Editor's Log 018

Good art, bad borrowing, and cultural maintenance

Hi all,

Welcome back to the Editor’s Log after a very short break. It ended up being a pretty full week - lots happening culturally, even if nothing felt completely seismic.

Monday

Gabriel Moses released what I think might be his strongest work to date: a shoot with Solange for AnOther Magazine. I love Solange’s work deeply - as an artist, thinker, world-builder - and this shoot just feels completely aligned with her. It’s been my lockscreen all week. I’ll admit, I’d started to wonder whether Gabriel’s work had plateaued a bit, but this proved me very wrong. It’s precise, mature, confident.

Tuesday

Laetitia Vançon’s The Other Battlefields and Giya Makondo-Wills’ New Scramble took home the British Journal of Photography’s Female in Focus award. If I’m honest, I wasn’t completely sold on the overall selection this year. The standout for me was Fran Rowse’s ‘Rae’ from her Cornish Maids series.

In the evening I went to Kibo’s Travs Presents takeover at Kindred. The MCs were sharp as ever, but the crowd feels very different now Travs has grown. That shift was probably inevitable. Still, it was fun, and it was nice to see Jme in the wild.

Wednesday

Kindred was featured in The Face as one of the “community stations reshaping radio,” which felt well-deserved. I’m very fond of that space, it’s rare I leave disappointed. Huge credit to Scarlet, Jojo and the rest of the team on what they’ve built there!

Akinola Davies Jr. directed a short film with/for cktrl. I wouldn’t say I’m cktrl’s biggest listener, but he occupies an interesting lane, and Akinola is on a real run at the moment. His film My Father’s Shadow won a BAFTA last weekend, and he’s been selling out cinemas up and down the country, the momentum is real.

Also, a new piece I wrote for Crack Magazine is out!

Thursday

We finally know Petra Fagerström’s meal deal of choice: “a feta and spinach wrap, a fruit or a pastry, and a Celsius to drink”. Can’t say I’ve had a meal deal with any of these, but each to their own I suppose.

Gwyneth Paltrow is hosting a personal archive sale, and I can’t lie, the woman has taste. The Galliano-era Dior alone… ridiculous. The scale of it all is slightly overwhelming. How does one accumulate that much beautiful furniture?

The trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s new film dropped, starring Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen. I really enjoyed Black Bag, so I’m optimistic, even if James Corden being involved gives me reason not to be.

The video for The Boy Who Played The Harp came out too. It’s one of my favourite songs from last year, so maybe my expectations were too high, but the visuals just didn’t quite match the quality of the track for me. I’m still excited for the London shows though; I’m going twice (greedy, I know).

Later that evening I went to the Marti Perramon show. I’d had coffee with him a few weeks back, so it was nice seeing him fully in performance mode. He’s intense, committed. I did feel slightly out of place; I’m more used to laptop-produced sets and older crowds, but that discomfort was probably good for me.

Friday

The Queen’s Yard Summer Party lineup dropped: Ikonika, Mak10, Nancy June, Roska, Tim Reaper… It’s stacked. I’ll definitely be there.

Demna’s runway debut for Gucci left me…confused. I understand irony is part of his vocabulary, but this felt more lazy than subversive. Even StyleNotCom seemed unconvinced.

The Gorton and Denton by-election going to the Greens was interesting. It raises bigger questions about Labour’s positioning and whether this signals a shift in how voters are thinking about opposition politics. Time will tell. Before anyone gets onto me, yes, I will probably end up voting green when the time comes.

In the evening I went to the 20th anniversary screening of Dubplate Drama. Seeing the first season on a big screen was special, it’s such an important cultural artefact. Big respect to Luke Hyams for organising and to Shystie and the rest of the cast for the Q&A, I had a lot of fun!

Saturday

Vogue stealing Lyas’ La Watch Party concept is very messy, especially under Chloe Malle’s watch. When a legacy title borrows from grassroots culture without acknowledgement, it alienates the very audience it relies on.

On a lighter note, I found a CD copy of Diamond In The Dirt by Shystie in a random record shop, a very satisfying addition to the collection.

Politically, it was hard to ignore the news around Donald Trump and his illegal assault on Iran. The rhetoric of “peace” rarely aligns with military escalation, and it’s unsettling watching global dynamics shift so abruptly. Not sure why Keir Starmer’s dragging us into this either.

The BRITs! Olivia Dean won artist and album of the year - I’m lukewarm on that; I like her, but her music’s not really for me. Lola Young winning Breakthrough over Jim Legxacy or EsDeeKid is a robbery! Dave winning rap/hip-hop/grime act is fair enough, though why Grime (an electronic genre) is in that category, I’m unsure. FKA Twigs missing out on Dance Act stung a little, though Skepta finally getting recognition (even if it’s alongside Fred Again) has its own significance.

Sunday

A slower day. Picked up the latest issues of The Toe Rag and Crack Magazine.

Until next week,
Sik

P.S. Let me know what you’d like more (or less) of going forward, I’m still figuring out the balance.