FEAPRIL 2010

nylonmag.com

rock’n roller

ellen

pagethe ruthless babe

fashion’s next wave

150looks to push

the boundaries

color scheming

beauty gets bright

15new bands you haven’t heard (yet)

dead man’s bonesau revoir simone

and the true romance of sean lennon and

charlotte kemp muhl

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flower girl

In the 2006 French film Prête-moi ta main, a brokenhearted man who works as a perfume “nose” blends a fragrance based on his ideal woman after she leaves him. He mixes together notes that remind him of her—including the turpentine she uses in her work as an antiques restorer—and not only wins her back but also creates a commercial hit in the process.

Now, four years later, life is imitating art. The woman in the aforementioned film is played by French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, and she’s serving as the muse for the hotly anticipated fragrance Balenciaga Paris , the first olfactory creation under designer Nicolas Ghesquière’s reign. The fragrance doesn’t contain anything as odd as eau de paint thinner, but it is based around an unusual note: violet leaf.

“There is a bitter thing with violet,” says Ghesquière, sitting in a suite in New York’s Carlyle hotel one fall morning, Gainsbourg by his side. “We call it un faux ami—a false friend—because it’s nice but it’s strange, strong.”

To ensure that the new fragrance captured his futuristic yet feminine aesthetic, Ghesquière sniffed his way through about 100 blends before narrowing down his choices to two. He left the final decision up to Gainsbourg, a close friend and confidante since they met in 2000. A fan of the actress’s relaxed, no-makeup chic, Ghesquière not only dresses Gainsbourg but also often designs his collections with her in mind. And when it came time to concoct a fragrance, he says, “I thought, I want to do something that Charlotte would love. That’s a very important thing.”

Gainsbourg chose the stronger of Ghesquière’s finalists. “There was something more frank about it,” she says. “Everybody I know had a long history with very strong perfumes. My mother [Jane Birkin, of Hermès bag fame] wore Shalimar for a short period of time, but because it was during my childhood, I always associate her with that perfume. The same with my father [crooner Serge Gainsbourg]. For me, he’s Van Cleef. If I smelled it on somebody else, I’d be very shocked. It’s something that can only be him.” Jane Larkworthy

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106 NYLONMAG.COM

radar: joanna newsom

one from the harpof equipment – her voice.

The witch-child who squawked The Milk-Eyed Mender songs has been sent up to bed. Now Newsom can lilt and croon at will, two hours in her company flies by.

POP ATTENTION spans have been in recession for some time; reputations can now be made entirely on laptops. But if any artist can justify an album filling three CDs, it is west coast bard Joanna Newsom. With her last stunning effort, 2006’s Ys, Newsom led an artisanal counterinsurgency armed with a harp, luxuriant album art and allegorical compositions that frequently edged towards the eight-minute mark.

Those maximalist keynotes remain constant on her latest album, as does Newsom’s roster of animal totems. Have One on Me introduces a number of new riffs too. The cover finds Newsom swapping medieval symbolism for flapper-era luxe; fans will ponder the stuffed fawns and chinoiserie for months to come. Gone are the intense studio orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks, replaced by the more varied input of Ys Street Band leader Ryan Francesconi. If the sound of air passing over microphones bookends every song, then it makes the music crackle with life. Ys concerned itself with fathers, sisters, lovers,

death and astronomy; it is, perhaps, too early to say with any certainty what Have One on Me might be about; love, Lola Montez’s spider dance and horse rustling ( You and Me, Bess ) are just three themes.

Newsom’s work performed a great leap forward between her debut, 2004’s The Milk-Eyed Mender, and Ys; there is a correspondingly Knievel-like vault here. Never lacking in assurance, the Newsom of Have One on Me has grown more graceful by loosening up. References to drinking punctuate these shape-shifting songs.

The awesome arc performed by Baby Birch packs in innovations: handclaps, furtive blares of electric guitar and a strange eastern origami coda that neatly folds a bit of Japan into a bit of Bulgaria. It is nine-and-a-half minutes long and yet you curse the fade-out.

The superb Good Intentions Paving Company is, by contrast, a jaunty road movie where Newsom’s piano gets a fillip from some rattling percussion, banjo, mandolin and subdued brass. Go Long features a jaw-dropping duel between harp and kora, the west African lute whose techniques influenced Newsom’s distinct approach to her instrument.

The headline news, though, is that Newsom has finally conquered that most wayward bit

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one from the harp Joanna Newsom is an artist so unique and gifted that she has no need to follow pop’s rules. Have One On Me proves their point and multiplies it by three. by kitty empire photographed by amy cobden

FUN JOANNA FACTS: ★ Little Joanna had known since age two or three that she wanted to play the harp. ▲ Newsom was first taught to play the Celtic harp by a local teacher in Nevada City. Later on she switched to the pedal harp and started composing. ♫ Since early 2007 she has also been known to perform a solo harp version of the Robert Burns poem Ca the yowes tae the knowes. ★ In 2009, «Sprout and the Bean» was used in a Victoria’s Secret Bra commercial. ▲ In 2009, she appeared in the music video for the song «Kids» by the group MGMT. ♫ Newsom’s vocal style has shadings of folk and Appalachian shaped-note timbres. Newsom has, however, expressed disappointment at comments that her singing is «child-like».

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radar: dead man’s bones

children’s choir, recruited from hipster kid academy the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.

It’s a credit to the record then that none of these angles turn out to be easy nooses by which to hang the project. The one triggering most alarm bells, of course, is Gosling’s involvement, since everyone knows that movie-star bands tend to range from amateurishly terrible to inoffensively generic. Well, I’ll dispel that preconception straight away— Dead Man’s Bones is a really, really weird record, a project where the musical reference points at least indicate that Gosling and his co-conspirator Zach Shields have record collections that go deeper than an iPod nano.

The other two angles—spooky themes and a kid’s choir —are both symptoms of the record’s most endearing quality, a surplus of ideas and a willingness to combine them in ways that are vibrant, sloppy, and fun. Like an old Elephant 6 record, Dead Man’s Bones has a lo-fi warts-and-all feel that’s less lazy aesthetic than charmingly handmade, even more charismatic for it’s unevenness.

Overall, I’m as surprised as you are with Dead Man’s Bones. So many ways for it to go wrong, but instead it’s a unique, catchy and lovably weird record, with highlights (the electric piano singalong Pa Pa Power , the Beck-ish Werewolf Heart ) that could hold their own with the best indie singles of the year. Perhaps all those easy angles are a smokescreen, a diversion to lower expectations on a record strong enough to be listened to both without preconceptions and long after its Halloween expiration date.

Dead Man’s Bones. Wow! Fact: Dead Man’s Bones’ self-titled debut is a concept album vaguely about supernatural themes, released less than a month before Halloween! Gee! Fact: The vast majority of Dead Man’s Bones utilizes a real-life, full-on

Some records are an absolute void of interesting review angles, forcing us critics to do, like, actual work. Dead Man’s Bones is not one of those records. Fact: Indie dreamboat and RealDoll lover portrayer Ryan Gosling is one-half of Los Angeles band

feel in bonesThe members

of dead man’s bones

originally wanted to

film a horror musical

but instead decided to

only pursue the songs. by rob mitchum

photographed by hama sanders.

FROM LEFT: zach shields, ryan gosling

mixtape: lightspeed champion Dev Hynes, the one-man band behind Lightspeed Champion, is a crafter of enigmatic melodies who can wrench your heart for a good 10 minutes (see «Midnight Surprise»). Between recording a new album Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, collaborating with Basement Jaxx and Solange, and covering 30 songs this past year, Hynes managed to make us a mixtape. photographed by Devonté Hynes

q&a: actress in wonderland Mia Wasikowska has faced unspeakable tragedies. Fortunately for the 17-year-old Aussie actress, who is being likened to a young Jodie Foster, it’s all taking place onscreen. Mia plays the title character in Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. I spoke to the delightful and talented actress on set. Here’s part of my interview with her. Mark Salisbuy

WERE YOU A FAN OF THE BOOK? Definitely. I read the book when I was little and I also read the book again when I started auditioning. And it was cool to come back to it and see these different things when I was older than when I was younger. But it’s the sort of book you can always read and every time you get something else from. It’s constantly giving.

WHAT DID YOU GET THE SECOND TIME? It was a different feel in a way. It kind of felt in the best way like a delirious dream, where nothing makes sense, the way your body processes your mind when you’re semi unconscious, that’s what I found the second time I read it.

and eclectic quarters of a diverse group of subjects, including Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler, Faris Rotter, Andre Walker, and Olivier Zahm, in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and London. Each profile is accompanied by Selby’s watercolor portraits of the subjects and objects from their homes, and illustrated questionnaires, which Selby asks each sitter to fill out. This book consists of over thirty profiles, many of which have never-

the selbyThe Selby Is in Your Place was conceived when fashion and interiors photographer Todd Selby began taking portraits of dynamic and creative people (authors, musicians, artists, and designers) in their home environments and posting them on his web site. Nosy by nature, he wanted to see how personal style was reflected in private spaces. Lucky for us, he found his answer in the color-rich

before-seen, selected exclusively for the book. The result is a collection of unique spaces bursting with energy and personality that together create a colorful hodgepodge of inspirational interiors.

serge gainsbourg “FIVE EASY PISSEUSES”This is my favorite song from his last album before he died. it showed he was still amazingly gifted in regards to melody and song arrangements, regardless of instrumentation. And lyrically, no one will ever be able to play with the French and English languages quite as skillfully as him.

frederic chopin “CHANSON DE L’ADIEU”I’m almost certain there isn’t a more beautiful melody than the main refrain of this composition.

f.r. david “SAHARA NIGHT” This song is just perfect. F.R David is one of my main vocal inspirations, and this song from his third LP showcases why.

prefab sprout “THE KING OF ROCK’N’ROLL”This song is pure genius. It’s the story of a faded one-hit wonder (from his perspective), who is telling a young girl about how famous he used to be. Ironically, this was Prefab Sprout’s biggest hit.

todd rundgren “FAIR WARNING”This song closes side one of his record Initiation. The B-side is an instrumental workout. But this song is beautiful; it’s the moment this skinny white boy from New York shows the world that his vocal work is up there with the best singers of the Motown era.

van dyke parks “THE FOUR MILLS BROTHERS”Man, it’s still my favorite from this record. I got to work with him earlier in the year. It was a dream come true!

howard jones “WHAT IS LOVE?”THIS SHIT IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!

cryptacize “MYTHOMANIA”These are friends of mine from L.A., and they made my favorite record of 2009. This song is so incredible, lush, and beautiful. I feel good every time I put it on, I dare you to not!

cindy lauper “HOLE IN MY HEART”This was a song she did for the movie Vibes. When the movie didn’t do well, the label pulled it from the album. but this song is awesome!

split enz “SIX MONTHS IN A LEAKY BOAT”There ‘s only been a few times that I’ve welcomed outside music suggestions. This song was a mixtape made by my girlfriend, Nicole. It blew me away.

HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH TIM BURTON? It’s been incredible. I think Tim is an amazing artist and a very visual person. He’s very in the moment. We didn’t do a whole lot of rehearsals before we started filming, which worked really well for the film because it’s lots of little spontaneous moments and they’re kind of quick encounters, so it really helps kept it fresh that we haven’t drilled it with rehearsals. And it’s really fun to get into a scene with another actor and be surprised by what they’re doing.

WERE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ANY OTHER FILM VERSIONS OF ALICE? I had seen a few versions of Alice but my mum used to make me and my brother and my sister watch the Jan Svankmajer version. We watched a lot of arthouse films when we were little and that was one she would show us, and we would kind of sit there kind of freaked out but really intrigued. I remember we would watch it kind of over and over again. I think it’s really incredible.

edited by samantha gilewicz