Monthly Archives: June 2010

DILLATUDE

Thursday: June 24, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Photography, Sidenote 2 Comments

Dillatude

Dillatude The Flight of Titus

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT

Wednesday: June 23, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 5 Comments

The other half of The Stuyvesants, my buddy Allan Cole sent me this video today which uses a song (Do Anything) from our debut release a few weeks back, Brooklyn’s Finest. If you haven’t checked that out already, please do so…

But this is a little history lesson on Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, NY. The team over at MVMT did a whole series of videos which use our beats, covering other neighborhoods in Brooklyn as well, such as Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, etc. You can view them here. Brooklyn stand up!

HEAD HUNTER

Saturday: June 12, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 2 Comments

Head Hunter is a staple barbershop in my community of Bed-Stuy (Brooklyn, NY). Charles le Brigand created a mini-documentary on the shop, and though it’s a short video, it’s shot very well and has some nice photography stills. Background music is J Dilla with the James Brown “It’s a Man’s World” chop. For all my fellow design nerds, peep the incredible hand-drawn typography on the doorway of the barber shop, especially the script font. Enjoy…

THE DRAMATICS

Friday: June 11, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Photography Leave a comment

The Dramatics

Legendary soul group, The Dramatics.

WAXPOETICS 41

Monday: June 7, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Sidenote Leave a comment

Waxpoetics 41

On stands now…issue 41 from my favorite magazine out there, Waxpoetics. This is the third hip-hop issue and it features two separate front and back cover images (I’ll definitely try to get my hands on both, it’s the collector in me). Ice Cube and Ice-T (West) on one, KRS-One and EPMD (East) on the other, each being legends in the game. Go support, and be sure to check out the Waxpoetics Storefront, there you can find anything from records, digital downloads, books, dvd’s, cd’s, tees, etc!

SONG OF INNOCENCE

Monday: June 7, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk, Jazz, Rock Leave a comment

Axelrod

Review / Composer David Axelrod doesn’t disappoint with his debut release, 1968′s Song of Innocence. Axelrod’s albums generally tend to be one long theme, broken down into segments. This particular album is heavy on drum breaks, strings and bass guitar, and it carries on as such all the way through. The sound is funky, dirty, but with a little rock influence sprinkled in from time to time. This record is ahead of its time, I’m still amazed that it was recorded in 1968. Definitely one of my top Axelrod LP’s.

Design / The kaleidoscope is always an interesting solution for a cover design, the result will definitely be visually appealing. I really like the symmetry that it creates, horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Having the art in these bright colors, within a circle, on black really help the image to pop…which in turn makes this a stronger piece of art. Two thumbs up, this is one of my favorite covers.

Info / Artist: David Axelrod / Album: Song of Innocence / Year: 1968 / Label: Capitol

David Axelrod / Holy Thursday

David Axelrod / Urizen

David Axelrod / Song of Innocence

SOUL BROTHER NUMBER ONE

Saturday: June 5, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 1 Comment

I stumbled upon this brief motion graphics video that seems to highlight some of the creators favorite musicians. Mostly, I thought that the visuals were super cool and the transitions were smooth. The J.B.’s track “You Can Have Watergate” playing as the background music doesn’t hurt either. Enjoy…

THE STUYVESANTS

Tuesday: June 1, 2010 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Soul 11 Comments

The Stuyvesants

This album is my new release as 1/2 of the design and music collaboration team, The Stuyvesants! A project created, developed, and executed by myself, Darien Victor Birks (Flwrpt), and Allan Cole (Algorythm). We brought our talents together to produce 25 instrumentals, t-shirts, logos and graphics which capture the sound and visuals of the 60′s and 70′s, an era that inspires so much of the music and design that we’ve grown to love. We’ve done this under the moniker “The Stuyvesants”, paying homage to our current place of residence, which is the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York.

Please visit the full website: THE STUYVESANTS

The Stuyvesants / Panty Dropper

The Stuyvesants / Greene Ave. Anthem

The Stuyvesants / Brooklyn’s Finest

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM

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