3 days in Iasi

To see in the new year we went to Iasi for 3 days and stayed in the Grand Traian Hotel which was designed by Mr Eifel, the same guy who designed the Eifel Tower.

Iaşi, is a city and municipality in north-eastern Romania. The city was the capital of Moldavia from the 16th century until 1861 and of Romania between 1916-1918 during World War I.

The third largest Romanian city, after Bucharest and Constanţa, Iaşi is the economic, cultural and academic centre of the Romanian region of Moldavia. The city, home to the oldest Romanian university, accommodates an annual count of over 60,000 students in 5 public and 3 private universities, it is home to more than 50 churches and hosts 5 cultural centres: British, French, German, Latin American & Caribbean and Hellenic. Cultural life gravitates around the National Theater (the oldest in Romania), the Opera House, the Iaşi State Philarmonic, the Tătăraşi Atheneum, a famous Botanical Garden (the oldest and largest in Romania), the Central University Library (the oldest in Romania), an array of museums and memorial houses, an independent theater and several student organizations.

text from wikipedia.

Boxing Day in London

Boxing Day in London, and i've never seen Portobello Road so deserted.

Back in London

Spotted at Nambucca, a pub in North London. They had the smelliest toilets i've ever had the pleasure peeing in, but the bands were pretty good- "Why Whiskey Why" were particularly great. Two girls (16 & 17) who were 1 part folk, 1 part Coco Rosie and another part something else.

Christmas Cheer

With Christmas just around the corner, snow on it's way and sub zero temperatures forecast, Romania's president Mr Basescu has put his hand in someone elses pocket and coughed up some money to help the homeless at Christmas. In a never before seen act of kindness he has built a series of garden sheds outside the National Theatre to house the city's vagrants. He's promised mince pies for all and will personally visit each shed, singing Christmas carols on the big day.

Rock N Roll Graveyard...

Oh, I wonder what that is coming over the snow-capped mountain? Why, it's a sleigh filled with all sorts of useless crap you can only get rid of at Christmas, the season of kitsch and bad taste! And who's driving the sleigh into Bucharest? Is it santa claus? That would be an easy mistake to make, but no it's Shakin Stevens, who last had a hit in about 1984 when he sang rock n'roll style about a green door.

He's probably really popular here but the only reason I can think of going to the concert is to see, if due to old age or Parkinsons, he really is Shaking Stevens.

Anyway to prove that Rock N Roll never dies, here's a photo of a very cool car I saw on the Bucharest streets that looks like it stepped out of "American Grafitti" but is probably from Russia. (If anyone can identify it, i'd be intrigued).



Just to enlighten readers who aren't from Romania, this NYE we have the likes of Tom Jones, The Prodigy, Europe, Alphaville and Sophie Ellis Bextor to choose from. However things are looking up (a bit) for next year with Kylie, Lenny Kravitz, Iron Maiden, Radiohead and the wonderful PJ Harvey already confirmed to play.

SynthDisco Mix (RE-UPLOADED!)

A fairly fresh mix for you to download. Electronic-Disco-Cosmic influenced 107-128bpm's! Containing some of my favourite tunes from the year... enjoy.

Tracklisting:
The The - "Giant" Pilooski Edit
Rodion - "Electric Soca" Cosmo Viteli Mix
Jay Shepheard - "Song From Mikledore"
In Flagranti - "Effective Placebo Effect"
Shit Robot - "Chasm"
Walter - "The Odyssey Effect" (Excert)
Phreek Plus One - "New York Dolls"
Von Sudenfed - "The Rhinohead" Pilooski Edit
Poni Hoax - "Antibodies" To The Bone Mix
Metro Area - RMM Special Dub"
Justus Kohnche - "Feuerland"
Blackway - "New Life"
Principles Of Geometry - "A Mountain For President"

*** MP3 has now been fixed. The original had some problem with audio at the beginning, sorry!


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
* photo by Sharky

Fashion Fair Photos

Fashion East's Fashion Fair was a resounding success. Over 30 stall holders filled La Scena with vintage, new and second hand clothes and accessories. Charlie Le Mindu (hairdresser to the stars) left his mark on the barnets of Bucharest, before flying back to Berlin with a hangover and a heavy heart. I played music for hours and hours.

The people came, they shopped, they wiggled their hips and everyone went home with a smile on their face.

Head over to FASHION EAST (f-east.ro) for more pictures, a review, the streetblog and a whole month of fresh fashion content now!

*photos by Costin Vasiliu si Alexandra Lucia Sandu (Thanks!)

Fashion East Fashion Fair

Tomorrow we're hosting the Fashion East Fashion Fair at La Scena. We've hand picked over 30 stallholders from across Romania, who will be selling everything from new and secondhand, vintage to accessories, alongside established and upcoming designers selling their own creations.

To add a certain 'je ne sai quoi' to the occasion we have flown in from Berlin Mr Charlie Le Mindu, a french hair stylist whose client list reads like a who's who of the Berlin fashion and music scene - Chicks on Speed, Angie Read, Planning To Rock, Robots In Disguise.... He will be spending the day cutting hair for the lucky few, gesticulating wildly, and changing his outrageous outfits quicker than you can say 'brown is the new black'.


I'll be there, swaning about and providing a suitable soundtrack for the precedings, along with hair and make up artists to make you look glamorous and fashion photographers to capture the moment.

I Love Romania

Check this video out, posted on youtube, showing some Romanian "Geezers" trying to break into their own car by smashing the driver side window.

A pretty simple task you might think...

The Nightingale & The Rose

This week a contemporary rendition of Oscar Wilde's "The Nightingale and the Rose" played at Romania's National Theatre, in Bucharest. The play was conceived and directed by Carmen Lidia Vidu, and I was the Musical Director! It was an interesting project to be involved in and it was a first for me as I have never compiled a music score for the theatre before.

You can see some footage HERE!

Fashion East Party @ Avi Cola

Above are some pictures from the Fashion East party in Avi-Cola, Targu Mures, with myself and The Model dj'ing. Thanks to everyone who came down and filled the club to bursting point. It rocked!

Don't forget to check out the Fashion East website
HERE!
photos by Diana Dulgheru