A few years ago I made a trip to Japan (Nihhon) to kick it with my buddy Toyohisa Kanno. While we were exploring the various parts of Roppongi (Gaijin) Tokyo we happened to stumble upon one of his favorite Japanese (Nihojin) electronic artists named: Organ-O-Rounge. I had never heard of them before this point, but the experience was amazing. Since then Toyo has been sending me their albums. I must say, I looked long and hard to find their albums in the states, but to no avail. I’m sure I could have just found their albums on “i-tunes”, but I’m not a fan of the whole “i-tunes” monopoly game that Apple is trying to push on everyone. Anyway… this is probably one of my favorite albums by Organ-O-Rounge titled: “Futron.” It just so happens that is also the name of one of my favorite tracks on the album.

If you’re like me, (still kicking it in record stores, and living in the USA), and you happen to stumble upon this album while digging, do yourself a favor and BUY IT. Not only is it extremely hard to find in the US, but it’s absolutely beautiful as well and a must own to anyone who wants to remain sane in this “America’s Next Top whatever…” age we’re living in.

Anyway, be sure to give it a listen.

Enjoy,

- m / Colorcubicâ„¢

First off let me say, this record is a MUST HAVE in any music library. Secondly, if you don’t know who Charles Atlas is than you’re doing something incredibly wrong. The great thing about this record is that it’s a Charles Atlas remix compilation of the album “Worsted Weights”, featuring local PDXers such as: *Strategy, and *Nudge, as well as international electronic artists and producers like: *Isan. The photographs and design direction are pretty dope as well and really compliment the sound of the record.

One of my favorite tracks on this entire compilation is a remix by Strategy (Paul Dickow) titled: “One Foot Under.”

If you follow any releases by Strategy than I’m sure you’ll know that he usually always hits the mark with emotional sound content. The “One Foot Under” remix is no exception. If none of what I’ve said means anything to you, than the only thing I have left to suggest is to give it a listen and judge for yourself.

Enjoy

- m / Colorcubicâ„¢

We thought someone might find this piece from our archives amusing, so we decided to share this with whomever is interested. One of our good friends commissioned us to create one of their infamous holiday greeting cards last Christmas for their insanely long list of family and friends. We decided to illustrate them, and put them in a conventional busy mall setting with a line of people waiting to see Santa. If you notice, everyone has got their ideal gift already picked out in their minds, and they’re just waiting to spill the beans. I can’t tell you how long this took, but it was quite a while. Every element was intricately illustrated, from the mall backdrop and Christmas tree, to the family and Santa in the foreground. Although it was very detail oriented, it was extremely fun to work on. We’re looking forward to taking it on next year as well.

Hope you enjoy.

Peace,

- m / Colorcubicâ„¢

Chris Ware is one of my favorite comic book artists. I was introduced to his work 5 years ago when I came upon a Rusty Brown tin lunchbox. Rusty Brown’s character is an awkward young man that has been outcast by his peers, and the lunchbox features images of Rusty eating in the cafeteria alone, running from bullies throwing trash at him, and other pathetic images that you can’t help but feel bad about and laugh at the same time. Ware’s images and stories are satirical, sad, perverse and often terribly funny in an awkwardly honest way, like you had just walked in on your kid brother in the bathroom with a nudie mag.

A book that I refer back to often for design inspiration (specifically for typography and layout) is Ware’s “The Acme Novelty Library“. From the minute you see the book’s exterior, you’ll be captivated by the intricate ornamentation and book band. Each tabloid-size page is a work of art and features a comic hodgepodge of familiar Ware characters such as the aforementioned Rusty Brown and his buddy Chalky White, Quimby the Mouse, Rocket Sam, a nude superhero, and more.

Ware also recreates a world of fake ads similar to those you’d find in 70’s and 80’s Archie’s digests. Has anyone growing up in the 80’s not been swayed into sending away for those magical Sea Monkeys that could be trained to perform tricks (as advertised)? Or what about those X-Ray glasses that allow you to see the bones in your hands… or underneath Sally’s skirt! Nostalgic.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about the book aside from the overall design are the Acme library construction projects. Sandwiched in the middle of the book are paper book and shelf diagrams meant to be cut out, folded, and glued together to construct your own miniature Acme library. I’ve never actually done this as I wouldn’t dare cut into the actual pages of the book, but you could photocopy the pages as to not ruin the original. It’d make for an interesting rainy Saturday, which unfortunately is much too frequent in Portland, Oregon.

- c / Colorcubicâ„¢

This is the first of two myspace redesign concepts we’re creating for our boy White Car at Nueva Forma. The concept is alright I suppose, but it seems that the whole vintage, worn, tattered theme has really blown up in popularity among designers over the last several years. So much that it seems a little too conventional to go down this road.

Don’t get me wrong… Christy and I love creating the nostalgic illusion of a piece of print media from the late 60s - early 70s era, but I think we’re probably going to run with something else entirely.

Again, this is version 1 of 2 that we’re creating for White Car. Who knows, we could very well end up taking a trip back into the 1970s for some aged colors, and paper.
Peace,

- m / Colorcubicâ„¢