We have been making a list of ten and because a list of ten is too mainstream, we have listed nine best comebacks in 2013! They have appeared and named themselves in the music industry, they took a hiatus, and they finally made their resurrection in 2013. From those who took an olympiad, a decade, or even a score, we have them all on the list. (the list is sorted in a random order)

Justin Timberlake

Who doesn’t know Justin Timberlake? The multitalented guy, he can sing, he can dance, he can be an actor, he can do a comedy show, and he was even mentioned as the best Saturday Night Live host in decade. Since his solo studios album ‘Justified’ in 2002 and ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’ in 2006 he always amuses us with his glorious sexy pitch voice and his sick dance moves. Then he took a hiatus in the music industry. In 2013 he brought that all back! 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience is unquestionably the sexiest album in 2013. He drags us to the catchy beats, expertly written lyrics that speak one word : flawless.

Beyoncé

Katy Perry did her ‘Roar’ promo for her album and Lady GaGa stormed the social media for her ‘ArtPop’. But Beyoncé? She lets her music do the work. After all of the silence since her last album in 2011, Beyoncé dropped the balls. Her comeback is a big deal. She literally broke the Internet when she decided to surprise the universe with her new visual album entitled ‘BEYONCÉ’ last week. With no single, no advance hype, no publication, and then BAM! She admitted that the toughest part about making her latest album was keeping it a secret. Though her hardwork is paid off when her fifth album sold nearly a million copies in three days. Beyoncé’s comeback has made it a good icing in 2012.

David Bowie

“Time may change me. But you can’t trace time.” And Yes, he was right. Time has changed his music to a better version. The last time he released an album was in 2003. The rumour of his return has been growing in the last five years, after suffering from a minor heart attack in 2004 and turning down many offers (He did turn down an offer to perform at London Olympics 2012 closing ceremony), he decided to pick 2013 to rehook us with his ‘The Next Day’. His album peaked two on the Billboard 200 and number one on both top digital albums and top modern rock/alternative charts. And he was favourited to win The Mercury Prize in 2013 (the winner of the prize is James Blake’s Overgrown). Whatever may come, David Bowie is the father of all the musicians. No one can beat his charm.

Daft Punk

How to start it with Daft Punk? Uhm, Okay, their helmets have evoluted to a one hell of a sophisticated gear. And their music does the same thing. Their comeback was mysteriously aired on the commercial break of Saturday Night Live and then their teaser appeared at the main stage of Coachella 2013. Daftpunk definitely made it big for their comeback, with Julian Casablancas, Pharell Williams, and Niel Rodgers on their shoulders, ‘Random Access Memories’ has exploded their name once again. And wait for the big things to happen in 2014 since the electronic French duo has swept several nomination for Grammy Awards.

My Bloody Valentine

It didn’t take a year or a decade, but it took twenty two years for My Bloody Valentine to return in the music industry. The Dublin-based band made a critical return with their album ‘MBV’. It’s followed by a good critic from several music magazines. The thing that made it lost the momentum is the fact that the band didn’t get nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize. But still, My Bloody Valentine have grabbed their fans back and no need to win the awards because they have won our hearts.

Nine Inch Nails

Trent Reznor, the frontman of Nine Inch Nails (NIN) should be given a huge credit for NIN’s return in the middle of 2013. Reznor worked his ass off to co-produce ‘Hesitation Remarks’ and scored the album as his best work to date. The band also managed to make a tour movie of their comeback (posted on Vevo’s serials). The album which was released a week before its original schedule also received a good feedback by David Fricke, the senior editor of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen O and the gang have been hailed as one of the most influential bands in the 2000s. With a hattrick nomination for Grammy Awards, the band finally bangs the door with their latest album ‘Mosquito’. As the band have gone much wiser both in age and act, their latest album also marks as the hardest album that they have worked so far. Eventhough the band’s latest work didn’t earn them another Grammy Nomination, we are still in an awe with Karen O’s current feature : Blonde hair.

Lilly Allen

Every story has crossed Lilly Allen, from her miscarriage, cussing Justin Bieber, and being fought back by Bieber’s fans. Well, it was not an album that Miss Allen released for her return, but it’s her single ‘Hard Out Here’. Her comeback is followed by her strong statement which she sent through her music video. The bold music video is mocking the current sexism culture that has been around in the pop music world. Lilly Allen has put her spices to spark because she’s ready to set her album in 2014. And we don’t know whether it’s going to be baggy or not.

Phoenix

One of the hardest tasks most successful band has to endure is making a follow-up to an album that catapulted them to success. In this case, Phoenix have succeeded with their recent album “Bankrupt”. Instead of using the same formula that rocketed them to stardom, they have made a different album compared to Wolfgang Amadeus. Even though this album wasn’t turned out to be their best album to date, A headlining spot in some major festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza is inevitable. Once again they have stole thousands of people hearts with their jingly-jangly tracks and their cute accent.

It’s undeniable that electronic music and fashion are constantly interacting. When rave culture blew up in the late 1980s, party-goers helped push fashion into adopting a more relaxed, loose style that was comfortable enough to dance in well into the early hours of the morning. With the help of the punk and grunge movements around the same time, fashion inevitably picked up on the trends that musicians and music fans alike were favoring; since, the worlds of fashion and dance music have been inescapably intertwined, and today, everything from ready-to-wear to high-fashion is taking cues from the electronic music, not only as the soundtrack to the industry’s top runway shows but as inspirations, campaign faces, and muses. Here are our picks for the 10 best fashion and music collaborations of all time.

10. Maison Kitsuné (2002-present)
When Maison Kitsuné (featured earlier today) was conceived in 2002, founders Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki wanted the label to engage with both the fashion and music communities. Loaëc, Daft Punk’s former manager, and Kuroki created the Kitsuné brand as a hybrid fashion house and record label; despite a rather subdued take on fashion that resulted in prep-inspired schoolboy separates and an overtly classic aesthetic, the record label has signed some of the strongest names in electro and indie electronica, with artists like Hot Chip, Simian Mobile Disco, Cut Copy, and Yelle all releasing under the Kitsuné name.

9. Chanel x Chromatics (2012)
Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most recognizable names in fashion, not only as the man behind iconic French label Chanel, but also for his crass statements on just about everything. Despite his almost 80 years of age, Lagerfeld is regarded as one of fashion’s most influential designers and the go-to voice for opinions of every kind; it’s no surprise, then, (or maybe it is) that the Kaiser himself invited American synthpop group Chromatics to perform live at his Spring 13 runway show, which was, in and of itself, a sight to behold. The show, which took place at the Grand Palais in Paris just a few weeks ago, featured a massive runway with huge, looming wind turbines rotating overhead, and Chromatics providing the live soundtrack, conceived exclusively for the show by frontman Johnny Jewel. Both new and archive tracks were present in the mix, including “Tick of the Clock,” “Kill for Love,” and their version of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Even though the collection and the soundtrack seemed to clash slightly, the collaboration was celebrated by industry leaders.

8. Saint Laurent x Daft Punk (2012)
After being appointed creative director of famed Parisian fashion house Yves Saint Laurent this past year, designer Hedi Slimane made waves in the industry with a shocking re-brand of the label in its entirety; right down to its obviously iconic name. Despite doubts (and a lot of hate) from the fashion world, Slimane continued to pursue his vision for the house with a debut menswear collection inspired by glam-rock legends like David Bowie. His Spring 13 womenswear runway soundtrack, however, was mixed exclusively for the show by French house duo Daft Punk, who took edited vocal and guitar clips from American juke-joint blues singer Junior Kimbrough’s “I Gotta Try You Girl,” resulting in a funky, tenacious, twang-driven set. The collaboration was so well-received that even Slimane haters couldn’t help but take notice.

7. Rick Owens x Zebra Katz (2012)
In a highly thematic season that took inspiration from Brutalist architecture with a paradoxically romantic twist, American designer Rick Owens’ Fall 12 collection was something to behold—typically dark with now-iconic slashed ski masks providing an almost masochistic vibe. A perfect complement to the pounding brutalism of the show itself, Zebra Katz’s “Ima Read” provided a pulsating minimal bassline to the harsh reality of Owens’ designs. Subsequently, the track became the “soundtrack” to Paris Fashion Week—Owens and Zebra Katz even collaborated on a short music documentary with Dazed Digital. The partnerships didn’t stop there, with Zebra Katz going on to collaborate with Owens’ wife Michele Lamy and London producer Matthew Stone on a remix of Stone’s “How Do You Feel?”, released in August.

6. KENZO x Nguzunguzu (2011)
When Carol Lim and Humberto Leon took over the then-failing Japanese fashion house KENZO, in 2011, the brand’s rebirth brought a fresh aesthetic geared towards a younger, playful customer. Far from the KENZO designs of the past that were infamously granny-esque, the brand launched into a new era that has been at the head of the industry ever since. Manifesting their keen cheekiness through colourful yet rebellious designs (a quality first celebrated since the founding of their own label Opening Ceremony), Lim and Leon made waves when they paired up with LA-based duo Nguzunguzu to create the soundtrack to their Fall 12 runway show. Comprised completely of original tracks, the mix is an incredibly on-point distillation of their cumbia-infused, trip-hop beats, and marked a turning point for the duo’s career. Since, the mix has been on heavy rotation with fashion lovers, with Nguzu drawing more ties in the industry with an exclusive mix for Canadian luxury retailer SSENSE.

5. Alexander Wang x Diplo and Die Antwoord (2011-present)
American contemporary designer Alexander Wang is one of the most musically integrated major players in fashion. Often choosing a singer, rapper, or DJ as the face of his campaign instead of the traditional model or celebrity muse, Wang has worked with everyone from Azealia Banks to A$AP Rocky and Die Antwoord—and his work with Diplo has undoubtedly been the most renowned. Often described as Wang’s muse, Diplo was named the face of Wang’s diffusion line, T by Alexander Wang, back in 2011, and the two have been inspiring one another ever since, with Diplo’s fusion of hip-hop and electro house building on Wang’s astutely downtown style; the two likewise released a campaign for Fall 12 to commemorate the opening of Wang’s flagship store in Beijing, featuring rapper A$AP Rocky and strangely, Penn Badgley (who has nothing to do with fashion or music) telling the story behind their creativity and their personal style. Wang also paired up with South African rave-rap project Die Antwoord, featuring their single “Fatty Boom Boom” in his campaign video for Spring.

4. Gareth Pugh x Matthew Stone (!WOWOW! Collective) (2004-present)
Marking one of the longest ongoing collaborations between a fashion designer and a musician, British designer Gareth Pugh and producer Matthew Stone have been working together since 2004, when they conceived The Children of !WOWOW! in Peckham, London. The collective, which includes artists like Hanna Hanra, Adham Faramawy, and Boo Saville, is a group of fashion designers, writers, and musicians who started out throwing warehouse parties in South East London. Since then, Stone has mixed and produced the soundtrack for Pugh’s infamously forward-thinking runway shows. Pugh is renowned for his architectural designs and ominously modern construction, elevated only by the grinding, pulsating beat of Stone’s deep, dark minimal house and techno.

3. Dazed Digital x The xx (2010)
This particular partnership might be slightly on the fringe side of music-fashion collaborative crossovers, but the exclusive video from The xx and online fashion and music magazine Dazed Digital was a revelation in its day. The video was used as a digital video cover for Dazed Digital’s April 2010 issue, featuring sounds from The xx’s freshman album, and starred band members Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith in a hazy, high-contrast dream-like sequence. Shot by acclaimed fashion photographer Pierre Debusschere (who recently shot the bizarre, fragmented campaign for Raf Simons’ Spring12 season) and styled by Dazed menswear editor Robbie Spencer, the video was an adventurous new interpretation of digital publishing and helped put The xx on the map.

2. Rag & Bone and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke (2011)
American design duo Marcus Wainwright and David Neville are self-confessed long-time fans of iconic British alternative electronic project Radiohead. Since becoming friends with frontman Thom Yorke in recent years, Wainwright and Neville (the minds behind contemporary ready-to-wear label rag & bone) collaborated with Yorke for a tailor-made soundtrack to their Spring 12 runway presentation in New York in 2011. The two featured tracks, “Stuck Together” and “Twist,” leaked online back in January, with full versions released in the following weeks, and are both decidedly “Yorke”; “Twist” is a textural, experimental electronic sound with dream-infused landscapes and breaky, repetitive vocals, perfectly complemented by “Stuck Together,” which combines ethereal woodwind sounds with white noise-like percussive elements. An effortless partnership that resonated strongly with fashion and music lovers alike.

1. Alexander McQueen x Björk (1997)
1997 marked a shift for Icelandic singer Björk, when she began incorporating orchestral elements and unusual vocals into her quixotic, eerie electronica, distinctly present in one of her most famous albums, Homogenic. The cover for the album was a collaboration between Björk and the late Alexander McQueen (who remains one of the most respected designers of the 20th century). A directional distillation of both Björk’s and McQueen’s styles, the crossover was, although not the first, one of the most notable partnerships in music and fashion of its time. McQueen went on to direct the video for Björk’s “Alarm Call” in 1998; a highly saturated interpretation that somehow perfectly complements the gritty energy of the pop-electronic track, the video cleverly represents the untouchable strangeness of both Björk and McQueen. (Emma Robertson)

]]> http://www.svanapaper.com/the-10-best-electronic-music-and-fashion-collaborations-ever/feed/ 0 http://www.svanapaper.com/13-summer-anthems-of-2013/ http://www.svanapaper.com/13-summer-anthems-of-2013/#comments Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:11:41 +0000 Shafira Desliara http://www.svanapaper.com/?p=4488 Remember Rufus & Chaka Khan’s Tell Me Something Good? Or, the more recent; Pumped Up..]]>

1.Kiss : Starchild, The Demon, Space Ace, Catman

Real Identity :  Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss
History           :  The makeup of each member of KISS is inspired by their individual characteristics. The Starchild is a hopeless romantic. The Demon is the one with a dark side of humor. The Space Ace is a reference to Frehley’s love of science fiction, and The Catman was inspired by the fact that Criss felt he had nine lives due to the rough Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in.
Why?                   : The influences of Kiss’ make up are inspired by theatrical bands like Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls.

2.Deadmau5

Real Identity         : Joel Thomas Zimmerman
History                  : The story behind it was very surprising! Zimmerman’s stage name was inspired by a dead mouse that he found in his compter. The story started growing rapidly in chatrooms, and he was constantly referred to as “that dead mouse guy.” After that, Zimmerman changed his username to Deadmau5.

Why                             : Deadmau5 doesn’t like being called a DJ. He feels that the term is highly-antiquated and an improper description of his approach to music.

3.Slipknot

Real Identity           : Sid Wilson, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor
History              : The idea was inspired by Crahan’s clown. Crahan often brought it to rehearsals, then the band decide to scope the concept. The jumpsuits, along with their numbered aliases, are intended as a commentary on the commercialism of the music business.
Why                  :The reasons behind it is to make people to be more focus on their music instead of their physical appearance. “It’s our way of becoming more intimate with the music,” vocalist Corey Taylor told NY Rock. “It’s a way for us to become unconscious of who we are and what we do outside of music. It’s a way for us to kind of crawl inside it and be able to use it.”

4.Bucket Head

Real Identity : Brian Carroll
History : “Buckethead was raised by chickens, according to his official story. He lived in the coop with them on a farm run by evil owners. One day, the chickens scratched his face off, but Buckethead didn’t care. That just meant he got to wear a mask everyday like on Halloween. The Bucket came into his life when the evil farmers threw a bucket of fried chicken into the coop. Buckethead tried to put the poor chicken back together again, but he just couldn’t make it work. Of course the most logical thing to do then was to start wearing the bucket as a hat. Buckethead started playing guitar to add a soundtrack to the horror and sci-fi movies he would watch at the drive-in theater through the hole in the farm’s fence. The drive-in was too far away for him to hear. Now Buckethead travels the world playing his songs and informing the public about the terrible things his feathered friends are being subjected to in fast-food restaurants around the world.“ What a long story.
Why : It’s still a secret, but when he was asked by MTv about his mask, and he simply replied “There is no mask.”

5.Daft Punk

Real Identity : Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter
History : “We did not choose to become robots,”. According to Thomas, he stated that he and Guy-Manuel were in an accident on September 9^th 1999 in their studio. They were working on their sampler, then their studio exploded Thomas Bangalter reportedly once said. “There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded.” When they woke up, they found out themselves had become a robot!. Well, this could be a good story for a movie.

Why  : There are two reasons, 1. Shyness. 2.They want people to recognize their music more than people recognize their real identities.

Source : www.pastemagazine.com

The Discovery Era ( 2001 – 2005 )

In the first circa, Daft Punk wore various kind of helmets (they were simple and a bit complex). Then the LED company called LED FX worked with their helmets and created some mould breaking variations which made the helmets capable to display texts and sync the texts (effects) to the music.
Features :
•    Displayed LEDs and effects
•    The gauntlets had buttons which could control some stored animations to be displayed.
•    The helmets had a pin-hole size that would help them to see it through.
•    Thomas’s helmet had ventilation holes just below his visor.

Transition Helmets

People used to misrecognize this as the Discovery Era’s helmets, but if you look closely, you’ll see some differences on them. The transtition helmets were sharper that the old ones but the new ones didn’t provide many LED’s displays since the backpacks (used for the batteries) were not used anymore. And yes, this helped Thomas and Guy-Man to do more moves and make them more flexible.
Features :
•    A brand new sculpt of the helmets including smaller size and sharper details.
•    New but smaller LED displays.
o    Thomas’ display is comprised of a single row of red LEDs.
o    Guy-Man’s display appears to be limited to just two greed LED eyes (although not commonly used).
•    Thomas’ visor is tinted red, Guy-Man’s is mirror gold.
•    The helmets separate into two halves.
•    The back of Guy-Mans helmet is now permanently present, and the gap is filled with fake green, white and red wires.

The Human After All Era ( 2005 – 2010 )

For the Human After All Era (HAAE), Daft Punk made a whole differences on their helmets (as well their music went to another dimension) which reflected to their image. The HAEE’s helmets were modified to smaller shape and size. From the various effects that the helmets could produce, they went to the simpler feature and tend to the millennium colours (the visors are black). If you observe on Thomas’ helmet smile, it’s not a smile anymore, but a just a  lit. On the gloves, they got the same gloves not like the previous one they got different gloves. In the HAEE, they had two kinds of their helmets’ stock. First, they have the backup helmets and second, they have the encore helmets.
Features :
•    The gloves were made of lycra/spandex which helped them more in using their instruments.
•    The ribbed neck covers were not used anymore.
•    Their encore helmets’ suit had wired on them that would turned red.

The Tron Era ( 2010 – Present )

As Daft Punk appeared as cameors in Tron Legacy (2010), their helmets were produced by Ironhead Studios, which was a company that worked for the film’s special effects. The helmets featured a dull metal finish and white/light blue LEDs. The looks of the helmets have turned edgier than the previous ones.
Features :
•    Guy-Man’s helmet now lacks:
o    The false wires on the back.
o    The false LEDs and audio jack at the bottom of the ear
o    The black/dark green circle in the cone of the ear
•    In general, Guy-Man’s helmet has been streamlined, and many gaps have been filled in.
•    Thomas’ helmet now has a black mesh behind his mouth
•    Their gloves seem all new, including the currently unidentified fabric.

We surely can’t wait to listen to Daft Punk’s newest album, Random Access Memories, that will be released on May 20th 2013. To sneak on how the album will most likely sound, let’s check on the crowd’s recorded video of Daft Punk’s teaser at Coachella 2013.

Source : The Daft Club