Represent is loving: Ayo
We just can’t get enough of young German/Nigerian singer and guitarist Ayo – think chilled out sweet reggae and soulful acoustic rhythms that zoom you instantly to a beach somewhere hot and colourful, the slight Lauryn Hill accents giving Ayo’s voice a depth we love. “AYO is a German born artist, the offspring of a Nigerian father who had come to Germany to study in the 1970s, and sometimes worked as a DJ, and a mother who is a gypsy. AYOs rather unusual name means joy in Yoruba. Her rich cultural background is also reflected in her musical influences. She grew up amidst Pink Floyd and Fela Kuti, the Soul Children and Bob Marley, and many others.” Ayp’s Myspace here. Watch the video of her single “Down on my knees” below:...
Bring your laughter back
When all else fails we recommend turning to laughter. If you feel like life has been tough on you lately, that its all about the world vs You, then maybe you need to bring your laughter back and dust your smile off so getting through the crap is a lot more pleasant. For if we do not have laughter, what’s the point? Check out some tips for fine-tuning your sense of humour below: Wise stuff from Ezine and here too… “The idea is that a sense of perspective when it comes to humor allows you to see yourself in the scope of things rather than always at the center of things. Most of us have a tendency as to believe that any problem we are confronting and facing at particular moment is the most important thing that is going on in the world. his way of looking at problems is a very heavy responsibility. It makes you feel as if the problem is everywhere and it becomes the focus of your being. This is why a developed sense of humor is so important, because it allows you to see yourself in the scope of things rather than always at the center of things. ” “Remember that a sense of humor is learned, not inherited. You can sharpen your sense of humor if you really want to. When you do, you will find that your relationships become richer and more rewarding and that people find you more attractive and fun to be with. This alone makes improving your sense of humor worth the effort.” Some more from Suite101 here and here: “Telling funny jokes and having a good laugh actually strengthens the bonds between people. Tapping into your sense of humor can break the ice, lower blood pressure, and improve your mood. Here’s how humor works — and how humor can hurt. Also, here’s how men and women perceive humor differently.” “Funny movies, funny jokes, and funny people depend on one thing: the sense of humor of the listener or viewer. A funny joke that makes one person burst into laughter can anger another person. One person’s best funny joke is another’s lawsuit for sexual harassment. Defining a sense of humor is no laughing matter. Humor is really difficult to pull off, even with similar senses of humor. It’s hard to make people laugh because our senses of humor are so different. Writing humor can be painful (not just painfully funny); and writing about humor can be like pulling teeth. But when you produce even a chuckle, the pain is worth it.” Laughing Budda photograph courtesy of Araswami on...
Kasi Deep Zone
We’re not sure what this teaser is all about… but we’ll start by posting it and let you know where it goes.
At last we get to use our Chris Rock photo
It’s not the first time he’s been in SA, we were *so chuffed* to get up close to our favourite comedian at the opening of Oprah’s school last year… We also watched his movie “I think I love my wife” the other day and loved it… you got to admit it, Chris… Rocks. SO DON’T MISS HIS UPCOMING SHOW IN SA – The tours’ Facebook group tells us he’s back in Africa this June… “Comedy legend and multi – Emmy and Grammy Award winner, Chris Rock, tours South Africa for the first time as part of his “No Apologies” world tour. Described by Time Magazine as “The Funniest Man in America”, this show promises to be the highlight of the 2008 South African Comedy Calendar.” Dates: Cape Town 4 June Johannesburg 6 June – Carnival City Get to computicket fast. Good luck. Here’s a quote from his interview with Vanity Fair on his visit to SA in 2005: “Driving the streets of Johannesburg can be a little depressing. Everywhere you looked, there were H.I.V.-testing signs up. The traffic lights flashed green, yellow, and then a picture of a syringe. As we continued to drive through Johannesburg, I kept looking for a sign that would connect me to my African brethren—something that would indicate that we were all one. Finally I saw it: the biggest Kentucky Fried Chicken I’d ever seen. As I marveled at the Eighth Wonder of the World, I also remembered seeing K.F.C. when I went to Jamaica the previous year. There was also one when I went to Haiti. Their slogan should be “Wherever black people are, we’re not...
Youssef Nabil @ Art Extra
Catch Youssef Nabil – Sleep in my arms photography exhibition at Art Extra in Craighall. Opening Wednesday 9th April at 6pm.: Art Extra is pleased to present Sleep in my arms, a solo show of photographer Youssef Nabil. Presented for the first time in South Africa at Michael Stevenson in Cape Town in 2007, Sleep in my arms will be the first time Nabil’s work will be exhibited in Johannesburg. Born in Cairo in 1972, Youssef Nabil has always been fascinated with the glamour and style of early Egyptian cinema, the black and white photo-novels published at the time and the hand-coloured family portraits that still adorn most living rooms in Cairo. He started taking pictures after being rejected by the Institute of Cinema in Cairo and used his friends to stage scenes which he would ideally liked to have filmed. These early images set the stage for all his subsequent work which was further influenced by his close friendship with the legendary Egyptian-Armenian photographer Van Leo. Van Leo is celebrated for his glamorous studio portraits of famous Egyptian actresses of the 1950s and 60s and Nabil spent many hours watching him at work in his studio. While working as a photographers’ assistant in prominent studios New York and Paris in the 1990s, he started producing his staged, constructed and meticulously hand-coloured black and white portraits of celebrities, close friends and fellow artists such as John Waters, Shirin Neshat, Tracey Emin and Ghada Amer. Nabil tells ‘stories’ through his carefully constructed images. In his words: “I always like to tell stories through my work; the more simple the photo is, the more complicated the story becomes. What’s the point in making a photo if it doesn’t have something to say?” Nabil’s images have a cinematic quality and explore the interior and exterior worlds of drama, beauty, glamour, sexuality and identity. In his latest body of work titled Sleep in My Arms, Nabil gives us access to stories about his relationships with various male friends through his delicately coloured, quiet and intimate portraits. A voyeur by nature, Nabil places these young men in situations of his own imagining and sets up dreamlike moments that are imbued with a brooding sexuality. Youssef Nabil will be giving a walkabout on Wednesday 9th of April at 2pm 373 jan smuts avenue craighall johannesburg gallery hours: tuesday to friday 1030 – 1730 saturday 930 – 1500 t011.326.0034 f011.326.0041 email website Youssef Nabil, Ahmed in djellebah, New York 2004, Hand coloured silver gelatin print, 27 x 40 cm, Edition of 10 Courtesy of Michael...
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