Vans Spring Collection
Mass Games
Every year, for two months, North Korea hosts the Airirang Festival Mass Games (commonly called the Mass Games) in honor of the birthday of the late Kim Ill-Sung, the first leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Although they are an chilling symbol of the enforced conformity and limiting ideology of an autocratic regime, they are also a tremendous testament to the capabilities of human beings. Eerie, stunning, disturbing and unbelievable, the Mass Games are an awesome spectacle. In recent years, North Korea has allowed foreign journalists in to witness the ceremonies, thereby offering the world a glimpse at the talent of this isolated country and its people. The video below is by Portuguese travel journalist Luis Filipe Gaspar.
X-Ray
Fast forward a century and technological revolutions later and that novelty use of X-Ray is once again popular. This time however, the power is in the hands of artists as opposed to aristocrats and crafty businessmen. Photographer Brendan Fitzpatrick uses the medical tool to capture a new look at one of the oldest symbols of beauty: flowers. Selections from his "Floral X-Rays" series can be seen here, but visit his website to view more of his work.
via- thisiscolossal
Yuna
We are pretty stoked about the Asian Muslim indie-darling that is about to take the world by storm. Malaysian songstress Yuna's success is not only desired simply because it would be a great event for two communities that don't get a large amount of shine; her music is a solid and refreshing revitalization of the female singer/songwriter traditions of the 90s. She grew up digging No Doubt and Fiona Apple, went to Law school, self-released her own EP, and has been making waves ever since. At 24, the songbird soared in Malaysia and was signed to the FADER label earlier this month. She just released her first single "Live Your Life", an intoxicating track produced by Pharrell. Yuna's vocals prove a perfect match for the well-rounded sounds of Skateboard P, and we can barely wait to hear her debut US EP Decorate planned to drop in mid-March, with a full length album to follow. For now we'll leave you with a video to her cover of Nirvana's "Come as You Are", a song she turns from morose to tender and truly inviting. Check it out!
Real Love
Now that all the hateration of Valentine's day is over, maybe we can get back to being unapologetically sappy about love. More specifically about that beauty and horror that is first love. There's nothing sweeter than the age old story of boy meeting his first object of desire and wooing and courting and loving as pure as a summer's breeze. Of course, as the story goes, the star-crossed lovers are plagued by an unaccepting society and their love bubble is popped. In the wake of the tragedy, our hero drifts away into the sunset, possibly hopeful, perhaps one day to reunite with his true love or simply honored and touched to have known such grace and bliss.
If this story sounds familiar to you maybe it's because you're a hopeless romantic, just like the profound team. Or, maybe it's because your human. Before you start running for your pimp swag, take a second to watch the unbelieveably tender and touching French film The Red Balloon. Originally made in 1956, this film has become a quintessential part of childhood as its entered the grammar school classrooms everywhere. It is a beautiful portrayal of "the first love" story, with a twist that is as innocent as it is honest. So without further hesitation, please join Profound in celebrating love by watching The Red Balloon below.
Three tracks for Valentines Day
If you need reasons for why Valentine's day is not everyone's favorite "holiday", scan your Twitter and Facebook feeds for the updates of those who are, to put it mildly, Valentine-less. While it's great that there's a sappy Hallmark sponsored day about how easy breezy and syrupy love is, there are quite a few of us who live in the real world and deal with real relationships and find it hard to relate. However, rocky roads and broken hearts are not entirely bad (although they are entirely unavoidable): they lead to some of the most beautiful and poignant creative expressions a human being can come up with, especially when it comes to music. So in honor of love in all of its shapes, forms, and eventual metamorphoses, here are three recent tracks to add on to your Valentine's day playlist.
Goyte ft. Dice Raw - Game of Thrones Freestyle
First of all, Dice Raw's verses are near perfection. Beautiful layers, rhyme schemes, imagery, alliteration; a daring reminder that rapping is also about poetry. But then--but THEN Goyte's tender and near-shrill-but-sternly-grounded vocals come in with the hook and the full weight of the bitterness of the song hits you. Yet at the same time, the playful looping melody keeps the song airy and catchy enough for you to be hooked. A tremendous collaboration between Hip-Hip and Indie Rock, Game of Thrones Freestyle is a gem.
Lana Del Rey- Born to Die (Guxx Vamp Remix)
Think what you want about Del Rey, the girl knows a thing or two about relationship fails. Now whether or not you can stomach the way she sings about it is a valid argument, but that's why DJs exist. The Guxx Vamp mix of "Born to Die" is a beautifully crafted remix that is rich in layers and brings out dramas in the song you didn't notice while listening to the original track. It's like the heartbreak dance track of the year that will keep you spinning and bobbing as your heart is twirling in it's own confusion, and as you dance towards the light you hope the same is true for that beating muscle. By the time Guxx Vamp is done with this track, you realize that the you're new favorite mantra is "Sometimes love is not enough/and the road gets tough/ I don't know why." A song for a generation? I don't know, but definitely for this holiday.
3. Florence + The Machine - No Light No Light (Spector Ryan Gosling Remix)
While Adele makes heartache sound beautiful, Florence Welch makes it haunting, but who knew haunting could also be bumpin'? Call me crazy, but this remix almost makes the whole moving on and getting over process empowering, at least if you're in Florence's shoes. What does anything have to do with Ryan Gosling? Not sure, but as many of my single-lady friends have done today, just imagine him as your lover while listening to this track ladies, and wish yourselves Happy Valentine's Day. Cheers
Photo Contest Winner: 2/13
With the "Picture That Says a Thousand Words” contest we were looking for an image that needed little to no description and spoke for itself evoking the human emotion through visual stimulation.
When we first saw Kyle’s post we stopped dead in our tracks. It was such a moving image and his caption described the image perfectly, "The simple things in life."
You can speak any language, live in any part of the world and come from any background, but one thing is for sure, the facial expression of this child and the sheer joy of enjoying the water which we are sure is a luxury for him, should really puts things into prospective for us. Photography is such an amazing gift and often the image alone can say more than words can ever describe so we’ll shut up and let you enjoy this picture compliments of Kyle.
The Nitty Gritty
If you have a piece of Profound clothing you know we like to pay attention the details, but you can't get more down to the nitty gritty than focusing on the design of your words. Calligraphy is an ancient art dedicated to just that, stemming from a time when the stroke of an ink-dipped brush required patience, precision, and some artistic flare to make print (the only medium there was) interesting. In today's digital world, we associate calligraphy with being good at picking out the right fonts in MS Word. But Luca Barcellona is a modern-day Italian calligrapher keeping this art alive.
Based in Milan, Barcellona combines today's culture with a meticulous dedication to the craft of writing, focusing on making each letter a piece of art. As both a graphic designer and calligrapher, his work ranges from traditional paper-and-pen pieces to logos and multi-media installations. He's freelanced for companies such as Zoo York, Carhartt, Nike, Dolce & Gabanna, and also teaches calligraphy workshops across Europe. For more information on him visit his website and enjoy some of the work we've featured here.
- @sue_elise
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)