The Work Magazine Blog
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CHELSEA WOLFE: CORNERED
Chelsea is kind of like WORK Mag family. She played one of her first Los Angeles shows at the Issue No. 3 release party, is currently featured in Issue No. 5 and now… we got her CORNERED. Her music continues to inspire us with a sound that’s best described with broad strokes: elemental, intense, radiant, ancient yet modern, intimate yet expansive, dark and sparkling.
We’re excited to announce some special collaborations with Chelsea in the near future, but until then…
NAME: Chelsea Wolfe
OCCUPATION: Musician
WEBSITE: www.chelseawolfe.net
(photo: Maggie Davis)
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG?
This Gorgoroth song “Of Ice and Movement”… around 3:35 this scream Gaahl does kills me, it’s so fucking perfect.
SOULMATE OR LIFE IS A SEQUENCE OF PARTNERS?
Everyone has a soulmate, but I think some live in a different era, and some are in the form of a flower or are born thousands of miles apart, so not everyone gets to meet their soulmate… it’s tragic but it makes it more beautiful when soulmates do find each other.
WHAT RECORD SAVED YOUR LIFE?
I can’t pinpoint a record that saved my life, but making them is what keeps me alive.
WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE ALONE?
Roll a joint and edit music for hours.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF FIVE YEARS AGO?
Don’t sign contracts with bad people, and toughen up child!(Source: WWW.THEWORKMAG.COM)
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DAVID ERTEL: CORNERED
David Ertel is one half of the electronic duo, Solar Year. He and his bandmate, Ben Borden, have emerged from the same Montreal underground as Grimes and d’Eon to land on the “must see” list for CMJ in New York next week. Their debut record “Waverly” is a smokey audio atmosphere and quite honestly, sonically addictive. The track “Lines” has made every playlist since the album was released back in June. Did we mention they hosted and underwater album launch? They did. Kind of perfect. Solar year plays 285 Kent Ave. in Brooklyn on September 19th and if their live show is as spooky as their record, you don’t want to miss it.
David stopped by our Los Angeles studio to give us some insight into his world and why an iTunes library on shuffle can be a dangerous thing.
NAME: David Ertel
OCCUPATION: Musician
WEBSITE: onesolaryear.com
(photography by Maggie Davis)FAVORITE TASTE?
Lime.BEST KEPT SECRET IN MONTREAL?
Miss Lady Swamp Pussy.BEST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
A music video.
WHAT RECORD SAVED YOUR LIFE?
There was a record that almost killed me. In high school, I was driving friends around and a horrible Daft Punk song came on my iPod. It was so bad that we laughed our way through a red light and hit the back of another car.
WHAT TYPE MUSIC DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE SEX TO?
Nothing! The worst is when someone puts on their iTunes on shuffle and something awkward like Hava Nagila comes on.—EB
(Source: theworkmag.com)
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VICTORIA BERGSMAN: CORNERED
Victoria Bergsman is the Swedish singer known for her honeyed vocals as front woman of The Concretes (who you may also recognize from the Peter, Bjorn & John hit “Young Folks”), and now Taken by Trees. This October, Victoria will be releasing “Other Worlds” through Secretly Canadian records. This album draws a big inspiration from a long sabbatical Bergsman spent in Hawaii and falling in love. Oh that note! The Taken By Trees / Other Worlds record release party is being held this Wednesday at The Bootleg Bar. Get tickets here. Join us at The WORK Mag in welcoming Victoria to her new home in LA.
Victoria came through our studio and took a moment for us to get to know her and what makes her tick…
NAME: Victoria Bergsman
OCCUPATION: Musician
WEBSITE: facebook.com/takenbytrees
(photography by: Maggie Davis)WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TASTE?
Butter-Lemony.
BEST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
My determination.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG?
When the strumming guitar comes back in at 1:42 in “Don’t Worry Baby” by the Beach Boys, it’s so open and positive. Like everything is possible.
WHAT RECORD/SONG SAVED YOUR LIFE?
Double Up by R.Kelly.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF FIVE YEARS AGO?
Chill.
(Source: theworkmag.com)
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CHRIS DOURIDAS: CORNERED
Where do we begin with Chris’s exceptional accomplishments over the years? 90’s host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW veteran and DJ, Film music supervisor bringing him in two Grammy nominations, A&R executive for DreamWorks Records, working with Steve Jobs as a creative consultant for the launch of the iTunes music store, creating and producing the iTunes Originals series and iTunes Essentials, the gift he has to “see” musicians out there and then share them with the world. The list goes on and on.
Normally with our CORNERED features, we give each person all the same questions and pick the best answers. Chris gave us more than we could have expected or hoped for. Therefore, we have chosen to use all of his answers. Usually it’s a very quick, personal glimpse into the individuals life, but on this special CORNERED, it’s a bit more in depth. Thank you Chris for opening up to us so much. I know you have touched and affected me just by your KCRW sets, but now you’ve done it in a whole new way.
NAME: Chris Douridas
OCCUPATION: KCRW DJ & Musical Guru
WEBSITE: KCRW.com
WHAT’S THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN LOS ANGELES?
I know the best kept secret in Los Angeles, it’s not much of a secret - but a secret to a lot of people. Loading Zones! Most people don’t know you can park in loading zones before 8, after 6 and on Sundays. When people first move to LA, I tell them two things - “I have the best two secrets for you”. 1) loading zones and the other one is KCRW, but it’s cheese-ball for me to be saying that (laughs).
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SANCTUARY IN LOS ANGELES?
Matador Beach. The most beautiful beach in Southern California. Here’s why people don’t really realize it: When you pull in it’s just like a parking lot and people think, “Oh it’s just picnic tables and a parking lot, big deal”. But then when you walk down the path to get to the beach… and it’s this glorious beach with cliffs and tunnels. The cliffs are out in the water. There’s one point where you have to go through a cave (about ankle deep in the water) to get to the other side of the cove. Huge cave, it’s gorgeous. The most photogenic beach in Southern California.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TASTE?
I can’t say that… (laughs)! Hmmm, what was her name (laughs)?
BEST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
Hmmm, brother. A couple come to mind. My kids were a gift. They weren’t planned, so they were gifts. And then I lost a kid. One of our extended family members made a quilt out of my daughters clothes. Definitely the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been given, although it’s kind of wrapped in tragedy but such an incredibly thoughtful gift. It’s just… who thinks of that? It’s so beautiful. I treasure that.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG?
I might have to skip this one because it changes everyday. I listen to stuff all day, every day. That’s what fuels what I do, why I love what I do. Every day it’s a quest for the next “one of those” - those HOLY SHIT songs, I cant wait to share that with people.
SOUL MATE OR LIFE IS A SEQUENCE OF PARTNERS?
I think that’s a really serious question. When you’re younger you think there’s a soul mate out there for you. Then you realize that there’s soul mates all around you. Otherwise wouldn’t it be kinda ridiculous - people are born and raised, live and die in these small towns. What are the chances that the one soul mate in the world is in that town? That was me in high school thinking, “what would be the chances my soul mate is in this city!?”. So yea, I think the world is populated with soul mates.
WHAT RECORD SAVED YOUR LIFE?
I don’t know that any of them saved my life (laughs). I think it’s more of an artists career maybe that did that more than anything else, but I can think of one that blew my mind lately. I was just in Estonia, I got invited to do a music conference there and usually when you go to these far-flung places - like I’ve been to Lapia before for a music conference - while the country was amazing I didn’t bring back anything of value, music wise. So I was kind of not expecting much on this trip to Estonia for that reason. I was there for almost two weeks and I had the most incredible experience that I wasn’t expecting. I met some incredible musicians, but I wanted to find something of the culture that was not like the latest pop band there - you know? I wanted to find something that was a land mark, that we didn’t know about. So I went to a few record stores and one in particular I literally sat in for about 4 hours at a cd player with piles of things that I pulled from the shelves (all music from Estonia). I listened to at least 50 albums. I bought one and it was this crazy, 1971 recording of an a capella, jazz ensemble with this jazz combo. It sounded like something you’d hear from the US from 1963 - so it’s about 8 years off in terms of the production value. It was 1971, but it didn’t sound like a 1971 recording. To hear something that’s this incredible jazz ensemble, that’s world class, that has this line up on the album that you don’t find anywhere else in the world.(referencing the music group Collage).Do you know the Swingle Singers? It’s this 6 member jazz, a capella group that does these Bach interpretations, anyway it’s all a capella, there’s no instruments with them, its just voices. And it sounds mostly like that, but there’s a jazz combo like - a Dave Brubeck kind of combo backing them up. They’re all stellar. Can I play you 30 seconds of one song? (We at WORK proceed to listen to a clip of the band Collage from his phone. We were hit with a wave off magic as we started to sway back and forth. The music was beautiful, dreamy and has never left Estonia). I want to release this in the US! I’m kind of crazy for this shit, but I want you to hear it. It’s genius, I’m just blown away. When you listen to everything that comes out in the world and something comes along like this - you kinda go - “OH MY GOD!”. This is rare.
This was the reason why I was in Estonia… to hear this. I’m definitely going to use this in film stuff. Turned out, as I was screaming about it to everyone else in Estonia, there was one guy at a radio station there I was talking to about them and he says “ahhh, you found Collage. Yeah, very good! You know, nobody knows here who these people are”. Even in Estonia, people aren’t familiar with this album. But this guy was so excited that I came across it. I mentioned it to another guy that I had met there. Young kid, 22. He said “Oh my boss, she used to be in this group! She’s running the Jazz Festival now.” He connected me with her so and we’ve been exchanging information. She said “Oh, it was such a great time and nobody knows this record really”. So I’m asking her how we can get it released.
WHAT TYPE MUSIC DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE SEX TO?
Oh, cripes (laughs)! That changes every day too.
WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE ALONE?
Aha! I’d love to see what kind of answers you get for this one. Oh the choices. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m very weird, but…walk around in my underwear?
WHAT’S THE WORST MISTAKE YOU’VE EVER MADE IN YOUR LIFE?
There’s so many (laughs). Listening to my daughters doctor. He gave bad advice that I think ultimately impacted… well… I hate saying this, because I don’t blame anyone for what happened with my daughter. She died 6 years ago. I’m really grateful that I don’t have any hate or anger in my heart about this, it was an accident, but when I think about regrets, that’s what comes to mind. Very briefly, she had a mild case of epilepsy so she has seizures every couple of years that were very controlled with the medicine. Beautiful kid. The doctor told us that if she didn’t have seizures for two years straight, she could stop taking her medicine. She was coming on two years with no seizures and she was taking her medicine, but she had it in her head what the doctor said. A couple weeks before she died she said, “It’s almost two years, I can stop taking my medicine” and we said “Nooo, Marieke, you need to take your medicine”. Every morning and every night. She said “Come on, what? It’s not like I’m going to die”. The day that this happened, she was in a school play, she was acting in Grease. She went home after the cast party and took a bath. Her Mom noticed the water had been on a little too long and broke the door down and found her. She drowned. In the autopsy, they found no medication in her system. So she stopped taking her medicine. She just wanted to be a normal kid.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF FIVE YEARS AGO?
I would make it 7 years ago, see above.
WHAT’S THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING IN YOUR BEDROOM?
Oh my god. I’m kind of ashamed to admit this but um.. (laughs)… it’s kind of funny actually. It’s one of those things where if I were to have you at my house right now and I were to go walk into the closet and pull this out - you’d be like - what the F***!?!. It’s a chastity belt. A medieval chastity belt. It’s amazing!(Photography by: Maggie Davis)
(Source: theworkmag.com)
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MORGAN KIBBY: CORNERED
NAME: Morgan Kibby
OCCUPATION: Musician
WEBSITE: facebook.com/whiteseamusic & ilovem83.com
BEST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
My parents letting me be an artist and not forcing me to do anything else. It’s the best gift ever.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG?
I’m a traditionalist and like a really, “kick you in the gut” chorus. Right now, I’m listening to an artist called Chad VanGaalen and his song “Molten Light” is like… oh my god… the first time I heard it, I freaked out and thought it was amazing.
WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE ALONE?
I like to sing songs into the mirror sometimes (laughs)… but that’s usually after two cocktails, which I will have by myself as well, thank you very much!
WHAT’S THE WORST MISTAKE YOU’VE EVER MADE IN YOUR LIFE?
Dating within the same circle of friends.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF FIVE YEARS AGO?
Take. Your. Time. With everything. There’s no rush.(photography by: Maggie Davis)
(Source: theworkmag.com)
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A SITTING WITH: ACTIVE CHILD
NAME: Pat Grossi (Active Child)
OCCUPATION: Musician
WEBSITE: activechildmusic.com
PIVOTAL LIFE CHANGING MOMENT: Joining a friend on a trip to the Kolacney music shop years ago. Left with a harp and my life took a left turn.
BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED: Any of the heartfelt notes from my mom or dad over the years. The power of words is surprising sometimes.
FAVORITE TASTE: Black coffee and donut.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG: The final line in “The Seer’s Tower” when Sufjan sings “Still I go to the deepest grave, where I go to sleep alone”. Covers me in chills every time.
SOUL MATE OR LIFE IS A SEQUENCE OF PARTNERS: Gut tells me life is a sequence, but hoping for that soul mate.(Source: theworkmag.com)
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A SITTING WITH: ELECTRIC FLOWER
Electric Flower is the blending of the sonic powers of Imaad Wasif (Lowercase, The New Folk Implosion and was a touring member of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) and Josh Garza (Secret Machines). All frenzy and space. Narnack Records will be releasing their LP and The Sittings section is helping release their inner most thoughts. They play at the Echoplex on Januray 6th. Prepare to melt.
NAME: Josh Garza & Imaad Wasif
OCCUPATION: JG: Beatkeeper for Electric Flower IW: Musician
WEBSITE: Website & Facebook
FAVORITE SWEAR WORD:
JG: “Que la Chingada” Spanish phrase I use, it translates into “what the fuck”. But I really don’t like “chingada” on its own.
IW: Fuck.
PIVOTAL LIFE CHANGING MOMENT:
JG: Getting my heart broken for the first time…
IW: When Patti Smith turned me off drugs.
FAVORITE TASTE:
JG: Victory.
IW: Freebased honey, toffee w/ dark chocolate and/or chili achar.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG:
JG: From the Bob Dylan Live ‘66 Bootleg Series, right
before “Like A Rolling Stone” starts you hear Dylan say “Play Fucking Loud!”… classic rock n’ roll moment, I love it.
IW: The guitar solo on “Manic Depression.”
LAST TIME YOU KISSED SOMEONE YOU DIDN’T KNOW:
JG: At birth.
IW: With my eyes or lips? -
A SITTING WITH: PHOTO ART MUSE - SUSANNAH LIGUORI
I met Susannah on set for a New York Times style section photoshoot shot by Hedi Slimane. When Susannah walked in, I could tell she was special. She wasn’t like most models I’ve met. She brought books and a best friend and a kind soul. Our conversations pertained to interesting stories we’ve recently read and odd facts that we just had to share. She was so kind and so strange, just the way I like it. Her hair was down to the middle of her back and apparently had just gotten it cut. My hair on the other hand, is basically a high and tight but long in the center. The story she came to shoot was a men’s inspired look and Hedi asked the hair stylist to cut hers like mine. She was nervous, but ready for the challenge. She nailed it… months later, she is still rocking the short hair and Hedi has used her in many of his art projects. Funny thing is, Susannah isn’t actually a model at all but was doing a favor for a family friend that day. She is a talented artist, about to enter college, who just so happens to be a stunning creature and exceptionally interesting human being.
NAME: Susannah Liguori
OCCUPATION: Student
WEBSITE: Tumblr Site
PIVOTAL LIFE CHANGING MOMENT: I’m only 17…so not to much has really
been that pivotal, aside from being born and what not. This past summer
my dad left my mom for another woman, which definitely has made me
question what love is and what trust is. I’ve definitely hardened to the
idea of falling in love, or trusting anyone enough to love them. Which
is slightly pivotal.BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED: For my 16th birthday my brother got me
a flint. Adventure status. Super cool. We went in my backyard and
built bonfires pretending to be stranded on an island until we ran out
of things to burn. My brother is 19 and we still light shit on fire
and play outside, which is pretty epic because I never want to grow up
anyways. I still carry the flint with me everywhere. Except airports.
So if you ever need a fire built, I’m your girl.SOUL MATE OR LIFE IS A SEQUENCE OF PARTNERS: A sequence of soul mate partners.
FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP: Jetrag $1 sale on Sundays… it’s worth
fighting off Trannies for solid vintage. If I’m feeling fancy, Opening
Ceremony is where it’s at. Other peoples closets are good as well. I borrow from my guy friends a lot. I like over sized pieces with feminine details so their clothes help.BOXER/BRIEF/NOTHING: Panties. Like a lady.
(Photography by: Dan Monick)
(Finger Hoodie by: Field Scout)(Source: theworkmag.com)
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A SITTING WITH: iO Tillett Wright
iO is one of those people where you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when she’s around. Her work has been published in yours truly (The WORK Magazine), NY Times, Dossier, VICE, Huffington Post - among others. Another very noteworthy project of iO’s is her ever expanding, “Self Evident Truths” backed by the HRC which we also featured in Issue IV. No matter our color, orientation, how many freckles we have, etc we are all equally human. Yes, I compared it to freckles because the aforementioned subjects are irrelevant to your rights.
NAME: iO Tillett Wright
OCCUPATION: Artist
WEBSITE: darlingdays.com and dandydarling.tumblr.com
FAVORITE SMELL: Skin. Everything my girl puts together.
BOXER/BRIEF/NOTHING?: Panties.
LAST TIME YOU KISSED SOMEONE YOU DIDN’T KNOW: Weirdly enough, I don’t make a habit of pouncing on total strangers. Call me strange..
FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP: Newly, the men’s section.
BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED: Love. In a more specific sense… one would be a ring made of bullets I shot the day my grandmother died.(photograph by: Dan Monick)
(Source: theworkmag.com)
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A SITTING WITH: Robbie Williamson & Megan Gold
NAME: Robbie Williamson & Megan Gold
OCCUPATION: R: Composer M: Musician, shoe designer
WEBSITE: R: wearetheworld.us M: germlabel.com
(shot by: Dan Monick)
FAVORITE SWEAR WORD:
R: It’s not really a swear word, but I like the word Presstittutes: as in “CNN is full of fucking presstitutes.”
M: Fuck.
PIVOTAL LIFE CHANGING MOMENT:
R: Finding out the Federal Reserve is privately owned.
M: The moment the midwife left our house after our daughter was born; Yikes.
BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED:
R: My Daughter Vinca.
M: Meeting Robbie.
FAVORITE PART OF A SONG:
R: Right now it’s at 2:44 of “All Of The Lights” by Kayne West.
M: A tie between when the last chorus kicks in “My Heart” by Wild Birds & Peace Drums, and that insane note Becky Stark hits in Lavender Diamond’s “You Broke My Heart”. Both make me cry.
LAST TIME YOU KISSED SOMEONE YOU DIDN’T KNOW:
R: Everyday. Humanity in general is extremely mysterious.
M: At a club in Seattle in 1998. We later were coworkers and didn’t get along at all.(Source: theworkmag.com)
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