Russ Yallop

Deep House producer Russ Yallop recently did an interview for Modisch which will feature in the first issue. While I was co-running a club night in Newcastle with some friends, we had Russ up to play - really down to earth guy - true gent. He is a perfectionist when producing and taking time over his music seems to be high on his priorities. Below is a small snippet of the interview, one of his most recent tracks and five productions that feature heavily in his current sets. 

It’s fair to say you produced one of the EP’s of the year in 2010 with ‘I can’t Wait’. Were you surprised with its success?

I was surprised in as much as surprised it was finally happening for me.  However, I was confident the tracks would be popular as they’d already been getting great support from the likes of Damian (Lazarus), Jamie (Jones) and Lee (Curtiss).

Working closely with Crosstown Rebels must have been a dream come true. In what ways has it changed your status as a DJ/producer?

It’s a seal of approval really.  Perception is such an important factor in music and is massively underestimated as taste making factor.  I contribute at least half of my success so far to being on Crosstown which is widely perceived as being a stamp of quality.  You can still make it without being part of a big label however it will take you twice as long as not only will people fail to hear your music in the first place but they’ll also perceive it in a completely different light.

Jamie Jones -  the Detour

Lee Foss – You Make Me Shy

Robert James – Can You Keep It

Riche Ahmed & SAS – Double Up

Russ Yallop & Wildkats – System Crank

Marc Lilius

Finnish-born, london based photographer Marc Lilius is producing some great work at the moment. I had the privilege to work with him at Pringle of Scotland. You can check out his work here.

Folk Product Shot

Following a few test shots, this will be the image I will settle on for the Folk feature. It hasn't been fully photoshopped yet.

Finn Juhl

Finn Juhl was internationally recognized for his furniture design and was responsible for bringing ‘Danish Modern’ (A minimalistic style of design using Scandinavian wood) to America. Similar to Jacobsen, Juhl was pressured into a degree in architecture rather than following his dream of becoming an art historian.

His career as an architect started strongly, working for ten years at Vilhelm Lauritzen’s firm and working closely on collaborations with Viggo Boesen, Lauritzen’s second in command. Of these joint ventures, possibly the most notable was the re-designing of the Danmark’s Radio building.

Juhl left the firm in 1945 to set up his own interior and furniture design practice just outside of Copenhagen, after toying with these creative fields whilst working as an architect. His first chair, named the Pelican, was exhibited in 1939 and was met with some severe criticism. One industry professional even went as far as saying “aesthetics in the worst possible sense of the word”. However, this did not deter Juhl, as we went on to develop his design career and become one of the most respected Danish designers of the twentieth century. It could be said that Juhl was not as popular as his peers, yet he pushed the boundaries further than most, especially Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, who were less radical in their designs.

Jim Chapman

Jim Chapman is a young man with an extensive knowledge of male grooming. Over the past year, his YouTube channel has gone from strength to strength, where he offers men of all ages advice on how to tackle common grooming issues as well as providing in-depth product reviews.

His interactivity with his viewers is great and Jim is always on hand to offer answers to questions that are sent in by his subscribers. We at Modisch believe that it is this accessibility that has provided Jim with such a strong following.

With many men seemingly lost in the complex world that is male grooming, it is extremely refreshing to see someone who is not only passionate about the subject but confident with the use of technical terms.

In the launch issue, we will be interviewing Jim in order to bring his vast experience to the Modisch readers. You can visit his channel here

Alexey Titarenko

‘City of Shadows’ is a hauntingly beautiful photography series shot by Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko. Using long exposure, he has captured residents of St. Petersburg trying to adjust to the short winter days. Consequently, the resulting images almost seem to convey the reality of ghosts, as the shadows encompass the true human form.

The works were produced from 1992-1994, nearly twenty years ago, but they are among some of the best when working with long exposure. The Russian captures the mood of the people and the surroundings, amalgamates the two to produce something special. 

In 1983 Titarenko received a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Department of Cinematic and Photographic Art at the Leningrad Institute of culture and immediately moved on to photography. In 1997 he was praised for his commitment and dedication to the field and invited into the Russian Union of Artists.

More of his work can be seen here

Photoshoot

On Thursday, we commenced work with the first shoot. Model James Wells was used and some very interesting pieces were shot. We perceived it as an important step in continuing to put the magazine together so all involved were relieved when the final shot was taken and we started to pack up.

I started to shoot on a dark grey backdrop. However, I couldn't get the lighting exactly how I wanted and quickly became frustrated. It was quite worrying that an hour into a two hour studio slot the whole concept was changed. Very pleased with end result though.

On hand to help were my dear friends Chris and Kelli. It also helped that James is also a close friend (knowing the model makes it easier to shoot them.) We all casually chipped in with the styling and Chris filmed a short and a longer more in-depth feature regarding the origins of Modisch.

The short can be seen in the previous post and the second video will be posted next week.

Below are a few taster images from the shoot. They haven't been edited yet so are still quite rough around the edges. Shooting in high contrast has made the broad spectrum of colours we used really come into their own.

Short by Christopher Nawrocki

A short film announcing the launch of Modisch - a contemporary magazine for the contemporary man. Produced by Chris Nawrocki.

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You can check out his blog at:

http://byhooknorcrook.blogspot.com/