GOLDEN SILVERS

This North London trio Golden Silvers were such a pleasure to shoot. I organised a dapper tennis gents shoot with them in Victoria park, as you can see it sprinkled a fair bit and we made them wear some kinda silly get ups, but they were jolly good sports bout it all. Lead dude Gwylim has the face of an angel and is super shy, Ben bassist was the contemplative one while fro haired drummer Alex is the goof ball and was keen as beans to get into the short shorts, love a man who loves short shorts! I saw them live not long after- their solar powered skiffle pop had a packed audience pogoing, their energy on stage was tight and there was that buzz of a band who had something special. Electric!

Milenka Multiplies

My clever mate Paul Brabs made this film clip for Milenka and the Pyramids, which is newly weds Virginie Heli and Regis and our long lost band mate Blackie. I love the dreamy nostalgic quality of it, the vivid colours and the voyeuristic aspect, like we're peaking through the shrubbery to catch these pixie ladies at war. Bravo Paul!

Florence the Thief

We shot Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine for the latest issue of Clash. I was there to interview the feisty young philly (21 years young). Who struck me as fun and bold, but also kind of bratty. She bangs a single drum on stage and carries a vintage picnice basket as a hand bag off stage. It was a rebel issue so so she gave me loads of stories about catholic guilt and atempts at petty theft and described her antics at this years SxSW, where she jumped off the stage and into a nearby blow up pool, dragging her manager Mairead of Queens of Noize in with her, then getting back up on stage dripping wet to finish her set. She sure knows how to stir some hype. "I'm done being rock n roll now," She says unconvincingly.
"Surely nowadays being rebellious is staying home and having a cup of tea? so sobering up is the new rebellion. I'm going to do that. Starting tomorrow. There's nothing sexier than a successful shoplifter."
Funnily enough the other day Katie Kaars, the lovely lady who snapped Florence looking like a modern day Madonna circa Justify My Love, told me that on her way out after the shoot she spotted Florence clutching a few of her precious Italian Vogues. Upon protesting that they were hers and she couldn't take them Florence said "I steal things, I told Millie that."
So cheeky, so brilliant.

Down Duo Down

Last night was Gallic couple John & Jehn's album launch at the Luminaire. I fell in love with the brooding beatnik duo's sound and aesthetic when I interviewed them for the next issue of Clash. Straight out of the nouvelle vague's 60s Parisian chic they play dirty, Velvet Underground style, primitive pop. On stage they sizzle with stroppy sexual tension, and while the folks down the front were loving them, I have to admit I wasn't 100% convinced that their moody theatrics were all real.
Their support choices were brilliant, starting with the slow and spooky Duke Garwood on fucked up blues guitar and then the jaw dropping highlight of my night- Joe Gideon & the Shark. Brother and sister, Gideon and Viva (both formerly of Bikini Atoll), play ragged, raucous blues rock. Gideon's spoken word vocal delivery comes in a menacing Nick Cave rhythm and tells intriguing narratives of learning, love and arson, while Viva pounds the drums with a precision and searing style that's the antithesis of the sloppy, sexy Meg White school of drumming, multi tasking on the arsenal of instruments set up around her-keyboards, glockenspiel, and some kind of knob twiddling sample machine. And she sings!
Last time I saw them play, Viva, who was an Olympic gymnast and dancer in her past life, was heavily pregnant and the raw woman power emanating from her was amazing. Her baby daddy is the drummer from the magnificent Archie Bronson Outfit, my other all time favourite live band. They share that psycho noir country vibe that can also be found in the music of Sons and Daughters, Clinic and Josh T Pearson. And talk about a baby born to drum.

Weird Wanderers

MGMT shoot at Too Too Much, a gloriously sleazy mirrored strip club in Soho.
Nova Dando was on bonkers styling duty and the lovely Pavla Kopecna was snapping while Dominic handled body painting!
Despite doing telly appearances since early morning the NYC duo were in good spirits and perfectly happy to be painted, and thrown random mental outfits to don while hanging upside down from stairs and the like.

PJ Divine

I just found this old clip of Pj Harvey doing Rid Of Me on the Tonight Show. She looks amazing, that gold dress those thick brows, put a blonde wig on her and it's Isobella Rossellini in Wild At Heart. I particularly love the interview - the sweet English rose with a posh Dorset accent who castrates sheep.