COLLECTION 6

1 

COLLECTION 6

THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO 

Oryanne Dufour I Aynur Pektas I Dirk-Peter Wiegmann I Anina Brosius I Juan 

Ernesto Oliveros Muller I Carina Jahn I Deborah Frey I Fabian Kalker I Erwin 

Stranintzky I Birge George I Romain Grandveaud I Anna Willert I Martin Strauss 

I Andrea Hoppe I Dana Mikelson I Silke Wilhelm I Valquire I Philipp Bruening I 

Franco Erre I Thomas Gastl I Gonny Glass I Georg Szablowski I Charli Howard I 

Christine Kreiselmeier I Urban Spree GmbH I Attila Huber I Daisy Walker I Jenna 

Lee I Sherion Mullings I Robert Logemann I Jochen Sand I Gabriella Barouch I 

Fotis Vazakas I Tussunee Roadjanarungtong I Steve Pletscher I Irmela Schwengler 

I The WYE GmbH I Marc Majewski I Fabian Blascke I Fak Yeah Clothing I 

Sven Stienen I Vatilis Neufeld I Stefan Nott I Christian Born I Contentement I 

Zsuzsanna Majadan I Kristin Lawrenz I Richard Dubieniec I Rosa Morelli I The 

Candy Factory Studio I John Morrison I Lucie Le Hir I Michael Woischneck I 

Marine Drouan I Jerome Karsenti I Torsten Grewe I Astafyeva Tatiana I Katrin 

Cremer I Anthracite I Shantu Bhattacharjee I Frank Wilde I Danielle Shami I 

Karsten Schulz I Karl Slater I Peter Wiklund I Robert Sacheli I Birte Meyer I 

Robert Kothe I Orestes Hellewegen I Kobald TV I Caroline Burnett I Florian 

Mass I Mads Dinesen I Marie Staggat I Sören Münzer I Felipe Torres Basave I 

Mario Seyer I Marc Handke I Eva Vorsmann I David Bennett I Arkadij Koscheew 

I Chantal Henken I Helge Langensiepen I Karina Schönberger I Anna-Christina 

Faust I Lisa Ladke I Voodoo Market I Suzana Holtgrave I Anita Krizanovic 

THANK YOU

Spectacular programme with 

More then 100 talents from all over the world. 

(The Netherlands) 

6 th edition of 

the international and 

interdisciplinary 

fashion festival 

June 

in Maastricht 

June 

1 15 

until 

web 

fashionclash.nl 

fashion shows / exhibition / performances / designer market and more.

photo: hordur ingason

Editor-in-Chief 

Fashion Editor 

Art Director 

Art Editors 

Music Editors 

Movie Editor 

Marcel Schlutt 

mschlutt@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Nicolas Simoneau 

nsimoneau@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Amanda M. Jansson 

ajansson@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Emma E.K. Jones 

ejones@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Amy Heaton 

amyheaton@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Ange Suprowicz 

ange.suprowicz@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Claudio Alavargonzalez Tera 

calvargonzaleztera@kaltblut-magazine.com 

“If death doesn’t kill you, my demons will!” 

That could certainly be one way of summarising the past few 

weeks we’ve had here. The last months have been a difficult 

time for us at KALTBLUT. You could even talk of a cloak of 

darkness that was veiled over us. But we wouldn’t be KALT- 

BLUT Magazine if we didn’t turn this around into something 

positive. We learnt a lot, both in terms of trust and how the 

magazine and fashion markets work. It’s not always easy to stay 

true to yourself but KALTBLUT Magazine stands for candour, 

strength and morality and this will always remain the same 

regardless of darker times. 

Noire is the theme for this issue. Black in fashion, in art and 

in music. Why the fascination with black? It was revealing to 

see how artists formed their own version of the theme. This 

issue celebrates two years of KALTBLUT Magazine and at 

this point of the journey we’d like to thank all our friends and 

family, artists and agencies. You continued believing in us, supported 

us and never shied away from offering us constructive 

criticism. Due to you we managed to grow up. 

We are more proud than ever to show our latest issue. A lot has 

changed. We’ve deliberately decided to publish the magazine 

with 208 pages, meaning we’re able to lower the price from 

30 EURO to 14 EURO. We hope you like it and support the 

change. 

This issue is the most personal one for us all. A lot of tears were 

shed, it was a difficult journey but it was certainly worth it. 

Yours Marcel and the team 

Photo by Lucio Aru & Franco Erre 

Fashion Assistant 

Brazil Editors 

UK Editor 

Translation / 

Proofreading 

www.kaltblut-magazine.com 

Nico Sutor 

nsutor@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Mauricio & Aleesandro Lázaro 

brazil@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Karl Slater 

karlslater@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Amy Heaton, Ange Suprowicz , 

Amanda M.Jansson, Bénédicte Lelong 

Pernille Sandberg / Photographer 

www.pernillesandberg.com 

Pernille is a well-known photographer based in Berlin and Copenhagen. For this issue, Pernille 

visited the fashion label Augustin Teboul in their studio and had a chat about the fashion. 

Nik Pate / Photographer 

www.nikpate.com 

Nik is a London-based fashion photographer and digital artist. Mister Pate is an upcoming 

artist in the UK and this is our first collaboration with him and we are proud to showcase two 

of his works. 

Suzana Holtgrave / Photographer 

www.suzanaholtgrave.com 

Once again, the Berlin-based photography icon has produced 2 amazing editorials for us. 

Suzana has been part of our journey from the very beginning. We are sure you’re familiar with 

her work. 

Agnese Pagliano / Graphic designer 

www.agnesepagliano.com 

Agnese is a freelance graphic designer. She has already worked with severals magazines and has 

made a notable contribution to this issue. She is obsessed with typography and loves to create 

new fonts in her free time. 

Eileen Rullmann / Photographer 

www.art-photographie.com 

Eileen is a still life photographer based in Hamburg. She specialises in macro photography, 

particularly focussing on insects. Her eye for detail and her aesthetics have allowed her work 

to be published in Vogue Italia. 

Model: Melanie Gaydos, Photography by Maren Michaelis, 

Dress by Augustin Teboul, Postproduction by Florian Hetz 

- florian.hetz@me.com - 

KALTBLUT Magazine is published by KALTBLUT Media UG, 

Nicolas Simoneau & Marcel Schlutt 

KALTBLUT MAGAZINE I Grünbergerstrasse 3 I 10243 Berlin I Germany

11 

p.12 Dark Travelers 

Fashion Story 

p.20 Darkside 

Interview 

p.26 Sketch Book 

Illustrations by Jean Khalife 

p.30 The Last Supper 

Fashion Story 

p.38 Melanie Gaydos 

Fashion Story + Interview 

p.46 

Berlin Faces 

You Should Know 

p.50 The Widows 

Fashion Story 

p.58 Pins 

Interview 

p.60 Decode 

Fashion Story 

p.66 

Article 

Pictures of 

The Dead 

p.68 Paint It Black 

Fashion Story 

p.77 Joseba Eskubi 

Interview 

p.80 Nachkriegszeit 

Fashion Story 

p.86 Horror-Shaping Art 

Article 

p.88 Heraista 

Beauty Editorial 

p.96 Into Brackets 

Interviews 

p.100 Black Metal 

Fashion Story 

p.106 Augustin Teboul 

Interview 

p.112 Marika 

Fashion Story 

p.120 Mehryl Levisse 

Interview 

p.124 Cunt Cunt Chanel 

Interview 

p.126 Must Have 

p.127 Dear Bad Bed Bug 

p.128 Queen of Sorcery 

Fashion Story 

p.134 Gesaffelstein 

Portrait 

p.136 Lines Of Life 

Fashion Story 

p.142 Eirik Lyster 

Interview 

p.145 Love & Malice 

Fashion Story 

p.150 Austra 

Interview 

p.154 Ana Alcazar 

Fashion Story + Interview 

p.164 c355p001 

Interview 

p.166 Concrete 

Fashion Story 

p.174 Gustavo Jononovich 

Interview 

p.178 The X-Insider 

Interview with M 

p.180 Termites 

Photo Story 

p.184 

Column 

What's Left Of 

The Noire? 

p.186 Trentemøller 

Interview 

p.190 Susanne Bosslau 

Interview + Fashion Story 

p.196 Kerby Rosanes 

Interview 

p.198 Must Wear 

p.200 Sorry My Love 

Fashion Story 

p.206 Humphrey Bogart 

Portrait 

p.208 CraZay Giveaway 

p.209 (End).itorial

12 

Jacket: Sadak 

Dark Travelers 

Photographers: Lucio Aru and Franco Erre www.errearuphotography.com 

Stylist: Crystal Birch www.therealcrystalbirch.com 

Agency: Glossartistmanagement.co.za 

Assistants: Micheal Mosel and Moritz Jasper 

Hair and Make-Up artist: Janine Pritschow www.janinepritschow.com 

Agency: Glossartistmanagement.co.za 

Models: Franz and Nicholai at ultmodels

13 

Hat: Mads Dinesen, Coat: Studio Laend Phuengkit, Scarf: Stylist’s own, Cape: Preview5, Trousers: Comme des Garçons, Shoes: Ann Demeulemeester 

Shirt: Sopopular, Coat: Julia Heuse

Shirt: Sopopular 

14 

Hat: Mads Dinesen, Shirt: Preview5

15 

Hat: Mads Dinesen, Coat: Studio Laend Phuengkit, Scarf: Stylists own, Cape: Preview5, Trousers: Comme des Garçons, Shoes: Ann Demeulemeester

17 

Franz (left) Top: Sadak, Trousers: Ethel Vaughn, Shoes: Tiger of Sweden, Nicholai (right) Coat: Laend Phuengkit, Knitwear: Tiger of Sweden, Trousers: Bobby Kolade, Shoes: Ann Demeulemeester

18 

Nicholai (below) Shirt: Sadak, Trousers: Julia Heuse, Boots: Ann Demeulemeester, Franz (above) Jacket: Sadak, Trousers: Sopopular, Shoes: Tiger of Sweden 

Trousers: Ethel Vaughn

19 

Nicholai (left) Glasses: Kuboraum, Knitwear: Tiger of Sweden, Trousers: Sadak, Shoes: Tiger of Sweden, Franz Hat: Mads Dinesen, Coat: Bobby Kolade, Trousers: Ethel Vaughn, Shoes: Ann Demeulemeester

DARKSIDE: 

20 

A Lesson In Patience 

Experimenting with electronic music at the 

tender age of 14, making his debut on Wolf 

+ Lamb three years later, forming his own 

record label and releasing his critically acclaimed 

debut album before turning 21 or 

graduating: Nicolas Jaar may have gotten off 

to an early start, but he’s in no hurry to get 

anywhere fast. Disinterested in dwelling on 

the past or former glories, he’s invested in 

new beginnings and startling collaborations. 

The electro wunderkind has paired up with 

multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington to 

create Darkside; a project that sees Jaar bringing 

his raspy baritone to air amongst warmly 

played keyboards, tactile electronic textures 

and other sundries. Slowhand Dire Strait 

leads might be the last thing you’d expect an 

electronic producer to bring to his records, 

but if there’s anything we’ve learnt from Jaar 

in the last years it’s: don’t expect. Subtlety, 

strangeness and difference: the precocious 

producer is giving listeners what they want. 

Nicolas Jaar is invested in developing a singular 

style and letting it patiently evolve over 

time. 

As a producer who’s known for bringing dance 

music down to 100 BPM or lower, he’s created 

an atmosphere that’s unconventional and 

unprecedented. The crowd’s patience is not 

left underserving; Jaar delivers in pitches 

that persist and peak. In remixing the entirety 

of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories 

earlier this year and renaming their project 

Daftside, Jaar and his musical partner shed 

a light on their unequivocal ability to find 

something else in the music- their inclination 

to take big moments and make them small, 

turning them inward – an achievement noted 

for its remarkable turnaround rate. In contrast, 

the duo’s full-length album took a full 

two years to produce and reflects Jaar’s eye 

for detail and the care he dedicates into every 

aspect he presents. Released on Jaar’s brand 

new imprint and subscription service, Other 

People, predecessor to his first record label 

Clown & Sunset, Psychic beckons the listener 

to slow down and move at its pace. 

Exploratory, confrontational and wandering, 

Psychic is full of characteristically long Jaar 

songs, that feeling of “the song has you” for 

the seven minutes of its duration; and in a 

record that fits an incredible amount of music 

into a compact 45 minutes, the silences 

themselves are moments of active listening 

too, with unintentional things happening between 

the beats. The opening track is eleven 

minutes long and it takes four full minutes 

for the tinkering to do its thing, to dissolve 

from a space-radio crackle into a beat that’s 

both melodic and methodical as it meanders 

and experiments into a heavy-lidded, inebriated 

swell. The first single Paper Trails with its 

singed blue riffs in the middle of the record 

is the album’s one only narrative and Freak, 

Go Home encompasses a constant fluidity 

between acoustic and digital percussion. 

Unhurried yet insistent; the record cogs away 

before it can get personal; Jaar and Harrington 

tease the concept of scale, the desire to 

instil wonder. The record is intimate: it’s a 

journey- from start to finish, to the celestial, 

to the otherworldly- that beckons you further: 

the longer you spend with Psychic, the more 

you sink into its depths, speeds, sounds and 

findings. Dropping you in from nowhere, 

there’s a driving force but don’t try to define 

it; it takes its time to coalesce, and as soon 

as an ostensible connection is made, it’s gone 

again- fleeting and departing as quickly as it 

appeared. What grounds the record is Jaar’s 

uniquely congested vocals that eke in over a 

gentle pulse of synth-dappled drones leaving 

the listener engulfed in the realisation that 

he has a voice where you never expect him 

to mean exactly what he says. Live, the duo 

gives a performance that displays both restraint 

and a high level of skill- like the feel 

of the whole album: the sounds bulge as soon 

they burst, never giving away too much. In 

conversation, Jaar and Harrington are articulate, 

dedicated and gregarious; the former 

passionate and insightful- with a careful, 

organised sense of self that belies his age. 

The pair’s full-length effort spills with sounds 

that self-ignite, over take one another, and 

combine at imperceptible speeds, whether 

solo or layered. Patiently and steadily, the 

rhythms, the meaning, the story rises and 

reaches a state of euphoria without divulging 

that it was up anything at all- which, come 

to think of it, is much like the collaboration 

itself.

21 

Interview by Ange Suprowicz 

Photo credit: Other People / Matador

22 

“…Sometimes things take their time. It’s sad 

sometimes; it’s frustrating sometimes 

but it’s also just very real… and I love the 

very simple fact when something finally 

happens you realise ‘Oh, it couldn’t have ever 

happened before. It needed to 

happen now.” 

KALTBLUT: First of all, huge congratulations on the 

album. It’s sensational. The recording process spun over 

two years and critics have been quick to comment that 

the record reflects that. I like to think you’re teaching listeners 

the virtue of patience and deliberation. Does this 

ring true? 

Nico: That’s nice. 

Dave: That is really nice. 

Nico: Patience… 

Dave: Patience… 

Nico: We had a song called ‘Patience’, we haven’t written 

yet. 

Dave: I think that those things are things that we both value. 

We share that in things that we like… and more important 

than just things, the experience of music for both of 

us has a lot to do with that and that is a very real point of 

connection and so if that’s coming through, then it’s very 

honest. 

Nico: And life takes its time y’know, sometimes things 

take their time. It’s sad sometimes; it’s frustrating sometimes 

but it’s also just very real and I love the very 

simple fact if something just takes two years to happen; 

something you’ve been waiting for finally happens then 

you realise ‘Oh, it couldn’t have ever happened before. It 

needed to happen now.’ Y’know that feeling of in... inevit… 

what is it? 

Dave: Inevitability. 

Nico: Inevita... Inevitability! Boom. That’s very real. We 

didn’t necessarily write songs or tracks we just wrote a 

fifty minute thing in a way, and so in the light of that we 

did want to tell a story that was a little bit more subdued, 

that hopefully you could sink into and that maybe the first 

time you listen to it you would tell yourself ‘this is an orb 

that maybe I want to sink into’. And I’m saying that in the 

friendliest way possible… it’s not a challenge at all. 

KALTBLUT: It’s interesting, the theme of challenge. When 

you first started together you said it was tough, wasn’t 

what you expected and it required a lot of work. What was 

it that kept you pushing and motivated? 

Nico: When did we say that? 

Dave: Doesn’t sound like something I’d say. 

Nico: Nope, I think that’s probably like a bad German 

translation… 

KALTBLUT: I was surprised it didn’t seem like something 

that would apply to you… 

Dave: Maybe you could set the record straight. It’s so easy 

and fun and that’s why we kept doing it. 

Nico: It came about naturally. The end of anything is much 

harder because we needed to actually make some true, 

miniscule decisions. But at the beginning, no- that was all 

play. That was all fun. 

KALTBLUT: Nico, the idea of Darkside came to you to 

make a more blues orientated guitar heavy project… 

Nico: No, it didn’t really come to me. It was more the combination 

of Dave and I sitting down one day and making 

music together. It wasn’t a project that I had I in mind and 

I’m gonna do this. It was more… Dave and I just met each 

other and we decided to make music one day and then it 

happened. 

KALTBLUT: You started Darkside two years ago in Berlin 

and Nico you’ve commented that Berghain is your favourite 

place to play. How is it for you both to be back in this 

venue and city at the start of your Psychic tour? 

Dave: Yeah we made our first song in Berlin.

23 

Nico: That’s the only song we made in Berlin. It’s amazing 

being back. I can’t wait to play. I actually had Berghain in 

mind when I wrote the record. The sad thing about that is 

that when you really love a space, there’s few clubs in the 

world that I love and that I don’t want to play anywhere 

else. I just want to continue playing in this place hopefully 

until I’m like old y’know? (laughs) When you don’t have 

a show that’s as good as you want it, it’s such a shame 

because everything is so perfect. It’s a perfect club. The 

pressure is higher in a way because you want to, not live 

up, but you want to adhere to the club. 

KALTBLUT: You’ve said before that where you play your 

music changes everything. For those unable to experience 

you live, what would be the best sitting to listen to the 

record in? 

Dave: If you’re sticking around for the show you’ll see that 

it is and it isn’t like the record, just for the record (laughs) 

My answer to this would be: wherever they want to listen 

to it, in a meaningful way not like a (distorts his voice) 

“listen to it wherever you want to”. I love records where I 

feel like I make it my “this-record”, it’s the record I listen 

to when I can’t sleep or this is the record I listen to when 

it’s a beautiful day out and I’m walking around. 

Nico: Or if you’re driving. 

Dave: Yeah if you’re driving… things that are very personal. 

Hopefully people can be personal with it. 

KALTBLUT: It’s been said that there’s a gravitational pull 

in the record that only exists in music made by Nicolas 

Jaar. What is this pull, this hype that surrounds you and 

how do you sustain it? 

Nico: Excuse me? I said that? 

KALTBLUT: No no, you didn’t… (laughs) 

Nico: Oh, thank god. I honestly don’t see how any of the 

music that we made as Darkside has that much to do with 

me. I think why I decided to make this project, to be in this 

position of being in a duo instead of doing my own thing 

etcetera etcetera is because I believe in the fact that we’re 

creating a different sound than what I do and that whatever… 

thing that he’s talking about y’know, maybe that’s his 

own subjective way but for me this is a band and a band 

that makes songs together and if anything I’m excited to 

not be the sole maker of decisions and the sole maker of 

the music. I’ve been doing that for five years and now it’s 

exciting to not do it. 

KALTBLUT: So let me ask you: do you think you establish 

connections between genres or pronounce differences? 

Something that’s very apparent is that there are no rules 

to your work… 

Nico: I… I love the idea of no rules by the way. That’s… I’m 

happy that at least you can see that because that’s very 

exciting to me. One of the most important things about 

just talking about genre, which I like talking about… I don’t 

hate talking about genre; I actually like talking about it a 

lot because it is interesting. I don’t think it’s interesting to 

make music in a very specific genre in order to do certain 

things… I mean you can use genre, I think that’s the most 

exciting thing. But one thing I wanted to say, in the ‘base 

form’ there are certain things about music that have been 

co-opted by music’s ability to sell. And genre is one of 

them and so I get very excited when I see music that can 

be appealing but that maybe finds a way out of very, very 

specific cultural and musical statements because in my 

utopian mind that I still think I have, music that makes you 

“The most important thing is to defy 

being used, defy being labelled, 

defy all these things, maybe create a 

tiny space for yourself where you 

don’t have rules because rules are the 

things that create a lot of the problems 

that this time has.”

question it makes you question a lot 

of different things if you actually think 

about it, not only music. I think that’s 

the small role that an artist can have 

today because our role is getting 

smaller and smaller and we’re getting 

used more and more, right? We’re just 

getting used more by everyone. Not 

me, artists in general so I think the 

most important thing is to defy being 

used, defy being labelled, defy all these 

things, maybe create a tiny space 

for yourself where you don’t have rules 

because rules are the things that 

create a lot of the problems that this 

time has. 

KALTBLUT: Drawing on the point 

about music being co-opted by it’s 

ability to sell … you’ve said before 

that you hate CDs and you think 

the music industry is just out to sell 

drinks. 

Nico: The CD thing is just a stupid 

thing I thought for a while. I don’t 

know why I was so against them, I 

actually don’t really care. I don’t want 

to be mean to your question though; 

the truth is I actually don’t care... I’m 

not anti- it… in one interview, in the 

one stupid interview where I said that, 

because I do feel stupid that I talked 

about it in that way… what I actually 

meant to say is that CDs were invented 

with a specific amount of time, 

with a weight and with a design that 

was easiest to sell and we should 

think about that. That’s all I was saying. 

The context of that is huge. 

KALTBLUT: So you designed The 

Prism as a contrast to that? 

Nico: Yeah, but that’s also a primitive 

idea of hopefully a better idea that I’ll 

have at some point, because that’s 

still not the answer at all. 

24 

i 

KALTBLUT: It’s been noted that you 

have some distinctly old fashioned 

ideas about art and integrity. Your 

sound and musical tropes reference 

things before your time. Simply put, 

do you think things were simpler in 

the past? 

Dave: I wouldn’t really presume to 

know (laughs) I mean, the short 

answer is no. I think that’s kind of a 

binary that relies on facile idea of 

history that Nico and I wouldn’t think. 

If there are sounds or things that are 

feel that they’re from another time 

then its because we live in the era of 

the über-archive, like the total and 

so, what that means is that…what 

ends up becoming the fabric of internal 

life, one’s creative life is built on 

thousands of years of history because 

now we’ve fully archived it in a very 

intense way. On a fundamental music 

level that means you become influenced 

by, and this is my impression, 

things that aren’t in your city, in your 

year… right now I’m reading the biography 

of Derek Bailey, a free improviser 

guitarist and he talks about growing 

up in England before WW1 if you 

wanted music, he grew up in a small 

industrial town, you had to go see it 

at the pub, that’s a real thing. They 

couldn’t afford records, if you wanted 

to hear music; this was 70 years ago… 

Nico: Only… 

Dave: Yeah, only 70 years… you’d have 

to go down the street or drive to the 

next town to hear whoever had taught 

themselves whatever it is they were 

going to do over there and so now and 

we live on the opposite end of that 

spectrum. If I’m hungry and I’m curious 

about different things, they inevitably 

seep into you because you live in 

this archive. 

KALTBLUT: True to its title, Psychic 

is not a heart to heart but an extra 

sensory telepathic exchange. How 

important was the name giving of both 

Darkside and Psychic on a personal 

level? 

Nico: You mean the actual words? So 

the second we finished our first song, 

this word ‘dark side’ was in the air 

between us. It wasn’t the band name; 

we were just using it a lot. 

Dave: It became a descriptor of a 

feeling or experience, y’know if something 

got deep we’d be like ‘dark 

side’ or if something was a little bit 

crazy… 

Nico: So when we finished our first 

song, we were like ‘dark side’. And 

then we were like, whoa that should 

be our name. And that’s it. We never 

spoke about it again. It’s a placeholder. 

And it’s meant to be that. There’s 

no meaning. There’s no meaning. It’s 

a placeholder. It’s a colour of a shirt, 

right? It’s just a black shirt; it doesn’t 

say anything. But it says a little bit… 

because it’s black, it’s not white, it’s 

not stripy. It’s just a black shirt. Psychic 

is…. (hearing music in the background) 

Oh, they’re playing Val…the 

DJ is. 

Dave: Oh, snap! 

Nico: Isn’t that so cute? 

Dave: That’s amazing. 

Nico: That shit blows my mind. What 

were talking about? 

KALBLUT: The naming of Psychic… 

Nico: So Psychic was a little more 

deliberate because we did feel like 

there were certain things about the 

record that we wanted to give to people; 

like these were some of the things 

we were thinking about. And the idea 

of each other’s mind and creating a 

telepathic exchange is exciting to us… 

that’s so exciting to us. 

www.darksideusa.com

FACEBOOK.COM/PHILIPSSOUND 

25 

TWITTER.COM/YNTHT_DE 

PLAY.SPOTIFY.COM/USER/YNTHT 

MACHT SCHÖN ... 

MACHT LAUT ... 

... WEIL DU MIT DEM KOMPAKTEN, 

FALTBAREN DESIGN NICHT NUR DEINE 

KOPFHÖRER IN DIE TASCHE STECKST. 

... WEIL DIR DIE CITISCAPE FRAMES MIT 

IHREN WEICHEN ONEAR-POLSTERN 

EXZELLENTEN SOUND LIEFERN. 

SHL 5705 

MACHT SPASS … 

... WEIL DU DANK DES INTEGRIERTEN 

MIKROFONS JEDERZEIT ZWISCHEN MUSIK 

UND TELEFONIE WECHSELN KANNST. 

ERLEBE MUSIK WIE NOCH NIE ZUVOR 

WWW.YOUNEEDTOHEARTHIS.COM 

ENTDECKE DIE KOMPLETTE RANGE UNTER 

WWW.PHILIPS.DE/HEADPHONES

26 

SKETCH 

Almost like an extension of themselves, the sketch book is an indispensable part to every artist. Bursting with 

ideas, thoughts and doodles, it’s where the magic begins. Every issue we approach one artist and present them 

with a blank page to allow their imagination run wild. 

The first guest for this brand new feature is Jean Khalife, product designer of Vans Europe. 

Jean can also be found on Instagram via his illustrator name JOHN KAISER KNIGHT.

THE LAST 

31 

SUPPER 

Photographed by Gal Reuveni Styled by Marina Milcheva 

Models: Blake Myers, Sofya Titova, Natasha Ramachandran @Next Model Management 

Top - Balmain, Rings - Topshop, Belt - Evis, Model: Natasha Ramachandran

33 

Leather Biker Jacket - Evis, Skirt - Zara , Belt - Balmain, Sunglasses - Ray Ban, Model: Blake Myers

35 

Leather Vest & Leather Biker Jacket – Evis, Models: Natasha Ramachandran & Sofya Titova

37 

Jumpsuit - Gucci, Belt - Moschino, Model: Sofya Titova

38 

Melanie 

Gaydos 

The Queen From Outta Space! 

Interview by Marcel Schlutt 

Photography by Maren Michaelis 

www.marenmichaelis.com 

Styling: Carrie Bass (alter.ego) 

Hair & Make-up: Deniz Mouratoglou (alter.ego) 

contact@alterego-art.de 

Some human beings are so special, 

they must simply be from 

outer space, can’t come from 

this planet. New York based model 

and artist Melanie Gaydos 

is one of them. Officially born in 

Connecticut, but I am sure this 

is a legend, Miss Gaydos is gifted 

with the most special looks 

and a big heart. She was born 

to be a model. During these last 

years, we have worked with so 

many models but none of them 

revealed that much of her own 

personality in front of the camera. 

She is not afraid of being 

naked and so easy to work with, 

that I would like to just book her 

again and again, right away. Together 

with photographer Maren 

Michaelis, she has produced 

one of the most amazing editorials 

for our magazine. Yes, she 

is not that typical boring beauty 

model. Her beauty is on another 

level. I don’t see how any of the 

“normal” models could compare 

to her. I had the pleasure of interviewing 

Melanie and after the 

interview I am 100 % sure that 

she is not from Earth. She is : The 

Queen From Outta Space!

39 

KALTBLUT: Hallo Melanie. First at all I 

have to say: I adore your photos in our 

editorial, and having had a look through 

your portfolio. You have some amazing 

photographs. On every photo you look 

so strong, as if you are born to do this. 

Was modelling something you always 

wanted to do? 

Melanie: Hallo! Thank you so much, 

when I was younger I had a dream of 

being on a billboard. I never thought 

I would be modelling, though I am 

sure this is something every little girl 

may dream about. I don’t think I ever 

thought I could model, but I wanted to 

be someone important. I guess in general 

I always had a fascination with 

something being “larger than life.” 

KALTBLUT: You take some amazing 

photos in each shot: which story or editorial 

is your favourite so far? 

Melanie: I really enjoy all of the photo 

shoots that I take part in so it is so hard 

to choose!! My favourite projects would 

have to be (in chronological order) the 

Rammstein video shoot for “Mein Herz 

Brennt” directed by Eugenio Recuenco 

and the current editorial by Maren Michaelis 

for your magazine KALTBLUT. I 

also really loved one of my last projects 

in Germany, a collaboration with photographer 

Christian Martin Weiss. 

KALTBLUT: Can you tell us something 

about your background? All I know is 

that you live in New York. Are you born 

and raised there? How did little Melanie 

grow up? 

Melanie: I grew up in Connecticut, a 

suburban town an hour or so outside 

of NYC. I moved to NYC about 

three years ago while transferring art 

schools. I had kind of a rough childhood 

with my peers and family life, but I always 

found solace in artwork and the 

outdoors. Since moving to NYC, I miss 

living in the forest most of all! 

KALTBLUT: What was your dream 

growing up? And why? 

Melanie: I had always wanted to be an 

artist growing up. This really paved the 

way for all of my childhood and before 

I started modelling, I was a fine artist 

and studied in school for a degree. 

Being an artist is the complete freedom 

to do whatever you wanted to do, 

and basically the freedom without any 

excuses to just be who you are. 

KALTBLUT: You have quite a unique 

look: and as I can see in your portfolio 

you don’t have any problems with 

being nude in front of a camera. Where 

is this confidence coming from? 

Melanie: Sometimes it surprises me 

how comfortable I am with nudity as 

well. I think it comes from a variety of 

things but I’ve always just been comfortable 

with it. I’ve had to endure a lot 

physically and psychologically when I 

was younger so I think I’ve had to learn 

at an early age how to accept and be 

comfortable with my own body. Nudity 

is our purest form and most natural 

state. It doesn’t matter to me if I am 

clothed or nude, there is so much our 

bodies can say regardless. 

KALTBLUT: You have a very good body. 

Do you work out a lot in the gym? Or is 

it nature? How important do you think 

it is for a model to stay in shape? 

Melanie: Thank you, no I don’t work 

out or go to the gym. I do have a very 

high metabolism and am naturally thin. 

I used to go to the gym when I was 

younger just to stay fit or accompany 

friends. I always think it is a good idea 

to stay healthy and really enjoy being 

active in general. Living in cities or even 

the forest really helps, you just walk 

everywhere! When I first started modelling, 

I worked primarily in the ˝art 

nude“ world where the subject’s body 

is encouraged to have character and 

to really embrace who you are outside 

of society’s ideals. As I shoot more on 

industry related sets, I definitely see 

and can understand the pressure models 

have nowadays to maintain their 

image. As individuals, we evolve and 

our ideals change. I think all people 

have the right to be happy and healthy. 

KALTBLUT: Do you live from modelling? 

Or do you have a normal job to 

pay the rent? 

Melanie: I am a full time model so yes 

this is how I live! At times it is difficult, 

especially just being a freelancer in 

general but I can not think of anything 

else I would rather be doing. I’m very 

open to creativity and opportunities, 

but modelling is by far the most enjoyable 

for me. 

KALTBLUT: As I said before you live 

in New York: capital of all cities in the 

world. How does a normal day usually 

pan out for you? 

Melanie: Haha well it is probably a lot 

less exciting or stable than one would 

think! My schedule varies day by day. I 

also live in Brooklyn which is a borough 

separated from Manhattan (”the city”). 

Life in Brooklyn is a lot more relaxed 

than living right in the heart of New 

York. A typical day is waking up and 

having breakfast, then taking the subway 

into Manhattan or wherever my 

shoot may be. The subways are pretty 

much amazing here because they 

usually pan out anywhere you need to 

go. Once I leave my neighborhood, it is 

very busy and I just get swept into the 

momentum of the city. I love waking up 

to go to shoots and then depending on 

how much time I have in between shoot 

schedules, or how long of a day it was, 

I love running errands after and having 

dinner. 

KALTBLUT: As you know the theme of 

our issue is Noire. We just love every 

thing dark. What kind of imagery does 

this word conjure up for you? 

Melanie: Noire to me is like a sexy 

smoke screen. There are a lot of layers 

and hidden subtleties. It is very mysterious 

and elegant in my opinion. 

KALTBLUT: Can you share one of your 

worst nightmares with us? We all have 

bad dreams from time to time. What is 

yours? 

Melanie: This may sound awful, but as I 

get older I can no longer really tell what 

would constitute as a bad dream. Sure 

I have unpleasant dreams but when I 

wake, I have the understanding that it 

is my subconscious and I always really 

try to learn from those messages: such 

as why do I have fear, and how could 

I overcome it? When I was younger I 

would always have nightmares, now 

that I am older I don’t have as many 

and I guess in the rarity that they do 

occur, it is a visitation to something in 

my past. I don’t like to dream about 

people that I’ve had negative experiences 

with! 

KALTBLUT: Where would you say is 

the darkest place in New York? 

Melanie: I think the darkest place in 

New York is the darkest place anywhere 

in the world, in the negativity of one’s 

own mind. 

KALTBLUT: Our shoot was on location 

in Berlin. Do you like our hometown? 

How many times have you been here? 

And where do you hang out when you 

are here? 

Melanie: I absolutely LOVED Berlin! 

Absolutely. I have been to Berlin once 

before during a video shoot for the 

band Rammstein, but I did not get to 

travel around the city or see much as 

I was on a tight production schedule. 

Even though I was in Germany for 

about a month, I was shooting almost 

everyday and I had spent a few days 

in Munich as well. The times I did get to 

hang out in Berlin, I really liked walking 

around Mitte, and Kreuzberg for a bit.

40 

Dress: Moga E Mago

41 

Dress: Augustin Teboul

Blouse: Stylestalker 

42

43 

Clothing: Immortal by Thomas Hanish

45 

KALTBLUT: What makes Berlin a 

place to be for you? And what is 

different here to New York? 

Melanie: I really love Berlin’s energy. 

I feel a certain sense of calm and 

relaxation. I think I feel most grounded 

there, naturally without even 

trying :P The air is fresh and crisp, 

and really that is the difference 

there than in New York! This was 

the first time I was able to “live” somewhere 

outside of the USA for a 

while, and in returning, I see a large 

difference in the way people interact 

with one another. I think people 

are much more friendly and open 

than in New York. New York is just 

a very busy city, everyone is living 

their own lives. 

KALTBLUT: I know you have 

worked with Rammstein. For the 

video “Mein Herz Brennt”. How 

was it to work with the international 

superstars? 

Melanie: It was very, very nice. A 

really wonderful experience to be 

on a large production set, I had 

learned a lot from that shoot and 

had only been modelling for about 

five months at the time. The band 

mates are all very nice and sweet 

guys as well. 

KALTBLUT: Do you know any other 

German artists? Are there any 

you would particularly like to work 

with? 

Melanie: I would really love to meet 

and shoot with Karl Lagerfeld. I 

don’t know of many other German 

artists aside from the people 

I have met and shot with during my 

last trip. They’re all very beautiful 

and amazing people, I am so happy 

to have met them. I really loved 

Germany though, and would visit 

again any time! 

KALTBLUT: Melanie thank you 

very much for the photos, the interview 

and your time for KALT- 

BLUT. It will be not the last time we 

work together. I swear! 

Melanie: Xoxo, thank you KALT- 

BLUT so much!! I really loved shooting 

with you and look forward to 

talking with you again! 

Dress: Augustin Teboul 

Hairpiece: Moga E Mago

46 

BERLIN 

Faces 

By Fleur Helluin 

“When it comes to the future, 

there are three kinds of people: 

those who let it happen, those 

who make it happen, and those 

who wonder what happened.” 

John M. Richardson. 

KALTBLUT is here to introduce 

you to some of the kind 

who make it happen. They are 

extraordinary, creative, outstanding, 

special, notable and 

unique and they will change 

the world soon. That’s why we 

have to keep an eye on these 

three people and you better do 

the same. 

Photo by Marcel Schlutt

47 

concentrated amount of information. 

Darkness is needed as counterpoint of 

light to give her a sense. Some of my 

early work plunges into darkness to 

come back with a reflection of the self 

concentrated in high symbolic pieces. 

KALTBLUT: Is there a light at the end of 

the tunnel? 

Beatriz: There is even light in the most 

absolute of darkness. No tunnel out 

there. 

KALTBLUT: Some of your projects are 

very elaborate and quite complex, like 

Interstitial, while some of your pieces 

seem to flow naturally. How do you make 

a difference and how do you see your 

different pieces co-existing? 

Beatriz: The different kinds of artistic 

expressions are for me like different 

languages. My discourse in art is 

permanent, it is part from some seed 

convictions, I’m questioning myself, 

which I try to understand and solve 

through art. Depending on what I want 

to explore or explain, I decide which 

one of it is more interesting. The writing, 

the performance, videos or installations, 

collaborative and participative 

art, drawings or paintings… all of them 

flow in a very natural way. Some look 

more complex because the questions 

were also complex or because the 

answers had been very abstract cooking 

inside me, and concentrating like 

a short poem, in which all the different 

meanings of each word are in the 

play... 

KALTBLUT: What is your favourite black 

thing? 

Beatriz: Coal with its shimmery hard 

surface, and the vegetal charcoal from 

willow. It’s like velvet for the eyes. So 

delicate and deep in his tone. 

Beatriz Crespo is a luminous young woman full of talents. I met her at the 

Neukölln gallery EXPO, and was soon surprised by how elegantly she managed 

forms and power in her work. I kind of thought she’d be a woman 

who wouldn’t get scared in the dark, so I interviewed her to find out. 

KALTBLUT: Dear Beatriz, what was your 

darkest hour? 

Beatriz: I broke my right hand last year 

in an accident. The healing time was 

long and full of incertitude. I nearly 

went crazy… but all this impotence 

and energy shouting inside me, ended 

flowing through the left hand. Now I’m 

ambidextrous! 

KALTBLUT: Why do we draw in black so 

often? 

Beatriz: The act of drawing a black 

line over paper or a surface, is determination, 

you take a position in which 

you divide the space and lead the eye 

trough the narrative of your discourse. 

Then black lines are incredibly graphic, 

I love this characteristic in art. 

When you take some black bituminous 

colour, or coal or charcoal and you 

start to make some Graphism, it has 

something quite strong and primitive 

about it. I like to think that in this primary 

act of tracing a line all this energy 

of the human being of past, present 

and future eras is conveyed. We are 

repeating the same act once and again 

and this act takes you to the origins, to 

the primitive. 

KALTBLUT: How do you cope with dark 

times? 

Beatriz: You may learn quite quick that 

it gets dark at 4pm during the winter 

here in Berlin, but that’s already perfect 

for me. I‘m a painter of the night, I 

work with the low light and during the 

slow rumours of the night that I paint 

my best. I like to see the darkness as a 

KALTBLUT: Is black the new black? 

Beatriz: Definitely! (laughs) 

KALTBLUT: Where shall we meet in five 

years? 

Beatriz: Somewhere in the East... 

KALTBLUT: 2013 recently came to a 

close, what were your last projects of the 

year? 

Beatriz: I opened another solo show in 

Valladolid Spain. It was a show called 

“Soul’s Topography” that was selected 

by the CreArt European project. 

Addressing the human body from unusual 

viewpoints, I concluded ethereal 

works in which the male’s physiognomy 

becomes a rugged landscape 

carved by the passage of time. “Topography 

of the Soul” is an ode to man 

and the beauty implicit in the erosion 

caused by the experience. Following 

this exhibition, I explored how our 

brain attempts to hold images and 

memories that are meaningful. I tried 

to paint or represent my memories and 

tried to deal with the holes that time 

created in them. 

www.beatrizcrespo.com

48 

If you’re an attentive reader of KALTBLUT Magazine, the brand Moga e 

Mago is probably not new to your eyes. I met the incredibly talented Elisa 

Lindenberg and Tobias Noventa a few years ago and have been following 

them very closely ever since. Sometimes, I have this special feeling for 

something and the brand fulfils this. That’s a pretty vague description, 

so without further ado, let’s introduce their latest SS14 collection “Notturno”, 

consiting of chiselled lines, precise fabrics and an innovative vision. 

KALTBLUT: “Black is black” or “Paint It 

Black”? 

Moga e Mago: ‘Black as the dark night 

she was...’ 

KALTBLUT: Seeing black or feeling blue? 

Moga e Mago: Seeing black cats in 

dreams. 

KALTBLUT: What was the most depressing 

day of your life? 

Moga e Mago: May 7th, 2008. 

KALTBLUT: Why are so many fashion 

people dressed in black? 

Moga e Mago: Black is still the new 

black. 

KALTBLUT: Did you experience appetite 

loss, great fatigue, paranoid ideas or 

insomnia in the last months? 

Moga e Mago: Yes, the last week before 

fashion week (laughs) 

KALTBLUT: What’s the perfect piece for 

Collection Noire? 

Moga e Mago: The perfect black piece 

of our NOTTURNO SS14 is a superlight-weight 

goat-on-fabric coat. 

KALTBLUT: What’s the darkest corner of 

Berlin? 

Moga e Mago: Berghain’s dark room? 

KALTBLUT: Best remedy to feel good? 

Moga e Mago: Travel. 

www.mogaemago.com

49 

Emmanuel Hubaut is a poem of 

a man. I was 13 the first time I 

saw him; he was on stage with 

his infamous band LTNO. He’s 

been working on prestigious 

projects with Karl Lagerfeld, 

ORLAN, Maurice Dantec and 

others, and it’s always impressive 

how he can maintain 

professionalism and be so cool 

at the same time. Lately, he’s 

been working with David Maars 

and Andreas Schwartz to host 

“Ich bin Ein Berliner” parties 

at SO36 and has been producing 

the third album with his band 

DEAD SEXY. 

KALTBLUT: “Black is black” 

or “Paint It Black”? 

Emmanuel: Paint it Black. I’m definitely 

a Rolling stones fan... I’m 

very fascinated by their late 60’s/ 

early 70’s period when Kenneth 

Anger got close to them. And back 

when the hippie movement turned 

into nightmare at Altamont, or with 

Charles Manson families ... 

KALTBLUT: Seeing black or feeling 

blue? 

Emmanuel: Listening to Blue 

Velvet. 

KALTBLUT: What was the most 

depressing day of your life? 

Emmanuel: My birthday... people 

are mean and want me to 

celebrate it every year! 

KALTBLUT: Why are so many 

rockers dressed in black? 

Emmanuel: Baudelaire’s 

Fault, he’s also responsible for 

green hair ! 

KALTBLUT: Did you experience 

appetite loss, great fatigue, paranoid 

ideas or insomnia in the last 

months? 

Emmanuel: You mean 3 Tage Wach? 

KALTBLUT: What’s the perfect music 

for our Collection Noire? 

Emmanuel: Heresie by The Virgin 

Prunes, amazing double album 

released in 1982 on “l’Invitation au 

Suicide” label. 

KALTBLUT: What’s the darkest 

corner of Berlin? 

Emmanuel: Gustav Meyer Allee 

between Brunnenstrasse and 

Hussitenstrasse. I regularly passed 

this place at different times at night 

because it was on my way to a club 

I was DJing at. I always had a very 

weird, scary feeling when I passed 

the hill on the left side in the park. I 

eventually found out that it’s a fake 

hill made after the WWII to uncover 

the Leitturm Bunker Humboldthain. 

Berlin is very relaxed and open-minded 

city maybe also because of a 

very hard and dark and sad history... 

KALTBLUT: Best remedy to feel 

good? 

Emmanuel: Turn off the light. 

Photo by Karl Lagerfeld 

www.deadsexyinc.com

50 

Veil – Rene Walrus 

Shirt – Obscure Couture 

Ring – Georgia Wiseman 

The 

Widows 

Photography – Nuala Swan 

www.nualaswan.com 

Fashion – Molly Sheridan 

Make Up – Molly Sheridan 

Hair – Anna Wade 

Models – Jude and Rosie @ Model Team, 

Kirstin @ Superior

51 

Body Suit – Kirsty Elizabeth MacLennan 

Jacket – CuriouScope 

Skirt – Obscure Couture 


Shoes – Model’s Own

Headpiece (worn around the neck) – Rene Walrus 

Top – Staysick 

Jacket – Obscure Couture 

Skirt – Matthew Houston 

52

53 

Headpiece – Rene Walrus 

Shirt – Matthew Houston 


Shorts – Obscure Couture 


Shoes – Stylist’s Own

Necklace – Rene Walrus 

Top – Staysick 


Trousers – Katy Clark 

54

55 

Hood – Chouchou/Rene Walrus/MYB Lace 

Bodysuit – Obscure Couture

Hood – Chouchou/Rene Walrus/MYB Lace 

Shirt – Matthew Houston 

56

57 Kirstin 

Bodysuit – Kirsty Elizabeth MacLennan 


Skirt – Obscure Couture 

Rosie 

Jacket – CuriouScope

N 

PI S 

58 

There’s a lot of testosterone floating around in 

our Noire music section, but something tells me 

the PINS girls would kick those boys’ asses, and 

then some. Hitting the spot with their lo-fi tinge 

of mancunian melancholia and atypical girl 

band aesthetic, Faith Holgate (vocals, guitar), 

Lois McDonald (guitar), Anna Donigan (bass), 

and Sophie Galpin (drums) released their 

reverb-soaked debut album “Girls Like Us” this 

September on Bella Union. Having been an 

avid follower of their velvetine droning since 

the release of the single “Eleventh Hour” back 

in February, I was chuffed that they didn’t 

disappoint with their full length, but what kind 

of girls are they exactly? We find out! 

Photo taken exclusively for the Noire issue by PINS 

Interview by Amy Heaton 

KALTBLUT: For our readers who don’t 

know you yet, can you tell us a bit about 

the name, how did you decide on PINS? 

PINS: It was actually suggested to us by 

a friend and we thought we’ll keep it for 

a while and see if it sticks then Faith and 

Anna went to see Dum Dum Girls at the 

Deaf Institute in Manchester and spoke 

to Dee Dee after the show, we told her we 

were starting a band and asked her what 

she thought of the name, we said y’know 

cos like pins, as in girls legs because 

we’re all girls in the band and she said 

oh we call them stems in America, so we 

considered STEMS for a little while but 

eventually settled on PINS. I’m glad, we 

like it, it’s a good name. 

KALTBLUT: Was it hard to find female 

band members in Manchester when you 

started in 2010? 

PINS: It really was! There was almost a 

year between starting the band and completing 

the lineup. Prior to meeting Anna, 

Faith had been trying to make a band or 

join a band for like a year too, so it was 

a very long process for them! For Lois it 

was also about finding the right people to 

work with. We tried lots of different ideas 

out and it’s important to be open minded 

and try styles that might not be your first 

choice, we have a good balance of that as 

a group. 

KALTBLUT: How did you envision the band 

to sound? 

PINS: Well, Faith always said heavy toms, 

reverb, fuzz, delay..referencing bands 

like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black 

Tambourines, The Stooges. Anna was 

imagining dark and broody, listening to 

Zola Jesus and Lower Dens at the time, 

and we all like experimenting, so wouldn’t 

say that we have ‚a sound’ or at least not 

one that we are sticking too. We like our 

sound to develop, at the beginning we all 

had very varied music tastes, and we still 

do but we’re aware of much more music 

from other genres now cos we talk about 

it all the time. We wrote Eleventh Hour 

pretty early on when it was cold, dark and 

miserable in Manchester. As we’ve progressed 

as a band we’re definitely up for 

a lively pop song to dance to. Our moods 

(and the seasons) sometimes have a 

strong influence on what songs we write, 

but the sound is always developing, it’s a 

natural process of maturing as a band. 

KALTBLUT: Would you place yourself in the 

Riot Grrrl genre? 

PINS: It’s a very distinct sound, we’re 

definitely inspired by the attitude, and we 

liked some Riot Grrl bands, as a teenager 

Bikini Kill were one of Faith’s biggest 

inspirations so it’s possible that some of 

that shines through in the songs or the 

lyrics or whatever but we wouldn’t classify 

PINS as a Riot Grrrl band, saying that 

though we wouldn’t classify our band as 

grunge or punk or shoegaze or post punk 

or garage rock or any of the other genres 

that people attach to us. 

KALTBLUT: You all have different musical 

backgrounds, what instrument(s) do you 

each find most comfortable to use? 

PINS: We all come from different musical 

backgrounds. The guitar is Faith’s one 

true love, “I’m pretty jealous that the other 

girls can all play the piano but I’m going 

to learn!”. Lois played piano and tried out 

clarinet, but on hearing Nirvana taught 

herself to play guitar instead, playing piano 

and guitar are different experiences 

for her, but both cathartic. Anna had never 

played the bass guitar until she joined 

Pins. “I feel so comfortable on it though 

and love the power of it and the solid 

backbone it gives to the band with the 

drums.” She played the piano and cello

“There 

lot of 

is still a 

sexism 

in music” 

from when I was young but the piano is more of an instrument, she 

enjoys playing to herself rather than in front of an audience. Sophie’s 

been playing instruments since she was four, starting on piano, then 

took up violin and guitar too, but only started the drums properly back 

in February when she joined PINS, “but now I feel like a real drummer 

and absolutely love the drums. It’s a whole new experience.” 

KALTBLUT: What was the first album you heard that really made you 

want to be part of a band? 

PINS: Well as a band of four members there’s a few answers to that 

one! Faith used to try and make these bands when she was a little kid, 

probably most inspired by the Spice Girls or Britney... getting dressed 

up with friends and making up dance routines, singing the songs... rehearsing 

day after day for the imaginary show we had... “I discovered 

Hole when I was about 14 though and that changed everything.” Lois 

reckons Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, or Greenday’s “Dookie”. “I remember 

hearing it for the first time and thinking, what is this and how can I 

make that much noise? I started a band with my friends Beki and 

Natalie and we lasted one practice in the garage. I quit.” For Anna it’s 

probably Arcade Fire’s “Funeral.” “I loved how many different instruments 

they play and how they keep swapping about on stage. I’m keen 

to slip a hurdy-gurdy into a PINS song.” Sophie wanted to be in the 

Spice Girls, but it was Elvis that inspired her to learn guitar. 

59 

KALTBLUT: What about when your debut single 

release of “Eleventh Hour / Shoot You” sold out? 

Amazing! How was that experience for you? 

PINS: Exciting! Especially because it was 

something we did on our own, we’re grateful for 

all the help and all the people we get to work 

with now but when that release came out it was 

just us doing it for ourselves and it was really 

special. The experience of recording a couple of 

songs early on then deciding to release them on 

(gold) cassette and make a video to then have it 

sold out within a couple of hours was amazing! 

Until that point we never realised how much 

there was going on in the ‚blogosphere’ so to 

have people recognising and noticing what we 

were doing was very humbling. 

KALTBLUT: “Girls Like Us” looks like one hell of 

video, but what girls are you exactly? 

PINS: [Laughs] It’s difficult to sum yourself up 

like that so we’re not going to but what we will 

say is that the song “Girls Like Us” isn’t about 

being girls like us it’s meant to be about being 

yourself and about being happy to be yourself. 

KALTBLUT: Is sexuality a prominent topic with 

your music? Or is it just a big F.U to anyone who 

makes a big deal out of it? 

PINS: There is still a lot of sexism in music 

just like there is in most industries. We rarely 

experience it first hand, it’s usually some sad 

troll on the internet or some wannabe journalist, 

basically it’s never anyone who’s opinion you 

actually value. 

KALTBLUT: What made you decide to start your 

own label “Haus of PINS”? 

PINS: It began as a platform for us to release our 

own music, at the time of the “Eleventh 

Hour / Shoot You” release we couldn’t settle on a 

label, also it felt a little premature to be working 

like that so self releasing seemed like the best 

option. After that, we thought it’d be fun to work 

with bands that we really love who are at a 

similar place. 

KALTBLUT: I’m a big fan of your all-girl mix for 

i-D magazine, it contains some of my favourites 

like Bikini Kill and Siouxsie and the Banshees, 

are these your main musical inspirations? 

PINS: Faith chose Bikini Kill, “I love them... as 

for many teenagers they had a huge impact on 

me. I was too late for the Riot Grrl movement, 

but, getting into Bikini Kill helped me discover 

a whole bunch of other music from that time, 

and was my first introduction to feminism.” We 

have loads of musical inspirations, and if we did 

another mix today it’d be different depending on 

how we’re feeling and what we’re into. Sophie 

adds, “I’ve been getting into bands that we have 

been compared to more retrospectively, I never 

really actively listened to the Banshees until we 

were compared to them.” 

KALTBLUT: You’ve been touring a lot this summer? 

Do you have a favourite gig so far? Or one 

coming up maybe? 

PINS: We have been touring with our friends 

Abjects, September Girls and Post War glamour 

Girls and we’ve had so much fun with them. 

Brixton Academy next week. Oh. My. 

KALTBLUT: What was it like opening for Best 

Coast at Manchester’s Ritz? 

PINS: It was special because it was our first experience 

of a big stage in a venue where we’ve 

seen some of our favourite bands, it felt like a 

milestone. “I like Best Coast but I don’t think they 

were the highlight for me”, Faith comments, “I 

have a tendency to over romanticise everything 

but it was definitely a night that I won’t forget.” 

Sophie was actually in the audience at that gig, “I 

thought, I would like to be in this band.” Little did 

she know... 

KALTBLUT: Are you excited to support Warpaint at 

the end of this month? 

PINS: It’s safe to say that we are all very excited 

to be supporting Warpaint. We hung out at End Of 

The Road Festival - they are SUCH babes. Will be 

a pleasure. 

KALTBLUT: This time our theme is all about the 

Noire, the underground, the grime, the downright 

dark. I noticed you use black & white imagery a 

lot in your work. What is it that draws you to this 

aesthetic? 

PINS: I think we like a lot of imagery from the 

past, sorta 60’s era and it probably comes from 

there. It has a classic look. We do work with 

colour too, but even then I think the colours 

are very specific or of a certain era, the “Stay 

True” video for example. Faith comments, “to be 

honest, black is my favourite colour, I’ve always 

dressed in black, even as a kid, I don’t know 

what draws me to it.” 

KALTBLUT: How important is your image as a 

band, in comparison to the sound...? 

PINS: Our music comes first! We don’t really 

ever consider our image... it just is what it is. We 

love getting involved with all the design, videos 

and photoshoots creatively where we can, but 

just because we want to make stuff that we like 

and are proud of. The image is just an extension 

of ourselves. We’re just projecting who we are. 

KALTBLUT: If you could shoot a music video with 

any director, who would it be? 

PINS: Faith - I’d stick with our pal Sing J Lee. 

Lois - Stanley Kubrick. Anna - Anton Corbijn. 

Sophie - Chris Cunningham - that would be 

fuuucked uuup. 

wearepins.co.uk

61 

DECODE 

Photography: Anny CK 

www.annyck.com 

Model: Anastasia Bresler 

Hair & Make-Up: Anne Timper @Nude Agency 

Styling: Pablo Patané 

Retouching: Aurore de Bettignies 

@ One Hundred Berlin 

Fashion by Moga e Mago

66 

Pictures 

the 

of DEAD 

Text and photos by Amanda M. Jansson and Emma E. K. Jones 

Admittedly, the Victorian Age is one of 

the strangest and most absurd eras in 

world history. One of the weirdest traditions, 

amidst covering piano legs and 

other absurdities, were post-mortem 

photographs, which is not as insane 

as it seems at first. 

Post-mortem photography, which is 

also known as memento mori and consists 

of memorial portraits or mourning 

portraits, is basically an arranged portrait 

of a dead person shortly after the 

person’s death and it is often intended 

to appear life-like. 

When photography was invented and 

in its early stages, this specific art was 

often used for occult practices and to 

capture scientific or paranormal activities, 

as well as to document spaces. 

With the invention of daguerreotype 

in 1839 portraits became less expensive 

and easier to set up, gaining them a 

great popularity especially among those 

who could not afford to sit for a painted 

portrait or those who were simply fascinated 

with this new invention. Even 

though affordable to the middle classes, 

portrait photography was still far from 

a daily practice. Portraits of beloved 

ones remained rare and were supposed 

to serve as a form of remembrance. 

These are the circumstances that gave 

rise to what seems now to be the creepiest 

form of photography; of taking 

pictures of the deceased. In the nineteenth 

century people usually died at 

home, and often at a relatively young 

age, which meant it was easy to have 

someone to take a picture, and often 

resulted that this picture would be the 

one and only treasured photograph of 

the departed and the only means of 

keeping their memory alive. As a result, 

it was customary to arrange them in 

an upright position to allow them to

look as alive as possible and to 

have them posed with siblings or 

other family members. Infants 

were often positioned in cribs as 

well, while for adults an arm chair 

was more common. In these cases, 

eyes were propped open and the 

pupil was later enhanced on the 

print. Sometimes, cheeks were 

tinted pink to give the corpse a 

more lively appearance. Of course, 

there are also many pictures of the 

deceased in flower filled coffins, 

peacefully sleeping while surrounded 

by mourners, especially in 

the earlier days. As it goes with 

everything, fashions also came and 

went with post-mortem photography, 

but the exact composition was 

usually up to the photographer 

and the family to decide. 

When it became possible to reproduce 

this photograph of the dead, 

it was often sent out to relatives 

and other family members as part 

of the mourning and remembering 

process. 

Eventually, by the early 20th century, 

this practice ceased as family 

photos and all sorts of photos became 

a part of every day life with 

the arrival of the snapshot and 

when personal cameras were made 

available to the public. 

Initially a part of life, these death 

portraits were not viewed as macabre. 

In the 20th century they came 

to be viewed as creepy, morbid or 

unspeakable because of the revulsion, 

reject and lack of familiarity 

with death that the modern world 

brought with it. By now, still 

causing shivers, they have become 

an accepted method of as keeping 

somebody’s image and memory, 

rather than being regarded as violation 

or lack of respect. 

However, in a world stripped of 

magic, there is one aspect that is 

overlooked today, and it was a 

very widespread belief in the 19th 

century: people would believe that 

the soul of the recently deceased 

would linger around the body and 

room for several days before the 

burial. A portrait made during this 

time acquired a special meaning. 

As already mentioned, photography 

film was often used during 

séances or to capture auras and 

other supernatural phenomena 

and experiments. The sensitivity 

of film and the magic of its workings 

gave and still gives room 

for plenty of speculation. It was 

firmly believed, as it still is in many 

cultures, that a photograph could 

trap or at least depict a person’s 

soul. And occasionally this was the 

very purpose of such a picture. To 

always keep the actual soul of the 

depicted dead very much alive. 

67

68 

Paint It 

Black 

Photography: Ali Kepenek www.alikepenek.com 

Styling: Hakan Bahar www.hakanbahar.com 

Hair & Grooming: Daniel Dyer, Aveda Haircare and Shu Umera Skincare 

Body Painting: Kai Sued 

Photo Asistant: Andre Titcombe 

Model: Jasper Harvey @Elite Models London 

Raincoat by Alexander Wang

71 

Left Page: Trenchcoat by Rodarte, This Page: Pants by Dries Van Noten

Top by Thom Brown 

72

Jersey by Elif Cigizoglu 

73

This Page: Leather Jacket by Vintage Raberg 

75

77 

‟DUCTILITY AND ITS ABILITY TO CREATE SHADES” 

www.flickr.com/photos/josebaeskubi/ 

Interview by Emma E. K. Jones & Amanda M. Jansson 

Joseba Eskubi’s art has been a real 

revelation to us. Living and working 

in Bilbao, Spain, he is currently 

teaching at the Faculty of Fine 

Arts of the University of the Basque 

Country. His abstract, yet very 

theatrical work often consists of a 

stage and one single figure, silhouetted 

against the background. This 

figure becomes the very definition of 

decomposition, through the soft and 

amorphous qualities that accentuate 

the tactile sense of vision. Highly 

suggestive and haunting, difficult 

for some and addictive to others, 

his imagery is definitely among our 

favourite modern classics. 

KALTBLUT: When and how did you begin 

painting? What were you doing 

before that? Any kind of art you 

were interested in? Or did paintings 

come first? 

Joseba: I started painting many years 

ago. At first I also drew a lot. 

In my early works many similar forms 

of the actual painting had already 

appeared: organic and oneiric. Later, 

I realized some sculptural objects 

where I mixed different techniques 

but basically, painting has 

always been my primary interest. 

Many times I create photographs, 

digital works, and other kinds of 

processes where I find new ways. I 

have also made some manipulations 

of classical painting reproductions, 

altering the forms and original 

compositions.

78 

KALTBLUT: Your style is very specific 

and distinctive. How would you 

describe your style? 

Joseba: Style becomes something 

recognizable in dealings with the 

matter, a mechanism that aims to 

limit and structure desire. In my 

painting the brushstrokes are very 

marked, creating collisions, knots, 

contrasts. In recent years I have 

worked on a type of composition 

where a landline appears and generates 

a theatrical space. 

KALTBLUT: Technically speaking, 

what kind of material and colours 

work best for you and why? 

Joseba: I am interested in enhancing 

the colour intensity, so that 

the painting has a certain energy 

and electricity. I like the colours 

to be vivid and vibrant. In 

many cases I use very intense reds, 

as a first sight of the vision that 

weaves the emotions. Black is another 

fundamental colour in my work. 

Many of the figures are silhouetted 

against this indefinite plane. Itʼs 

amazing to discover how many shades 

of black can exist .... all depends 

on small nuances. I love oil 

painting, its ductility and ability 

to create shades. The technique is 

something dynamic, changing during 

each process to adapt to new contexts 

and transgressing its own rules. 

The diversity of media creates 

new starting points, to maintain a 

certain emotion and encounter with 

an unknown image. 

KALTBLUT: What colours do you use 

most depending on your emotions? Do 

certain colours represent certain 

emotions for you as a person? 

Joseba: Of course. The colour inevitably 

determines our emotions 

and the perception of the image. I 

am interested in the contrast between 

dark and cold zones and the 

carnality of the central figure. It 

is a resource very common in Baroque 

painting. The shapes are cut 

in front of a vacuum, and the co-

79 

lour of the live element acquires 

an increased presence. I also like 

to emphasize the saturation of certain 

colours (red, yellow..), creating 

a surreal atmosphere where colour 

breaks the logic of a realistic 

view. 

KALTBLUT: There is something extremely 

unique about your work but also 

something classic about it. What 

are your influences in terms of art? 

Joseba: I am interested in combining 

different sensations inside 

the image, one that unbalances 

things and another that arranges 

everything in a certain order, a 

structure against its ruin. In many 

of my works, there are still life 

resonances and echoes of Baroque 

painting. I also like a lot of actual 

artists like Allison Shulnik 

for example. There is so much visual 

information today that sometimes it 

is difficult to digest all this visual 

universe that we receive. 

KALTBLUT: Where do you get ideas for 

a new painting from? 

Joseba: There are many inspiring 

things. Small residues found in soil 

can hold an entire universe of sensations. 

Attention is the tool. I 

donʼt use natural models. The painting 

itself offers many paths and 

possibilities. 

KALTBLUT: You work a lot with black. 

So, NOIRE what comes to mind? What 

would you paint to that word? 

Joseba: Itʼs a quite suggestive 

term. I imagine a bleak and hypnotic 

space, where it seems that 

everything is occult, submerged in 

a deep silence. Noire can be a place 

that everyone without revealing 

themselves are awaiting our visit. 

KALTBLUT: Some people may say your 

work is difficult, “hard to take“, 

why do you think they might feel 

that way? Does it strike a chord 

that makes them uneasy? 

Joseba: I donʼt see this as a difficult 

work. Perhaps the discomfort 

can sometimes arise from the difficulty 

of identifying the figures 

and elements of the image, its ambiguity 

creates a certain uneasiness. 

KALTBLUT: Your work is haunting. 

Colourful but dark at the same time. 

What scares you the most? 

Joseba: Anything that takes me to 

an unpleasant experience. The experience 

creates a way of perceiving 

reality. Some images may be a kind 

of catharsis to this fear. 

KALTBLUT: Of all paintings, is there 

one painting in which you would 

like to live? Touch it, feel it? 

Joseba: Wow, itʼs a quite fascinating 

question. Perhaps I would 

like to experiment the sensation of 

being inside of the painting ʼAgnus 

Day of Zurbaranʽ, touch the skin of 

the animal and feel the silence of 

the scene. 

KALTBLUT: What do you think attracts 

people in horror, darkness, 

strangeness? What fascinates us 

about things that frighten us? 

Joseba: The fascination for something 

that is strange but familiar 

at the same time. I think that 

there is a subtle difference between 

the suggestion and the purely explicit 

and descriptive way. 

KALTBLUT: If you had to sum up your 

body of work to 3 themes, what would 

you say are the 3 major themes in 

your work? 

Joseba: Metamorphosis, light, organic. 

KALTBLUT: What was the creepiest 

dream you ever had? Do you remember? 

Joseba: I remember one in which people 

were following me to the door of 

my house ... I tried to close the 

door and couldnʼt, all I wanted was 

to catch hands ... it was the end 

... a bad dream where the only way 

out was to scream! 

KALTBLUT: What would your self portrait 

look like? What colours represent 

you? 

Joseba: I donʼt know. I would paint 

it in white shades, quite bright. 

Perhaps it would start being real, 

but surely would change until it 

would become something unrecognizable. 

Every form leads to another as 

a river that always flows.

80 

NACHKRIEGSZEIT 

Photography: Oliver Blohm www.oliverblohm.com 

Stylist: Pablo Patanè 

Hair & Make-Up: Theo Schnürer @ Blossom Management 

Model: Nala Diagouraga @ M4 Models 

Photography Assistant: Mari Inoue 

Dress & Stockings by Unrath&Strano, Armour & Shoes by Amélie Jäger

81 

Dress & Sleeves by Amélie Jäger, Vintage Fur by Giulia Iovine Collection

Armour by Pablo Patanè 

Armour (Stomach + Neck) by Amélie Jäger 

Fur Sleeves by Amélie Jäger 

Stockings by Unrath&Strano 

82

83 Neckpiece by Amélie Jäger 

Mask by Guillaume Airiaud 

Dress by Unrath&Strano

84 

Dress & Stockings by Unrath&Strano, Chestplate, Sleeves, Shoulders by Amélie Jäger, Shoes by Amélie Jäger

85 

Neckpiece by Amélie Jäger, Mask by Guillaume Airiaud, Dress by Unrath&Strano

86 

Horror-shaping Art 

How is it possible that horror films could influence art 

in any way? What do they even have in common? If you 

think the answer is “nothing”, then you will be quite 

surprised to find out that not only do these two share more 

than you can imagine, but horror films do indeed influence 

entire art movements and actually always have. 

Art is the highest form of, well obviously, art, and horror 

films are like the lowest form of “art”, if it can be called 

so; or at least that’s what most people need to advocate in 

order to convince themselves they are artistic and cultivated 

enough. Obviously, this is far from true. Horror 

in all of its forms, be it film or literature, just like art, is 

there to push limits and to experiment, to investigate the 

human psyche and its deepest aspects, to give voice to 

troubling thoughts, to give expression to human feelings 

and emotions, to shape culture. Admittedly, no other genre 

has the power to shock us and stir us like horror does, and 

the very definition of good art is its potential to shock or 

provoke as well. 

Proof of all this is in the very beginnings of horror film 

history, which goes hand in hand with art. More than those 

of any other “serious” kind of film. When moving images 

were still in their infant stage, horror became a playground 

for emerging artists, who would design sets, costumes, 

absurd plots and be in charge of photography. Take Dali 

for example, along with ̔Un Chien Andalou̓. So, the first 

horror films actually were a firm part of contemporary 

art movements and influenced each other greatly. They 

did revive an interest in classical paintings and lighting 

and explored fears and nightmares, thus giving a huge 

boost to Expressionism, Dadaism and Surrealism and allowing 

them to literally take off and reach audiences they 

wouldn’t have been able to capture otherwise. Even names 

such as Francis Bacon, a master of the macabre, have been 

inspired by these early nightmarish images. 

But what about today? We have come a long way. Art has 

been through a lot of movements, some pleasant, others 

more unpleasant and vulgar to some, still in touch with 

their horror roots. And perhaps, by now, magnificent artists 

like Joel-Peter Witkins have made corpses acceptable 

as an art object, but that was not before horror directors 

made dismemberment, disfigurement and blood widely 

acceptable and even expected on screen. The acceptance 

of death in art did not come before the familiarity with

death in films that appealed to 

the masses; horror shapes and 

defines culture like only art 

can, and because of their pretty 

intimate relationship. It is 

necessary to mention the early 

Tim Burton imagery, heavily 

loaded with Edgar Allan 

Poe, German Expressionism 

and a Gothic aesthetic, and 

to remember how he changed 

the art landscape for over a 

decade. One can also observe 

how the empty and silently 

haunted-haunting atmosphere 

of Japanese horror influences 

so often creep into a brilliant 

young photographer’s work. 

Lately, it is horror films like 

̔Carrie̓, ̔Prom Nights̓,̔ I 

Spit on your Grave̓, ̔Poison 

Ivy̓, horror films dealing with 

teenage girl sexuality, and 

young girls’ culture that help 

shape an entire movement that 

remains to be named. The glitter 

and menacing atmosphere 

of a teenage world as depicted 

in some of these iconic films 

are forming a great archive for 

photographers willing to deal 

with the trauma of entering 

adulthood, the maddening burden 

of expectation, the mental 

inner massacre of being a 

girl and symbols for female 

sexuality. 

There is really no reason why 

we should be ashamed to 

face up to the fact that horror 

films are shaping our taste, 

our culture and yes, our art as 

well. Art because it is art and 

horror because it is so easily 

condemnable. These two, set 

our imaginations ablaze and 

play on our memories and 

stories of common experience, 

explore human nature and 

collective reaction; bring up 

issues we want to never have 

to deal with, question and 

expose. All this they both do 

visually. It couldn’t be a more 

perfect match. 

By Amanda M. Jansson and 

Emma E. K. Jones 

Photos by Michaela Knizova

88 

Foundation: Shiseido, Advanced Hydro Liquid Compact, Nr. 120 

Eyes: Benefit, Creaseless Dream Shadow, Bronze Have More Fun I Lips: Lancôme, L’absolut Rouge, Pense a Mio, Nr. 131 

Photography: Ulrich Hartmann www.ulrichhartmann.de Stylist: Silvia Naefe @ Basics 

Hair & Make Up: Stefan Kehl @ Close Up Model: Nele @ Modelmanagement 

Photographer’s Assistant: Patrick Jendrusch

90 

Embroidered Top: LUXXUS Berlin 

Foundation: Sisley, Skinleÿa, 01, Light Opal 

Eyes: Benefit, Creaseless Dream Shadow, 

Bronze Have More Fun 

Lips: Chanel, Rouge Allure, 99 Pirate

Foundation: Dior, Nude BB Creme Light 001 I Eyes: Écriture de Chanel, Black 

Lips: YSL, Rouge Volupté Shine, 05 Fuchsia in Excess

Dress: Comme des Garçons Hat: Traditional costume seen at Comme des Costumes 

Foundation: Make Up For Ever, Uplight Face Luminizer Gel, 21 Pearly White I Eyes: Givenchy, Le prisme yeux Mono, No. 03 Hop Grey 

Lips: Givenchy, Le Rouge, 307 Grenat Initié

93 

Dress: Saint Laurent 

Hat: Anna de la Russo for H&M 

Rings: Gregory’s Joaillier 

Black Panther: 267 Black Diamond 

9.42ct, 2 Emeralds 0.14ct. , 18kt. Black Gold 

Poisonous Frog: 416 Tasvoriten 5.20ct., 

1.02ct. Black Diamonds, 0.11ct rubin 20g 18kt. Black Gold 

Gloves: Stylist’s own 

Foundation: Chanel Lift Lumière 

Eyes: Armani, Maestro Eye Liner 

Lashes: Armani, Eyes To Kill Excels 

Lips: Chanel, Rouge Allure Renovation, Nr. 104, Passion 

Lip Liner: YSL, Dessin du Regarde Crayon Yeux Haute Tenue, 

Velvet Black, No. 1

Link Page 

Eyes: RMS Beauty, Seduce 

Lips: Chanel, Rouge Coco, Nr. 19 Gabrielle 

And Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, 

Lip Tar, Green 

This Page 

Black sequenced jacket: Giorgio Armani Vintage I Mask: seen at Comme des Costumes 

Colors: Make Up For Ever, 12 Color Case. MAC

96 

Into 

noires 

Text and illustrations by Marianne Jacquet, www.wrangelkiez.org 

Think positive, just do it, everything is going to be fine, keep calm and carry on, just relax, it is not gonna last forever, tomorrow is another day, 

it’s half as bad, trust yourself, smile, it’s all good, don’t you worry, it’s going to work out, cheer up, head up, I got your back, don’t worry, your 

work is gonna pay, don’t give up, after the rain comes the sun, don’t be afraid, I believe in you. 

Between two ears and behind two eyes, I got caught up in the matière noire, where a rusty dream of a bright future as a musician stands. 

Breath in, it is not going to hurt... hum, well maybe a little bit. 

FEMALE PRESSURE 

has raised its flag for more equality between male and female in the music industry and digital art. They got started in Berlin with the Perspective Festival 

at aboutblank and more recently have started hosting a regular party at Tresor. Kritzkom is a french music producer, graphic designer who lives in Berlin 

and joined the Female Pressure fight among many others artists. The message is clear: stop the painted black and fade to grey! 

KALTBLUT: How did the initiative of female pressure start? 

Kritzkom: Female pressure started 15 years ago in Vienna, 

founded by the Electric Indigo (Suzanne Kirchmayr). 

At first it was a database of female musicians and visuals 

artists, to bring them to visibility and encourage collaborations. 

Since the 8th of March 2013, the collective started to 

count how many women where playing in music festivals. 

The facts were then published in a press release: globally 

less than 10% of festival performers are women. After this 

shocking discovery, we decided to think about how we could 

make things better. The aim is mostly to invite promoters, 

bookers, and journalists to think about this too. Perspectives 

Festival was born, to show that there are women in the 

electronic music scene. 

KALTBLUT: How do you explain the fact that men and women 

are so unbalanced in the cultural field? Did it come as a surprise 

as a contrast to the developed countries in Europe? 

Kritzkom: First, even for us, who knew that it was quite bad, 

the count was a surprise because we didn’t expected such 

dramatic results. This became also a motivation. It’s a complex 

topic, but of course it starts with centuries of male power 

society. Even though it seems that girls are now educated 

in the same spirit as boy, in reality it’s very far from this 

ideal. Little girls are less encouraged to do whatever they 

would like to do, and to believe in themselves. The current 

cultural context produces a society where fewer women will 

become artists or musicians. Then the majority of bookers, 

promoters, organisers, label owners are men and, in turn, 

book mostly men. 

KALTBLUT: How far do you geographically extend this project? 

Kritzkom: Right now, the network is quite central in Europe. 

KALTBLUT: Do you think that this movement could develop 

into a label or other fields such as fine arts? 

Kritzkom: Of course it could, our group right now is more focussed 

on music, because most of us are musicians. But the 

topic is definitely more universal and concerns all women 

and men in all artistic fields. 

What is most important is that men and women should work 

on this together to get to a more balanced society. I don’t 

think a man can be proud to consciously exclude women. 

The art and music could only get richer. 

www.femalepressure.net www.kritzkom.com www.anna-otto.org 

KALTBLUT: One number we should all know? 

Kritzkom: Let’s remember that only 10% of the musicians 

are female and that’s at the festivals we counted around the 

world. 

KALTBLUT: How do you picture the perfect club scene? 

Kritzkom: Kind of balanced, no quota or rate, but a bit more 

equal. For now, 30% of women in music would be amazing.

97 

ARI BENJAMIN MEYERS 

is american composer and conductor who lives in Berlin. His work questions the borders of art and the materiality of music. The recent solo show «Do You 

Have Black Thoughts» at the Esther Shippers Gallery, was a performative installation where the spirit of kraut rock meets Erik Satie. Ari Benjamin Meyers who 

collaborated with the artists Saâdane Afif, Philippe Parreno or Dominique Gonzales Foerster is giving us a little idea of what is music. Question are you ready 

to set yourself free? His ongoing installation «Chamber Music(Vestibule)» is a the Berlinische Galerie from April 27, 2013 - April 28, 2014. 

KALTBLUT: How did you slide 

from classical composing to contemporary 

art? 

Ari: I am still a composer. But 

the art scene really came about 

because of the work I was interesting 

in composing and 

writing. It started to become 

more difficult to realise it in the 

music context and to fit into the 

music industry and business. 

The structures that are available 

are very limited for the music 

industry, you can give a concert 

or you can make a record that is 

all the business allows to do. I 

was starting to think about doing 

work that lasted a very long 

time 7 or 8 hours, much longer 

that you can do in a concert. I 

started making work where I 

was thinking more of the audience 

like this piece that is 

for one performer and one audience 

only. Then it started to 

break down. 

Those kinds of thoughts and 

doubts were happening parallel 

at a time where I was collaborating 

with artists. Bit by bit I 

just found myself working exclusively 

in the art context and 

stopped doing concert. So I 

took the next step and worked 

with a gallery. 

KALTBLUT: Is it the reason why 

you came to Berlin? 

Ari: No, I have been in Berlin 

for 15 years. I came to Berlin 

on a full break grant for opera 

conducting, which is the ultimate 

classical western music. 

I have studied composition and 

conducting so from the opera, 

I was always interested in new 

music and I started to do Musiktheater 

and experimental 

music theatre and experimental 

opera. This naturally lead me to 

work with more artists. 

KALTBLUT: Are you still conducting? 

Ari: I still do conduct on certain 

specific projects and conducting 

in general is a part of 

my practice. One of my pieces 

is a solo for one conductor, it 

is a quite silent composition. 

Conducting is very interesting 

in that way, you train for years 

and years and it is considered 

like almost the pinnacle of musical 

knowledge or ability. And 

yet in a very real way if you take 

a step back I started to see 

the conductor as a dancer, you 

make no sound, you make no 

music in that sense. It is quite 

fascinating, of all of the job you 

could have, conductor certainly 

has to be one of the oddest. Basically 

you are dancing around 

on a little stage, in front of a 

hundred people to get them to 

do something, it is very bizarre. 

I am not an esoteric person but 

conducting has a thing, you almost 

telepathically, through the 

eyes, read the mind of people. I 

do explore this in my work. But 

for instance in the “Serious Immobilities” 

performance I do 

not conduct, the performers do. 

KALTBLUT: How far can they 

change the piece? 

Ari: Before every performance, 

we sat together and decided on 

the order. There are nine modules 

and they decided the order, 

the length. You can’t say that it’s 

improvised because the music 

is quite composed and written 

out but the structure is totally 

up to the performers. 

KALTBLUT: Is it more like a pattern? 

Do they have to play it all? 

Ari: They don’t have to play everything 

all the time. They can 

play only two modules for six 

hours. 

KALTBLUT: What was your idea 

when you chose the performers? 

Ari: In fact the three female 

singers are all dancers. The piece 

is written for non classical 

opera trained female vocals. 

The girls of course should have 

good voices and be able to sing 

but i wanted the piece to sound 

as if you sing it, or when someone 

ears it that would not feel 

intimidated to sing along.The 

melodies are quite catchy, the 

idea is almost like a strange lullaby 

that someone is singing to 

you and that you might join in or 

clap along. Another aspect of 

the piece is about space, movement 

through space, arrangement 

regards the audience 

and I knew the dancers specifically 

are working with this. So 

it was easier to train them to 

sing instead of training a singer 

to use the space and body. The 

two musicians are professional 

rock musicians. 

KALTBLUT: You wrote Serious 

Immobilities in Berlin, what was 

your inspiration besides the Vexations 

by Erik Satie? 

Ari: I knew I had that show at 

Ethers Shippers and I wanted 

a big part of the show to be a 

live performance and a composition. 

The inspiration was not 

so much a theme or a person 

but rather the situation. The 

issues and the questions I was 

trying to work on were: how do 

you create a composition that 

works in an exhibition? It is a 

piece that has no middle, beginning 

or end? I wanted to make 

a piece that could be strong for 

5 minutes but if you decided to 

stay could also be strong five 

hours. A piece you could come 

in and out without feeling you 

have missed something, like a 

sculpture. The people can look 

at it from different sides, leave 

and go. I was inspired by the 

space and I knew I wanted the 

piece to last as long as the gallery 

was open so it was seven 

hours. 

KALTBLUT: The audience was 

invited to interfere notably while 

playing on a grand piano that was 

tuned with one note. How did you 

incorporate it into the piece? Is it 

a reference to constraint writing? 

Ari: Like Georges Perec? This 

missing tone is not missing 

from my piece but from the Erik 

Satie’s Vexations but the situation 

is right. There was a form 

of controlled chaos, sometimes 

you would hear some sounds 

from the other room that would 

bleed into the performance. 

And there is also a part where 

the performance is going to the 

other room. The Serious Immobilities 

uses all tones but I understand 

about this idea of constraint. 

And it is true that the 

most constraints you have the 

more interesting the outcome 

can be. 

KALTBLUT: You erased the time 

constraint, the stage situation, 

the hierarchy, you are rule breaker? 

Ari: It is not quite the same as 

a constraint but it is similar. A 

constraint is where you set up 

some boundaries and here I 

was trying to get rid of certain 

parameters that we use. For 

instance time, a pop song or a 

rock song is four minutes long,

98 

and we use time to tell us if it is 

the beginning, the middle, the 

end of the song, it is the same 

in classical music you have 

symphony. Here I really wanted 

to remove this element of time 

through repetition. It was not 

easy to work for performers. 

Repeating two or three times is 

easy but It gets much more difficult 

when you get into a space 

where you are repeating so 

much that you don’t even have a 

feeling anymore. This was a big 

part for the audience to reach a 

point where they cannot think 

about where they are, when it 

is going to end. That was about 

removing the time dimension 

and the spacial dimension. 

The people could sit anywhere, 

could lay down and the performers 

were also all over the 

space. So those things are not 

so much about constraints but 

sort of trying to remove some 

various elements to get to something 

more essential about 

the situation. 

KALTBLUT: Is materiality a frustration? 

Ari: It is a frustration, especially 

as a musician or composer because, 

I think we have come 

to a point now where music 

really is something that we do 

not understand. It has become 

such a consummable product. 

Of course it is a process that 

started hundred years ago with 

the recording but now everyone 

is aware that we have reached 

a turning point where music is 

fundamentally changed to something 

constantly disposable, 

you have millions of songs 

on your hard drive. Somehow it 

gets way down by its materiality. 

This units that you store on 

your iPad, or even on your record 

shelf, the music itself has 

lost along the way what it really 

is, something about time, space 

and being in a certain moment. 

The single most property about 

music that makes it unique, is 

the fact that you cannot pause 

it. You cannot reduce it to a 

single unit. The smaller you get, 

there is always another unit 

smaller even down to the sound 

wave. A film you can pause but 

music is something that exists 

purely in time, it is a totally time 

based phenomena. Along with 

the way we consume music we 

got caught up in the surface 

of it: the way it sounds. There 

is much beyond the way it 

sounds and yet I think we tend 

to leave it to only this. Maybe 

we should take a step back and 

understand that the way music 

sounds is only one aspect, it 

might be an important one but 

it is only one out of many. 

KALTBLUT: Do you tend to work 

on a most scientific approach? 

Ari: No, this is just my opinions 

and thoughts I am not trying 

to make a statement. As a 

composer I try to understand 

more about the essence of music. 

And I have the feeling that 

music is not found on a cd, on 

a concert hall where you sit 

down, you are quiet and the 

band is on a stage in the dark 

and you clap your hands. The 

essence is somewhere else, it 

is between people, something 

very physical, body based and 

by its very nature music is a 

social phenomena because 

it exists in space. If you think 

about headphones, I use them 

but I don’t particularly like 

them, as they are isolating you 

from the space. What it does, 

it takes the social phenomena 

and by putting directly the 

music into your brain, it turns it 

into something visual. You cannot 

help it, when you listen with 

headphones, music becomes a 

private soundtrack to whatever 

you are doing. If this the prime 

way you consume music, I think 

it cuts out 80% of what music 

originally was about. 

KALTBLUT: When you read you 

hear your voice, do you picture or 

visualise the music when you write? 

Ari: I sort of do. When I am 

writing I am very aware. If I do 

have a kind of picture it tends 

to be what is the relationship 

between what is happening 

musically, with the listener, the 

audience, their expectations, 

how would I play with it, with 

the time and what is the situation? 

The great thing about composition 

and music is that you 

can also exist in a very abstract 

level. You don’ t have to convert 

always into signs that mean something. 

KALTBLUT: Can you picture for 

me a black thought? 

Ari: Sure the funny thing about 

the black thought is a sort of 

a joke with myself. The title of 

the show: «Do you Have Black 

Thoughts» really means music. 

There was a grand piano in the 

show what was black of course, 

there was a score I wrote by 

hands with that graphite pencil 

which is black, the lines of the 

music paper are black, printed 

notes are black, somehow music 

in some ways is a black phenomena. 

But also going back 

to Satie, it really is a quote of 

his and I made the assumption 

that it was what he was talking 

about. In some ways, music is 

the black thought. 

KALTBLUT: Can you tell us more 

about your piece at the Berlinisches 

Gallery? 

Ari: That piece is on for a year. 

It is a composition for a solo 

voice. I worked with an opera 

singer from the Deutsche Oper. 

It takes place in the foyer before 

you enter the museum. It is a 

simple idea that leads to interesting 

situations because the 

piece can be played only when 

all the doors are closed. It is a 

decision that people have to 

make, to stay in this transition 

space. They have about five seconds 

between the two doors 

and if they stay they will hear 

the composition but of course 

many people don’t notice which 

is a part of the process. It is the 

opposite of a music box. There 

is a bench which is part of the 

piece too and of course an absurdity. 

I found this space of 

the museum very interesting; 

it represents the moment between 

outside and inside, public 

space and private space, 

between reality and art and to 

have something right there was 

quite interesting. 

www.aribenjaminmeyers.com 

Meet Jack The Box, 

the House music duo revealed by the Chicago House legend Tyree Cooper and the talented DJ and 

radio host Bobby Starrr! The two Berliners share a passion for fun and music History. Their first album 

“Side A“ released on Mood Music records is a punch to get moving and carrying on the beat. Talking 

about moving on, theses two hyperactive producers are unstoppable. Among an incredible longevity in 

the music industry, they are producing music, hosting a weekly radio show on sweatlodge radio and 

organiSing parties with old-school DJs and emerging talents at Tresor! What is their youth therapy? 

And how do they pursue the impact of music in our virtual world? 

KALTBLUT: Is hip house over? 

Tyree Cooper: No,it never ended. 

KALTBLUT: What do you think of the hip 

hop attitude nowadays? 

Tyree Cooper: Since everything is kind 

of corporate, they sell you a product they 

don’ t sell you music. It has no tangibility, 

has no sustainability, it is just a product 

like a simile line that keep turning over 

and over, just like a car. The way they 

feed it to the kids is something new and 

the kids don’ t know, they cannot get the 

education from the other ones because 

the corporations, the video or records 

companies have taken control and sell it 

a natural thing. At the same time theses 

companies say that it is bad but they do 

sell a lot of music so there is a lot of hypocrisy. 

Bobby Starrr: There are no long term sales 

anymore. 

Tyree Cooper: Long term sales only determines 

how long the records stays in 

the chart. 

Bobby Starrr: They build artist form an LP. 

Tyree Cooper:This is the whole point, 

they build artist from singles, they don’ 

t get an album deal anymore. EDM is 

just another way of chasing the music 

that we do. To be accepted by the masses. 

Instead of calling it house music 

they call it electronic dance music so 

they compose it all outside of hip hop. 

Though everything in hip hop is made 

with electronics but they never put the 

two together. And as old as I have been 

in the early 90‘s the reason why the world 

dance music is in our culture is because 

they tried again to change house music

99 

to dance music, to make it acceptable for 

the masses and by the masses equivalent 

to white kids. 

Bobby Starrr: It is quite funny with the hip 

hop scene in Berlin to see especially in 

Neukölln and Kreuzberg you have got this 

under current quite aggressive scene and 

on the other side there is also a lot of international 

people here who got more a 

love for the jazz side of hip hop, it is a quite 

funny mix you see on the street. 

KALTBLUT: Regarding the great return of 

the 90’s, what is hip and what is deep? 

Bobby Starrr: It is funny how people keeps 

going about the 90’s into a certain period 

of house music, I guess it is good and bad 

I suppose. 

Tyree Cooper: Eight years ago it was all 

about Chicago, again it is the 20 years 

cycle. Some of these kids are just finding 

out about what this music is. This music 

has been going on for so long and some 

of them are between 20 and 32 years old 

and have never been exposed to any of this 

music. So the 80’s return was a few year 

ago, now they are going to the 90’s and I 

guess they will catch up with themselves 

and go to the 2000. And by the time they go 

to the 2000’s, I would imagine we will catch 

up with each other, but until then, the corporations 

are still going to dictate what is 

cool and what is not. 

KALTBLUT: The techno scene in Detroit 

came out as a result of an economical 

change. You live in Berlin, the city is known 

for its economical and social issues regarding 

the rest of Germany. Do you get some inspiration 

from that context? 

Tyree Cooper: Hell yeah! Just like you said, 

generally good music comes out of an oppressed 

time. In the 80’s we had hip hop, 

house and techno from the urban area. 

Bobby Starrr: What about heavy metal? 

Tyree Cooper: No, I never put heavy metal 

in the mix, because these white guys they 

have a chance; these black kids, they had 

no chance. That is why you get this music, 

it came out of an oppression of the people. 

Here in Berlin, it was like that for a while. 

Therefore, electro and minimal music was 

created because Berlin didn’t have any 

money during the early part of the millennium. 

They were the ambassadors of something 

that already existed but still, they 

were able to created out of oppression. 

Bobby Starrr: When I came to Berlin the 

first time, I felt the whole city was swamped 

by a certain sound and I was looking 

forward to seeing some love. But there 

was not that much love in what was being 

played. It was quite intriguing and two or 

three years later I have moved in and saw 

Daniel Wang play disco. Then I knew there 

would be some chance that the scene 

would change at some point. 

KALTBLUT: House music has never been so 

popular and the way of broadcasting have never 

been so multiple, you have quite of a record 

of longevity in the music scene, though 

it is still hard to release a good record? 

Tyree Cooper: Hell yeah! Let’s say you release 

a record digitally, in the week of your 

release there will be probably 70, 000 to 100, 

000 of records released that day. Then you 

have to compete with the 60, 000 from the 

week before etc. So yeah, it is super difficult 

nowadays to release a record specifically 

digitally. Vinyl has become another 

new source but again, when they saturate 

that market, it is going to be equally as 

hard. So until they come out with another 

format, music is going to be rough unless 

you have the right tools and place to get 

your music exposed. 

Bobby Starrr: With digital you are in the instant, 

the music is out, people buy it and 

after two weeks, it is gone. At least with 

vinyl, it is still present in shop for at least 

six weeks. 

Tyree Cooper: You can also have thousands 

of records on a shelf and it is not selling 

though you have visibility. The only thing 

the digital game did, is to make it easier 

for the consumer to get their music, thank 

you Napster. 

KALTBLUT: What is your vision of the music 

Industry in the future? 

Tyree Cooper: A flapping bass and a smiling 

face (laughs) 

Bobby Starrr: The most important thing is 

to keep carrying on; you will never know 

what is going to happened in the market 

space. It is always going to change and 

it has been proven. I mean you build something 

out of it which is not only making 

money by just selling records. Every single 

avenue you have to click, from doing your 

own party, t-shirt…. 

Tyree Cooper: Socks, shoes, bra, eyeliner, 

ice cream… (laughs) 

KALTBLUT: So is art total? 

Bobby Starrr: It is getting more in that direction. 

Tyree Cooper: It is no longer music, it is the 

whole marketing branding, it is a lifestyle. 

KALTBLUT: Are we living a fluxus life style 

finally? 

Tyree Cooper: Well, there is individualism 

still. There is not a city unified so capitalism 

still plays a big part in this individualism, 

so what can you do? 

www.moodmusicrecords.com

Black Metal 

Photography & Postproduction by Valquire Veljkovic / www.valquire.de 

COncept & Production by nicolas simoneau & Nico Sutor

mountain xl ring sabrina dehoff 

102

103 chain: humana

sunglasses: ray ban 

104

105 wide square stone zebra and leo ring: sabrina dehoff, 

originals 1950’s cufflinks: Antique & Vintage Jewellery Oliver Rheinfrank

106 

BERLIN’S 

Best 

Text & Atelier photos by Pernille Sandberg www.pernillesandberg.com 

Feat. ‘Holy Me SS14 Collection’ photos by Ingrid Pop 

I am in Neukölln, Berlin and it is a rainy evening beyond 

normality. The hard wind makes everyone on the street 

walk fast, trying to avoid getting completely wet, myself 

included. Berlin seems completely grey and pale, the overall 

atmosphere is gloomy and the air is thick just before it gets 

dark. This feeling changes immediately as I step into the 

universe of Augustin Teboul, created by the duo Annelie 

Augustin and Odély Teboul. Situated on the ground floor 

in what looks like an old grocery store with panorama 

windows covered on the inside with patterned paper it is 

impossible to tell that this is a studio when seeing it from 

the outside. Even though it is already 9pm in the evening 

the productivity is still high. Young assistants are sewing 

hectically on the sewing machines, boxes are constantly 

relocated and the styling and fitting are intensely discussed. 

This studio has been the base of Augustin Teboul since 

December last year. The stylist of Augustin Teboul’s presentation 

this season shows me around. In one room people are 

working and in the other one the final pieces hang, along 

with long racks filled to the brim with exclusive rolls of 

different black fabric – and only black fabric. 

My interview is held in the small kitchen of the studio. 

This is the place for their cigarette break – it also contains 

a smaller moodboard. The open window keeps smashing 

into the wall because of the cruel weather. Odély Teboul 

seems completely calm and professional and she gives me 

her full attention even though her time schedule is tight. 

Annelie Augustin has gone home as she just had a baby. 

What is special about this brand is that they have never 

done a runway show. They do presentations. They want to 

keep it simple and minimal and give people time to really 

explore the pieces that the models are wearing. What is 

even more special about them is their brand development – 

they started out dramatically by having a presentation during 

Paris Fashion Week in cooperation with the fashionable 

store L’Éclarieur and have had a presentation at Plazza 

Athénée. Now they are based in Berlin although they still 

have a showroom and a press agency in Paris. Everything 

is now produced in Berlin, all the prototypes made by hand 

in-house and then the collections are produced somewhere 

else in the city, going through different steps before it hits 

the shops...

107

“I don’t really miss Paris but life is different here than 

in Paris. There is a lot of good energy and creative feeling 

here. It’s very inspiring. It’s dynamic here in a way 

because the city is still under construction. Paris is more 

established, especially in fashion.” 

Through time the duo has learned how to work together as a 

team. 

“It’s very interesting, because we have very different 

personalities and on the other hand it’s like a fusion, a 

creative fusion of two people sharing creativity. We’re 

very different from each other, but we complement each 

other. The more you work together the more you learn 

how to make it quick. I think when you don’t have an ego 

that is too strong and you’re interested in working as a 

team it’s more interesting than fighting. It depends on 

how you want to work.” 

The two women come from different backgrounds, but both 

expenrienced handicraft as a part of their childhood homes. 

Odély comes from France and Annelie from Germany. Odély 

tells us how she never has and never will sew her own clothes, 

but likes to work with the cloth. 

“I’ve done handicraft since I was a kid. I have always 

known that because my mom taught me how. Skills develop 

through time I guess. I think that’s important. When 

you know your techniques you can transform it into design.” 

Odély and Annelie met at Esmod (international fashion and 

business school in Paris since 1841) but this was not the place 

of birth for their brand that has only existed since 2009. 

Within these few years they have managed to achieve the 

highest prized German fashion award SYFB (Start Your 

Fashion Business), not to mention the three awards their first 

collection “Cadavre Exquis” received – along with the ability 

to sell worldwide. 

“I was working for Jean-Paul Gaultier in Germany. In 

2009 I had a job interview in London. Annelie was living 

in London while she was working for Y3 Yohji Yamamoto 

for Adidas. I needed a couch to sleep on and got her phone 

number. It turned out we were in the same personal 

situation, looking for something creative and the desire 

to build something new. It just worked out and one thing 

leaded to another and it somehow turned into a brand. We 

won a few awards and with a small amount of money we 

started slowly. It’s a young brand but very luxurious. It 

still has a creative touch and a lot of handmade elements 

to it. It’s placed on the expensive market. Basically it’s 

ready-to-wear in the sense that all the clothes that you 

see you can buy in a shop. Our way of working is not by 

measurements. We don’t see our clients and make clothes 

especially for them, but create a collection that can 

be bought in a shop. In the sense of craftsmanship and 

techniques it’s a lot of couture. There is so much embroidery 

and handmade details.” 

Their courage to take a risk combined with hard work has 

leaded them into the position they stand in today. Back then 

they worked on a very basic level. Every morning they woke 

up and started working with their hands in a complete mess of 

30 square meters, both sleeping in the same room, producing 

everything by hand. Things started to fit into place and magic 

started to happen. 

“It’s difficult. Nothing is easy. We started with nothing. I 

lived in a one-room flat of thirty square meters and that’s 

how we began. Slowly, slowly, you know...” 

Their brand and working conditions have obviously changed 

since then, but it is important for them to be able to monitor 

every step of the process in the making of their clothes. 

“It’s not our aim to create a big mass production. It will 

be interesting to enlarge the collection with more accessible 

pieces, once the label grows. For now we produce in 

Germany, and are focused on a production made in Europe. 

I think it’s important to be conscious with what you 

are doing when you’re involved in business. Nowadays 

there are so many brands; there is so much you can buy. 

It’s important for us to just concentrate on the quality of 

the pieces and all the finishing. That is where we want to 

put our energy.” 

Maybe that is the reason why every single piece in their 

collections is black. There is then room for complete focus and 

attention to the crafting, the embroidery and the details that 

makes the whole aesthetic. It is not a choice they have made to 

exclude a certain kind of woman – they design for every age 

and every style.

109

110 

“It came by coincidence more or 

less. The first product we did together 

was created out of this game 

we played. You know this game where 

you draw something, fold the paper 

and then the next one has to draw 

something? We are two fashion designers 

so of course it became very 

fashionable drawings. It was really 

interesting because it was so unrealistic 

in a way. We decided to make 

an interpretation of this drawing, all 

in black with details and texture. It 

was a good base to start with cause 

I was working with a lot of colours 

and Annelie was very minimal when 

we met. It was a good base for combining 

our different universes. Black 

was our only restriction. We did these 

drawings and it was a very good 

way of starting working together. 

We wouldn’t make one of shoulders 

if one of us didn’t liked it. It became 

our first mini-collection of six looks 

and we decided to develop it. That’s 

why we only design in black cause 

we wanted to explore all the fields in 

only one colour.” 

Something that hits me again and 

again while I talk to Odély is her charming 

kind of humility, it runs through 

every word that comes out of her mouth. 

She knows what her and her business 

partner Annelie have achieved, but she 

knows the importance of staying calm 

and safe with both feet on the ground. 

The adventure will continue. The last 

thing she tells me is this: 

“I don’t have something specific I’m 

proud of but I have moments where I 

can manage to look at some stuff we 

did and think ’wow, we achieved that, 

that’s cool’ and I feel… I don’t know 

if it’s pride or fulfilment. I think it’s 

important not to be too proud in life. 

When you manage to have a distance 

when looking at what you managed 

to do it’s difficult. Everytime I finish 

a creation I’m tired and feel that it’s 

disgusting. Then I look at it after a 

few months and think it’s good. Now 

when I wake up and come to the studio 

I realize that it’s such a big step 

from starting in one room, only two 

people working together.” 

www.augustin-teboul.com

THE STORY OF A MOVEMENT 

AND A COMMUNITY 

We at Design Hotels are celebrating our 20th year of curating the most expressive and unique 

hotels worldwide. This special anniversary edition of our annual book looks back on the last 

two decades of innovative hotel design and forward to the future of cutting edge hospitality. 

The publication is available as a coffee-table book and a Limited Collector’s Edition that 

includes two timeless design pieces by Artek, the pioneering Finnish design company. 

Together, Design Hotels and Artek have created a peerless objet d’art for design addicts around 

the world. Explore our member hotels and more at designhotels.com

Blouse - Zara / Headband - H&M / Necklace - Asos 

112

113 

Photography – Julia Blank www.juliablank.com 

Model – Marika @ MegaModels www.megamodels.com 

Styling – Jeanna www.jeannastyling.com 

Make-up & Hair – Suzana Santalab www.suzanasantalab.com

114 

Cap - Pinko / Jacket - Krew / Shirt - Monki / Skirt - Glamorous / Tights - Falke / Overknees - Sensual Latex / Necklace & Bracelet - H&M

Shirt - Asos / Necklace - Limited Edition 

115

116 

Jacket, Skirt & Gloves - Sensual Latex 

Pullover - Freak of Nature 

Bra - H&M 

Leggings - Asos 

Shoes - Zara 

Earrings - Vintage 

Bracelet - Hermès

117 

Shirt - Moschino / Skirt - Sensual Latex / Tights - Falke / Shoes - Pleaser / Necklace - Asos / Ring - H&M

118 

Bathing Suit & Earrings - Asos 

Cap - Stylist's own 

Bag - Monki

119 

Pullover - H&M 

Shirt - Asos 

Skirt - Freak of Nature 

Necklaces - Limited Edition 

Headphones - Softwear 

Shoes - Buffalo

120 

MEHRYL 

LEVISSE 

Merhyl Lévisse is a sculptor and a photographer. He is also artist, an “Artiste plasticien”, one might say. The 

body takes a notable role in Merhyl’s work, perhaps because of Lévisse’s dance education. It was a real pleasure 

for me to discover his work; the beautiful pictures that he creates make me feel like a child peering in through 

the Christmas windows. There is so much going on; a whole world captured by a camera. To further showcase 

his work, I chatted to him about his passion, his inspirations and his meticulous way of crafting his art. 

Merhyl’s work is exhibited at his official gallery www.coullaudkoulinsky.com 

Interview by Nicolas Simoneau 

KALTBLUT: Hi Mehryl, How are you 

doing? 

Mehryl: Hi KALTBLUT! I think I’m fine… 

if I don’t sleep, if I’m stressed, if I have 

many ideas for my work, it’s normal I’m 

fine. 

KALTBLUT: Could you maybe tell us a 

bit more about your artistic background? 

Mehryl: I have one “bac+5” in contemporary 

art, I was the assistant of several 

artists, I have a formation in dance 

and in contemporary dance, and I lived 

in Morocco two years to work in artistic 

structures, I returned to France in 

January. I’m represented by the French 

Gallery Coullaud & Koulinsky. 

KALTBLUT: I’m totally in love with your 

“Captations Photographiques”. How do 

you choose themes for your pictures? 

Mehryl: It’s really complicated, I work 

in two different ways. Once per year, 

I choose a theme and I work on this 

theme (for example; “ton sur ton”, 

“sciences occults”, “pornographie”) 

because at different months of the 

year and with the time past my ideas 

change and I don’t think about any 

more similar theme. For the other “captations 

photographiques” I choose the 

theme with my desires, my material, 

the object, the wallpaper, the carpets 

and the body that I want to work. I 

never create more than one captation 

photographique by day, a lot of time is 

needed to built a photographic environment 

and I need to reflect and test my 

thoughts. When I sit and I don’t speak 

or I seem to make nothing in reality it’s 

there that I work most because I imagine 

in the slightest detail what will be 

my next images. 

KALTBLUT: What’s the process like 

when you work on a series? Do you 

have a clear idea before you start to 

shoot? 

Mehryl: My process is always similar. I 

work in a closed space, without daylight, 

and always artificial light. I begin 

in a room and I make the photographic 

space, I imagine the body, build the 

suit, accessory and I fit out the space. 

Usually, I have a specific idea for my 

photo, I think about the picture before 

starting to work and after I create 

the photographic space. Sometimes 

I forget this work method and I make 

the photo and think the body piece by 

piece, and then I forget the constraints, 

my code and at this moment I have 

absurd pictures (some are the ones I 

prefer in my work). 

KALTBLUT: Your finished work looks like 

a piece of theatre: there’s real direction 

in it. Every single picture you create 

looks like a different universe. Do you 

create all the set design on your own? 

Mehryl: I’m creating everything. 

I work alone, I don’t have assistants 

and it’s me who imagines and realises 

everything. It’s a lot of work. I choose 

to work alone, because I know 

where I’m going, when I speak with 

other artists they say, “I could have 

made that” and for me it’s really 

difficult to discuss that. Artists forget 

they aren’t me, I have a personal story, 

personal route they don’t know and 

they me and I think differently. 

Fortunately! 

KALTBLUT: Is there story behind each of 

your series, or is it more open to interpretation? 

Mehryl: Both, behind every pictures 

there is a story but I have chosen not 

to tell it to leave free to interpretation. 

It’s very important that every spectator 

imagine their own story. Each 

person imagines their own story, 

because we don’t have same 

real-life experience, the same 

memories, the same education, 

the same parents, the same family, the 

same route and my work calls on to all 

this, to the life of each person. 

KALTBLUT: As an artist, who are your 

main references?

This Page: BAUHAUSporn #5: Le monde des perversions. 

121

122 

This Page Up: BAUHAUSporn #4: Ornementation géométrique, This Page Middle: Epiphragme, 

This Page Down: Le dernier Jeu. 

Mehryl: I have a great deal of references 

for the painting, in the sculpture, 

by way music, cinema, literature, 

opera, dance etc… Dance is 

very important to me, I studied the 

dance and I hesitate to become a 

dancer in a company. I love Maguy 

Marin, each of the plays causes an 

artistic explosion in my guts. 

Of course I love Pina Bausch it’s 

obvious, but I was born too late to 

meet her. The Spanish choreographer 

Olga Mesa that I met in Morocco 

and with whom I was lucky enough 

to think the body, the Moroccan 

choreographer Meryem Jazouli 

inspires me enormously, with whom 

I worked in casablanca during two 

years also deserves metion. 

There is also Josef Nadj, Steven 

Cohen, Raimund Hoghe, Benoît 

Lachambre, Sasha Waltz… The movie 

that I prefer is “The Rocky Horror 

Picture Show”, that was an obvious 

fact and a revelation when I saw it 

as a child. I read Jean Giono, Jules 

Verne, Gilles Deleuze, Charles Baudelaire, 

Ionesco, Oscar Wilde and I 

listen to some electronic music, new 

wave and experimental and I’m into 

“Fan death”. 

KALTBLUT: What is the over-arching 

inspiration for your work? 

Mehryl: Life. 

KALTBLUT: Your shots look totally 

realistic. Does any postproduction 

take place in your photography work? 

Mehryl: Yes they are realistic, there 

is no post-production in my shots. 

My work isn’t retouched by computer. 

Special effects are realised 

during the photography used the 

lightings, make-up, false grounds, 

prostheses as in the theatre. 

I never use postproduction it’s really 

important to me that my pictures are 

true. 

KALTBLUT: Are you working with a 

digital or an analog camera? 

and why? 

Mehryl: I work with a digital camera, 

because for make one picture, 

sometimes I realise three hundred or 

four hundred photographs to obtain 

THE photograph which I imagine. 

The tool is not important, I’m not a 

photographer I’m an artist. My work 

isn’t the photography, the photography 

is a documentary track. 

My work is the construction of the 

space, the thought of the body, the 

suits, before the photography and 

not the photography itself. 

KALTBLUT: You’ve worked on a few 

collaborations, how was it for you 

sharing project space with another 

artist? What were you hoping to gain 

by collaborating?

123 

Mehryl: Actually I work on three new 

collaborations, an installation, a 

series picture and a movie. In collaboration 

I don’t share the space. We 

share the ideas, the thoughts and 

we work together on the project, but 

the photographic work is my work 

and nobody goes into the space. 

My associate works alone and then 

I work with his productions in the 

photographic space. I only think the 

space and it’s important to me. I 

love collaborations because our universes 

mix and takes me differently 

but the work is shared, the photography 

part is me. 

KALTBLUT: You also work in 3D. How 

does it compare working with photography 

and working with installations? 

Mehryl: The installations are the 3D 

of my photos. Both are connected 

and complement each other. These 

works are not comparable but additional, 

I both consider them as very 

important, but it’s true I realise less 

work in 3D and more photos. 

This Page Up: Joyeuses fêtes, This Page Middle: L’étude des figures, 

This Page Down: L’oisivore. 

KALTBLUT: Can you tell us a bit more 

about the piece “Le Dernier Jeu”. 

I love the dark humour of it. 

Mehryl: It’s about a very personal 

work on which I worked several years, 

and connected to my life and a 

lego’s series of the photo. There are 

two coffins, one white one in colour 

and it’s unique piece. A arrangement 

box, a note of 900 pages and 

two volumes, four days to build and 

more of 3900 scrub each. 

KALTBLUT: A lot of artists use their 

work as a way to purge their souls, 

would you say it’s the same in your 

case? If so, what do your demons 

look like? 

Mehryl: It’s really true!! I’m so neurotic… 

I work on me, I try to make 

efforts for the everyday life, it’s really 

difficult. I’m very stressed, I have 

many demons but I keep it for me. 

KALTBLUT: Do you also work by demand 

or do you decide the time scale 

for all of your projects? 

Mehryl: I obey to nobody except my 

own creative drives. I have some 

projects in command but I’m free in 

my creation. 

KALTBLUT: Your pictures are everything 

but simple. The patterns, 

colours, repetition, bodies; our eyes 

are really “served” with your work. Are 

you a fan of “abondance” in general? 

Mehryl: I work a lot. I destroy a lot! 

I work on the everyday life, on the 

objects which surrounds us and to 

whom we give an mystic way. 

www.mehryllevisse.fr

INTRODUCING: 

124 

CUNT CUNT CHANEL 

Searching for the soul in the very atmosphere itself Markus Nikolaus Büttner is currently 

producing his very first Solo-LP “The Monster Inside Of Me” (Suena Hermosa, Berlin), getting 

lost around Europe in search of hope through pleasure and pain, to overcome loneliness, 

weariness, hollowness and absurdity. Played between static contrasts, the songs are mostly 

minimalistic in structure with dreamy features, factory-like beats, distorted organ, deep 

bass, dental drills. His works are not so much arrangements or compositions, but simply 

pure expression. Let us introduce you to the sound of CUNT CUNT CHANEL. 

Photo by Bobby Anders I Interview: Amy Heaton 

KALTBLUT: For our readers who don’t know you, can you tell 

us a little summary of your project in your own words? 

C C C: Hello, my name is Markus Nikolaus. I am a live-act 

performing mostly solo under the name “Cunt Cunt Chanel”. If 

I’m asked to describe the music I make, I always feel like describing 

what a cake tastes like. You can never fully explain it 

to the person if they haven’t tried it themselves but for a little 

introduction. I play mostly digital with my computer, various 

midi-controls, a master-keyboard and use sound-pedals 

with the focus on the voice. Especially in a club I like to play 

with my drummer, who plays a Roland V-Drumkit on pads, 

instead of my own. My intention is to bring more profound 

diversity into the club scene, that I like very much myself, 

and to function in a way that’s both artistic and aesthetic but 

also poetic and soulful. 

KALTBLUT: Do you usually find yourself writing a text, and 

adding the music, or the other way around? Or is the whole 

process more organic? 

C C C: Usually I try to produce a lot before even thinking about 

making a song. When I do, I simply intend to find an interesting 

sound. I don’t think about the arrangement, if it is played 

right or about the harmony too much. I don’t produce, I actually 

just prepare and try to make something happen. I experiment 

with what I have. Sometimes I have a lot of equipment 

sometimes I only have my computer. For me, the piano is the 

only failsafe set-up. The digital equipment I use is always 

vague and destined to fail one day. Returning to the keys of 

the piano, i realise, it can only be me failin’. 

KALTBLUT: For me, music making is always at it’s most intense 

when it’s a solitary affair. Would you agree? 

C C C: I just try to prepare for a situation to pop-up. But I 

would agree that it is a solitary affair. Most of my strongest 

songs were made when I was on my own. Another person in 

the room steals your concentration. Either everyone goes into 

the same direction or it won’t work. The best way is to nicely 

ask the thieves of your creativity to leave. If that doesn’t seem 

to work. Get yourself a gun. 

KALTBLUT: I’m sure everyone asks you about the name, it’s 

brilliant. Where did you get the idea for it? 

C C C: To be honest, I didn’t have the idea, at the time I couldn’t 

think of one. It was a friend of mine, Matea. She came up 

with the name and I trust her opinion. She writes for the SPEX 

Music Magazine and in a pure moment of brainstorming she 

hit the spot. The word CUNT is not meant to be provocative but 

it seemed necessary to have a distance between the combination 

of words. I wanted to involve the huge opposites of 

FRANKFURT. The city has almost no middle-class. The huge 

skyscrapers and the poor and homeless sitting at the bottom 

You can hear the wistful tones of CUNT CUNT CHANEL over at www.soundcloud.com/bobbyblueisamusiclover 

of it. I can’t think of any other place in Germany where 

people are so far away from each other, divided into 

the class-of-finance and the class-of-poverty but on 

the other hand, you see bankers and bank-robbers sitting 

in the same bar, café or club. When Matea said the 

name CUNT CUNT CHANEL it just hit me. In my head was 

this picture of a woman sitting at Goethestraße, Frankfurt 

($$$) in front of the Chanel-boutique injecting, like 

she’s trying to reach somehow a moment of happiness 

which the rich and beautiful praise with their extraordinary 

lifestyle. It is mass-madness. The rich live in 

complete illusion of money and the poor are completely 

disillusioned in life by having none. 

KALTBLUT: Are you into fashion? How do you construct 

your image as an artist? 

C C C: I like fashion but I can’t afford it. I try to dress 

rather decent and I like to mix a more old-fashioned 

style with something that was clearly not made for me 

to wear. Peacocking in an Oscar Wilde’ish way. When I 

play live I try to only wear black, oftentimes because of 

the black light I use to paint things like the microphone 

or myself during the show. But what the hell is my 

image? My image as a construct is maybe to be seen as 

someone who clearly escapes his habitus, his surroundings, 

hometown and family in a way to free himself 

whatever the cost, at all cost. The place where I grew 

up definitely influences my projection on the audience 

as for example a working class-kid; half-orphan growing 

up at my mothers butchers shop, ADHD, son of a 

butcher and so forth. I try to let all these pieces take 

somehow part in what I do. But I didn’t do blood yet on 

stage, I leave this to Hermann Nitsch for now. 

KALTBLUT: Your music is inspired by the electro scene 

in Frankfurt, how do you find it compares to Berlin? 

Which scene do you prefer? 

C C C: I use Frankfurt to create anything but the usual 

and I use Berlin to step back from the far outs. Frankfurt 

has a very common sound. In Berlin everybody just 

tries to be so very different, they are so far out that it 

almost scares me. I use both to seek and find inspiration 

and to come back to what I’ve learned. I like both 

and prefer none. 

KALTBLUT: From the clips I’ve heard and the live show

125 

experience you put a lot of yourself into your music... gutwrenching, 

soul searching, atmospheric: would you say 

this is true of your work? 

C C C: I would say so because it is a part of me writing 

these songs and it is a part of me performing but since 

individualism became mainstream I see myself as a part 

coming shaped out of the same big thing and the same 

reasons trying to speak to the ones who think and feel 

likewise. I don’t want to be different, I want to place myself 

in the warmth of a circle of friends and with my music I am 

able to find these. 

KALTBLUT: You’re producing your L.P at the moment “The 

Monster Inside Of Me”, can you tell us a bit more about 

that monster? 

C C C: Confused in a moment, grey in grey, like a prophet, 

take the nearest exit or at him another hit, heartbeating 

piece of meat, once there was a time to carry truth out 

on the street, hard voices, widow, doubt, skin, unfaithful, 

sweat, panic attack, summer dress, blurred faces, main 

station, someone I know that is now someone random, 

glory, words, most likely somewhere out of reach, one 

single night a thousand feet deep, details, devils, save my 

soul, journey, pilgrim, sightless view, body presence, soul 

absence, muse breathing, out-loving, pictures, weakness, 

losing suitcase, the injuries that to myself I do, loss is fortune 

ever fixed, fleeting year, one shot revolver, have years 

told, now it is over, chance or nature’s changing course, 

well as long as man can breathe, bring me life approaching 

death, of this, our time, it’s worth to sing, have eyes 

to wonder, french kiss, black tongue, as long as ocean’s 

open, muscle works, one way I go, such is my love. 

KALTBLUT: Although your lyrical content is deep, imbued 

with layers of meaning, there’s a gentle dreamlike quality 

to your sound. Is this juxtaposition intentional? 

C C C: It is the dreamlike sound that gives the listener the 

biggest space for imagination. After minutes of atmospheric 

sounds it only needs a word or a line to get hooked on 

a thought. I don’t think it is my lyrics that are deep. I think 

it is the listener who creates this deepness in a moment of 

thinking when listening to my songs. 

KALTBLUT: The otherworldliness of your tracks is almost 

cinematic. Do you include any visuals when you play live? 

Or have you collaborated with any film makers? 

C C C: Truth is I’ve been experimenting with some people 

so far but for the visualisation of the show, I’ve not found 

the right person yet. For videomaterial I always like to take 

a filmer with me on the road or lock us up in my cottage 

nearby the forest. For the cut I have only one guy, Max 

Sternkopf, he’s got the right eye for it plus he’s magnificent 

in a way because he grows with the challenge. Whenever 

we have too little material he finds a way to cut 10 minutes 

material even better than a 3 day shot production. I don’t 

need rocket-scientists to make decent movies but what 

you need is a handful of very fine minds that have a sense 

of your own imagination. 

KALTBLUT: Which other artists in the music scene are most 

exciting for you right now? 

C C C: Julien Bracht (Cocoon) and Rouge Mecanique (Rekids). 

Both of these live-acts combine rock elements with 

club music and play solo, this is what made it interesting 

for me to learn because usually the club is not prepared 

for live-acts to that extend. Julien for example plays techno 

with very intense live drums. He is one of my closest but 

everytime I see his songs live, he leaves me with amazement. 

Romain, Rouge Mecanique, plays guitar throughout 

his show and the first time I heard him live at Heideglühen 

in Berlin, I knew it was something new. Both are very special 

artists and go into directions where I imagine to be. 

The perfect crossover of club-culture and concert music. 

When it comes to good pop music I think Ballet School 

(Bella Union, UK) is one band to keep an eye on. Rosalind 

Blair’s soprano voice brings my ear to frequencies I hardly 

heard live. Plus, Louis McGuire is a machine on the drums. 

A very fine one. 

KALTBLUT: Thanks so much for the cool photograph you 

made especially for us, what kinds of things did you think 

about when I told you about our theme: Noire? 

C C C: Of course first thing that comes to one’s mind is 

the night. Not very imaginative. After I thought about it for 

a while, I felt like going on one red thread most people 

would run on. The well trodden path, so to say. So, what 

I did was that I jumped into one of Berlins Photoautomat 

boxes at Kottbusser Tor and it was one out of four shots. I 

gave it to an acquaintance, Ludwig Kempf, he made it look 

like a bit more special. Noire is also a ¼ note in music. 

Take four of them and a bass drum and you have a club 

beat. So, NOIRE, for me is a artistic expression on music 

for the uncontrolled and spontaneous mind. 

KALTBLUT: Where would be your favourite location to play 

a gig in Berlin? Maybe you already have played there…or 

somewhere on your watchlist? 

C C C: Most people would probably answer Panorama Bar 

but Berlin is full of beautiful off-locations, rooftops, cellars, 

basements, outside places along the Spree. I could 

imagine though to play in the attic of the CHALET just as 

much as I would like to give a show at a lakeside or at 

an off-location somewhere in the nature of this town. This 

year I enjoyed to play outside in the yard of the Kater Holzig. 

Burning trash cans under the wide open sky, people 

from all over the world screaming my lyrics back into my 

face. I was very interactive. 

KALTBLUT: If I saw you in a cafe, book in hand, you would 

be reading…? 

C C C: It was very likely to see me with the book of gaelic 

wisdom called ANAM CARA by John O’Donoghue. Translated 

from the gaelic it means “soul-friend”. I treated it like 

my bible but since I gave it to a friend because I got it from 

a friend and wisdom is there to share, I would probably be 

reading one of Rilke’s book. I know I should at some point 

start to read something out of the 21st Century. Maybe better 

not care. 

KALTBLUT: What about your plans for the coming year, will 

you be touring outside of Europe at all? 

C C C: Europe is a small continent but with a lot of very 

diverse nations living on it. It takes some time to explore 

all the nooks and crannies of this continent. This is what I’d 

like to do before I start thinking about spreading my wings 

to overcome the huge swimming pool of an ocean. Though 

a friend of mine, the brazilian writer Ricardo Domeneck 

and I have started working together this year combining 

poetry and music and we intend to play a few shows in Rio 

and Sao Paolo and hopefully some nice, little extraordinary 

places. Brazil is a very tough but interesting country 

that offers huge possibilities and space for art in general. 

I definitely want to be there someday. 

KALTBLUT: If you could live and create anywhere outside of 

Germany, where would it be? 

C C C: To really create songs I think I would only need a 

place in the mountains and my dog. But think it’s a relief to 

be able to work anywhere just with a pair of headphones. 

It’s different with the singing. It doesn’t always work to 

improvise on a rather high emotional level. For that I need 

to be absent from people. As an artist I cut out stencils on 

my own. If I like one I can recreate it unlimited in front of 

every audience without hesitation or the feeling of shame. 

Then the stencil is like carved wood in my head. 

KALTBLUT: You mentioned you’ve retreated to the countryside 

to work on your recordings, what is it about peaceful 

surrounds that you prefer as a base (as opposed to the 

hustle and bustle of the inner city) 

C C C: I don’t like silence very much but absence from 

everything that is not existential is very important. I start 

to hear more clearly and to overcome the deadly silence I 

instinctively start to sing. I am always surprised how this 

seems to work for me. The voice is my most important instrument 

and whatever happens, I always have it with me. 

KALTBLUT: How do you feel about music in the digital age? 

On the one hand it frees musicians from the shackles of 

traditional constructs, on the flip side of that it does make 

it harder to earn a living from being a musician these 

days... 

C C C: Musicians shouldn’t earn anything from their music 

if they put it online themselves. Nowadays most music is 

given out like flyers, its only the commercial for the actual 

product. I really (try to avoid the word “hate”) don’t like 

that especially if your songs come from deep down of your 

heart, it makes you feel like the music one makes is cheap 

but it is not. I want the people to download music illegally, 

put it up again for everyone to spread. I want the people 

to steal it and let them guess its actual value themselves. 

Nothing is expensive or cheap when you steal it but one 

has to discover what it’s worth. The audience should be 

forced to find it, if they adore it, overcome borders, break 

the law and literally rip it out of the hands of the industry. 

That is pure admiration for the artist. The artist doesn’t 

need the industry but the industry needs the artist. People 

need to be excited. Excitement is important. Boredom a 

killer. 

KALTBLUT: When can we expect to hear the new album? 

C C C: Never. there will always be a “new album” I don’t 

ever want to retire from this. I want this to be my profession 

and the start of making music is always my destination. 

However, there will be a techno-release this year with 

Florian Meindl, in which I did sing and my long awaited 

“Monster Inside Of Me” will be released on the berlinbased 

label Suena Hermosa end of this year.

126 

MUST 

You certainly can live without these ITEMS, but life is so much More Beautiful with THEM. 

Selected by Marcel Schlutt 

The Son by 

Jo Nesbo 

I love reading crime and mystic 

books. One of my favorite is 

The Son by Jo Nesbo. A 

thriller from no 1 bestselling 

crime author, 

Jo Nesbo, which sees 

a charismatic young 

prisoner escaping 

jail to find out the truth about his father's 

death. He listens to the confessions of other 

inmates at Oslo jail, and absolves them of 

their sins. Some people even whisper that 

Sonny is serving time for someone else: 

that he doesn't just listen, he confesses to 

their crimes. A book you should own. 

DOCKERS Bomber Jacket 

Bomber jackets are this year an 

absolute must-have for every fashion 

boy out there. This Quilted Bomber 

Jacket by Dockers makes any look 

more comfortable and modern. 

Their lightweight nylon with 

quilted detail looks casual and 

keeps you warm. 

www.dockers.com 

Philips M1X 

Dj System 

Mix like a DJ with Philips M1X-Dj , give your music through any device, and share it with 

others. Create incredible sets that will delight your friends, and stream the songs on the 

Lightning-Anschluss/Bluetooth. And take your music with you wherever you are for a big 

party at any location. 

www.philips.de 

The Walking Dead Monopoly 

The last thing you want to do, when the zombies hit the fan 

(so to speak), is to worry about real estate deals. What you DO 

want to be doing is making sure the property you own is well 

protected and ready to withstand the advancing zombie menace. 

Let this be your mindset when you play The Walking Dead 

Monopoly. It's Monopoly mashed up with Robert Kirkman's The 

Walking Dead. Don't just buy properties - fortify them! 

www.thinkgeek.com 

HANIWA NO. 1 

The label JEONGA CHOI BERLIN was founded in 2012 and provides unique 

and sophisticated hats and accessories. Each piece is lovingly handmade 

with the highest quality materials. The HANIWA NO. 1 hat is one of our 

favorite items from the young Berlin 

based label. And girls if you want 

something unique and special just 

have a look at their webpage. You 

surely will find the right thing 

for you. 

www.jeonga-choi-berlin.com 

Nike Air Max Ice 

The next Nike lightweight in Hyperfuse mode! The Air Max 90 ICE 

stands out not only because of its color and geometric pattern on the 

outside, it has also got an Ice sole. Red, seamless, Hyperfuse upper with 

a clear 'ICE' midsole, a red 'ICE' Air 

unit and bold color airbag and 

outsole. Absolute eye catcher 

and very comfortable! 

www.nike.com 

Forever 21 

The colorful Forever 

21 rain coat finally 

brings color to 

the gray everyday 

life. The 90s style 

of the print should 

be in every 

wardrobe of 

a hip girl. 

It fits in a 

backpack. 

Is easy to 

clean and 

goes with 

any outfit. 

www.forever21.com 

Straw Duffle Backpack 

Straw Duffle Backpack 

We have seen this wonderful green Straw 

Duffle Backpack at Topshop.com and 

we love. Spring is coming and yes 

we all have to buy new stuff for 

our spring wardrobe. Topshop is 

offering always some great items for 

those who like to spend their money 

for more than just clothing. 

www.topshop.com 

Zweena Pure Argan Oil 

Argan Oil is the new big thing for your skin. Argan oil is a rich 

source of antioxidants and Vitamins E, A, and F, containing 80 

percent unsaturated essential fatty acids including Omega 6 and 

Omega 9. Referred to as “liquid gold,” organic argan oil is 

produced from the kernels of the rare and ancient Moroccan argan 

tree. It has been valued for its abundant cosmetic and medicinal 

substances for centuries by the Moroccan people. Many consider 

argan oil a “superfood” for the skin due to its healing, 

moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. 

www.zweenabodycare.com 

DRMTM Cap 

The Duesseldorf-based street wear label 

DRMTM has the right thing for the 

coming spring and summer: 

the most beautiful Cap to 

forget winter once and 

for all. We are very 

excited about Roses 

Cap. And hope to 

see you all in it this 

summer, on 

the street or 

at parties. 

www.drmtm.com

127 

DEAR BAD BED BUG 

By Amanda M. Jansson & Emma E. K. Jones

128 

Clothing : Harue Nagamoto 

Queen of 

Sorcery 

Photography: Tomokazu Hamada 

Styling: Linda Brwnlee 

Hair: Yoko Sato (AVGVST) 

Make Up: Yuka Hirata (A.K.A) 

Model: Symone 

Postproduction: Chaos

129 Clothing : Yuya Nakata


130

131 

Clothing : Harue Nagamoto


132

133 Clothing : Harue Nagamoto

134 

Gesaffelstein: 

Prince of 

Darkness 

There’s something undeniably terrifying 

about music that has the power to rip your 

head clean off: contort, cajole and crystallise 

your movements as if you were suddenly 

transported outside of yourself helplessly 

looking in. Everyone has a fearless 

beast living inside of them, and Gesaffelstein 

is the man who knows just the way to 

set it free. Naming himself after two of the 

most confident and unwavering concepts 

in human history is a pretty demonstrative 

start. Gesamtkunstwerk: the German ideal 

of the total or universal artwork, bringing 

together music, the visual arts and narrative 

into a single intoxicating vision. Albert 

Einstein: the ultimate example of human 

intellect, the man who explained the universe. 

When Mike Levy, the Paris-based DJ-producer, 

was asked how this name came to 

be he explains, “Gesaffelstein is an ambitious 

name, but I want my music to be art, 

with something to say. Einstein is about 

quantum physics too, that means the small 

things, the tiny things that change everything, 

the detail. He always kept questioning 

and refining his ideas. That’s what I 

strive towards.” Perhaps it was setting the 

bar so high from day one that pushed Levy 

on to develop something so distinctive, and 

unfaltering. 

Born in Lyon, France in 1985, Levy discovered 

techno music in his teenage years. 

“This was my first contact with electronic 

music and I was obsessed with it,” he recalls. 

“I was almost too shy to admit that I 

liked this music. It was primitive, but in a 

serious way and I really liked that. I kept it 

to myself for years.” After playing around 

with his neighbour’s collection of synthesisers 

he began to realise it was not so much 

music he wanted to create, but pure sound. 

“I was intrigued by white noise and analogue 

sound,” he says. At 18 he moved to 

Paris and began what he now describes as 

‘research’. You would think coming from 

a long line of tortured intellectual types 

his heritage and homeland must have something 

to do with it, but is his music at 

all French? “It’s hard to say” he comments, 

“We live in a digital world where all frontiers 

have broken down. A kid in the South 

of France can be making Detroit techno that 

sounds indistinguishable from the “real” 

thing. Who would know where it came 

from? Does it matter?” He has a point, but 

as he steps out on stage sharply dressed and 

coiffed to perfection, it’s hard to believe 

that the sound about to be unleashed from 

such a man can be so anarchistic, so visceral. 

“I had to work again and again to find 

my proper sound,” he says. “The revelation 

came when I did the first EP ‘Variation’ on 

Turbo in 2010. When I finished that I knew 

it was the sound I was searching for.” 

This is the ear-shattering revelation that 

has he has been building on ever since, and 

to fully experience the extent of it is to let 

go of any preconceived notions you once 

had about what techno should be, one taste 

of the piercing complexity behind his sonic 

explosions, and you’ll soon be converted. 

Building a fanbase amongst dance music 

fiends since the middle of the Noughties, 

his ominous combination of hard techno 

and industrial primal drive is more commercially 

acknowledged by way of his collaboration 

with Kanye West on two standout 

tracks on 2013’s ‘Yeezus’ album, the 

abrasive ‘Send It Up’ and the glam-punk 

rap riot ‘Black Skinhead’, a co-production 

with Daft Punk and Levy’s friend Brodinski. 

Releases on the OD, Zone and Bromance 

labels showcased an ever-developing 

individual style whilst his remixes for 

Lana del Rey, Justice, The Hacker, Laurent 

Garnier and heroes Depeche Mode put his 

unique sound on the mainstream map. 

It’s only this year that the full extent of 

Levy’s musical intensity has been released 

in his debut album ‘Aleph’, wantonly bludgeoning 

us with a musical exploration that 

isn’t for the faint of heart. His pounding 

yet melodic tracks awaken some dark, uncomfortably 

human impulses: perversion 

drives each beat, pounding on the inside of 

your skull looking for a way out. His structures 

are brutal yet calculated—connecting 

the clashes of our modern era with expert 

precision. 

The first release from the album, the insistent 

and acidic ‘Pursuit’, was accompanied 

by a sinister controversial video created by 

director duo Fleur & Manu. As the camera 

pans out clinical images of war and machinery 

are juxtaposed with the elegance 

of neo-classical existence, disturbing as it 

is enthralling Gesaffelstein’s unrelenting 

beats and electronic wails provide the perfect 

backdrop for this world of decadence, 

technology and sex. His second release, 

the powerful ‘Hate or Glory’ also directed 

by the filmmaking duo, is a contemporary 

take on the cautionary tale of King Midas, 

pushing even harder and deeper with a more 

powerful drive. “I don’t know why I’m so 

drawn to dark sounds,” Levy admits. “It’s 

like when you make a movie about love,” 

he explains, “that’s not your life, it’s the art 

you have made. It’s a fiction. The music is 

exactly the same. Although there is nothing 

dark in my life, I have a facility to understand 

dark emotion.” These two tracks turned 

out to be just a taster for the sinister 

pleasures that lie within the album: refreshing 

a stale techno scene with the disturbing 

flavours that ran through pre-pop Human 

League, Throbbing Gristle and early 

Kraftwerk. On several tracks London singer 

Chloe Raunet—formerly of lo-fi electro 

band Battant on the Kill The DJ label, 

now working on her solo project C.A.R.— 

provides lyrics and vocals to compound the 

seductive atmosphere: a fierce female presence 

in a wicked storm of sound.

135 

Although his electrifying DJ-sets have earned him acclaim from 

Boiler Room Berlin to Electric Zoo in NYC, Sonár in Barcelona 

and Bestival in the UK as a self-confessed introvert Levy admits 

that he isn’t by nature an outgoing clubbing type, “If the music is 

really good I have to sit down on my own and listen...when I go out 

I have to forget the 

technical side of the 

music,” he admits, 

“DJ-ing can be fun, 

especially if I‘m doing 

it with Brodinski. 

We’re friends and it’s 

exciting to work together. 

But in the end, 

you are playing mostly 

other people’s records. 

I prefer to play 

live.” Indeed, the Gesaffelstein 

show is the 

best way to experience 

his decadent vision: 

a classicist form 

of electronic music 

that aspires to high 

art. His approach to 

each live exposition 

is with meticulous attention 

to detail, performing 

from within 

a giant custom-made 

marble altar where 

he can control everything 

from the frequencies 

to the lights. 

“I can have a response 

directly with the 

audience,” he says. “I 

can take the pressure 

up and down, build 

tension and release 

it, and take people 

deeply into the music. 

I have much more 

pleasure this way.” 

As far as the visual 

is concerned this is 

an entirely different 

matter, and he frequently 

collaborates 

with fellow artists, directors 

and designers 

to help better express 

the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ 

element of the 

project. Inspired by 

artworks that range 

from the contemporary 

abstract paintings 

of Pierre Soulages to 

the severity of 18th century neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David—infamous 

for his depiction of Napoleon on horseback—it’s 

no wonder that the visual is just as important to Levy as the music 

itself. Take the album cover for the album for example, the design 

was created with Manu Cossu. “He has the hands to make it happen, 

and I have the words,” Levy explains. “The cover is pure and 

complex at the same time and everything relates to the idea of the 

Aleph, which is both the beginning and the return to the beginning. 

It’s a beautiful object.” Similarly his music video archive is 

a black hole of visual exploration. The first video that grabbed me 

was the monochrome film project for “Viol” entitled “Ghostrider”, 

filmed in the darkened 

streets of Paris 

the directors Jérémy 

and Anto, aka, Les 

Darons, twinned their 

passion for fixies and 

film-making capturing 

a dark spirit of 

the discipline on camera. 

As they ride 

like hell without a 

flicker of fear in their 

eyes the cyclists push 

on in time to the oppressive 

beats of Gesaffelstein 

creating 

an addictive visual 

reality that is instantly 

seductive. This is 

the kind of visual that 

fits perfectly to his 

music, and the powerful 

imagery it can 

inspire. 

Photo by Emmanuel Cossu 

Text by Amy Heaton. 

www.gesaffelstein.net 

Without a doubt Levy 

is a master of exposing 

the Noire that 

hides in all of us. 

His sound encapsulates 

the madness, 

the melancholy and 

the darkness that’s 

somehow striving 

to get out. Working 

at the intersection 

between solace and 

aggression there are 

themes to which Gesaffelstein 

will always 

return: raw, and unending, 

ecstatic, yet 

deeply concentrated 

and controlled. When 

asked to comment on 

the meaning behind 

the title of the album, 

‘Aleph’, he explains 

that it’s a word which 

can have many meanings. 

The first character 

of the Hebrew 

alphabet. The computer 

that contains 

a complete reality 

in Neal Stephenson’s cyberpunk novel ‘Snow Crash’. The letter 

which brings a clay Golem to life in Jewish legend…and whatever 

other interpretation you as the listener wish to bestow upon it. “I 

have the key to my music,” says Levy, “and I keep it for me. But 

I’m really excited to witness other people discovering it.” Now it’s 

your turn.

136 

PHOTO 

KOTY 2 

WWW.KOTY2.COM 

MODEL 

ALICJA KOSIBA @VOX 

STYLISTS 

DOBROCHNA RAWICKA & JUSTYNA MICHALCZAK 

STYLISTS ASSISTANTS 

MAŁGORZATA EJMOCKA 

MAKE UP 

EEVI MAKEUP STUDIO 

HAIR 

AGNIESZKA STENKA 

LOCATION 

STUDIO IP 

OVERALLS 

DIVA NGUYEN 

BAND 

ANNA BLAUTH

OVERALLS 

ANNA CICHOSZ 

NECKLACE 

DIFRIPERI 

JACKET 

QUITENORMAL 

137

SKIRT 

HENRY&VINCE 

DRESS 

EDYTA PIETRZYK 

SHOES 

MODELS’S OWN 

138

NECKLACE 

ADA KORDYS 

BLOUSE 

INGA BUCZYNSKA 

PANTS 

NOLOGO 

SHOES 

STYLIST‘S OWN 

139

BAND 

KOTO BIZUTERIA// PAKAMERA.PL 

SWEATER 

ROBOTY RECZNE 

BOOTS 

STYLIST‘S OWN 

140

BLOUSE 

HENRY&VINCE 

NECKLACE 

ADA KORDYS 

BLOUSE 

INGA BUCZYNSKA 

141

142 

Eirik Lyster 

KALTBLUT: Hi Eirik, how are you? 

This Page: “Floral Brutal” 2013, 42x59,4 cm, Drawing with pen. 

Next Page: “Sleepwalker” 2013, 42x59,4 cm, Drawing with pen. 

Based in Oslo, Eirik Lyster is such a 

creative individual that we’re going to 

have problems listing all his achievements. 

But we’ll try: he’s a stylist, he’s 

a performer, he’s also a sculptor and last 

but certainly not least, he also draws. 

Not just any old drawings, one’s in which 

the characters he creates seem to have a 

full wonderland imagination going on. 

It’s half magic, half gore. We meet and 

chat to him, and in the end Eirik creates 

two brand new pieces exclusively for 

KALTBLUT, which we’re rather proud 

to present. 

www.eirik-lyster.com 

Eirik: Hello! I’m fine, thank you. 

KALTBLUT: You only work with pens, where does your love of pens 

come from? 

Eirik: I’ve tried a lot of different expensive pens, but the pen I always end 

up with is a regular pen. It is kind of dry and has these shades of dark blue 

almost. Looks really good when I draw hair, which I do a lot. 

I was thinking about pens and drawing the other day… we live in a world 

where everything is so digital, so I think it’s good to stop up and actually 

create something with a pen. You cant just push a button and it will magical 

appear. 

KALTBLUT: So tell us a bit more about the characters you draw. 

Some of them sort of look like hybrid creatures. What are they 

exactly? 

Eirik: The main character is actually a rubber duck. But most of the time 

you can only see the face of it with closed eyes, dressed up in different 

layers of animals. A pop icon walking in a cold landscape. 

KALTBLUT: Where do they come from, what’s their story? 

What does their world look like? 

Eirik: It’s a world in between dreams and reality. Each drawing holds a 

different story and emotion.

143 

KALTBLUT: Your drawings bring to the surface a mixture of very 

different emotions : cuteness, childlike innocence, and yet there is a 

lot of blood and gore. Cute but not so cute? 

Eirik: It is uninteresting for me to show something pure good or bad. I like 

to show both sides. If you look at nature, it is so beautiful but so grotesque 

at the same time. I think we live somewhere between those things. 

KALTBLUT: All of your pieces are pretty big. Are you more comfortable 

working on large canvases? 

Eirik: Yes I really enjoying making big drawings. It’s kind of how it has to 

be… fair to my work in a way. Not every drawing suits being small. I’ve 

made some huge drawings straight on wall also (laughs) In my hometown 

there is a hairdresser that has a big piece of my work on their wall, but the 

ones you’ve seen is on paper. Google it! 

KALTBLUT: How did you come to do illustration? 

Eirik: I have been drawing my whole life. I can’t remember a time without 

it. It comes naturally to me. When I was a kid I could sit and draw animals 

and characters and make up stories for hours and hours. I always knew I 

was gonna be an artist. I’ve always felt like one. I also so badly wanted to 

feel the things that all the icons I admired had felt. Even the bad stuff. Lonliness, 

struggle and the endless dreaming. 

KALTBLUT: The contrast between the black and the bright pinks, 

reds and yellows is quite strong…. why these clashing colours? 

KALTBLUT: Where do you draw inspiration from? 

Eirik: I get inspired by everything in my life. Identity, fame, pop culture, 

death, nature. I’m fascinated that beauty and life are fragile; something 

that is slowly fading away. Its like I draw beauty that is aware of its own death 

in a way. When I’m going through something, good or bad, my first reaction 

is how can I translate this in the most beautiful way I know. My art is poetic 

but also very pop. I tell stories in a metaphoric way, but at the same time it is 

branding itself. I like to repeat things over and over again. 

I also like the idea of making things that will live longer than I will. We so 

often tend to think life is a promise, when it’s not at all. If life is not a promise, 

then at least I will promise myself to live forever through art. 

KALTBLUT: There obviously is a dark side to all of your drawings. 

What are your demons? 

Eirik: I am a person that listens to my dark times as much as my bright times. 

Regardless of how much it hurts I stay in it for as long as it takes for an 

answer to come. I embrace darkness and struggle as much as happiness and 

success. I think you have to accept both sides if you’re an artist to survive in a 

way. 

KALTBLUT: Do you use your art as an outlet? 

Eirik: Yes, its the way I express myself. Without art, life would have no meaning 

to me. Its a luxury to get to be private in public in an artistic way. 

KALTBLUT: You live in Olso, how does your city influence your work? 

Eirik: I’ve always said that drawings come to me. I see drawings. I have 

visions. When I’m feeling something out of nowhere I get drawings in my 

head. When I’m going through something, if the feeling is strong enough, 

drawings come up really clearly. It almost feels like an instinct. And then as 

I work I see that I can add certain metaphors to highlight what I’m telling. 

I want the art to look like something that is easy on the eye, but when you 

look closer you can see layers of poetic undertones, which is maybe different 

to the image that you first saw. 

KALTBLUT: Any artists you look up to in the illustration world? 

Eirik: There are many talented artists out there, but I have to say Theodor 

Kittelsen. He has this cold Scandinavian feel to his work ,which I’m fascinated 

by. His drawings and paintings are just beautiful. I don’t think you 

can necessarily compare us, but he has a soul in is work I can really relate 

to. Beautiful but dark. 

Eirik: The city is bigger than the one I’m from so there’s a lot more opportunities. 

I’ve lived here for over a year now and many dreams have come true. 

It’s all about hard work and discipline. I got to show my work in the Astrup 

Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. I meet a lot of interesting artists and 

musicians all the time so Oslo makes me feel like home. As often as I can I try 

to make time for a walk before I go to sleep, under the stars or into the city 

lights. Thats also inspiring to me: to walk, think and listen to music and watch 

the city neon lights popping up in the sky. Magical. 

KALTBLUT: Any other cities where you’d love to go to, to visit or to 

live in? 

Eirik: New York and Iceland. Maybe L.A. and Hollywood also. Ive always 

pictured myself in the future living or at least staying in NYC for a while. 

Or living in a house by the sea in Iceland. Time will show. But right now, I’m 

really happy to be working in Oslo.

144 

Sam wears 

Bra – DKNY 

Suspenders – Maison Kiss Kiss 

Stockings – Maison Kiss Kiss 

Knickers – Maison Kiss Kiss 

Shoes – Missoni 

Matthew wears 

Lace Gimp Mask – Jay Briggz 

Love & Malice 

Photography: Nik Pate - www.nikpate.com Make Up: Mark Bowles 

Hair: Paul Jones Styling: Justin & Andre @ a+c:studio 

Models: Matthew Riches & Samantha Jackson @ S.O.S

Dress – Lee Paton 

Cuff’s and Neckbrace – Maison Kiss Kiss 

145

Sam wears 

Leather Bodice/ Top – Tamzin Lillywhite 

Jacket – Katie Eary 

Trousers – Heohawn 

Shoes – Pretty Little Things 

Ring – Only Child 

Earrings – Finchittida Finch 

Matthew wears 

Trousers – Sopopular 

146

147 

Sam wears 

Bra – Tamzin Lillywhite 

Leather-Pleated Skirt – AMEN Couture 

Fishnet Stockings – Maison Kiss Kiss 

Fur Boots – Robert Cligerie 

Necklace – Mirabelle 

Matthew wears 

Lace Gimp Mask – Jay Briggz

Sam wears 

Dress – AMEN Couture 

Head Piece – Jay Briggz 

Bracelet – Eshvi 

Earrings – Finchittida Finch 

Matthew wears 

Lace Gimp Mask – Jay Briggz 

Trousers – Sopopular 

148

149 

Dress – AMEN Couture

AUSTRA 

AND THE DESIRE TO BE CANDID 

In the words of Marina Abramovic, “Performance is 

about being in the present; it’s about creating a luminous 

state of being.” Luminous indeed, Katie Stelmanis 

shares her middle name with the Latvian goddess of 

light. It’s also the name she chose for her solo-project 

some five years ago. Classically trained, Stelmanis’ 

musical career came to life in her early teens amidst 

the Canadian opera scene and flourished into the now 

critically acclaimed synth-pop band Austra when she 

began experimenting with electronic music in 2009. 

Fast forward to 2013: she released her second fulllength 

album, Olympia, which reaches deep into the 

history of dance music and early house. Indeed, the 

album’s single Home features a serious old-school 

Chicago house thump, with Stelmanis stating, “the 

main intention of this record was to make electronic 

music acoustically.“ Ridding herself from the rigidity 

of classical music, she’s unequivocally explored the 

flowing and numerous possibilities made available to 

her by way of Olympia. 

The main shift from the debut, Feel It Break, and 

Olympia isn’t just adding more beats, but adding more 

overall: introducing more involved members and transforming 

the bedroom project into a full six-piece live 

band, bringing more layers to Katie’s lyrics by acquiring 

Sari Lightman as her ghost-writer and pushing the 

entire feel of it from orchestrally imbued gothic impulses 

to house-inspired, synth-pop. But it’s not cluttered. 

It’s not over-thought, it’s not strategic, and it’s not 

calculative. It’s progressive, and organic, it came about 

naturally and it’s authentic. From the intimate lyrics 

and the erupting beats to the pristine production and 

the emotions conveyed, it’s candidly created. Olympia 

is more lyric-based than its predecessors and as a 

result it’s persuasively personal and, at times, political. 

Stelmanis’ voice shines as she weaves tales of lovers’ 

plight and same sex-marriages (“We don’t have to marry…. 

in this town we’ll bury all the minds that clench 

too tight”) addressing bigotry and the patriarchal 

over gothic-leaning synths. The sounds are loud and 

omnipresent but the intent is serene and the message 

subtle: enough to cause a stir but not frenzy. 

Live, Katie’s energetic, passionate and in the moment. 

She’s having fun. Stood in front of the hand-painted 

mountain scene that adorns Olympia’s cover and 

surrounded by glowing parasols, she sways and swings 

amidst four sultry band members. Like that of an opera 

singer, her performance is theatrical. She might have 

strayed away from the classical in her music, but her 

movement, her persona; her energy belongs very much 

on stage. The emotional power and the aesthetic interest 

of all her work- from her performance and videos 

to the lyrics and album cover- reside in the comfort and 

allure of authenticity; reminding and enlightening us 

that being straightforward is that which always come 

naturally. Subtly changing the air in the room Austra is 

played, Katie shall sing and you shall listen.

151 

“…Marina’s The Artist 

is Present did play a role 

in the desire 

to be candid 

on this album…” 

KALTBLUT: When you first started the 

project people weren’t really getting it 

and said you should be playing acoustically 

with instruments. What encouraged 

you to push through and stick to 

what you felt was right and what you 

wanted to create? 

Katie: I guess I just loved working with 

electronic instruments. At the time, 

it was different to what everyone else 

was doing in Toronto and I preferred the 

sounds and I enjoyed that I felt like I was 

doing something unique. Of course, in 

the rest of the world it wasn’t anything 

special but in the city that I came from it 

felt like I was doing something different. 

KALTBLUT: You started Austra as a 

“solo project” would you say its now as 

collaborative as it’s ever been? 

Katie: Yeah, it’s definitely very collaborative 

now. Well I mean, the first record 

Feel It Break was essentially a solo record 

for the most part and then we kind 

of formed this six person live band while 

we were touring Feel It Break for a few 

years. For the next record we kind of 

wanted everybody to be involved in it, 

so actually all six of us kind of played a 

role. We made that album…even though 

we’re currently touring Olympia; we’re 

touring as a four piece. It was kind of in 

that moment that we wanted to do that. 

KALTBLUT: You’ve said you brought a 

certain energy to the record from playing 

live. Can you expand on this? 

Katie: Well, the songs felt completely 

different after touring with them for 

two years than they did when I listened 

to them on the album. When I listen to 

Feel It Break right now it sounds a little 

foreign to me in some ways. I definitely 

think that playing them live we improved 

on songs a lot …they gained a lot 

of depth and a more interesting sound 

palette. So we wanted to bring all those 

characteristics forward in the new 

record. 

KALTBLUT: How does Olympia compare 

to Feel It Break personally? How 

does it feel looking back and seeing 

where you are now? 

Katie: Well for me, the biggest difference 

is in the production. It went from 

being a bedroom project to being a real 

band project in a studio. There were so 

many more people involved in the making 

of Olympia than there were for Feel 

It Break. We had lots of band members 

who were contributing; we worked with 

a lot of different engineers and my friend 

Mike from the band Fucked Up had 

some co-production credits on songs 

so it just felt like a group effort whereas 

Feel It Break felt like a much more personal 

effort. 

KALTBLUT: You have a background in 

classical music and were previously an 

opera singer. What elements from your 

classical training have you brought to 

Austra and specifically to this record? 

Katie: I mean to be honest I try and 

move away from the classical training 

as much as I can. I haven’t really studied 

classical music in like ten years but I’m 

sure there’s lingering habits…it took a 

while to move away from the classical 

style of singing and to learn music in 

a different way because classical music 

has such a rigid way of playing and 

understanding music and I find when 

you’re writing music it kind of helps to 

just ignore that. A lot of people who are 

classical musicians if they are told to improvise 

they just won’t know what to do, 

and so I think it’s kind of dangerous to go 

really far down that path. 

KALTBLUT: You picked Owen Pallett 

as an example of an artist cutting 

through genre. Do you like to label 

yourself as a crossover band? 

Katie: Its really hard to label and identity 

your own music. I think about us being 

a crossover band and then I think there 

are a lot of people listen to us who think 

that we’re straight up electro (laughs) 

Y’know, I don’t really have a proper perspective. 

I mean I listen to certain songs 

on the record and for me, the influences 

are glaringly obvious and other people 

would have no idea really. It’s hard to say. 

KALTBLUT: The lyrics for both Home 

and Forgive Me are blunt both lyrically 

and musically. Obsessive, tense and 

desperate for closure: they’re almost 

like a plea to a lover. You’ve said before 

you weren’t very good at writing lyrics 

or didn’t use to be the focal point of 

your creativity. How has it changed for 

Olympia? 

Katie: With Olympia I had the desire to 

write more personal and more meaningful 

lyrics. I really think the reason behind 

that being… y’know after performing for

152 

a few years, I just wanted to kind of identify with the audience 

in a new way, or a different way. I’ve always loved doing covers 

of songs that are very lyric-based… a crying, choking natural 

woman and I kind of wanted that story behind the songs I was 

making. I tried to do that with Olympia and also worked on 

the lyrics with one of the back-up singers at the time. 

KALTBLUT: Am I correct in thinking that the video for Home 

was inspired by Marina Abramovic’s The Artist Is Present? 

Katie: Um, a little bit, I guess. It was difficult because I wanted 

that video to really embody the sentiment behind that song, 

but its really hard not to do it in a cheesy way, because the 

lyrics are so… obviously it could go really wrong…keeping 

it as simple as possible was the best way to go. We worked 

with a director and he had this concept of pretending it was 

a dressing room and I think it worked really. It was really nice 

we only had to perform it like four times and we had a video. 

With so much weight off our shoulders, we were able to capture 

the sentiment perfectly. 

connect with it. And even the role I was playing in the opera, I 

didn’t connect with that. Obviously I think in the music industry 

there are some difficulties being a woman in music but 

ultimately feel lucky that I can do my own thing and make a 

career out of it. 

KALTBLUT: So you’re from Toronto, what does the city’s 

music scene mean to you? 

Katie: I feel like… I mean the Toronto music scene is a huge 

part of me developing as a musician, as an artist. When I was 

in my early twenties there was a lot of stuff happening, there 

was Blocks Recording Club and there were a lot of important 

parties that were happening at the time. Right now I feel kind 

of disconnected to it essentially because I’ve been touring for 

three years straight but aside from that I feel lucky that I was 

raised in a really strong music scene. 

KALTBLUT: Aside from the musical, are there any creative 

influences that you can list? 

KALTBLUT: I Don’t Care, I’m a Man is a short but powerful 

interlude on the record. What was the thought process behind 

it? 

Katie: Well I guess that song originally came to life… my way 

of writing lyrics is generally me writing all the music and then 

I’ll sing on top of it and I’ll kind of say anything and often what 

I’m saying kind of makes sense and I make it to real lyrics 

later. But in the case of this song, the words that stuck for 

me, that I kind of worded were I Don’t Care, I’m a Man. I appreciated 

those words because I enjoyed the anti-patriarchal 

vibe around them. Then I put Sari with the song and I think 

she kind of interpreted it to be more of a direct relationship 

between a man and a woman, maybe an abusive relationship. 

Really, there are a lot of meanings and interpretations around 

it. 

KALTBLUT: You’ve said before began by making music; you 

weren’t a band with a message. It feels that with Olympia 

you’re making more of a stand - is that true? 

Katie: I think we’ve always had the same… I’ve never really 

written political lyrics, well actually that’s not true, I have in 

the past, but I’ve always been pretty vocal about my politics 

and my position on feminist issues and queer issues and I 

think Olympia maybe because its more lyrically driven has 

more of an effect. 

KALTBLUT: The reason I ask is because you’ve commented 

before that one of the reasons you left the opera world is 

because you felt uncomfortable as a lesbian in a predominantly 

male hetero world. How does the music industry you 

find yourself in now compare? 

Katie: Well its not that its predominantly male because I 

don’t think that’s true but I think…I guess it just embodies a 

very traditional way of performing where the women would 

literally have to be wearing ball gowns to be taken seriously. 

On an on-stage competition or performance, I just wasn’t fitting 

into that ideal of what an opera singer should be. I didn’t 

Katie: I don’t know I mean we’re always influenced by a lot of 

things, I feel like during the process of writing Olympia, while 

we were working with Sarah and Romy, they were introducing 

me to a lot of things I didn’t know before, for example the 

film The Red Shoes ended up being a big influence and how 

we presented Olympia visually. Again, Marina’s The Artist is 

Present did play a role in the desire to be candid on this album 

as well. 

KALTBLUT: Can I ask the reason behind the title of the record? 

Katie: Well I mean in actuality, it was named after a baby that 

was born… the family was really close to us during the recording 

process. It felt like we wanted commemorate the idea of 

new life, and the new album. Aside from that I think the name 

also holds a lot of alternative meanings, its kind of slight homage 

to the nineties riot girl and then of course, the Manet 

painting exhibits the prostitute staring into the eye of the viewer 

in a very candid way. We appreciated all the references 

that the name had behind it. 

KALTBLUT: It’s been noted that your music feels emotional 

and is also electronic dance music. Where do you think music- 

both yours and in general- is headed? 

Katie: I don’t know that’s kind of difficult question. I don’t 

know I try not to really follow where the general, mainstream 

ideas of music are going because I think that could be dangerous. 

I definitely know where our intentions behind this album 

were- to create an electronic album basically because I felt 

the market was becoming oversaturated with musicians who 

were just making albums on their laptops and that particular 

sound was just becoming over-used in my opinion and we 

wanted to do something different. And then of course Daft 

Punk also had that idea (laughs) and they made the whole 

electronic album acoustically. I thought that lots more people 

would want to do that, maybe they will eventually. But I don’t 

know it seems that people are still really into the idea of making 

laptop music. 

Interview by Ange Suprowicz 

Photos by Norman Wong 

www.austramusic.com

153

154 

ANA ALCAZAR 

Between Daylight and Dreams 

Photography: Federica Roncaldier www.federicaroncaldier.com 

Interview & Concept: Marcel Schlutt and Nico Sutor 

Styling: Christina van Zon www.christinavanzon.com 

Hair & Make-Up: Pascale Jean-Louis 

Models are Lex Olsén @ Seeds Management and Jules Wiegemann @ M+P Models London 

Production: Nico Sutor 

Special thanks to Halil Erbek and Vögelchen Bar, Berlin 

www.a-n-a.com

155 

Lex wears 

Jumpsuit: Ana Alcazar 

Necklace: Zofie Angelic 

Bracelet: Antique & Vintage Jewellery 

Oliver Rheinfrank 

Earrings: Six 

Jules wears 

Dress: Ana Alcazar 

Earrings: Akkesoir 

Collar: Rita in Palma 

Tights: Burlington

156 

When it comes to fashion in Germany there are only a few labels that are really making it into 

the international market. The Munich based fashion label is one of them. Founded some years 

ago by the two sisters Beate and Jutta Ilzhöfer, Ana Alcazar is one of the most successful labels 

here in Germany. I had the pleasure of having a chat with the two creative minds behind 

the label. About their long journey into the fashion world, the new collection, and their love 

for fashion design. Also, I wanna thank Federica, Christina, Pascale and Nico for producing this 

great editorial for our new issue. Fashion designed for strong women. 

KALTBLUT: Beate and Jutta, a 

warm welcome to KALTBLUT. 

We are big fans of your label Ana 

Alcazar. Tells us something about 

your background. What made 

you get into fashion? 

Be: Hello Marcel, this really 

pleased us very much! We are 

also very big fans of your magazine 

and find it great to see how 

successful you are internationally 

as well. Sometimes we feel a bit 

reminiscent of ourselves back in 

time; a private label, or in your 

case to bring your own magazine 

new on the market, that takes a 

lot of energy, stamina and courage. 

Respect! 

Ju: True, it was not always easy, 

but if you stay true to yourself 

and believe in your work then 

that's a big step already. My sister 

and I come from Swabia and 

wanted to get out and discover 

something new. During our time 

in Milan and Paris we kept ourselves 

afloat with modeling jobs. 

Be: Right. It hasn't always been 

very easy. To get modeling jobs 

you have to go to this or that 

party in the evening - it was not 

about fun but only to find new 

jobs. This was in the long run too 

stressful for us. We did not want 

to go back home. Munich, we 

always found so exciting, even 

as little girls traveling through on 

the way to Italy vacations. The 

fashion scene at that time was 

more open and more exciting 

- there were no mono-stores. 

While Ju continued modeling, I 

earned some money as a graphic 

designer to add to the pot. 

Ju: At that time we used to go 

out a lot and started to sew our 

nightlife outfits for ourselves. This 

was well received and we had a 

lot of fun with it. Well, there were 

already the wildest creations 

forming - we wanted to stand 

out, and so we didn't remain 

undetected. The first requests 

came and we started tailoring 

outfits for our friends. Yet it never 

crossed our minds that we would 

someday start a company. 

Be: That we could live on this? I 

never would have thought. We 

were brave and had of course 

also tried to sell our clothes 

in stores. Our first attempt, I 

will never forget: We went to 

the Ludwig Beck in Munich, a 

renowned shop, and had our 

tailored clothes with us. Edler 

jersey from the fifties, with coarse 

sacking that we stole from some 

scaffolding at night. 

Ju: Our pulse was beating like 

crazy, but the buyer was more 

than impressed and bought the 

goods immediately. The next day 

we got a call that all outfits were 

sold and he had rarely experienced 

such a thing. We could 

be certain of a second order. 

So things went on little by little 

and today we serve nearly 1,000 

retailers in Europe, Australia and 

Russia. 

KALTBLUT: Both of you have 

been involved in the fashion 

world for over 20 years now. Is it 

easier to go this route as a team? 

Or can it also be a hindrance 

working together as sisters and 

having a daily business to maintain? 

Be: It is not easy, certainly not. 

The fashion industry and the 

market makes no difference 

whether one designs alone or 

whether it's two or three people 

working together. But it is beautiful. 

The close familiarity and 

being able to completely rely 

on each other, those things offer 

security. This gives you a certain 

earthiness. There are also clear 

separations, which is extremely 

important in teamwork. We cannot 

each of us do everything at 

once, which would bring unnecessary 

confusion and waste time. 

And obviously: we do also not 

always agree - but with us there 

is no fighting or bickering. We 

are sisters, but also reliable business 

partners. 

KALTBLUT: Do you still remember 

the first piece of clothing you 

designed? 

Be: No, I do not know now. 

Ju: No, I do not know what the 

first model was. But I can remember 

moments connected to a 

certain style. 

KALTBLUT: You are based in 

Munich, this is where you are at 

home with your label. Why just 

there and not in Milan, Paris or 

London like many other labels? 

Ju: We have lived for years in 

Milan and Paris. Both wonderful 

cities, but we had fallen in love 

with Munich at that time. Our 

friends and our families are at 

home here. Here we feel comfortable. 

KALTBLUT: You are also big Berlin 

fans, though. Why is that? Do 

you show your collections here at 

Fashion Week as well? 

Be: Berlin is absolutely breathtaking, 

no question about that! 

During Fashion Week in Berlin, 

we are showing at Show & Order, 

every year, and then in the evening 

we go on great discovery 

trips. It is always exciting and the 

city is changing so rapidly, almost 

too quickly. Hopefully Berlin can 

preserve its charm. Who knows, 

maybe you'll find us in your 

neighborhood in Berlin soon. 

KALTBLUT: When I look at all 

your previous collections, I would 

say you do not own a typical 

trend-oriented fashion label. 

You've got your own personal 

style. Can you describe the Ana 

Alcazar woman in a few words 

for us? 

Ju: Self-confident, fashion-conscious, 

bold, feminine and no interest 

in mass-produced goods. 

KALTBLUT: The collection that 

we photographed for the Noire 

theme is almost completely in 

black. What is your inspiration for 

this collection? 

Be: We design 4 collections 

each year. We are very pleased 

and happy that you have photographed 

exclusive parts of 

our first Ana Alcazar Black Label 

Collection. With the first Black 

Label line, we have focused on

157 

Lex 

Dress: Vintage 

Earrings: Zofie Angelic

158 

Lex 

Dress: Vintage 

Earrings: Antique & Vintage Jewellery Oliver Rheinfrank 

Shoes: Varese seen at Roland 

Bag: Selected Femme 

Jules 


Necklace: Dawid Tomaszewski 

Shoes: Vagabond 

Stockings: Augustin Teboul

159 

timeless classics. This is the 

reason why black plays a major 

role. The Black Label is an 

experiment, so in the future 

we want to clearly set this line 

apart from the main line. 

Ju: Ana Alcazar Black Label 

is intended to be innovative, 

avant-garde and yet unmistakably 

Ana Alcazar. The 

development is exciting and 

we are very glad about that. 

KALTBLUT: You also experiment 

with colours and prints, 

few designers incorporate 

those so well. Question to 

Beate: Can this be traced 

back to your time as a graphic 

designer? 

Be: It has certainly trained my 

eye. I think that the skilled 

use of patterns in a dress 

has mostly to do with the 

sense of female silhouettes. 

If a pattern is placed incorrectly, 

it can quickly become 

a disadvantage, but there are 

no rules - the fabric has to 

be adjusted individually each 

time. 

Ju: Clearly this is our strength. 

That is what our Ana Alcazar 

customers love and always 

expect from us. 

KALTBLUT: Your Ana Alcazar 

woman is very sexy but also 

very strong and independent. 

Is this your form of feminism, 

but on beautiful legs? 

Be: Absolutely. Sexy and 

strong are not opposites. The 

woman of today is not “Miss 

Oversensitive” but lives her 

own life and shows that with 

full passion. Just magnificent! 

The beautiful legs do not 

matter really. 

group of course, like I said. 

The majority found the campaign 

exciting and interesting 

in terms of sexism - just this 

time reversed. 

KALTBLUT: How was it for 

you to become established 

in the fashion world? How do 

you deal with criticism from 

the outside? 

Ju: The biggest critic is ourselves. 

Fashion is an ongoing 

process. That's what captivates 

us, that's what we love 

and what drives us forward. 

Be: It was not always easy, 

that's for sure. For a long time 

German fashion hadn't been 

taken seriously. This has luckily 

changed. Nevertheless, 

it is fashion and Germany or 

actually fashion in Germany 

that is not easy. Our provocative 

pieces we sell exclusively 

abroad, where here are 

obviously more courageous 

women willing to wear them. 

KALTBLUT: Your fashion 

exudes a particular strength. 

It has that special Rock Star 

touch. Where does this come 

from? And what would be the 

perfect rock band for you? 

Be: Rock Star Touch? [laughs] 

that's a very interesting approach. 

During the collection 

design we take great care 

that the pieces do not kill the 

person wearing them. The 

wearer is always at the forefront. 

Dresses are to support 

and transport the person and 

her own character to the outside. 

There is nothing sadder 

than clad women. Always stay 

true to yourself, authenticity is 

important. 

Jules 


Shoulderpiece: Zofie Angelic 

Tights: Falke 

KALTBLUT: The fashion 

industry is often accused of 

degrading women to sex 

objects just because men 

design the stuff. Do you have 

to face nasty allegations such 

as these even though you are 

both women? 

Ju: No. Fashion thrives on 

freedom, tolerance and creativity. 

Our woman is represented 

in our campaigns as a 

self-confident, strong person. 

Be: In our last shoot we have 

our Ana Alcazar model posing 

with a naked man. We 

were amazed at how many 

women were upset about the 

naked man. We had actually 

expected more protests 

from men - but there was not 

a single negative comment. 

This was only a very small 

KALTBLUT: You sell your fashion 

on the internet a lot. Is 

this more and more the future 

for the designer in the form of 

direct sales and communication 

with the target group? 

How important is the whole 

social media trend for you as 

a designer? 

Ju: The internet is great: for 

the first time, as a manufacturer 

and designer we 

can stay in touch with the 

consumer. Now real, direct 

communication takes place. 

Incredibly great! Bonding 

with the customer is thus 

much more intense; customer 

needs and habits can be 

directly taken up and considered 

in our collections. This 

creates trust and a bond. 

Be: Absolutely! And the

160

161 

Lex 

Top: Ana Alcazar 

Skirt: Dawid Tomaszewski 

Hat: Lierys 

Jules 


Garter Belt: Hunkemöller 

Stockings: Aubade 

Hat: Seeberger

many emails and messages of Ana Alcazar fans, that's 

something we always look forward to very much. It's 

just nice to see that customers get married in an Ana 

Alcazar or spend a wonderful holiday in it. At this 

point we want to thank all our loyal fans! 

KALTBLUT: How important are fashion fairs and fashion 

weeks still for a fashion label? Or does the Internet 

make these events actually unnecessary? 

Ju: Clearly! No. We see the Internet as a complement, 

not a substitute. Virtually, information is exchanged 

every millisecond, but reality can also be a great feeling, 

an enthusiasm that can't be replaced. In real life I 

have the opportunity to look to the left and right, and 

not only what the camera captures. Feel fabrics, sense 

them, this is possible only on the fashion fairs. The 

internet can attract attention though, arouse curiosity 

and inform. A symbiosis of feeling and information - 

that's how it works. 

KALTBLUT: Your label Ana Alcazar has a daring history 

in terms of its name. In the beginning it was called 

CCCP: Capitalistic Culture Control Program. What I 

personally find very captivating. Then switching to Ana 

Alcazar; Ana stands for “anarchistic neurotic alien.” Is 

that also equal to a warning? And what does Alcazar 

mean? 

Be: Oh yes, that's right [laughs]. Life, the people, 

society - everything is in constant upheaval. Everything 

around you is in constant motion - standing still 

is dangerous. Yet, being able to rest can be something 

nice and in my opinion the true essence of creativity. 

We have tried many things, in fact, and it's still incredibly 

fun to try new things, such as our Black Label 

experiment. 

Ju: We wanted to be provocative, but not politically 

- we did not do ourselves a favour with our first label 

CCCP. In the mid-80s, the name wasn't welcomed 

by the authorities and the international market. We 

sensed this really fast and renamed our label and our 

company to Tricia Jones - a purely fictitious name 

- just like Ana Alcazar, which we then launched mid 

90s. Besides the Tricia Jones line that was extremely 

avant-garde, progressive and high-priced, we wanted 

to establish a young, portable and affordable label. 

The name Ana Alcazar sounds very feminine, yet mysterious, 

spirited and strong - just like the collections. 

It is not Ana Alcazar that means "anarchistic neurotic 

alien" - this has been misinterpreted by a newspaper 

- but our menswear line, that we had to give up on 

after five years, due to lack of time. The menswear 

label was an exciting mix of sporty chic and provocative 

style. We still get emails and inquiries from guys, 

whether we do not want to continue the label - and 

we find this amazing class! So dear men: we have 

heard you and we'll see, perhaps there is something 

for you in the near future. I also think the guys from 

KALTBLUT would have loved the anarchistic neurotic 

alien collection very much. 

KALTBLUT: Thank you for having taken the time to 

collaborate with us. I am very pleased. We wish you 

much success for the years to come. 

Be: Thank you so much, I wish you and the entire 

KALTBLUT team every success. 

Ju: Thank you, Marcel. Continued success with your 

great magazine! 

162 

Lex 

Dress Ana Alcazar 

Earrings: Antique & Vintage Jewellery Oliver Rheinfrank 

Gloves: Roeckl 

Hat: Mayser 

Bag: Ystrdy

163

164 

c355p001 

If you look up c355p001 online, you won’t find much. A few illustrations, 

sure, but unless you speak Japanese you’ll encounter 

a fair few obstacles trying to navigate the website. But this 

is the year 2013 and there’s a whole world out there full 

of technology and tools to help us. We used a mighty 

translation engine to decipher an interview with her, 

and we’re honoured to be able to present you a bit 

more of the mysterious c355p001. 

KALTBLUT: My first question will be a fairly basic 

one, but as I couldn’t find much about you 

on the web, who are you? Who’s hiding behind 

c355p001? 

c355p001: My name is Fumiko. I was born in 

Kyoto Japan in 1984. When you will see my 

works, a presence of me will disturb. So you 

might want to forget who I am. 

KALTBLUT: Tell us about the name “c355p001”. 

What’s the story behind it and where does it 

come from? 

c355p001: The beginning is a personal reason. 

I made myself a place of pardon: for my illustration 

and my own world. The cesspool which 

I can throw in anything. That was “c355p001”. 

Now I use this symbol as name. 

KALTBLUT: How did you get started in illustration? 

c355p001: There was pen and paper. This is 

a difficult question, like asking how to have 

mastered the native language. 

KALTBLUT: There is something dark and obscure 

about your work, some very disturbing 

elements. What inspires you and gets you 

going as an artist? 

c355p001: The feeling inside a dream: somatosensory. 

Wonder and beauty of the body. 

KALTBLUT: Most of your drawings are made 

with simple lines. What’s your medium of 

choice?

165 

c355p001: A pen-and-ink drawing. My favourite 

is “Isograph” 0,13 MM by Rotring. 

KALTBLUT: There are a lot of human bodies in 

your work, bodies that are deformed, transformed, 

cut, separated or even destroyed… Why is 

the human body so central to your work? 

c355p001: Because I am human. I have a doubts 

about the body. Have you seen the dream in 

which your skin melts or your limbs are torn to 

pieces? I fear and expect simultaneously that it 

actually happens. 

KALTBLUT: You do not work with colours, if we 

consider black and white as non-colours. Why? 

c355p001: If necessary for a illustration, I will 

use colours. I choose suitable means / colours 

and tools. My only rule, is “Optimisation”. 

KALTBLUT: Each of your drawings seems to work 

as its own little story. Is that that the case in your 

creative process? 

c355p001: They have own little stories or the feel, 

like a seed secretly paused, waiting to grow. I 

wait for them to be watered people I see. 

KALTBLUT: Where is this blackness of yours 

coming from? 

c355p001: Blackness comes from people who 

found blackness. 

KALTBLUT: Nature is another very important 

element of your work. Or at least some aspects 

of it, like the fusion between men and nature, am 

I right? 

c355p001: Petal is also the flesh or the skin. 

Stalk is also the blood vessel or the nerve. All 

living things are on the same line. Sometimes 

fusing, sometimes punishing. 


www.c355p001.net

166 

Skirt - American Apparel 

Turtle Neck - American Apparel 

Ring - GoGo Phillip 

Earring - Bill Skinner 

Necklace - Top Shop 

C o n c r e t e 

Photography NIK PATE www.nikpate.com 

grooming sophie anderson 

styling justin & andre @ A+C: studio 

model danny blake @ D1

167 

Jacket - Jessica Walsh 


Bandana - Stylist's Own 

Trousers - American Apparel 

Shoes - Nike 

Ring - Claudia Ligari 

Bracelet - Go Go Phillip 

Necklace - Stylist's Own

Top - Benjamin Bertram 

Trousers - Clio Peppiatt 

Bandana - Stylist's Own 

Shoes - Nike 

168

169 

Jacket - Lucy Offen

Meggings - Top Man 


Turtle Neck - American Apparel 

Ring - GoGo Phillip 

Earring - Bill Skinner 

Necklace - Top Shop 

Shoes - Nike 

170

Headpiece - Jay Briggz 

T-Shirt - Hardware LDN 

Shorts - American Apparel 

Watch - Triwa 

171

Headpiece - Jay Briggz 

T-Shirt - Hardware LDN 

Jacket - Parka 

Shorts - American Apparel 

Socks - Stylist's Own 

Shoes - Nike 

Watch - Triwa 

172

173 

himmelspach-berlin.com 

Let 

the games 

begin 

bitte-bitte.com

174 

GUSTAVO JONONOVICH 

The beauty of Gustavo’s 

work in incontestable. His 

images are so pure, and so 

full of emotion. His work 

“RICHLAND” is particularly 

touching. All the people 

I’ve met in Buenos Aires 

so far are all concerned 

with what is happening in 

their country, and once 

again, Gustavo Jononovich 

is one of these photographers 

that want to use his 

work to pass a message and 

not only to show the beauty 

of some random landscape. 

The Argentinan photographer 

accepted to share a little 

chat with us. 


KALTBLUT: Hi Gustavo, my first question 

will be really basic, how did 

you get into photography? 

GUSTAVO: After finishing high school, 

I started studying engineering, over 

time, I realized that I was on a path 

that was not mine. I decided to drop 

out of university; I had no idea what 

to do next or what I really wanted 

out of life. I spent the following 

year without any direction trying 

to untie some of my ‟inner knots”; 

social beliefs, family expectations, 

fears... I liked photography but I 

had never set out myself to do it seriously. 

At that time, I just needed 

to do things that I like, without 

too many pretensions or expectations, 

just the fact that something caught 

my attention was enough to try it. So 

in 2003 I began studying photography 

and became more interested in documentary 

photography. 

KALTBLUT: One of the first things we 

noticed when looking at your work 

is the fact that you are only using 

black and white. Why is that? 

GUSTAVO: I also use color sometimes. 

The decision of using black and white 

or color depends of the projects I’m 

working on 

KALTBLUT: Some of your shots seem 

also to be taken at night, am I 

right? 

GUSTAVO: Yes, you are. Night is part 

of the day... 

KALTBLUT: I also notice, especially 

in your work ‟YUMA” that you are working 

a lot with multiplicity. Multiplicity 

of objects, animals… Does 

that have a special significance for 

you? 

GUSTAVO: It is not a conscious decision 

but yes. Multiplicity could be 

a tool, like geometry, shapes, contrast, 

light, etc, etc. 

KALTBLUT: What was your original idea 

when you started working on ‟YUMA”. 

What did you want to say/show with 

this series?

175 

GUSTAVO: I traveled to Cuba because 

my wife decided to do an 

internship in a hospital in La 

Havana, she’s a Doctor. Until 

then, I had always made photographs 

guided by a specific 

theme, trying to tell something 

about other people’s misfortunes. 

I decided to experience photography 

in a different way this time. 

I wasn’t interested in telling 

or describing anything about the 

well-known political and historical 

characteristics of the Cuban 

system. I didn’t want to need to 

look for ‟useful situations”. I 

tried to forget that I was there. 

Liberating myself of having to 

tell something about Cuba allowed 

me to connect in a more authentic 

way with the place. Photographing 

using only my instinct allowed me 

to discover what I was feeling. 

My method was to walk the same 

streets over and over again, in 

silence, just focusing in contemplating. 

I sometimes felt attracted 

to the expression of the 

shapes and textures and to the 

simple beauty of nature. Other 

times I felt I was just photographing 

my own sense of calmness or 

the mystery that Cuba inspired 

me. 

KALTBLUT: There is also a lot of 

nature in your work. Is this a 

theme that you particularly like? 

GUSTAVO: I live in Buenos Aires 

surrounded by concrete and asphalt 

therefore my direct contact 

with nature is sporadic, but necessary. 

During the recent years 

my relationship with nature increased 

notoriously, I’ve been in 

the jungle, in the desert, in the 

mountains, in lakes, rivers and 

the sea. I like to imagine our 

planet without our intervention, 

without the human civilization, 

just like it’s been for about 

5 billion years. Only stones, 

water, land, sand, air, trees, 

plants, insects... It feels good 

to see no artificiality at the 

horizon sometimes. 

KALTBLUT: Why did you decide to 

to create the series ‟RICHLAND”? 

What was your motto behind it? 

GUSTAVO: RICHLAND is a project 

about the exploitation of the natural 

resources in Latin America 

and the resulting long-term negative 

effects. Rather than benefit 

from natural resources abundance 

and wealth, local people living

176 

in areas of exploitation have experienced 

loss of livelihoods, health 

problems, human rights violations and 

environmental degradation. This body 

of work was made between 2008 and 

2012 in Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, 

Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. 

Our history has transformed us into a 

civilization which functioning depends 

on consume. The engine of our 

economic structure is fed by generating 

new needs, invented needs. 

Something that did not exist a month 

ago can be indispensable tomorrow and 

become a useless thing a year later. 

Our lifestyle and the so-called ‟comfort” 

set up a huge contradiction. 

Some companies extract natural resources 

which are used by other companies 

to manufacture products that 

will be purchased by all of us. The 

more things we consume, more natural 

resources must be extracted. There’s 

no other way. Always a new laptop, 

a new cell phone, a new car, a new 

blender, more clothes, always more 

and more, it seems like it’s never 

enough for us. 

Business is more important than any 

other thing. In the name of ‟progress” 

we can transform a forest into 

a desert and a desert into a city. 

We can move mountains or make them 

disappear and we can drill the soil 

for miles to extract what is down 

there. We can also disrupt mighty 

rivers to convert them into inert 

lakes. Among the millions of species 

that exist and existed, the human is 

the only one capable to do that sort 

of things, to modify an ecosystem for 

their own benefit. Such ability means 

a big responsibility for us. 

I wonder why we consider that the 

earth belong to us, why we consider 

it as our property like any other 

material good. 

KALTBLUT: Would you consider yourself 

as an engaged Artist? What do except 

from the people who see your work? 

GUSTAVO: I prefer not to label myself. 

I make pictures that tell something 

about my thoughts or the way 

I see our world, what happen next it 

is out of my range. 

KALTBLUT: Are you working on any 

other projects right now? 

GUSTAVO: Now I’m looking for a publisher 

to make the book of Richland. 

I’m also making new pictures, I would 

say that I’m into a transitional 

moment of changing my approach to 

photography. 

www.jononovich.com

177

The 

178 

Insider 

Text by Aude Gouaux-Langlois 

Un portrait en noir 

Illustration by Nicolas Simoneau 

Black is a colour that can 

be found in others, but searching 

for its nuances, and 

shimmering glimpses inside 

the unexpected, is no mean 

feat. An oblique perspective 

which allows another meaning 

to shine. 

Matthieu Chedid has been 

sewing his joyful yet deep 

musical message together 

with his alter ego -M- for 

the last 15 years, and it is 

with a frank smile that he 

started to play around with 

the idea of “Noire”: as a 

symbol, a colour, an idea. 

Our afternoon conversation 

takes place in his XVIIth 

century hôtel particulier 

in the heart of Paris, and 

a selection of simple drawings 

around the theme of 

“Noire” are going to lead it. 

Matthieu Chédid in 5 dates 

1971 : Born in Boulogne-Billancourt 

(France) 

1997: Creation of the character-Mand 

first album release Le Baptême 

2009 : 4th album Mister Mystère 

2012 : 5th album Îl 

2013 : Live album Îl(s) 

-Depiction ONE: The image of a French 

musical icon dressed in black- 

“Edith Piaf…? This is very strange. I 

connected with her for the first time 

when I watched a documentary about 

her love life two weeks ago. Since 

then, I have been listening to all her 

records with a new ear, because I understood 

the importance of a certain 

truth: she is not in the form, she is in 

the substance (=essence) meaning 

that she can repeat 8 times the same 

sentence, and it doesn’t matter, the 

intention flows. She gives us a lesson 

of authenticity, strength and interpretation. 

A wonderful energy…” 

Your musical influences are taken 

from a English speaking background 

but your texts are anchored in the 

French language. Do you consider 

French Chanson a heritage for you? 

“After Piaf came a new wave of French 

singers (my father Louis Chédid, Alain 

Souchon, Michel Jonasz, Laurent 

Voulzy..) and musically they were the 

children of the Beatles. I am from the 

2nd generation of this original wave 

and my aim is to merge the two cultures 

closer together. Even if it belongs 

to the period, I feel more son of 

an Hendrix or Led Zeppelin. And today 

we see a 3rd generation that connects 

with electronic music…” 

In your last album “Îl”, there is a deeper poetry in the French language 

that appears in your texts. How do you manage to stand in front of a nonfrancophone 

audience? 

“Just like Edith Piaf gives an interpretation that goes beyond words, I 

would focus on the energy of the sound so that the sound itself is the meaning. 

This record gives the literacy, this resonance given to the words 

as well as a sound is sufficient in itself. Unconsciously, I am trying to get 

to the point where the sound is a language. I think that it can be enough, 

that the melody and the intensity behind the words are meaningful. I 

have been touched by English speaking songs without understanding the 

meaning so often...I assume it works the other way round! Also, I like to 

let the imagination doors open and let everyone build their own story. 

This is a bit my intention, not to write realistic texts : to remain onirique.” 

-Depiction TWO: “Noire” as a record, the swirling black of a vinyl- 

Throughout your career you’ve worked with other artists from different 

backgrounds. Even though, a certain poetry comes out of every association. 

How do you choose your musical collaborations? 

“These are meetings of life: if I were a carpenter, I would meet people 

that inspire me in this particular field. As a musician, I always liked to 

accompany other musicians, enter another universe, be open and regenerated. 

It is very natural to me to exchange, to share. It can be a singer, a 

film director, a photographer, for instance, I will be lucky enough to meet 

Martin Parr, an iconic English photographer. I really like his universe: it is 

very aesthetic yet raw. I like artists, poetry and how we can contribute to 

make things poetic by sounds or images. When I meet people with whom 

I have a common language I want to build something like a hand worker. 

Poetry or building an object, the aim doesn’t matter.” 

-Depiction THREE: A black curtain: being exposed or hidden.

179 

Stage time seems very important for you. I 

have the impression that you are going back 

to the essential with the new electronic “power 

trio” you create together with Brad Thomas 

Ackley and Dorion Fiszel. 

“Every change of line-up is a new experience. 

I started on my own with a kick drum 

and samples 15 years ago then joined by the 

cellist Vincent Segal and the drummer Cyril 

Atef to create this unconventional trio. A 

second tour has been done with Alain Gaudi 

on drums and Sébastien Martel on guitars, 

we stayed 10 years this way. The Mister 

Mystère tour has been a cut as I did it with 

my family with Cyril Atef and other young 

musicians. I am now drowned to the power 

of the trio. Brad is playing an instrument 

called basstar with 2 bass strings and 4 

guitar strings. We build this instrument 

here adding a midi controller connected 

to his computer which can add samples 

and filters. It is very challenging! And I 

already have in mind the story I will tell 

in the next album and live situation!” 

-Depiction FOUR: A blues progression, 

the influences of 

“Noire” in music.. 

“Blues is the root of everything 

as we find it in funk, 

reggae, modern African 

music. These 5 notes are 

a base for lots of things. 

I more and more experience 

that I sing like 

my guitar and my guitar 

plays like I sing. The link 

between them too is very 

close: it is simply the expression of the same 

soul.” 

You claim a strong inspiration of the blues in 

this album which is so musically sunny. This 

is quite of paradox don’t you think? 

“This is all what -M- is about: it is a romantic 

soul in a playful universe. It can also be 

the opposite. I really like the A-minor tonality 

for instance. Melancholy is more or less 

perceptible but there is always one or two 

sad songs in my albums like “Délivre”, “Oualé”... 

It is part of me. Moreover I am fond of 

contrasts, alchemies, the mix of opposites. 

When I started my career, someone did a 

street-interview asking “why do you 

like -M-?” A girl answered “because 

it is the mix of Coluche and Prince” 

and I thought it was quite on 

point (smiles). Anyway, life is 

made of contradictions and 

I like my music to reflect 

this. For me it is totally 

normal to have a 

sad text on 

a joyful music or the other way round. It creates a 3D of perception. 

As musicians, composers or artists, we are chemists 

and inventors.” 

Using the term chemist makes me think of mixing. Are you active 

in the post-production process? 

“Yes, I have my home studio here where we recorded and mixed 

the whole album. I sometimes mix the songs I really like the 

laboratory side of it, it is part of -M- aesthetic.” 

-Depiction FIVE: A map of Africa…. we talk about roots and 

travels- 

“Îl” is an album where you travel a lot: India, Africa, Egypt, 

China, USA... Is travelling an important source of 

inspiration for you? 

“Yes, travelling is very inspiring. When I am not busy with 

music, I just travel. Îl contains one song totally made for a 

place that touched me a lot, La Réunion. This island has a 

nickname and this is how I called the song : “L’île intense”. 

Lyrics can be seen as fragments of a tale, using the island’s 

particular vocabulary. And when I am with Saraï (the sister 

of Dorion Fiszel in Los Angeles), we threw a party and it lead 

to the song “La maison de Saraï”. Every place inspires 

a song or more. For instance, 

Mali is a country 

that moved me a lot.” 

Serge Gainsbourg was also inspired 

by Mali. 

“Yes, Gainsbourg released “Gainsbourg Percussions” 

including “Couleur Café” in 1965. Even though 

it is 99% inspired from African songs, it is always turned 

his way and it is magic! He is a genius of geniuses! (smiles) 

I also take part in the festival “Fiesta des Suds” in Marseille. 

The line up mix African and European musicians. Four years 

ago, I found myself on stage with Ayo singing, Flee (Red Hot 

Chili Peppers) playing bass, Tony Allen on drums... It was 

very unexpected and intense moment…” 

-Depiction SIX: -M- shaped black sunglasses, hiding in the 

dark- 

It’s difficult to draw your portrait without speaking of the 

link between -M- and Matthieu Chédid, shadow, light, nor 

the accessories can describe… did you ever feel like hiding 

yourself behind a character? 

“Black sunglasses drown me to the mask, the wolf. I took 

this sentence from Nietzsche saying ’Everything that is deep 

loves the mask’. Perhaps I reinterpreted its original sense 

but I think that you are deeper when you hide yourself because 

you are disinhibited and go searching further away. 

It is like going to a masquerade, being dressed up allows 

you to let go. For me, it is obvious that you reveal your true 

self being someone else in the form, you are closer to your 

true self. Unconsciously, -M- comes from this approach: to 

reveal your soul behind, or because of a mask.” 

Then you could also appropriate this sentence of Oscar Wilde 

‚Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth’? 

“Yes sure. (smiles)” 

This truth may also lie in the cycle you draw through 

your career. In contrast to David Bowie who radically 

changes character with each album, I have 

the feeling that you moved -M- away in “Mister 

Mystère” to let it evolve, and consider -M- and 

Matthieu Chédid as the same person in “Îl”. Do you 

agree? 

“All things considered, I never locked myself in one character. 

This is more like a game. I really enjoy playing, there 

is space for freedom. To be honest, I would compose and play 

exactly the same music with or without the look of -M-. This 

is not what changes my music. My music is very instinctive; 

it reflects periods of my life. The colours can change from an 

album to another but the content would stay the same. Like a 

painter, I really like the idea of ‚period’. I am very much in the 

present as well as aware of the timelessness: I always have 

a long vision of things and like to make things coherent.” 

The sounds of Matthieu Chédid can be heard at : www.labo-m-music.com

Termites 

180 

Photography by Eileen Rullmann 

www.art-photographie.com 

I Heteropteryx dilatata I

181 

I Xylotrupes gideon I 

I Zanna nobilis I

182 

I Leopa sikkima javanica I 

I Lasiocampa quercus I

183 

I Prioneris thestylis I 

I Samia cyrithia I

184 

COL 

What’s Left O 

by Amy 

Frustration, stalling us at every 

turn. Amongst the crowd of 

vacant eyes you can feel its grip 

tighten. Suffocating, yet familiar, 

constricting, yet comforting. The 

Noire is all your darkest doubts, 

your enemies, and your fear of 

being alone. It’s a locked door, a 

sealed hatch in the floor, a darkened 

room: that contains all the 

secrets about your true self, but 

you’ve never dared open it to look 

inside. Everyone has something 

hidden, something mysterious, 

magical and precious: just meant 

for themselves, kept from others, 

it’s how we were intended 

to be. We have the capacity to 

keep a secret. Yet in an attempt 

to establish total control, for the 

so-called good of our society, we 

began to clean up, renovate, and 

demolish the walls behind which 

we hid such secrets for so many 

eternities. The places where 

we could once go to express 

our innermost desires and our 

distresses, suddenly engulfed by 

cleanliness: a sheen of musty dirt 

aggressively purified by something 

mechanical, chemical—no 

regard for the poetic beauty that 

may once have been festering 

within. 

Fear of the mysterious is ordinarily 

ingrained within us from an 

early age, so deeply ingrained in 

fact, that lines have been drawn 

that we are so inherently petrified 

to cross, for our own protection: 

or for the greater good. As soon 

as the darkness becomes just a 

little too inviting—welcoming, 

even. The adrenaline inside of us, 

the fight or flight signal, switches 

the light from off to on, revealing 

the reality of a harmless empty 

room. This isn’t to say that we 

don’t fabricate these environments, 

we still love to be terrified 

for the sake of it, to explore our 

dark fetishes, our perverse fantasies, 

but only if a panic button 

lies just within reach: we build 

something that can be quickly 

erased, forgotten or buried. Noire 

is not a way of life for the average 

human being, just something 

to be played with, teased, 

and used as entertainment. If 

anything gets too out of hand, 

well—it’s only our imagination. 

How powerful can that be? It was 

all just a dream. Pinch yourself 

to check for sure. This isn’t to 

say that every mind should have 

been unlocked, and plenty of 

depraved, psychotic a-lid in this 

world should have undoubtedly 

been left shut, but still there’s 

no way to know exactly how our 

world would look had these and 

other such tools of control—the 

gatekeepers of the Noire–never 

been known. 

Perhaps the most intense criticism 

surrounds the network we 

know as the world wide web, 

innumerable factors, strings 

of thought and oppositions are 

open to consideration in regards 

to this. However, one thing is 

certainly clear, that we no longer 

understand the importance of the 

phrase, “some things are better 

left unsaid”—suddenly we 

are all knowing, all telling, and 

all masters of our own online 

universes, as tiny robotic devices 

surround us and ‘enrich’ our daily 

lives. No question left unanswered, 

no stone left unturned, 

no dark, mysterious passageway 

left unexplored. Yet we are all 

still fascinated by a story without 

an end, an adventure: a tail, 

only visible to the naked eye, but 

to what kind of creature can it 

possibly belong? For fear of the 

answer we constantly construct 

rational thought to somehow 

disband these once so revered 

myths: webpages, forums, selfhelp 

websites, all answering the 

unanswerable questions of the 

world, that were once so wonderfully 

abstract, suddenly now 

seeming so concrete, our doubts 

sent scattering. 

As soon as we switch on and 

log in, accept the terms, check 

the box, something we never 

even knew we had is inextricably 

ripped from us: a foetus of 

unknowable energy, curiosity 

and depth. Should we have the 

opportunity to look outside of our 

assumed blinkers, even just for 

the briefest of moments, and live 

our own lives, instead of focusing 

on the experiences lived by one 

thousand million others? 

Through media, music, video, 

sound and film, we can experience 

the cultures, lives, emotions, 

existences and imagery of 

every area of the earth, witness 

the most horrific sights of war, 

famine, depravity, and death— 

but have the majority of us ever 

really seen anything at all? 

Something with our own eyes, to 

the point that it shakes us to the 

very bones, shakes us into action, 

outside of the safety of our living 

rooms, our cosy, comfortable 

nests. How much of your life is 

lived within a virtual reality, that 

separates you from your fellow 

human, a virtual reality, that has 

really become your cage.

UMN 

185 

f The Noire? 

Heaton 

Anonymity and privacy are 

things of the past: our emotions, 

everyday and otherwise, 

shamelessly spattered across 

pages, even the most hardened 

critic has their price. Nothing 

is sacred anymore. Existence, 

once so wonderfully fragile and 

unfathomable is now tirelessly 

analysed and finally, explained 

away: there is no mystery. How 

can there possibly be when every 

moment, feeling, living, waking 

day is captured through the eyes 

of a camera lens, how much of 

your life do you even live through 

your own eyes? Let’s appreciate 

the irony in all of this interconnectedness, 

if only for a fleeting 

moment. Each time we find 

ourselves afraid, and isolated, 

within moments we are able to 

network to our nearest and dearest 

in a heartbeat. Slide open the 

iPhone screen to reveal a world 

of human contact within, but if 

we were ever forced to face our 

own most twisted fears head on, 

how quickly would a cry for help 

really be answered? How many 

of those so-called friends would 

come to your rescue when you 

truly needed them most? Have we 

somehow become so lost in our 

own world of imagined security 

that in fact, when we finally look 

back: no one’s there. Instead of 

staring, sharing, tweeting and 

liking our way through life, copy/ 

pasting our personalities into 

the endless white space, why 

not step outside and take a walk, 

down a darkened street, down 

a road without an end, and see 

what’s really possible? How far 

are we really able to defend ourselves 

and cross the line into the 

place without an exit? To discover 

all the sordid delights that may 

well lie within. 

Yet it is irreversibly so, that the 

beauty in the unknown has been 

long since forgotten. In a world 

full of endless safety features, 

soft cushions and user-friendly 

bullshit, how is it even possible 

to find the Noire? Let alone live 

a life inside it. To really crawl 

into its cavernous mouth, teeth 

glinting, tempting as they are 

destructive. Those who even hope 

to find a way must live on the 

fringes, outcast, the only ones 

who dare to go where others 

dare not, living life to the full, 

travelling further, pushing themselves 

harder to the very edges. 

As more and more mysteries of 

the world are seemingly solved, 

unmasked, excavated, where 

do we find that last place that 

is truly—underground. Ignorance 

may be bliss for a while, 

but somewhere there’s a feeling 

deep inside that’s niggling 

away, yearning for something 

more than just the world that is 

tailored for us by the choices we 

already made. Who we know, 

why we know them, where we go, 

what we do there, what we buy, 

where we work, where we went 

once, twice, three times. Perhaps 

without this constant observation 

of our every movement we might 

feel free to explore some of those 

secret corners of the world, those 

hidden places you can’t read up 

about on Lonely Planet, leaving 

your review from 1–5 stars. No 

photo app filter can blur the reality 

of what was really there. No 

edit button, no retouching tools. 

As we become ever more intertwined 

I start to wonder what will 

become of us in the end, what 

will be left of the Noire, in us, 

in the things that surround us, 

perhaps it was never even there 

in the first place, or perhaps we 

simply don’t care what happens 

when all the mysteries are 

solved. Concepts are researched 

and researched into nothing. 

References quoted, captions 

explaining, clarifying, criticising. 

Whatever happened to just 

letting things be? Leave notes 

hanging—artfully mounted in the 

mid-air. When the rush of excitement 

of simply not knowing, is 

a feeling that humans can no 

longer ever experience. Background 

checks, google searches, 

facebook pages: telling us all we 

really need to know. Why would 

you bother looking anywhere 

else? As a lack of empathy, and 

disconnectedness overwhelms 

and consumes you, are you really 

in a position to stand up and 

fight? Drugged, subdued, and 

vacuous, tapping away into the 

abyss. 

As we disband the external socalled 

threats that surround us, 

will we start to destroy ourselves 

from the inside out, our minds 

so constricted that they slowly 

coil in on themselves, tighter and 

tighter around our consciousness 

until the last drop of curiosity is 

unravelled. What hope is there for 

the Noire—half-dead already– 

taking it’s last gulps of air in a 

world where anything that once 

waited patiently in the shadows, 

is now mercilessly exposed 

beneath the unblinking chill, of 

inextinguishable neon lights.

186 

TRENTEMØLLER 

Not all who 

wander are 

LOST 

Interview: Ange Suprowicz & Amy Heaton 

Photo Credit: Alastair Philip Wiper 

“ I wrote all the songs 

with certain vocalists 

in mind but without 

their knowing. So 

Luckily everyone said 

yes actually, if not 

these songs would not 

have been on the album. 

Each track was 

specifically written 

for the vocalist who 

recorded it in the end.”

187 

Composing at the intersection between indie and electronica, Copenhagen-based musician Anders Trentemøller 

released his debut album ‘The Last Resort’ in 2006. Since then he has been exploring a penchant for emotional 

melodic moments and experimental production methods, touring with his live band of multi-instrumentalists 

and remixing every well respected artist in the electronic music scene from Moby to The Knife. After starting up 

his own record imprint, In My Room, Trentemøller’s second album Into The Great Wide Yonder was released 

four years later, it was a move into a more analogue sound influenced heavily by indie and post punk incorporating 

even more live instrumentation and vocals. This autumn he released his third full-length album Lost, 

drawing inspiration from his extensive live touring stint, is a record defined by Trentemøller’s grunting reverb, 

psychedelic grooves and a jumpy synth pattern that pushes us into the album’s dark, emotive context. Lost is 

Trentemøller’s most collaborative effort yet, pairing him with a vibrant cast of vocal features— the legendary 

duo Low, Jonny Pierce from The Drums, Marie Fisker, Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Jana Hunter of Lower 

Dens, Ghost Society and Sune Wagner of The Raveonettes. 

Live, Anders is accompanied by a band made up of three guys dressed in black and two girls on his right adorned 

in floaty white chiffon. Together, they create a musical journey that twists and turns; it peaks in pitches high 

and low, it rattles and tattles. As the drums build from a tribal romp to a panicked bubbling, the atmosphere 

is rife with a feverish buzz. Haunted by past endeavours and a droning EKG pulse, the entirety of Lost may 

exist in the bliss of the intermediate, neither here nor there; the disparate state of wandering and intentionally 

finding oneself lost. The members on stage take turns to stand in the foreground, as if taking turns to navigate 

through the unknown. Equipped with shakers, tambourines, cymbals, a xylophone and other tinkling sundries, 

the group noisily makes it way into the dark void ahead. On stage, three pieces of art installation appear, 

obstacles in their path, and there’s a gloomy moment of uncertainty. Classic horror movie sounds eke in, and it 

seems the end is nigh. Slowly, Anders’ gnarled, bass heavy synth style moves into the foreground and he begins 

clapping, exciting the audience and encouraging his band to push on. The straight instrumental sheds a light on 

Anders’ technical finesse and he raises his hand as if to exclaim “It’s this way, follow me!” The band follows; having 

found a fork in the road, they see an open stretch of opportunity. Marie Fisker’s uncanny voice is silky and 

sultry and oddly comforting, it grounds both audience and band, and together we find our way out of the abyss. 

The performance’s closing moments recapitulate the album’s theme: it progresses from a wide-eyed sensual understanding 

to disorientated wanderings to a profound feeling of escape. Anders has chosen and acted wisely: if 

you’re going to get lost, it’s best to have five virtuosos by your side. 

KALTBLUT: On your website it says that the album is a “fuck-you to 

whatever genre” your followers had boxed you into. What kind of progression 

brought you to this definitive point? 

TRENTEMØLLER: Thankfully it’s not all my ‘followers” who like to 

put me into a box, but yeah, it has sometimes been a bit frustrating 

for me that people seem to find it difficult to accept that I keep on 

developing my sound. I still think there’s a red line connecting the 

music I did in my past up to now, but my life also naturally developed. 

That should hopefully be something you could hear in the 

music too. Of course I don’t make the same music as I did eight years 

ago but I don’t think in genres to be honest, so it’s sometimes a 

bit fun to see, especially music-journalists, who try to put my music 

into different kinds of weird boxes. Why not just judge the music 

for the music itself ? I sometimes like to think... 

KALTBLUT: How important do you think is it for musicians to break 

out of their genre? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I don’t like to think too much in genres, I think 

it’s all about making personal music that reflects your moods and 

feelings, then if it breaks the genre or not at all, that does not matter 

to me as long as the music touches me. A band like Mazzy Star 

sounds totally the same on their new album as they did when they 

released their last 17 years ago…and I’m glad about that! They are 

amazing and Hope’s vocal is so unique, I don’t need them to break 

genres, I need to hear them write fantastic songs and they did not 

disappoint me this time either! 

KALTBLUT: How much of your work is done with the intention to surprise 

and shock? 

TRENTEMØLLER: Not much at all! That’s not my purpose in making 

music. I make music out of a personal passion. Music is for me, 

one of the best ways to describe my feelings and I try to only be in 

the now and not thinking about music in a ‘music marketing’ or 

business kind of way! I don’t care about target groups either. 

KALTBLUT: In 2008 you won an award for Best Chillout Artist and 

later stated you never thought your music would be categorized as 

“chillout”. How would you describe it then? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I won’t try to squeeze the music into a specific 

genre, but I would say it’s melodic and kind of dramatic music with 

a lot of contrasts and dynamic. All in all I actually just try to make 

good quality music! That’s the most important thing for me as an 

artist. 

KALTBLUT: What was the recording process like for you this time? 

Did you have continuity with your studio set up? 

TRENTEMØLLER: Yeah, pretty much! I have a nice studio in 

Copenhagen with a recording room for drums, guitars, piano, amps 

and other stuff and then my working/producing room next door, 

where most of the time is spent. This time I began the writing of the 

tunes often at my upright piano. I like to focus on the melodies and 

chord progressions first and for that the piano is the natural choice. 

I don’t have the music graphically in front of me on the computer 

monitor but I am using only my ears and I like that fact, it makes it 

easier for me to write music that way. 

Then later I turn to my studio and arrange those ideas and parts 

I have written for the different instruments and work on them 

again on the computer.

188 

KALTBLUT: This album has, indeed, a far more song-structured style–-compositionally 

speaking—and not only because of the vocals 

from collaborating artists. Was this a calculated attempt to spend 

more time working with other people? Do you think the album is 

more commercial than your previous work? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I don’t think about being commercial or not, 

so it’s hard for me to say, but maybe it’s a bit easier for people to 

connect to because there are more vocal tracks on the album. It 

was very much just how the tunes I wrote ended up progressing, 

I did not plan to do an album with more vocals on than before, 

but the songs somehow really fitted vocals as I went along, it 

wasn’t my intention to create something more commercial at all, 

but simply because the tunes I wrote kind of ‘demanded’ vocals it 

seemed natural to follow the flow. 

KALTBLUT: You’ve been quoted as saying, “For me, making music is 

quite a lonely process.” Does this ever bother you? Or do you embrace 

it? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I really love the process of writing and producing 

all on my own, that’s what works best for me. I don’t incorporate 

the musicians when I’m in the studio, I like to have 

100% control over the music at this point. So often we make quite 

different versions of the same song, and then when we finally 

get together we share our ideas. I can offer my experience as a 

musician, because I know what it’s possible to actually play on 

the different instruments and often that is a big help, and the 

musicians give me a lot of feedback on the music and often come 

up with other ideas how to play the different parts, and at this 

point it becomes more of a collaborative process. I didn’t really 

want the album to be a ‘feature’ album actually, that was very 

important for me. So I really hope the album works as a whole 

album even if there are several different vocalists on it. There are 

also several instrumental tracks and that is something that I still 

really love to do. Next album could maybe be a pure instrumental 

album, who knows… 

KALTBLUT: How do your collaborations usually come about? 

TRENTEMØLLER: For me it’s actually not the main thing to collaborate 

with vocalists, but since I really sing quite badly myself 

I need someone to sing my songs! When I started writing for this 

album these songs just materialised when I sat at the piano, and 

I instantly knew that they would fit specific vocalists, so I actually 

wrote all the songs with certain vocalists in mind but without 

their knowing. So it was quite nerve-wracking finally after 

the songs were kind of finished from my side to begin to contact 

these vocalists and hope that they would want to work with me! 

Luckily everyone said yes actually, if not these songs would not 

have been on the album. Each track was specifically written for 

the vocalist who recorded it in the end. 

KALTBLUT: Was there any one particular artist with whom you 

had a special musical chemistry, where you just immediately clicked? 

TRENTEMØLLER: Yeah! The song I did with Mimi Parker of 

Low. It was so easy to work together and the result turned out so 

well I think. I’m a HUGE fan of their music and they have been 

a constant inspiration for me the last 15 years, so for me it was a 

fantastic thing to have them on my album. When I started working 

on the chord progression of the song I had Mimi Parker’s 

beautiful voice in mind, so it was a great, great pleasure and a 

big honour that she actually really liked the music I sent to her 

and made this magical melody and lyrics to put with my music. 

So that’s also one of the reasons that the song ‘The Dream’ is the 

opening track on the album. From there you can go everywhere… 

it’s quite open and I like that! 

KALTBLUT: The collaboration with Jonny Pierce from The Drums is 

the one that surprised us the most. What’s the feedback on that been 

like? Did it open up a new audience for your sound? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I had a really good feedback on that track, especially 

when we are playing it live. We play it in a quite different 

more uptempo version that sounds a bit like The Cure. It’s Marie 

Fisker, who also appears on the album, that sings it live. So to 

make the song adapt to her we change it quite a lot actually, but 

it works. 

KALTBLUT: Do you feel like you’ve collaborated with almost all the 

people you’d like to? Or is there anyone that seems out of reach for 

you—a dream collaboration, perhaps? 

TRENTEMØLLER: If I had to choose one artist that I really respect 

and love it would be Nick Cave. To work with him on a song 

would be out of this world! Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds played 

just before us at a festival, and we watched the whole concert 

from the stage. It was mind blowing, nearly a bit scary how well 

they played and how good Nick Cave was on stage.

189 

KALTBLUT: Who’s your favourite artist that has remixed one of your 

tracks so far? 

KALTBLUT: How do you think the electronic music scene has evolved 

since you’ve been apart of it? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I don’t think that I have ever got a remix that 

I really liked...but for the first time I really got a fantastic remix of 

the track Gravity (feat. Jana Hunter from Lower Dens) from the 

new album from danish band Pinkunoizu. It’s a brilliant remix and 

it will be out soon! I’m so happy about it! 

KALTBLUT: How was it working with Dorit Chrysler? We’re big fans 

of her unique experimentation with the theremin sound. 

TRENTEMØLLER: Dorit is a good friend and she supported us on 

our US tour two years ago. She is also married to the Danish video 

artist Jesper Just who did the music video for Sycamore Feeling 

from my last studio album and it’s through Jesper that I got to 

know Dorit and her music. She’s so talented and a great performer. 

She’s a real diva (in a good way) so that was also why I produced 

and released her latest EP on my own label In My Room. 

KALTBLUT: What do you see in the future of recording and sharing 

music? Especially in regards to GEMA on our Berlin backs. 

TRENTEMØLLER: As regards file sharing music, I really think 

it’s rude and with no respect for the artist when people upload a 

WHOLE album with graphics and everything for people to download 

for free. It’s really hard to make a living as an artist now, because 

the physical sales have been minimised so much, so one of 

the only ways we can have the time and freedom to make music 

is if the people using our music also pay for it! I don’t mind if one 

of my tracks is on a blog or another place on the net, but a whole 

album for people to download for free is too much disrespect for 

the artist and I hate that I can find my new album as a .zip file free 

to download on the internet quite easily, but at the end of the day 

it’s really hard to fight that. 

KALTBLUT: You once said in an interview Berlin doesn’t do it for you 

quite in the same way as Copenhagen. What does the Danish capital 

have on the German one? Are there any other cities you would you 

consider moving to? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I just like Copenhagen and the vibe here. So 

much interesting music has come out of Copenhagen and Denmark 

these past years I think. Maybe because we started to trust 

our own sound and do not try to copy what is coming out of for 

example US and UK, but we try to define a certain Scandinavian 

way of writing music, often with a more melancholic touch. 

KALTBLUT: Let’s talk about your imprint ‘In My Room’. When did 

you start this up, and why? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I simply wanted my own platform from where 

I could release my albums and sometimes other artists that I find 

interesting, but so far the only other artist I have had the time to 

release is Dorit Chrysler. Hopefully I can sign another new artist 

soon that has that special thing that I’m looking for. But right now 

I’m really busy touring so when the touring stops next year I will 

definitely start searching for more artists to work with. It basically 

just means that I have 100% artistic freedom and that is of course 

very important to me! 

KALTBLUT: What does it mean to you that electronic musicians appear 

to be taking a darker, more industrial and atmospheric turn? Do 

you have any thoughts on the influences behind this progression? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I can’t talk on behalf of other artists, especially 

not electronic artists so I don’t know if the overall music style has 

taken a darker twist. I don’t see music as a whole scene or a whole 

sound or style, but what I certainly miss in a lot of electronic music 

is melodies! It’s too often only atmospheres, beats and sound design 

and too less melody, but that’s just my opinion…maybe I’m wrong? 

TRENTEMØLLER: To be honest I don’t really follow it so much because 

when I was doing more pure electronic music l did not feel 

any connection to the scene actually. So I’m not at all up to date 

with what is happening, and it was the same thing back then. I 

tried not to focus so much on a genre or scene but just to make music, 

and back then what came out from me had a more electronic 

sound but I never felt that I belonged to the electronic scene. 

KALTBLUT: How important is the relationship between the visual 

and the auditory for you? 

TRENTEMØLLER: Quite important! I work very closely with the 

Danish artist and fashion designer Henrik Vibskov on the visual 

side of the show. Henrik actually used to play drums in the band 

too but these days he’s too busy for that because he’s using all his 

time on his own stuff. But Henrik is designing and building the 

whole stage set-design that we always bring with us when we play 

live. There is no video projections, it’s all build up and then we use 

a lot the light to make these set ups work even stronger. 

KALTBLUT: A lot of musicians are starting to turn towards working 

on film soundtracks. Does this appeal to you at all? 

TRENTEMØLLER: No. Not really! I worked on a Danish movie 

once but then I realised that it takes a lot of time and energy, it’s 

nearly the same as making a studio album and I would rather use 

that time on touring or making new music. I do like the fact that 

other directors use my music in their movies though, for example 

Pedro Almodóvar used one of the tracks on my earlier album Into 

The Great Wide Yonder for his movie, ‘The Skin I Live In’. It’s a key 

scene about two minutes in with no dialogue, only the music, and 

then he actually also used that track for all the trailers for the movie. 

He also asked to have the different parts in the music separately 

so he could mix up for example the guitars so they fitted what 

happened in the scene which was a long chase scene with Antonio 

Banderas on a motorbike. Also Oliver Stone used my surf track 

‘Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go!!!’ in his latest movie, and the french 

director Jacques Audiard used a mix I did with Bruce Springsteen 

in a key scene in Rust And Bone. So the fact that other artists that 

I also admire a lot can use my music in a creative way is fantastic. 

I’m very grateful for that! 

KALTBLUT: How do you approach your Dj-ing versus your tour 

shows? Where do you like to let your creativity and risk-taking run 

wild? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I don’t really play as a DJ anymore, my focus 

is playing my own music live rather than playing other peoples 

tracks as a DJ, so it’s also mainly with the band that I use my creativity! 

KALTBLUT: You started out presenting your work as a solo artist and 

then began touring with a live band. Did it take a lot of work to transform 

the set up? 

TRENTEMØLLER: I don’t think really think about it in advance, 

like about if or how the music I make will work in a live situation, 

but It’s really nice after all these months isolated in the studio and 

the album is finished to meet with the band and start to rearrange 

the song and rehearse them together. It’s a totally different process 

and a nice contrast for me! 

KALTBLUT: What are you currently listening to when you’re not working? 

TRENTEMØLLER: The Soft Moon, The Smiths, Dirty Beaches, Flaming 

Lips, Moon Duo, The Warlocks…. 

www.anderstrentemoller.com

190 

Susann Bosslau 

LENTICUL[I]AR 

Objects in mirror are further than they appear 

A fashion star is born! May I 

introduce you to my friend and 

fashion designer Susann Bosslau? 

I've known her for some years 

now, and we used to curate the 

fashion element of our project 

HONK! Magazine together 

two years ago. She is a model, 

fashion editor and just finished 

studying at the Akademie Mode 

& Design (AMD) fashion school 

in Berlin. If someone is truly 

gifted with talent then it is Susann. 

This blond-haired German 

girl is an all-rounder and just 

moved to London to enter the 

fashion world from there. I am 

proud to present her first Spring/ 

Summer Collection for 2014: 

"LENTICUL[I]AR - Objects 

in mirror are further than they 

appear" 

Together with photographer 

Suzanna Holtgrave she has 

produced this great editorial for 

our Collection Noire. Her designs 

are fashion-forward, exactly 

what I expect when I think of 

avant-garde fashion. The woman 

Susann is designing for must be a 

strong character—a woman with 

style, sexy and edgy—because 

she herself is that kind of woman. 

To be honest I hate the fact that 

she is designing womenswear. I 

would love to see, and perhaps 

one day wear, some amazing 

menswear pieces from her. 

Susann do you hear me?

191 

Interview by Marcel Schlutt 

Concept and Photography by Suzana Holtgrave 

www.suzanaholtgrave.tumblr.com 

Styling and Designs by Susann Bosslau 

Hair & Make-Up by Timo Blum 

www.timoblum.blogspot.de 

Assistant: Stella Semmerling 

Models: Kassandra and Pepa 

M4 Model Management 

Special THX Kiko Dionisio and Nero the dog

192 

“The 

‘Twin 

Peaks’ 

character 

Josie 

Packard 

would be 

the perfect 

model for 

my 

clothes”

193 

KALTBLUT: Hello Susann. Welcome to our 

magazine. We've known each other personally for a long time 

now, but please tell our readers something about your background? 

How did you get into fashion design? 

Susann: Hey KALTBLUT. Thank you for 

having me. It’s been a while since we last worked together, 

before I started working on my Bachelor Degree collection 

at AMD Berlin. I had to leave the Fashion Editor 

part at HONK! (which has now become KALTBLUT) 

in order to focus on my B.A. From a very young age I 

was involved in the arts. I was dancing a lot, jazz, modern 

dance and ballet, and I actually always wanted to become 

a ballerina because I had this obsession with those painful 

but beautiful ‘pointe’ shoes. I was always so keen about designing 

the outfits or at least having a say about the costumes 

and looks my dance group wore for performances and 

competitions. I guess this is when designing started to take 

over my life. My mum always made the clothes I designed. 

She was unbelievably patient with me. Her mum was 

a tailor and she learned it from her and I learned part of 

that from my mum. 

KALTBLUT: You just finished your studies at the AMD Berlin. 

For how long did you study fashion there? Do you have the feeling 

that it was time well spent? 

Susann: I finished my B.A. in February 2013. Studying 

there definitely made a change to my life. Not only was I 

studying with very good teachers and professors for 3 and 

a half years but also extremely talented students who are 

now very good friends. It was a tough time but I am happy 

that I chose to study there. 

KALTBLUT: We are presenting your first collection for Spring/ 

Summer 2014 entitled "LENTICUL[I]AR - Objects in mirror 

are further than they appear". Could you explain your inspiration 

for this collection? And what does the name mean? 

Susann: Visualize a liar. Someone who hides his weaknesses 

behind a fabricated facade. There will always be people 

who create a fake character in order to hide their not so 

cool self. LENTICUL[I]AR actually refers to physics. A 

lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses. It is a lens 

specially designed in a way that when you look at it from 

different angles different images are magnified. You might 

know this effect from pictures where lenticular printing 

was used. As a child I had this card with butterflies on it. 

When I held in my hand I could see the butterflies with 

their wings either closed or opened but when I moved it 

they looked like they were flying. I used it because just 

like my collection this lens shows you an illusion, a lie. It’s 

like a different reality or how I call it a parallel universe 

of yourself. This is where those metal corsets, pants and 

gloves come into the picture. That would be the inspirational 

negative part of this collection. The positive part 

is that you should always look at something from different 

angles before you judge, the picture can change on 

a second or third look. When you see my clothes from 

the front they will lead you in a certain direction but this 

direction will turn completely when you see the back. 

I think faking is self-torture. However that torture was 

inspirational enough to make metal corsets, pants, latches 

and gloves. 

KALTBLUT: I love the shapes of your designs. How would you 

describe the aesthetic of your work? 

Susann: It’s a neo 50’s/60’s mix with a hint of Han Solo’s 

‘Millennium Falcon’. Elegant, straight-forward, laced up 

but at the same time sexy. 

KALTBLUT: Also your choice of different materials in the collection 

is amazing. From fake leather to multicoloured brocade. 

Why those different materials? Was it easy to work with them? 

And what else can we find in your collection?

Susann: I wanted the materials to clash. I wanted 

to draw attention to the fabrics and show 

that this mix can work. Whilst researching for 

fabrics I focused on what sort of association a 

certain material recalled in me. The multicoloured 

woven brocade reminded me of a stuck 

up English tea party with rich middle-aged wives. 

The polyvinyl chloride on the other hand 

reminded me of wrapped up meat that you get 

in supermarket with a hint of fetish. 

194 

KALTBLUT: For how long have you been working 

on the collection? And how many nervous breakdowns 

did you have during that time? 

Susann: 3 Months. Breakdowns: enough. 

KALTBLUT: I love that your collection features a 

lot of black pieces but also some yellow. Is it a risk 

to create a mainly black collection for the upcoming 

season? Or do you see your woman wearing a lot of 

black? 

Susann: Black is timeless and doesn’t depend 

on certain seasons. So no, not risky. And yes 

there is always a good time to wear black. 

KALTBLUT: The theme of our issue is NOIRE. 

Do you have an idea why black is the perfect colour 

for fashion? Which are your favourite colours? 

Susann: To me black is a colour that leaves 

questions open. So it challenges you. Black can 

be strong, fierce, elegant, menacing anything 

really. Black has many faces and a person wearing 

black is not easy to judge. I like strong and 

heavy colours but I might go with pastel when 

the fabric to that is strong and heavy. I have an 

affinity for collisions.. 

KALTBLUT: For what kind of woman do you 

design your clothes for? 

Susann: The ‘Twin Peaks’ character Josie 

Packard would be the perfect model for my 

clothes. A passionate, straight-forward and 

inconspicuously sexy woman who doesn’t want 

to be overlooked. 

KALTBLUT: You also created some amazing shoes. 

I know you love to make accessories. Are there any 

plans to come out with an accessories line one day as 

well? 

Susann: The shoes are all handmade with aluminum. 

My brother was crazy enough to help 

me make them. Marty Mcfly’s ‘Back To The 

Future’ Deloreaon (I LOVE THAT CAR) was 

an inspiration. If Josie Packerd would travel 

through time in that car I would love her to 

wear my shoes. Accessories are important because 

they transport the message of your look 

and can lead it in a very different direction. 

Plans for an accessories line are in the making. 

KALTBLUT: Your current collection is only for 

girls. What a pity, because I think you would dress 

the guys quite well. Why have you decided to go for 

womenswear? 

Susann: There are so many details of menswear 

in womenswear that I think I am already 

satisfied. For now I will focus more on designing 

for women but I wouldn’t say I will never 

design for men. After all I am actually wearing 

my boyfriend's clothes every now and then.

195 KALTBLUT: As a young fashion designer in 

Germany it is not so easy to survive. Germans 

are not so into fashion like our friends in London 

or Paris. How much of your cultural background, 

especially Berlin, can we see in your designs? 

Susann: The fascination for metal must 

come from my families background of blacksmithing. 

Once it was about smithing horse 

shoes and now it's about forging women shoes 

and accessories. The accessories are actually 

made of these old metal construction kits my 

brother played with as a kid. You are supposed 

to build cars and trains out of it. I thought 

why not make some pants, gloves and glasses. 

So I took my brother's old metal kits and 

started to play dress up. I’m not sure if you 

can see anything of Berlin in my collection. 

You probably see a culture clash though. To 

support myself and to finance my studies I fly 

around the globe as a flight attendant every 

now and then. That enables me to explore 

different parts, traditions and people of this 

wonderful planet. Japan fascinates me. Tokyo 

is the most inspiring city I’ve ever been to. 

Whenever I’m there I feel like a child who 

tastes candy for the first time. Mind blowing. 

KALTBLUT: Is there any designer you look up 

to and why? Do you have some kind of a fashion 

icon? 

Susann: Rei Kawakobu. She is brilliant. 

Nothing more to say to that. 

KALTBLUT: Where do you create your designs? 

Do you have your own studio? 

Susann: I designed and made the collection in 

my 56 square meter apartment in Berlin. That 

was a challenge but a successful one. 

KALTBLUT: Some may not know it but you also 

worked as a model, fashion editor for HONK! 

Magazine back in 2011 and as a double for Cate 

Blanchet. Now you are a fashion designer. I have 

the feeling you are still on a private journey 

through life. Where do you see yourself let’s say in 

20 years? 

Susann: Good memories come back to my 

mind when I think about that. I had such a 

good time doing all this. Being a designer 

you’ve got to be open for everything and 

multitasking in a way. Otherwise, how are you 

supposed to create something new? 

KALTBLUT: Let’s play a little game. If you could 

dress a famous person out of these two who would it 

be and why!? Marilyn Mason or Justin 

Timberlake? 

Susann: Marilyn Manson because he is a 

crazy genius, I love his music and because 

there is always a little bit of Manson in my 

mood boards. 

KALTBLUT: Thank you very much for your time 

and the amazing editorial you and Suzana 

Holtgrave have produced for our Noire theme. 

Come back to see us soon when you have a new 

collection to show! 

Susann: Thanks to you 

KALTBLUT!

196 

KERBY 

Rosanes 

Kerby Rosanes is a freelance illustrator. The things that occupy him the most? Sketching and doodling, of course. 

Hailing from the Philippines, he spends every bit of free time he has clutching his notebook, armed with his 

beloved pens. He’ll fill up blank pages with thousands of little details; put those details together and creates an 

extraordinary piece of art. For Kerby, these doodles are much more than just “unfocused drawing.” 

This is his passion, it’s his way of life. 

KALTBLUT: Hi Kerby, can you please tell us what are your 

influences and what inspires you? 

Kerby: A lot of things inspire me. Nature, music, anime, cartoons, scifi 

movies, personal experiences and anything interesting I encounter 

everyday. My greatest influences include other ink artists like Mattias 

Adolfsson and Johanna Basford, film characters of Hayao Miyazaki 

and my mom for teaching me how to be creative at all times. 

KALTBLUT: There is a lot of detail in your illustrations. How 

did you start working this way? 

Kerby: I love putting details in my work. I think that characteristic 

alone makes my work unique from other artists. Without it, any of my 

pieces will not come alive knowing that I don’t usually colour them. I 

started working that way when I decided to drop my pastels and coloured 

pencils, when I lose the patience of colouring my work. 

KALTBLUT: How long does it take you to finish one of your 

illustrations? What does it depend on? 

Kerby: It depends on the size and what purpose it will be used for. Most 

commissioned pieces would take me a couple of weeks to finish since 

research is being made. For personal doodles, I do it in two days most 

likely every night after a busy day at the office. 

KALTBLUT: How has your work changed as you evolved? 

Kerby: My work has changed from the ordinary scribbles in my class 

notebooks, to more detailed and conceptual illustrations that are well

197 

recognized across the globe. I still 

have a long way to go when it comes 

to “evolving” my craft and that’s 

what I am more excited about! 

KALTBLUT: What kind of 

things scare you the most? What 

do you fear? 

Kerby: Many things actually. I’m 

afraid of heights, paranormal activity 

and losing my beloved pens! 

KALTBLUT: If you would make 

an illustration of yourself, what 

would it look like? What kind of 

things would it involve? 

Kerby: Hmm.. tough question. But 

I think I’ll just include things I love 

and best represent me. It can be so 

random without any art direction 

at all. Just like my other drawings, 

I want it to be just plainly spontaneous 

leaving the viewer to figure 

out the stories behind them. 

KALTBLUT: You often include 

animals in your work, can you 

tell us a little about it? What do 

they symbolize? 

Kerby: They don’t symbolize 

anything at all. I just love to explore 

the wild and natural elements 

as a major theme of the artwork. 

Animals are good subjects when you 

want to reach a wide audience, appealing 

to kids, adults, art professionals, 

tattoo artists, nature lovers, 

etc. 

KALTBLUT: Each one of your 

illustrations seems to be a whole 

world. If you could bring one to 

life, which one would it be and 

why? 

Kerby: It would be the doodle called 

“CROW-DED”. It might sound 

weird but I love crows! 

KALTBLUT: There is a lot of 

black and white in your work. 

What makes you choose black 

and white over colour? 

Kerby: I just don’t have the patience 

to colour in my work. 

KALTBLUT: Where do you see 

yourself in 10 years from now? 

Kerby: Still doing what I love. Travelling 

the world for more inspiration. 

And teaching kids about my 

art. 

Interview by Amanda M. Jansson, 

Emma E. K. Jones and Nicolas Simoneau 

www.kerbyrosanes.com

MUST 

198 

Selected by Marcel Schlutt 

TECIDOFINO X MARC STONE 

"There is no luxury in the world a man can be closer to!" 

The label tecidofino has presented itself on the catwalk for the first time during the last Berlin Fashion Week together with the Swiss designer 

Marc Stone's underwear. And it was the perfect combination. Marc Stone is known for his classic men's fashion. But due to his athletic 

new collection he sent models in underwear from tecidofino on the catwalk . And guys , we all know how important the perfect pants are for 

us. Founded in 2013 the Berlin Label tecidofino has got high quality materials combined with the latest design ideas and so produced the 

finest underwear for men in the world. Tecidofino makes a name for itself, because the fine fabric represents design, quality, luxury and wellbeing. 

The natural , luxurious comfort is not only special because of the fashionable design but also because of the use of environmentally 

friendly raw materials . All fabrics are primarily made from renewable resources. The proverbial red thread which runs not only through the 

entire collection , is rather subtle and yet signal red, is found on any of the tecidofino designs. The classic aesthetics of Marc Stone's man 

fits perfectly to the really high quality underpants of tecidofino. 

www.tecidofino.com 

www.marc-stone.ch 

Photos by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

www.aureliapaumelle.com 

Bürknerstr. 5 - 12047 Berlin

Sorry My 

200 

Love 

Concept & Photography: Suzana Holtgrave 

Model: Amanda at Satory Models 

Hair and make up: Anna Kürner at Basics 

Styling: Anita Krizanovic 

Production: Marcel Schlutt 

Dress & Skirt: Who’s That Girl

201 

Dress & Cardigan: Who’s That Girl, Scarf: Illith, Earrings: Stylists Own

Dress, Skirt & Cardigan: Who’s That Girl, Pinafore: Illith, Earrings: Stylists Own, 202 Gloves: Très Bonjour

Dress: Who’s That Girl, Pinafore: Illith, Scarf: Illith, Shoes: Gianni 

203

Dress: Who’s That Girl, Stockings & Body: Très Bonjour, Shoes: Gucci 

204

205 Dress & Cardigan: Who’s That Girl, Scarf: Illith

206 

HUMPHREY BOGART 

Text by Claudio Alvargonzález Tera 

Illustration by Emma E. K. Jones 

THE KING OF 

F I L M N O I R

207 

If you think of classic Film Noir, one 

of the first images that comes to 

mind is a black and white picture 

of a gangster, a private detective 

or a drunk journalist with a hat, a 

raincoat, a cigarette and a glass of 

bourbon. If you try to put a face on 

that image I bet that it belongs to 

Humphrey Bogart. 

If you are born on Christmas Day, 

I guess you are destined to do 

something special with your life. 

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born 

in New York City on that special day 

in 1899. His father was a wealthy 

Manhattan surgeon and his mother 

was a famed magazine illustrator 

and photographer. Bogart’s parents 

wanted him to be a doctor, probably 

dreaming about studying at 

Yale University like the rest of posh 

kids from New York City. However 

destiny had prepared something 

completely different for him. Since 

the beginning, his marks at Trinity 

School and Phillips Academy were 

pretty low and he was eventually 

kicked out. Yale University was 

out of the picture, and his parents’ 

dream was broken. Bogie, like many 

young guys in those days, joined the 

United States Navy during the spring 

of 1918. Those were the times of 

First World War and the young 

Bogart was sent to service during 

the conflict. That was the time he got 

injured by the impact of shrapnel 

leaving him with that famous scar 

on his lip. 

After leaving the navy he found a 

job at the World Film Corporation 

and some time later he finally got a 

role in a theatre play called Drifting 

(1922). It was his first role. Soon he 

became quite popular on Broadway, 

working in one play after another 

until 1929, when he decided to move 

to Hollywood. The truth is he wasn’t 

too lucky at the start. Broadway is 

one thing, but Hollywood is a much 

bigger playing field. The year 1935 

came along and he finally got a role 

in The Petrified Forest with two bigger 

stars, Leslie Howard and Bette 

Davis. The film was a success and 

Bogie signed a contract with Warner 

Brothers, but it wasn’t until 1941 

when he met his friend John Huston 

(probably the most influential man 

in his life) during the shooting of 

their first film together The Maltese 

Falcon. 

The film became an instant Film Noir 

classic (you can find a small review 

of the film in our TOP 5) and Bogart 

simply jumped into a higher Hollywood 

status. They made seven films 

together, including The Treasure of 

the Sierra Madre, Key Largo (with 

his last wife Lauren Bacall) and The 

African Queen with Katherine Hepburn. 

This last role of a gin-swilling 

riverboat captain finally gave him 

the Oscar he was waiting for in 

1952. He defeated Marlon Brando 

and his amazing role in A Streetcar 

Named Desire, and then came 

Casablanca. Of course, I won’t forget 

the film which is ranked as the best 

one ever made in cinema history 

(according to audiences). I would’t 

say that much. I just think it’s simply 

impossible to choose just one but 

I agree the film is indeed at least 

one of the Top 10 in history. Anyway, 

Casablanca is a masterpiece and 

Bogie became a worldwide star 

with his Rick Blane (an American 

expatriate during World War II). 

There is not too much to say about 

Casablanca as you already know 

the story. The script is one of the 

best ever written, Ingrid Bergman 

never looked better and the director 

Michael Curtiz gave us some of the 

most memorable images in cinema 

history. For example, we all know 

the melody of “As Time Goes By” and 

think about how many times you 

have used the quote: “We’ll always 

have Paris”. See?? That is what 

makes cinema and this film eternal: 

the collective imaginary. 

The film only won three Oscars 

(including ‘Best Film’) but it deserved 

many more. Bogart’s love life 

was as difficult as it was depicted 

in many of the roles he played. He 

got married four times. He became 

a drunk, probably because his third 

wife (actress Mayo Methot) was a 

compulsive one, and like some of 

the gangsters or private detectives 

he played, he was looking for some 

kind of redemption. It came in 1944 

while shooting To Have and Have Not 

when he met a young model called 

Lauren Bacall (Dame Lauren Bacall 

in my opinion). They got married 

a year later and had two children. 

Their love story continued until 

Bogie, too ill with cancer, died in 

January 1957. The Harder They Fall 

(1956) was his last movie. His face 

was not the same due to his long 

fight against this illness. His fight 

was very hard, the same way he and 

his characters did on screen but this 

time he was defeated. At his funeral, 

his friend John Huston said: “He is 

an irreplaceable man. There will 

never be someone else like him…” 

Although I agree, I still prefer what 

Lauren Bacall said to Lars von Trier 

after a fight during the filming of 

Dogville: “Listen stupid, you weren’t 

even born and were already sleeping 

with Humphrey Bogart”. 

Bogart had the perfect face for 

Noire, a face filled with character. 

Our signature image of him is 

seated at a table, the inevitable 

drink nearby, cigarette in hand, as 

he stares out at the world without 

passion but understanding of its full 

meaning. It is said Bogart’s means 

of expression were limited, but his 

eyes radiated complexity. He played 

men of principle, men with their own 

code of honour. Men with a cynical 

mask hiding integrity. Bogart was 

the king of Film Noir but above all, 

Humphrey Bogart is in two words: 

classic cinema. A myth. 

Perhaps in the same way there was just one Marilyn, one Katherine, one 

Bette or one Ava, there was just one Bogie, and his last name was Bogart.

208 

CRAY 

Z 

ay 

You like it, you get it. Just pick the item you would like to win, write a nice-crazy-funny letter (ho yes we’re a bit old-school, 

we love snail post!) with your name, your address, and the thing you want. JUST ONE ARTICLE PER PERSON. 

Good Luck. Your Kaltblut Team. Write to : Kaltblut Magazine, Grünbergerstrasse 3, 10243, Berlin, Germany. 

Dockers 

2 x Chinos 

www.dockers.com 

Nintendo 

1 x Nintendo 2DS 

1 x Game “The Legend of Zelda” 

www.nintendo.de 

Pins 

1 x Album CD 

“Girls Like Us” 

www.wearepins.co.uk 

Stylejunky 

1x iPhone Case by Oliver Rath 

1x iPad Case by Oliver Rath 

www.stylejunky.com 

Trentemøller 

1 x Album CD “Lost” 

www.anderstrentemoller.com 

Mr. Spex 

3 x Sunglasses 

www.misterspex.de 

Gesaffelstein 

1 x Album CD “Aleph” 

www.gesaffelstein.com 

Claesgöran 

3 x Low 8-hole Canvas Sneaker 

www.claesgoran.com 

Outfittery 

3 x 50€ Voucher 

www.outfittery.de

209 

KALTBLUT Magazine 

Grünbergerstrasse 3 

10243 Berlin 

Germany 

www.kaltblut-magazine.com 

www.facebook.com/kaltblut.magazine 

www.twitter.com/KALTBLUTMAG 

www.kaltblut-magazine.tumblr.com 

KALTBLUT Magazine is published by 

KALTBLUT Media UG (haftungsbeschränkt) 

CEO: Nicolas Simoneau, 

Grünbergerstr. 3, 10243 Berlin, 

Germany 

Info 

info@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Press 

press@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Photo by Valquire Veljkovic 

Concessions. 

People say you have to make something happen if you want to be able to make your way in life. 

You start with a project, an idea; where you put 

all your heart and soul, you have a vision, a really 

good view of the goal you want to hit - but the 

thing is, the whole thing is not really working the 

way you would like it to. So to make it work you 

have to allow for concessions; have to accept the 

fact that by transforming the thing, it may actually 

finally work. The question is, how much are 

you ready to give away? How many concessions 

are you ready to make in this process, and where 

is the limit? What about if you make too many 

concessions and you’re even not able to recognize 

this thing as your own anymore? It may indeed 

feel as though it is not yours anymore, because 

it's too far from the vision you originally had. 

This is a really delicate process, and you have to 

be open for changes, of course; but also ready to 

accept that your initial idea was maybe not as 

good as you once thought it would be. This is 

not just about your project, at the end - this is 

also about yourself and to be able to look at your 

actions with some distance, and to be able to readjust. 

When I heard that we had to reduce 400 

pages of our beloved collection down to 200, I 

was angry and sad, because I thought if we only 

print 200 pages, that this is not us anymore, this 

is not what we created. However with a good 

long look at it, and seeing with an open mind 

the facts and the way they are, I can truly say 

that this Collection [Noire] is by far the best we 

have done yet. The content is thick-and-tight, 

really fits the theme, and the editorials and the 

interviews are just on point. Here we are, always 

trying to push ourselves to be able to present a 

beautiful product to our readers, and for once we 

can stand proud, and be sure that you’ll understand. 

We are in constant evolution, because we 

try to evolve with you. Thank you to everyone 

who has helped to make it possible this time, and 

god knows that they are a lot of people to name. 

Thank you for being fidele. I really hope you did enjoy it. 

Yours Nicolas 

Adverstising 

advertising@kaltblut-magazine.com 

Events 

events@kaltblut-magazine.com 

All Copyright at KALTBLUT Media UG 

KALTBLUT Magazine is printed in Germany AZ Druck und Datentechnik Gmbh 

Sportfliegerstrasse 6 | 12487 Berlin I www.az-druck.de 

All of KALTBLUT´s contributors are responsible and retain the reproduction 

rights of their own words and images. Reproductions of any kind are prohibited 

without the permission of the magazine, editor and each contributor.

210

212

COLLECTION 6

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?