Issue 36
Being the devilishly chic staff that we are, The FADER's Style blowout is always a springboard for much fashion-forward rumination-whether this year will see the triumph of Jay's blue over Cam's purple, if the ratio of Ryan Adams's Number Of Style Overhauls: Number Of Albums will match that of 2005, and if beardos can survive temperatures above 50 degrees (Fahrenheit). Of course we have all year to see how those topline concerns play out, which is why we're taking this issue to bring you some immediately crucial looks for Spring '06-namely, Andrew Dosunmu's hefty, dreamy California-in-the-'70s fashion feature plus tidbits galore in our mega-extended style section. Never ones to underestimate the power of the fashion business, we also sent FADER fave photographer Liz Johnson Artur and writer Sarah Bentley out to the banlieue of Clichy Sous Bois to see how emerging streetwear labels are bringing courage (and momentum) to one of Paris's most troubled districts.
Piggybacking on all that, you know we had to find some haut tunes to complement all the hot couture we have sashaying between the covers. Destroyer's Daniel Bejar may think of himself as "a schlumpy guy" but his music has all the whirling dazzle of a prom dress on prom night-and he pulls it all off on the new album, Destroyer's Rubies. Having made his name alongside some of JA's finest, Baby Cham has been on our radar for a minute, but after his "Ghetto Story" dropped-over the slow winding 85 Riddim, no less-we were ready to ride for him. Eddie 'Stats' Houghton tracked down Kingston's prince and got the full report.
This issue also sees some hard-hitting field reporting from the European leg of the Superwolf tour: how Will Welch and Joshua Wildman lived to tell the tale of Bonnie "Prince" Billy and his court of admirers. Chris Ryan dropped down to VA Beach to spend some quality time with Clipse and help Chad Hugo find his lost keys, while Nick Barat drank a boatload of free Sparks to get the nitty-gritty on Spankrock's twisted-out club jamz. There's more where all this came from (Oh, [snicker snicker] isn't there always?) but we're gonna leave it at that for now. After all, April's only a few weeks away and we gotta keep you guessing—blahzay is so passe.
ALEX WAGNER
Cover 1: Destroyer
Battle Hymns For The Republic
"When I first showed up in New York and played a string of shows, I was just like this kind of schlumpy guy, not dolled up like Ziggy Stardust. It was really anticlimactic for the handful of the people who were into that record."
Cover 2: Baby Cham
Yard Science
When dancehall's most lyrically versatile deejay is the protege of its most recognizable rhythm king, the result is an irresistible trophy of ghetto credibility for non-Jamaican artists like Akon, MIA and Nina Sky, who've built their sonic identities around internationalizing the dancehall sound.
Feature 1: Will Oldham
Superwolf's Last Stand
"Whether his castle is a home in Louisville, a caravan of cars in the Midwest or a tour bus in Europe, Oldham is always the aloof but stern king."
Feature 2: Mari Nakamura
"Nakamura was the only classical guitarist (and 13 year-old Japanese female) in a guitar ensemble full of Fender-whaling teenage boys playing "Layla" in orchestral arrangements."
Feature 3: Clipse
South Of Heaven
"There's a model for an album now and we go against that. There's a single, the club record, the girl record. But Hell Hath No Fury is just one big-ass street record. I can't give you the girl record, because I'm mad. I ain't got nothing to say about women."
Feature 4: Spank Rock
King Of Clubs
"Spank Rock is not a put-on or persona, but the exact opposite—a regular kid being transformed by the club."
+ GEN F:
South Rakkas Crew / Polmo Polpo / Cajmere / Islands / Patato Valdes / Ryan Leslie / Nico Muhly / Deemi / David Broughton
+ FASHION:
Banlieue / The Californians
+ VINYL ARCHEOLOGY:
First Wave Freestyle
Cheesy Cuts To Make The Crowd Go Nuts Selected by DJ Ayres
