Interview

PHOTO BY COLLEEN NIKA

Of all the reasons that designer Sonia Rykiel's quirky exuberance remains so endearing, it's her ability to make the most stoic models smile—even dance!— down the runway that's made her shows such a delight. 43 years into her career, the Rykiel's knack for conjuring up a Régine-worthy Eurodisco spectacle remains as ageless her kicky knitwear. Last night, the party came directly to the West Village's Bobo, where teen icons (Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester and Kelly Rutherford) and fashion folk (model Siri Tollerod and jewelry designer Eddie Borgo) celebrated the stateside arrival of Rykiel's capsule collection for H&M. In keeping with the label's "models storming the dancefloor" spirit, model and Rykiel runway favorite Chanel Iman played DJ, an opportunity the 20-year-old described as "too fun" to refuse. With help from her boyfriend and friend Prince Peter, Iman kept her musical selections light and Euro-inflected, with Goldfrapp, La Roux, Little Boots, and Hot Chip making repeat appearances alongside Michael Jackson and the Rolling Stones. Asked how she went about setting up the night's atmosphere, Iman was girlish and direct: "I basically am keeping it spontaneous and choosing my favorites. It's very me!" As for her New York Fashion Week plans? She laughs: "It's way too early to think about! I just want to have fun right now." Rykiel's girls always do.

MORE »

With their slow-burning chart reigns, and raw, yet familiar sensuality, Kings of Leon are the newly christened lords of the middle ground. Nearing the universality Matchbox 20 once achieved, the band can be all things to all people, meaning that the artistic domain they occupy is expansive, but vague–not unlike the ambiance of the corporate arenas they now regularly play. But Kings of Leon's crossover popularity has served the industry well: aside from the rare ability to bring Nickelback and Strokes fans together under one stadium roof,  the band is also the unlikely darling of the fashion set. Caleb Followill and his bandmates simply exude rock ‘n roll insouciance, a gritty je ne sais quoi. Leave it to ultra hip label and creative agency Surface2Air, then, to channel the Kings' all-American, salt-of-the-earth style into the newly launched capsule collection, S2A x KOL.

Limited to a "perfect dozen" items, the S2A x KOL collaboration is smartly edited to deliver maximum impact. Thematically, it presents the lively but familiar mix expected: a no-frills homage to the stage uniforms worn by the rockers of the early 1980s onward (and back again). These may be clothes that Kings of Leon, and countless other musicians, like to wear onstage as they play to thousands each night, but–like the songs they play–they are powerful, popular standards.

In other words, most men (fanboys or not) will find something to appreciate here. The collection stays relevant by delivering the greatest hits. Colors are streamlined to a bold and stark palette; reds, whites, and blacks feature prominently–a nod perhaps to the unofficial tricolor of the past ten years. Most of the best pieces sport a visibly Anglo aesthetic: the argyle sweater and fedoras pay homage to generations of frontmen raised on the Fred Perry ideal. Elsewhere, Chelsea Boots make a cameo, channeling the cool sangfroid of friend and Y2K rock peer Alex Kapranos. Of course, no music-inspired collection would be complete without a token leather jacket: the one featured here characterizes the greasy virility of Carl Barat circa 2001.

The S2A x KOL is available at Barney's, Bblessing, and Gargyle this week. Prices range from $115 for t-shirts to $1185 for the leather bomber jacket.

MORE »

With its defiantly sunny refrain and unmistakable T. Rex-inspired opening riff, Free Energy's "Dream City" is a coming-of-age power pop anthem the Dazed & Confused kids would totally blare from the car stereo of Fred O'Bannion's 1972 Plymouth Duster 340, PBRs in hand. In just over three minutes, it epitomizes everything that made Nixon-era radio rock such a romp: it's fun, it's familiar, and, most importantly, it features the cowbell.  Inspired equally by Thin Lizzy,  Springsteen, and–perhaps most tellingly–vintage Juicy Fruit Commercials, Philly-born dance rockers Free Energy play a brand of punchy, stadium-sized glam pop that will soundtrack a million house parties in 2010. That DFA Records, the NYC dance label and creative collective helmed by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, has launched such a feel-good act may raise the eyebrows of a few cynics. But the purists should ask themselves: what is the purpose of dance, if not to unify? Murphy, 21st century dance culture's preeminent avuncular figure, has always had a knack for making rocker boys dance. (PHOTO CREDIT: CASS BIRD)

I caught up with Free Energy frontman Paul Sprangers, as his band prepares to release their debut album Stuck On Nothing.

COLLEEN NIKA:  What draws you to 70s rock?

PAUL SPRANGERS: Innovative Production. Playfulness. Honesty. Ambition. Idealism. Deep Grooves. Complete and utter excess. Clarity. Experimentation. Bob Seger.

NIKA: How did you initiate working with James Murphy?

SPRANGERS: First, Scott Wells and I wrote the songs together, but Jon Galkin was the brains behind the Murphy collaboration. He had a vision for how the band fit on DFA; he knew that James could complement and enhance what we do.  We didn't know James going into it, but he took the risk, and it was a nice surprise for everybody that it worked out as well as we thought it would. We "demoed" a lot–until James had an idea of what he could add as a producer and ad time to work with us.

NIKA: How influential was he in shaping the album and you as a band?

SPRANGERS: Very. I mean, Scott and I write and arrange all the songs. But James made it sound the way it sounds. He mixed a lot while we were recording. That is huge. A lot of things rubbed off on us. His experience and ideas partially informed how we went about conducting the band and they way we work together.

MORE »

Findlay Brown's backstory reads like a Sun Records biopic: a former bare-knuckles boxer leads a dubious life on the streets, turns virtuous in the name of love, and writes a debut folk record on a bare-bones budget to win back his foreign-born sweetheart–and it works. Though his personal narrative (and gravity-defying pompadour) rival those of Old Hollywood's back alley heroes, the UK pop crooner's art chronicles life in the here and now. In quavering, Roy Orbison-esque vocals, Brown sings of life, love, and loneliness on his second album Love Will Find You, a portentous record that would have sounded at home on AM radio fifty years ago. Unabashedly retro, the album showcases Brown's knack for crafting timeless melodies, its finest moment delivered with the title track and "All That I Have"–upbeat orchestral ditties that sounds like long-lost Elvis hits. (PHOTO COURTESY OF FINDLAY BROWN)

With a warmly received new release and a buzzed-about Letterman appearance, the soon-to-be Brooklyn resident is steadily winning over Americans. In a recent conversation, Brown revealed some surprises, like why he considers his entire career a happy accident and how being struck by a cab liberated his inner creative demons.

COLLEEN NIKA:  Why are you moving to Brooklyn this month?

FINDLAY BROWN: To promote, basically. My managers think America is a very good market for me. There has been a slightly better response Stateside to the new material. I think that has to do with the fact that my first record was recorded in a bedroom, just me and a guitar. It was very intimate and the subject matter was extremely personal. I think the British press likes to praise the underdog. I think Americans prefer ambitious music.

NIKA: I have read that your debut album almost a happy accident and not really indicative of the music you planned to create throughout your career.

BROWN: The debut was more of a one-off record. I was going through a strange time in my life; I was having trouble with my then-girlfriend, now-wife. The lifestyle I led back then bothered her, so she moved back to her home country of Denmark. I wrote those songs as a plea to get her back. I wanted to express my love purely–those songs are basically love letters. I recorded them specifically to serve that purpose. I was not trying to get a record deal. It just so happened to become my debut record.

NIKA: Can you tell me the infamous Findlay Brown cab accident story?

BROWN: I was in a cab, on my way to a show in London in 2008,  and I didn't have any cash, so the driver pulled up to a cash machine. While I was crossing the road, the guy basically accidentally reversed over me, squashing my leg and my ankle. I was in denial at first, I was annoyed because I was late for the show! I tried to walk off, and my leg was basically jelly. So I ended up in the hospital. The next morning, the pain was full-on, yet somehow I was in a state of complete joy.

NIKA: I've heard you even describe the ordeal as "liberating".

BROWN: It was. I think my ego was crushed along with my leg, but it somehow felt like freedom. There was absolutely nothing I could do to control the situation. Being entirely helpless allowed me to lay there in complete peace. I chose to live in the moment, and not fight it, for once.

NIKA: How did that influence the new album?

BROWN: I basically ended up living on my sister's couch for ten months, without my usual record collection to listen to or inspire me. But I did have my laptop, so I downloaded things on a whim, based purely on what was in my head. At that point, that meant a lot of doo-wop like the Flamingoes and early rock ‘n roll like Chuck Berry. And a ton of Roy Orbison. I downloaded his entire catalogue. His voice is beyond compare...so exposed, on a song like "Crying". What other man has ever sung with such integrity? It's an emotional abandon I tried to capture when I recorded the new material.

Love Will Find You debuted in the US earlier this month. Tour information can be found here.

MORE »