i'm feeling...VICTER DUPLAIX Electric Love [JNEIRO JAREL Remix]

Vikter Duplaix - Electric Love (Jneiro Jarel Remix) Video from Label Who on Vimeo.

Hand made Coloring book and Fortune cat drawing!

Alright...made it to Friday in one piece!
Its been an intense week between watching T.Ruth Artspace gallery, creating my commissioned coloring book, working on my Fortune cat drawings and trying to finish editing the photos from my last body painting photo shoot.
But i managed!

Check out the groovy coloring book i made:


This was quite possibly one of the most interesting commissions yet. This was made for a dear blogger/etsy friend who wanted to give a "Chelsea rose art's coloring book" to her daughter for her 7th b-day.


Honestly i feel like i couldn't get a good picture of this creation- i don't think the photos do it justice. I made it with a mix of mediums: pen, ink, watercolor, watercolor paper, printer paper, decorative paper, ribbon, string, iridescent medium, yes paste and more.
The hardest part was figuring out how i was going to bind it all together. Initially i had wanted to use a sewing machine( which turned out a really bad idea since the machine i tried that with ended up having its timing screwed up) but i ended up just taking it over to OfficeMax where they spiral bound it for only $1! Now that i have made one I'm thinking about making more to put around in the local boutiques and inside my etsy shop...we shall see!

Here is my Maneki Neko inspired drawing:

original pen and ink drawing
by Chelsea Rose

.....I have always really loved the cute Japanese Fortune cat statues that you see in shops sometimes so a week or so ago i was doodling and to my surprise a very rough beginning sketch of the Maneki Neko appeared out of the blue! I took that as a good sign seeing that this symbol is a good luck totem so i decided to work on the drawing a bit more. I am thinking about eventually turning the drawing into an acrylic painting as well. If my research was correct the kanji symbol i drew means "prosperity."

Anyhow...thats what i have been up to!
So far i dont have any extravagant plans for the weekend. I will be watching T.Ruth artspace gallery for a few hours. I hope to finally finish the painting i have been neglecting...but mainly im looking forward to some quiet cozy time inside my new apartment. There has been little time for that lately and i feel i have yet to really relax/enjoy the new surroundings. So wish me luck with that endeavour!

Many blessings,
-Chelsea Rose

P.S.

SALE offer ending May 31st:

put three of my art prints on special discount:

a trio of high quality 5"x7" digital art prints
original artwork by Chelsea Rose

Limited time offer:
Buy all three of the displayed art prints for just $10
(normally priced at $7 each)

Going from left to right, I am pleased to introduce you to the Debutant,the Poetess and Masquerade Ball. I decided to put these three art prints of mine on SALE for the month of May in honor of Mother's day and spring cleaning!
click here to view the SALE listing.

NEW DESIGN WORK : RAYE 6 :: Universal Lover Release Party promo

another RAYE 6 project I had the pleasure to work on....this is for an exclusive event taking place today to celebrate the completion of her highly-anticipated debut release, Universal Lover, for which I'm also one of the artists doing the album cover. we've got a few stimulating art projects in the works we've been working on behind the scenes....very exciting, indeed.

a limited space available, get there early

i'm feeling THE REFLECTOR: La Gentle Maya & Verdadero

not sure if people were ready for this in 2008. of the music i listen to this comes closest to Gosub and classic Detroit techno, but it definitely brings its own edge to the sound. i've been a fan of GB's production work and i'm also tuning into the larger vision. big up!

dedicado a la gente maya... artist: the reflektor title: la gente maya director: tonatzin films year: 2008

NEW DESIGN WORK:: BUSY : MOTH EP cover & rebranding

released 08 April 2010
All songs written and produced by Bradford Johnson, Jr. (Busy)
Album artwork and page design by Lichiban

Hailing from Maryland, BUSY a.k.a Bradford Johnson Jr. is a long time collaborator with Mono/Poly (Brainfeeder/Faces), producer of the highly limited ‘Raid’ 7” (Circulations) and a highlight of the recent Beat Dimensions II compilation. A couple of months ago, I had a chance to be visually part of his first full solo EP, “Moths”. The album is a cinematic journey of 9 instrumental tracks that go from meditative, atmospheric soundscapes to dark experimental territories evoking giant cosmic insects, lush rainforests and space travels... I loved the project, so it was easy to play around with the concept.

It is a highly visual album, I had the vision of the cover in my mind pretty much at first hearing...thankfully, BUSY gave me full freedom with the design. Given the cosmic feel of the sound and the album's title MOTH, I immediately thought of the symbol of the moth in Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition I studied for several years). Moths are known to be attracted to light, and even willing to throw themselves in the flames during their mad dance around the fire. In Sufi poetry, the moth is the symbol of the ecstatic soul yearning to be consumed by the flames of the divine Beloved, God. It is a symbol of the seeker's love for light and of self-sacrifice-i.e the sacrifice of individual ego awareness and the experience of oneness with God/the inner divinity, one's true divine Self. So for the front cover, I made a burning cosmic 'mothflower' mandala (divine self) that the individual moths are flying toward and getting consumed by on the back of the cover. Originally, I was only supposed to do a small sticker for the vinyl release, but the label liked the design enough to make it into the entire album cover...which I was obviously very happy about. I wish someone wanted to do an experimental video animation, so the image could come alive.

I also redesigned his myspace page and his bandcamp site. The album dropped in April and is available on itunes. Look out for his new projects as well, such as his excellent remix for my girl Sarah White's new remix EP, "Fade."

Tender Truth-body painting and weekend tidbits

So this weekend was fairly productive.

On Saturday i did another body painting/photo shoot session with a very pregnant woman:


(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
Model: Courtney)



(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
Model: Courtney)

I love doing these body painting sessions in the upper loft of T.Ruth Artspace gallery. Saturday was super stormy. It rained hard for most of the day but Courtney and I were pretty cozy all cooped up and working on making her unique pregnancy portrait pictures a reality.


It took most of the day to get the body painting finished.
We started painting around 10:00am and did not finish with it till around 3:30pm.
Its amazing how much i get to know my models during this time period. Courtney felt that while the body painting process is a tedious one...it was a good way of honoring and better understanding how much time and patience there is inherent in genuine creation- such as the creation of a child. Patience, love and righteous intent are key to a healthy creating experience.
This was my second time body painting and photographing a pregnant woman but i have a feeling it will not be the last. It seems pregnant woman have a lot of interest in having their pregnancy documented in a meaningful, unique and heartfelt manner. Courtney said she thinks i should put up fliers at her pregnant yoga class to scare up more interest. I just might do that and see where it takes me!

As far as other art projects go, i am currently a step or two away from finishing a pen and ink illustration i have been working on that is based off a very iconic symbol of prosperity: the Maneki Neko - or the Japanese fortune cat:

...i should be sharing my version sometime this week if i can manage to find the time to put the last finishing touches on my drawing.

....speaking of good fortune and prosperity- I have some great news.I am thrilled to say that my Grandmother who has been fighting lung cancer is in remission! I love you Mom Mom! Now all we have to work on is getting Pop Pop to gain some weight back and we will be in fairly good shape. :)

I am also working on an interesting commission- a coloring book! A dear who is also a friendly blogger and etsy seller had asked that i make a coloring book for her 7 year old daughter's birthday in June. I jumped at the challenge! While i have never done a project quite like this before it sounded rather irresistible. So far i have all the coloring book pages printed out. Now i have to craft the cover and do the binding. I think it might be interesting to use a heavy watercolor paper as the cover and back...and then use a sewing machine to put in some brightly colored stitching as the binding. This is a very experimental project for me- i cant wait to see how it turns out. I will be taking pictures of it to share!

Check out this amazing blog give away that is being hosted by one of my favorite blogs to read! Enter for a chance to win a custom made dread tam by Sand and Sky!

So thats all the tid bits i can muster up for today.
Good tidings and luck with this last week of May.

I do so hope that the rain will let up for Thursday since it will be the big Last Thursday artwalk on Alberta st fair. Seeing that the fair has been rained our for the last two months- we are really crossing our fingers that we will have a dry one, other wise we are going to be getting a super late start at the art vending season.

Much love always!
-Chelsea Rose

MY HOMIES RULE TOO : AFTA-1

When you go to AFTA-1 a.k.a. Manual Moran's site, you'll land upon this: You can find AFTA-1 eight hours in the future. He’s sitting on a supernova, shooting down Pluto moons with love; then running back and laying the track in your lap. Brush the moon dust off your clothes and plug in your speakers for a shape-shifting, time-collapsing, body-breaking, heart-merging experience. With an amazing debut titled Aftathoughts Vol. 1 already under his belt along with impressive remixes of Esthero, Little Dragon, and Jessie Boykins, as well as the ravenously downloaded LOVE IS REAL mixtape series in circulation, Afta-1 is set to blow your mind with his intergalactic beats and ethereal vibes. It is hard to top this description, I can only back it up with my own set of words that describes his distinctly visionary music: sensually elevating beats vibrating on heart frequencies...one of my definite favorites. Tune in.

AFTA-1

WHERE DO YOU CALL IT HOME? Anywhere I land where Love is present.

WHAT DO YOU DO? Live, Love and Create

TRUE BEAUTY IS…Within. Balanced, Honest and Equanimous

BEATS…Are reflections of heart palpitations

TRUE SEXY IS…A natural result of true beauty ;)

MUSIC IS MY…Translation of Life and Love

ART DOES NOT…Define Me, It is an Interpretation of the spirit flowing through me.

MY NIGHTS ARE…Elevated

THESE 3 TURN ME ON…Patience, Honesty & Natural Beauty

SELF-KNOWLEDGE …= Enlightenment

ENOUGH OF…Ego-driven art

MY CREATIVITY IS…The blessing through which I can visualize and manifest.

TRUE POWER IS…Surrender.

LIFE CAN BE THE...physical manifestation of our dreams

TO LOVE IS TO…BE Love; Patient, Accepting and Giving.

I'VE GOT FLOW BECAUSE…I choose to surrender to it

NEW PROJECTS FOR 2010? Plenty! One dropping within the month ;)

WHERE CAN WE REACH YOU? www.afta1.com , twitter.com/afta1

SHOUTOUTS? Everyone who believes in ▲❍▼❏

SOME GOODIES

Download : AFTA-1 x Nikko Chemical Reaction

AFTA-1 Love Suite

AFTA-1 x Nikko - Chemical Reaction by gasd

The time in between -AFTA-1 by gasd
Also, make sure to browse through the series of GAS'D x AFTA-1 mixtapes on the GAS'D site

FREE DOWNLOAD : SPINNA — Larry Levan Dedication (Part 1)

I was just sorting through my drafts and saw this post that I meant to publish long time ago.Spinna is one of the best djs/ producers out there, this one is a master-meets-master type tribute.

From Spinna: Here’s a mix of some of my personal favorite Larry Levan remixes and productions. Many people in the dance community already understand the role that Larry had on shaping the New York club culture via the legendary Paradise Garage which lasted a little over a decade. I was fortunate enough to experience Larry’s magic in the G the year the club came to an end in 1987. You could only get in as a member and luckily one of the older members on my block was able to make it happen for me. I was in my teens and it literally changed my life forever. I caught that bug…It’s something that’s embedded in your soul for an eternity. I sometimes hear from older members that I should have been around when he was really on fire in the earlier days, but 1987 was good enough for me. The sound system alone was something that I have yet to see duplicated. You could feel the bass in your chest. I remember riding home on the train feeling like I had gone deaf. My ears never rang again like it did that sunday afternoon.

I grew up listening to his music mainly on WBLS via Frankie Crocker and Tony Humphries in the early 80s’ and I have memories of going to my local record store in the neighborhood to buy jams like ‘Let’s Go Dancin” by Sparque and I got ‘My Mind Made Up’ by Instant Funk, both included in this session. As a New Yorker and anyone living in New York in the 80’s you couldn’t really avoid Larry’s work. Some of his work even infiltrated the hip hop world via samples with records like ‘Heartbeat’ by Taana Gardner, ‘7th Heaven’ used in Biggie’s ‘Friend of Mine’ and Central Line’s ‘Walking Into Sunshine’ used in the classic LL Cool J/Marley Marl remix of ‘Jingling Baby.’

Some call it Boogie, some say Disco, and some Garage but at the end of the day it’s straight up good music that you can dance to and enjoy, period! This is part one, more to come shortly.

Uno,
Spinna
via djspinna.podomatic.com
Larry Levan Dedication Part 1

djspinna's Podcast

GAS'D presents LOVE IS REAL VOL 5.

My favorite LA art & fashion movement, GAS'D 's new promo video

COMING SOON AFTA-1 X GAS'D :: Song in Video ::Quadron - Day

FREE DOWNLOAD :: SARAH WHITE :: Fade & C-Train Remixes

Sarah White is back! My longtime blog-mate on WRONGLIPS, the Brooklyn-based songsress offers not only one but two new releases packed with eclectic remixes of two of her best tracks, Fade and C-Train. FADE is available on her bandcamp page for free download. Here are two of my favories...
The original version of FADE was produced by DJ Don Cuco, Sarah's partner-in-love, which still remains the sultriest of the bunch. Here is Mas Vox's interpretation

& the homie, Dhundee's spin on 'C-Train'

The C-Train remix EP (which I had the pleasure to do the cover for) blends the sounds of dubstep, dancehall and drum n bass, with the sexy-sultry-soul vocals of Sarah White, to make a fusion match-made for the dancefloor. As a Minneapolis native, this Brooklyn transplant, cries out through flo and song expressing the effects of life on the hustle and the grind, and the challenge of keeping a balance. 'C Train' is a sweet collaboration of time, space, passion and raw beats. The original is produced by her partner Dj Don Cuco (Cultura Love), and then given a completely new life when remixed by 3 masters of sound, Dj Dhundee (Sugarcuts), Matt Shadetek (Dutty Artz) and Heinrich Zwahlen (Basscut). Definatley one to get your heads nodding, mind expanding and hips grinding..

Artwork In Progress, new home art studio + news and things

I had intended to be showing off my finished painting in this entry but alas- i didn't get it done in time so i have some "work in progress" shots to share instead!


I took these yesterday. I changed two things mainly- i did a rough/dark vignette around the painting and i changed the positing of the hands and arms a bit more. Things are still pretty rough so this weekend i hope to get in there and define the shapes better and get the color smoothly blended + make some final touches and be done!
I could have probably finished this painting this week but i had little time. Tiffany Ruth, my dear friend who is also the owner of T.Ruth Art space gallery has been in the hospital so i have been rushing over to the space after work to hang out in the gallery, greet customers, take phone calls and water the plants. Tiffany is pulling through ok- she is such a strong woman!
I think it will be another few weeks till she is back in the gallery. I do really enjoy spending time in there. In fact i will be in the gallery all day Saturday doing another body painting/photo session. So stop by and say Hi if you are in the neighborhood!

In other news i do have most of my new home art studio set up:

As you can see im still feeling the room out. Its the first time i have been able to claim an entire room to dedicate to art and art supplies. Its wonderfull to be able to walk into the room, shut the door and work with privacy and without distraction. i have been trying hard to keep my cat Sushi from coming into the room- thus hopefully making the area a cat hair free zone( which will come in handy when im painting and varnishing!) Its also such a luxery to be able contain all my art mess in one room- be able to simply shut the door and its out of sight!
All and all...im digging the new set up. I still have some boxes i need to go through but its pretty much come together by now!

Also, i wanted to share with you my new earings that i go from a friend on etsy.com!

(click to full view)
mini mushroom earrings! They were custom hand made by Rustic Rainbow. She made them as clip on earrings for me since my ears never stay pierced. They are done up in my favorite color combo: Green and Purple! I love them dearly.

I will leave you with a calming shot of my new apartment's dining window view:

This past week we have been hit by a powerful storm. The days are a manic mix of intense sunshine, sudden down pours and hail storms. I love it!

I wish everyone a lovely weekend.
Much love always,
-Chelsea Rose

MUSE :: Kimaya

KIMAYA - Sanskrit for 'divine'.
She is definitely a little goddess. I recently was commissioned to paint her, which I am super excited about. I actually got back to doing art full time by drawing children first-kids are huge inspirations...they always keep me in check and in touch with my own inner child. When she first came with her mom (whom I also doing a piece for) to visit my place and take photos for the piece, she just loved the fact that there was art everywhere. She asked me to give her a sketch book and started drawing her own piece. While working she had several spontaneous outbursts of "I am an artist!" proclamations. It was a wrap for me. I am her number one fan.

LIFE AS A CAT :: love talk

"Can we make out?"

"Uhm...but Terry has his camera in my face"

"Come on luv, when did you ever care about that?"

Body painting close up photos and news!

So that past week has been an eventful one. Just yesterday we finished moving to our new apartment- its amazing how much time and energy this can eat up but im happy for the change. I finally have my art space set up in a somewhat functional way so now i have little excuse not to work on the painting i have been neglecting for some time now. I hope to finish said painting this week. if all goes well on Friday i will do a blog entry to unveil the finished piece and talk about the creative process with a bunch of "work in progress" pictures.
In the meantime, last night i went through some of my body painting photos and chose 5 pictures i have yet to post that are more "close ups" then full body shots.
I wanted to share them with you:

Apparition of Truth

(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
Model: Wenseay)

Your Body is Your Temple

(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
Model: Jaybird)

Blissful Hope

(Body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
model: Blissful Hope)

Love Thy Self

(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
Model: Ana)

Rebel Heiress

(body painting and photography by Chelsea Rose
model: Thierra )

...I also wanted to share with you an "out take" photo that i came across last night and knew i had to post:
Powah!

This is a photo i snapped of my model Blissful Hope as we had finished up with the shoot. She had washed her face and put her clothing on and was struck by how the body painting suddenly looked like fierce tattoo sleeves with her tank top on. so she posed just like that and insisted i get my camera out and snap one. I love it! It just reminds me that granted this body painting/photo project takes a lot of energy to generate but I have so much fun doing these shoots!

I have another pregnant body painting shoot scheduled for this Saturday inside T.Ruth Artspace gallery, so i am excited and looking forward to the weekend.
Thus far this body painting project has been a fascinating adventure. I am thrilled to have gotten to know the women who volunteered to be a part of the project. Their personal strengths and beauty have lent so much amazing energy- its extremely inspiring for me. I'm excited to see what the next step/level to this project might entail.

Id also like to give thanks, praise and many blessings to Tiffany Ruth, the owner of T.Ruth Art space where i have been painting and photographing my models. Tiffany is currently in the hospital due to medical complications. She should be released in a few days but I'm asking for those who can spare some good vibe to send it her way. She is an amazing and dear friend, strong and beautiful independant woman and an amazing asset and Jewel to the artistic community. I give thanks to her for all that she has done for me! I feel truly blessed to have her presence in my life.

Much love to all!
-Chelsea Rose

ROOM 777: The Magic Room presents :: MELO-X & NIKKI NTU

For most of New Yorkers who have been plugged into the latest music happenings in the city, MELO-X needs no introduction. To get a sense for what he is all about check out my previous feature on him & stay up on his blog & twitter updates. This is his birthday week, so here is some extra shine.

Last summer, we were shooting an interview at my old house (yes yes ROOM 777 is of the past now) with my girl NIKKI NTU, MELO's long-time collaborator. The interview featured our Berlin-fam Andrea, Kesed, Janine, Claude, myself and of course Melo, i.e. the artists and friends who have been involved in some way in NIKKI's debut release project A History of Dreams that Melo produced and I illustrated.

Audio Foreplay (Sonic Intercourse Prelude) (Podcast Version) by GalaxRecordings

Currently, we are waiting for MELO's highly-anticipated second full length album entitled SONIC INTERCOURSE... meanwhile, here is his prelude mix, appropriately named AUDIO FOREPLAY. Tonight, Melo is celebrating his birthday at this event at Le Poisson Rouge I'm hosting tonight, which will also mark the New York debut of Sonnymoon and their new release HTLV in collaboration with MeLo - X (cop it on itunes).

NIKKI NTU is one of the rising stars of her generations. A true artist & seeker, Nikki is one of my favorite peoples & collaborators. I used to go OCD with her track 'Birth of Venus' when I first heard it. Nikki is going to be guest performing tonight on stage with Melo. She is working behind the scenes on her new project that involves production from Ras-G and some Brainfeeder folks from the West Coast...mmm, definitely look out for that. To find out more about NIKKI, check my feature on her on WRONGLIPS, and tune into her blog & twitter updates. She also has a show coming up next Thursday at PETER HADAR's new residency at ELLA's.

The Birth of Venus by Nikki NTU

Here is a snipper from NIKKI's latest joint, produced by RAS-G (from Melo's label GALAX).
Upper Management (Snippet) by GalaxRecordings

ARTISTS TO WATCH :: SWEATSHOPPE

My homie Fabian Tejada put me onto these guys last year and I've been dying to collaborate with them ever since...Tonight, I'll have a chance to experience in real time what they are all about at the event I'm hosting at Le Poisson Rouge also featuring NERVE featuring Jojo Mayer, SONNYMOON (NYC Debut), MIKE SLOTT (LuckyMe), MELO - X (Featuring Jade & Nikki NTU), SHANTELL MARTIN (visuals), DJ BURT FOX & The Ladies of LICK. Check out the event page for more info.

SWEATSHOPPE 3D @ White Box Gallery NYC from SWEATSHOPPE on Vimeo.

"SWEATSHOPPE is a new multimedia performance collaboration between Bruno Levy and Blake Shaw that works at the intersection of art, music and technology. Developing software to construct a totally unique interactive performance, the duo works towards creating unique ways of affecting an audience. Whether it be as a dance driven electronic music performance that emphasizes sound reactive visuals, building interactive installations, or the fabrication of guerrilla technologies to augment public space, the duo strives towards an element of pop accessibility that is so often ignored in the technocentric world of experimental media."

SOLAR LOVE :: STORM

"Suspended in an arcade of magnetic loops, the image shows a one million degree hot solar plasma cooling down..[On July 14, 2000] this flare spawned a solar storm that bombarded Earth with a shower of protons, causing scientific and communications satellites to short-circuit. Through a series of chemical reactions in our atmosphere, the protons drastically diminished the upper-most areas of the ozone layer, a protective blanket mostly in the stratosphere that blocks life-threatening ultraviolet radiation from reaching the Earth. This shower of protons, known by solar science insiders as the Bastille Day event, was the third largest of its kind in the last 30 years." [source]

THE AWAKENING :: PETER HADAR & LONG KISS IN PUBLIC featuring NIKKI NTU

It just happens that two of the music artists I collaborated with on album cover design are going to share the stage on this coming Thursday night. Peter Hadar's new residency at Ella will guest feature my girl, Nikki NTU. (You can find the designs on the right at the Aural Vision series). I'm really looking forward to see how their energies combine.

There has been a lot of buzz about Peter's new residency (check this review of the last show) and I love his collabos with the Creative Control crew who do most of his video promos. To get a sense of what the vibes is like, check the latest video captured at Peter's residency at Ella here.

i'm feeling...FLYING LOTUS feat. Thom Yorke - And the World Laughs With You

off the new album 'Cosmogramma'

The Space art collective grand opening and weekend progress

So!
Danny and I had a tun of fun on Friday.
We drove over to Vancouver Washington for the First Friday art shenanigans that included The Space art collectives grand opening night!
It was a total swoon. i am in love!
There was drumming, poetry reading, live community painting, local music, face painting and more!
Here is a peek into the drum circles:

( photos and compilation by the dear Anni Becker )
The beats were strong and full of wonderful intent!
It lasted for a good while before coming to a close so that we could enjoy more local musics.

and then came the live community canvas painting:

( more wonderful photos by friend and photographer Anni Becker)
Here you can see Danny jumping into the community canvas at full throttle- painting Ganesha!

This was the end result of the live community canvas free for all painting:

( another photo by Anni!)
a wondrous, spontaneous community creation.
As Danny helped paint the community piece i was busy giving and receiving face paintings!!


( photo by Danny)
And thus the face painting madness began. Here i am painting Kelly Keigwin(a dear heart and amazing artist) ....and not for the first time either. i have a feeling this will become a well cherished ritual at such art collective opening nights and i look forward to many more!


( photo by Kelly Keigwin)
here i am painting Colleen! Another main member and creator at The Space art collective, whom i truly enjoy interacting and trading creative energy with!


( photo by Kelly Keigwin)
and here i am painting Anni's face...which she then turned around and painted my own- imagine my delight!


(photo by Kelly Keigwin)

and so here we were:

(photo by Danny)
...i dare say a wondrous time was had by all!
On our way home Danny and I stopped by the Guerilla Gallery to enjoy some late night musical musing from more local artists.
I went home with a big goofy Cheshire grin on my face.

The rest of the weekend seemed to pass in a blurr. On Saturday Danny and I drove all around town hunting for treasure at estate and garage sales. Since we will be moving soon we are lookin for some new area rugs and furniture. We found a super groovy lavender shag carpet that was huge along with a few other awesomely wonderful area rugs, end table, book shelf and much more. We filled up our car's hatch back and decided to call it quits for the day.
Sunday we enjoyed the morning, danny made soyrizo breakfast tacos. We then took a nice long walk around the neighborhood( trying to make sure we do get some regular exercise)....the weather was perfect. The sun was up but not glaring and the breeze was choice and comfortable. By the end of the day however, the sky turned grey again so we headed in doors and got a lot of packing done( it finally does feel like we are moving!)
So that wraps up the weekend bizz. i didnt get much of any work in on any of my art projects- in fact most of my art supply is already packed and ready to be relocated. So we shall see when i get to finished my current work in progress, perhaps it will be sometime we move and the dust has a chance to settle.

Hope all is well with everyone and that the weekend was sweet.
best wishes for this new week.

Many blessings,
-Chelsea Rose

Interview :: SONNYMOON

I first heard of SONNYMOON on the homie, Melo-X's blog when he dropped his remix of the duo's cover of Drake's Houstatlantavegas, which was one of my favorite tracks from Melo's new mixtape Audio Foreplay.  Professionally trained jazz musicians, the graduates of the Berklee School of Music Dane Orr and Anna Wise have come together about a year ago to form their band, choosing their name Sonnymoon as an homage to the legendary jazz saxaphonist Sonny Rollins. Anna's sensual and ethereal voice gives the band's sound a distinct character, which could be described as a hypnotizing genre-bending fusion of experimental jazz, trip-hop, ambient electronica, alternative rock and hip-hop, drawing inspirations as wide-ranging as artists like Portishead, Bjork, Flying Lotus, Little Dragon, Black Dice, J-Dilla or Drake. Their debut album GOLDEN AGE that dropped last December as a free download (see link below) got raving reviews and has been building up the hype around the band's NYC debut coming this Sunday, May 16 at Le Poisson Rouge (which also be a celebration of Melo's birthday-not to be missed!). I am one of the hosts of the event, so I got a chance  to do a quick interview with them.  Here it goes...

Lichiban: I heard you guys live in Boston. Are you from there? How is the music scene there? Do you know the guys from Passion Pit who came out of Boston and recently gained international fame?

SM: Sadly Passion Pit left Boston before we got here. People are always in and out of Boston in a few years it seems because it’s such a college town. However, that means that the house party scene is bangin. The best gigs we’ve had here were house parties, the energy is crazy, but it’s weird because we never play with bands that sound anything like us.

L: If you would have to describe your sound with 5 word…
Experimental, rhythmic, fluid, playful, dissonant




L: How long have you guys been making music?
SM: We had our first birthday a few months ago.

L: I first heard you guys through the homie, Melo-X’s remix of your cover of Drake’s “Houseatlantavegas”. Who came up with the idea to cover the song?
SM: Melo-X is the dude, we’re meeting him in person for the first time this week. We get lots of crazy ideas and have fun executing them, and that song was one of many things we did in October when we were bored.

L: What’s the process of making a song? Is there a pattern or is it more fluid?
SM: There is no pattern, at least not yet. We can never expect the next song to come out the same way as the one before. If there were a method to the madness, we’d probably get bored with it. The best shit happens when we’re messing around and not taking ourselves too seriously.

L: What would be a dream place to play at?
SM: Our hometown spots, Yoshi’s in Oakland and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate NY.

L: If you were offered to choose, who would you like to tour with?
SM: Likeminded musicians. It would be cool to tour with a group of maybe 4 bands and each performance would flow seamlessly into the next with no breaks. Each act could contribute to an overall experience, like a movement in a suite. Fever Ray being featured somewhere in the line-up would be supreme.

L: What was your favorite 3 albums of the last year?
Little Dragon – Machine Dreams
Lil Wayne – No Ceilings
Atlas Sound - Logos

L: What are you working on next?
SM: Our NY debut is this coming Saturday. Check event info here.  
Keep googling us, you’ll find out what were up to. We are twitter nerds @sonnymoonmusic

L: Shoutouts?

SM: Raydar Ellis, Meghan Stabile and Revive Da Live, Dawaun Parker, Anthony Valadez and KCRW, @DiscJockeyLE, Blindiforthekids, Couch Sessions, AMB, Bars Up.

FREE DOWNLOAD : Sonnymoon 'GOLDEN AGE'

Check out more about the event on facebook.