Stripes famous. 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)' is the album's most melodic track while 'Little Cream Soda' is choked on a garage metal sound.

This major label debut with Warner Bros was recorded over three weeks
at Blackbird in Nashville. It's the first time the Stripes allowed themselves to record in a modern studio, given they had always used smaller spaces - even Jack White's stairwell served as the recording studio for their last album.

"It felt really good to be back in the studio," Jack White tells ASW, sitting in a suite at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville with shy Meg White by his side.

"I feel positive and happy about what occurred. And the fact that we did it in a modern studio didn't rule what we were going to express," he emphasises.

Jack White, who left Detroit for Nashville a year and a half ago with his expecting wife Karen Elson and their daughter Scarlett Teresa, says the move was a highlight of his life.

"Yeah it was time to go," he says of leaving Motor City. "About 30 years of negativity was enough for me."

Meg White, who recently moved to Los Angeles adds, "I'm still adjusting to a new city and reconnecting with the people, but I agree, it's good to have left a place like Detroit."

When asked if success had changed them as individuals, Jack and Meg
White were quick to declare it hadn't. "I don't think success has changed me as a person, but it's kind of hard to tell because it's been ten years and you don't know what you'd be without it," says Jack.

"I guess we don't have to drive to the shows anymore," adds Meg. "I don't have to worry about the transmission of the van falling out on the way home, so that's a nice thing."

Icky Thump will hit shelves via XL Recordings in Europe on June 18 and
via Warner Bros in the rest of the world on June 19.

— Jane Rocca

Pete Townshend Unveils New Music 'Method'

Pete Townshend

Do you want to make beautiful music, just you and your computer? Pete Townshend could make it happen. The Who songwriter and guitarist has unveiled a melody-making computer program, ‘Method,’ which could help all wannabe composers create their very own sound.

Townshend was first introduced to the idea of composing on computers in the early 1960s while he was doing an art school foundation course with the likes of Brian Eno and David Bowie. “The course was led by a guy called Roy Ascot, who had this idea that computers were going to enable artists to do all kinds of interesting things,” said Townshend in an interview with ASW last week.

But it was a decade before Townshend acted on his inclination by penning a futuristic film script entitled Lifehouse, which was to provide the inspiration for ‘Method.’ The movie explored the idea that every one of us has our own unique music and if we got together and played it en masse, it would combine to create a sound similar to the sea. After listening to a few samples of ‘Method’ music, it seemed that the effect might not always be as melodious as the sound of lapping waves. However, let’s give the rock legend the benefit of the doubt since Lifehouse did lead to the release of the iconic Who’s Next album.

So how does it work? The project, a joint brainchild of Townshend, mathematician Lawrence Ball and software engineer David Snowdon, gives subscribers the opportunity to quite literally make their own music. All you have to do is give the online ‘Method’ software composer some personal details, including a photograph, voice sample and a basic rhythm, which you can tap out on your computer keyboard. This information will then be collaborated and turned into a track that represents you and only you. “The Method has evolved out of a shared passion for music,” said Ball. “It represents a whole new level of integration, blending rock and psychedelia with classical and experimental music.” But that’s only the start, according to Ball. “It’s bound to evolve even further through its life on the net since it’s a chance for millions of people to collaborate together online.”

Once you've sat for your online ‘Method’ portrait, you can then download it and share it with your friends. You may not love it or even like it but whatever your reaction, you can’t stop a team of composers, which will occasionally include Townshend, from listening to it. The team is there to select a few music portraits to develop further. If one of your portraits is chosen, it may even end up as a song. The single Fragments from The Who’s latest album, Endless Wire was created using ‘Method.’

The technological advancement may be a breakthrough for the current band but back in the day Townshend’s former drummer Keith Moon may have struggled to provide the machine with a steady beat. “His time-keeping wasn’t the most important thing” said Townshend. “It was one of the reasons why I became such a physical performer because he used to watch my body.’ Things have not changed and Townshend operates the same way with The Who’s current drummer, Zack Starkey. “Sometimes I’m playing my guitar and deliberately hiding from him,” said Townshend. “But he seems to watch one of the cheeks of my arse and knows what I’m going to play next.”

Aside from his music ventures, Townshend is also working on an autobiography “I’m less than half way through,’”declared the versatile rocker. “And I’m now putting it on the Internet in a compressed form just ‘cos I want to get it out the way.” It looks like Townshend has well and truly moved with the times. Any talk of his generation now would have to be about the savvy, online MySpace generation.

www.lifehouse-method.com

- Sophia Armitage